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muttered, focusing on the nearest face. It was a big animal, large yellow eyes bulging from dark fur. “Were you waiting for Aric to go out? Have you been hiding?”
    Even as I asked the questions I knew there had to be something else behind the story. If wolves were close – even in their human form – Aric would have picked up their scent. They had to come from somewhere else.
    “Were you hiding in vehicles on the road until you knew it was safe?” I asked.
    The wolf growled in response. I guess I shouldn’t have expected more. Aric couldn’t speak in wolf form either. He never had a problem getting his point across, though, especially when he wanted a belly rub.
    “I know why you’re here,” I said, focusing on the same wolf as it circled. I had no idea whether he was the leader. If I spent too much time watching all of them I’d lose sight of everything. I could only focus on my immediate surroundings. Aric drilled that into my head every chance he got. He was terrified the fight would come to us, and I would be alone when it happened. This was going to gut him. “Tell me what you want.”
    “Do you really think arguing with them is the way to go?” Paris asked, her tone shrill. “Fry them!”
    “Fry them?”
    “Burn them like you did when we were at school,” Paris ordered. “I don’t want to be a wolf snack.”
    That was a great suggestion. There was only one problem. “I don’t really do that anymore,” I said, narrowing my eyes at the nearest wolf. “It tends to get a little out of hand when I try to … control my impulses.”
    That was an understatement. In an effort to help me control my powers, Aric spent a year putting me through drills. After his pants caught fire three different times … and a load of lumber … and his truck … we put the training on hold. We always found a reason to delay the training. I think Aric feared I would hurt myself, and I was terrified I would hurt him. I never broached the subject.
    “Who cares?” Paris screeched, hopping to the side as a wolf snapped at her. “It’s better for things to get out of hand than be gnawed to death.”
    That was easy for her to say. Still … . That’s when I realized the wolf pack was geared toward attack. It wasn’t focused in my direction, though. Two outliers paced to cut me off from Paris. The rest focused on Paris. I realized I wasn’t their main target after all.
    That was interesting … and annoying.
    “Hey, you pack of mangy mutts need to go,” I snapped. “You’re not welcome here. If you stay I can’t make any guarantees about what will happen to you.”
    “Oh, well, that was terrifying,” Paris muttered.
    I ignored her. “I said I didn’t want to start burning things,” I threatened. “That doesn’t mean I won’t.”
    The wolves didn’t appear to care about my words, or my presence. They focused on Paris, and that was the direction they advanced. I was dying to know why, but now wasn’t the time for a question-and-answer session.
    “This is your last warning,” I said, placing my hands on my hips. “I’m terrifying and mean. I do horrible things to animals. You should hear what I wanted to do to a bunch of bees just this afternoon. This is your last chance.”
    “Stop threatening them and do something!” Paris screeched as one of the wolves lunged at her.
    I reacted out of instinct, lifting my hand and arcing a bolt of searing energy in the direction of the wolf. I meant for it to be a warning, but I was out of practice. There was enough power in the bolt to incinerate the wolf in mid leap at Paris.
    The wolf didn’t even get a chance to howl, instead hitting the ground hard and exploding into ash.
    “That was impressive,” Paris said, exhaling heavily. “Do it to the rest of them.”
    I hadn’t meant to do it to the first one. I hoped to set his tail on fire and send him yapping into the woods. Well … crap. “Go!” I was hoping the other wolves would see the display of power as