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into his home and let her rest and heal, but Katie was determined to live alone and far from her “uncle” in order to keep him safe, as well as satisfy her own deep-seated need for solitude.
    The minute Katie had told Frank her story, it had taken all of her persuasive powers to keep him from going immediately to hunt down and throttle her stepfather. She’d had to do a complicated song and dance to explain why she had not contacted him for help during the years she and her mother were trapped under Ambrose’s power. Frank meant well, but Katie knew he wouldn’t get within three feet of Ambrose and remain alive to tell the tale, in spite of her godfather’s own unique strengths.
    She slid into the opposite side of the booth and looked directly into Frank’s brown eyes. There was no need to mince words. “They found me.”
    Frank paused for a moment and actually put his fork and knife down—a sure sign of his distress or the seventh sign of the approaching apocalypse, Katie wasn’t sure which. He remained silent as Katie took off her coat and gave the waitress her order. Alone again, he addressed her in his gravelly baritone.
    “Where and when?” There was no doubt in his voice. Instead there was a sense of relief. They had both been waiting for this day, and now it was here. From the tone of his voice, Uncle Frank had no intention of allowing her to face it alone.
    “Last night, near the cabin. I found my landlord, David Finn, facedown in a snow bank, naked as a jaybird. After I revived him, he mentioned that someone had tripped his alarms, attacked him, and left him for dead.”
    Frank looked thoughtful. “Naked? Why would they strip him when he would have frozen to death just as fast with his clothes on? And if it was Hugh Ambrose, why didn’t they come get you?” He sat back in the booth as far as his bulk would allow and curled one arm up to rest his chin on a fist the size of a normal person’s head. “There is usually only one kind of person who shows up naked in a forest. You know that, my Katie.”
    She sniffed. “That is definitely a possibility, Uncle. And there were some intense feelings I’m not sure what to do with when he made a pass at me. But whoever or whatever he is…I do not need to be dragging him into this mess. And he might have just been stripped and left for dead. Besides, you told me yourself that our people are becoming more and more scarce. I saw none in Spain when I was in Europe. He could be no more one of the ‘People’ than the rest of Blowing Rock.”
    “Spain has no Were population. The Inquisition killed them off centuries ago. Wait. He made a pass at you, did he?” Frank’s eyes narrowed, his expression suspicious. “How did this ‘pass’ come about, young lady?”
    Reluctantly, Katie outlined a sketchy version of the events of the morning, leaving out the more salacious details, editing more for her own sake than for the sake of her earthy uncle.
    “Couldn’t control yourself and felt like you had a fever to rival your worst case of the flu? Hmmm. I think I should meet Mr. Finn. I kept meaning to seek him out and welcome him since he moved up on the mountain, but now…” Frank broke off as he picked up his fork and resumed working on his breakfast. “I don’t think a wealthy new resident from Scotland would have anything to do with that animal your mother felt forced to replace your father with. There have always been rumors about the Finns of Shadow Mountain. They’ve been back and forth between here and the old land for hundreds of years. The legend of the Devil-wolf started with them, and it is usually sighted when they’re in residence. They’re a very wealthy family, but I sometimes forget that in every rumor and legend there is a small kernel of truth. It must be a sign of age.” He shoveled a forkful of eggs into his mouth and sat chewing, his eyes clouded in deepest thought.
    “Remind me to watch my fingers and toes when I eat with you,