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his scent, no
other werewolves had been in here. He must’ve worked day-to-day and
came home to spend his money on video games.
    While we stood there chatting, I managed to
keep a straight face when Miles said, “My girlfriend here wants to
see the factory. She takes one peek at those tall chimneys and gets
all excited. Enough to streak across the parking lot naked.”
    Instead of handing over the badge, naturally,
the guy was quite eager to take in the sights. “You sure you don’t
need help? Lemme go get the badge.”
    Thanks a lot, Miles!
    But when Stan emerged from his bedroom with a
frown, I knew something was up.
    “My badge is gone. The window is open,
too.”
    Alex and Miles stood and headed into his
bedroom. I trailed behind, not touching anything.
    Stan started to look around his living room
before heading outside.
    The hallway to the bedroom was covered in
scattered clothing and abandoned beer cans. Just another man cave.
But then the sounds of our shoes making squishy noises on the
carpet raised the alarm. It accompanied a new scent. One I hadn’t
encountered before. It was wet and putrid—almost like moldy bread
mixed with raw sewage. Something supernatural had been here.
    The scent trail led into Stan’s bedroom.
There weren’t many clean places to stand, so I waited at the
doorway while Miles and Alex inspected the place.
    Alex touched the windowsill, and his hand
came away damp.
    What the hell had been here?
    “Do any of you recognize the scent?” I
asked.
    “No, but I don’t like it either,” Alex
said.
    Stan came up behind me with the silence of a
wraith. His once jovial face appeared drained of color.
    “There’s something outside, in the front.” He
shifted from one foot to the other. “It asked for Natalya.”
    A chill from the open window flowed through
the bedroom and raised the hairs on the back of my neck.
    “What is it?” I asked. My voice had grown
quiet.
    My brother appeared in front of me. “I don’t
like this. We should leave. Now.”
    “You can’t,” Stan said. “Whatever it is, it’s
sitting on the hood of your truck.”
    Stan backed out of the way so we could pass.
He added, “I’m smart enough to keep my nose clean. I sure as fuck
got no plans to ask that thing to give me back my badge.”
    Alex took the lead down the hallway.
    “You sure we shouldn’t make a run for it?”
Miles asked him.
    “It wants my sister. I want to know what it
is.” With shoulders back and gaze focused on the path ahead, my
brother led us out the front door and down the rickety metal
steps.
    His truck was where we’d left it, parked
under the shelter of a nearby weeping willow. At first, the tall
tree obstructed our view of who was waiting for me, but as the
scent grew in intensity, I knew I’d see the person sooner or later.
With each step, my footing wasn’t as bold. Stan was short and
rather pudgy, but he had enough meat on him to make me wonder what
could have frightened him.
    My chest began to tighten. The truck came
into view, but whatever sat on the hood wasn’t clear. Its form
flowed like a jellyfish through water, undulating and pulsating.
Then the murkiness coalesced into blackened skin that eventually
turned humanoid. A set of eyes opened, revealing white eyes with no
pupils. A black beard sprouted from its chin. Its mouth opened wide
with a hiss.
    “You took your time coming out here, Wolf.”
It was male, and his voice was damp and thick. Like someone with a
chest cold. It had a heavy, Old World accent that was familiar to
my ears.
    His form liquefied in an instant, snapping at
us like a sharp whip, before he slithered back to his perch.
    Alex pushed me back and growled in
response.
    “Answer me when I speak to you!” the creature
snapped in Russian.
    I opened my mouth, but nothing came out.
    “What the hell are you?” my brother replied
in Russian. “And what do you want with her?”
    Miles backed up a few steps and tugged me
with him. Instead of grass, we