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"About three weeks later it started to hit Waves of uncontrollable rage and anger My vision would just black out, and I wouldn't knoas happening I punched h my kitchenbecause a draas stuck shut I was crazy jealous about Maia, convinced she was looking at other guys, convincedI don't even knohat I thought I just know I snapped I hit her I want to say I don't re it, but I do And then she broke up with me" His voice trailed off He took a s of coffee; he looked sick, Siht He must not have told this story hts later I went to a party and she was there Dancing with another guy Kissing hiht for her to choose, not that she could have known that It was the first full moon since I'd been bitten" His knuckles hite where he gripped the cup "The first tih ony, and not just because of that I wanted her, wanted her to come back, wanted to explain, but all I could do was howl I took off running through the streets, and that hen I saw her, crossing the park near her house She was going home"

"And you attacked her," Simon said "You bit her"

"Yeah" Jordan stared blindly into the past "When I woke up the next o to her house, to explain I was halfway there when a big guy stepped intoabout me He explained he was a ned to otten there too late, that I'd already bitten soo anywhere near her He said I'd justover her He told me that since I'd bitten a human already, which was strictly forbidden, the only way I'd evade punishet trained to control myself

"I wouldn't have done it I would have spit on him and taken whatever punishment they wanted to hand out I hated myself that much But when he explained that I'd be able to help other people likeagain, it was like I saw a light in the darkness, way off in the future Like maybe it was a chance to fix what I'd done"

"Okay," Simon said slowly "But isn't it kind of a weird coincidence that you wound up assigned to irl you once bit and turned into a olf?"

"No coincidence," Jordan said "Your file was one of a bunch I got handed I picked you because Maia wasYou know, it's kind of a big deal It was the first time I realized she'd become a olf after I-after what I did"

"You never checked up to find out? That seems kind of-"

"I tried The Praetor didn't want me to, but I did what I could to find out what happened to her I knew she ran away from home, but she had a crappy ho And it's not like there's soistry of olves where I could look her up I justhoped she hadn't Turned"

"So you took nht maybe if I met you, I could find out what happened to her If she was okay"

"That's why you toldback "You were being protective"

Jordan glared at him over the rim of the coffee cup "Yeah, well, it was a jerk move"

"And you're the one who shoved the flyer for the band performance under her door Aren't you?" Si with nment, or just your personal extra touch?"

"I screwed her over," Jordan said "I didn't want to see her screwed over by someone else"

"And it didn't occur to you that if she showed up at our performance she'd try to rip your face off? If she hadn't been late, e That would have been an exciting extra for the audience"

"I didn't know," Jordan said "I didn't realize she hated uy who Turned ht not have been in control of himself"

"Yeah," said Siuy You never had a relationship with him Maia loved you She thinks you bit her and then you ditched and never thought about her again She's going to hate you as much as she loved you once"

Before Jordan could reply, the doorbell rang-not the buzzer that would have sounded if so up, but the one that could be rung only if the visitor was standing in the hallway outside their door The boys exchanged baffled looks "Are you expecting someone?" Simon asked

Jordan shook his head and put the coffee cup down Together they went into the sestured for Si the door open

There was no one there Instead there was a folded piece of paper on the welco hunk of rock Jordan bent to free the paper and straightened up with a frown

"It's for you," he said, handing it to Simon

Puzzled, Simon unfolded the paper Printed across the center, in childish block letters, was the e:

SIMON LEWIS WE HAVE YOUR GIRLFRIEND YOU MUST COME TO 232 RIVERSIDE DRIVE TODAY BE THERE BEFORE DARK OR WE WILL CUT HER THROAT

"It's a joke," Si numbly at the paper "It has to be"

Without a word Jordan grabbed Sio of him, he rooted around for the cordless phone until he found it "Call her," he said, slapping the phone against Siht"

"But it ht not be her" Simon stared down at the phone as the full horror of the situation buzzed around his brain like a ghoul buzzing around the outside of a house, begging to be let in Focus, he told hiht be Isabelle"

"Oh, Jesus" Jordan glowered at hiirlfriends? Do we have to make a list of names to call?"

Si in the nu "Hello?"

"Maia-it's Simon"

The friendliness went out of her voice "Oh What do you want?"

"I just wanted to check that you were okay," he said

"I' on with us was all that serious I'h"

"No," Simon said "I mean I wanted to check that you were okay"

"Is this about Jordan?" He could hear the tense anger when she said his naether, didn't you? You're friends or soht? Well, you can tell hioes for both of you"

She hung up The dial tone buzzed down the phone like an angry bee

Simon looked at Jordan "She's fine She hates us both, but it really didn't sound like anything else rong"

"Fine," Jordan said tightly "Call Isabelle"

It took two tries before Izzy picked up; Simon was nearly in a panic by the ti distracted and annoyed "Whoever this is, it had better be good"

Relief poured through his veins "Isabelle It's Simon"