Deepa opened her mouth to argue, but no words came out. Before her transformation she would have readily stormed the place with a team and shot up every wolf on sight. But now...
Vanessa opened a door at the end of the hall, unveiling an old kitchen filled with people. Several were gathered around a table as a young woman tended to the stove, her blond curly hair tied back in a tight ponytail.
"Looks like we've got another one, Andrea," Vanessa called out to the woman.
Andrea glanced over her shoulder, gazing up and down Deepa's disheveled form.
"Another stray," Andrea sighed, rolling her eyes.
"Here, take a seat." Vanessa indicated to an empty spot at the table.
It was easy to tell that the other people were also freshly turned werewolves. They were dressed in a variety of mismatched clothes while anxiously glancing around them. One guy's hand kept transforming to and from its werewolf form, and another young woman was furiously scratching herself.
These were Deepa's people now.
"What's your name?" Vanessa asked, sitting down next to Deepa.
"Deepa," she replied, then cursed herself for not coming up with a fake name. What if they found out that she was part of Infection Control?
"Do you have any family?"
"Just my aunt," Deepa swallowed. "But I don't see her that often."
"Where were you turned?"
"At a park," Deepa’s fingers twitched, wanting to curl into claws. "I was with my boyfriend and-"
Deepa gasped, the memory of the attack replaying itself in her mind. Parker's pained expression and his last words before she ran away.
"Are you okay?" Vanessa asked.
"Y-yeah, just..."
"It's okay." Vanessa gently placed her hand on top of Deepa's. "I've been where you are. We all have."
Deepa nodded, biting back the tears that were threatening to fall.
"Here." Andrea placed a steaming bowl of pasta in front of Deepa. "Eat up."
Deepa didn't want to eat, but she suddenly felt ravenous. She picked up the fork, shoveling the food into her mouth, savoring the rich buttery flavor.
Everything tasted a thousand times stronger than before. The spices, the salt, even the scent of the wooden table.
"You'll get used to it," Vanessa assured her. "Once you learn to live with the wolf. I remember that when Scott picked me up he-"
"Scott?" Deepa choked.
It had to be a coincidence. There was no way that-
"Sorry," said Vanessa. "I mean the guy who ran this place before I did. He never hesitated to help any one in need."
Dread settled in the pit of Deepa's stomach. Memories of Scott's blood spraying across the interrogation room flashed through her mind.
"Where is he?" Deepa asked, trying her best to keep her voice natural.
Vanessa bit her lower lip. "He was picked up by Infection Control, but he's probably okay. He's a smart guy."
Deepa tightly gripped her fork.
