Raised by Wolves

Chapter 63

CHAPTER 63

AGENT ROLLINS, RED in the face and gasping for breath, drags my brother out of the woods in handcuffs. He’s got mud on his knees and his suit’s in tatters. But he has a triumphant sneer on his face.

My brother looks so small all of a sudden. Broken. Terrified. A gash on his cheek drips bright blood onto his T-shirt.

“Oh, Holo,” I cry, “why’d you run?”

When he turns to me, his eyes are full of anguish. “Why didn’t you?”

The question hits me hard. Why didn’t I?

When the helicopter landed, Wendy was screaming, my brother had vanished, and everything was chaos. And in that moment, Waylon had reached for my hand. Squeezed my fingers tight between his. Held me there.

First I froze. Tonic immobility.

And then—though suddenly I could move again—I stayed .

I can’t explain it. I can’t justify it. But I couldn’t pull my hand away from his.

“I thought you were behind me,” Holo says. His voice breaks. He looks like he’s about to cry.

“They just would’ve caught her, too, you know,” Waylon says quietly.

Holo’s sorrow turns to anger faster than a blink. “As fast as Kai runs?” he practically spits. “No way.”

“Well, I didn’t run, and it’s too late now!” I snap.

Guilt makes my words come out with sharp edges. I’ve betrayed my brother. I’ve betrayed Wendy. The wolves have scattered, the forest is crawling with men with guns, and I’m the only member of my family not in handcuffs.

I never should have left the woods in the first place.

Agent Rollins says to my brother, “Didn’t anyone ever teach you that running from the law is a bad idea? A person could get hurt that way.”

Holo bares his fangs at him. “I didn’t know who the hell was behind me; I was just obeying my mother .”

He’s never called her that before. Neither of us has.

Does your sister take care of you, Holo? The social worker’s question still haunts me. Because I knew I hadn’t. But Wendy always had, for as long as I could remember.

And now she can’t.

Holo tries to get closer to her, but Rollins holds him back.

“Let Holo go!” Wendy shrieks. She stumbles forward, trying to reach him, too, but the chief pushes her down.

“Sit,” he says fiercely. “You’re in enough trouble already.”

“She didn’t do anything wrong!” I yell.

“That’s where you’re wrong, Kai,” the chief says. “This woman’s broken a lot of laws. And she’s dangerous.”

“Well, so am I! Remember how I took down your deputy in the Grizzly Grocery?”

“You spent a few days in jail for it,” the chief says grimly. “And if you don’t calm down, I’ll have you cuffed, too.”

The gray-haired FBI agent, Dunham, says, “I think everybody should cool their tempers. No reason to make this unfriendly.”

“Screw you,” I say. “What’re you even doing here? Can’t you see the chief’s perfectly capable of arresting us?”

“Watch it, Teen Wolf,” he warns.

So much for keeping things friendly.

Agent Rollins says, “The chief might’ve put the handcuffs on, but he knows our badge trumps his.”

The chief reflexively looks at his ragtag bunch of fake deputies. Compares it to the two suits with the waiting helicopter. He clearly can’t dispute what Dunham says. “Are you going to walk off with my suspect?” he asks the older agent.

Dunham gives a weird little smile. He says, “We’re going to fly , Chief. Wendy and I have a lot of catching up to do.”

Wendy and I both look at him in surprise.

“How do you know my name?” Wendy asks.

But apparently that isn’t information Dunham feels like giving out right now. He says, “Kai, Holo, Wendy—let’s go.”

“We’ve been looking for them all night,” the chief yells. “You can’t just take them!”

“I can,” Dunham says. “And you’re going to watch me.”

I shake my head, remembering the way that black death trap buzzed over the trees. “No way. No way are we getting in that thing.”

“Unfortunately, you’re wrong,” Dunham says matter-of-factly. He strides over to me and the next thing I know, my hands are cuffed behind my back.

“What the hell? Am I under arrest?”

“Not necessarily,” he says. “Right now it’s just a safety precaution.” He gives my shoulder two quick pats. Like I’m a dog. “But you never know.”

“If we don’t give you the opportunity to resist, everything’s going to go a lot smoother,” Rollins says to me. Then he turns to the chief. “We’ll see you back at the station. In what, five hours or so? Enjoy your walk.”

“You asshole,” the chief says helplessly.

“Move out,” Rollins barks, and then he gives me a little shove.

I curse at him. But then I start walking.

The propellers start with a roar as we approach. Dust blasts my face, and the wind whips my hair into my cheeks so hard it stings. I duck down. Dunham nudges me forward again and then Rollins grabs me by the waist and lifts me into the helicopter. Dunham handles Holo and Wendy. Holo is pale with fear and fury. Wendy’s face is frozen in dread.

What the hell is going on? I want to yell.

But she won’t know the answer. And the FBI agents aren’t going to tell me.

With a horrifying shudder, the helicopter takes off. The pilot banks left and I go leaning toward Holo. Then the helicopter straightens and lifts. Every bone in my body’s rattling. We turn again—I lean again.

It’s a million times worse than a car ride. It’s the worst thing I’ve ever felt, and I once pierced my own eyelid with a stolen fish hook.

I think I’m going to throw up.

“I don’t feel good,” I shout.

The agents pretend they can’t hear me. Or maybe this death machine’s so loud that they really can’t.

The next wave of nausea builds on top of the first. My stomach twists. My eyes start to water.

I’m definitely going to throw up.

My throat clenches.

I can feel the bile rising up. It’s hot and it stings.

And I remember one of Wendy’s rules of the forest: Waste nothing. Use everything you have.

I can definitely do that.

I scoot as close as I can to Agent Dunham. I smile tearily at his smug, tanned face. And then I lean down and barf all over his gleaming black shoes.