The Reluctant Read online

Especially you, Luka. Come for me and feel my wrath. I dare you.

  The End

  A Note from the Author

  I found the audio files on a jump drive beside Will’s laptop. The police released them to me after dismissing them as an elaborate fantasy between the couple and of no forensic value. The files are not dated, nor do I believe that I’ve included them in order. Rather, I tried to align events with my perception of space and time that occurred between Emily and Will. Every word in this story that belongs to Will comes from the past, and I gave the tapes to Emily after she provided me with her account. I could never get her to reveal if she knew that they existed, and I did not want to influence her recollection by pressing for the information. Maybe Will’s “lessons” were in vain, but perhaps he meant to give them to her once she was Changed. As the reader may perceive, that never happened and Emily never mentioned it.

  Emily was never charged since the police never found her. In fact, she found me as I left the house and followed me home, curious to know what I had taken. I bribed her with the tapes, not knowing how dangerous she is. She obliged my curiosity rather than forcibly taking the drive, which by the end of her tale, I knew her very capable of doing. I did not make copies of the tapes, just created these transcripts, so Will’s voice is now possibly lost forever.

  To any Lycanti or Lycanthrope who may read this, please know that I am only a scribe of events past and present. As one of the reporters who showed up for what I thought would be a brief and monotonous report on a local boy, I left with more of a story than I had ever hoped to hear. To this day, I have no idea why Emily sat at my home for long hours as she told her story. My question, “What happened?”, seems a shallow precursor to this girl’s recount.

  I hold no personal opinion on the happenings that occurred between the two, nor do I presently know where Emily resides.

  For all you “normal” readers, you probably do not believe this, discounting my compilation as just another werewolf tale meant to generate income for a lowly reporter who dreams of being a novelist. Accept whatever parts as truth you must, but you should realize that an entire world exists with or without your approval or belief. And if I were you, I would not seek it out. Some things are best left buried.

  And Emily, to answer the question you asked me to address within these pages: No, I don’t believe that I would choose that course of action, but I wish you the best no matter what you decide. Maybe I can now count myself as a part of your story, which I thank you for, however small that part may be. And remember Emily: “A coward dies a thousand times before his death. The valiant never taste of death but once.”

  Now that’s Shakespeare and words to live by. I think Will would have wanted you to know that.

  Perhaps they will help you make your decision.

  God bless and good luck. Thank you for everything.

  If you enjoyed this novel, please check out the next two novels in the Lycanti series: The Willing and The Betrayed. Thank you for reading and enjoy the night.