Never Cry Werewolf (15 page)

Jenna grunted and went back to tying her deformed wings.

“We’ll be having a fire circle ceremony on the full moon tomorrow night,” Dr. Wanda continued.

“Your bird represents the old you, and by burning it in the bonfire you’ll be releasing your new spirit to fly.”

“Burning them is supposed to help them fly?” Jenna said, rolling her eyes. “That is such crap. I hope this raffia isn’t treated with toxic elements that’ll form dangerous fumes when it’s incinerated.”

Dr. Wanda smiled, still ignoring Jenna. “The full moon is the perfect time for beginnings. Many ancient societies believed full moons possess magic.”

Price grinned. “That’s a big night in Savannah. Voodoo priestesses, cemeteries at midnight, all that.”

“You actually believe in that drivel?” asked Austin with a nervous laugh.

“My momma says it’s true, and I don’t need to find out for myself,” said Price. He gave the sleeves of his rugby shirt a little push up his forearms and went to work tying on big, goofy bird wings.

“I need to talk to you,” Ariel whispered and led me over to the supply table. “I think Price really likes me,” she said, pulling more blue raffia from a box. “Did you see him take my tray to the kitchen at breakfast? I didn’t even ask him to do it!”

“Yeah. He’s sweet.”

“Shelby, you don’t understand,” Ariel said, grabbing my arm. “He’s the first guy to like me in a long time.”

“Didn’t you have a boyfriend back at school?”

Ariel colored slightly. “Which one—St. Augustine’s in Zurich or Fulton Prep in upstate New York
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or Oceanside Academy in Orange County?”

“That sucks. It’s hard to keep a boyfriend when you keep switching schools.”

“Yeah, it doesn’t help when they’re all-girl schools to start with.”

“No!”
I said, a little too loudly. Everyone stared at me, forgetting all about their dumb raffia birds.
Way to go, Shelby
.

“Problems?” Dr. Wanda was one of those adults who could sneak up on you in milliseconds without any sound.

“She’s great. Upset about her crappy wings,” Ariel said, holding up my lopsided bird, which was, obviously, not my best work.

“We all have crappy wings. The challenge is to use them to fly,” Dr. Wanda said. She gave me a pat on one of my shoulders. “You can do it, Shelby.”

“I think I’m gonna puke,” Jenna said, making a gagging motion over at the table.

“Oh, just make your bird,” I growled at her.

Dr. Wanda walked on, leaving Ariel and me alone.

“You poor thing,” I said. “No guys?”

“No,” Ariel said. “I’m not sure what to do about Price.” She met my eyes for a second, looking slightly embarrassed, and then started straightening one of her bird’s legs.

“You don’t do anything, okay?” I said. “It’s just like being friends, but then, one day, you’ll know if you really like him, and things change. It happens on its own.”

“So, um…” She smiled shyly at me. “What do I do if he wants to make out?”

“If you want to do it, then do it,” I said. “But be sure it’s for real, Ariel.”

Chewing her lip, she glanced at me in the mirror. “Is it real with you and Austin? I mean, I think you guys are great together. He’s gorgeous. He’s talented.”

He’s a werewolf,
I wanted to add.

“Well, he’s definitely different from other guys I’ve known,” I said. For half a sec I considered spilling my guts, but of course that would have been a terrible idea.

She shook her head. “Austin’s not that different. He’s just your average son of a rock star. Trust me, I’ve known a few.”

“Yeah, I guess…”

“What’s wrong?” Ariel smiled uneasily.

I shook my head. “Nothing.”

She sighed. “If you’re worried about his problem, just don’t get sucked in. Isn’t that what Dr.

Wanda said yesterday in girls’ group? You can only be responsible for yourself.”

I took a piece of green raffia and added it to my wings. I thought about that whole wanting-to-help thing I did and about how maybe that was all about taking responsibility for other people and their choices instead of letting them just deal. But what if the other person had no choice? What if you were the only person who got their problem at all? What if that person wasn’t even a person? It was way complicated.

“He’s got to do it on his own,” Ariel said.

“Yeah.” I twisted the raffia round and round the bird and avoided looking over at Austin. The thing was, I didn’t think he actually needed my help—there wasn’t anything I could do for him. He just didn’t want to bear his secret on his own anymore. He didn’t want to be alone. I looked over at him, building his crooked bird with straw, making it into something artistic and beautiful—and I felt his pain more deeply than ever before.

“Welcome to Camp Crescent’s Talent Night!” Mr. Winters’s voice boomed across the barnlike gym and the crowd went wild. Well, as wild as campers who’d suffered through another night of bad cooking could go. “We’ve got a great lineup, campers! Flashlight jugglers, a skit about the counselors—heh-heh

—can’t wait for that one, also a poetry reading, and so much more! So let’s get started!”

Everyone cheered again. I actually clapped, too. I was psyched to see Ariel on stage.

Then Mr. Winters said, “Okay, folks, our first act is a number from our own songstress Cynthia
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Crumb!”

The cheering stopped. Cynthia trotted out on stage with her guitar and stepped up to the mic. The room filled with the strange first chords of “Beautiful” by Christina Aguilera.

“Where’s your guy?” asked Jenna, who had taken a seat next to mine. “Oh, oops—did he dump you or something?”

I gave her a look, which she totally deserved. “You are as bad as Charles. Maybe you guys should go out,” I said.

“Actually, he’s kind of cute.”

I didn’t bother pointing out all the flaws in that theory because at that moment Charles slid into the chair on the other side of me. Suddenly, my bad mood got worse.

“Hey,” he said casually.

On stage, Cynthia wrapped up her guitar-pop set and, frowning at the audience’s lack of reaction, stormed out of the spotlight.

Mr. Winters gave a courtesy clap. “Next is a presentation of
Beauty and the Beast.
”

The stage lights came up, revealing the painted background. Again I was struck by the vivid colors and impressionistic style of Austin’s artwork. So was the audience, because a hush came over the crowd.

Price strutted onstage. He’d fashioned a beast headdress out of a brown fleece vest, and his face was painted with whiskers and a dark nose. A buzz went through the audience. Although the costume bordered on ridiculous, it was almost cute. “Who’s there?” he called.

Ariel entered from stage left, in a red skirt and peasant top and carrying a basket. “It’s Belle. Your guest. Where are you hiding?”

“Don’t come any closer!” Price said with a growl. “You needn’t see me to appreciate the riches of my castle.” He crouched down as if to hide.

“That’s ridiculous. Show yourself. My father said you are a beast, but…he must be…exaggerating big-time.”

Price gave Ariel a funny look, and I realized she’d forgotten her lines. Price stepped out of the shadows and into the spotlight.

Ariel gasped. “You are not a man at all. You are a hairy beast!”

“It’s true. I am a hairy beast. I’m cursed. I must be this way until I find true love,” Price said.

There were a few giggles from the crowd.

Price’s eyes narrowed. “You must stay here for a fortnight. Only then will you be free to return to your family. I know I’m not like the other men who have sought your hand, but maybe you will come to love me in time.” Price sounded so sincere, the audience stopped laughing.

“How can that be?” Ariel said, starting to remember her real lines. “You frighten me. I will never love you.”

I winced. The
Beauty and the Beast
thing had been a really bad idea. Austin had been right to skip the play. The last thing he needed was a reminder of how different he was. But I wasn’t a Belle, was I? I mean, I wasn’t chicken to be around Austin. I cared about him no matter what form he took. Right?

The second the scene was over, I jetted out of there. I had to find him. I wanted to be with him, to make the most of whatever time we had left—or to make a last-ditch effort to get that serum. I didn’t want to be at camp without him. And I was pretty sure it wasn’t called jumping in after someone when you already had two feet in the pool.

The nearly full moon hung over Camp Crescent like a spotlight, giving everything a silvery blue glow and casting deep, dark shadows. Light and dark, they went together, even when it came to slightly creepy-looking trees. And maybe that’s how people are, too. Only sometimes the shadows seem too deep for the light to overcome.

After searching the cabin trail, the volleyball courts, and the back alley of the kitchen, I found Austin sitting under a tree near the infirmary.

He looked up as I came down the path. “How were the amateur theatrics?”

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I gave him a smile. “Beastly.”

He reached up and pulled me down to sit next to him. “Forgive my rudeness,” he said. “I didn’t mean to make you suffer through Talent Night alone. I decided to give Winters’s office one last look.”

I leaned against the tree trunk and threaded my fingers through the grass around me. “You didn’t miss much. Honestly, without the singing candelabra, the play’s not so hot.”

He didn’t laugh at my lame joke.

“No luck with Mr. Winters’s office, huh?” I asked.

He shook his head and stuffed his hands into the pockets of his black sweatshirt. “It’s clear I can’t stay here.” Pain edged his voice. “I have to go.”

“I don’t want you to leave,” I said softly.

“Why?”

“You’re going to make me say it?”

“By all means,” he said, a little sparkle in his brown eyes.

“I kind of, you know…like you.”

“I’m fond of you, too,” he said. He moved closer to me, the centimeters between us dissolving into millimeters, until he was…

Tingling with fear, I pulled back, my lips almost warm from the near kiss.

Austin frowned. “I won’t bite you. Trust me.”

That hit me with extra force. I wanted to kiss him, but I couldn’t. Austin was dangerous—and not just in the wild animal category. If I allowed him to like me, to kiss me, who knows what stupid thing I’d do for him? What risk I’d take that would get me in further trouble, when all I needed to do was do my time at Camp Crescent. And stay out of trouble. And I was hardly hanging on to that plan with all these trips into the dark. It wasn’t good.

“I do trust you,” I said, moving my face into the shadows so he wouldn’t see the lie in my expression.

“That’s complete rubbish,” Austin said. “I’ve trusted you with my life, my secret. Why won’t you trust me?” His gaze firmly fastened to mine, and I felt that weakness in me rise again. The weakness for boys with charming smiles who loved to accompany me down the wrong path while pretending it was the right one.

“I’ve had too many of these ‘trust me’ talks lately in my life,” I said. “I don’t trust you. I don’t trust anybody. I don’t even trust myself.” Ooh, that was weird to say aloud. I wondered where that’d come from, but somehow I knew deep down it was so true.

“Sometimes you have to take a leap of faith. That’s what life is. It’s a series of leaps.”

“I’m not afraid of those.”

“But you’re afraid of me. You’re afraid to kiss me.” He reached for my hand. “Life is too short to be afraid to trust people who care about you.”

I was afraid. Jillian Montrose was still in the back of my mind. Had Austin told me the whole truth? There was no way for me to know.

Confusion and warmth seemed to radiate throughout my body as he wrapped his arms around me, drawing me closer. I rested my head on his shoulder, taking in the spicy scent of his soap and skin. He still smelled almost like marshmallows. I was pretty sure no killer smelled like that. I sighed into his neck.

“Now if you were a bloody vampire, it’d be all over for me,” he whispered, kissing the top of my head.

I sighed and pressed my lips against his skin, feeling his pulse beating beneath. My mouth tingled with warmth. I wanted to kiss him, but that would be…

“Not a good idea,” I said, pulling away from Austin. “This is a bad, bad idea.”

“Don’t run from me. I don’t want our last night together to end like this.”

“It doesn’t have to be our last night.”

Austin’s voice softened. “It’s the only thing I can do to protect everyone and myself. I’ll be perfectly at home in the forest. It’s the best place for me.”

“But…” I almost said,
What about me
? Really. I actually thought about myself and how it was
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going to feel to have Austin permanently gone.

He seemed to sense it because he said, “You could walk me to the fence tomorrow after lunch, when we’re supposed to be in arts and crafts. The other night I found a hole big enough to fit through. It’

s a last resort, but I’m afraid I have to take it.”

“You realize I can’t save you again. If you’re lost in the woods this time you’re on your own.”

“You hardly saved me last time,” he said with a smile. “Don’t worry, I nicked a map from Charles.

Had it hidden in his pillowcase. I’ll change at night, but I can recover and hike during the day. By the time I reach the nearest town, the full-moon phase will be over, and I’ll be a regular bloke again.”

“What if they go looking for you?”

“Oh, I’m sure they will, but you know how they try to keep things hush-hush around here. It’ll be Winters and Sven at the most, hardly a threat. I’ll smell them coming for me and hike in a different direction.”