Book 1 - Page 44 (2/2)

”Wait here.” I gave him the trench coat so it wouldn't get dirty, then hopped off the swing and waded through the old gra.s.s into the bushes. I took off my clothes as fast as I could and s.h.i.+fted as soon as I dropped the last piece of clothing.

I stopped on the path and sat down, trying to look harmless.

”Mercy?” Kyle had his lawyer face on, which told me how shocked he was. He really hadn't believed me.

I wagged my tail and made a crooning noise. He got out of the swing like an old, old man and approached me.

”A coyote?” he asked.

When I went down to get my clothes, he followed me. I s.h.i.+fted right in front of him-then scrambled back into my clothes as I heard another bicycle coming along.

”I'm not a werewolf,” I told him, running my fingers through my hair. ”But I'm as close as you're going to get until you talk Warren into changing for you.”

Kyle made an impatient sound and pulled my hands away, rearranging my hair himself.

”Werewolves are bigger,” I said, feeling as though I ought to warn him. ”A lot bigger. They don't look like wolves. They look like really, really big wolves who might eat you.”

”Okay,” he said, stepping back. I thought he was talking about my hair, until he continued. ”Warren's a werewolf.”

I looked at his lawyer face and sighed. ”He couldn't tell you. If I tell you, and you don't do anything stupid-you and he are both safe. But if he told you, no matter how you reacted, he would have disobeyed a direct order. The penalty for that is brutal.”

He still wasn't giving anything away. He was so closed off, I couldn't sense what he was feeling. Most humans don't have that kind of control over themselves.

”Won't his pack-” He stumbled over that word a little. ”Won't they think he told me?”

”A lot of werewolves can smell a lie,” I said. ”They'll know how you found out.”

He went back to the swing, picked up the trench coat, and held it out to me. ”Tell me about werewolves.”

I was in the middle of trying to explain just how dangerous a werewolf could be and why it wasn't a good idea for him to flirt with Samuel-or Darryl-when my cell phone rang.

It was Zee.

”Business?” Kyle asked when I hung up.

”Yes.” I bit my lip.

He smiled. ”It's all right. I think I've heard enough secrets for one day. I take it you need to go back to Warren's?”

”Don't talk to him yet,” I said. ”Wait for it to sink in. If you have other questions, you can call me.”