Crimson Death

“You mean wolf tails, or is it ears sometimes?”

“Always tails, though there are stories of some of us born with ears, but people thought we were part of the gentle folk, not werewolves.”

“I’ve read stories of Fey with animal ears; are you saying those were types of lycanthropes?”

“Not all wolves, but many of them, yes.”

“How did you pass the blood test for the army?” Edward asked, and he’d sort of recovered himself, or at least his voice was cold and distant. It was a voice that told you nothing except that you should be wary of him.

“My blood work comes up human.” He looked at the other men in the van as we picked up speed. We were on a highway, I thought, but in the enclosed vehicle we really couldn’t tell. “Devereux, Christensen, your card says that your type of lycanthropy is tiger. Blake’s file says she runs with clan tigers—is that what you both are?”

They looked at each other—and then both of them looked at Jake. He gave a small nod. “Yes,” Pride said. Dev just nodded.

“You said their card. Didn’t you smell their beasts just a few seconds ago?” I asked.

“Normally, I wouldn’t answer that, because it would be letting you know what I’m capable of, and what I’m not, but I knew I couldn’t hide from this many of you, so no, I didn’t smell the type of beast. In human form my nose isn’t nearly as sensitive as a more standard werewolf.”

“How do you know that?” Jake asked.

“I’ve had to trust other shapeshifters with my secret before.”

“But you didn’t trust me,” Edward said, and his voice wasn’t cold now. There was too much emotion in it for coldness.

“Are you bothered that I didn’t tell you my secret, or bothered that I’m a werewolf?”

“The first part, and that I didn’t spot it. I pride myself on being able to spot the monsters. It’s part of what keeps me alive in this business, and you totally got by my radar.”

“It was a genetic condition that I could ignore most of the time. I didn’t tell anyone.”

“A lycanthrope could have smoked me on the PT tests, but you and I were always neck and neck for the top time, number, whatever. Did you hold back so I wouldn’t guess you weren’t human?”

“No, you pushed me to work as hard as I could to keep up with your arse. Being a born wolf doesn’t give you much more than human physical abilities. I’m in the top percentage of most PT and I’m not aging out of it yet, but you pushed me, Forrester, which means you’re in the top percentage, too. I’m part wolf—what’s your secret?”

Edward tried to keep frowning, and then smiled and stared at the floor as we slowed down. Either we were in traffic or we’d turned onto a smaller road.

“Do I say, No secret, I am just that good, or do I say, Lying bastard? Every type of lycanthrope I’ve met is better than human-normal, like superhero better. I’m good, really good, but I’m not superhero good and you should be.”

Nolan shook his head. “I swear to you, I did my best to beat you, or at least keep up with you. I’m too damned competitive for anything else.”

Edward gave a small smile. “You seemed to be.”

Nolan looked at the two weretigers. “Are you both that much above human-normal physically?”

They both said yes, and then Pride added, “Are you saying that your type of lycanthropy doesn’t show up on a blood test that’s specifically looking for it?”

“That’s right.”

Dev and Pride looked at each other and then back at Nolan. “If we could pass the physical, some of us would have tried for the military,” Dev said.

“I can’t picture you in the military,” Nathaniel said.

Dev turned to him with a grin. “Not me, but some of my other cousins would have.”

“Military service would have divided you from your other loyalties,” Jake said.

Pride asked, “Are you saying that even if we could pass the physical, we wouldn’t have been allowed to join?”

“It wasn’t possible,” Kaazim said, touching Jake’s arm, “so it does not matter; it is moot.”

Nolan was watching the interchange. He was trusting us with his secret, but we didn’t have to trust him with any of ours, not until I’d had time to talk to Edward in private. “It sounds like the born wolf is different from the clan tigers in more than just flavor of inner beast.”

“It would seem so, but these are the first clan tigers I’ve ever met, and since I’m almost certain Devereux and Christensen are the same clan, maybe other clans will be closer to my people,” Nolan said.

“To our knowledge none of the clan tigers can pass a blood test for lycanthropy,” Kaazim said.

“Which means,” I said, “maybe what you have isn’t lycanthropy. Are you tied to the moon at all?”

He shook his head. “No, we aren’t forced to change with the full moon, or forced at all. Once we gain control of the power we can go years without changing form.”

All of us who fought against our inner beasts exchanged looks. It was Dev who asked, “Don’t you miss it?”

“Miss what?”

“Your beast.”

“I do, but it’s a preference. I could choose to be fully human and never become the other again.”