The Good Wolves

Chapter 18

The door cracked open, but I didn't bother looking up. I sat on the bench, leaning against the wall, with one foot resting on my opposite knee.

"Have fun?" Calvin's voice asked, seeming more gruff than usual.

"He was a real treat," I said.

"It seems that way," Calvin said, his eyes focused on Knox's bloody and unconscious body. "You can go now. I think it's safe to leave him alone overnight."

I stood up and started to walk to the door to get out of Knox's little cell, but stopped in the middle of the doorway.

"He told me about Amelia," I said quickly.

Calvin looked at the floor. And then, with his head still at a downward angle, looked back at me.

"I broke up with her," he said.

"I'm sorry," I shifted from my right foot to my left. "Do you need anything?"

"No," Calvin answered. "You should go."

"Right," I said. I looked between Knox and Calvin, and then went back upstairs.

I walked back to Gerald's house, worrying about Calvin the whole way back. He was crushed over Amelia. And I was worried for her, too. It would be awkward to go to school, and it was going to be Dominic's turn to watch Knox. They would be without their Alpha.

As I opened the front door, I was met by a demanding voice.

"Where'd you go?" Lupe asked. "Your school called to tell me you weren't there."

Having already assumed this would happen, I was prepared to answer her. "I was hunting," I lied. "I felt like I hadn't been doing enough, so I got up early and went to the woods. I didn't want to wake you up."

Lupe folded her arms across her chest and stared at me. "And did you kill any?"

"No, I just scouted out the territory," I answered.

"Tell me next time you plan on disappearing," she said.

"I will," I nodded, and made my escape upstairs.

I ran to the computer and slid into the seat, typing Knox's name into White Pages. A list of everyone named Knox in the area code came up, and only one seemed to fit him.

Knox Brownley was a twenty year old man who lived just north of Calvin's house. No one was listed under relatives.

I searched his name on Google, but he seemed very private. He had no social media accounts, and no personal information.

Deeming the search useless, I typed a different name into White Pages. I looked up the Holtz family, and found Dominic's address. I wouldn't see him tomorrow, and I felt obligated to warn him about the Knox-Amelia-Calvin love triangle situation.

I grabbed a .47 out of the weapons cabinet, and snuck out through the window.

I threw up my hood and took off running down the street. My phone gave me directions.

When I reached Dominic's house, I stopped to catch my breath. It was a quaint home, small but with character.

"Hey," Dominic answered the door, surprised.

"Hi," I said. "Are you busy?"

"No, come in," he told me.

He walked into the living room and took a seat on the gray couch. I took a minute to survey the area. Knickknacks hung on the light brown walls. The room was consumed by a large, patterned carpet.

"So," he said. I sat down on the identical couch across from him.

"I need to talk to you about him," I said. Dominic nodded, knowing who I was talking about. "Is anyone else here?"

"My parents are at a dinner party, and Mim's asleep upstairs," he stretched his arms across the back of the couch.

"How is she?" I asked.

"She's fine. She's all healed up. It's just going to take a while before she's ready," he said. "But you said something about that werewolf. Is this about Calvin and Amelia?'

"You know?" My eyes widened slightly.

"I saw the whole bloody battle," he said. "Calvin came to school this morning fuming about something. He wouldn't tell me anything until lunch, when he went off on Amelia. Everyone heard."

"It was that bad?"

"Yeah, he started screaming at her the second she opened her mouth. I didn't hear all the details, but I pieced it together. I can't believe Amelia would cheat on him. Especially not with... What did you say his name was?"

"Knox," I answered.

"Yeah," he bit his bottom lip. "I'm excited to meet him."

I giggled, "He's really got a way with words."

"It was nice of you to come over here," Dominic said. "How did you get my address?"

"I looked it up online," I told him. "I thought it would be best if you found out beforehand. So you weren't a deer in headlights when he told you."

Dominic leaned forwards and looked at the ground. "Are you sure that's the only reason you came over here?"

My mouth twitched, and my face turned bright red. "What?" I asked awkwardly.

"I mean, you wouldn't have any ulterior motive for coming over here. Would you?"

"No," I scratched my nose.

"I just thought..." He started to put his thoughts to words. "I thought that maybe since we talked yesterday... I thought you might have wanted to hang out. I mean, it all ended so abruptly last time we talked."

"Did you want me to hang out with you?" I asked.

"Forget it," he said. "It was stupid of me to ask."

"No, it wasn't!" I said a little loud.

"What are you doing here?" Mim's voice came from the staircase. She appeared with dark circles under her eyes, looking mousy as usual.

"Hey," I smiled at her. "I was just talking to your brother."

"About what?" She asked.

"Um," I looked at Dominic, who was leaned all the way back into the couch.

"Knox," he said deeply. "The guy they found in the woods."

"Is he the one who blew up the building?" Mim asked.

I immediately felt guilty for not thinking to ask. "I don't know," I said honestly.

"Oh," Mim responded coldly. "I'm going back to my room."

Dominic sighed as she walked back up. "Sorry about that," he said.

"It's fine," I said. "I should be going, anyways. I didn't tell anyone I was leaving."

"Right," Dominic stood up, his face to the ground. He walked me to the door. "I guess I'll see you Thursday."

"Wait," I said quickly. He looked at me. "I just remembered. When I told Knox that his pack was killing people for no reason, he said there was a reason, and then he clammed up like he had said something he wasn't supposed to. I couldn't get him to tell me what."

"I'll pry him tomorrow," Dominic said, and started to close the door.

I put my foot between the wall and the door before he could close it. "Maybe we could hang out tomorrow. You can tell me about Knox, and I'll catch you up on what you'll be missing in chemistry."

He failed to contain his smile, "I'd love that."

"I'll see you tomorrow, then," I said, backing out of the doorway happily.

I started running back to Gerald's when I heard the door close, a smile on my face the entire time.