luckless

- xvii -

I reeled away from Jared. He reached out, trying to calm me. I was terrified, and the fear kicked my survival instinct into play. Intense anger washed over me. It guarded me, made me feel safer.

"Don't fucking touch me! You're a monster! Get away from me!" Jared's face twisted at my accusations.

"Please, Kat. I would never hurt you. None of us would." None of us. The amount of people involved made me want to dry heave again. Jared, Paul, Sam, even Jacob! Who else? There had to be more. Did Mother know? Did Dad? I was angry again.

"How the fuck did this even happen? How the hell did you turn into a fucking wolf?" I grabbed at my hair, unable to grasp the situation. I paced swiftly across the floor, maintaining a safe distance from Jared. Everything was making sense. The weird absence from school and around the house, resulting in a rapid growth spurt and an intense amount of muscle gain. It wasn't steroids. Sam wasn't a gym junkie, recruiting younger kids. They weren't wannabe police. They were a pack. They were wolves. They weren't human. I reared my head back, horror crossing my face.

"You killed all those people in the spring, didn't you? It was you and your pack of mutts. You killed people!" I was still scared, but anger overrode my fears. I felt responsible. If only I'd known, I could've done something to save innocent people!

"No, no. Kat, relax. That wasn't us! I swear. It was--"

"Bears. Yeah. Who resembles bears? Wolves that are abnormally fucking large. Who did it, if it wasn't you?" I crossed my arms, glaring defiantly at my twin.

"Vampires." His response made me break into a fit of hysterical laughter.

"Oh, yeah. Fucking vampires. What next, witches?" Jared's face was serious.

"Think about it. Why would there be a need for wolves if there wasn't anything to protect humans from? We're protectors. Created to defend the tribes from a serious and dangerous threat. We only shift if vampires are near." I could see he was being serious. I sobered, the gravity of the situation finally hitting me.

"So there are actual, like, blood sucking vampires running around La Push?"

"Yes and no. They live in Forks. They don't cross over the treaty line into La Push. The ones that live there respect our agreement."

"Agreement? Treaty? You made a deal with vampires?"

"We didn't, exactly. Great great Uncle Ephraim Black did. They didn't come back till last year. That's when Sam, then me, then Paul phased. Then Embry and Jacob more recently. And there are others, but I'll wait to tell you who." My distaste and uncertainty must have been obvious.

"We don't hurt people, Kat. I promise. We help. We keep people in line. We do our best to keep the tribe members safe." A growing thought was nagging at my mind.

"Does Kim know?" I narrowed my eyes at him, waiting. He hesitated.

"Yes. I told her after I—a little after we started dating." I threw my hands into the air.

"You've known me since the womb, and you couldn't find the decency to let me know I was sleeping down the hall from a fucking werewolf? You told that little bitch first?" I was hurt, and that resulted in the little jibe at Kim. Jared growled at me. Yes, now I knew he was literally growling. Fucking dog. I still took a step back, the memory of Paul's claws haunting my memory.

"Don't insult her. She had more of a right to know than you did." I scoffed.

"I'm your sister! She's some bimbo you've been dating for less than a year! How does she deserve to know more than I did?"