Chapter 2

After half an hour of stitching and administering the final dose of antibiotics, I finally slumped against the wall, gasping for air. Sweat poured down my forehead.

The wolf lay sprawled on the bed, squinting at me, his gaze impossible to read.

I walked over to the sink and rinsed the blood from my hands. The cold water jolted my wound, but I didn't flinch.

In the mirror, my face looked as pale as a sheet, but my eyes were sharp and icy.

This wolf was the first card I picked up.

*****

Late that night, I curled up on the old couch, wrapped in a thin blanket. I hugged the old diary my mother left behind, my fingers tracing the worn cover. My shoulders shook gently.

I thought the wolf was asleep, but it quietly opened its eyes, leaped off the bed, and lay down beside the couch, resting its head on its paws.

Only when it was close to me did that wild, almost predatory restlessness finally settle.

Before dawn, a loud banging suddenly shattered the silence.

Someone shouted, "Open the damn door, you little bitch. Stop playing dead."

I shot up, instantly alert.

I'd already set up a tripwire with empty cans behind the door. If anyone got close, I'd know right away.

I turned to the bed. The brown wolf was already on its feet, its back arched like a drawn bow, a threatening growl rumbling in its throat.

"Down," I said quietly.

The wolf gave me a frosty glare but didn't budge an inch.

I didn't have time to argue with it. I reached under my pillow and pulled out my folding knife.

I was sure Sofia wouldn't let it go, but I never thought she'd come after me this fast.

With a loud bang, the door was kicked open, the lock shattering instantly.

Three punks with dyed-blond hair swaggered in.

The leader gripped a baseball bat and scanned the room. "Well, well, Irene. Getting cozy in your little rat hole?"

I gripped my knife tightly. "Did Sofia send you here for my mom's diary?"

The punk's face darkened. "Save it. Sofia says you stole from the Thorne family. We're here to search the place."

As he spoke, he reached for the canvas bag in the corner.

I dodged to the side and drove my knee hard into his stomach.

He yelped in pain and stumbled back.

Furious, he swung the bat at my head.

I gripped my knife, ready to block the blow, when a shadow suddenly darted out from the side.

The wolf moved. It didn't go for the throat. Instead, it slammed into the punk's knee with pinpoint accuracy.

The punk crashed to the floor with a thud. Before he could scramble to his feet, the wolf sank its jaws into his wrist, biting down hard.

The muffled crunch of bone twisting echoed through the cramped basement.

The punk let out a scream like a slaughtered pig.

The other two punks stood there, dumbfounded.

Who could've guessed a wolf was hiding out in this crappy basement?

The wolf let go, spat out blood with disgust, then turned and lunged at the next punk.

It moved quickly, every move clean and precise, without a trace of excess.

The wolf dodged the punch, clamped its jaws around the second punk's calf, and yanked. The punk crashed to the ground, his head cracking against the concrete. Out cold.

The third punk turned and bolted.

The wolf sprang, slamming into the guy and pinning him to the hallway floor. Its claws raked across the punk's back, blood blooming instantly.

It bared its fangs, aiming for the back of the guy's neck.

"That's enough," I called from behind.

The wolf paused, then turned to look at me.

I walked into the hallway, looking down at the three punks groaning on the floor. Then I turned and opened the breaker box in the corner.

I'd figured it out the first day I moved in. There was a bare hot wire.

I tossed one end of the wire into a puddle and draped the other over the metal box.

The current crackled, and tiny sparks started skittering across the water

I looked at the wolf. "Drag them over here."

It narrowed its eyes, then clamped the lead punk's collar in its jaws and dragged him over to the puddle.

The lead punk was shaking all over. "What the hell are you doing? You can't kill us. That's murder."

"How much did Sofia pay you?" I asked.

"T-three thousand dollars."

"Go back and tell Sofia. If she sends anyone else, next time it won't be a hot wire to give you a scare. It'll get real ugly."

Then I kicked the lead punk. "Get out."

The three punks scrambled up and ran for their lives, not daring to grab the baseball bat.

I flipped off the breaker, grabbed a clean towel, and gently wiped the blood from the wolf's mouth. "Good job. You'll get a special treat tonight."

It let out a low rumble, not moving away.

Just then, my phone buzzed.

I picked it up and glanced at the screen.

It was a text from Sofia: [Irene, tonight's the school charity ball. Dad says if you don't show up and apologize to me in person, he'll scatter your mom's ashes to the wind.]

My eyes went cold, but a mocking smirk tugged at my lips.

I'd spent three years with the Thorne family. I knew Victor's personality inside out.

He was cold and selfish, but when it came to my mother's things, he treated them like sacred relics. Even Sofia would get chewed out if she so much as touched them.

There was no way Victor would say something like scattering my mom's ashes.

Most likely, Sofia had secretly gotten her hands on the urn and was using it as leverage against me.

This was exactly the chance I'd been waiting for.

I tucked my phone away and looked at the wolf, a cold smile pulling at my lips. "Let's go. I'll get you a proper meal and give Sofia a gift she'll never forget."

It shook out its fur and followed.