Chapter 6

Chapter 6

Dawn squirmed uncomfortably in the front seat while she tried to ignore the awkward silence that hung in the car.  The trip to the club seemed to last forever.  Crystal seethed in the backseat.  Every once in a while Jerrit would glance at her in the rearview mirror and smile with a self-satisfied grin which only escalated Crystal’s bad mood.

There was so much that Dawn wanted to tell Crystal and so many questions that she was dying to ask Jerrit but she could do neither while they were both around.  Dawn just kept hoping that she would wake up from this terrible, and awesome, dream.

She turned to Jerrit with the intention of striking up a conversation but she was struck dumb.  What could she possibly say to lighten the mood in the car?  Nothing.  Crystal was going to be mad no matter what Dawn said because Jerrit had pissed her off.  The man was going to have to perform some grand feat to get into her good graces.  Good luck with that.

Then there was the fact that Dawn couldn’t think of anything to say that wouldn’t embarrass her more than she already had.  Dawn would have given anything to be normal, but even without being half animal, Dawn was far from normalcy.  As it was, she just wanted to pretend that the man did not make her heart race and turn her on with just a sideways look.  She wanted to be more suave and aloof, but that seemed impossible for her.  She was a notorious klutz and the harder she tried not to be the worse it got.

She was not naïve enough to think that Jerrit had any real interest in her.  He was attracted to her physically, she had felt that, but his interest would be fleeting.  Her only goal was to keep herself from looking like a fool, if at all possible.  It usually wasn’t.

The silence persisted until Jerrit pulled his shiny silver Jaguar up next to Crystal’s ancient, army green Jeep Wrangler, affectionately known as Sarge.  If Dawn had a choice between the flashy sports car and the beat up SUV, she would choose the Jeep.  Dawn was not usually into flash, at least not when it came to her car.  As long as it ran and got her where she needed to go, she was set.

Jerrit left the engine idling while he waited for Crystal to get out of the car.  Crystal looked at Dawn, intently ignoring Jerrit.

“You know, I can take you home, Dawn.  You don’t have to go with him.” Crystal made a point of emphasizing her disgust when she indicated Jerrit.

Jerrit smiled to himself.  The girl had nerve.  Even after his threat, which she knew was not idle, she was insulting him.  He turned to Dawn and immediately sobered.  She looked so uncertain about what to do.  “Dawn, I…”

“Dawn!” Crystal interrupted loudly, refusing to look at Jerrit, “The only one to whom I am currently speaking, you do not have to go with him.”

Dawn shook her head with a calm smile.  “Thanks for the offer, Crys, but I am going to be fine.  You have done more than I deserve to ask for and I have a lot to sort through.  Plus, my mom trusts him enough to send him my way, so i…trust her judgment, I guess.”

“But Dawn…”

“No Crystal.  He knows more about what is going on than anyone.  I know that it doesn’t show but I am really freaking out right now.  I have to have answers to the millions of questions that are screaming in my head and he has them.  So, even if you don’t trust him, please trust that I will be able to take care of myself if anything happens.”

Crystal let out an unconvinced breath.

“How about this,” Dawn continued, “I’ll call you this afternoon to check in.  If I don’t call by, let’s say six, you have permission to call campus police or even Greeley PD to raise all hell.  But nothing will happen to me.”

Crystal glared at Jerrit before she turned back to Dawn.  “If you don’t call then I am going to call in the National Guard.  If they find your body in a ditch somewhere, I will find some way to bring you back to life just so that I can kill you again.”

“I guess that I’ll have to dump her body somewhere more creative then, huh?” Jerrit’s face was completely stoic.

Crystal’s eyes went wide.  She let out an angry shriek when Jerrit gave her his attractive smirk.  Dawn had to bite her lip to keep from smiling herself as Crystal’s face turned red with anger.  It should not have been funny, but there was something about the way Jerrit delivered it so perfectly…or maybe it was just Dawn’s dark sense of humor.

“I will call you, Crys.”  Dawn could not keep the amusement out of her voice.  “but in order for me to do so, we have to actually part ways.  So…drive safely.”

“Fine,” Crystal said through clenched teeth.  She glared at Jerrit as she slid out of the car and slammed the door.  Without looking back at them, Crystal got into her car and attempted to peel out, but her car stalled.  Swearing loud enough that Dawn could hear her through the closed doors, Crystal threw her car back in gear and took off.

Dawn let out a long sigh and leaned her head back to the headrest.  “She is not going to be fun to deal with later.”

“She’ll come around.”

“This is your fault, you know.” Dawn turned her head to look at him.  “You had to do it.  You had to strike a nerve, didn’t you?”

“Yes,” Jerrit replied bluntly, putting his car in gear.

“She’s just looking out for me.  Like most of my friends, she mistakes my klutziness for ignorance.”

“You don’t have to explain.” Jerrit pulled out of the parking lot and headed toward campus.  “I’m actually relieved to know that you’ve been taken care of.  The girl may get under my skin but she looks out for you, so I can’t hold it against her…no matter how tempting it might be.”

“Taken care of?  So wait, are you saying that I can’t take care of myself?”

Dawn lifted an eyebrow, daring him to answer.  He smiled at her.  “That is not what I am saying, at all.  I mean, you do give off that naïve, ditzy, klutz thing, but that doesn’t mean that you are really naïve.”

“But I am klutzy and a little ditzy,” Dawn admitted.

“Well, you have tripped over yourself several times already today.”

Dawn giggled.  “Fair enough.”

“I  know that this sounds stalkerish, but I have been watching you for a while, Dawn.  In that time, I have learned that people are drawn to you.  You don’t see it but there is this, sort of,  ring of protection around you.  Crystal is only one of many who would stand up for you without hesitation, and she is not the most dangerous, I might add.  If anything were to happen to you then whoever harmed you would be ‘taken care of’ and you wouldn’t even have to ask.  In fact, you might not even know that anything had happened.”

Dawn opened her mouth to reply, but there was nothing that she could think to say.  He was right.  Crystal would not hesitate to go after anyone dumb enough to hurt any of her friends.  Natalia, Alex and Jack were only a few others who would do the same.  The more that she thought about it, she realized that everyone she knew would come to her rescue if she called, and she would do the same for them.

The car stopped and Dawn was surprised when she realized that they were already outside of her apartment.  They had made it in record time.

Jerrit looked over at her.  What was it about those eyes that took her breath away?  The car suddenly seemed a lot smaller.  Dawn did not look away from Jerrit as the urge to get out of the car overtook her and she fumbled to get the door open.  Without a word, Jerrit leaned over her reaching for the door.  He took her searching hand into his own and led it straight to the handle.  Dawn was agonizingly aware of how close his lips were to hers.  It had been a while since any man had been that close to her.  She had to fight the urge to close that distance as she felt his breath on her skin.  A shiver ran down her spine.

She really needed to get out of the car.

She pulled on the handle and the door popped open.  Jerrit moved back into his seat.  Dawn let out a quiet breath that she hadn’t realized that she was holding.  She could not tell if she was disappointed or relieved by his retreat.

Jerrit got out of the car with a cocky smile that immediately brought her back to where she was.  She should have known better.  He was messing with her.  How typical.  He was a gorgeous man who probably had dozens of women lining up for him.  If he had any interest in her it was only because she was convenient.

Dawn angled out of the car but her foot caught on the lip of the door and she fell out of the car.  She let out a yelp as she fell to her hands and knees.  Only they weren’t hands that lay on the pavement in front of her.  They were paws.  Large paws.

“Son of a…”

“Swearing is not going to help the situation, Dawn.”  She glared up at his amused smile.  “At least you fell gracefully.”

Dawn suddenly had the urge to rip Jerrit’s throat out.  It only lasted for a second but it was almost as hard to resist as the urge to kiss him had been.  She was not generally a violent person, mostly because she was able to control herself, but the sensation had never been so strong before.  At least she hadn’t actually ripped his throat out.  Thank god for small favors.

Jerrit looked around, making sure that no one was around.  The complex was as deserted as usual.

“Let’s get inside before anyone sees you.”  He looked down at Dawn then smiled attractively.  “Or worse, sees me walking around with a wolf and talking to myself.”

“This is Greeley.  No one would even give you a second thought.”

Jerrit smiled as he gathered up Dawn’s clothes.  He followed her up the stairs to her apartment.  Dawn’s sense of humor was refreshing.  He did not have to flinch when she glared at him like he did with the rest of his family.  Dawn might have been angry with him, but ti was fleeting and did not really have any hatred behind it, like the rest of her family.  She had the temper of a Saunders, but she was very different from them.  She had a distinctive personality that Jerrit was attracted to and strangely turned on by.

He could not keep his mind from drifting to the image of Dawn standing naked in front of him.  The image changed to her wrapped in a blanket in his living room.  The changed again as he envisioned her under him while he did wicked things to her luscious body.  It was probably a good thing that Crystal had been there.  There was no telling what he may have done to Dawn if they had not been supervised.  He shivered at that thought.  The woman was like some kind of aphrodisiac made specifically for him.  He was not used to anyone having so much power over his desire.  It unnerved him.

The few times that Jerrit had allowed himself the company of a woman, he always chose a specific type.  Blonde, tall, slim and completely fake whet his appetite the best, as long as they were experienced.  So why was this short, voluptuous, klutzy, inexperienced girl plaguing his existence?  It made no logical sense.  At least she was blonde, even if it was a dark shade.

Jerrit shook his head.  No matter how much he wanted her, it wasn’t possible.  Even if her family was not an issue, he would never expect her to be attracted to him.  She had practically jumped out of his lap when she felt his desire.  She would want a man who would be able to give her a life like her sisters had.  The perfect white picket fence life with the perfect caring husband and adorable children.  With normal problems like money and chores and time constraints.  She would never want a man who had to hide who he was from her.  Who put her life in danger.  She would never understand what he was or the horrors of his past.  She deserved better than he could offer her.

Dawn waited impatiently behind him while he fished the keys out of her pocket and opened her apartment door.  She pushed past him and disappeared down a small hallway.  Jerrit closed the door looking around her small home.  He stood between two rooms.  To his left was a dining room with a basic table and chairs set with four places.  Attache to the dining room was a standard kitchen minus the dish washer.  To his right was the living room complete with a couch and chair that had been covered with red blankets to cover stains that Jerrit knew were there when Dawn had moved in.  There was a small scuffed coffee table in the center of the room and a TV against the far wall.  Everything was white and red with the exception of a few yellow decorations that Jerrit knew belonged to Dawn.

Jerrit closed the curtains in the dining and living room, trying to avoid any unwanted eyes from seeing the wild animal in the apartment.  When he turned around Dawn standing in the hallway staring at him with her furry head slightly cocked to the side.

“Thank God Brianna’s not here.  This would be very hard to explain.”

“Oh, come one, Dawn.  How hard could it be to explain how a strange man got your key, knew exactly where you lived and walked around with his pet wolf?”  Jerrit smiled sarcastically at her.  “You have explained worse, I’ll bet.”

Dawn turned and went back down the hall.  “Any other time you might be funny, but right now, you are just annoying.”

“Look on the bright side, Dawn.”  He waited for Dawn to turn and look at him before he continued.  “At least you’re a wolf and not a cat.”

Dawn rolled her big eyes.  “Fabulous.  I am finally a normal freak.  Open my bedroom door.”

“A ‘please’ wouldn’t kill you, you know?”

“You really want to fight with me right now?  I am a wolf and I will not hesitate to bite you.  And honestly, I think that it might kill me if I say please to you.  Now, would you just open the door, please?”

Jerrit follow her down the hall with a self-satisfied smile.  He wasn’t sure if she had even meant to say the last word but he had gotten his “please” anyway.  Dawn growled at him as he opened the door.  He enjoyed aggravating her far too much.  There was something about the fierceness of her eyes and her immediate retorts that he could not resist.

Dawn hated that Jerrit was able to get her so worked up.  She butted her door closed a little more forcefully than she had intended to, leaving Jerrit on the other side.  She let out a long breath as she turned back into human form.

The fact that she was calling it “human form” was creeping her out.  It was okay to think of her other forms as just that, other forms, but to think that the way she was born might not be her true form was too much to wrap her head around.

Dawn found a pair of green sweat pants and a black tank top.  She got dressed while she tried to avoid the thought that she might not look the way that she was supposed to and failed.  Dawn glanced in the mirror.  If she could make a large change, like transforming from a human into an animal, then maybe she could make little changes too, like fixing the flaws that she always saw in herself.

Dawn concentrated on her reflection for a moment, willing it to change.  She would take anything; her hair, her nose, her chin, her cheeks…she wouldn’t mind losing some of the pudge that seemed to permanently reside where her abs should be.  Nothing happened.  It’s not like she really expected it to.

Dawn smiled to herself and shook her head.  It was worth a try.

She went back out to the living room.  Her dream guy was sitting in the chair next to the door.  He shifted uncomfortably as she moved to sit on the couch.  She gave him a questioning look as she pulled her legs up underneath herself.

“This is the most uncomfortable seat I have ever been in.”  Dawn smiled at the look of disgust on Jerrit’s face.  “Seriously, how can you stand this furniture?”

“I am in college.  I take what I can get, even the crap that they offer to furnish my apartment with.  Besides, you know that you’ve been sitting too long when your butt goes numb.”

“That’s masochistic.”

Dawn gave him a mischievous smile.  “Not into that kind of thing?”  Jerrit ignored her comment so she went on.  “It’s the unfortunate consequence of higher education.  You spend too much money on books and tuition to afford the luxuries of life.  I can fix my back problems when I have my business degree.”

“Wow…that is depressing.”

“Welcome to my world.”  She had made the comment a little more seriously than she had meant to.  Jerrit’s gaze made her uncomfortable.  She looked away from him, unable to stand the pity in his eyes.  She ran her hand through her hair.  “So, tell me about the men who attacked Crystal.”

“Are your eyes a different color?”

“What?” Dawn was taken by surprise by the question.

“Your eyes look greener than they did before.”

Dawn rolled her eyes, but made a mental note to check on it later.  Not that that would really help her remember.  “Seriously?  This is how you are going to try to distract me?”

“What makes you think that I know any more about them than you do?”

Dawn glared at Jerrit.  He couldn’t possibly believe that she was that dumb.  He knew a lot more than he wanted to let on.  Playing innocent was not going to work.

“They didn’t run when a tiger came out of nowhere to protect Crystal, but when you come strolling casually around the corner, they scatter like rats.  That means something that you are not telling me, so spill it.  What were they?”

“Don’t you mean who were they?”

Dawn crossed her arms over her chest and leaned back into the couch.  “I meant exactly what I said.  They were definitely not human.”  She dropped her voice slightly.  “They didn’t smell right.”

Jerrit nodded approvingly, his gaze unwavering from hers.  “I didn’t think that you would be able to distinguish smells yet.”

“I have natural talent.”

“So I see.”

“You’re trying to avoid the question.”

“Why would I do that?”

“You.  Tell.  Me.  Jerrit.”  Dawn emphasized each word.

Jerrit stared at Dawn for a moment before he shook his head sadly.  “I don’t think that you are ready to know what they are.”

“Shouldn’t that be my decision and not yours?”

“I am not sure that you can handle what you are asking.”

Dawn sighed trying to keep herself calm.  “Jerrit, I am not asking what they are.  I am demanding to know it.  I am not going to let this go, no matter how much you try to change the subject or how you feel about what I can handle.  The easiest thing for you is to just tell me, or you had better hope that you are more stubborn than I am.”  She gave Jerrit a calm smile.  “now, let’s try this again.  What were the things that attacked Crystal?  I believe that they called themselves hunters.”

Jerrit could not look at Dawn for a moment.  The woman messed with his brain and made him want to do everything that she said.  He was stronger than this.  There was no way that she could be as stubborn as he was.  He had been able to handle both of her sisters, her mother and her father.  He could out stubborn the youngest Saunders as well.

He made the mistake of looking back into those eyes.  He had no doubt now.  Her eyes were greener.  The color made her gaze more intense, if that was possible.  She was determined to learn whatever she needed to, not only to protect herself, but her friend.  The truth was that the more she learned, the better able she would be to do it.  He never should have agreed to help this family.

“Vampires.” He said calmly.

Chapter 5

Chapter 5

Dawn knocked the stool over when she jumped up.  She ignored it and rushed down the hallway.  The bedroom door burst open when she reached it and Crystal came running out.  Dawn didn’t have time to slow down before they collided and together they fell to the floor in a heap.

“Dawn!  Oh thank God you’re okay!”  Crystal threw her arms around Dawn’s neck.  “I woke up in a strange room and all that I could remember was losing you last night.  Then I remembered those creepy men cornering me…”

“Everything is fine, Crys.  We’re safe.  Calm down.”  Dawn pulled away from her friends vice-like grip and stood up clumsily.  Crystal followed her. “You passed out when the men came after you.  Good survival skills, by the way.  Luckily, my friend Jerrit was there.  He chased the creepers away and took us home.”

Dawn didn’t want to have to explain why she had agreed to go home with a complete stranger.  She honestly had no idea how Crystal would react to that.  She figured it would be easier to just keep her in the dark.

“I am not home Dawn!  If I was then I would not be freaking out right now.  I thought that I had been kidnapped.”

“And kept in a nice clean room with an exposed window, in a bed that cost more than your college tuition?”  Jerrit said from behind Dawn.  “Wow, I am one fine captor.”

His sarcasm was not going to go over well.  Dawn could tease her friend without consequence but Crystal did not know Jerrit.

“You!”  That was not a good tone.  Crystal made a move toward Jerrit but Dawn stepped in front of her.  Definitely not good.

“Jerrit took us back to his place.  I was not in the mood to explain to your front desk why you were unconscious.  On the spur of the moment all that I could think of was that I beat you up.  As believable as that is, I’m not sure that the school would take it well.”

“You’re not funny Dawn.  Why would he come to our rescue?”

“I told you, he’s my friend.”

“A friend that you have never mentioned?  I don’t think so.  You’re not exactly known for your ability to keep anything to yourself.  So, one more time…Who the hell is he?”

Dawn glanced at Jerrit.  He stood nonchalantly against the wall.  His arms were crossed over his chest accentuating the muscles of his arms.  He was extremely dangerous looking which did not help put Crystal at ease.  Still, Dawn was so attracted to him that it was scary, not that she would admit it.

She didn’t know why she didn’t just tell Crystal the truth.  Even if her friend didn’t believe her, it would at least get everything off of her chest.  There was the chance that Crystal would believe her and Dawn would be out of the woods, but the likely hood of that was slim.  Crys might believe what happened, but there was no way that she would excuse the fact that Dawn put her life at risk by going home with a complete stranger.  It didn’t matter that everything turned out alright.

Jerrit stared into Dawn’s brown eyes.  He could see the indecision behind her mask of control.  He shook his head subtly.  He knew what Dawn was thinking.  She wanted to tell Crystal what had happened.

Panic showed openly on Dawn’s beautiful face and her breath quickened.  Uh oh...That was an awfully fast emotional change which meant only one thing.  She was about to shift.  He moved toward her quickly hoping that she would calm down before it was too late.  No such luck.  Dawn let out a pain filled breath.  Jerrit caught her as she fell sideways.

“You need to get back in the bedroom,” Jerrit ordered Crystal.  Hold on for just a few more minutes, Dawn.  Please.  But there was nothing that he could do.  She was the only one who could get herself under control and she was not going to be able to.

“What did you do to her?”

“Seriously?”  Jerrit asked in disbelief as he lowered Dawn to the ground.  “You are going to blame me for this?  Fine, just get back in the bedroom.”

Crystal started to kneel next to her friend but Jerrit grabbed her arm.  Being careful not to hurt her.  He forced her to stand up.  She tried to pull away but he held her fast.

“I am begging you, Crystal, for your own sake, get back.”  Jerrit had never begged anyone for anything before, yet he was willing to do it for Dawn.  that was stupid.  He had only just met the girl and yet it was no less true.

“Let go of my arm.  She needs help and I don’t trust you to…”  Crystal’s face went pale at the same time that Dawn’s weight lightened in his other arm.  “My God.”

This was not good.  He released Crystal’s arm and she backed herself into the wall.  He looked down to see the house cat from the night before looking up at him with Dawn’s eyes.  At least she wasn’t a tiger.  He had that on his side.  The last thing that he needed was to have a wild cat in his apartment.

Dawn turned her panicked gaze to Crystal and meowed softly.  Jerrit let out a long slow breath as he picked Dawn up off the floor.  She wrapped her soft tail around his forearm while he stroked her fur, trying to sooth her.

“What the hell is going on here?  Where did Dawn go?”

Jerrit ignored the fear in Crystal’s voice.  Her panic was not his first priority at the moment.  He had never been in such a horrible situation.  Dawn was proving to be much more trouble than either of her sisters had been.  Considering her sisters, that was saying something.

“She hasn’t gone anywhere,” Jerrit answered irritably.

He moved into the living room and sat down on the couch.  He settled Dawn in his lap and continued to stroke her back.  She lay there staring expectantly toward the hall where he had left Crystal.

Jerrit had no idea how he was going to get out of this.  No one was supposed to know about Dawn.  Her survival depended on secrecy.  Now he had an untamed Were and a panicked human woman in his apartment.  He could handle the Were, it was the woman that was going to be the problem.  How was he supposed to convince her not to tell anyone what she had seen?  Damn his luck.  He was not compensated enough to deal with the trouble Dawn was causing.

Why should I have to deal with this?  I could just give her back to her family and make them figure out what to do.

Jerrit knew that he couldn’t really leave her like that.  He had sworn to protect her.  That oath was more sacred to him than anyone knew and was not about to break it, even if it got him killed.  Not even Dawn’s family knew just how far he was willing to go to keep her safe, and it had nothing to do with his inexplicable feelings for her.

Crystal came around the corner slowly.  She stood staring at Jerrit as though he was crazy.

“Are you telling me that Dawn just turned into a cat?”

Jerrit gave a single nod while Dawn purred softly.

“And you expect me to believe that?”

“I don’t expect you to believe anything.  You just saw what happened with your own eyes.  If you don’t believe it then take it up with them.  I personally don’t care what you believe.”

Crystal stared intently at the cat.  “It has her eyes,” she whispered to herself as she moved into the room.  Dawn’s eyes followed her as she knelt in front of the couch.  “And I have never seen a cat with that much focus.  Is her fur as soft as her hair?”

Jerrit could not hide his surprise.  The girl was actually calm about this.  “I’ve never felt Dawn’s hair.”

The cat purred softly as Crystal touched her head lightly.  It rubbed it’s head against her  palm.  The fur under her hand was soft, and Crystal could tell by all the split ends that it needed a trim.

“That’s right, Crys.  Don’t be afraid of me.”

“Holy…”  Crystal stumbled away from the couch at the sound of Dawns voice in her head.

“You can hear me.”

The look on the cat’s face was hopeful, or maybe that was just Crystal going crazy.  This was not possible.  Her friend was not a cat.  Impossible...for a plain yellow pumpkin to become a golden carriage.  Crystal shook her head.  Now was not the time for musicals, even if it was Cinderella.

“Dawn is just as freaked out about this as you are,” Jerrit said.

“Yeah, I doubt that.  Can you hear her too?  Please tell me that I’m just crazy and hearing voices.  Or that this is some really incredible prank.  My friend is not a cat whose voice is in my head.”

“I honestly wish that I could.  But this is really happening Crystal.  Your friend is going through something that you are not supposed to know anything about, but now that you do, there is nothing that I can do about it.  You are more in this than you could possibly imagine.”

“Comforting.”

Dawn wanted so badly to tell Crystal that it was all going to be alright, but she had no idea if it really would be and she couldn’t lie to her friend.  She should have taken Crystal home last night.  She should have kept her friend safe, but she hadn’t.  This was all her fault.

It was amazing how Jerrit was able to calm her, though.  Even with all of his doomsday talk his beautifully accented voice made her relax.  The feel of his strong hand absentmindedly massaging her back made her feel protected.  How could a man that she had just met have such an effect on her?  She should not be so comfortable with him but, against all common sense, she felt herself relaxing.

“Jerrit, would you put a blanket over me, please?”

He did as she asked, making sure to spread it out so that it would still cover her once she returned to her human form.  He watched as she shifted back to normal. 

Crystal gasped.  He could not imagine how strange this must be for her.  He had grown up with Weres.  There constant form changing was normal for him.  He tried to remember what it had been like the first time that he had seen it, but he could not recall it any more than he could remember his first step.  In his world this was just the way that things were.

Dawn gathered the blanket around her while she was still in his lap.  It was impossible to keep the image of her naked body out of his head with her so close and so very nude.  It would be only too easy for him to pick her up and carry her to his room where he would give her the greatest pleasure that she had ever had.  The thought alone made him hard with need.

Dawn stood up, when she felt just how much Jerrit was effected by her.  It made her feel sexy and strangely powerful.  It brought heat to her cheeks as well as other more intimate places of her body.  But this was not the time for the fantasies that plagued her mind.  Not only was her friend in the room, making the situation even more uncomfortable, but she barely knew the man…and yet she had never been more attracted to anyone in her life.  She must have moved from slightly crazy to completely insane.

“Thank you,” she said quietly.  He gave her a nod then quickly stood and escaped into the kitchen.

Dawn turned to Crystal with what she hoped was an apologetic look.  She offered a hand to help Crystal up but she just stared at it uncertainly.

“Come on, Crys.  I don’t bite…anymore than I used to.”  Crystal was obviously not amused.  “Seriously, Crys, I’m sorry that you had to see that.  I can’t control it.  Now, I’ve gotten you involved in something that I am not even sure that I want to be a part myself.”

“You are such a liar,” Crystal scoffed.  She finally took Dawn’s hand and stood up.  “This is like a dream come true for you.  This is your messed up fantasy world come to life.  You can’t tell me that you are not loving every minute of it because if I wasn’t so freaked out right now, I would be right there with you.”

Crystal knew her far too well.  Still, her fantasy was not turning out the way that she had imagined.  Such is life.

“How long have you been able to turn into an animal?”

“Since last night,” Jerrit answered for her.

He was in the kitchen apparently cleaning up, but Dawn had a feeling that he was just trying to keep himself occupied.  He was uncomfortable but she had a feeling that it wasn’t because she had felt his arousal.  Something else was bothering Jerrit.

“Oh my gosh,” Crystal said with realization.  “The tiger in the alley, that was you, wasn’t it?  I wasn’t hallucinating?”

“Unfortunately, that was me.  But I never would have gone out there if I had known that I wasn’t human.  It was an instinct thing.  It’s kind of hard to explain but emotions as an animal are very different then they are when you are human.  It’s much more intense and it takes a minute before my brain can catch up with my impulses.  This must be what bipolar feels like.  I mean, how am I supposed to know what I’m really feeling when I’ve got a freakin’ animal in my head fighting for control?”

“I need to sit down.”  Crystal collapsed onto the couch with a loud sigh.  “And I thought that you had issues before.  I had no idea just how right I was.”

“I really have to interrupt you two,” Jerrit said drawing their attention.  “Dawn the more that you tell her the more danger that she is in.  I would really hate to have you lose your friend just because she knows too much.”

“You think that those men are going to come after me again?”  Crystal’s voice was filled with apprehension.

“I wouldn’t put it past them.  Now that they know that you run with a Were, you are basically a prime target.  But they are not the only ones out there that will come after you.”

“Then what harm can it be telling her anything?” Dawn asked.  “If she’s already in trouble, why not give her as much information as I can.  At least then she might be able to protect herself.  Knowledge is power, so they tell me.”

“Of course you wouldn’t know first hand.”  Dawn glared at Crystal.

Jerrit shook his, unable to come up with an argument against Dawn.  She was right.  The damage was already done.  There couldn’t be too much harm in making sure that Crystal knew how to take care of herself.  At least then he wouldn’t have to worry about the girl doing something stupid to try to learn it on her own.

“Fine, but maybe you should wait until you know a little more before you try to explain it to her.  For now, would you please go and get dressed?  If you’d like to get washed up a bit the bathroom is the first door on the left.”

“What?  You don’t like the fact that you have a naked woman running around your home?”  Dawn smiled seductively.

“Ew,” Crystal added.

Jerrit took a deep breath trying to keep himself from taking the bait that Dawn had cast.  He knew better than to give into the urge to take her.  If she didn’t stop tempting him, he was going to need a cold shower.  “I don’t think that you want to hear the answer to that, darling.”

Dawn’s smile widened, but she quickly subdued when she turned to her friend.

“Will you be okay if I leave you alone for a few minutes…with him?”

“Don’t worry, Dawn.  I’m not gunna hurt him.”

Jerrit would have loved to see the woman try.  She had no idea just who she was dealing with, and he planned to keep it that way.  The girl did not need that kind of information.

“Well, I know you, so I had to check,” Dawn said with a smile.

Crystal stood up and pushed Dawn toward the hall.  “Would you just go put some clothes on.  I don’t want the image of your naked butt singed into my brain.  All that I want right now is to go home, take a shower and wash away the past twenty-four hours.  Plus you smell like shit.”

“Wow.  I almost felt sorry for you then I remembered that it’s you and realized ‘oh my god, Crystal’s playing me like a fiddle.’”

Crystal smacked Dawn.  “Would you just go.  The sooner you get dressed, the sooner we can leave.”

“I’m going, I’m going.”  Dawn pouted as she made her way to the bathroom pausing only to pick up her clothes.

Jerrit took a deep breath when he heard the door shut.  Crystal was going to start asking questions that he was not in the mood to avoid.

“What would you like to eat?  I’ve made eggs and bacon, but if you’d prefer something else I’m sure that I could accommodate you.”

“Who are you, Jerrit?”

Jerrit flinched at her bluntness.  Very few knew the truth of his past and he was not about to tell the woman who was blaming him for all of the problems that had fallen into her lap.  Of course, he had shown up the moment that all of the madness started, so he really couldn’t hold that against her.

“I am an old friend of the family,” Jerrit said evasively.  It was not a lie, but it was nowhere near the full truth.

Crystal raised a skeptical eyebrow.

“I don’t come around very often,” he amended.  Again, the truth.

“Good friend, huh?”

The venom behind those three sarcastic words was palpable.  There was no way that he was going to get the girl to trust him, and he was not particularly fond of her.  The girl was extremely irksome.

“Her parents have known me for years.  The only reason that I am here at all is because they asked me to help her.  I have ulterior motives, absolutely, but none of them involve harming Dawn in any way.”

“Why should I believe you?”

“I don’t care if you believe me.  But, if you really need a reason, how about the fact that you are still alive and safe.  If I wanted either you or Dawn dead then I would have done it already.  Although you are wearing on my last nerve.”

“You don’t have the guts to hurt me.”

Jerrit couldn’t take it anymore.  The girl was going to learn that he was not to be tested whether or not she was Dawn’s friend.  He moved slowly into the living room toward the girl. Crystal’s eyes widened in fear as she realized that he would do anything that he pleased. She backed away from him until she hit the wall.  Jerrit placed a hand on either side of her so that she could not escape.  He could feel the fear radiating off of her.

“You already used up two of your chances threatening me last night.  My patience is spent.  I deal with far more dangerous people than you, darling.  People who would not hesitate to kill me for helping your friend and others who will kill me if anything happens to her.  Both are much closer to having the means to do so than you are.  Do not make the mistake of thinking that I will not harm you in order to protect her.  I have spared you so far for Dawn’s sake, but the fact that you know about her makes you a liability.  My life is tied to Dawn’s and I actually like my life, so should you do anything that will put that girl in jeopardy I will take you down without even thinking twice about it.

“I recommend that you keep that overworked tongue of yours still unless you have something truly productive to say.”

Crystal shook with fear while she stared at him with wide eyes.  Normally, Jerrit would revel in her fear, but as it was, he almost felt bad for her.  The girl was an innocent in all of this.  Truth be told, he would do just as much to keep her safe as he would for Dawn, but he would never admit that.

He would not hurt a human if he could prevent it.  He had sworn to help and not harm, but he was known for his brutality against his enemies.  People found it much more easy to believe their fears than the truth, so he played into the fears.  It kept him alive, and if Crystal knew just who was standing over her and what he was capable of she would not have provoked him.  She was dancing with the devil without knowing the steps.

He moved away from Crystal.  He turned to walk away but stopped when he saw Dawn leaning against the wall with her arms crossed over her chest.  She was freshly washed and clothed.  Her beautiful brown eyes were filled with suspicion and, if he wasn’t mistaken, jealousy.  How long had she been there?

“Am I interrupting something?”  She asked flatly.  “Because I can go back into the bathroom while you two finish.”

“We were just discussing how to pick up her car from the club.  She’ll need to go home and change before she has to go to work.”

Dawn glanced between the two of them a few times.  She knew that he was lying.  “Fine.  You can drop Crys and me off at the club so that she can take me home.”

Jerrit’s stomach dropped at the thought of being away from Dawn.  Luckily, he had a good reason to stay with her.  He was her bodyguard for awhile and there was nothing that she could do to get rid of him.

“I’ll be taking you home, Dawn.  I have to be around if you change again.  Even if you can control yourself in animal form, I still have to make sure that no one sees you.  I am here to protect as well as guide and it would make my life easier if I don’t have to commute or stalk you.”

“I can stay with Crys.  She knows what I am now so she can watch my back.”

“And what if you cannot control yourself, Dawn?  Can Crystal wrestle with a three-hundred pound tiger?  She’s strong, don’t get me wrong, but I think that this might be beyond her abilities.”

Dawn opened her mouth to argue then closed it again.  She had no argument to make.  He was right.  The regret in her eyes made him want to cringe.  He wanted his presence to be as much of a gift to her as hers was to him.  What did he expect?  He was a complete stranger to her.  And besides, she did not need a man like him in her life.  He had a lot of baggage, and even more enemies, that he did not need to burden her with.

Crystal’s tone was timid as she spoke for the first time.  “He’s right, Dawn.  I would watch your back in a heartbeat, but, truth be told, I am really weirded out by this.  I wouldn’t mind some time alone to sort everything out before I commit to being a part of it all.”

Dawn nodded.  “I get it, believe me.”  She turned her attention back to Jerrit.  “Alright, you can stick around.  But Jerrit, do not threaten my friends.”

Jerrit smiled timidly.  He was busted.  “You heard that, did you?”

“From the bathroom.”  She tapped her ear meaningfully.  “Apparently my curse comes with supersonic hearing.”

His smile turned mischievous.  “I can’t guarantee that I wont threaten your friends again, especially if they are as obnoxious as this one, but I will do my best.”

Jerrit grabbed a pair of sunglasses from a table beside the door and placed them over his eyes.  “So shall we go?”  Jerrit did not wait for a response.  He simply turned, opened the door and headed out.

Dawn shook her head in disbelief.  She followed him out the door, with a smile on her face.  If he thought that Crystal was annoying then he had no idea what he was in for.

Chapter 4

Chapter 4

 “What?”  Dawn’s stomach dropped.

“I haven’t introduced myself, at least not this morning, but you just said my name.  How is it that you know who I am if you do not remember last night?”

Dawn could remember how he had introduced himself in her dream but she could not think of when he would have done so in reality.  Unless…

“What exactly happened last night?”

“What do you think happened?”

“Oh don’t give me that psychological bullshit.  I’m not in the mood.  Now, I can write last night off as a dream but if it was real then I need to know what the hell is going on.  So, either tell me the truth or so help me…I will find some way to hurt you.”

“Do you frequently dream about turning into animals?”  Jerrit could not keep the amusement out of his voice.

Dawn let out a long sigh.  “It wouldn’t have been the first time.”  She closed her eyes and rubbed her hands over her face.  “How is this possible?”

“You were born with it.  Being a werewolf is just one of the many great things that you inherited from your father.  Both of your sisters have already cursed him for it, so don’t bother trying it obviously doesn’t work.  Don’t ask me why you weren’t a wolf though, because I haven’t figured that out yet.”

“Fabulous.  What was I?”

“You started as a house cat, but then you turned into a tiger.  A very vocal tiger I might add.  You sure gave those men a talking to.  It’s too bad that they couldn’t understand you.  I’ll bet your language was pretty creative.”

Dawn ignored his jibe.  “So I’m feline while the rest of my family is canine?  I’m no expert but isn’t that supposed to be impossible…genetically?”

“It’s not supposed to be possible.  Your blood is wolf so you should be canine, but even if you were some other kind of dog, I would still be worried.  The fact that you can change forms from one animal to another is troubling.  Weres can change from human to animal.  That’s it.  Only one animal form per person, but you have two that I have seen so far and I have a feeling hat there are more to come.”

Dawn was having trouble breathing.  Panic was consuming her with every new bit of information she was given.  She set her elbow on the counter and placed her palm against her forehead.  She was struggling to take everything in.  She had never been normal, by any means, but she had no idea just how screwed up she really was.

 “I’m the freak among freaks.  Fabulous.”  Dawn turned her head to look at Jerrit.  “You said that this is genetic.  What about my dad?”

Bob Saunders was a teddy bear of a man...sort of...he looked ferocious and had the tongue of a sailor when he got angry, but the truth was that he was a softy, at least when it came to his daughters.  He was not one to verbalize his feelings, but all three of his girls knew that they were loved.  At 5’8” he was an average height for a man with black hair, dark eyes and the solid build of an Italian.  He was the kind of man who followed his gut and sometimes acted before thinking the whole plan through.  Dawn shared his impulsive nature, and his road rage, but often made sure to have back up plans, and the windows rolled up and tinted, before she acted or spoke her mind.

“What about him?”

“I’ve never seen him turn into an animal.  My dad is not subtle enough to hide something like that, especially from me.”

“He’s Dormant,” Jerrit stated simply.

Dawn put her arm down as she waited for him to elaborate.  She laid her head on her outstretched elbow, keeping her eyes on Jerrit.  After a moment of silence it was clear that he was not going to go on.  “You say that like I am supposed to know what it means.”

Jerrit gave her a tight lipped smile.  “Sorry.  The wolf gene has been dormant in your father’s family for generations.  We haven’t figured out why it suddenly came awake again but it was a big surprise when your sister shifted.  Luckily, I found her and helped her figure out how to control it.  I taught her how to use her abilities.”

Dawn smiled to herself.  “Vanity must be upset that she wasn’t feline.  She loves cats.”

“You don’t just turn into your favorite animal, Dawn.”

“I realize that Jerrit,” Dawn said, matching his condescending tone.  “I just thought that her favorite animal should be a wolf because she can relate to them.”

“Rebel thinks that too.  She relates to the ‘lone wolf’ analogy.  Your eldest sister, Vanity, not so much.  She is more the leader of the pack, but she would never admit to having anything in common with a dog.  She’s far too sophisticated for that.”

Dawn chuckled.  Her eldest sister was full of finesse, and was stubborn as a mule, which she got from their father.  If anyone could find a way to make herself turn into a cat it would be Vanity.  She was an extremely stubborn woman.  That came with being the eldest in the family.

Her middle sister, Rebel, on the other hand, was very much the “lone wolf”, at least when it came to her family.  She had become much more family oriented when she gave birth to her daughter less than a year before.  It was something about having a family of her own that had made Rebel more open to accepting the family that she had been born into.  Still, she was very bull-headed and had her moments of emotional breakdowns.

“Do Jason and Justin know?”  Dawn would not be surprised if her bothers-in law had been kept in the dark about the family secret.

“Jason knew when Vanity changed.  He could tell that something was different and she couldn’t work through it on her own so she let him know.  He took it surprisingly well for a human.  Justin on the other hand didn’t find out until after the wedding.  Since Rebel had shifted before she’d met him, he didn’t know that she was different.”

“Poor Justin.  Rebel waited till after he couldn’t get away before she told him.  No wonder she was so worried about introducing him to the family.”

“She was extremely paranoid about that.  But even after everything was said and done both men stayed.  I have to give them credit for that.”

 “They really found love.”  Dawn smiled at how lucky her sisters were.  “That is so romantic…and a little creepy if you think about it for too long.”

“I’m glad I’m not the only one who thinks so.”

Dawn laughed.  “So, how did Vanity take the news that she was a wolf?  You said that her shift was a surprise.”

Jerrit shifted uneasily in his seat.  “Vanity was not the first to shift?”

“What do you mean?”

“You have a very…interesting family, Dawn.  Vanity should have been the first, but Rebel had a premature shift.  You remember the hard years with your sister?  Your parents told you that she was bipolar so that you wouldn’t know.  It was a very good cover considering the mood swings that come with all of the animal hormones that suddenly bombard the body.  She was too young to deal with the emotional changes that go along with shifting.  She was impossible to control for the first month.

“Your parents wanted to cover it up so badly that they told you she ran away for a week when she was in fact with me.  As I said, she was learning how to control her new gift.  After the first week she was able to live with the family again, but her old life became too much for her.  She dropped out of school because she couldn’t handle it with her animal instincts.  It was too much stimulation.  Those were hard times…”

Dawn lifted her hand to stop him without looking his way.  She knew how hard it had been.  Dawn had been thirteen at the time.  She and Vanity had spent a lot of time away from home while Rebel went through what Dawn had been told was a bipolar episode.  It was hard for Dawn to watch her middle sister during her episodes.  Rebel would go into fits of rage that would end with the house being torn apart and sometimes even ended with physical damage to Vanity.  Luckily Dawn had never been hurt, at least not physically.  Rebel seemed determine to protect her.  The entire thing had come on suddenly and it had changed something within Dawn that she still could not identify.

Dawn closed her eyes as she felt tears welling up over the memories.  Rage had become Rebel’s primary emotion.  Dawn had been the only witness to many fights between her two older sisters.  She could do nothing as she watched Rebel yell at their mother for nothing at all.  Dawn had seen most of her sister’s tantrums and remembered every single one.

Dawn spent a lot of time and energy trying to hide the change that she had gone through from her family.  She suppressed the memories of that time in her life in order to remain as normal as possible.  Well, normal for her.  She didn’t know how successful she had been at convincing them but she did what she could to ignore the change that was still there, hidden from unknowing eyes.

Dawn let out a long slow breath.  She opened her eyes to find Jerrit staring at her.  She looked away from him, trying to keep herself from getting swept away in them.  He stayed silent but she could feel those penetrating eyes on her.  It took a lot of strength to ignore him.

“I remember, Jerrit.  Better than I want to.  I remember every outburst and every fight between Vanity and Rebel.  I don’t need you to tell me what it was like.  I was there.  I have not been able to forget no matter how hard I try.  Do not think, for one minute, that I need you to remind me.”

Jerrit did not know what to say.  He knew that Rebel’s shift had been hard on Dawn but he had no idea just how much.  He’d had trouble controlling Rebel throughout her training.  The girl had lashed out at everyone, except for her little sister.  Dawn was the one person that Rebel would not touch, no matter what the girl did.  But Dawn saw everything.  She had not been physically damaged, but emotionally she was permanently scarred.  It was a wonder that Dawn was as normal as she was.

He wondered if it would have just been easier on Dawn if she had known the truth. Their parents had thought that she wouldn’t be able to handle it.  Rebel disagreed.  It was not easy convincing the wild child to keep the secret from her baby sister.

 “She trusted you, Dawn,” Jerrit said softly, “She thought that you were the only one who would accept her for what she was.  She thought that you would understand.”

“I would have,” Dawn whispered.  She cleared her throat and began to pick at her food before she continued more strongly.  “I have always been Baby Dawn to her…Her little sister who needs to be protected.  To my family, I am still three years old.  I have not been a child for a long time.  I was forced to grow up when Rebel ran away.  I took care of myself because I knew that Rebel needed the attention of our parents.

“I never held that against her.  I would have liked to know the truth, but…what’s done is done.  It doesn’t change anything.  What happened made me who I am and for that I am grateful.  So now that I have had my self discovery of today, let’s talk about you.  What part do you play in all of this?”

Dawn stared at Jerrit intently.  He could tell that she was not going to just accept the fact that he was there to help.  That would be far too easy.

He smiled politely before he answered his well rehearsed speech that gave as little away about himself as he could.  “My name is Jerrit Serenity.  I met your parents a long time ago through a mutual friend.  I have been looking after your family for years.  Technically, my job was to keep an eye on your family and protect them if the situation called for it.”

“You should find a new career.  That kind of sucks, and I cannot imagine that it pays well.”

“My ‘career’, as you call it, changed dramatically when your sister changed.  I went from protecting to teaching.”

“Wow, so you went from bad to worse.  Are you at paid well for it?”

“Not so much.”

Dawn smiled.  She got a kick out of sarcasm.  “Who was the mutual friend who introduced you to my parents?”

Jerrit’s expression turned dark.  “That is between myself and your parents.”

Dawn almost expected Jerrit to laugh and say ‘just kidding’ but he didn’t.  His reaction only made her more curious.  It took a lot of control to keep herself from pressuring him, but the look in his eyes kept her mouth shut.  It was as though he was looking into his own past and was extremely angry at what he saw.

“Do you mind if I call my mom?  I just want to verify your story and make sure that you are not just some crazy guy who has been stalking me and knows that I am really into science fiction.  You could just be biding your time before you attack me.”

“Wow, I’ve really thought this through in your mind.”

“Actually the story in my head is a lot longer and much more winded but I thought that the Readers Digest version would suffice.”

Jerrit shook his head with a smile as he pulled a cell phone out of his back pocket.  Dawn took the phone when he offered it to her.  She flipped it open and started dialing.  The phone rang only twice before her mother’s frantic voice came on the other end.

“Jerrit?  What’s wrong?  Is Dawn alright?”

Hearing her mother;s voice put Dawn at ease.  Donna Saunders was the one person that Dawn could count on to calm her with a simple hello.  Reaching almost 5’2” Donna was a small woman with curly brown hair and hazel eyes that could look strait through a person, into their soul.  The woman looked harmless but if you threatened one of her children, you were guaranteed to regret it.  She was a momma bear with her cubs.  Dawn got her temper, instincts and impulsiveness from her father, but she got her logic and passive aggression from her mother...they had to split the guilt for her sarcasm.

“I’m fine, mom,” Dawn said calmly.

“Dawn?  How are you calling me?”

“Well, it’s really easy, actually.  You see, I flipped open this new thing called a cell phone.  Then I pushed these magic buttons which represent a certain person when arranged into a sequence.”

“Dawn!!!  Stop being a smart-ass.  You are supposed to be a…”

“A wolf?” Dawn finished for her mother.  “Yeah, so I’ve been told.  Now, what I wanna know is who the hell is Jerrit and why is he helping me?”

“Your father and I sent him to help you.  He is there to guide you through all of this, honey.  Are you alright?  How do you feel?”

“Irritated, but I’ll live.  Oh and confused.  Yeah, I think that that about sums up how I feel right now.  Maybe a little betrayed.”

“I know, baby, but you’ll understand everything in time.  Just trust Jerrit for now.  If he does anything that you think is threatening to you then you call me.  I love you, Dawn.  Can I talk to Jerrit?”

Dawn scoffed.  Her mother was blowing her off.  That had never happened before.  “Sure…why not?”  Dawn held the phone out to Jerrit who raised his eyebrows.  “It’s for you.  Apparently I’m not important enough to talk to anymore.”

A smirk formed at the edges of Jerrit’s mouth as he took the phone.  “Donna...Yes she is fine.” Dawn could hear her mother’s voice over the phone but could not make out what she was saying.  “Yes, she shifted…I don’t know…I haven’t.  Yes, Donna, I am going to take care of everything.  You just tell Bob that she is fine.  Both of you can relax, she is in good hands.  We’ll keep you posted,” Jerrit smiled at whatever her mom said, which Dawn was pretty sure was a threat, “Goodbye, Donna.”

Jerrit shook his head as he closed the phone.  “You are one loved girl, Dawn.  I don’t think that you realize how much your family cares about you.”

“Why didn’t you tell my mother about my felinism?”  Dawn asked ignoring him.  She knew exactly how much her family loved her.

“Nice word.”  Jerrit stood up and picked up his plate.  He grabbed Dawn’s empty plate as he passed on his way to the sink.  “There’s no need to worry your mother any more than you already have.  She doesn’t need to freak out over nothing.”

“You think that this is nothing?”

“I really don’t know what this is.  So until we have more information, I am going to call it nothing.”

“Denial is always the best solution.  So riddle me this, sensei, Why didn’t my mom come herself?  Or my sisters.”

Jerrit started washing the dishes.  “Your sisters have lives of their own and your parents wouldn’t dare try that again.  You mother tried to help with Rebel but there was so much hostility toward her that she was not safe around your sister.  Rebel blames your parents for her…condition.  Ever since then, your parents have just kept their distance.  No point putting having them around if they will just be in the way.”

“But I don’t feel angry.  I’m feeling confused… scared… uncertain… excited… betrayed… skeptical…”

“I get it,” Jerrit interrupted her, turning off the water and turning to her.

“But I’m not angry.  It’s not like they did this intentionally.  They didn’t go to some geneticist and say, ‘Alright, we want a daughter with dirty blonde hair, brown eyes, a sarcastic attitude and we want her to be half animal.’  Being angry at them for this would be a waste of energy.”

“I must say that I am impressed.” Jerrit said drying his hands off on a towel.  “Not many girls your age have that same mentality.  They tend to blame their parents for all the troubles in their lives.”

“I’m twenty-one, Jerrit.  I stopped blaming my parents for my problems like six years ago.  I am not some stupid teenager who doesn’t know what’s going on, so please do not treat me like one.”

Jerrit inclined his head to her.  “I’m sorry.  I did not mean to insult you.  I was trying to compliment you.  I didn’t realize that I was talking down to you.  I’ll try not to do that anymore.”

“How old are you anyway?  I mean, you’ve trained both of my sisters and have had enough time to accumulate the knowledge to do so.  You don’t look more than twenty-five.”

Jerrit smirk mischievously but did not answer.  Dawn got the sinking suspicion that she did not want to know after all.  “You know what?  Never mind.”

A scream came from down the hall.

“Oh my god!  Crystal!”