notebooks and pens. She felt her cheeks flaming. She’d never admitted those things to anyone before. But he hadn’t seemed to mind.
She came back out into the living room just as Ian’s bedroom door opened. He had changed into jeans and a dark green long-sleeved shirt that fit his muscled torso perfectly, though his feet were still bare. He’d also put on a necklace of thin leather that disappeared into the front of his shirt. Anna wondered what it was. He hadn’t worn the necklace in prison.
She put all of her things on the coffee table and sat on the couch, pulling out her most important papers. “Like I said, we need to start with an interview,” she said.
Ian took his seat on the window seat again. She realized he probably felt safest when he had a view of the street. “Shoot,” he said. He’d picked up an apple from the bowl in the kitchen, and he took a bite.
After all this time, this was it: Anna had her very own werewolf to interview, all to herself. She looked over her list of questions. “I’d like to start with a broad analysis,” she said. “And I’d like to go over societal attitudes, and how the structure of shifter society differs from the structure of human society, and how those two structures are at odds in the larger realm of context.”
Ian looked at her. His green shirt made his eyes even more vivid, which was completely unfair. “I have no idea what the fuck that means,” he said, “and none of that shit is going to keep you alive. Instead, I’m going to teach you how to kill me.”
Anna blinked down at her papers. “I don’t—”
“Do you know how to kill a werewolf?” Ian asked.
She pressed her lips together and gave him a glare, reluctantly giving in. “I’ve read that a silver bullet does it,” she said.
He nodded. “That’s true. But it only works on the wolf.”
“What do you mean?”
“I mean that the man and the wolf die differently. A regular bullet can kill the human. Only a silver bullet can kill the wolf.” He took another bite of his apple. “Do you know how to shoot?”
“A little.” Her older cousin had taken her to the shooting range a few times before she left for college, because he wanted her to be able to take care of herself. “But I don’t own a gun.”
“Neither do I,” Ian said. “No need. Silver bullets are hard to come by—they have to be pure to work, and most people who claim to sell them mix the silver with other metals. So if you want to defend yourself from a wolf, you have to know how.”
Anna sighed and leaned back on the couch. “Okay, how?”
“Here’s your lesson in how to kill a shifter,” Ian said. “You writing this down?”
“No, because it isn’t supposed to be part of my research.”
“Suit yourself,” he said, and then he started listing the ways she could kill him. “Knives are best,” he said. “We bleed out, both human and wolf, and we can’t recover from it. So if you can get close enough and dig in with the right blade, you can kill us. If you’re that close, and your knife is that good, and you aren’t already dead, then beheading is obviously your best bet.”
“Obviously,” Anna said.
“If you can’t get close enough for a knife, then bullets are a good second option. You can’t kill the wolf with the bullet if it isn’t silver, but you can put a hurt on him, get to him before he heals. You have to hit him enough times that he can’t kill you when you get close.”
“This is disturbing,” Anna protested. “I have no plans to either shoot or behead anyone, thanks.”
“Quiet,” Ian said. “None of this is in your textbooks, by the way, so pay attention. We don’t get diseases, animal or man, and poison doesn’t work on us, so that’s out.” He held up his apple. “This apple could be full of rat poison, and I wouldn’t even know. So don’t fucking bother.”
“Noted,” Anna said.
But her sarcasm went over Ian’s head. “Broken bones heal fast, because of
She came back out into the living room just as Ian’s bedroom door opened. He had changed into jeans and a dark green long-sleeved shirt that fit his muscled torso perfectly, though his feet were still bare. He’d also put on a necklace of thin leather that disappeared into the front of his shirt. Anna wondered what it was. He hadn’t worn the necklace in prison.
She put all of her things on the coffee table and sat on the couch, pulling out her most important papers. “Like I said, we need to start with an interview,” she said.
Ian took his seat on the window seat again. She realized he probably felt safest when he had a view of the street. “Shoot,” he said. He’d picked up an apple from the bowl in the kitchen, and he took a bite.
After all this time, this was it: Anna had her very own werewolf to interview, all to herself. She looked over her list of questions. “I’d like to start with a broad analysis,” she said. “And I’d like to go over societal attitudes, and how the structure of shifter society differs from the structure of human society, and how those two structures are at odds in the larger realm of context.”
Ian looked at her. His green shirt made his eyes even more vivid, which was completely unfair. “I have no idea what the fuck that means,” he said, “and none of that shit is going to keep you alive. Instead, I’m going to teach you how to kill me.”
Anna blinked down at her papers. “I don’t—”
“Do you know how to kill a werewolf?” Ian asked.
She pressed her lips together and gave him a glare, reluctantly giving in. “I’ve read that a silver bullet does it,” she said.
He nodded. “That’s true. But it only works on the wolf.”
“What do you mean?”
“I mean that the man and the wolf die differently. A regular bullet can kill the human. Only a silver bullet can kill the wolf.” He took another bite of his apple. “Do you know how to shoot?”
“A little.” Her older cousin had taken her to the shooting range a few times before she left for college, because he wanted her to be able to take care of herself. “But I don’t own a gun.”
“Neither do I,” Ian said. “No need. Silver bullets are hard to come by—they have to be pure to work, and most people who claim to sell them mix the silver with other metals. So if you want to defend yourself from a wolf, you have to know how.”
Anna sighed and leaned back on the couch. “Okay, how?”
“Here’s your lesson in how to kill a shifter,” Ian said. “You writing this down?”
“No, because it isn’t supposed to be part of my research.”
“Suit yourself,” he said, and then he started listing the ways she could kill him. “Knives are best,” he said. “We bleed out, both human and wolf, and we can’t recover from it. So if you can get close enough and dig in with the right blade, you can kill us. If you’re that close, and your knife is that good, and you aren’t already dead, then beheading is obviously your best bet.”
“Obviously,” Anna said.
“If you can’t get close enough for a knife, then bullets are a good second option. You can’t kill the wolf with the bullet if it isn’t silver, but you can put a hurt on him, get to him before he heals. You have to hit him enough times that he can’t kill you when you get close.”
“This is disturbing,” Anna protested. “I have no plans to either shoot or behead anyone, thanks.”
“Quiet,” Ian said. “None of this is in your textbooks, by the way, so pay attention. We don’t get diseases, animal or man, and poison doesn’t work on us, so that’s out.” He held up his apple. “This apple could be full of rat poison, and I wouldn’t even know. So don’t fucking bother.”
“Noted,” Anna said.
But her sarcasm went over Ian’s head. “Broken bones heal fast, because of
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