“The Spaghetti twins,” announced Iona. “Scale recruited them as werewolves himself, both at the same time. Two for the price of one, you might say.”

“BOGOF!” cried Woody.

“I beg your pardon?” said Iona, raising her eyebrows.

“You buy one, you get one free,” said Woody in a Scottish accent.

Nat couldn’t help grinning. “It’s from a TV commercial for two-ply toilet paper. He needs to get out more.”

Iona’s eyebrows returned to their proper position. “The Spaghetti brothers are Gruber’s general gophers and bodyguards.”

“I wouldn’t like to bump into them on a dark night.” Nat shuddered.

“There’s something else I need to show you,” said Iona. She hesitated, glancing at Woody. “The Wolven files.”

Woody’s eyes flashed excitedly. “Can we see now?” he pleaded. “Please, Iona?”

Nat felt uncomfortable. There was something in Iona’s voice that warned him it was not going to be easy viewing.

Iona bit her lip. “The experiments to create a hybrid between the Wolven and the werewolves failed spectacularly. Their blood was incompatible; any offspring died shortly after birth. The werewolves became more and more unpredictable and unstable. Several very bad things happened that were covered up; some local children disappeared, and Professor Paxton was blamed. The Wolven were too sick to be of any further use, and the government back at Whitehall ordered the project to be scaled down. Gabriel Gruber escaped with just a warning, but Professor Paxton was discredited, his life’s work destroyed. Shortly after Woody was born, the professor disappeared.” Iona scrolled down and clicked on a folder labeled “Highly Classified.” She double-clicked on it while Nat and Woody held their breath.

A video file opened with a shot of a walled garden.

Woody gasped audibly as a dozen pure white Wolven came into view, followed by a smiling Iona and a tall, slightly stooped man who Nat guessed must be Professor Paxton.

“Look at them,” marveled Nat. “Woody, they’re your clan.”

Woody turned to Iona. “They … are they … all dead?” he asked very quietly.

Iona’s green eyes brimmed with tears. “I don’t know for certain,” she admitted shakily. “This video was shot just before Gruber took control. When things went wrong, the professor managed to smuggle you out, Woody, a tiny pup. The work I had done at Proteus was discredited along with his, and I was lucky not to have been involved in an ‘accident.’ I have no idea if any of the other Wolven were saved.”

“Is that how Woody wound up with the Tates?” asked Nat.