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

anymore. I don’t want to be trapped by this curse. I want to be human again, not a werewolf.”
    Looking back over my shoulder, I said, “I don’t trust him and to be honest, I don’t know if I trust you.”
    Hearing me say this, the glow in her eyes faded and I was surprised to see that she looked hurt by what I said. “But what about what happened between us in the woods?” she whispered. “Didn’t that mean anything to you?”
    “Nothing happened. It was a mistake!” I snapped at her.
    Looking at me, I could see tears building in her eyes. “You bastard!” she hissed.
    “I thought you liked me because I had a dark side,” I shot back.
    “And you like me because of mine!” she shouted, screwing her hands into fists by her sides. “I could see it in your eyes the first time you saw me. There was a connection and you know it!”
    “Dream on!” I barked back.
    “I’ve seen you checking me out with all of your little side glances,” she said. “I’ve seen you staring at my butt. Your eyes nearly fell out of your head earlier when I unbuttoned my shirt to show you my necklace. And when I was dressing your wounds, I could feel your heart racing. I could see your body tensing every time I came near you. So don’t give me all this crap that you’re not attracted to me like I am to you. You need to let go, Potter!”
    “Let go of what?” I sneered.
    “Whoever it was that broke your heart!” she snapped back. “If she’d really wanted you, she’d be here right now, so stop chasing ghosts!”
    “You have no idea what you’re talking about!” I said angrily, scooping up the little girl in my arms. But she was right. I did need to let go of Sophie – but not yet – not now.
    I carried the little girl towards the door and as I went, Madison said, “Where are you going?”
    “To lay this little girl to rest,” I said. “That’s what Harker wants us to do isn’t it?”

16
     
    I carried the little girl in to the woods. I found the prettiest spot I could find, where the moonlight cut through an opening in the trees and bathed the ground in a pool of milky light. Laying her down on a pile of leaves, I set about digging her grave with my claws.
    As I worked, I tried to free my mind of everything, but it was impossible. No wonder the wolf hadn’t been caught; this place was messed up. It was like a world within a world where rules didn’t apply and your sanity was pushed to the limits. How had I missed this little girl being brought to the house? Why had I let myself be seduced by Madison? But had she really seduced me? Could I really blame her? I had a mind of my own, didn’t I? And however much I hated to admit it to myself, Madison had been right. I had been checking her out. I did find her attractive – there was something about her that kind of drove me crazy. But maybe that was good. Madison had said I needed to let go – let go of Sophie – and maybe I had already started to. After all, if my love for Sophie was as strong as it had once been, would I have found Madison so attractive? Would I have slept with her? No, I wouldn’t have.
    But I had imagined that I’d been making love to Sophie, when really it had been Madison who I’d wanted. Wasn’t that just the last fragment of guilt taking over as I let go of Sophie? Now that I had given myself to Madison, I could never look back at Sophie. That part of my life was now over.
    With my claws caked in mud and earth, I dug away at the ground, the hole getting deeper and deeper. I had to pull myself together. I had one night left to catch this killer before the full moon faded and the cycle of killings stopped. But they wouldn’t stop forever. At the beginning of the next cycle, the wolf would be back and by then, Luke and I would probably be in jail for a crime that we didn’t commit and Murphy would be dead. Then who would be left to stop these killings?
    I need to get my shit together and think of a plan. But what? This wolf was