Free Wolf House (Potter's Story) by Tim O'Rourke Page A

doorway.
    “Where were you when this happened?” I asked him.
    “I could ask you the same question,” he shot back, his eyes never leaving mine.
    Glancing sideways, I looked at Madison and then back at Drake. “I was with Madison.”
    “Oh yeah?” he smirked. “Doing what exactly?”
    “We were checking out the woods for any clues that might have been left by the wolf from last night,” Madison lied, and for the first time since meeting her, I saw her pale face flush red. I felt her embarrassment and shame too; not because we didn’t want Drake to know what happened between us in the woods, but that we had been making out while another dead child had been brought to the Wolf House. But it was more than that. Murphy and Luke were depending on me to find this killer – Murphy had put his trust in me and I could hear myself saying to him as he lay bleeding, “I won’t let you down.”
    But I had let him down; I let Luke down and the children the wolf had brought here. Perhaps my father was right. Maybe I was useless and would never amount to anything.
    “Checking for clues?” Drake asked, and I could hear the disbelief in his voice.
    “It’s got fuck-all to do with you what we were doing in that wood,” I scowled at him. “But what is important is that we were both together – we have alibis.”
    “What’s that s’posed to mean?” Drake asked, puffing out his chest.
    “It means, numb-nuts, that it couldn’t have been either one of us who brought that dead little girl in here,” I snapped, “But you, on the other hand? We only have your word that you were out searching for us!”
    “What are you trying to say?” Drake blustered. “That I killed that little girl and brought her here?”
    “That’s exactly what I’m saying,” I spat, moving closer towards him.
    Shaking his head, Drake looked at Madison and said, “Are you just gonna stand there and let him say that about me? I’m your friend! I’m a Lycanthrope, just like you.”
    Staring back at him, Madison said, “I hate to say this, but Potter’s got a point.”
    “Well he can shove his point up his freaking arse!” Drake shouted. “I ain’t a child killer!”
    “Sorry but I thought all you Lycanthrope had been child killers at some time or another!” I growled.
    “Ancient freaking history!” Drake shouted and spit flew from his lips. “I’m not going to stand here and listen to this shit!”
    I saw him turn as if to leave, but before he’d even had the chance to reach for the door handle, I’d flitted across the room in a spray of shadows and barred his exit from the house.
    “What were you really doing in the woods yesterday?” I hissed. “You weren’t taking a piss!”
    “And you and Madison weren’t looking for clues,” he half-smiled. “Now get out of my way.”
    Placing my hand firmly against his chest, I looked in his bright yellow eyes and said, “How come you were in the woods last night when I was chasing down that wolf?”
    “I heard the howling and came after you,” he said. “I wish now that I’d left you to die.” Then, shoving me aside, he yanked open the front door and stormed out.
    The door slammed shut with such force that the whole house trembled on its ancient foundation. “I’m watching you!” I shouted after him, but he was gone. Turning, I flinched backwards to find Madison standing directly behind me.
    “Sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you,” she smiled.
    Skirting around her, I made my way back towards the little girl in the chair.
    “Do you really think Drake has something to do with this?” she asked me.
    “You tell me,” I said without looking at her. “You and he are the same, aren’t you?”
    “We’re both Lycanthrope,” she said, “and yes, we’ve both done our fair share of killing, but what Drake said was true.”
    “And what was that?” I scoffed, with my back to her.
    “We both stopped killing years ago,” she told me. “I don’t want to live like this