The Xoe Meyers Trilogy (Xoe Meyers Young Adult Fantasy/Horror Series)

a smile. “Let’s take a walk.”
    I nodded, ignoring the risks. What was the worst that could happen?
    Don’t answer that.
    Avoiding the not-so-watchful security guards, we slipped outside and began our walk. A surprise gust of chilly air blew my hair back from my face as we went. I glanced up at the sky as we walked off school grounds to see ominous clouds promising yet more rain. The smell of ozone was thick in the air. Joy.
    “I think that Lucy may be in trouble,” Jason began.
    “Tell me about it,” I replied. “Dan scratched her. We have some theories, but the most prominent one means that Lucy’s ‘trouble’ will start tonight, and I think you know something about it.” I stopped walking and looked at him expectantly.
    A bitter smile crept across his face, doing nothing to mar his handsomeness . . . not that I noticed or anything. “You are correct,” Jason confirmed. “Dan is indeed a werewolf, and Lucy will likely become one too. Now the question is, what are we going to do about it?”
    My jaw dropped. I hadn't expected him to confirm everything I'd just said. He said werewolf like the word didn't hold a world of implications.
    “Yep,” I replied weakly as I started walking again, still feeling shocked and unsure. “That’s the $10,000 question. So far we’ve come up with tying her to a tree in the woods.”
    Jason stumbled at my words, shock plain on his face. He recovered quickly, running his hands through his messy, dark brown hair. “Um, only if you are going to tie her up with silver chains.”
    “Oh,” I continued. “You wouldn’t happen to have any of those lying around?” I smiled sweetly and sarcastically fluttered my eyelashes at him.
    “I’ll see what I can do,” He answered nonchalantly.
    Oh. I hadn’t been serious about him having silver chains. I stopped again and looked up at him curiously, wondering if he was just messing with me. When he showed no signs of pointing at me and saying gotcha , I decided to push things a little further. “So it’s true that silver affects werewolves?”
    “Only the newly turned. Silver loses its potency after the first few shifts.”
    I nodded, feeling incredibly silly for quizzing a stranger about werewolves. “Now the question is, how do you know about all of this, and how can you expect me to believe it?”
    Jason ignored my question and began walking again.
    “Hey!” I shouted. “What gives? I was honest with you, wasn’t I? I think I deserve an answer.”
    He stopped and turned to consider me, concern plain on his face. We had neared the city park. He jerked his head slightly, gesturing for me to follow him. We trod a short distance more through the grass, then stepped onto the slightly damp sand of the currently empty playground. Jason sat down on the black rubber seat of a chain-link swing and motioned for me to take the swing next to him.
    “To answer one of your questions, I expect you to believe everything about Dan being a werewolf, because you already do. You wouldn't have walked out here with me if you hadn't already caught on. In answer to the question of how I know about these things, I will make you a deal,” Jason smiled. “Let us handle this situation with Lucy, as we're running out of time, then I will tell you anything you wish to know.”
    “Anything?” I questioned.
    “Anything.”
    I glared at him skeptically, but then conceded, I didn’t really have much choice but to trust him, for Lucy’s sake. We sat on the swings discussing Lucy’s “problem”. Well, mostly I sat scraping the toes of my shoes in the damp sand as my swing drifted back and forth while Jason tried to explain to me exactly what was going to happen to Lucy that night.
    I was relieved to have someone that at least knew something of what was going on. I knew I should have a million questions for him, but besides the question of how he knew about werewolves, I was at a loss. I gripped the chains of the swing, squeezing hard enough to