True Nature Read online

  Justin pivoted slowly. “Cool.”

  Danny nodded. He slid his gaze over each machine in the sawmill, quizzing himself on the names as Rue had done in the past. Band saw, resaw, tilt table, edgers, planers, bank of circular saws. Coming here when the saws weren’t running was strange. He was used to the constant vibration beneath his feet.

  Tom climbed on a stack of lumber and started to roll another joint.

  Unease clawed at Danny’s stomach. “You know, smoking in a sawmill is really not a bright idea.”

  “Man, you’re such a pussy.” Tom shook his head and continued rolling the joint. With a flick of his wrist, he turned on his lighter and lit the joint while looking straight at Danny.

  Danny was beginning to regret bringing them here. “There’s a difference between being a pussy and being careful.” Geez, I’m starting to sound like Rue. Stop being so lame. He climbed on the lumber stack next to Tom. At least this way, he could keep an eye on Justin.

  His friend walked along the worktable of the band saw, inspecting the pulley wheels, the chain conveyors, and the blade. He reached for the power button.

  “No!” Danny signed, but Justin didn’t look in his direction. Danny leaped off the lumber stack and tackled Justin before he could press the button.

  They crashed into one of the metal chip bins, probably making one hell of a noise.

  The door was wrenched open. Burt, one of the company’s security guards, stood in the doorway, his flashlight lifted like a weapon.

  Danny froze with his back against the chip bin. Oh, shit.

  Red-faced, Burt stormed over. He was shouting something, but he was too angry for Danny to read his lips. His sharp scent was unmistakable, though. Burt grabbed Danny by the shoulders and continued shouting.

  Tom jumped down from the lumber stack and dashed toward the door, Justin hot on his heels.

  Danny tried to follow them, but Burt had an iron grip on his shoulders. The security guard surely recognized him, so running away wouldn’t do Danny any good anyway. Helplessly, he stared at Justin’s retreating back until he and Tom disappeared into the darkness beyond the sawmill, leaving Danny to fend for himself. Great. Thanks a lot, guys. How could they just leave him in this mess alone, especially after Danny had taken the blame when their teacher had found a bag of dope strapped beneath the desk he shared with Tom? Not for the first time, Danny wondered whether his friends really deserved his loyalty.

  Gripping Danny’s arm, Burt led him to the door. His face had taken on a more healthy color now, and he was speaking more slowly, so Danny could read his lips. “Come on. Let’s wake up your mother.”

  Danny squeezed his eyes shut. Damn. Rue is gonna shit a brick.

  Chapter 11

  The sound of the doorbell woke Kelsey from a fitful sleep. She opened her eyes and found the room still completely dark. The alarm clock on the bedside table showed four a.m.

  Blinking into the darkness, she considered pulling the blanket over her ears and going back to sleep. At least sleep would make her forget her worries about what she’d have to do as soon as the sun rose.

  But an instinctive sense of urgency made her swing her legs out of bed and get dressed in a hurry. Taking a shower would have to wait.

  When she left the guest room, Rue stepped out of her bedroom.

  Kelsey caught a glimpse of slender legs peeking out from under a pair of boxer shorts before she quickly wrenched her gaze away.

  The doorbell sounded again.

  “Yes, dammit, I’m coming!” Rue shouted. She tied her bathrobe belt with abrupt movements, as if she wanted to strangle whoever was ringing her doorbell at four a.m. “Go back to bed,” she told Kelsey and hurried down the stairs.

  Kelsey hesitated, fighting the instinct to follow a direct order. After a few moments, she went downstairs anyway.

  When Rue opened the door, a man in a security guard uniform stood on the front step, his hands wrapped around the upper arms of a struggling Danny. “I’m sorry to bother you so early, Ms. Harding, but—”

  “Jesus, Burt! What happened?”

  Shoulders slouched, Danny dragged his feet but didn’t struggle when Rue pulled him into the house. His gaze was fixed on his sneakers, making him unable to read lips or signs and effectively shutting out the world around him.

  The security guard shifted his weight from one foot to the other. He had the sweaty-palms smell of someone about to make an unpleasant announcement. “I caught Daniel and two of his friends in the sawmill, smoking pot.”

  Oh, no, Danny! This kind of incident wasn’t what Kelsey needed right now.

  Rue paled. “An open flame in our sawmill? Danny! You know how dangerous that is. How did you even get in there?” Rue fixed a narrow-eyed stare on Danny. “Don’t tell me you broke in?”

  With his gaze still directed downward, Danny either didn’t see her signing or he ignored it.

  “No, not exactly,” the security guard answered for him. “He...um...” With a regretful shrug, he held out a key ring from which half a dozen keys dangled.

  Rue’s color went from ghostly pale to fire-hydrant red. “He stole my keys?”

  The security guard nodded. “Looks like it. They must have climbed the chain-link fence. If they hadn’t turned on the lights and made a ruckus trying to turn on the band saw, I wouldn’t even have noticed.”

  “The band saw?” Rue’s color fluctuated back to pasty white. “Christ, Danny! You could have cut your arm off and bled to death right there!” She pulled Danny even closer and slid her gaze up and down his body.

  Kelsey followed her gaze.

  The boy’s dark hair was more disheveled than usual, and his cargo pants hung even lower on his hips, as if they’d slid down during a struggle with the security guard, but otherwise, he seemed unharmed.

  “Are you okay?” Rue asked. Her hands trembled as she finger-spelled “OK?”

  The scent of Rue’s concern drowned out the smell of anger. She’s genuinely worried about him. How did that fit in with Rue attacking Danny at some point in the future? Kelsey didn’t understand it.

  Barely glancing up, Danny nodded and signed, “I didn’t touch your precious band saw.”

  A breath escaped Rue. “Where are the other boys?”

  “They took off,” the security guard said. “I went after Danny, so they got away. But I think they were the two he usually hangs out with. I caught them in the woodlot once or twice. Tom and Jerry or something like that.”

  “Tom and Justin?” Rue asked.

  “Yeah.”

  Rue nodded, her jaw so tense that Kelsey could hear her teeth grind together. “Thanks for bringing him home, Burt.” She pulled Danny farther into the house. “Can you make sure the sawmill stays closed until I can check it out?”

  “Sure. I called Ralph over to make sure no one else can get in there while I’m gone.”

  When the security guard walked back to his car, Rue softly closed the door behind him. Almost as if in slow motion, she turned around and stared at Danny.

  “It wasn’t a big deal,” Danny said, his signs small and imprecise—the equivalent of mumbling.

  “Not a big deal?” Rue’s face flushed, and her eyes took on an icy color. Even in her bathrobe, she looked so intimidating that Kelsey barely resisted the urge to back away. “What the hell were you thinking?” Her hands were clenched into fists, not signing.

  Danny stared at the floor.

  “Look at me, goddammit!” When Danny didn’t react, Rue stomped her foot until the vibrations made Danny look up. “What were you thinking?” She jabbed her index finger against her temple.

  Danny shrugged.

  “That’s not an answer! Do you know what could have happened?”

  One of Danny’s hands moved up, the other down, signing “Whatever.”

  The flush on Rue’s cheeks deepened. “The sawmill is a place of work, not a playground for you and your friends! The machines are dangerous. One of you could have lost an arm or worse! An
d smoking pot—”

  “I wasn’t smoking,” Danny signed.

  “But you let your friends smoke in a goddamned sawmill. One spark is enough to make the whole place go up in flames. You could have died!”

  “Like you care,” Danny said, this time not signing, but using his voice. “You never wanted me anyway.”

  Kelsey’s head snapped up as she heard his voice. He was hard to understand, but she managed to make sense of what he’d said.

  Apparently, so did Rue. Her fists dropped to her sides. “That’s not true, and you know it. When I adopted you, I chose to be your mother.” A hint of softer emotions—hurt and resignation—pushed back the firm mask of anger and determination.

  “Yeah, sure.” Danny was back to signing now, quick, dismissive movements.

  No longer shouting, her voice almost toneless, Rue said and signed, “Go to your room and stay there. I’ll deal with you after I call your friends’ parents and check on the sawmill.”

  Danny pushed past Kelsey and ran up the stairs.

  The skin on Kelsey’s arms itched in the charged atmosphere. She could feel Rue’s body vibrate with anger from two steps away. “Do you want me to—?”

  “No.” Rue hurled a glare at her. “You stay out of this. I’ll be back in a few hours.” She stomped up the stairs without giving Kelsey a second glance.

  * * *

  The roar of the Mercedes’s engine drew Kelsey to the window. Gravel flew as Rue accelerated away from the house, on her way to check on the sawmill.

  Kelsey pinched the bridge of her nose. How had this all happened so fast? How had Danny sneaked out of the house without anyone noticing? Clearly, he already had the stealth of a wolf. I should’ve paid better attention.

  When the engine sounds faded in the distance, she pushed away from the window. She couldn’t let this incident distract her from her mission. Danny might be in more danger than ever. Maybe stealing her keys and using the sawmill as a hangout would make the conflict between Danny and Rue escalate to the point that Rue would attack Danny.

  Mrs. Mangiardi wouldn’t show up at the house for at least two hours, so Kelsey made a sandwich, putting extra ham on it. Danny needed something to eat, and she needed an excuse to go into his room and talk to him. Now was her chance to tell him who he was and get him out of the house before Rue returned. Carrying the sandwich, she pressed the doorbell to his room.

  There was no answer.

  Kelsey slowly pushed open the door.

  As before, Danny lay on his bed, but this time, he wasn’t texting. He stared at the ceiling.

  She stepped into his field of vision and slid the plate onto the nightstand so she could sign. “I thought you might be hungry.”

  “It’s none of your business if I’m hungry or not. You’re not my mother.” Then, with smaller signs, he added, “Not that she would give a shit.” Despite his protests, his nostrils flared as he took in the ham’s scent.

  Kelsey looked down at him. “I just wanted to make sure you’re okay.”

  “Oh, yeah, I’m doing great.” He bared his teeth at her. “What do you think?”

  “Don’t take this out on me, please. I’m just worried about you.”

  With a grunt, Danny rolled toward the wall, away from her.

  Kelsey sighed. This wasn’t a good time to talk to him and certainly not to tell him he was a shape-shifter. It would have to wait until things had calmed down. She walked around the bed and stepped into his line of vision again. “Why don’t you take a shower and get some sleep? I’m sure Mrs. Mangiardi or I can rustle up a hearty breakfast or lunch for you later.”

  When Danny gave his standard “whatever” response, she walked to the door and stepped outside. She turned to close the door behind her and her glance fell on Danny, who had rolled over and was again staring at the ceiling.

  One of his hands came up and scratched his forearm.

  Kelsey froze. She clung to the door to prevent herself from toppling over. Oh, Great Hunter, no. Had the confrontation with Rue pushed his adrenaline level up so high that his body had started to produce mutaline?

  But then she saw the long scratch on his arm. Her lungs inflated as she could finally breathe again. Probably evidence of his night on the prowl, something he got from climbing over the chain-link fence or from playing around in the sawmill. She closed the door and on trembling legs made her way to the living room to await Rue’s return.

  * * *

  Kelsey paced the maple floors outside of Danny’s room. She didn’t need her Wrasa hearing to make out Rue’s yelling and the sound of hands smacking against each other. Since Rue had returned, the yelling and angry signing had barely stopped.

  Every time Rue raised her voice, Kelsey winced. Part of her wanted to cover her ears and hide somewhere she couldn’t hear them, while another part was tempted to open the door and attempt to mediate.

  Instead, she paced. The skin of her forearms probably had permanent scratch marks by now.

  Finally, the door opened, and Rue stormed out, almost colliding with Kelsey. “You should pack your things and leave,” Rue said, her voice rough from all the screaming and yelling.

  “W-what?” No! She can’t send me away now. Danny needs me more than ever.

  Rue marched past her. “Your tutoring services are no longer needed. I’m at the end of my rope with Danny. I’m sending him to one of those therapeutic boarding schools.”

  “B-but you can’t just send him away!” Didn’t Rue understand that sending him away from his home and the only natak he had ever known would make things worse? Then Kelsey caught herself. Rue didn’t deserve to be his alpha. She was a human who was destined to hurt Danny.

  “Are you trying to tell me how to raise my son?” Instead of yelling, Rue’s voice was dangerously low now.

  Kelsey let her gaze drop to the floor. “No, of course not.”

  Maybe it was for the best. Kidnapping Danny from a boarding school might even be easier than taking him out from under Rue’s nose. And after this big fight, the police would easily believe that Danny had run away.

  “What am I supposed to do?” Rue extended her arms to both sides. “I already tried everything else—an expensive private school, public school, homeschooling, tutors, interpreters, therapy, moving to another city… Nothing I did helped. I can’t reach him anymore or even figure out why he changed so much and where things went wrong between us.” Rue’s shoulders slouched. For once, the proud, energetic woman looked entirely defeated. “This has got to stop. For both of us.”

  Compassion stirred inside of Kelsey. It’s not all her fault. She doesn’t know Danny is a Wrasa, so of course she does all the wrong things. “When is he leaving?” she asked quietly.

  “I don’t know. It will probably take a few weeks or even longer to make the arrangements.”

  A few weeks or longer? They couldn’t afford to wait that long. What if Danny went through his First Change before then? He needed a Wrasa mentor, not a boarding school or a clueless human parent. Kelsey chewed her bottom lip.

  “Don’t worry,” Rue said, already striding past Kelsey. “I’ll pay you for the whole month.”

  The hint of compassion Kelsey had felt was snuffed out like a candle in a storm. Is everything about money with her? “I’m not worried about the money,” Kelsey said. “I’m worried about Danny. I was just beginning to make some progress with him. Please let me stay and work with him until you have made arrangements with the boarding school.”

  Rue turned and studied her. Finally, she nodded. “All right. At least you can keep an eye on him while I’m at work and make sure he doesn’t get into even more trouble.”

  She’s going back to work as if nothing had happened. Humans really had their priorities all wrong. “I’ll do that.”

  She would let Danny sleep for a few hours, and when he had calmed down, she would talk to him. By the time Rue returned to the house that evening, they would be long gone.

  Chapter 12

&n
bsp; The straps of Danny’s backpack cut into his shoulders, but he didn’t slow down. He climbed down the drainpipe as fast as he could. When he was a safe distance down, he jumped the rest of the way. He couldn’t stand to stay for one second longer. Rue wants to send me away? She can have that—but on my terms, not on hers.

  He squinted in the darkness to make out the time on his wristwatch. Damn. Five thirty! He gritted his teeth. According to the bus schedule he had checked online, he had just thirty minutes until the bus left. It would be a close call, and if he missed the bus, he’d be stuck in Clearfield for hours.

  There was just one way to get into town fast enough to catch the bus.

  In the cover of the darkness, he opened the garage door and peeked into the old fridge they kept in the garage. There. Mrs. Mangiardi insisted that their spare car keys would be safe in the fridge because no burglar would think to look there.

  He hesitated for a few seconds before he grabbed one set of keys and jogged around Rue’s Mercedes to reach the Jeep. Tom had taught him how to drive a few weeks ago, but he hadn’t dared take one of Rue’s cars so far. Now it didn’t matter anymore. Things couldn’t get any worse. His heart beat triple time and his skin seemed to burn as he started the SUV. Carefully, he maneuvered out of the garage and down the driveway. When he reached the open gate, he stopped the Jeep. He peered at the street and then back at the house, feeling like a magnet being pulled in two different directions. After almost two years of living here, the house at the edge of Clearfield had begun to feel like home. Was leaving it all behind really what he wanted?

  Of course it is!

  Danny hit the accelerator before he could change his mind.

  The SUV shot around the corner a little too fast. The side-view mirror smashed into the open iron gate and now dangled from a cable.

  Shit, shit, shit. Rue would have a stroke. Then he remembered that he wouldn’t be there when she discovered the damage to the SUV. One more reason to get out of here. At least then he wouldn’t need to see the disappointment in Rue’s eyes.