Played For A Fool

Ugly Truth

"What do you mean?" Scarlet asked, her heart going one hundred miles per hour. Her mind was buzzing with his words.

It's about your Grandmother, I know where she is

Wolf looked as if he were about to vomit, his face as pale as a sheet, his hands shaking, his eyes huge and horrified. Scarlet wasn't sure what to think of it, but she didn't much care at the moment, all thoughts turned to her missing Grandmother.

"Please," Scarlet begged, "Wolf, you need to tell me where she is. I need to save her. Please." Scarlet clasped her hands in front of her, her legs becoming weak. What if he didn't tell her where her Grandmother was, but was only here to torment her?

Maybe he had never been her friend, but there to spy on her. Maybe he was one of the wolf mutant spies, and...

How had she been so stupid? His name was Wolf! Well, his nickname was Wolf, but still. Everything clicked into place in Scarlet's mind, and she suddenly felt scared. What if he had come to take her with him and kill her alongside her Grandmother? The thought terrified her and she wondered if Thorne was there, or if he would even hear her if she screamed for help. She would have a much harder time trying to save her Grandmother than if she and her friends snuck in.

But at the same time, they didn't know where her Grandmother was. Maybe it would be better if they kidnapped her. She could do it. She was resourceful, and quite clever if it came down to it. And she was determined to save her Grandmother, even if it killed her. Because her Grandmother was her only family left, one of the only people who still loved Scarlet.

Scarlet looked up at Wolf, new resolve running through her veins. She was ready for whatever came next. Wolf still wouldn't look her in the eyes, and seemed to be fighting an internal battle.

"I came here to help you find her." Wolf said, still not looking at Scarlet, shuffling his feet a little as he said the words. "I want to help you get your Grandmother back."

That shocked Scarlet. She had thought that he would want to hurt, or kidnap her, not help. She eyed him, trying to read him. He seemed completely earnest, and Scarlet could find no tell visible to her saying that he was lying.

"Okay," Scarlet said, "where's my Grandmother?" Scarlet asked, unsure what else to say. How was she supposed to approach this?

Wolf shook his head, a hint of a smile on his face as he finally looked up at Scarlet. "First, I need to explain something to you." Wolf said, worry clouding his features for a moment before Scarlet nodded. He exhaled deeply, as though preparing to share his life's greatest secret. "The Wolves, we have a leader. A ruler of sorts, though he's not one of us. He's our creator."

Scarlet's breath hitched. Their creator? The name of the person who had created the Wolf Mutant's had never been brought out to the public, seeing how they had never been able to actually find him. His fingerprints showed those of a dead man who had died years before, according to her Grandmother, though she had never told Scarlet his name.

She wished she had gotten it now, seeing how this man was responsible for her kidnapping. "What's his name? Who is he?" Scarlet asked hurriedly, hoping that she would recognize the name.

"I can't tell you." Wolf said, biting his lip. That's when Scarlet realized that his canines were unlike any human's. They were the teeth of a predator, with a razor sharp end, fit for ripping and biting. They were the teeth of a wolf.

"Why?" Scarlet asked, feeling her temper begin to burn. "If you can't tell me, why even mention is?"

"We're not allowed to speak his name." Wolf whispered, sending chills down Scarlet's spine. "He- my master- he wants revenge. We want revenge. He told us that if we found the girl, we could have your grandmother and the other man, Logan Tanner. We did as he asked, though he didn't want us to bring the girl to him. He said he wanted to finish her off on his own. We already killed the man, and it's a matter of hours before..."