Okay, so I couldn't resist writing another chapter. But next time... Reviews please!

Chapter 18

The world was losing its perfect clarity. Images swam before Leigh's eyes, never fixing for more than a few seconds. She dimly realized that she was still growling at the detective but couldn't seem to make herself stop. The wolf in her was starting to take over. The wolf was feeling cornered and hurt. It wanted to lash out. She fought it. She was winning--at least for the moment.

Leigh glanced down at her bloody paws along her long snout. Grady had managed to get a shot at her under the car. Little bits of silver were embedded in her flesh along her hind legs and paws. They were big wounds, but they wouldn't close either. The silver had bound to her blood platelets, making it impossible for her blood to clot. She was losing a lot of blood and knew that she wouldn't be able to stay conscious for that much longer.

Luckily, she had a smal vial of TryptoKeri in the pocket of her leather jacket. She'd kept one with her ever since the last disaster. She hadn't felt safe to go around without one. It gave her an added measure of safety in case something bad occured--like today. The only problem was that her jacket was still back in the woods. She was sure she could get there before she fainted but she couldn't leave Doug.

That man was still standing above him, holding the wavering revolver in Doug's direction. She was too confused to remember exactly who this guy was or what kind of threat he posed for her. All she knew was that he was threatening Doug, and she couldn't have that.

She let another low growl rumble through her chest and escape her lips.

"I'll make you a deal," the man was saying, sending a shifty glance in Leigh's direction. "You call off the beast, and I'll lower the gun."

That sounded like a fair enough deal to Leigh, although she was miffed about being called a beast. She sent one last growl in his direction for the comment and sat back on her haunches. It was good to be able to sit back and rest for once. Leigh could feel the strength sapping from her muscles with each second. She was trembling slightly from the fatigue.

The man still hadn't lowered his gun. "I should be shooting you right now," he continued, with a tiny bit of reserved anger. "It's not as if you wouldn't do the same to me. Besides, you've given me a lot of trouble.

Doug snorted audibly and then winced in pain, holding his ribs. Leigh watched his face contort and felt the pain through the connection between them. Her vision went red for a moment. Leigh hung on to conciousness until Doug's wave of agony passed. She growled, wishing that Doug knew how to block his pain. It was only common courtesy in the 'wolf world to block your pain from the pack. But Doug was very new at this and more human than 'wolf.

Slowly the pain subsided and Leigh's vision came back.

"So why haven't you killed me yet?" Doug rasped.

"I suppose because you tried to save my life," the man acknowledged and slowly lowered the gun to his side. Detective, Leigh decided. He was a detective. "And besides, that guy seemed more dangerous than you."

"Glad you think so," Doug replied, and wiped the blood on his hands onto his shirt. He slowly moved into a sitting position, propping up his hands behind himself so as to keep his body in a sitting position. Leigh wanted to move to him as she saw him waver slightly, but was too tired to make the effort.

"So are you going to tell me what's going on?" The detective asked with a guarded look in his hawk-like eyes. He nudged his head toward the dead man. "Who is this guy?"

"Grady," Doug replied.

"And you betrayed him?" the detective inquired.

"Yes," Doug replied. "It was the right thing to do."

"Does this have anything to do with your father's death last fall?"

Doug shrugged his shoulders lightly. "In a way. I'd appreciate it if you didn't ask anymore questions," he continued. "I don't think I want or will be willing to answer them all. I hope you see that this is no ordinary case--that it's better left alone."

"No case is better left alone," the detective replied stubbornly. His manner toward Doug was becoming more sharp. Leigh growled, earning a perturbed glance from both the detective and Doug. Doug's look told her that he didn't want her to interfere. He was handling this. She hated it the way he always thought he knew how to do everything right. His plans went just as badly as hers sometimes. Take tonight for example.

Leigh knew she should take a little share of the blame. She should have been keeping her senses open for intruders. Grady had walked right up on them and she hadn't even noticed--even with her superior sense. She had been spending too much time paying attention to the detective and the plan. In addition, it was really hard to pay attention to anything but the pain after she had just been shot by the detective. But that was no excuse.

"This case is better left alone." It looked as if Doug was losing his patience too. "Believe me when I say you couldn't handle the truth if I spoon fed it to you."

The detective didn't appear to like this remark. Irritation crossed his angled cheeks and he looked as though he had the high mind to point the gun back in Doug's face. The detective took a deep breath, closing his eyes. After a moment, he jammed the revolver back into its holster.

He took another look at Leigh. She shuddered under his searching gaze. Then he turned back to Doug. "You called the wolf Leigh," he accused.

Leigh's heart rate doubled. She tried to focus her eyes on the detective. It was impossible. Her vision was getting even worse. At least she could still focus her attention on what they were saying. Dimly she realized that she needed to get to the TryptoKeri fast or she might never get to it. Of course, the wolf in her didn't care about things like that. It just cared about being cornered between the side of the car the the detective. The wolf didn't even seem to recognize the fact that the detective's gaze wasn't even focused on her at the moment. The wolf just knew that the detective was falling upon knowledge that was no good for it. Knowledge that might hurt it. The wolf attempted to take over her mind again. Leigh held on for all her might, feeling her strength slipping.

Doug frowned at the detective. "No I didn't," he denied. "You misheard me. I named the wolf Leo."

The detective shook his head stubbornly. "No, I heard you. Clear as day. But if this is Leigh, that means..." It was as though the information was suddenly becoming significant in Tross' mind. She shuddered, looking a little sick. He finished finally. "It means that Leigh is a werewolf."

Leigh waited for Doug to deny this statement. Doug did just the opposite, a tired look crossing his gaunt features. "Very good," he almost snapped. "Any more insights of the day, detective?"

"And your father was a werewolf hunter," The detective continued, putting two and two together.

"One of the best," Doug replied.

"Yet you think it's a good thing that he died?" The detective's eyebrows rose.

"Yes, I do," Doug groaned. "Now can you quit with the third degree?"

The detective sighed. "I suppose I can question you later."

"No you can't," Doug replied sourly.

"But for now," the detective said, choosing to ignore Doug's comment. He reached over to give Doug a hand, pulling him to his feet. "I can take you home--or to the hospital. You're not in good enough shape to walk back to your house."

Leigh had a good view of Doug's legs as he replied sharply. "No hospital! I don't want any records that I ever lived in or visited Lampton Hill."

The detective looked taken aback by this outburst. "But what about the police report? There's a dead man."

"You figure it out," Doug replied. "You're the one who shot him--and don't get me wrong, I'm grateful to be alive. But I can't have any involvement in the matter. In fact, it would be even better if you'd delay releasing information on this case. You have no idea how important this is."

"That's because you won't let me!"

Leigh slowly got to her feet. A wave of vertigo his her and she lost her vision completely for a couple of seconds. Slowly, in little dots, the world began to come back. She would let them argue all they wanted. She had more important things to worry about, like the wolf pawing frantically at the back of her mind. She took off at a quick and stumbling pace, dashing into the woods.

"Leigh!" Doug called after her.

Leigh didn't stop. She continued onward in the direction of her coat. She nearly bumped into a tree that was swimming in the side of her vision. She barely grazed it and moved on. Black dots were dotting her vision again. And she was afraid that they wouldn't leave this time. She dove on, hopping over a muddy section of land and headed through another stand of trees, feeling tiny bushes and scraggly bushes bounce off her sides and brush along her feet.

There it was. She could see the leather coat through her tunnel vision. She hopped forward, changing as she rushed ahead. The wolf resisted the change and she fought with all of her might. Slowly, the fur began to tuck into her flesh and her backbone lengthened and moved upward. Her snout slid back into her face and she tumbled forward, human and practically naked.

Her vision swam wildly and her stomach heaved. Blood everywhere. Her blood was all over the forest floor, dotting the leaves. She wretched out her last meal to the side, conscious enough to keep the mess away from her precious leather jacket. Her vision was completely black now. She moved her hand across the smooth forest floor until she felt her fingers spread across the cool leather. She moved automatically for the jacket pocket, feeling a hard object under her hand. It felt like a cell phone. She rummaged further.

She felt her consciousness drifting. She gripped another object, pulling it free and opening it. She felt drips falling onto the skin of her legs and she unsteadily brought the container to her lips. She downed what was left of it and fell back against the leather jacket. She could still feel the blood running out of her feet. Another wave of nausea passed over her and suddenly she couldn't focus any longer.

Leigh fell into oblivion.