“Lucas,” I repeated out loud. I stepped into the room and was greeted with a face so blank that I had to wonder if he’d heard me say his name or registered my presence here at all.
The boy in question was olive-skinned, but pallor had settled over his cheeks, and he didn’t twitch or move at all as I approached. The stillness was unnatural on a Were, and watching him felt as odd as seeing a lion lying faint on the floor. He looked like someone had drained the blood from his body and then leeched his will to live straight from his soul.
I crossed the room to stand at the foot of his bed, keeping myself just out of his reach. “I’m Rose,” I said, for lack of a better opening, “and you’re on Pine Ridge land.”
“I know.” His voice wasn’t quiet or raspy or anything else I’d expected of it. Inst
