| Side By Side

Ava gave Jack a pause before whispering. 'It's in the sex itself. The sweat, the proximity … the violation of her body and the seed placed inside it.' Her voice was growing edgier, wilder. 'They're taught it's the law, that it's a good thing. Maybe some of them even want to be 'wolves, I don't know. Whatever, they have no say in it. If they won't consent, they get raped.'

Jack couldn't help it, he placed a hand on her shoulder. Even as she crossly shook him off, he could tell she was shaking.

'It's been going on for centuries,' Ava whispered flatly, back in control. 'But like any closed community, inbreeding causes problems: physical deformity, proneness to disease.'

Jack frowned. 'Your family looked all right to me.'

'Outside, maybe. But my dear, sweet mom is showing one of the most common symptoms: her appetite for flesh is near insatiable. She can barely control it and it's getting worse. Around the time we left Twin Falls she was like a junkie needing her next fix, pouncing on pretty much anything with a pulse and tearing it to shreds.' Ava's voice sounded drained of emotion as she carefully distanced herself from the meaning of her words. 'It's why we had to move out here, far from anywhere.'

'I've sure got a lot to look forward to.'

Ava sighed impatiently. 'No, Jack, that's the whole point. Most werewolves keep their appetites under strict control. It's common sense. They can't just go hunting and killing the whole time without attracting attention. And that risks exposing the wider werewolf community.'

'So what, an injection of new blood stabilizes the gene pool or something?'

'Exactly. The purebloods take in new blood. You have the honor of joining the noble Dane family and together we have nice, well-behaved little wolves to get the clan back on track.' She snorted. 'Sick, right?'

'Hey, it's cool,' Jack said bitterly. 'I've always wanted someone to choose my mate and turn me into a cold-blooded killer.'

'Uh-uh. I saw you fighting Wesley,' Ava said firmly. 'Your 'wolf is not a cold-blooded killer because Jack River is not a cold-blooded killer. You're a silverblood, remember?'

'Why "silverblood"?' he asked. Then it clicked. 'Oh, right – werewolves don't like silver, isn't that it?' Ava rolled her eyes.

Ava didn't show her true emotion. Instead, she smiled wanly. 'In the stories, a silver bullet through the heart is meant to be the only way to kill a werewolf. A total myth. They can be shot dead like anyone else, and often were – so the 'wolves put out that legend themselves, to make humans think reaching for the shotgun was a waste of time.' She snorted. 'Anyway, the point is that you're a natural resister.'

Jack's eyes widened. "Does that mean I can still resist this?  All I've got to do is learn how to keep resisting."

'Amen to that,' Ava said wryly, but after a while, she whispered, 'Come to think of it, I think I might just be able to help you with that.'

He looked at her sharply. 'Yeah?'

'Maybe.'

They came to an unruly row of bramble bushes blocking their way. 'You know, Ava, I … I'm sorry.' Jack took a deep breath. 'None of this is your fault. Not me … not Mark.'

Ava said nothing for a whole minute.

'How'd it happen with him?' he prompted gently.

'Last year my tutors made me go to summer school,' she said. 'To help me get extra credits in Literature and a shot at a college scholarship. Mother wasn't happy, but Dad overruled her. For once. Anyway, there were kids there from all over the country.'

'And Mark was one of them?'

'Yeah.' She was quiet for a while. 'I make it a rule not to get close. Never to get close, not to anyone. But stuff just … kinda happened.'

Jack nodded. 'Holiday romance, huh?'

'Hopeless, doomed romance more like.' She snorted softly. 'Afterwards, when we'd both returned home, we'd talk for hours in chat rooms online. We had so many crazy plans. We figured, maybe someday when I was out of here … '

'Did you tell him about the wolf stuff?'

'Get real! I just said my mom and dad were total psychos about their precious darling daughter and that they'd kill him if he even came near me.' Ava looked down at her boots. 'Guess he didn't believe me. Reckoned he couldn't wait and tracked me down. Came out here from Michigan. And since no police ever came looking, I guess he didn't tell anyone where he'd gone.'

'Jeez, big mistake,' muttered Ava.

'When he turned up, I guess Mom thought the perfect opportunity had fallen into her lap, figuring I'd let him …' Ava pushed out a deep breath. 'So she bit him. Unlike you, he had no resistance. But when I said there was no way I was going to mate with a lupine – not even him – Marcie killed him. Just like that. I couldn't believe she would just … ' Ava shuddered. 'I wish to God I'd never so much as spoken to him. If I'd left him alone it would never have happened.'

'You warned him to stay away,' said Jack awkwardly. 'What else could you have done?'

Ava seemed not to hear him. 'Marcie reckoned she was teaching me a lesson. Showing me she was serious. That there was no way out for me.'

*****

They stood side by side, staring at the thick thorny tangles barring their way. Ava didn't show her true emotion. Instead, she smiled wanly. 'In the stories, a silver bullet through the heart is meant to be the only way to kill a werewolf. A total myth. They can be shot dead like anyone else, and often were – so the 'wolves put out that legend themselves, to make humans think reaching for the shotgun was a waste of time.' She snorted. 'Anyway, the point is that you're a natural resister.'

Jack's eyes widened. "Does that mean I can still resist this?  All I've got to do is learn how to keep resisting."

'Amen to that,' Ava said wryly, but after a while, she whispered, 'Come to think of it, I think I might just be able to help you with that.'

He looked at her sharply. 'Yeah?'

'Maybe.'

'