Stefanos radiated the same kind of Fuck Around and Find Out energy as scorpions and rattlesnakes. I kept my eyes on a patch of concrete at his feet and waited for him to speak.
“Look at me,” he said.
My head jerked up without my permission. I braced for pain, but it didn’t come. He watched me with an eerie stillness, and the prickling crawled under my skin and shivered over my bones. He wore his hair on the longer side, the black strands brushing his collar. An Apple watch circled his wrist. The last jarred me in an odd way. He probably predated electricity, yet here he was checking his notifications and closing his rings.
“I apologize for the accommodations,” he said in a deep voice. He sounded American, but I got the feeling he wasn’t anything of the sort. “The cells are uncomfortable but necessary,” he added.
I bit my tongue. My mouth had gotten me into plenty of trouble over the years. The consequences had rarely been pretty, butpotential deathhad never been one of them.
So I didn’t ask for a comp or threaten to call the health department.
He regarded me with something that might have been approval. “Everything I’ve read about you indicates you possess above-average intelligence. I assume you’ve guessed that I’m a member of the Council of Elders. But allow me to confirm it. I don’t believe in ambiguity. So often, clarity is the difference between life and death.”
He paused like he expected me to fill the silence.
“Okay,” I said.
“I’m one of twelve members of the Council.”
A secondokaywould probably seem rude. But how else could I respond?
Congratulations?
I bet that looks great on LinkedIn?
Where the fuck is Jesse?
The last hovered on my tongue when he said, “Not everyone is cut out for immortality. Our gifts come with certain instincts and urges. We change only those capable of handling the kind of power we wield.”
Next, he was going to start talking about the Force. Maybe all werewolves had aStar Warskink.
“You were created by a rogue,” Stefanos said. “Ulfrik was out of control when he turned you, which means you’re cursed to carry the same madness. Our laws call for you to be put to death.”
Ah. There it was.
Fear knotted my gut. Then, weirdly, something like relief flowed through me. Which was probably a batshit emotion on the heels of hearing him say he wanted to kill me. But there was twisted comfort in someone finally saying it out loud. No more guessing. No more lying awake under surgical lights wondering what was coming.Thiswas coming.
I didn’t want to die. But it wasn’t like I had a choice. Stefanos was obviously capable of carrying out his threat, and there were eleven others just like him. What hope did I have against that kind of power? None. Ulfrik had turned me, and that was that. It didn’t matter that I’d never asked for it. Jesse had done everything he could.
The knots moved into my throat.
I was powerless. But maybe the Council would honor a last request.
“What about Jesse?” I asked. “You can’t hurt him.”
Stefanos’s eyebrows rose. “You’re not going to plead for your own life?”
“He didn’t do anything wrong,” I said, trying to keep my voice even. “He only ever tried to help me.”
“And helped himself to your bed.”
Anger fired, and I lifted my chin. “Nice to know there are homophobes among werewolves, too.”
He gave me a patient look. “I’m Greek, boy, and a great deal older than I look. You think Americans invented queerness?”
I shut my mouth. Just how old was he?
Stefanos smiled.
