Fractured

Chapter Four

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Garrett's eyes looked away hastily as they filled briefly flickered with guilt. "Who took her, Garrett?"

I was shocked. I thought back to when I'd first woken, and he'd definitely just said she was 'gone'. I'd assumed that meant she'd gone for help or something. I would never have imagined that she'd been kidnapped.

"I don't know who he is, just that I think I've met him before," he started. He pivoted to walk away and I grabbed onto his shirt angrily. Did he really think he could just brush that off?

"What the fuck, Garrett?!"

His lips turned up at my actions before quickly returning to his previous stoic expression. He did that well. It was like a mask slid into place before I could even register his real face. I wondered how many people ever saw behind that mask.

Hard muscles moved under my hand as he turned back towards me and I tried not to revel in the feeling. I was pissed, damn it! "You mentioned wanting clothes. This is going to be a long conversation and I thought you'd be more comfortable wearing something."

I let go of him reluctantly and he began rummaging through the chest of drawers across the room. He eventually found a man's t-shirt and sweatpants. I had to roll up the bottoms of the pants and the t-shirt swallowed me, but it beat being naked by a long shot.

He situated himself as far from me as possible and leaned back against the chest of drawers. Trying to put me at ease, I realized. He probably had lots of experience with cornered prey. That particular thought undid any ease I felt.

"I was sent here three days ago to find a rogue werewolf- that's a wolf who for whatever reason has started breaking our laws. Most of them are harmless, more or less. They cause their fair share of headaches, but they're mostly just loners who don't want to belong to a pack. Some... very few, but some... go bad." He waited to try and gauge my reaction before continuing. I gave him a hard look I hoped said keep talking.

"My alpha and I started receiving reports a couple of weeks ago about humans being found mauled to death out here. We managed to get autopsy photos and confirmed that they were werewolf kills. My alpha sent me here to deal with it."

"You mean kill it," I clarified. He nodded slowly, still searching my face for any sign of panic or horror. He wouldn't find any. Werewolves were new to me, violence was not.

"Yes," he finally responded. "When a wolf gets this bad... it usually means there's something wrong with them. Mentally. It's called Lunar Fever. They're almost always past the point of no return. I have to use my own judgment in these cases."

"So you think he's got this Lunar Fever? The crazed werewolf who took off with my best friend." Could this possibly get any worse?

"It's likely."

"And we can't go anywhere."

"No, not until the storm clears and you're more settled."

My head snapped up. "What do you mean, settled?" Did I seem unhinged to him? Did he think I was about to start climbing the walls or rotating my head 360 degrees?

He sighed. "Newly turned wolves are volatile. They're impulsive, more prone to violence, more... more easily aroused. Wolves who've just been turned are typically kept very close to their alpha to look after until they learn better control. Taking you out into the wilderness with a rogue wolf running around... isn't a good idea. It wouldn't be safe."

"But what about Sophie?" I asked softly. I couldn't just leave her out there.

A pained look crossed his face. "From what I could tell, he turned into his human form and carried her away. Alive. My guess is that he wants her for something. We'll go look for her as soon as we can, I promise."

Sincerity shined in his eyes, and I didn't need my wolf to tell me he was being honest. I could tell he felt guilty about not doing more to help her in the moment. But what could he have done? I was literally bleeding to death in his arms. I didn't blame him for not helping her. I just couldn't, he was the reason I was alive.

I tried not to think about what might be happening to Sophie or why she might have been taken. I could almost hear my father telling me it wouldn't do any good. I shook my head as I tried to will thoughts of my father away. Bile rose in my throat faster than usual and I had to fight to keep it down.

Noticing my discomfort, Garrett took a step towards me with his hand outstretched. "Caroline, what's-"

"Stop," it came out much sharper than I'd intended, but I knew from past experience that I shouldn't have anyone try to touch me when I have an episode. This one wasn't that bad and subsided within a few seconds. I touched the hollow of my throat before I addressed him. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to snap. I-I just get overwhelmed sometimes."

He looked at me for a long moment and I could tell he was deciding whether or not to push the issue. A brief dip of his head signaled his resignation. He'd let it go, for now. "Okay. I'll leave you here for a few minutes while I go cook. Turning uses a lot of energy, you'll need to refuel soon."

And with that, he left. I didn't like how much it hurt to see him go.