Dead Wolf by Tim O'Rourke Read Free Book Online

Munn destroyed her.”
    “And what about my brother – Jack?” I sniped.
    “Brother?” Potter cut in.
    I shot him a hard look, and he closed his mouth before saying anything else. I turned back to face Murphy. “You helped to make Jack what he is today.”
    “And don’t you think I feel guilty about that?” Murphy said. “But I had my brother to think of. I know Jack was only a boy, but I couldn’t risk him destroying the new life my brother had with you. But I tried to make amends.”
    “How?” I snapped.
    “Years later when I arrested him for killing those women,” Murphy started to explain.
    “The moment I saw him, I knew who he was. The curse might have eaten him up, made him look older, but I recognised him at once. I felt as if I had his victims’ blood on my hands, too.”
    “How come?” I asked.
    “Because perhaps you are right,” he sighed deeply. “Perhaps I did help to make him the killer he is today. But that’s the real trick. That’s what the Lycanthrope are good at.”
    “They’re good for something?” Potter groaned, collapsing into the seat where I had earlier chained Jack.
    “Shut it, Potter,” Murphy said gruffly.
    Then looking back at me, he added, “I did what I thought was best, Kiera. I did what I thought was best for you. But like I said, the wolves make you feel as if you have blood on your hands. The wolves have caused me nothing but heartache for as long as I can remember.”
    “What do you mean?” I asked him.
    “I lied to Jack because I thought I was protecting my brother from...” he trailed off as if remembering something that had hurt him very much.
    “From what?” I pushed, desperate to understand why Murphy had tricked Jack and kept secrets from me for so long. I wanted to understand so I didn’t have to hate him.
    “Although it pains me to say it, I do understand why Potter gave into those wolves like he did,” Murphy said. Then, looking at Potter he said, “And there is a reason I keep giving the wolves a second chance. I freed Jack from prison because I felt guilty for what I had done. That is the truth of the matter.” Murphy paused for a moment then swallowed hard. “To love a wolf is like no other love. They somehow take hold of you. You do stuff – take risks – give up everything you know to be right. I did what I did to try and save my younger brother.”
    “Save him from what?” I whispered.
    “The pain of falling in love with a wolf and having your heart broken," he whispered back at me, his face looking suddenly grey and old. “I was in love with a wolf once, but no good came of it. It ended in heartache and murder.”
    Turning his back on us, Murphy went to the window. With one quick swipe of his claws, he pulled the curtains free. He crossed the room, and kneeling down, he covered his brother’s body with them. Murphy lowered himself onto the chair and took his pipe from his trouser pocket. I sat on the floor, my back pressed against the wall, drawing up my knees beneath my chin.
    With the wind howling outside and snow pelting against the window, I watched a cloud of blue smoke drift from the end of Murphy’s pipe.
    His usually bright blue eyes looked clouded over and dark. Not looking at either Potter or me, Murphy looked thoughtfully ahead as he sucked on his pipe. Then slowly, he started to talk. This is what he said.

Chapter Seven
    Murphy
     
    I lived in a small house, deep in The Hollows with my mother and younger brother, Paul. My father had been one of those who had decided to go exploring in the vast wastes of the Talles Varineris canyon and had never returned. It was believed he had been transfixed by its beauty and had wandered into the canyon’s great fissures and been lost forever. My mother had loved him deeply, and was never the same again. She suffered from melancholia and spent most of mine and my brother’s childhood staring at the wall, as if unable to move or function until our father’s return.
    My brother