''You know how they came up with the word Lunatic?'' he asked.
I shook my head, feeling like I probably didn't want to know the answer. His lips pulled up on one side in a mischievous, lopsided grin.
He stepped closer. ''Because all of the worst m...
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Tucker pulled me outside once Eli resumed his cooking. I barely had time to grab my orange juice before he whisked me away.
There I was, for the second time in 24 hours, standing in the backyard with Tucker Joy. This time, however, I was barefoot. And wearing fuzzy Spider-Man pajama pants.
"Tucker?" I asked as the older boy began to pace.
"Hm?"
His fingers ran through his hair anxiously and I wondered if I should get Ben. It seemed like Tucker was having a nervous breakdown. How did werewolves handle nervous breakdowns? When Tucker looked back up at me, his eyes were glowing and his fists were balled in rage. So I answered my own question and the answer was: not well.
I cleared my throat. "So I was right, then? Owein was talking about mistletoe."
Tucker didn't stop moving. His fists clenched then unclenched repeatedly. With a loud crack, he slammed his fists down on the picnic table and I jumped. Wooden shards splintered off the edge of the table.
He slammed them down again. Harder.
"He tried to kill my brother- his own nephew! I swear to God I will make him regret the day he ever-"
"Tucker," I interjected, "how do you know it was Owein who attacked Eli? Maybe I heard wrong."
His head cocked to the side.
"Do you think you heard wrong?"
"Well, no. But-"
"And the woman you saw. Red-haired? Tall? Scrawny?"
I simply nodded, wary of the fury in his voice.
"She's a hunter. She's been trying to hunt my family for years and Owein just provided her the method to do just that."
"Mistletoe?"
Tucker nodded. "One of the best-kept secrets of wolfkind. Werewolves used to use mistletoe as a way to mark themselves so other wolves could recognize them in their human form. It leaves a blue scar on our human form."
He sighed, sounding exhausted.
"In the hands of a hunter? Mistletoe can help identify wolves when they're human and weaker. Or it can poison the wolf from the inside out."
"And here I thought it was used at Christmas parties for lonely drunk people," I muttered.
He watched as I sat at the table. After a moment, he joined me. Again I was forced to process new information too quickly. Why would Owein send people to attack his own nephew? Eli's barely a teenager, he posed no threat to Owein.
"Why?" I asked after a moment.
Tucker seemed to understand exactly what I was asking. I watched as he rustled his hands through his dark, curly hair. It was unruly since he'd just woken up.
