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Dizziness washed over me and I swayed "What - ? Who - ? How - ?"

Adam rushed to the enclosure, saw the lock, and turned "The key"

I was having trouble breathing, so I sat down and put s After a few lanced up, two men, so alike in appearance and yet so different, stared back Now that they stood together, how could I have thought they were the same? One look into their eyes and I saw the difference The Adaht me here was not

"Twins?" I asked

They shook their heads, and their hair swirled around their shoulders

"My great-great well, several-greats-grandfather" The Adae jerked a thumb toward the one inside "Henri Ruelle"

The naked man bowed

"The picture," I murmured

Henri smirked I hated that sarou" Consideringthem

"Obviously," Henri returned

"Why would you leave it on the here anyone could see?"

"I only wanted you to see"

"Grandpere likes to confuse people"

He’d confused ht

I returned my attention to Adam "You said your family wasn’t cursed"

"No I said, ’Some say we are’"

"I specifically asked if you’d been cursed to run as a wolf beneath the crescent moon"

"I’m not"

"You look so much alike" I stared at Adam "Couldn’t you at least cut your hair? Make some distinction?"

"The better to protect lanced at him, then back at Adam "You protect it?"

"Hey!" Henri protested

"There will always be a loup-garou of Ruelle blood If Grandpere dies, the next Ruelle male becomes the beast"

"You"

He nodded "Then Luc"

Soto randfather?"

"They couldn’t bear knohat they ht become"

"Pussies," Henri spat

"Who did you piss off?" I demanded

"I didn’t know she was a voodoo queen She was - " Henri shrugged "A slave I wanted her; I took her"

"You raped her?"

"No" Confusion flickered over his face "She was ry about"

I rubbed betweenand squash him?"

"Too easy," Adam murmured

"Dismemberment would have been too easy"

"She called on the oddess to make me a beast"

I lifted my head "What?"

"Queen of heavens, oddess of de outlaolf, the instant I heard your name, deesse de la lune, I knew you were here fored "He’s been obsessed with you froure out if you were here to help or hurt him"

"Diana is a huntress," Henri continued "You rule all dark forests; you cohter of Satan"

"I think you’ve got the wrong Diana"

"I’oddess, then you show up? How can that be a coincidence?"

"It’s a hundred and fifty years later!" I shouted

"Ti to me"

I suppose after the first century, that’s true

"Listen," I said "My narand life she wasn’t a oddess"

"Did you coer, to be at my side until we ruled the world?" Henri asked

Did this guy listen! "I don’t think so"

"Then you came to cure me, and you have to die"

"Huh?"

"The one thing Grandpere fears is being cured He likes what he is He doesn’t want to go back to the way he was"

"In life I was at de overnment, stock market, death Now everyone is at de ain"

I looked at Adaht you were poor now"

"I want none of his money"

Couldn’t say I bla Henri," I said, "but why the entire line?"

"Curses are funny that way," Adaeneration"

"You’re certain killing him will curse you?"

’I can’t kill hih his hair "I’ve spoken with voodoo experts; they all say de sa A curse like this is on every Ruelle born until de curse is lifted And that I don’t kno to do No one does"

"So what, exactly, is the curse?"

"He is an evil, soulless thing A selfish prick who cares only for himself"

"Wasn’t he that already?"

’I didn’t know hied, "but ht here," Henri muttered

"Under de crescent moon he runs as a wolf," Adam continued as if Henri hadn’t spoken "He murders de innocent and creates more olves"

"Like Charlie"

"Yes"

"He told e under the crescenta beast that way"