“Morgan,” he said.
She blinked. “I beg your pardon?”
“You called me Morgan.”
“I am sorry. I did not mean—”
“No one calls me Mr. Holt,” he said. “That is for gentlemen.”
“I apologized for my rudeness—”
“Morgan.”
She hesitated a long moment, worrying the blanket between her fingers. “Morgan.”
“Good.” He sank down where he was, not trusting himself to go closer to her. “I am not your enemy, Athena. I came here to warn you that your brother is working against you.”
“Niall? I do not understand.”
“He brought us—the troupe—to Denver to play for your orphans. Now he wants to buy us off before the performance, and I don’t think he intends to tell you until we’re gone.”
“Buy you off?”
“I saw him offering Harry money if we would leave. The troupe wanted you to know, so you could decide.”
“That is ridiculous. My brother brought you all the way to Denver. Why would he send you away now?”
“Do you want the truth?”
A door shut behind her eyes. “Of course. I still do not understand—”
“He found out about the Wolf-Man act. That was why he was so upset when he came to get you on the lot, and why he wanted you out of the way.”
She paled. “He didn’t know you were in the show? But you have been with the circus all along—”
“He didn’t see me when he hired the troupe, and I don’t think he knows that I am the Wolf-Man. It is the idea he hates. He told Caitlin he did not want the children to see something unfit for them, but she thinks he’s afraid and hides it by claiming he’s protecting you. He would have kept the troupe if it wasn’t for me.”
“Why should Niall be afraid?” The soft curve of her lips took a stubborn set. “If your act is too frightening for the children, we can leave it out. What you say of my brother—you must have misunderstood him.”
He could have stopped there, told her what the troupe had decided, and left it in her hands. That would be the easiest way. Once he started saying what was in his mind, he’d only dig himself in deeper with her.
But wasn’t he halfway to hell already?
“I did not misunderstand, Athena. If your brother were an ordinary human, he wouldn’t believe my act was anything but a trick. He must suspect that the Wolf-Man is like you… and soon he may realize who and what I am.”
“But I have told you that he understands—”
“Why does he fear it so much if he accepts what you are? Why does he want us gone before you see us again?”
Her mouth opened on a sharp intake of breath. “I know my own brother. There must be some other reason for his… acting so strangely.”
For all the vehemence of her words, Morgan knew she was lying. Oh, not on purpose, and not to him, but to herself. There was something in this she didn’t want to face.
“You said your brother always knew what you were. His mother was human, but your mother was one of us.”
“Yes.” Her face was pinched, as if she anticipated some terrible pain. “My father loved my mother. He accepted her completely.”
“But did your brother? You ran as a wolf before the accident. Maybe he envied you.”
“No,” she said. “You are wrong.” She looked quickly from side to side, like a cornered animal seeking escape. “Were both your parents werewolves?”
“My… father was human.”
“And did he envy your mother?”
“I don’t know.” His throat thickened up, and he had to swallow twice to clear it. “She loved him. He never raised a hand to her or said a harsh word, until he…”
She stared at him, waiting for him to finish. He couldn’t. “We’re talking about your brother, and why he is afraid,” he said harshly. “Maybe he doesn’t want you around another of your kind.”
What is he protecting you from, Athena ? Does he secretly hate what you are—what we are—the way humans hate what they don’t understand? Or does he want you to forget what you were before your accident?