Shimmer |✓|

//Rabid// Part 3

Once home, I sprinted up the concrete drive, heading towards the lawn. I had no patience for the wrought iron gates; I climbed them myself, landing cat-like on the other side. I burst through the front door, flying past Mrs. Trentley, up the foyer's marble steps. Even before I entered the west wing, I smelled the blood.

I knocked on Diane's door. "Grandmother?" No answer. "Please, let me in. I know you're sick."

The guest room's door opened. My grandfather stared back at me, forlorn, defeated. He had lost the battle, and the war. "She's not here." He cleared his throat. "She is beyond our help."

I looked past him, to the four-poster bed with it's crumpled, bloody sheets, the creme colored walls and the matching carpet, all spattered with more red. I swallowed. "Where is she?"

"I..." He hesitated. "She's..."

"Safe." Mrs. Trentley stood behind me, twisting her hands. "The Garou have her, dear. They'll watch over her until she returns." Her eyes connected with my grandfather's, and they shared a rare moment of unspoken solidarity.

I hugged Mrs. Trentley, like never before. Our world, it was vicious, and cruel, and so much more fragile than I could've believed. So was I.

Later, I stood outside, on the back deck. At the edge of my grandparent's property loomed the Gentle Woods, woodlands my family had owned forever. I thought of my people. At that very moment, they made their way through the woods for an emergency circle, where no doubt my grandfather would ease their fears, charming them into believing everything was okay. I shivered, immune to the cold but not the fears it embellished.

Things were not okay.

A wind as sharp and angry as me carried Luke's scent seconds before his arrival. He took his place beside me and together we looked down the hill.

"I ignored the signs." I shook my head at the trees. "I knew she was sick. I never should've left her side--"

"Stop. You can't blame yourself for not knowing the future. This wasn't your fault. Your grandmother..." I stayed silent, letting him find the words. "She needs you to be strong."

I turned from his wisdom. It was too soon to be saved. "He should've helped her, Luke. If he had, she'd be okay. He couldn't even protect his own wife, how does he plan on protecting everyone else?"

"By stopping this problem from getting bigger. He believes the Vampires who attacked were infected with a virus, one that transmits to Wolves. This morning, the Elder made a new alliance--with the Witches. In exchange, they've agreed to help us by casting a spell. When the circle ends, any Wolves bitten at the Fairway will remain in the forest. That's where they'll stay, until we find a way to cure them."

"In other words, they're trapped." I clenched my fists, wishing I had a target to swing on. "This isn't right. Our friends are down there. Some of them are sick, and they don't even know they're not coming back. It's not fair."

"You're right, it's not. But you saw what the rabid can do. We have to protect ourselves, and the Humans. If it makes you feel better--Daniela woke up, right after you left the bar. She's better now. Whatever happened to her, she was lucky, she overcame it. So don't give up. We just have to hope that whatever this is, given a little time, it'll run its course. When our people heal, they can walk right out of that barrier."

I sighed, more disheartened than ever. "They shouldn't be down there at all." I strode away, fists stuffed in my jacket pockets to keep them from doing further damage. Avoiding trouble wasn't nearly so easy.

In my room, I relapsed, dialing the one number I swore I never would. 

Who was I kidding? 

He was still in my favorites.

An hour later, I grabbed the door handle, sliding inside the Alpha's benz-a luxurious world of treated leather and heated seats.

"Where to?" Ethan cranked the engine back to life. I couldn't see his eyes through the aviator's, but I felt them just the same. Tonight, he belonged to me.

"That depends. Where do you want me the most?"

He smiled, my wish his command, and we took the road to darkness.

Where we could be rabid our own way.

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