White Wolf 2: The Call of a Soul Read Online Free PDF

worried constantly about the bus’s innards.
    They talked about the weather and the new mayor, who’d been endorsed by most of the city’s elite but after five months hadn’t seemed to accomplish much. The man was the type you passed on the street without a second glance. Charles Smith. Even the mayor’s name proved innocuous.
    “Wish Mike had come back before the election. The Dorlands always did back the right horse.” Mac rounded the bend that led to the Caboose’s stop.
    Melanie gathered her purse. “I guess everyone knows he and Drake are back.”
    “For good. It’s the right thing to do. Those two boys should never have abandoned their heritage.” Mac pulled on the bus’s hand brake.
    Why had Mike and Drake left? She’d always wondered about that.
    “Have a good one. Don’t do any damage.” Mac waved his gnarled fingers.
    Such a sweet man, Mac, and he had so many problems, including his health.
    The first person she ran into was her friend Brinda’s daughter, Yvonne. That was unusual since the girl was in her freshman year at high school, and Mackinac High didn’t start for a good couple of hours.
    Yvonne bounded off the bus stop bench, backpack hanging loose from one hand. “What’s wrong, sweetie?”
    The teenager colored, bit her lip, and then blurted, “Nadine’s saying mean things about me.”
    Nadine de Verteuil, the lagniappe sister, born a dozen years after Valérie.
    “Like what?” Melanie sat on the bench and patted the slats.
    “That my mom’s…” She shook her head; her lips flattened, and Yvonne slumped onto the seat. “That she and Sheriff Pincer are…”
    Melanie blinked. Tried to keep her expression neutral. No way. Brinda knew how much Melanie disliked Pincer, and Brinda was as close to a best friend as she’d ever had. Besides, Brinda had had a mad crush on Doc G. for forever. “Now you know that isn’t true. Your mom’s working two jobs. She doesn’t have time for anything else. Besides you know that you’re her only priority. Have you told her about this?”
    “How can I?” Yvonne fiddled with the buckle on her backpack. “There’s something else. She’s been real sick the last few weeks. I hear her in the bathroom. She tries to be quiet, but I can hear.”
    Sweet Lord. Was Brinda pregnant? With Pincer’s baby? The notion bittered the saliva in Melanie’s mouth. She refused to even consider the option. “Okay. Here’s how we’re going to deal with this. I’ll talk to your mom and find out if she’s ill. Don’t worry. I’ll be real subtle about it. She won’t ever know you talked to me. Has Nadine gotten physical with you?”
    Yvonne dropped her gaze. She swung a sneaker-clad foot to one side. “She knocked the food tray out of my hands a couple of times. She hasn’t hit me if that’s what you’re asking.”
    Melanie didn’t know whether to believe the girl or not. “Yvonne, you’re taller than her and smarter than her—”
    “I tell myself that. But when she gets snarky with me, I freeze. It’s like my brain hangs up. And then a couple hours later, I think of the perfect comeback.” Yvonne clapped her heels together. “It makes me so mad at myself.”
    It sounded like her and Valérie all over again. Melanie squeezed Yvonne’s shoulder. “Hindsight’s always right. The same thing used to happen with me and her big sister.”
    The young girl’s ash brows climbed, and her blue eyes seemed to pop out of her head. “No way.”
    “Way.” Melanie couldn’t hold back a grin. “Let me think about it today, and we’ll work out a plan, but first things first. Try to make sure that you’re never alone with Nadine. I know you have friends at school. I’ve seen you with girls from school at the Caboose. Why don’t you start a group lunch thing? Organize a few friends and pick a table.”
    All the tension in the girl’s hunched shoulders evaporated; she straightened. “The only times Nadine’s got me was because I was late from PE,