They were dead by the time he got to the parking lot.

  ?One’s head had been savagely torn from his body. He was the closest. Thomas imagined he was first.

  ?The second had made it to the line of truck trailers. His heart hadn't. She must have ripped it out, because it was a good ten feet from the body, leaving him to run a few steps before his brain figured out what had happened.

  ?He could still hear the third. It was Sarah’s instinct to circle. She probably left this one alive to see if he would run to the others, or if others would come to his aid.

  ?Thomas felt nothing for the trashy-looking girl sprawled on the asphalt. He knew why she dressed like a teenager. Why she looked like one. He knew what it took to become what she was.

  ?He was concerned about Sarah, though. Others in the parking lot were noticing the grisly scene. A woman screamed. Voices were rising. Luckily, the bodies were already decomposing. The evil force that kept them alive left with their deaths. Age rapidly caught up with them before anyone could call 911. And hopefully before anyone took pictures.

  ?In the tall grass ahead, he heard a gurgling sound. He imagined Sarah had taken the hellspawn’s throat.

  ?He turned and went back inside. Bewildered customers walked in after him, muttering about how it looked like a murder scene, only to discover they had stumbled upon piles of dust and old bones. Their minds were already fostering a story to explain away the horrible scene.

  ?Thomas ordered a coffee and got some beef jerky before he sat down at a table far removed from the rest. He placed the jerky on the table. Before he could take a sip, she had joined him.

  ?She had become a beautiful young woman. Her face was as disarming as her mother's when she smiled. And she smiled shyly at Thomas.

  ?"For me?" she asked excitedly.

  ?"I'm sure you want the taste of undead out of your mouth," he answered with a warm smile that Sarah was sure he reserved exclusively for her. The blood that must have been present was already dust.

  ?Thomas loved the young woman. But he had been avoiding this encounter for a while.

  ?Werewolves were not ones for pleasantries or idle conversation. Sarah was perhaps the chattiest, but that wasn't saying much. She had things she wanted to say. She wouldn't mince words.

  ?"I didn't want to hurt her." She eventually pushed the words out meekly.

  ?Thomas put a hand on her arm. "I know," he comforted, his tone heavy. "I feel like I'm the one who should apologize."

  A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

  ?She cocked her head sideways, the same way Daniel did when he was trying to figure out some human custom or idiosyncrasy. The expression was one of befuddlement.

  ?"I ate her," she said. She tried to be matter-of-fact. Would have been, if the subject didn't hurt so much to talk about.

  ?"I did everything, Sarah. Everything I could to make sure you would be safe."

  ?"I ate her..." she said through newly forming tears. "You don't have to like it. I don't like it. But don't comfort me with whatever lies you tell yourself!"

  ?Werewolves were all highly instinctual and had no use for deception or subterfuge.

  ?"I'm a Hound of God!" she yelled, slamming her hand on the table. What started with rage ended in a full, teary breakdown. "I'm still a Hound of God," she wept as he drew her into his shoulder.

  ?Again, she was drawing attention. A mother came over and left some tissues on the table. After some time, she was able to talk again.

  ?"She was my pack. My sister. My friend," she muttered into his shoulder.

  ?He knew anything he said that sounded like deflecting blame would only upset her. "Sweetheart, I can only tell you that she's alive. Her body has repaired."

  ?"So what! She's not Kim anymore." She managed to collect herself. "Not really. Not like she was. She won't smile and laugh. Or say stupid human things and tease me for how I talk about them. She won't go to college."

  ?That one stung. Kim had wanted to go to college as long as Sarah knew her. She was going to be a pastry chef.

  ?"Werewolves don't eat pastry."

  ?"Sarah, we don't know that!"

  ?"I know what I am. I can barely stomach the smell of what humans call food! Sarah won't be able to either!"

  ?"We won't stay up late eating that disgusting frozen cow milk. Or throw flour at each other in the kitchen..."

  ?Thomas let her get it out, like it was just them in the truck stop. When she was able to pull herself from his shoulder and sit back, he took the opportunity to wipe the tears from her eyes. Then he responded.

  ?"I know it won't help. But you have to remember this shouldn't have happened, for reasons that had nothing to do with you." He stopped her before she could interrupt. "It's my turn now," he said, harkening back to years earlier, when she was preparing to go to camp and he taught her how to conduct a conversation with humans.

  ?"We only know two female werewolves. I know you struggle with the animal within. But you haven't lost yourself. And if the worst that happens is that she prefers steak to donuts, I don't see that as a huge adjustment."

  ?"If," Sarah shot back.

  ?"I don't have the answers. I have to hope for the best and prepare for the worst. Just like you. I don't know what will happen to Kim. But your mom was transformed. Do you think she would ever choose a different path?"

  ?"I would. But a human bite won't change me to one of them."

  ?"Does your mother know you're here?"

  ?Sarah was finally able to laugh. "No. She left me with Dad. When I was able to stop crying, Dad left me with the Pack. I could be gone six months before my brothers notice I'm gone."

  ?Thomas shuddered. He was expecting to meet up with Mary on the November full moon. If Daniel was with her... The images of fangs and blood tearing through what must have been a legion of Knights flashed through his mind.

  ?"You're afraid!" Sarah pointed. "Why?" she asked in a hurt tone.

  ?"It's not you, sweetheart. My mind went to a dark place," he reassured her. "I'm going to have to take you back to your Pack."

  ?"Oh, I'm not going!" Now she was the defiant thirteen-year-old. "I have to see Kim. I have to!"

  ?"If your parents find you with me..."