“So that guy I was talking to—”
“Was on my secret payroll,” Mosavi finished, grinning.
“How do you know I’m so special?”
“I wasn’t all the way sure until our meeting the other day. Plus, how many werewolves do you know that were half-turns in their twenties?”
“Well, there’s a werewolf back in White Dunes—”
“I am well aware of him,” the mayor interrupted, baring his teeth. “Wasted potential.”
“So, I’m gonna be like Darryl?” Just the thought made me feel so much better about my condition.
“I surely hope not,” the mayor muttered, his eyes narrowing again. “I expect much more from you. I had planned on keeping you locked away in my residence, but I was… advised against it. So instead, I am forced to take a more hands-off approach.”
“Why the hell would you lock me up? What did I do?”
“You have no idea how dangerous you are. Inexperienced half-turns that possess the kind of power you do could abuse it—or attract those that wish to control you to the detriment of werewolf kind.”
I sat in silence while watching a few humans stroll by, talking and laughing amongst themselves, none of them seeming to mind a half-turn sitting just a few steps away. I tried to absorb Mosavi’s words, but most of them were rather hard to believe. When I’d lost myself to rage yesterday after Roscoe’s little stunt, I kind of understood the dangerous part, but this whole alpha thing? All I had to do was look in the mirror to call bullshit on that.
“So you’re… human,” I said, steering the topic of discussion away from me. “How do you do it?”
“The same wayBerniewas able to revert to half-turn form, but reverting all the way to human is something unique to elders of the vironoct.”
“I should have known you’d figured that out.”
“I am not a moron.” He pointed to the lighter in my hand. “Myth, religion, superstition—they all have one thing in common: ignorance. Reality is much more enigmatic, and so are the magics we possess. The same enchantments that bind half-turns to werewolves also allow some of us to take on the human visage, but it has limits.”
I flipped the lighter onto its other side, noting an inscription in Arabic. “Why is this a warning?”
The mayor grinned again, exposing all his now-sharper teeth, which looked more disturbing in his human form. “That is now a part of you. You will carry it at all times.”
“You didn’t—” I stiffened as a growl rumbled from his throat, much deeper than his human voice should have been able to produce.
“That is your answer,” he continued, his teeth growing longer as he shifted uncomfortably on the bench. “I will give you twomonths to learn to get your pack under control. Think of it as a test of dominance.”
“They’re not my pack. We barely know each other.”
The mayor’s sclera darkened as his irises burned orange. “Anything they do from now on will be a reflection of your leadership—or lack thereof.” He stood and stretched. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I am reaching those limitations I mentioned earlier. I don’t want to ruin such an expensive Italian suit.”
“I’m a half-turn. How am I supposed to get them to listen, especially Roscoe?”
“There are ways to force werewolves into submission using the vironoct.” He leaned in uncomfortably close, his eyes turning silver. “I could teach you, but I would have to keep you. Would you consent to that?”
The scenery around me brightened to a blinding blue, but I snapped my gaze downward, away from his. “No. And forcing people to do what you want isn’t leadership.”
He grabbed my chin and turned my head until I made eye contact with him again. His eyes were back to their normal orange. “Did you know that hiding Austin and lying to the bureau is a serious federal offense?”
My pulse quickened, and my palms began to sweat.
“It would be a shame if the proper authorities were alerted.”
I chucked the lighter a few yards away into the grass. “You can’t threaten to spill a secret after revealing one of your own. You really think theseproper authoritieswould approve of a werewolf running a town?”
The mayor studied me carefully before turning away, stiffly pacing himself toward the city hall entrance. “Who would believe a half-turn?”
“What is this game you’re playing with me?”
