Page 61 of Winter’s Teeth

“Do you need to borrow a phone or some money?” he asked as he put the truck in park.

I shook my head, the lumps of both my phone and my wallet were still in my snow pants pockets.

“Alright then. Well, I’m gonna get some gas and grub. Let me know if you need anything else.”

“Thank you,” I croaked, fragile and weak.

I was spent, having gone far past my wit’s end about ten miles back.

Minutes passed like water through my fingers, and the next thing I knew, we were sitting in a booth with greasy burgers and fries in front of us. The window to my left overlooked a dark parking lot that lit up every few seconds when the fast-food restaurant sign flickered.

I couldn’t bring myself to touch a single fry, and Fox stared at me across the booth as if he was scared to so much as blink until I breathed again.

As I picked at all the burs stuck to my snowpants, I distantly acknowledged I was in shock. That I knew so much had happened that didn’t make sense. Knew that I would probably never go home the same again. If I ever went home at all.

Fox appeared nervous, eyes flitting from the food, to my face in tandem with the fast-food sign flickering outside. His dodginess didn’t surprise me though. After all, he just revealed his final ace, all to keep me from becoming a monster’s evening snack, and to give me another shot to save my sister.

I took a breath, about to say...something. Anything. Whatever came to mind, but he spoke first. “Whatever you need to ask, I’ll answer. I know I can’t keep the secret from you anymore.”

I winced, because there was no secret to keep. I saw him shift with my own eyes. I saw him become something otherworldly. Unreal. Supernatural and terrifying. He wasn’t human, or he was human mixed with something else. Most likely, his whole family was, leaving me and Everly at their mercy.

“How long do we have?” I asked, my throat thick with anxiety. Picking up a napkin, I held it in my lap to twist and tear apart into little ribbons.

“How long...” he drawled, urging me to say more.

“Till the wedding. The tradition your family has.” I didn’t want to imagine what sort of horrifying creature Arthur was. How he might have tormented Everly so far. Or what was to come once he officially wed her... They could have far more demented traditions in store for all I knew.

Fox’s dark eyes bored into mine, a war brewing in his mind about whether he should really tell me everything, then fell to the table once more. “Ten days I think,” he muttered. “It’s right at the end of your two-week stay at the cabin.”

Ten days.

Ten days until my sister was forced into the unthinkable. Ten days until I could lose her for good.

I reached for a cheeseburger, unwrapping it hastily, and shoved two full bites into my mouth. Anything to take the edge off. All the while, Fox stared with a burning gaze I didn’t have the time or energy to decipher.

After a swig of root beer, I let out a heavy exhale. “We have to get back to that cabin. I know I saw hands in the window. I can’t be sure they were hers, but if there’s any chance...” I shoved a fistful of fries in my mouth next. Around the mouthful, I continued to rant, “Maybe they moved her, or maybe they’ll be waiting for us, but we have to break her out. I have to do something. My friends are in danger, too, waiting at the cabin. They have no clue what’s really going on, but they deserve to know the truth if they’re gonna risk it all for me and my sister—”

Fox planted the Styrofoam cup of root beer back in my hand. “Take a breath, Rae,” he encouraged gently. “I know the risks. Trust me...” A note of fear burned in his eyes, reminding me he knew better than anyone what we stood to lose. He knew the consequences all too well because he’d suffered at the hands of his family for years.

I whispered, “Please tell me you know how we can beat this.”

He leaned back in the booth, arms loosely crossing over his chest. “I don’t.” I wanted to cry, but then he added, “We might be able to come up with a plan, but I have to tell you everything I know first.”

***

THE FRIES DWINDLED between us as Fox began to tell me the whole truth. At least, I hoped it was the whole truth this time, because I wasn’t sure I could take many more fun surprises in the forest with him.

“We call ourselves shifters. I think we had other names in other languages and other places, but we like to keep it simple,” he started off. “The minotaur looking one you ran into in the forest yesterday and today... That was Arthur. It’s his preferred form.”

A clump of fries lodged in my throat.

“That was Arthur?” I choked.

“Yep, and I doubt he’s happy that I’ve challenged him twice now. And helped you...” He winced, rubbing the back of his head. “Yeah, I’m totally fucked.” Which had to be why he was laying out all of his cards now. What more did he have to lose?

Icy dread and fear trickled down my spine while my heart simultaneously swelled with warmth. Fox really had risked it all to help me, and I wasn’t sure I could ever repay him for that.

I reached for another fry. “You said ‘preferred form.’ Does that mean he can shift into other things?”