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truth I fear,” he barked at me. “It’s your friends. They will take this chance to kill me. You have to let me go, Kiera – I’m your brother .”
    I looked back out of the window and could see the police van coming ever nearer. I turned away again and looked at Jack. “So this is my choice?” I whispered. “Do I choose you over my friends? Because if I set you free, Jack, there is every chance that you will come after them again – set another trap and kill them.”
    “Who do you choose, Kiera?” he said, the light going out of his eyes, that haunted look he had while telling me his story now masking his face again. “Which half of you do you choose?
    The Vampyrus or Lycanthrope?”
    I shot a glance back over my shoulder and could see the van clearly now through the falling snow. Then, spinning around, I raced back across the room towards Jack. Leaning over him so my cheek brushed against his, I whispered in his ear and said, “I choose neither side.” Then, with one quick swipe of my claws, I sliced through the chains and set Jack free. The chair toppled over as Jack sprang to his feet and headed towards the door. He yanked it open, then paused and looked back at me.
    “You know I could have freed myself at any time, don’t you?” he said. “At any point I could’ve changed into a wolf and broken free.”
    “So why didn’t you?” I whispered.
    “Because it had to be your choice, Kiera,”
    he whispered back. “I had to know if you would save me over your friends.”
    “Why?”
    “Because I had to know you believed me,” he said softly.
    “Believed what?”
    “That I was your brother. I know you, Kiera. I know you are better than me. Despite what I’ve done to you, you couldn’t let your brother die,” he said, staring back at me. “At last I have what I’ve searched for my whole life.”
    “And what’s that?” I breathed.
    “Family,” he smiled. Then, glancing briefly down at the man we had both once loved as a father, Jack fled the room.
    With the sound of his feet thundering down the stairs, I raced after him. From the top of the staircase, I shouted, “Jack, what is the name of this person who understands how to pass between the different layers – times and whens?”
    At the bottom of the stairs, Jack paused and looked back at me. With his eyes glowing fiercely in their sunken sockets, he said, “Her name is Lilly Blu. If you can find her – you’ll love her!”
    “Why?” I shouted.
    “Because she’s one of us,” Jack grinned back at me. “Lilly’s a wolf!” Then he was gone, racing out of the front door and into the night.
    I ran back into the bedroom and to the window. I looked down to see Jack spring into the air, changing into a giant wolf in a blaze of glistening hair, claws, and razor-sharp teeth.
    Hidden by the trees which sat opposite the house, Jack turned on his giant paws and looked back at me. Throwing his head back, he released a deep, booming howl into the night. Then he was gone, leaving me alone at the window.
    Moments after seeing Jack’s long, bushy tail disappear between the black knotted tree trunks, the police van trudged to a stop outside, and I watched Murphy and Potter climb out. I couldn’t help but feel anger and hatred for the both of them.

Chapter Six
    Kiera
     
    I sat in the chair, my father dead at my feet, and waited for Murphy and Potter. The lamp continued to shine its murky light from the corner.
    I took a deep breath and tried to gather my thoughts – gather my nerves – for the confrontation I knew was about to come. I heard the sound of the front door swing open below. The hinges made a wailing sound like a baby lost in the dark. There was a moment’s silence.
    “Kiera!” It was Murphy who called my name.
    I didn’t answer. I sat silently, taking shallow breaths. Tiny plumes of breath escaped my mouth and floated away into the dark.
    “Kiera!” This time it was Potter who called, but his voice sounded laboured, as if in