The House of the Wolf

27

Raoul and Genevieve sped along the road. By the light of the full moon, they saw the river to their left and the dark hilly mass of the island against its silvered surface. Raoul looked sideways at Genevieve as she drove. He was grateful for the use of her vehicle, which was taking him to the Île far more quickly than he could run, but he was concerned for the wolf-woman's safety. "It will be dangerous," he said at length, breaking the tense silence. "Honoré sounded afraid, and he does not frighten easily. When we get there you should stay in this car, where it is safe. You are not a fighter, I think."

"No, I will come too. Chantal is my niece. Besides, they have both of my children now." Her voice and expression altered, hardened. "They may believe me harmless, but I will show them otherwise. Any she-wolf will fight for her pups."

He was impressed. "You are brave, madame. Very well, let us go on together."

When they crossed the bridge they saw tiny points of light flickering on the extreme western end of the island, near where the Communauté was located. The lights vanished and reappeared, as if occluded from time to time by trees and other obstacles. A candlelit procession of some kind, like the one they had seen at the basilica? Were those lights borne by the hands of their friends, or by their enemies? Raoul looked at Genevieve and saw that her features were contorted with fear, the eyes widened and lips parted and trembling. That gave him his answer.

At they prepared to turn off the bridge onto the coastal road a large dark van roared up alongside them, attempting to pass. Raoul stiffened, recognizing the vehicle: belonged to the Dubois household. He called to Genevieve: "The horn! Get their attention – and stop the car!"

She blasted the horn, then slammed on the breaks and swerved to the side of the road. The van also pulled over and halted. "Get in!" a voice shouted from the driver's window of the van as they emerged from their car. It was Ti-Jacques. He got out and opened up the back of the van. "Jump in, quick!"

They obeyed him, springing up into the back. Dubois and his friends were already inside in their wolf shapes. As the van drove off they explained to Raoul what had happened.

"Bernard Lavallée has been saying for weeks that something is threatening the Island." Dubois's teeth showed as he spoke in a low growl. "He could sense that trouble was in the offing, and he regretted being too frail to help us fight it. He saw truly, it appears. We only heard tonight, from an informant on their side: Yves only wanted us to believe he had given up, but in fact he and his allies have been scheming against us all along. They mean to retake the island. The Boisverts have been joined by their extended clan and some friends, and Yves has summoned Jules' pack from the forest."

"Yes, I suspected when I saw Luc that the others had also returned from the wild. Luc attempted to murder Chantal. But what does Yves want with her?" said Raoul. "He would not think to harm her, surely? Would not her family object – "

"Her family!" The grey wolf's fangs were fully exposed now. "Much they care: the poor child is a liability to them now, nothing more. They killed her father for the same offense – "

"No," interrupted Genevieve. "I don't believe that, monsieur. It was Guy Lapierre who murdered Édouard, I'm sure of it. You do not know my Maman. To her there is nothing more sacred than the ties of family. We that have her blood running in our veins are safe from her wrath. Chantal will not be killed, only imprisoned and controlled. It is Raoul who must die. That is what Yves wants."

The van stopped, and they all sprang out as Ti-Jacques opened up the back and took on wolf form himself. They were at Chapelle-des-loups. The lights were on in the main building and there were voices.