Devious Claws

Chapter Eight

When Luke finally arrived and entered into my bedroom, he didn't know what to expect. It'd felt wrong to tell him who I had with me beforehand and when I called him I wasn't sure what to say in front of Eros that wouldn't offend him. Therefore, when he saw the werewolf sitting on my bed, he let out a scream. His notes fell to the floor.

I quickly put my hand over his mouth, covering his view of Eros.

"Shut up, Luke! My mom is downstairs."

He said something with a much too high pitch, muffled by my hand, and pointed to Eros. I followed his finger with my gaze, and had to admit Eros didn't look happy either. He was actually a bit scary when staring back at Luke.

Thankfully I'd made him promise not to eat him.

"I'm going to let you speak, but you have to be quiet. Alright?"

He nodded.

I let go.

For a long, seemingly endless moment there was only silence. Then, Luke shakily ran a hand through his hair. He swallowed. "Cindy," he said with a wavering voice. "Why is the werewolf here, and why is it wearing my hoodie?"

Eros face soured, if possible, even more. He sniffed the sleeve which was strained against his large arm, and narrowed his eyes. "Oh," he trailed, looking at me. "It's his."

My face flushed at his bitter stare. I remember what I'd told him about the shirt.

"Oh my God!" Luke exclaimed. "It's talking to you!"

"Don't be rude, Luke."

"Rude?" It seemed the fear had vanished from Luke's system. Now he looked intrigued, eyeing us both with a gaze that made me feel like I was in trouble. "What is going on here? I get the feeling you're not exactly his captive."

"She's not." Eros growled a bit, still not taking his eyes off Luke.

"Stay," I commanded before realizing how ironic that was. Luke looked like I'd just pulled a bunny out of a hat. His eyes were wide, his mouth as well, as he fished for words. His index finger floated aimlessly between us. I pushed his hand away. "Luke, shut up, we need to talk."

"Yeah, no kidding."

Eros reached down, grabbing one of the papers that had fell from Luke's hands and landed by his feet. His eyebrow raised in one, perfect arch as he looked it over. "We don't howl at the moon."

"Really?"

Eros' lips pursed as he kept reading the paper. "This is false information, where did you get this?"

Luke looked angry, and a bit offended. "I won't reveal my sources."

"His dad," I supplied.

"That you killed," Luke added, giving me a pointed look.

"I don't kill humans. It must've been members of the opposition, they've infiltrated the town looking for me." Eros thought aloud, dropping the paper. "Your father must've seen too much - just like the other people gone missing."

I could sense Luke was about to say something he'd regret and decided to step in. I put a gentle hand on his shoulder, giving him what I hoped was a supportive look. "You need to hear some things."

"Cindy." He now grabbed my shoulder, giving Eros a side-eye. "Are you sure you know what you're doing? I don't like the way he looks at you."

The last part of his sentence was hushed, but I doubted it escaped Eros given the toxic way in which he glared at Luke. The room felt suffocating, as if lighting a match would make us all explode - Eros looked ready to pounce and I didn't doubt Luke's back pack had the gun in it.