章 12: | Decision

Jack pushed himself free and backed away.

Blood was frothing from Wesley's sagging jaws as he clawed at his spurting throat. Ava was staring at him. She looked frightened, bewildered.

Horrified.

Unable to watch any longer, Jack slunk off to a corner of the living room. He lay down and curled his body into himself for comfort. Across the room, it sounded like Wes was snoring, just asleep. Gradually, the noise died away to a gentle rattle of breath. Then all he could hear was Ava's quiet sobs.

He couldn't tell how long the calm lasted. Spots of color started to speckle his vision. His limbs cramped up and his body shook. It felt like he was being suffocated, smothered like the power was draining away, leaving him weak and defenseless.

Human again. Naked and bloody on a cold, wooden floor. Jack blinked, trying to clear his vision. He held up his hands, staring at the pink, hairless skin, flexing his wrists. Focusing past them, he saw Ava standing over him with a bundle of clothes and towels in her arms. Her face was unreadable as she dumped them on his chest.

'Clean yourself up and get dressed,' she said quietly.

'I changed back,' Jack breathed. A tear escaped the corner of his eye. 'Jesus, thank God, I changed back.'

Ava began to fill an empty rucksack with clothing.

'You're leaving,' Jack said dully. 'Running away.'

'We both are. Together. Tonight.' Ava gestured at Wesley's body, twisted and prone beside the fireplace. 'Or would you rather wait for my parents to get back so you can explain that to them?'

Jack stared at Wesley. 'Is he … ?'

'Dead?' Ava nodded. 'Very.'

'I killed him,' Jack whispered. 'I'm a murderer.'

'You didn't mean to kill him,' Ava muttered, not looking up from her rucksack. 'It was self-defense.'

'He's dead because of me,' Jack said quietly, ignoring Ava's defense.

'And I'm alive because of you,' Ava snapped back.

Jack buried his face in his hands. 'You should've let him kill me—'

Ava looked up at him, green eyes flashing with anger. 'I'm sorry, but we don't have time for you to wallow in despair right now, OK?' she cut in. Then she pulled out a handful of wallets stuffed with cash from the zip flap of her rucksack. 'Look – look at these! Wes took these from his victims. He was like my mother, out of control. He killed whenever he got the chance. These were his trophies.' She zipped the wallets back inside the rucksack. 'The world's well rid of him.'

Jack just stared at her, dumbly.

'I said, clean yourself up and get dressed,' Ava repeated. 'Quickly. There's hot water in the kitchen.'

This time, Jack did as he was told. He felt as cold and mauled as the hunk of raw meat sitting in its congealed blood on the worktop.

When he came back Ava was shoving a further bundle of trousers and T-shirts inside another rucksack. He supposed the things were Wesley's. She was dressed in a bottle-green sweater and blue jeans, with well-worn-in Timberlands on her feet. Her black hair was tied back in a hasty ponytail that swished around her smooth, pale neck as she worked. Wow, she looked beautiful, he couldn't help but think. To distract himself from the thought, he felt for cuts on his face.

'I thought I'd be more injured than I am,' he reasoned aloud.

'The lupine metabolism is faster,' came the clipped response of Ava. 'When you're 'wolf you'll heal faster.'

'When … ' Jack shuddered. 'So I'll change again?'

'Yes. But don't ask me when, because I don't know.'

'I want to go home,' whispered Jack.

'And lead Marcie straight to your family? So she can kill them too, in revenge?' Ava shook her head, grabbed a thick winter coat, and struggled into it. 'Don't think so, do you?'

'Well, where the hell do we go?' Jack challenged.

Ava threw a bomber jacket at his feet, hitched her rucksack onto her back, and walked to the front door. 'Right now, anywhere but here. We hit the highway, then think about it. Are you coming?'

Dazed, Jack grabbed the other rucksack and followed her outside into the cool, sweet-smelling night.

Dark clouds had diminished the moon to a glimmer, but Ava had brought a flashlight. They picked a careful path across the waterlogged causeway and soon found themselves splashing toward the edge of the forest.

Jack paused for breath. He couldn't clear his mind of the fight with Wesley, reliving every moment like a horrifically vivid dream.

'You must hate my family,' Ava said quietly.

Jack saw that she was studying him intently. 'Yes,' he simply replied.

Ava turned off the flashlight, to save the batteries, Jack supposed.

'I hate them too,' she said. 'I hate what they are and what they do.' She sighed, her warm breath misting out into the night.

'When I was sick, Wesley made it look like you were the maniac,' Jack said softly. But he was determined not to feel sorry for Ava. He was the one in real trouble here. He clenched his fists and closed his eyes. 'They did this to me because of you.'

'I know.'

'So it's your fault.'

Ava's voice hardened. 'You think I want to be married off to someone I don't even know?'

'So why didn't you help me before?'

'I tried to warn you away,' Ava protested. There was a pause. The night seemed to gather in more blackly about them. 'Don't hate me for letting it happen,' Ava finally said. Her voice sounded miserable and for the first time, Jack could detect something vulnerable in her.

'I couldn't just drag you out of there, they were watching me like hawks. And you weren't in any state to jump out through the bathroom window and start running for your life.' She flicked on the torch. It lit her long, angular face eerily from below. 'Come on. We should get going now.'

'No, wait,' Jack said. 'Why me? If there are thousands of werewolves like Wesley said, and if you won't turn 'wolf till you … ' he faltered. 'Till you mate with one, why not pair you off with someone else?'

'I'll explain while we walk,' Ava said resignedly and walked out of the house, knowing fully well that she would have no choice but to tell him, whether she liked it or not.

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