Katie stood in front of the refrigerator with the door open. Her eyes travelled over the plastic tubs and glass jars. She felt restless, unfulfilled in some way. Her brain interpreted that as hunger. She moved a jar of pickles from one shelf to another and sighed.

Clarissa couldn't remember what had happened, and Katie and Bill had made matching statements to the police. But Marcus Jones had made it clear he didn't believe them. What if Clarissa eventually remembered everything? What if she remembered the vampire? What if she remembered the werewolf? What if she told Officer Jones the truth? What if Clarissa's story contradicted hers and Bill's? What would Jones do then? Will she and Bill have targets on their backs, just like Walter?

Clarissa was out of danger, and that was, of course, the most important thing. However, Katie's relief at Davicus being gone was replaced by a new set of fears. Bill had killed Davicus. But just because Davicus was a vampire, that didn't mean there wouldn't be someone who would miss him. Did he have a family? He must have, or he wouldn't have been able to blend with regular humans. What happened when his family determined the last place Davicus was on this earth was Willow Manor?

An even worse fear kept working its way into her brain, though. She had originally thought that Davicus must be responsible for all the murders in town, that surely those would stop now that the vampire was destroyed. But the more she thought about it, the less she was convinced. Of course, Clarissa had bite marks on her neck, but she was not torn open like the other victims. All the reports said those people looked like they had been ripped limb from limb.

Like a werewolf had attacked them.

"Can I help you, Miss Gallagher?" A man's voice from directly behind startled her and she jumped.

"Oh, Archie! You surprised me." She laughed nervously at her overreaction. "You were so quiet!"

The old man shrugged and stepped back. He studied her face. "I wasn't that quiet. You were just very interested in pickles, I guess."

She could see he wasn't fooled. He could tell she was frightened. He could see the fear in her eyes.

"No, not interested in pickles at all." She laughed, trying to calm herself. She grabbed a soda and shut the door. "I just can't decide what it is I want to eat."

"You can't still be hungry." Archie looked slightly offended. "Let me fix you something."

"No. I'm not really hungry, I guess." Katie took a sip of the soda to hide her flushed face. "Maybe just thirsty."

Archie narrowed his eyes suspiciously. "Or maybe you're still upset about Miss Clarissa and what happened."

Katie looked down at the can and nodded quietly. The old man was a believer, she knew from all her previous conversations with him. She knew she could talk to him and he would accept it, without question. Still, she couldn't bring herself to voice her fears. Saying it out loud would add to its credibility, make it harder to dismiss from her thoughts. She needed to stop thinking about it. Bill was a friend—her best friend.

"What happened out there?" His voice dropped to a whisper and that somehow made Katie more reluctant to tell him. "You see something?"

Katie shook her head. She didn't believe Bill could hurt anyone. She would not voice that fear. She would just stick to the story she told Officer Jones. "That man was trying to take Clarissa."

"You saw a wolf." Archie was not fooled.

How did he know? Did he suspect something? She tried to hide her sudden panicked thoughts by shrugging. "A man tried to take Clarissa."

"There's wolves 'round here." He crossed his arms over his chest, undeterred by her verbal deflection. "Don't let them say there ain't."

"I'm not even sure what I saw." Katie said softly. "I was just trying to keep Clarissa safe."

Archie regarded her for a moment. Then he put his hand on her shoulder. "And you did."

Katie sighed. The relief and comfort she took from that fatherly gesture was almost overwhelming. Then it hit her. She looked up at Archie's wizened face. "Why did you say there were wolves? Officer Jones said there are no wolves around here."

Archie turned away and busied himself wiping down a counter. He shook his head. "Maybe just not the kind of wolves Marcus means."

Katie held her breath. What was the old man talking about? He couldn't possibly mean the kind of wolf she meant, could he? How could he know?

"I told you, Miss Katie." Archie folded the dishtowel carefully and placed it next to the sink. "There's stuff goin' on around here that you wouldn't believe."

"I might." Katie said softly. "I think I would believe."

Archie examined her face carefully. Then he nodded, with all seriousness. "Well don't you worry, Miss Katie. Mrs. Barrington made damn sure this house and everybody inside was protected."

Katie nodded. "But Mrs. Barrington's not here anymore."

Archie sighed. He seemed to think about his next words carefully. Then he smiled and left the room. "Don't you worry, Miss."

**

Katie sat down at the wrought iron table in the garden. The metal was still warm after sitting all day in the sun, but the air had a decidedly crisp bite of fall to it. She pulled her sweater a little closer around herself and opened up her iPad.

Bill came through the French doors and sat down in the chair across the table from her. "What did you find?"

Katie shook her head. "I just saved a couple of searches. I haven't had time to look yet."

Bill nodded. "Go ahead. I'm no good at the computer."

"There's a lot here." She gestured to the search page. "Who knew there were so many websites dedicated to werewolves?"

Bill shook his head. "So many of these are fan websites or sex fantasies. It's like they idolize werewolves."

"Welcome to the internet." Katie laughed wryly and started clicking down the list. New tabs opened up as she did. "My psych professor used to say there's something for everyone on the internet."

Bill watched as she opened a page, scanned the contents, then clicked it closed. The same thing with the next one. And the next one. He frowned deeply. "These people are sick! They don't understand the real truth about werewolves."

"Wait. Here's one." Katie glanced over a page. "This guy claims to have been a werewolf up until a few years ago. He wrote a book, Hairy Like Me."

"So he just stopped being a werewolf?" Bill was skeptical. "How?"

"I don't know." Katie continued to read. "But look..."

Bill was repulsed. "Are those photos real?"

"I don't know. He says he set up a camera to film his change." Katie swiped through the photos on the screen. "That looks so painful."

"Luckily I don't remember that part." Bill examined the photos carefully. His revulsion had turned to curiosity. "I've never thought about filming it. It's actually kind of interesting."

Katie pointed at the screen. "This website is like his journal. He blogs about being a werewolf. Look how many subscribers he has."

"Hm." Bill swiped through the last few photos. "Does it say how he was cured?"

Katie read a moment. "No. But let me just send him an email."

"And what?" Bill shook his head. "Tell him your friend is a werewolf too and wants to know how he was cured?"

Katie shrugged. "Maybe..."

Bill shook his head even harder. He leaned back from the screen. "No way."

"How about I say I'm writing a novel and wanted his advice on how to cure the werewolf... based on his blog...?" Katie suggested.

Bill shrugged. "Fine."

Katie tapped the contact button and tapped out a quick message. Then she opened another page and read it.

"Okay. This looks like something useful." She pointed to a link. "This website is called Silver Bullets and Other Remedies."

They both watched as the screen filled with full color photos.

"Well, this is gruesome." She shuddered but couldn't look away. "So many pictures of bite scars."

Bill's face twisted in disgust and shame. "And bite victims."

"Oh, these are terrible." Katie scrolled through photo after photo. They just seemed to get worse. "These poor people."

"I can't..." Bill turned away, his face pale and voice thick.

"I don't think that's you." Katie assured him, assured herself. "You always lock yourself up. You don't do that."

Bill looked miserable. "I don't want to see that, please."

"Yes. This website is really hard to look at." Katie turned the pad toward herself and continued reading.

Bill watched her face as she did. "Does it say anything about a cure?"

Katie shook her head. "Silver bullet through the heart."

He put his face down into his hands. Katie could hear his quiet sobs.

"Wait..." She opened a link to a new page. This one held promise. It was a theory she remembered from one of the horror movies she'd watched as a child.

"What?" Bill looked up, hope—and the fear of hope—in his wet eyes. "Wait for what?"

"It says if you found the wolf that bit you, you could shoot him with the silver bullet instead." She met Bill's gaze. "Could you do that, Bill? Could you shoot and kill someone?"

A series of emotions played over Bill's face, settling on resolve. He nodded. "That's not in question. The question is... can I find the werewolf that bit me?"

"Who bit you?" Ravensong Music came through the doors to where they were sitting. She had her coat and purse in one hand and car keys in the other.

Katie quickly swiped away the webpage on the screen.

"Nobody said anything about 'bit'." Bill shrugged dismissively. He gave the housekeeper a look that said she was crazy.

Ravensong looked him over and nodded slowly. She looked at Katie accusingly. "Sorry. I must have misheard."

"I thought you had left already, Ravensong." Katie smiled. "Did you need something?"

The housekeeper's eyes drifted down to the iPad, then back up. "No, I'm just leaving. I was looking for Walter to tell him I will be in late on Friday."

"I don't think he's home yet." Katie said. She was still uneasy around the woman, particularly because she never fully explained anything she said. "I'll make sure to tell him."

Bill stood and nodded. "I'm going to go do the rounds."

Ravensong watched him leave, then raised her eyebrows at Katie. "That one is hiding something dangerous. I can feel it."

Katie frowned as if she didn't know what the woman meant, because there was no way she could mean what Katie knew. "Bill's a good guy."

"Maybe." Ravensong nodded carefully. "But good guys can be dangerous, too."

Her words invoked the memory of Bill as a wolf, tearing into Davicus in the graveyard. "What do you mean?"

"Stay in the house." Ravensong lowered her brows and looked around at the dark surrounding the patio. "There are protections on the house."

Then she turned and left. A sudden chill passed over Katie and she pulled her sweater around her even tighter.