All Rights Reserved

Copyright © 2012 by Zoe Reed

www.facebook.com/Author.ZoeReed

Acknowledgements

A great deal of thanks goes out to my editor, Jesse Hayward, who has been so gracious about making sure this is readable. Also to Nicholaus Williams, my proofreader who, after all the work put into this book, has probably read it more times than I have. Thanks for keeping my imagination in check when it threatens to run away from me, and for keeping this book true to itself.

I feel I must also say thanks to all my readers on a certain website where I got my start. This wouldn’t have been possible without them, as they made this crazy dream of mine seem a little less… well, crazy.

To Jessica and my family,

for unparalleled support while I got this going.

In Spirit and Truth

I’d been fast asleep for the last couple hours in the back of my parents’ white SUV, until the constant flicker of changing radio stations and the smell of fresh country air and manure stirred me awake. The warm sun had been beating down on my leg through the window, so I rubbed out the hot spot as I sat up. Taking a deep breath of the farm-saturated air flowing through the cracked window, I smiled and stretched my arms out in front of me. If it were a bit drier it would have smelled just like home. Even the enormous fields of tall, grass-like crops that lined both sides of the two-lane highway were familiar, and I could name them without hesitation. The long green stems with the bright golden heads could have been easily mistaken for wheat, but experience and growing up around farms told me it was rice.

When I thought of California I imagined the Hollywood version of it, with big cities, beaches and preppy teenagers. I certainly couldn’t fathom the simple but vast dissections of farmland that had been spread out all around me since we’d entered the state’s borders. So far, it was exactly as my parents promised it would be when they announced a week ago that we were moving. Apparently there were plenty of small towns and farmland in California, towns miles and miles from a city with a population more than four thousand. While it might have smelled, and even somewhat looked like home, I couldn’t help but think of everything I was leaving behind – the only place I’d ever known as home, and my friends.

Aaron. Before the move life had grown difficult for my family. When school was done I’d go straight home to help with chores because my dad could no longer afford to pay hired help. After finishing chores I devoted the rest of the night to homework in order to keep up what decent grades I received. Most the time I had too many responsibilities to even remember that I was still a teenager. My boyfriend, Aaron, had been the only excuse my parents allowed for the occasional ditch on chores. If they expected me to have a traditional relationship, and eventually give my mom what she so often spoke prematurely about, grandkids, then they’d have to give me some leeway for dating. Not only was Aaron a good excuse to get away, but he also knew how to have fun. When life got too stressful he always knew what to do and where to take me to make me feel a teenager again. I’d even been settling into a pleasant routine of daunting work and afterhours fun when my parents lost everything.

Like so many other ranchers in my hometown in Texas, my parents’ debt and bills had become so excessive that just one week before this trip, it was clear we had no choice but to move as soon as possible. They’d held on as long as they could, but eventually the only option was to declare bankruptcy. The most manageable situation for all of us was to leave what was no longer our ranch and move to my Uncle Robby’s small farm in Tranquility, California. I couldn’t say I’d been happy about it, but like a champ I rode it out and tried not to complain so that I could help do what I knew was best for my family.

My older brother Scott waved when he saw me turn around to look out the back window of the car, and I smiled and waved back. He was towing the five-stall horse trailer with our old black Ford, and sitting next to him in the passenger seat was my oldest brother, Jeremy. The original plan had been for Jeremy to drive to California in a separate moving van full of our belongings. That was, until we’d packed and found that everything that hadn’t been repossessed, such as personal things like clothes, fit neatly into the SUV and truck, which had fortunately been paid off. I suppose we wouldn’t have needed furniture anyway, since my uncle had pretty much everything we would need.

“We’re almost there, Kyla. How’d you sleep?” my dad asked from the driver’s seat, dark hazel eyes looking back at me through the rearview mirror. At his greeting, my mom also turned her head to smile at me.

I stretched my leisure-cramped arms and legs in front of me again and yawned. “Fine, but I’m dying to get out of the car. I’m starving too.” Before rolling the window all the way down in order to get a good look at the farmland that reached as far as the eye could see, I stole a glance at the clock, which read almost six in the evening. Dinnertime.

Through the glare of the setting sun and the diagonal breaks in the orange-spotted fruit trees I could see that we were coming up on a large house, the first one I’d seen around since I’d awoken. When my dad turned down a long driveway not thirty seconds later, I knew we’d reached our new home. As the car crunched slowly over the graveled entrance I studied my new surroundings. An enormous barn next to the two-story house stood back just far enough not to loom over it. The dark green of the paneled wood gave it a warmer and homier feel than I would have expected, and the contrast of the bright white door and window trim made it look new and freshly painted. Past the large, open double-doors in the front and back of the barn I could see straight through to the fenced horse pasture and surrounding fruit trees on the other side. It appeared the farm wasn’t as ‘small’ as I’d been led to believe.

I was surprised with the elegance my uncle managed to instill in a barn, but I was even more impressed with the house. Rob had seemed again to work wonders with the contrast of white trim, helping the gray stone that veneered the exterior to look inviting rather than gothic. Four windows at the top of the two-story house looked out over the driveway, but from the size of the outside I knew there had to be more than four rooms waiting at the top of the stairs. A white overhang, supported by three white stone pillars on each side, shaded the steps up to the small porch and front door. Through a large, jutted out window to the right of the home’s entrance I could see into the kitchen, and from what I could tell, the inside of the house looked as polished as the outside.

“We’re here,” my dad announced as he parked the SUV to the side of the house and next to a beat up, faded blue truck that I assumed was my uncle’s. When he saw his brother open the front door a rare grin lit up his face, and he jumped out as quickly as he could. “Rob, Rob, Rob! Look at you, you old bastard!”

I watched my mom wince at the unnecessary profanity and couldn’t help but smirk. Often times had I heard her use similar, if not more vulgar, words, but somehow it was always different when it came from someone else. Watching my dad and uncle hug I was reminded of how astounded I’d always been by their similar looks. Tall, toned but thin, with thick black hair and dark hazel eyes. Rob was four years older than my dad, but if his hair hadn’t started to gray and he hadn’t let it grow to the tips of his ears over the past few years, they would still almost look like twins. After my uncle had hugged my dad and then my mother, he picked me up and spun me around, just like he used to do when I was younger. I had no idea he’d be strong enough to do the same six years later.

“Look at you. All grown up and beautiful!” he exclaimed, putting me down and releasing me from the hug. Decades spent living in California had dulled his southern accent so much that I could barely pick up on it as he spoke. He playfully rubbed his eyes and stared at me again in exaggerated disbelief. “I haven’t seen you since the last time I visited! You must’ve been what, eleven? What are you now, fifty?”

I felt I was getting a little old for the ‘how old are you’ joke, but I decided to play along anyway as I put my hands on my hips and gave a roll of the eyes. “Ha-ha you’re funny. What’re you now, a hundred?”

“We got a smartass on our hands,” Rob boomed, continuing to chuckle as he hugged my brothers. “Get those horses out of the trailer and into the barn, then we can grab ourselves some dinner.”

“Kyla, help your brothers with the horses while me and your father get some stuff from the car,” my mom instructed more specifically while following our dad over to the back of the SUV.

I followed Scott and Jeremy to the rear of the trailer, and each of us grabbed one of the four horses to lead into the barn. When we got back to the trailer for the second round and saw just one more horse waiting to be taken, Scott yelled ‘nose goes’, instantly putting his index finger to his nose. With a sigh, I waved them both off and stepped up into the trailer, not even bothering to touch my nose because I knew they’d beaten me. I swear it was like they planned this stuff, and their laughs could be heard disappearing toward the house as they left me to get the last horse out. Using the leather lead to direct the animal, I kicked at the gravel as I ambled to the barn and then into one of the open stalls.

“This is a great way to spend the last day of summer, isn’t it Fido?” I mumbled to my favorite large brown colt. After putting him in the stall I stood there for a minute and affectionately stroked his paled muzzle. “At least Uncle Rob’s place is nicer than I thought it’d be.” He pressed against my hand in acknowledgement, causing me to smile and give his neck a playful pat. “We’ll just get through this together then.”

Knowing that the horses hadn’t eaten in a while, I looked around for where my uncle might keep the feed. There was a loft about thirty feet up and I could see the edge of a bale of hay sticking out over the side. Once I found the ladder I propped it up, and after kicking the bale over the side I spread some of it into each of the horses’ troughs. Then before leaving I made sure to securely close both the back and front doors of the barn.

With the horses taken care of, I jogged up to the porch and pushed open the front door. The main entrance exposed a long hall with an open, small formal living room on the immediate left. There were upward-leading stairs just past the formal room, and after that another open door that looked like it might be a bathroom. The hall seemed to come to an end at a more functional living room, as I could just see the edge of a couch and entertainment center. There were two door-less entryways on the right, one of which I could tell led to the kitchen, but the other I couldn’t see into from where I stood at the front door. However, the cheery voices of my family could be heard coming from somewhere beyond the kitchen, so I headed down the hall to the second doorway, which I found opened up to the dining room.

When I reached the dining room everyone was sitting around a large, dark oak table talking about the drive. Each of their plates was full, but they seemed to be waiting patiently for me to arrive before eating. A full plate at an empty chair next to Jeremy marked my seat, so I made my way to sit down beside him. The second I hit the chair everyone picked up their utensils to dig in, and with my rumbling stomach reminding me of how hungry I was, I didn’t waste a second in doing the same. While I hungrily ate away at my meal of corn, mashed potatoes and ham, I listened to everyone joke and laugh loudly. Based on what I’d always heard from my dad about Rob, my uncle looked much happier since we’d arrived, now that he wasn’t the only inhabitant of his large house. Both of his kids were off at college already for the start of the next semester, and his wife had passed away about three years before.

Throughout the process of moving it occurred to me that I was alone in expressing an aversion to leaving Texas. Scott was the only other one who had left behind friends and a girlfriend, neither of which he was really attached to, and so moving wasn’t a big deal for him. Jeremy had graduated high school a few years ago and stayed home to help on the farm while all his friends had gone off to college. So he, too, had nothing to stay for.

“So anyone who wants to come is more than welcome.” The end of Rob’s invitation broke through my thoughts, and I watched as my brothers and mom nodded in agreement, while my father said he was going to stay. Since everyone was decided they all looked at me, waiting patiently for a response.

Blinking away my solitary reflections I looked around at my family, ending with my gaze on my mom. “Where are you going?”

“We’re going to town to check things out, get school supplies, whatever,” Scott answered through a mouth full of food before our mother could explain.

Seeing as I’d already spent the entirety of the last day of summer cooped up in a car, the last thing I wanted to do now was shop for school supplies. With that in mind, I shook my head. “I’ll pass. I’m going to take Fido out for a ride and stretch his legs.”

Seemingly satisfied with my answer, they all turned back to conversation and their food, leaving me alone with my thoughts once again. The horses were the only things I had fought for when my parents announced the move, and looking back on it, I was surprised they’d been able to work out taking them to California. Even though I’d had to do some convincing, it didn’t take nearly as much as I’d prepared myself for. Of the twelve horses we had raised, four were special to my parents, and those were the four I convinced them to bring. I’d been able to take a huge part of home with me, and while I didn’t like having to move, I had to at least be appreciative for that.

Once everyone finished dinner they picked up their plates to drop in to the sink on their way out of the house. Before leaving, Rob stopped at the door of the dining room, and turning back to me he warned, “Be careful, Kyla. I know I don’t need to remind you that now’s when wild animals come out. Just don’t get too far from the house.”

“I’ll be alright, Uncle Rob. I’ll stay close,” I assured him, smiling thankfully when he grabbed my empty dinner plate.

Curious to test the night air, I got up and made my way through the dining room to the connected kitchen. I had almost reached the front door when my mom stopped me, and ushered me to the side and into the living room so nobody else could hear. “How are you sweetheart? You were kind of quiet at dinner.”

It had been obvious from day one that I wasn’t happy about the move, but to be fair, I couldn’t say that I hated it. Everything about my uncle’s farm seemed so pleasant and inviting that even though I’d had to leave my friends and boyfriend, I was sure it wouldn’t take long for me to start liking it.

“I’m alright I guess,” I told her, and I could feel her searching my face for signs of disappointment. “Just still getting used to the fact that we moved. It was so sudden, you know?”

After a nod of understanding and a tight embrace my mom started leading me back to the front door. “I am sorry it happened so fast, but I’m sure if you give it a chance you’ll start to see it as home. You might even love it out here.”

I just nodded in return and smiled goodbye as she hurried out the door to the car, where Scott was hanging out the window and yelling at her to hurry. After the taillights disappeared behind the trees along the driveway, I stepped onto the porch. The peaceful aura of the night made me take in a slow, deep breath. The air was still warm, untouched yet by fall winds and cold, and so a jacket wasn’t necessary. Exhaling loudly, I hopped off the steps and walked to the trailer to unload my saddle.

It took me a minute to find it in the dark, but when I did I speedily strode to the barn, saddled up Fido, and mounted him in a swift motion only achieved through experience and a mysterious gift of grace. With the reins and a light kick I led him out of the barn, stopping at the entrance to look around, unsure of which direction would give the most interesting walk. Behind us stretched orange trees, and in the other direction grape vines neighbored by – from what I could make out – grazing fields spotted with cattle. The fresh citrus smell of the oranges lured me behind the barn, and so, following my nose, that’s where I went.

After spending the last couple days in the car, I was more than glad to be in the open air as we walked between the trees. It wasn’t chilly, but it was cool enough to be surprisingly refreshing after a long day of travel. A glance upward revealed an enormous moon, and the world around me was dark enough to expose the thousands of stars that lit our path. Beginning to feel more at ease with each step, and unworried about getting lost as the rows of trees left us only one direction to go, I released the reins to let Fido walk his own pace and lay down across the horse’s back.

With a deep sigh I folded my arms behind my head, eventually letting my eyes flutter closed. For the first time in a while, I was starting to relax. Of course I worried about school the next day. I wondered if it would be hard to make friends at a new school as a junior. Wondered what my friends back home were doing. Did they miss me? And what about Aaron? Would our relationship last with the distance of a few states between us? Would I be as happy here as the rest of my family already seemed to be? Or if I couldn’t be happy, could I say anything and let the others know it? Even with all these concerns floating around in my head, the warm, citrus air seemed to creep through and create a fog that kept me from noticing each one clearly, and soon they were completely lost. After a while I lay there, thinking and hearing nothing but the slow, steady beat of Fido’s hooves beneath me, and the crickets that chirped unreservedly, mirroring the contentedness I finally felt.

Relaxation had almost led me into a light snooze when Fido stopped, and his body stiffened beneath me. At a disgruntled whinny I shot up, grabbing the reins lest he should try to run. As the horse grew tensely quiet, I realized that his distress had seemed to silence the world around us. The crickets had stopped chirping, whatever warm breeze there had been died, and the leaves were still and no longer rustling. The only sound was my steady heartbeat, and it was beginning to pick up. The silence screamed at me, a deafening alarm warning me that something wasn’t right.

It had to be a wild animal. A coyote, maybe even a cougar, neither of which I thought would be bold enough to attack a horse. Still, the silent darkness filled me with a building terror, and with each quiet second that passed by, my pulse quickened. In the earth-shattering stillness it seemed like hours had passed before the breaking of a stick on the ground behind me dropped my pounding heart to my stomach. After recovering from an unnerving flinch, I took a deep breath and gathered the courage to swivel my head, only to see nothing but indistinct trees behind me. A second later Fido stomped impatiently on the ground, throwing his head to let me know he was growing more and more uncomfortable.

“Okay boy, okay. Let’s get home.” I patted his neck and whispered comfortingly, and then I began to turn him around.

Assuming it had only been a small rabbit that frightened us, my heart was in the process of returning to a comfortable rhythm as we turned, until it was bolted to a start again by the near silent padding of a quick stride. The dark outline of a terrifyingly enormous animal crossed the path in front of us, and then dodged back into the trees faster than I could blink. Its shape resembled a canine, but I didn’t think even wolves could get that big. It had to be almost as big as my horse, and definitely wasn’t a coyote or a cougar. When Fido loudly voiced his disapproval I hastily agreed by kicking my feet back, and he took off at a gallop, racing toward the house at lightning speed.

I was no stranger to wild animals, and I’d always been taught that running was the worst thing to do. But the size of that shadow drove reason wildly away. Over the pounding of my heart in my ears and Fido’s hooves in the dirt I could barely hear the rustling of leaves keeping pace behind us. When I looked back, however, I was only greeted by darkness and the sound of an unseen pursuer. Luckily, the brightly lit barn and house came into view as we burst out of the trees, but I didn’t slow our pace until we’d reached the safety of the covered barn.

Once inside I pulled back on the reins, bringing Fido to a stop. “Whoa boy, it’s okay. We’re safe now.” I looked around the barn tentatively, testing my own statement before I dismounted the still uneasy horse.

Walking him into the stall I unbuckled and removed the saddle, not without difficulty because my hands were still shaking from fright. Even unsaddled, Fido stomped angrily around in his stall for a moment before settling, still tense, for staring wide-eyed toward the door. The other horses must have taken note of his behavior, because they also became uneasy. Or perhaps they smelled something in the air.

After giving the horses a little bit of the feed I finally spotted in the corner, I cautiously glanced out the barn door, checking for the large animal. Now the dark hid even the orange trees from me, but simply staring gave me a morsel of courage. It took studying the outside for a minute to convince myself there was nothing dangerously close. Then I left and nearly jogged to the house, my heart hammering away in my chest once more. Once safely inside, I let out a deep sigh and sat on a stool at the kitchen island to catch my breath.

Hearing me come in the front door, my dad walked in from the living room, looking concerned when he noticed me breathing deeply and still nearly shaking. “What’s wrong? You okay?”

“Yeah, I’m alright,” I answered, standing and stretching to try and relax my stress-strained body. I glanced out the kitchen window into the ominous dark, and it took a few more deep breaths to calm me before I could give a full answer. “A wild animal spooked Fido, it scared me is all.”

“Oh, okay. Well, you want some hot tea? It’ll calm your nerves.” He turned to the cabinets nearby, opening all the doors to search for a teapot.

I immediately shook my head, stopping him before he could find it. “No, I’m going to unpack a few things and head to bed.”

With a nod of understanding he stopped searching and closed the cupboards. “That’s probably a good idea, I carried your suitcase up for you. Goodnight.” He kissed me on the forehead and gave me a tight squeeze, and then I headed out of the kitchen.

As I got to the top of the stairs I realized I was right about there being more than four rooms upstairs of the house. With a quick glance down the hall I spotted seven doors in total. A few of the rooms were open, so I slowly walked down the hall, peeking in each of the open doors and looking for my stuff. In the second-to-last room on the right I spotted my suitcase on a full size bed, all made up with crisp new sheets and a puffy orange comforter. A smile creased my lips at the effort my uncle had taken to decorate what he could of the room with my favorite color. It succeeded in adding flavor and warmth to the cold room, which I otherwise would have felt lonely in.

The dark wood floor creaked quietly under my first step as I walked in and made my way to the bed. Opening the suitcase at the same time as I kicked off my shoes, I pulled out sweats and a tank top, then undressed and threw my clothes in the corner so I could put on my pajamas. After getting on the sweats and tank and setting the suitcase on the floor beside the bed, I looked around the room thoughtfully. The goal had been to unpack a few things, but the brand new comforter looked so soft and enticing that it was nearly screaming at me.

With an apathetic shrug, the decision was made that things could be unpacked the following day, and I flicked off the lights to jump under the covers. I shivered when I slid between the cold sheets, and it wasn’t until I warmed and curled up on my side that I realized how tired I was. Within five minutes of lying down and closing my eyes I had fallen asleep. Though I drifted off quickly, that sleep was restless. I tossed and turned all night. Nightmares haunted me with worries of school. My peers ignored me and whispered about me into each other’s ears. I dreamed Aaron left me alone in a field of orange trees. Abandoned me even though I was calling for him. Took my horse and left me alone with the darkness.

Alone with a wolf.

I stepped out into the warm night, the glow of the moon illuminating everything before me. It was the last day of summer. Tomorrow I would go back to the crowded halls to finish my last year of high school. My brothers and sisters fit in so easily. They easily separated their differences from themselves at school and acted like every other teenager. It wasn’t that I was hostile or awkward, and I talked to my peers and made conversation comfortably enough, but I wouldn’t let myself fit in as well as the others. I couldn’t, for fear of them getting too close and finding out about my family. God forbid I ever hurt anyone again. That was probably what haunted me most, since it was the only major difference between my siblings and I that I could think of.

That difference made me cautious, perhaps overly, and my desire to be careful left me inexperienced in my relations with humans. Most of my kind could look at humans apathetically. Deal with them when they had or wanted to, and then carry on with their lives. They certainly weren’t afraid, as I was. What was there to be afraid of? Not the unknown. We were the unknown, the things that went bump in the night. And after all, humans were pitiful, weren’t they? Weak and disloyal, with the predisposition to destroy what they couldn’t understand or control. Maybe my fear came from the fact that there were certain qualities I envied of humans. They were naïve and it wasn’t fatal, trusting and all they’d end up with was a broken heart. They could put their faith in and depend on others so easily. I might be tempted to give in to such foolish trusting if I let myself get too familiar.

I shook my head, the itching in my limbs pulling me from my thoughts. It had been a month and a half since the last time I Changed, much too long. I’d spent my entire summer working as help on some of the neighbors’ farms. It wasn’t that I needed the money so much as I needed something to do. Everyday I kept myself busy. My werewolf stamina allowed me to work from sunrise to sunset, and I worked hard. By the time I’d get home I would be tired and hungry enough that all I wanted was to eat and sleep. It kept me from feeling restless, but it also kept me from Phasing.

It wasn’t until a week ago that my lack of Changes started catching up with me. It started with the itching in my fingertips that would gradually spread throughout my limbs, and then to the rest of my body. Eventually the itch turned to a burn, and the longer I waited the harder it became to control. By now it had been so long that my body ached for the addictive burn that came with the Phase. That split second of raging pain as my new skin ripped through me, as I was changed completely. It happened the same way people became addicted to tattoos or piercings. The adrenaline. The mastery of pain. The power. Of course I grew somewhat used to the pain, we all did. Over the years it dulled by repetition, and we just learned to like it.

I walked to the beginning of my family’s small vineyard and took a deep breath. The rich, sweet smell of the grapes had always been pleasing to me, and I enjoyed the simple work that came with living on a farm. Though, it was more for looks than it was functional. Grapes were the staple of my county, and therefore the most practical cover for a family of werewolves. A majority of the deep violet bulbs went to the birds, though sometimes we harvested a few of the fruits to take to the farmer’s market or sell to a local winery, and only because the town had to think we actually got our money from farming.

Truth was that my dad was in charge of all the assets of the Pack in Oregon. We used to live with the Pack, since my dad and the Alpha had grown up together. For the financial work my dad did keeping track of the Pack’s money and out of the IRS’s sights, the Alpha let him take as much money as we needed to live off of. How the Pack got their money, however, I had never ventured to ask.

The warm night air cradled my naked body, and I shivered as a leaf danced by on the breeze, tickling my bare thigh. I embraced the itching in my limbs for the last time before Phasing, and then let it overtake me. The burn grew stronger until I felt the flash of agonizing but euphoric pain that instantly changed me from toe to finger to nose. In a split second I became new, the pain disappearing as suddenly as it had come. A large, dark brown wolf had taken my place.

Lowering my head to the ground to reach my front legs as far as possible, I stretched my long body. The soft, earthy soil felt good beneath my paws and between my toes as I massaged them in and then pressed deep and hard to get my footing. With a strong thrust of my body I was off, racing northwest through the flourishing grape vines, the start of my first lap around town. The thing I loved most about waiting so long to Change was how good it felt when I finally did.

All the power I had to be cautious of, all the strength that coursed through my human body was finally where it belonged. It jolted through me with every strike of my paws against the ground, every breath of the fresh night air. I didn’t hate what I was. Didn’t loathe that I had no choice but to Change or that I was different from everyone else. I loved what we could do. Loved the vigor, the advantage, and the grace of our kind. But I feared every second hoping no one knew. Hoping no one would trace the large paw prints back to my house. That no one would get close enough to get hurt.

I slowed, raising my nose to the air. I had to be about three miles from my house by now, which would put me by the Walters’ farm. The citrus of the oranges was a familiar scent, but the soft breeze carried something new. Something sweet. It was like nothing I’d ever smelled before. It wasn’t a food or an animal. The closest scent I could compare to it was honey, with the additional slight salt of a long day. Someone new? I couldn’t put my finger on it, but my nose twitched and wiggled at the pleasure of the smell.

So I let my nose lead me to it, keeping hidden in the shadows between leafy citrus trees. It didn’t take long for me to find the source of the aroma. Features weren’t clear enough, but there was a girl lying across the back of her horse. A dreadful curiosity took me and, keeping my head low, I crouched into a stalking position as I followed from behind a parallel line of trees. Who is this girl? It wasn’t one of Rob’s kids. They were back at school already, and this scent was unfamiliar. What’s she doing here? The outline of the girl’s chest languidly rose and fell with each relaxed breath. Is she sleeping?

I inched farther, trying to get as close as possible without alerting my mark. I was within leaping distance when another short and gentle breeze picked up, carrying my scent forward. With the draft, the horse became aware of me. Its body tensed uneasily, and I mentally growled at myself for being so careless. Immediately sensing the animal’s discomfort, the girl sat up and looked around. I took a deep breath and prayed that they didn’t run, and if they did I hoped I would have enough strength to control my chase instinct.

As I took a deep breath, I took with it that scent. It was so sweet that it was literally intoxicating. It filled my lungs, seeping into my veins and thickening in my blood until something of a sugar high made me drunk and senseless. What strength I had left I could feel turning to clumsy weakness. Feeling that if I stayed any longer I’d lose the will to leave at all, I turned around. It was best for me to go before I had a chance to screw it up any further.

CRACK. Shit. As I turned a stick broke beneath my paw, causing the now alert girl to begin turning the horse around, back in the direction of the Walters’ farm. The other side of her was exactly where I needed to go, and if I didn’t go now I’d lose the strength to leave the aura of that intoxicating smell. I leaped across the path between trees, hoping the girl hadn’t turned around in time to see. But hoping was useless, and as the horse whinnied loudly I knew I’d been spotted. Turning back from the other side of the path I watched the girl kick the horse, and they took off.

Before I knew it my legs took control of my body, and I was easily keeping pace behind the pair. With my chase instinct taking over I was glad that years of training had been sufficient enough to keep me from lunging at them. However, I had to follow. That wasn’t a choice I could make. While following I kept my nose to the air, drinking in the girl’s scent, now tainted with fear. Every second I remained behind the defenseless pair she became more and more frightened, and while it was my instinct to chase, I had the sense to curse myself for causing fear in something I could only imagine as beautiful.

I nearly skidded to a halt as I got to the edge of the trees, waiting for the girl to enter the barn and be out of sight. Girl and horse made it in, and I took this as my cue to silently pad to the side of the barn. There were no cracks to look through, so instead I cropped an ear and pressed it against the soft wood wall. Though the sounds were faint, I could hear the metal clinking of a buckle as the girl removed the saddle, and then the tiny pinkering of a million grains hitting an empty trough. I listened to the girl’s quick footsteps travel across the cement floor of the barn to the entrance and stop. I wondered what she was doing, but didn’t dare creep closer for fear of being seen. As her footsteps picked up again and headed back toward the house, I wormed to the edge of the barn to take a last, very deep breath of that heavenly smell before it disappeared behind the front door.

I lay down beside the barn with my head rested on my paws for a good five minutes until I had the strength to pull myself away. Before continuing my run I stopped at the pond at the edge of the Walters’ farm for a quick drink, and then hydrated and aching for exercise I started around the edges of town. Every once in a while I’d pass a house on the outside border of a farm and hear the dogs inside start barking or howling, as they would at a wild animal. Sometimes the barking was accompanied by an angry, sleep-disturbed shout. It was mostly small roads that surrounded Tranquility, and while the chance that someone was driving on them now was slim, I wove through the crops so as not to be seen.

Not stopping once, I ran the border of town nine times before my limbs felt satisfied with the night, but after the run my legs had plans other than taking me home. I found myself heading right back to the site I’d been drawn to earlier. By now the house was completely dark, and neither person nor animal was awake. I settled in the same spot beside the barn, head poking out just enough from the side that I’d see if anyone came out of the house. I inhaled deeply to try and get even the slightest whiff of what I feared to be a new addiction, but I got nothing, and huffed angrily at the house that locked it away from me. Leaning slightly against the side of the barn and resting my head on the cool dirt beneath me it didn’t take long to drift off to sleep.

I was pulled from that deep sleep the next morning by the closing of the front door of the house when Rob Walters came out. I made sure I was hidden from sight, and once he was in the barn I slunk into the trees. It had been so long since I’d spent the night in wolf form. The morning dew smelled fresh and crisp, and the cool air wove through my long fur, tingling my skin as I ran. A few minutes later I reached my two-story, white wood-paneled house. Through the window that overlooked the back porch I could see and hear my brothers and sisters talking in the kitchen. Swiftly Phasing to normal I shook out my arms and legs, reacquainting myself with the feel of my human limbs before making my way to the screen door.

“There she is!” my oldest brother, Carter, said happily as I walked through the back door into the kitchen. It always astounded me how professional he looked in his work suit. The blond-haired, blue-eyed Carter that I knew loved Phasing and running. So while he looked sharp and polished in his attire, he also looked tense and out of place. Like at any second he would shred it to a million pieces and put on his more comfortable skin. He casually took note of my naked body and raised a puzzled eyebrow. “You spent the night out?” None of my family members were uncomfortable with being unclothed around the house. Considering most of us Changed on a day-to-day basis and we’d grown up around it, it was almost the same as being in wolf form.

The snowy blonde head of my fraternal twin, Luna, bobbed up from her plate of breakfast for the first time since I’d entered the house, hazel eyes wide with curiosity. “That’s a first. Where’d you go?”

I skillfully swiped a few pieces of toast off of her huge plate before making a thoughtful face. “Hm, none of your business.” I smirked at the disappointed look on her face. “I went nowhere.”

“Yeah well it’s seven o’clock. We’re leaving in thirty minutes,” another of my brothers, Niko, said walking into the kitchen. He shook out his sandy-beige curls before smoothing them forward with his hands, then gave a sneaky side-glance at Luna’s plate and reached for a piece of toast.

Prepared and not wanting another piece stolen, Luna grabbed her fork with lighting speed and thrust it at his hand, getting him hard enough to almost break skin. “Paws off,” she mumbled under her breath and grabbed every piece of toast on her plate, licking it possessively.

“Where are Mom and Dad?” I asked anyone who was listening as I held back a delighted laugh. At five foot two Luna may have been the smallest of us, but she certainly ate the most.

“In town running some errands with Sky and Michael,” Carter answered and set his empty coffee cup in the sink. He glanced at his watch and then waved as he made his way out the door. “See ya guys.”

Niko made a show of checking his own watch, and then pointed to his wrist hurriedly as he chased me out of the kitchen. “Thirty minutes, Cami, let’s go.”

“I’m going! I’m going!” I exclaimed, jogging toward the stairs.

When I reached the bathroom next-door to my bedroom, I quickly grabbed a towel and jumped in the shower. The hot water was relaxing as it ran down my dirtied body, and I almost wished I had time to make a bath to rest and think in. There was something in the air that made me feel new, refreshed. Something that made me excited about the day. About school?

Yeah, it was that damn smell. The girl that I knew couldn’t be much older or younger than me. Which meant if she were here for good she’d likely be attending school. The thought that I might get to bask in the mystery of that honey-like essence made my stomach flutter with excitement. Stop it Camille, I told myself as I turned off the water. Humans are trouble. With the towel wrapped around me I walked to my bedroom, kicking the door shut behind me.

“You got ten minutes!” I heard Niko yell from downstairs.

Why he was so obsessed with time I would never understand. It’s not like life was too short for us since we aged at a tenth the rate of a normal person. Besides, school didn’t even start until eight and we lived ten minutes away. Just to appease him I got dressed and brushed my teeth with urgency. After putting on what little makeup I wore, I brushed my long, curly blonde hair, and then hearing a horn from outside hurriedly finished the process and ran down the stairs. I grabbed my near-empty backpack on the way out the door and jumped into the front of Niko’s yellow jeep.

The new girl already back on my mind, I waited as patiently as I could until Niko had gotten onto the main road to ask, “Did you guys know there are some people staying at Rob Walters’ place?”

“Is there?” Luna asked, leaning forward from the back seat to better hear over the roar of the engine and the wind that whipped through the open-topped vehicle. “I haven’t been by there in a few days. They must’ve just got here.”

I nodded, turning sideways in my seat so I could hear her better too. “Yeah, there was a girl there last night. I think she was around our age.”

“Oh is that where you were?” Niko teased, looking over at me out of the corner of his eye. “That explains it.” Luna giggled her agreement.

“Shut up, Niko.” I ruffled his finely smoothed hair and he shrugged me off, sourly raising a hand to fix it. “I don’t even know who she is.”

“You know, I saw Rob in town last week buying some blankets and stuff,” Niko informed me after he’d checked and smoothed his hair in the rearview mirror. “He said his brother’s family was coming to live with him. That was probably his niece or something.”

“We’ll probably see them at school today then,” Luna said, but I had already turned back around and zoned out. The girl was here to stay.

Not wanting to pay for a parking pass, Niko parked across the street from the school lot and we walked in together. Our class schedules had been mailed to us a couple weeks earlier, and I had my first class, economics, with Luna. We sat in the back together, but I was too preoccupied to pay any attention. First and second period were spent pondering all the possibilities. Maybe I would see the new girl during school. What if we had a class together? Or maybe I’d never see her at all. In any event, I would be satisfied passing her in the halls. Or would I? I wanted so badly to see her, to put a face, a voice, to that wonderful smell. To connect her with hobbies, likes and dislikes. A sudden fear struck through me. I hadn’t even met this girl and I was already obsessing over the only part of her that I knew.

That fear turned to anger as the bell for the end of second period rang, and I was practically fuming. I didn’t even say goodbye to my sister as I veered in the direction of my locker. Nobody in the past could even make me bat an eye, let alone lose control over what I was feeling. But here this girl that I hadn’t even met sent every thought, every instinct spiraling out of control. Her scent tapped into the untamed animal I worked so hard to master – that I made damn sure to master – and it poked at that animal as though it were trapped in a cage.

As I stopped at my locker to unload a few of my books, I had the sense to admit that my anger was somewhat misdirected. It wasn’t like she was doing it on purpose. She was completely unaware of the fact that I even existed. So I crossed my fingers, hoping that whoever she was, she wasn’t at all my type. Or that she had a terrible personality or some repulsive physical feature.

As that very thought crossed my mind, my heart dropped, reacting to the scent that filled my nose quicker than my brain could. It skipped a beat, then sped up, and then skipped another. I was about to look up and greet the full-blown aroma with a friendly smile, but before I could a searing pain shot through my toes as the corner of one of the thickest textbooks in the school dropped right on my foot.

“Ah fu–” I stopped mid-obscenity, lightly shaking my foot in the air as I took a deep breath to calm myself. My first urge was to punch the owner of the book, or a locker, but I was torn between pain and the desire to make a good impression on the owner of that intoxicating scent, which meant trading clenching my teeth for telling off whoever dropped the book.

“Oh my God, I am so sorry!” The southern drawl of the person who’d dropped the textbook was new, and just like that scent, her voice was sweet as honey.

I looked up to the most beautiful brunette I’d ever seen staring at me, eyes full of worry but cheeks so flushed red with embarrassment I imagined she wanted to bury her head in her locker. My eyes scanned the girl in front of me, taking in every detail of the face I could finally put with the nameless scent. Her skin was smooth, and the sun had darkened it to a bronze tan. Her blushing cheeks were adorably round, and an apologetic smile flashed straight pearly whites and put a single dimple in her right cheek. I finally noticed her lips were moving. I knew she was talking to me, but that smooth voice and those dark, sparkly green eyes had put me in a trance.

A hand waved in front of my face. “Are you okay?” the girl asked, giggling shyly at my incoherence.

“Oh sorry um, yeah, I’m okay don’t worry about it.” Any anger I’d felt seconds earlier had melted away, and it took every bit of energy I could muster to spit out that single sentence. The girl finished opening her locker and switched out a few books for the ones she was carrying in her overloaded arms. I picked the large chemistry book up off the floor and handed it to her.

“Oh, thanks.” She put the book in her backpack and then turned to me as she shut her own locker. “I know it’s a little much to ask after almost breaking your foot, but do you know where I might find…” She studied the class schedule she had shoved into the clear front of her binder. “Room one oh four, American lit?”

I thought about it for a second, a detailed map of the school flashing in my mind like a scattered thousand-piece puzzle I was struggling to put together. It was hard to do anything, period, let alone think, with my heart pounding in my chest the way it was.

“Downstairs,” I paused, squinting toward the ceiling thoughtfully. “A few doors down from the auditorium.” She raised an eyebrow at me confusedly, and I immediately dreaded that I’d made myself sound dumb. Was I stuttering? I couldn’t be sure, but it was highly possible. It took me a few more seconds to finally understand the look. “Oh, you um, you want me to take you there?”

She smiled, that same dimple creasing her cheek, and shrugged her shoulders, obviously grateful that she didn’t actually have to ask. “Only if you’ve got enough time, I don’t want to be a bother.”

I nodded my head and waved for her to follow as I started walking. While she took stride beside me I inhaled a deep breath, calming my mind before speaking. “It’s still break, I have plenty of time. You’re Rob Walters’ niece right?”

The brunette nodded slowly. I tried not to stare, making sure I glanced away every couple seconds, but she wouldn’t have noticed if I was staring anyway. While she was listening to me her eyes wandered all over the halls, taking in every new detail and remembering where she was going. “Yeah, how’d you know?”

Nice going, creep, I scolded myself. So maybe I was a little more brain-dead than I thought. “My brother talked to him the other day and he mentioned some family was moving in with him, and your accent sort of screams out-of-towner.”

“Oh, I see.” She finally stopped scanning the halls to smile at me. Every time she smiled I had to really keep myself from staring, had to stop my hands from shaking with nervousness, with tension. “Well I’m Kyla – Walters of course.”

“Nice to meet you, Kyla.” I tested her name. I liked the way it sounded, the way it felt on my tongue. Though, it sounded cuter when she said it. The way her accent made her drag out the ‘y’ so it sort of rolled into the ‘l’. “So, where you from?”

“Texas.” Kyla said it with a simple shrug, but her eyes grew distant, perhaps the sign of an undesired move. “Just got here yesterday.”

“Texas,” I repeated thoughtfully. “An original cowgirl huh?”

She giggled the sweetest, softest laugh I had ever heard, and nodded with a cheerful shrug. “Country as a churn.”

That slow, silky voice made me smile goofily. I resisted laughing out loud though, lest it should make her feel out of place because her accent drew attention. I was terrible with accents, and while it was clear she was southern, if she hadn’t told me that she was from Texas I wouldn’t have had the slightest clue. I wished I’d had the nerve to make another friendly joke, to act more inviting, but in the silence that followed I could feel the heat radiating off of the brunette’s body. It was distracting, and not to mention her scent flooded my nostrils with every breath, putting me back into that same drunken state from last night. It made even the simplest thought difficult. I’d just Phased the night before, but something about Kyla made me fear for my self-control.

Luckily for me, we arrived at room one oh four. “This is your class here. Those big doors right there are the auditorium.” I pointed to a set of blue double doors on the opposite side of the hall so she’d know the place I was referring to in my earlier directions.

“Thanks for the help. Hopefully I’ll see you around again?” Kyla never stopped smiling, and in turn I couldn’t stop staring. I felt like such a moron as I stood, riveted, and wondered if she was nervous or if she always smiled so much. If her personality was truly as sweet as her scent, I figured she just always smiled so much.

I noticed I’d gotten lost in thought and created an awkward silence, so I gave a brisk nod and said bye. The nerves in my stomach left me brain-dead again as I turned and just walked away, mentally kicking myself for acting like such an idiot. Kyla probably thought I felt bothered at having to escort her around the school, or she didn’t like me. My heart dropped. I was starting to panic. What if I’d just ruined my only chance at getting to know her, at getting close to her?

I turned around to get a final glimpse and saw that she was already talking to a guy who was waiting with her for the bell to ring. Irrational jealousy raged inside of me, and I turned around and practically stomped up the stairs to my next class. I didn’t know who that guy was, but I hated him. Hated him for having a class with Kyla. Hated him for being able to keep a conversation with her. Hated him for existing and taking even the slightest bit of attention that I wished could be mine.

The first day excitement had worn off after third period, and now that it was fifth period the day couldn’t be going by any slower. Every class was the same. The teachers introduced themselves, laid out the syllabus for the entire semester, and told us what we could and couldn’t do. Some of them had us play a ‘get to know each other’ game, which the other students groaned about every time. I guess it was because Tranquility was a small town and they already knew each other, but so far those games had been my favorite parts of the day. People in Tranquility were friendly enough, and to my surprise I’d easily found people to eat lunch with, courtesy of ‘getting to know each other’. Now it was just going through the motions of first day bore until the end of school.

“So, what’s your next class?” a girl I’d been talking to earlier, Maggie, leaned over and whispered to me quietly.

I looked down at the schedule that I’d shoved into the cover pocket of my binder. “Um, film studies, with Kline.”

“I’m headed there too.” She grinned excitedly, ducking her head as she eyed the teacher and hoping he hadn’t heard her raise her voice with the sudden enthusiasm. “You can walk with me if you want.”

“Sure, that sounds good.” I smiled gratefully.

So far it appeared that because Tranquility High School was so small and everybody seemed to know each other, there was a surprising lack of sectioning off. Of course groups of students were better friends with their own small clique, but the cliques seemed broad and fluid, which also made it easier for me to have been making friends already.

It was another five minutes of boring silence before the bell rang as this time we filled out a questionnaire so the teacher could get to know us. Then the students hurriedly picked up their books and shuffled out of the classroom, eager to finish the day. I followed my new friend to our next class, answering an abundance of questions along the way. I’d been slightly worried my accent would make me stick out and cause me to feel out of place. It had the opposite affect though as my peers seemed drawn to the fact that I wasn’t from around there, and it was a good enough icebreaker.

Maggie and I arrived quickly to our film studies class and sat near the back of the room, waiting patiently for the bell to ring again. She spotted a friend that walked in and waved him to the empty desk next to hers so they could chat, and I took the opportunity of distraction to study the kids that entered the room. Most of them looked like seniors taking the classes they thought would be the easiest A’s for their last year. A select few looked like freshmen that probably couldn’t get their first choice of electives.

As the bell rang for the start of class, a spark of nervousness shot through me as the tall, curly-haired blonde I’d dropped my book on earlier walked in and took the last available seat in the middle of the room. The second she and the last remaining student sat down the teacher began his introduction, so I dismissed the spur in order to focus. It only took a few minutes before my attention failed, and my eyes wandered back to the blonde in the center of the room. Her exact features weren’t embedded in my memory because I’d been too embarrassed about dropping the book on her foot to even look her in the eye for too long. I didn’t even catch her name, but knew she was attractive well above average. I couldn’t help but stare at the blonde’s back as she twirled her pen between her fingers, obviously not listening to a word the teacher said.

It made me wonder what she was thinking about, and then why I was even wondering about it in the first place. Maybe it was jealousy? I did wish I could be half as beautiful. Only, I wanted to know her. Like the way someone will want to be best friends with the most attractive or popular people to make them feel better about themselves. That made the most sense to me, even though the blonde didn’t seem entirely popular. When I’d been walking with other students I met they cheerfully waved at friends they hadn’t seen all summer, sometimes stopping to talk and introduce me. The blonde, on the other hand, didn’t so much as show a slight interest in anyone we passed. Which was especially curious for such a small town.

I tried to remember certain features about her. Her eyes were definitely brown. Her curly blonde hair fell to the middle of her back, and had it been straight it probably would have reached her hips. I considered myself average height, but she was an inch or two taller, maybe five foot seven. Then I started remembering her lips. The perfect shade of pink, thin but not nonexistent, and they had looked soft. A sharp pain in my own lip distracted me, and I realized I’d been biting it in the depth of my thought.

I massaged out the spot with my tongue, continuing to stare for another minute before the blonde shifted in her seat. She turned to the side just a little, enough to peek over her shoulder and so her eyes could meet mine. At first I was shocked that I’d been caught looking. Then I was shocked she’d zeroed in on me, as if she could feel me watching her. So, like a deer in the headlights I just kept staring, wide-eyed and unsure of what to do. Fortunately my moment of stupidity only lasted a few seconds before she smiled at me and turned back around.

“I’m going to put you guys in pairs according to alphabetical order by last name. This person is going to be your partner for the rest of the semester, so I want you to spend the rest of the period getting to know each other,” Mr. Kline announced as he picked up his roll sheet, finally finished with his introduction.

I waited for my name to be called, watching the other students get up to meet their partners and hoping that whoever mine was wouldn’t drive me crazy by the end of the semester. I wouldn’t have minded being partnered with Maggie, but if I remembered correctly her last name started with a ‘C’.

The teacher finally got to my last name and put the roll sheet down on his desk. “Walters and Zade. Okay guys settle in next to your partners. I repeat: you’ll be together for the rest of the semester. So get comfortable with each other.”

I glanced around trying to find whoever my partner was when the same tall blonde dropped her seemingly empty backpack on the floor next to me.  “Miss Walters,” she greeted with a small smile.

“Oh, hi,” I said, surprised but not unpleased. From what I’d gathered in our conversation earlier the blonde seemed a little nervous, but she made me laugh, and didn’t seem like the type who’d make too disappointing a partner. “You’re my partner huh?”

“Looks that way, doesn’t it?” She grinned at me happily, sitting down in the chair next to mine and pulling it closer to the two-seater table.

Now that she seemed more relaxed, probably because her toes didn’t feel broken, I couldn’t help but smile back at her natural charisma. It was so natural it was almost magnetic. “What’s your name again? I don’t think you mentioned it before.”

“Camille,” she answered instantly, charmingly sticking out her hand for me to shake.

I took her hand in a surprisingly tight grip and shook it, amazed by the fiery warmth her body gave off. “It’s nice to officially meet you, Camille.”

“Nice to meet you too, Kyla.” She dropped my hand and sat there, holding my eye contact.

At first I thought nothing of it, but as I realized Camille was staring, that I was being studied, I looked away uncomfortably. I didn’t mind being studied from a distance, where I could act like I didn’t notice or feel like I had to make conversation. Camille was close though, and she watched me with mindless intensity as if she wasn’t aware she was doing it. It shouldn’t have made me as nervous as it did, considering I’d been caught doing the same thing minutes earlier. But she seemed so consumed by her thoughts that I wasn’t really sure what to say. So I sat there, distractedly clicking out more lead from my pencil as I waited enduringly for her to snap out of it.

Luckily the teacher broke the blonde’s gaze by handing us each a piece of paper with a list of questions we were supposed to ask our partner, and I sighed inwardly, relieved I had something to ask about. “I guess I’ll start. What’s your middle name?”

“Leila,” Camille answered simply. I put my pencil to the paper and stopped, unsure of how to spell it. She must have noticed because she spelled it out for me, curiously leaning over to watch me write down every letter. “L-E-I-L-A.”

Camille grinned back as I smiled my thanks, saying her full name while I wrote it down. “Camille Leila Zade.”

“And yours is?” Camille started, expectantly putting her own pen to the paper, ready to write.

I paused, contemplating making up a middle name, or telling her that I didn’t have one. In elementary school it never bothered me, but when I reached junior high and people started laughing about it, I stopped giving that information freely. However, a grade depended on this and I didn’t want my new partner to think I wouldn’t care about the class, so I cleared my throat before answering quietly, “Kirby.”

One side of Camille’s mouth turned up in a poorly concealed smile, and as I blushed I passed her a scolding look. “It’s not that bad,” she reassured me, and even though she successfully wiped the smile off her face it could still be seen in the brightness of her brown eyes.

“I know it’s terrible.” I couldn’t help but chuckle out of light embarrassment. Every other laugh or smile I’d received about my middle name had been one of mockery, except Camille’s. When she realized I was embarrassed about it, it seemed she made an effort not to make it worse. Maybe that’s why for the first time ever I was able to laugh about it myself.

“No really.” Camille smiled warmly, watching her paper as she scribbled the letters in blue ink. “I think it’s cute.”

The out-of-place reassurance was surely meant as platonically as possible, but it hadn’t entirely sounded that way, which caused me to look down awkwardly. Sensing that awkwardness Camille cleared her throat in mirrored discomfort. It was because of the way she’d been staring at me, and how she’d turned around in her seat and her eyes found me. That’s why it had sounded strange. Really, she was probably just as curious about me as all the other students had been all day. After the flash of squeamishness settled from my stomach, I realized by Camille’s unease that she truly hadn’t meant it to sound the way it did. Besides, I liked even such a minimal compliment from someone who looked like a potential supermodel. It made me feel pretty good about myself.

Finally, after another moment, the tension fully subsided and I found I’d created a long silence, so I quickly asked the next question. “When’s your birthday?”

“April twenty-ninth,” Camille answered, waiting for me to finish writing before asking the same question. “And yours?”

I adjusted the paper so it was facing me straighter, and then looked up at her. “September second.”

She was about to write it down, but stopped and looked up with a grin. “Hey, we just missed your birthday.” I couldn’t help but blush at her enthusiasm and the volume of the comment. “Happy birthday.”

“Thanks.” I smiled sweetly but cast a shy glance around the room, hoping no one had overheard.

Picking up on my discomfort, Camille playfully went along with the secretiveness, and after looking around stealthily she leaned forward to whisper. “Did you just turn sixteen?”

I shook my head, giggling quietly at her humor. “Seventeen.”

“Oh.” Her eyebrows furrowed and she leaned back thoughtfully. “Are you a senior?”

“No, I’m a junior,” I told her, and then admitted with a bashful smile, “I got held back, in kindergarten of all things. I liked to talk more than finger paint I guess.” Camille smirked like she could believe it but didn’t say anything, so I continued. “What about you? Are you seventeen?”

Like I had, she shook her head. “Eighteen.”

She hadn’t said her grade, but given her age I figured it was safe to assume she was a senior. “You’re a Chatty-Cathy too, huh?” I asked teasingly, and my smile widened when she chuckled.

“Not exactly,” the blonde answered as she absentmindedly set to scribbling blue lines on the corner of her paper. “I was home schooled, but my parents never really kept up with academic discipline. So when it came time to register for high school, I was a little behind.”

“Oh, I see.” I nodded understandingly. Not knowing what else to say on the topic and not wanting any more awkward silences, I moved down to the next question. “How many siblings do you have and how old are they?”

“Well, I have three brothers. My oldest brother, Carter, is thirty-two, Michael is twenty-four, and Niko is sixteen. I have an older sister Sky who is twenty-seven and a fraternal twin, Luna,” Camille answered, counted on her fingers thoughtfully as she mouthed the names of her siblings, and then nodded. “Yeah, I think that’s all of them.”

“Wow, you have a lot of siblings,” I giggled in shock. “Your sister Luna’s in my math class I think. She’s definitely–” I remembered Luna introducing herself, and then thinking of the outlandish questions and comments the small blonde had made to me during class was going to say peculiar. Though, worried that would be offensive, I thought to reword my statement, “Isn’t shy.”

Camille let out a knowing laugh. “You mean she’s crazy.” Her own derivation of the word ‘peculiar’ made me smile, a slight reassurance that I wouldn’t have been out of line.

“I wasn’t going to use those exact words.” As I remembered one of the things Luna had told me I couldn’t help but grin. At the time it had just been a weird conversation, but now that I’d met the subject of Luna’s story it was much more amusing. “But now that I think of it, she was telling me a story and mentioned you have a fear of orange vegetables.”

“Oh my God, she told you that?” Camille’s smooth cheeks tinted a slight red as I nodded, but despite the blush she still let out a small laugh. “Okay, I was like seven, and it’s because I heard that if you eat too many carrots your skin turns yellow. I’m pretty sure that’s a legitimate fear.”

“Uh huh, I’m sure it is.” I winked in sarcastic reassurance. Now I was glad I’d found something funny to talk to Camille about, since minutes before I worried things had started off too awkward.

“I’m guessing if she told you that about me, she must have told you her story about the mutated pumpkins?” Camille asked, knowingly pointing her pen at me.

I chuckled with an affirming nod. “Oh yeah, I heard plenty about that.” Luna’s stories had certainly been strange, and even now I wasn’t quite sure how she’d worked them in to casual conversation, but I didn’t take myself seriously enough to be weirded out by them.

“Wow, she pulled out all the stops on you,” Camille laughed, a hint of shock widening her brown eyes. “It’s because you’re new,” she explained, thinking and then shaking her head with another laugh as if she could picture the exact things Luna had said. “She’ll do weird stuff just to see how you react to it. It’s mostly for her entertainment, but it’s also her way of figuring you out. If you didn’t run away screaming, you’re probably alright in her book.”

I couldn’t help but giggle for a few seconds as I pictured myself running away screaming from an amused Luna. I knew Camille was watching me with a smirk, also pleased with the way the conversation was going. Though, by the way she fiddled busily with her pen it was also clear she was waiting politely for me to stop laughing so she could ask the next question.

When I finally pushed the thought out of my mind and ceased my giggling, Camille put her pen to her paper as she asked, “How about you? How many siblings do you have?”

“I have two older brothers. Scott’s nineteen and Jeremy is twenty-one,” I answered, and she nodded in acknowledgement. Based on my assessment of Luna, I got the feeling that Camille had a much more interesting family than I did.

After writing down the names and ages of my brothers, Camille moved her pen down to the next question, read it to herself, and then looked up. “What kind of hobbies do you like?”

I thought about it carefully before answering, glancing toward the ceiling so Camille would know I was mulling it over. There wasn’t a whole lot I was really fond of doing. Especially since, because of my family’s recent financial struggle, I didn’t get too much free time for hobbies. I liked being outdoors, so in Texas when I wasn’t doing chores I was usually riding horses or hanging outside with friends.

“I like horseback riding,” I told her. “I play the guitar too, but it’s piddling mostly.”

“Piddling?” Camille said deliberately and quietly, mostly to herself, but I still felt my cheeks grow hot at the confused side-glance I received while she wrote down my answer.

“Sorry.” I let out an embarrassed laugh and covered my face with my hands, reluctant to let her see me blush. “I’m really not in Texas anymore.”

“What is that?” she asked with genuine curiosity, seemingly unconcerned with my embarrassment. Every time I expected her to laugh at me or find something strange, she had a completely different reaction. So far she was receiving and even curious about what I assumed to be oddities without judgment. “Like messing around?”

“Yeah,” I shrugged. I knew to the kids at my new school I’d have an accent, and I tried to tone it down so I wouldn’t feel too out of place. Guess I’d have to try a little harder. “Wasting time, messing around. Call it what you want.”

“How long have you played for?” Camille leaned back in her seat and began to fidget with her now folded hands.

As she did so, the distance allowed me to notice how casually she was dressed. She had on a pair of white slip-on sneakers, tight-fitted blue jeans and a plain, dark green t-shirt. A minimal amount of makeup seemed to be the only thing adorning her body, as there was lack of any jewelry even so simple as earrings. Even her hair hadn’t been purposefully styled. The loose, tousled curls looked completely natural and unintentional. Her nose was small and relatively straight, fitting perfectly between her curiously bright brown eyes, which had all the tone and brilliance of a citrine gemstone. Even her smile was uniquely perfect, straight across and curving up sharply at the edges. It sort of reminded me of the curly bracket on my computer’s keyboard, only less dramatic of course. If it weren’t for Camille’s inherent and stunning beauty, she’d have probably been the plainest person in the room.

“Since I was about seven.” Again I blushed slightly as I watched Camille’s face brighten with the newfound information. It was obviously because she associated that length of time with a skill I wasn’t quite sure I possessed.

“Do you write your own stuff?” She leaned forward and propped her chin in her palm, and the unexpected movement of her getting closer put jitters in my stomach.

It had to be the way she kept staring at me. She was obviously trying to be lighthearted and funny, and while she was more than charismatic, it seemed difficult, forced. Like casual interaction took an effort. She was unpredictable, and I didn’t know what to expect from her. Most people seemed somewhat impressed when I told them I played guitar, but Camille was beyond fascinated.

It was the combination of her interest and apparent apprehension at interacting with me that gave her an edgy quality. The intensity of the blonde’s eyes and incalculable personality were starting to make me nervous. I’d never met someone like Camille. Someone who was perhaps the most beautiful person I had ever seen, but who also didn’t stand out, maybe even tried to fly under the radar. The inviting warmth of her bright brown eyes conveyed a soft gentleness, and the depth claimed a certain mystery and danger that dared me to explore. She was puzzlingly captivating.

In spite of the fact that I kept getting distracted by my thoughts, I answered fast and before another awkward silence had time to grow between us. “No, I usually just play acoustic covers of other songs.”

“Oh, you sing too?” I watched Camille grin, clearly aware her intrigue was making me shy, but she didn’t seem to mind.

I smiled and tried to play off the seriousness of my hobby. “I try my best to sing, but I honestly don’t think I’m very good at it.” Feeling like Camille was beginning to think I was some sort of undiscovered star, I made an attempt to turn the attention away from myself. “Enough about me though, what do you do for fun?”

She seemed to smile at my modesty, and leaned back again to get comfortable before she answered. “I’m not too big on sports, but I like to run, and I really enjoy cooking. It’s sort of like my meditation. That’s one good thing about having Luna around. If I cook something when I’m not hungry, she could always finish the whole thing.”

I laughed and was about to say something about my surprise at Luna’s appetite, but the teacher interrupted my response, “Listen up guys. Your assignment for the rest of the week is to get together with your partner and watch the movie I’m coming around to assign to you. I’m also going to be passing out a worksheet and your answers are due on Friday, one worksheet per group. No kindergarten answers people, please make an effort.” Once he finished talking he started passing around the worksheets.

As we sat silently waiting for our teacher to assign us a movie, I continued to study my partner. The more I looked, the more perfect she appeared to be. Her body, although certainly feminine in features, was athletic and surprisingly toned. My eyes lead me down Camille’s muscled arms, where I noticed for the first time a dark blue tattoo. It was on the inside of her left arm just below her elbow and about the size of the palm of her hand, making me surprised I hadn’t noticed it sooner. Even though it didn’t have Camille’s last name on it, it looked like a family crest. It was a shield with vine-like designs stretching out from behind it. Smack dab in the middle of the shield was the face of a wolf, split down the center into two mirroring halves inverted in color. A banner draped over the top of the shield read ‘In spiritu et veritate’.

Out of the corner of my eye I could tell I’d been caught staring at it. When I looked up, it was confirmed, as Camille was still watching me closely, studying my reaction to the tattoo. “What’s it say?” I asked, somewhat embarrassed.

Camille continued to just look at me for another second, as if debating whether or not she wanted to explain. She then leaned over and stretched her arm out over my half of the desk so I could get a better look. “It’s Latin. It means ‘In spirit and truth’.” I couldn’t help but run my fingers lightly over it, and Camille agilely pulled her arm back and laughed. “Hey, that tickles.”

“Sorry.” I smiled at her innocently. I’d always wanted to get a tattoo, but old-fashioned as my parents were they wouldn’t even consider it until I was old enough to make the decision on my own. “How long have you had it?”

She pulled her arm away and rubbed at the spot with a fond glow in her eye. “Since I was fourteen. It’s a family thing, sort of a coming of age tradition I guess you could say.”

I turned my gaze away from Camille’s in a poor attempt to hide my shock at the young age, and continued to study the mark intently. “So everyone in your family has it? How come I didn’t see Luna’s earlier?”

“You wouldn’t have,” she told me, stretching her arm behind her and pointing to the back of her shoulder. “It’s right here, and most of the guys in the family get it on their backs.”

“Why’d you get yours in such a visible spot?” I asked her thoughtfully. I couldn’t help but look at my own arm and wonder what it would look like with something so large and permanent.

“You don’t think it makes me look like a badass?” Camille asked me jokingly, and after I giggled her expression grew more serious. “It reminds me that no matter what, I have somewhere to belong. To be honest though, I catch teachers glaring at it sometimes. They probably think it’s a bad influence.”

Again, before I could respond, the teacher interrupted as he stopped by our desks and announced to us that we’d be watching the modern version of ‘Romeo and Juliet’. As he walked away, I looked at Camille shyly. “My place or yours?” I joked, and much to my pleasure she let out an amused laugh.

“Yours if that okay. My house can get a little crowded,” Camille answered, still smiling slightly and laughing to herself.

“I don’t mind, and I don’t think my uncle would care. When’s best for you to do it?” I was asking to be polite, but I was hoping that Camille would want to do it sooner rather than later. Chemistry homework had already been assigned and I still had to unpack, the last two things on earth I wanted to do. If Camille wanted to work on the project soon then it would be just the distraction I was looking for.

She thought about it for a second and then shrugged, “I’m never busy so I’ll let you decide.”

“Do you want to come over after school today? I’m not a big fan of procrastinating.” I lied.

I was the biggest procrastinator I knew, but aside from the homework and unpacking issue there was the fact that recently I hadn’t been able to interact with kids my age as often as I’d like. Since we’d moved I wouldn’t have nearly as much responsibility as I did before, and I was eager to make up for lost fun-time. Camille’s smile grew and then faded as she poorly tried to hide her content with the answer. I was flattered that she seemed just as curious about me as I was about her, but I was also slightly confused. Why would someone like Camille, who obviously wasn’t a social butterfly, be excited about hanging out with me? She was probably just being extra friendly since I was new.

“Yeah sure, but um, my brother drove me to school today,” Camille answered, timidly hinting that she needed a ride.

I was more than happy to oblige. “You can ride with me and I’ll take you home later.”

The bell for the end of school rang and Camille grabbed her backpack off the floor as I began packing up my own stuff. “Thanks,” she answered. “I have to go to my locker first, do you want me to meet you in the parking lot?”

“I need to go too, so good thing my locker’s right next to yours,” I said teasingly, hoping the reminder of the painful incident earlier that day wouldn’t change her mood.

She seemed to remember, but thankfully just laughed. “How could I forget? That’s fine, just don’t drop any books on me this time, okay?”

I smiled and playfully made a crossing motion over my chest. “Cross my heart, hope to die.”

We walked for a short distance in silence. I was trying to think of something to say, something to ask to keep conversation flowing. Even though we walked side-by-side Camille stayed quite a distance away from me. It was enough for me to even notice, and I began to wonder if she really was just trying to be nice. The space between us, however, was quickly closed when a boy running through the halls shouldered me so hard it flung me into her. I instinctively grabbed Camille’s arm to keep from falling while she threw her other hand to my opposite side, grabbing my waist to offer extra support.

Once I had regained my balance, she let go so fast it was as if the feel of my skin was scalding, and put her hands in her front pockets. “Are you okay?” she asked awkwardly as we continued walking.

“I’m alright, no thanks to that jerk,” I said.

I was embarrassed that I had almost fallen, and even more embarrassed now that Camille shied away from me. I had never been the shy type, and so being near people had never been a big deal to me. However, now it didn’t seem like Camille was too comfortable with any kind of physical contact. She’d even been quick to pull her arm away when I’d touched her tattoo.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to fall into you,” I told her, feeling bad for the awkwardness and eagerly trying to get rid of it.

“No it’s okay, really.” Camille relaxed a little, or tried to, and a few seconds later took her hands out of her pockets. “It’s not your fault. People shouldn’t be running like that.”

The short remaining distance to our lockers was spent in continued silence, but Camille appeared to be getting a little more comfortable. When we got there a tall, muscular boy was waiting for Camille at hers, and by his rugged good looks and blondish features I made the assumption that he was one of Camille’s brothers.

“Kyla this is my brother, Niko,” she confirmed as she introduced him.

Niko’s wide grin reached his brown eyes as he stuck out his hand, which I gladly took. His skin felt just as hot as Camille’s. “Nice to meet you, Kyla.”

After we’d finished shaking hands I opened my locker to give Camille a second alone with him. I tried not to eavesdrop, but it was hard to tune out what wasn’t near a foot away. “I have a project with Kyla, so she can take me home today,” Camille told him, and I could see the smile on her face out of the corner of my eye.

“Okay, see you later. Have fun.” Niko gave her cheek a rough but playful pat and winked.

I wondered what the wink was for, but dismissed it as Camille turned to me. “I’ll follow you.”

As I led the way out the front of the school and to my old, black truck, I tried to think of something to talk about. The last question I’d asked from the worksheet had been about hobbies. “What do you like to cook?”

Camille raised an eyebrow at me and teased, “You really don’t procrastinate. We haven’t even left school yet and you’re starting homework.”

“I’m just curious!” I shrugged, laughing as I defended myself. “I like to eat!”

She chuckled and shook her head sarcastically, but decided to answer anyway. “I cook whatever I’m in the mood for. Italian and Mexican seem to be recurring themes.” As she seemed to continuously be growing more comfortable with me, I could tell that her laughs were less forced. And the more genuine her laughs became, the more infectious they got. Every time Camille smiled or laughed, it made me want to do the same.

“Two of the best kinds of food,” I agreed, and my mouth started watering as I pictured some of my favorite meals.

“Maybe I’ll cook for you sometime,” Camille offered as we reached the truck.

I smiled. “I’d love that.” We both hopped in and after buckling my seatbelt I started the engine. “We need to go to the video store and rent the movie?” Camille nodded as I pulled out of the parking spot, and we started our short trip to the video store.

“So, popcorn,” Kyla started to ask as she walked through the front door of her uncle’s house with me following close behind her. “Is that a do, or don’t?”

At the mention of popcorn my stomach growled in anticipation. Sure I’d eaten at lunch, but when you’re a werewolf, you never turn down a snack. “Popcorn is definitely a do.”

I followed Kyla into the kitchen and set ‘Romeo and Juliet’ on the granite countertop as she began to dig through the cupboards looking for popcorn. I was more than thankful that I was becoming less nervous while talking to her. The whole half hour spent with her during sixth period I had been nervous as hell, and while I enjoyed getting to know the beautiful brunette, that’s exactly what it was – hell. For most of the torturous period I tried not to think too much before I spoke, even though I had to be cautious of what I said. Not to mention it took every ounce of concentration I had to keep from staring. So ninety percent of the time I just opened my mouth and hoped for the best. It seemed to have gone pretty well – Kyla smiled and laughed enough.

Though, my knees had almost buckled from the closeness when she’d been pushed into me on the way to our lockers, and that was before I had time to react to it. After the fact I remembered my heart pounding wildly, my body aching to be close again, and the lingering warmth from Kyla’s hand on my arm, reluctant to be forgotten, it had put a desire in me like I’d never felt before. Of course I was more than old enough to have felt intimate cravings, to know what arousal was like, but something about Kyla drove me into a frenzied hunger. It was damn near uncontrollable.

After she had regained her balance, I’d had to put my hands in my pockets before I’d become a slave to the lust that had begun to take hold of me. Even now it crept back in as I thought about it. It didn’t help that as a werewolf I had an amplified sex drive, but my irrational attraction to the new girl was already getting to me. Hopefully there’d be enough distractions for the rest of the day to keep me from losing my mind.

“I’ve never been inside your uncle’s house before. It’s beautiful.” I pulled myself from my thoughts and couldn’t help but gaze in wonder at the marvelous kitchen. The dark granite countertops and the bright steel appliances were modern and refined, but Rob Walters had still managed to keep it modest and homey. Part of me wondered how he’d endured such a standard of living off of a farmer’s salary, but if I remembered correctly from years ago, his wife had been a dentist before she died.

“Thanks,” Kyla smiled as she pulled a stool out at the island in the middle of the kitchen and motioned for me to sit, and then sat in the seat across the corner from mine. “I thought so too when I got here yesterday. I wasn’t expecting it to be so nice.”

“You mean you’d never been here before yesterday?” Despite the fact that I’d lived in Tranquility for a while, I didn’t know the Walters, or any other family, well at all. I wouldn’t have even been able to guess if Rob had any other family, but now I would’ve at least expected Kyla had visited her uncle’s home before moving here. The more I thought about it though, the more it made sense, seeing as I’d never known about her before. She had a scent that was hard to miss.

Kyla shook her head shyly, a sadly reminiscent gaze glazing her eyes. “No, we could never afford to fly or drive here. It was always Rob coming to visit us.” She paused while I fought hard for a response, but when I couldn’t find anything to say, she continued. “The move was real sudden. Within a week of hearing it from my parents we were on our way here.”

I shook my head in sympathetic disbelief. “I’m sorry, that doesn’t really seem fair.” I’d obviously struck a sore spot, but now that we’d started the conversation it would be more awkward if I avoided it. So I averted eye contact and kept talking. “It couldn’t have been easy moving so suddenly, and with everything you must’ve left behind.”

“I can’t say I was shocked at having to leave. We were fixing to move eventually.” Kyla shrugged forlornly. “I think the hardest part had to be leaving my boyfriend on such short notice.”

“Oh,” was all I could manage through the acute bite of hearing Kyla had a boyfriend.

I hadn’t expected that she would’ve been single her whole life, and I definitely wasn’t going to assume that she liked girls, but deep down I was hoping the move would have left her available. I glanced up to see Kyla looking at me like she too was trying to think of something to say.

Deciding I had to get over the news and carry on the conversation I started, “So you’re going to try the long distance thing?”

She was in the process of nodding and about to answer when someone opened the front door. “Kyla, you home?” the female voice called. Moments later a tall, thin brunette woman walked in carrying two large boxes, the top one stuffed to the brim. “Oh, there you are.” When the woman took note of me she smiled and looked back at Kyla. “Look at you, bringing home friends already.”

I held back a grin as I reached the conclusion that this was Kyla’s mom. Aside from the obvious resemblance, that accent was so thick and southern I couldn’t have mistaken it anywhere. As I watched the woman make her way to the counter to set the boxes down, I noticed a vase in the top box on the verge of falling out. My body tensed, and right as it began to fall to the floor I reached out, catching it before it could shatter.

“Nice catch!” Kyla’s mom hollered, the panic on her face fading into relief as she watched me stretch from my seat to set it on the counter. “Thank you darling.” No one had ever called me darling before, and it was more of a – dahlin’. I couldn’t keep the grin and a bit of laughter back at that, and I could see Kyla watching me with an equally amused smirk.

Once the woman had set the boxes down she turned toward us, and Kyla hugged her hello. “Mom this is Camille, she’s my film studies partner. We have to watch a movie today. Camille, this is my mom.”

“Nice to meet you, Mrs. Walters.” I smiled as pleasantly as I could as I stood and stuck out my hand. I’d talked to Rob Walters plenty of times and was never nervous, but something about meeting Kyla’s mom gave me an intense desire to make a good impression.

“Pleasure, Camille.” With a friendly smile Mrs. Walters shook my hand and then leaned back against the sink. “What are you girls watching?”

Kyla held up the DVD so her mom could see the cover. “Romeo and Juliet.”

“Ah, Romeo and Juliet, great choice,” her mom grinned, looking pleased with the movie her daughter held. “What’s in a name?” she began poetically, and I couldn’t help but laugh as an extremely embarrassed Kyla immediately began to push her out of the room. “A rose by any other name would smell as sweet.”

Mrs. Walters continued to recite lines until Kyla had her halfway down the hall, at which point Kyla returned, cheeks flushed red. “I am so sorry. That’s really embarrassing.”

I started laughing again, shaking my head reassuringly. “Don’t even worry about it. I’d hardly call it embarrassing.” I resumed my seat on the stool as Kyla finally found a bag of popcorn and shoved it into the microwave. Turning, she caught my eye and then looked away, quietly avoiding eye contact while she waited for the popcorn to finish. While she leaned against the counter it seemed she was uncomfortable without knowing what to talk about, or she was just still embarrassed.

“So,” I began after a few moments of silence. Whatever the reason for her discomfort, this was my chance at making sure Kyla and I got off on the right foot, and I wasn’t about to let it be ruined by awkward silences. “Do you want to finish the question sheet while the popcorn’s cooking?”

“Yeah, sure.” She nodded and grabbed the assignment from her backpack.

I rummaged through my own backpack, which I’d dropped next to the island. I always got good grades, but organization had never been my strong suit. In my entire academic career I couldn’t remember owning a single binder. So it took me a minute to find the paper, but when I did I set it on the counter and pointed my finger at the next question. “What’s the farthest you’ve ever been from home?”

“Like a vacation?” Kyla asked curiously, to which I shrugged. “I’ve never really been anywhere. I guess this is the farthest I’ve ever been from Texas.” I held back a sigh. Strike two. Strike three and I’d officially be on Kyla’s most-depressing-conversationalist list. Stupid worksheet. Everything I asked kept reminding her of how far she was from home. “What about you?”

I shrugged again, this time thoughtfully. “I’ve never really been anywhere either. I used to live in Oregon though, when I was a little younger.”

“Really?” Kyla asked, genuine interest lighting her eyes. I suppose it was one thing we had in common. “Why’d you move here?”

Because being a werewolf in Oregon was too dangerous. “My dad’s job. It was better for him to be out here.” That was as close to the truth as I could allow. I’d wondered how long it would take for me to have to start lying. Not even twenty-four hours. Nice.

“Is that why you were homeschooled? Because you moved?” The microwave beeped and after Kyla retrieved the popcorn she sat back down, offering me the open bag.

I grabbed a handful before answering. “Well, I moved here in elementary school, but I homeschooled even in Oregon.” I noted the questioning glance Kyla gave and answered before she could verbalize her curiosity. “My parents didn’t have a lot of trust in the public school system. They wanted to plant our roots before sending us off into the crazy world.”

Another half-truth. I really did home school until freshman year, but not because my parents didn’t like public schools. My whole childhood had been devoted to preparing for the Change that was to come. Half of my ‘classes’ and studies were devoted to werewolf history and practicing mind and body control. Most kids have to worry about scraped knees and cootie bugs, and when the time comes, puberty.

I got to turn into an animal. My first Phase was at the age of twelve, and it took three years before I had enough control over my instincts to be surrounded by other people all day long. My eyes dropped to the large tattoo on my arm. I remembered the day I got it. Luna and I had gone together. With adolescence came the biggest change of our lives, and getting the tattoo had made me feel less out of place. I was prepared for the Phase, but the tattoo was something I had more control over. I got to choose where and how big I wanted it, whereas my transformation regarded my thoughts and desires none whatsoever.

“Oh, wow.” Kyla tilted her head thoughtfully before shoving a handful of popcorn into her mouth. “Which one do you like better?”

“Well,” I stared down at the homework assignment as I thought about my answer. Public school really wasn’t much better than home schooling, I still didn’t make any friends and the work wasn’t any easier or harder. At least with home schooling I could be myself. “They both have pros and cons. I didn’t really mind either way.”

Kyla hm-ed and nodded in acknowledgement, but deciding she didn’t have anything else to say on the topic, moved on the next question. “If you could have any super power, what would it be?”

I thought about it carefully for a minute. I’d never wondered what it would be like if I could do something other than Change. I could swim, but I wasn’t too crazy about deep water. If I couldn’t get out quick enough I felt weak and vulnerable, and the only thing that might make it better would be the inability to drown. That sounded like a good enough response to me.

“I think it would be cool if I could breathe under water,” I said, and smiled as Kyla giggled, that adorable dimple indenting her cheek.

“Like a fish?” she asked, to which I nodded. “With gills?”

I laughed. I hadn’t pictured myself with gills, but if that’s what it took. “Sure, why not.” Kyla giggled some more, asked why, and then took another handful of popcorn. “Because then I could never drown and would be able to stay in water as long as I wanted to. And you? What superpower would you like?”

Without hesitating, Kyla swallowed her food and answered, “Definitely shape shifting.”

I couldn’t help but raise an eyebrow at the off-putting answer. I was expecting her to say something like fly, or be invisible. Isn’t that what most people said? I can shape shift, I thought to myself, wondering what her response would be. “Why shape shifting?”

“Are you kidding?” Kyla asked sarcastically, like her answer was the best one in the world and how dare I question it. “How cool would it be to be able to turn into anything you wanted?”

“What if you could only turn into one thing?” I asked matter-of-factly, and watched her eyes go from resolution to glancing toward the ceiling in thoughtfulness.

“Yeah,” Kyla started slowly, stopped to think a little more and then nodded. “Yeah that’d be pretty cool too, I guess.” I scribbled down her answer and grinned when I saw the next, and final one on the list. I watched as she read my expression and glanced at her own paper, shaking her head once she read the question herself. “Nope, nuh-uh, no way. I ain’t answering that one.”

“Oh, come on. You have to, it’s homework.” I beamed teasingly, trying to give the most pleading look I could. This was definitely something I wanted to know. “Most embarrassing thing you’ve ever done?”

“And you meeting my mom doesn’t count?” Kyla asked, and with a chuckle I shook my head. She let out a deep sigh, playfully glared at me and then sighed again. “Fine, last year I was taking an animal science class during summer school.” She paused reluctantly and waited until I gave an enthusiastic nod, encouraging her on. “We took a field trip to the zoo and were being guided by one of the employees.” Kyla paused again and I nodded impatiently, eager to hear the embarrassing part of the story. “Well we were by the pond and our tour guide let us feed the ducks.”

I snorted and covered my mouth as I held back laughter, guessing what happened next. “Did you fall in?”

“It wasn’t that funny,” Kyla grumbled and crossed her arms, sticking her tongue out as a comeback. “I thought the duck was going to bite me.”

“I totally understand. Ducks are just so scary with their soft little feathers and webbed feet,” I widened my eyes frightfully as I teasingly exaggerated every word. “And those eyes.” I probably shouldn’t have been making her feel embarrassed, but the way her cheeks flared red and the way she was pouting about it made her look so cute that I couldn’t resist.

Kyla dropped her jaw like she couldn’t believe I had the nerve to tease her like that. After a few silent seconds it began to make me nervous, wondering if I really had taken it too far, but then she started laughing and threw a handful of popcorn at me. “Oh, I’ll show you scary.” I laughed as I began to paraphrase Kyla’s embarrassing moment onto the homework paper. After a few moments she cleared her throat expectantly. “And you? What’s the most embarrassing thing you’ve ever done?”

I thought hard about it for a second before realizing I’d never done anything embarrassing like that. I wished I had so that I’d have something to tell Kyla, and I thought about making one up, but after another moment’s consideration I decided I didn’t want to lie if I didn’t have to.

“I don’t have one.” With that I got up, grabbed the movie and popcorn, and walked to the door of the hallway.

“What?” Kyla nearly shouted, and the stool screeched against the kitchen tiles as she got up to trail me into the living room. “Come on, I told you the most embarrassing thing of my entire life! You can’t even tell me one little thing?”

A sad, disappointed look fell over Kyla’s face, and while I could tell that she was doing it on purpose, it still succeeded in making me feel bad. “If I had one to tell you I honestly would, but I really haven’t had anything like that happen to me.”

In that moment I wished more than anything I had something to tell Kyla. It wasn’t that I wasn’t capable of clumsiness or doing something embarrassing. In fact, especially for a werewolf, I was pretty damn clumsy. It was just that I’d hardly been in the outside world long enough to experience mortification, and even if I’d done something there wouldn’t have been anyone besides my family around to see it. I loved my family, but just then, the thought that they were all I had saddened me. Werewolf or not, I was still a teenage girl, and normal experiences could never be mine.

Kyla picked up on my abruptly changed mood as we sat down on the couch in the living room and smiled apologetically. “Hey, I wasn’t really that disappointed. I didn’t mean to make you feel bad.”

“Oh don’t worry about it, I’m okay.” I smiled as warmly as I could. “It’s just that being home schooled I wasn’t around other kids a lot, so nothing embarrassing ever could happen.”

“I wouldn’t be too disappointed about it,” Kyla told me reassuringly. “You’re not missing out on anything. Besides, I reckon sooner or later it’ll happen whether you want it to or not.” Then her smile spread to an evil grin. “And you can bet I’ll be there to see it.”

Once again that dimpled smile proved contagious, and a similar one spread over my own face. “I guess you’re right.” I was searching for something else to say but the movie started, the first lines of acted out poetry coming loud through the speakers, and I decided something wasn’t necessary.

As I sat back on the couch I watched Kyla cross her legs underneath her and lean forward, resting her elbows on her knees and putting her head in her hands. It put her in the perfect position for me to study her while she was distracted. From a factual standpoint, though Kyla was certainly attractive, she wasn’t out-of-this-world beautiful. She was more cute in an innocent way, with her dark green eyes and single dimple, than she was drop-dead gorgeous. The entire day I had been so preoccupied with not staring or saying anything stupid, and trying not to make a fool of myself, that I hadn’t really gotten to appreciate the thing that attracted me to Kyla in the first place. That scent.

I closed my eyes and took a deep breath, letting the smell waft to my nose and cloud my senses. It was slightly different today, gently masked by a tropical perfume, but the underlying aroma was still there. It was just as intoxicating as it had been the night before. With my eyes closed I inhaled that sweet nectar until it clouded my mind and put me into a drunken calm. Every nerve and every limb in my body grew weak, weighed down by the thickening blood that slowed in my veins. Even time slowed. When I focused and tuned out the television I could hear Kyla’s serene, steady heartbeat, setting the rhythm at which I breathed in more of that remarkable scent.

Eventually, the feeling of being stared at made me open one droopy eye suspiciously, and sure enough Kyla was looking back at me, giggling softly. “Are you falling asleep? The movie’s like halfway over already.”

I smiled apologetically and savored the last few seconds of my fading intoxication as I sat forward. “Sorry, I’m awake.”

We both watched the movie for a minute before out of the corner of my eye I saw Kyla turn back to face me. “What do you think about Romeo and Juliet?”

“It’s a pretty good play. Can’t bash the classics.” I shrugged.

She chuckled and shook her head, holding up the worksheet that our teacher had given us. I hadn’t even noticed that she’d grabbed it. “No, I mean the characters.”

“Oh,” I leaned back again and rubbed my chin thoughtfully, trying to come up with a better answer even though I’d never really considered myself educationally insightful. “I think their situation was really unfortunate, but they should’ve just told their parents to suck it.”

The loud laugh that Kyla let out was satisfying, and I couldn’t help but grin back. “In those exact words? Suck it,” she repeated pretending to write it down, still laughing. “Very Shakespeare.” I just nodded happily, Kyla’s incredible laugh flowing to my ears more smoothly than even the poetry. After a few seconds she stopped laughing, and grew silent for another moment before speaking again and asking, “So, what about you?”

One eyebrow raised in confusion, I tried to figure out what she meant. “Um, yeah, I’d tell my parents to suck it.”

Another chuckle and shake of the head. “No, earlier I mentioned my boyfriend, Aaron. So what about you? Do you have a boyfriend?” I shook my head, and my heart immediately started racing as I began the mental battle of deciding whether or not to tell Kyla the truth. “How come? No one in this town worth dating?”

I sighed and figured if I was ever going to say something, now would be the time. Especially if she was going to freak out about it, best to get it over with. “No, no boys worth dating.” I waited and watched Kyla’s face grow thoughtful as she tried to figure out why I’d made a distinction. Nerves made me impatient though, so I clarified. “I like girls, Kyla.”

“Oh,” Kyla dragged out the word in delayed understanding. She was silent for a minute, clearly thinking of a response as she tilted her head and studied me carefully. Every second that ticked by I grew more and more nervous, worried it would make her uncomfortable. “No girls here worth dating?”

“Not really,” I said, half surprised that Kyla wasn’t cowering away from me. “You’re not freaked out?”

She shook her head a little too vigorously, clearly trying to make sure I believed her. “No, one of my best guy friends in Texas, I was always trying to set him up with this other friend of mine, who was a girl. Until he told me he was gay.”

For lack of a better relief outlet, I chuckled. “You were making me nervous for a second. Just don’t try to set me up with any of your girl friends, okay?”

“Don’t worry, I won’t tell anyone,” she said urgently to make sure I knew she could keep a secret. Again her face grew thoughtful, but the silence was much shorter this time. “Is that why you don’t really hang out with people from school?”

I opened my mouth in hopes a response would come out, but when none came I closed it again. It wasn’t that Kyla was wrong. I really didn’t hang out with people from school. Werewolf or not, even my siblings had casual friends to do things with every once in a while. Even though the reason wasn’t what Kyla assumed, just the fact that she’d noticed it about me after only a few hours was surprising. Hell, it even impressed me a little bit. Unlike the other students at school, she wasn’t too absorbed in her own world not to notice the little things, and that was a rare quality.

“Oh my God, I’m so sorry,” Kyla’s cheeks flared red and she rapidly expressed her apology as she realized that her question could have been offensive. “That was out of line, I’m so sorry.”

Putting my hand on Kyla’s shoulder, I gave it a playful shake so I could fully emphasize that I wasn’t offended. “It’s fine.” I wanted to move off the topic so she could get over her obvious embarrassment, but now I felt like I owed some kind of an explanation. “You’re right, I don’t really hang out with people at school, but it’s not because I’m gay. I really don’t care whether other people know or not.” Kyla nodded like she approved of that statement but didn’t say anything, so I continued. “I guess I just feel like I don’t really connect with anyone. If you asked Luna, she’d say I have trust issues.”

“It’s safe to assume you’ve never been to another person’s house?” Kyla asked, glancing around the living room.

Am I that obvious? I wondered at the question, but nodded. “Correct.” I’d been to a classmate’s house freshman year for a group project, but I was literally there for only thirty minutes, so I didn’t think that counted.

“I’m surprised,” Kyla said quietly, mostly to herself. When I raised a questioning eyebrow she explained. “You seemed so whatever about coming to my house. Why the change of heart?”

I knew by the smirk on Kyla’s face that she’d meant it to be a light-hearted and rhetorical question, but if I could answer honestly I’d have said I was already crushing, hard. It was weird for me to be with someone who wasn’t family, but everything so far, nerves aside, had been so easy with Kyla. “To be honest, I’m a little out of my comfort zone. But that’s supposed to be good for you right? And so far it’s been worth it.”

She nodded and seemed about to answer when her head jerked toward the TV as loud music started playing, and the credits scrolled up the screen. “It’s over already? They should make that into a Disney movie.”

I knew that statement was meant to be a simple one, but I hadn’t the slightest clue what she meant. “Disney movie?”

Kyla’s jaw dropped and she stared at me in disbelief. “Disney,” she repeated hopefully, eyes widening in disbelief. “Please tell me you know who Mickey Mouse is?” I nodded, I knew of him and his trademark ears. “Haven’t you ever seen any of the Disney classics?” This time I shook my head. I was beginning to worry I’d missed out on a huge part of something. “Oh lord in heaven!” Kyla laughed and turned her body completely toward me in worry. “Can you spend the night tonight? We are going back to the movie store right now and renting every classic ever created.” I didn’t even have a chance to answer, and had no choice but to stand as she grabbed my hand and began pulling me to the door.

As I sat in first period the next day I stared tiredly at the board and thought about the night before. When we’d arrived at the video store Kyla couldn’t make up her mind about which Disney movies she’d wanted to get. So she’d picked at least six, and just like that we were up all night watching movies and talking. Renting all those DVDs and having a sleep over was Kyla’s way of catching me up on my childhood, and the effort was appreciated. Not to mention I’d liked the movies better than I thought I would have. After watching every single one that she picked, I’d decided ‘Beauty and the Beast’ was my favorite.

Since we talked a lot, I heard a lot about Aaron. Probably a little more than I would have liked. Especially when Kyla admitted that because they’d been together for a while by teen standards, she and Aaron had been intimate. He had also declared his love for her, though according to Kyla, she wasn’t sure if she felt the same way. From what I could gather during our conversations it seemed like Aaron had just been a good way to kill time, though I wouldn’t have said it like that to her. Fortunately for me it didn’t seem like she was too head over heels for him. Unfortunately, however, Kyla still had a boyfriend, and the previous night had only succeeded in furthering my interest in the beautiful brunette.

The steady hum of the air conditioner in each of my classes reverberated on my lethargic brain like a massage, adding to the weight of my eyelids and making it impossible to keep awake. While I nodded off my first and second periods flew by, and it wasn’t until third period when my phone vibrated in my pocket that I finally lifted myself off the desk.

Stealthily checking who the text was from, a big smile couldn’t be kept from spreading across my face as I read Kyla’s name, and the text from her that said “**Yawn**”.

“You too? I’ve been sleeping all morning.” I replied, and stared groggily at the front of the room as I waited for a response.

“My car. Nap. Lunch :]” As I read Kyla’s text the teacher leaned over through the aisles and cleared his throat at me.

“Meet you there.” I pounded out my final text as fast as I could, and put my head back down on my arms as my smile grew.

I wanted it to be lunch right then and there. Ever since we’d parted ways this morning I couldn’t wait to see Kyla again. Never would I have thought that I could talk to and connect with someone so easily, but Kyla proved me wrong by talking endlessly and making me laugh more than I could ever remember. The effect the girl had on me had to be the result of her easygoing personality. She was so accepting of and so interested in what insignificant details I would tell her about my life. Even when she was sharing her own intimate details, she did it so easily and in such a carefree manner that it made me want to confess everything, to open up and trust her with things I devoted my life to hiding from the world.

The bell to go to fourth period rang and I trudged to my next class, only to fall asleep for that entire hour too. When I thought about it, I found it odd that none of the teachers said anything about me sleeping, and figured those were the perks when I had a reputation for doing all my homework and getting good grades. A loud dinging woke me up at the end of fourth period and I excitedly walked a quick pace to Kyla’s black truck, where she already had her elbows up on the hood, her head resting on her arms. She must have sensed me getting near because she picked her head up off the car and smiled happily.

“You just couldn’t wait to see me again, huh?” I teased her.

Letting out a small chuckle, Kyla rolled her eyes and opened the door so we could both climb into the back seat of the four-door truck. Immediately she took off her jacket to use as a pillow to put her head on while she leaned back against the seat behind her. She began making snoring noises and I would have laughed, but I was reduced once again to the staring fool as Kyla’s long body stretched out in front of me. Her low cut tank top revealed a lean, tanned upper body, and I couldn’t help but let my eyes wander as her chest rose and fell each time she took a breath. There was that desire again. Tugging at me in ways that were hard to ignore. In the silence Kyla opened one eye to peek at me, and with a shy blush reddening my cheeks I quickly looked away.

There was no way I hadn’t been caught gaping, but she ignored it and leaned forward. She then kicked one of her feet up to rest it on the center console between the front seats, and with her knee raised she rested her arms on it. With her leaning forward like that, where I had the perfect view, it made it extremely hard for me to resist stealing glances at her chest. God, once you start you just can’t stop. I growled at myself, forcing myself to look Kyla in the eyes, or anywhere else but there. Does she know what she’s doing to me? I just hoped she wouldn’t notice how hard I was trying not to. And failing not to.

“Not only didn’t we sleep last night, but you’re the only interesting person in this whole town. Everyone is so boring the only thing to do during class is sleep.”

I laughed as I nodded in agreement, nervously looking down at my hands. My boring, un-stimulating hands. “Well I’m glad you don’t think I’m a total bore.”

“Not a total one,” Kyla teased with a wink. “But I ain’t even tired any more. So I was thinking,” she started, taking her foot off the console and tucking it beneath her as she turned to face me. “Have you ever been in love?”

I thoughtfully played with my fingers as I tried to come up with the right answer. I had never been in love, but even after one day I was pretty sure that it was exactly what was happening with my feelings for Kyla. Of course I couldn’t tell her that, didn’t even want to really admit it to myself, so I settled for a simple, “Nope, how come?”

“Well, last night we talked about my boyfriend and how I really feel about him. So, this morning I was thinking about love and if I really do love him or not, but I’ve never been in love before so I don’t know what it’s supposed to feel like. I was hoping you could point me in the right direction.”

I smiled as I took in a breath of the heavenly scent that filled the car. Without looking up from my hands I knew I could give Kyla a description of what I was feeling in that moment, and every moment I breathed that scent, or that she smiled at me. It was undoubtedly a physical attraction, but the more she talked to me the more it started growing into something more.

“I think when you’re in love you’ll know it, and won’t need to think about it. It’s probably confusing, frustrating, irrational and irresistible. It’s one of those emotions that isn’t hard to distinguish I’d imagine.” That had sounded cheesier when I actually said it than it did in my head, but Kyla seemed satisfied.

“Are you sure you’ve never been in love before?” she asked, laughing as I shrugged my shoulders.

I stopped fiddling with my fingers, and when I looked up my heart skipped as Kyla’s enchanting green eyes met mine. The girl seemed to be in deep thought and unaware she was staring, but regardless, I began to feel weak. I’d have sworn those dark, striking eyes were unearthing every secret I worked so hard to keep, but still I couldn’t look away. The gentle pureness behind her eyes seduced me, kept me staring and craving to go deeper. An all-too-familiar itch in my fingertips started, and succeeded in tearing me away from Kyla’s gaze. I worriedly cleared my throat as I rubbed the itch out of my hand.

I needed to start another conversation, to talk about anything that would distract me from the fact that I’d begun to lose control. I hadn’t lost control since I first started Changing. No way I could let it happen now. “Hey, sleepy head.” I waved my hand in front of Kyla’s face, breaking the girl’s stare. “How do you like this school so far? Besides all the boring people.”

Kyla stretched her arms in front of her and with eyes half open laid the side of her head down on the back of the seat. “Sorry, I’ve been staring so much today. It’s not too bad yet, and it’s bigger than I thought it’d be for such a small town. By the way, what is there to do in town?”

“Not much really,” I told her thoughtfully, secretly admiring the way her straight, chestnut hair framed her face and made it’s way down to fall lightly over her shoulders. “There’s food, ice cream, the movie theater, and that’s about it.”

“Sounds like fun.” Kyla rolled her eyes sarcastically. “Do you want to go to the movies this weekend?”

“Yeah, sure.” I smiled, though it wasn’t the movie I was happy about. I’d only been to a theater once in my life, and I hadn’t stayed for nearly half the film. Not only were movies usually the last thing on a werewolf’s mind, but they also couldn’t hold my attention near long enough. Even for a werewolf, I’d always been a bit restless. “But I’m going to warn you now that I get a little fidgety when I’m supposed to sit still.”

Kyla laughed. “Don’t worry, I’ll strap you down if I have to.” At that I raised an eyebrow, giving a look that made it obvious I was teasing about what could be taken as an innuendo. She caught on quick and didn’t miss a beat as she responded, mimicking the eyebrow raise and teasing right back, “Yeah, you’d like that wouldn’t you?”

The brunette’s unrestrained wit made me snort with laughter, and I couldn’t deny I was pleased with how comfortable she was with it. I wanted to indulge in it further, but couldn’t be sure how far was too far. So, for fear that I possibly could make Kyla uncomfortable, I changed the subject. “What would you want to see?”

“I don’t know what’s out,” she answered with a shrug. “I’ll check it out later and let you know.” Kyla stretched her legs over the tops of my thighs and leaned her head back against the door. “I’m ready for nap time now.”

“Good night,” I barely managed to say, as her stretching out started a small flurry in my stomach.

I don’t know if it was because I liked her, or because I rarely had any kind of physical contact with humans, but either way I wasn’t sure how to react. Should I throw my arms over her legs like it didn’t make me nervous and was no big deal? That could run the risk of making her think I was flirtatious. Or should I ignore it, act like I didn’t even notice? Which might make her think it made me uncomfortable. I knew something like this really shouldn’t be so thought provoking, so I told myself to get over it. As I decided to rest my arms comfortably over Kyla’s legs I laid my own head back, and when she didn’t so much as flinch at it I was able to relax and fall asleep.

About thirty minutes later I faintly recognized the sound of the bell calling for the end of lunch. Without lifting my head I half-opened my eyes and lightly tapped Kyla’s legs. “Hey, lunch is over.”

She took a deep breath like she was waking up, and then as though she was getting ready to leave, sat up. Only, instead of getting up she turned around to lie on her back and put her head in my lap. “Yeah, okay,” she mumbled and fell right back asleep, if she’d really even woken up at all.

I smiled, and even though Kyla lying in my lap had put a fresh hurricane of nerve in my stomach, I was already halfway back to sleep myself. I gently stretched my legs out over the center console between the two front seats. Through the fog of exhaustion I wanted to settle my arm across Kyla’s stomach, but felt that might be on a separate level from doing it over her legs. So instead I stretched an arm over the back seat and immediately fell back into a deep sleep.

What seemed like five minutes later I felt Kyla sit up and stretch. “Oh crap, we slept through fifth and sixth period,” she grumbled after checking the time on her cell phone. Still grumbling she fell back down into my lap, and the unexpectedness of her lying down once again sent butterflies bolting through me. One thing was certain, Kyla definitely wasn’t shy, and wasn’t lying about her comfort with my orientation. She didn’t seem to care one bit.

The way she looked up at me while waiting for a response made it hard for me to focus, and even harder to form a response. I just wanted to stare. To savor the warmth of Kyla’s body, to brush her hair away from her face. Feeling so strongly after so short a time was slightly alarming, especially because I had hardly felt more than a physical attraction to any girl before, but I didn’t feel like there was anything I could do about it.

Once the erratic fluttering settled enough for me to form a coherent sentence, I shrugged, “Eh, it’s only the second day of school. I’m starving though. Do you want to get some food?”

“We can go to my house if you want. I’ve got to feed the horses so I have to go home first anyway,” Kyla told me, sitting up and stretching once more.

I didn’t mind going to her house. I’d spend all day there and even help with whatever chores I could if it meant being able to spend time with her.

“Yeah, that sounds fine,” I nodded while we each got out of the back seat to get into the front of the truck. “How’d you sleep?”

Kyla yawned tiredly, supplying an answer to my question before she could even speak. “Like a baby. I could’ve lain there all day.”

I rested my head on the window with a contented grin. Kyla could have lain there all day. Was it possible that before I met her I’d been unhappy, maybe even lonely? Barely getting by on the belief that my siblings were all I needed for companionship. On the belief that if I worked hard enough all day and didn’t leave too much time for dwelling, then I’d never notice. I couldn’t be sure exactly what was happening with my feelings for the girl. That, or I didn’t want to believe it was happening so quickly. I barely even knew Kyla. But she made my heart do backflips. She filled it with so much bliss that the only thing I could do was sit there and grin the entire fifteen-minute car ride. As we reached the Walters’ farm, I wanted to reach over and hug her, to let her know that she made me feel this indescribable way for the first time in my life. If only I could make her feel it too.

When we pulled into the driveway in front of the large stone house, I watched the heads of two large Gordon Setters pop curiously up on the porch. I let out a sigh as I reluctantly got out of the truck, knowing exactly what was coming next.

“I didn’t know you had dogs?” I asked as the canines greeted Kyla with wagging tails and while I stayed on the other side, waiting for them to go back to the house.

“I didn’t either,” Kyla giggled, pushing them off of her so she could make her way to me.

Despite my efforts, one of the dogs followed her over and caught wind of my scent, and I sighed helplessly again as they stood a cautious distance away and began their ceaseless barking. Even though it was relentless and extremely annoying, I couldn’t blame them. Their noses and instincts told them I was canine, just like them, but their eyes offered human. The confusion disturbed most animals more than it frightened them, but I wished they wouldn’t make me stand out.

I could growl. A throaty threat the dogs would understand perfectly. One that would rid the confusion and instill them with a fear that made them shut up. Though the terrified silence would be less conspicuous, I couldn’t exactly growl without Kyla hearing. And that would be hard to explain. So I did my best to ignore the yapping.

Kyla’s uncle came hurriedly out of the house to check on the commotion, and when he noticed the dogs barking at me he quickened his pace. “Blue! Brandy! Get over here!” He whistled and then yelled loud enough for the dogs to hear him over their noise, and they begrudgingly made their way into the house to watch me from the safety of the kitchen window. “Camille Zade. I haven’t seen you in quite a while! Heard you were keeping busy in the fields this summer. Too busy to come help me out?” Rob came over excitedly once he was satisfied that the Setters wouldn’t be any more trouble.

I saw Kyla lean patiently against the truck’s front bumper as I shook hands with Rob. His dark blue shirt had faint wet outlines around his neck and chest, and his face glistened with sweat like he’d been outside working moments before going into the house.

I laughed at his teasing, and as he clasped my hand I shook my head. “Never too busy for you Mr. Walters, but old man Carter needed the extra hands.”

He nodded understandingly. “How’re the folks?”

“They’re doing good, just busy taking care of the farm. You know how it is,” I told him while I leaned back against the truck next to Kyla. Then I pointed toward the kitchen. “Sorry about your dogs, by the way.”

“Oh it’s not your fault.” He waved it off with a laugh and turned to follow my gaze to the dogs, which were still staring at me from inside the house. “It’s been so long since we had visitors they’ve forgotten their manners.”

“Where’d they come from anyway?” Kyla asked curiously.

“Oh, I got them a few months ago. They were at the vet’s down the road getting groomed yesterday. I wanted them nice and clean for when you got here. Well, I’ll let you girls get back to what you were doing. It was good to see you again, Camille.” I stood and waved at him as he made his way back to the house and then turned to face Kyla, waiting to be led to wherever we needed to go.

She looked up at me, and when she noticed the dogs still watching from the house she chuckled apologetically. “Crazy dogs. I’m sorry, I don’t know why they’re acting like that.” She stuck out her hand for me to pull her up.

I lifted the girl onto her feet and followed as she began to walk toward the barn. “It’s not just them. Most animals don’t like me much.” I shrugged. “Speaking of which, I’d love to help, but I’m not good with horses. So I’ll wait for you out here.” I stopped at the barn doors, already able to sense the horses tense from my proximity.

Kyla shrugged her shoulders indifferently as she made her way into the barn, grabbing a large bucket on her way in. I watched her fill the bucket with feed and come back out with it, motioning for me to follow her to a large fenced area behind the building. There was an amused smirk on my face as her delicate, feminine body tensed to lift the bucket so she could pour the contents into a trough. Even before a werewolf’s first Phase, things like strength, smell and hearing are in our genes. So small tasks like these had hardly been a challenge. It was kind of… cute. The way Kyla struggled even to lift the bucket.

Kyla walked back toward the barn after emptying the bucket, and she must have seen the look on my face because she playfully bumped me with her hip, mumbling the word ‘lazy’ with a teasing smile. The only thing the playful friendliness succeeded in doing, aside from making me grin and roll my eyes, was to draw my attention to her hips, my eyes following their sway as she made her way into the barn.

As I waited near the fence, Kyla came out the back door of the barn a few seconds later with the first horse. The second the animal caught sight of me it froze, its dark eyes widening in fear. If I could predict muscle tension in the slightest I’d say it was about to rear up, and it did take a few tentative steps backward. Luckily, Kyla had enough experience to be able to keep control of the frightened animal, and with a tight grip on the lead she led it past me and into the corral. Knowing this would happen with each of the horses, I took it as my cue and walked away from both fence and barn until Kyla had finished the process.

With the last horse in the field, Kyla waved me over and led me back into the empty barn. “It’s weird how freaked out the horses are right now.”

“I told you animals didn’t like me much.” I reached for the shovel she was holding to offer some help, and she gladly handed it to me.

“Yeah but, they haven’t all been tense like–” Kyla stopped before finishing her sentence and began busily shoveling the stall she was in. “Never mind.”

She didn’t have to finish her thought for me to know exactly what she was thinking. Whether or not she knew exactly what it was, inherently she had figured out that I was different. There were only so many pieces needed to solve the puzzle. The question was, did I want her to solve it?

Through the silence that followed as we cleaned out each of the stalls I could sense Kyla’s mind turning. I couldn’t help but look over at her every so often to reassure myself that she was still there. Even if she’d already started having suspicions about me, she hadn’t gone anywhere. Or maybe she just didn’t think it had to do with me at all.

After finishing the shoveling and putting the tools away, I hopped up to sit on the side of one of the stalls while Kyla dragged in a hose from the outside. As she began to spray the dirt on the cement floor toward the door, she finally stopped thinking to herself and picked up conversation again. “You worked on farms over the summer?”

“Yeah,” I nodded even though Kyla wasn’t looking at me. “Summers are usually pretty boring for me.” And I get restless. “I figured I might as well do something productive.”

“What do your siblings do?”

I laughed and shrugged. “Nothing, they’re lazy.”

With a chuckle, Kyla exited the barn to put away the hose and came back in a few seconds later. She then leaned a thirty-foot wooden ladder up to the high loft of the barn a few feet away. Never having dealt with horses before I watched curiously, wondering what was up there, when a moment after she disappeared over the top a bale of hay came tumbling down, landing on the cement with a soft thud.

Her eyes scanned me as it hit the floor, and noting the curious look on my face she explained while kicking over another one. “This goes out in the field too. Then when the floor’s dry we spread some in the stalls.”

I mouthed the word ‘oh’ with an understanding nod. After a couple more bales, Kyla turned around to come back down the ladder. Her foot searched for the first step, and once she found it she began to lean her weight on it to descend. But the smooth wood was wet from the hose, and instead of staying where it should have, her foot slipped off. My heart dropped, and I felt the blood leave my face as I saw her begin to fall backward, and she hit her chin on the edge of the loft. Knowing she was going to hit the ground I jumped off my perch and rushed forward without thinking or batting an eye, and I was beneath the ladder to catch her before she reached the floor.

Catching her was easy, but with the image of her hitting her chin in my mind I was now nearing frantic, worried she might have a concussion or something. I set her down on the damp cement as smoothly as I could with how alarmed I still was, and leaned her back against the wall.

“Kyla are you okay?” I worriedly brushed her hair behind her ear, and resisted the urge to tilt her chin up with my hand because of the cut underneath. “Kyla?”

With shocking speed Kyla lurched forward and threw her arms tight around my neck, and I wrapped my own arms around her waist to return the hug. Her shoulders were shaking and I thought she might be crying, but when I pulled away I found that she was laughing.

“Are you okay?” I asked, moving my head to get in her line of vision. “Why are you laughing? You almost died just now.” I had to be just as frightened as she was, so her giggling was a bit unnerving. I was getting ready to shake some sense into her if she kept it up.

“I’m alright, thanks to you.” The panicked laughter finally subsided, and Kyla put her palm to her likely pounding heart and took a deep breath. After the breath she twitched her bottom jaw, touching her fingertips to it with a wince. “Ow.”

“Let me see,” I asked, gently tilting her head up with my hand. The scrape was only a surface wound, and as more of a raspberry than a cut there wasn’t really any blood, but I didn’t doubt how much it hurt. “You might just need to ice it.”

With a nod, Kyla looked up into my eyes for a moment and then back down, her own voice growing concerned as the shock and pain started to wear off. “You’re bleeding.”

Relieved that she wasn’t hurt, and that she hadn’t yet started to ask questions about how I’d caught a falling girl that weighed about as much as I did, I looked myself over. Sure enough I had a deep, three-inch long cut on my forearm. Even though blood had already made it down to my wrist, it hadn’t started to hurt until I noticed it. “I must have hit it on something, it’s just a scrape.”

Kyla wrapped me in another grateful embrace and then pulled away to tenderly reach for the hand of my uncut arm. “Come on, I’ll clean it for you. It’s the least I could do.”

I let her lead me to the house without protest, but I wasn’t worried about my arm. The cut would be gone in a matter of days. All I wanted was Kyla back in my arms. I wanted to squeeze her tight and keep her close, keep her safe.

“I got blood on your shirt,” I noticed, and pointed to the back of Kyla’s gray tank top as I followed her inside.

“Don’t worry about it, I’ll change after we take care of your arm,” she responded, leading me to the kitchen sink where she turned on the faucet. Grabbing a paper towel off the counter nearby she dampened it under the water and waited for me to hold out my arm so she could start cleaning it.

Now that she was about to take care of the wound, I froze. All it took was one speck of blood getting into Kyla’s blood stream to Change her. Meaning if she had any cuts on her hands then I couldn’t let her touch me. How could I be so careless? I shouldn’t have even put myself in this situation. This was one of the reasons I tried to stay away from humans. Even my own self getting hurt was dangerous to them.

“Are your hands clean?” I asked, swiftly pulling my arm away and pretending I was worried about germs.

Kyla nodded but washed her hands in the sink with soap and water anyway. When she returned I raised an eyebrow teasingly, like I didn’t trust that they were really clean. Knowing what I wanted, she raised her hands to prove that they were dirt-free, and I used the opportunity to make sure that she didn’t have any cuts that my blood would touch.

Satisfied I held out my arm, and she began to gently wipe the blood from it. “At least it already stopped bleeding.”

I smiled and nodded, unsurprised. As I began to relax, I couldn’t help but admire the graceful delicacy with which Kyla treated my wound. She wiped around it as gently as possible, unconcerned with how long it would take to clean off all the blood with the amount of pressure, or lack thereof, that she applied. I didn’t mind either. It could take all day I was so content watching her try to take care of me.

When she looked up and caught me watching her, she gave a shy smile. “What?”

I gave a short, quiet chuckle and shrugged. My brothers and sisters knew how durable our kind was and wouldn’t have given a second thought to an injury like this, but Kyla seemed genuinely worried. “You’re just so gentle, it’s refreshing. My siblings would be telling me to rub some dirt on it.”

She turned to grab some fresh paper towels off the island to dry my arm as she giggled. “Well, tough love isn’t my calling.”

After another quiet minute while Kyla focused on my wound and I focused on her, the two dogs could be heard sniffing under the closed door that led from the kitchen to the living room, and seconds later they started scratching at it. They probably smelled the blood, and were no doubt curious where it was coming from.

“I don’t know what’s got their feathers in a bunch.” Kyla paused to glance at the door and then roll her eyes. “Come on, there’s bandages up stairs.” She motioned for me to follow as she started for the bathroom upstairs. Unable to find a bandage big enough for the wound, she grabbed some gauze and wrapped it around my arm. “There, all better.” She grinned as she flattened the tape that would hold the gauze in place, pleased with her medical accomplishment.

“Thank you very much,” I thanked her, smiling as I studied the wrapping.

She nodded happily and then stretched to look at the back of her tank top in the mirror. “Now I got to change, since you got my shirt all dirty,” she teased as she turned to leave the bathroom. I stood there for a moment, unsure of whether I was supposed to follow or not, before Kyla noticed I wasn’t following and turned around. “Are you coming?”

With that I pushed off the counter I’d been leaning against and followed her into her bedroom. I had been at Kyla’s the night before, but hadn’t received the official tour since we’d spent the whole night downstairs watching movies. The bathroom was in the middle of the long hallway and Kyla’s bedroom was the next door down. A few unopened boxes sat on the dark wood floor near the door, and on the far side of the room past the bed was a desk.

I took a seat on the thick orange comforter that covered Kyla’s bed as I watched the brunette search through a box of clothes for another shirt. It didn’t take her long to find a new one, and then she removed the tank she was wearing, carefully avoiding further smearing of the blood. It was hard not to admire her complete lack of insecurity, though I tried to be considerate by not looking. I inspected various things around the room, but out of the corner of my eye I couldn’t help but study Kyla’s perfect, fragile figure.

She was thin without being muscular, making her look soft and delicate. Her sun-kissed skin was a dark, olive color with a couple uneven tan lines on her back from wearing different styles of bathing suits. Even out of the corner of my eye I could see a dark, skewed-oval birthmark to the bottom left of her naval, about the size of a playing card. Her jeans hugged low on her hips, which curved perfectly into her waist and chest. As her body twisted to pull on her shirt, I let my eyes wander along the lines of the girl’s slender back.

Again the itch started in my fingers and I clenched my fists tightly, lying back on the bed in utter frustration. I couldn’t understand why I got the urge to Change when I was around Kyla. I’d never had a problem unless I hadn’t Phased in a long time, and losing control would be the single worst thing that could ever happen. I was already growing exhausted from fighting the urge all day.

Kyla slumped down on the bed next to me, lying on her stomach and gently fingering the injury on her chin. “What’re you thinking?”

I turned my head to look at her. Discontent turned down the sides of my mouth as I realized I had to leave. I had to Change and talk to someone in my family about this. Maybe they knew what the problem was. “I just forgot I promised Luna I’d go running with her today,” I lied, hoping Kyla wouldn’t see through it.

Aside from the obvious disappointment, she seemed to understand. Sitting up, she patted me on the thigh and hopped off the bed. “A promise is a promise. I guess I’ll take you home then.”

I was quiet for the duration of the ride to my house, and Kyla seemed to be in deep thought herself. The silence on her part began to frighten me after about half the drive. Fear of the worst made me wonder if she was replaying the fall in her head and questioning every detail. Glancing at the gauze wrapping around my arm, I shook my head at how unlucky it was. Kyla hadn’t seemed to notice how deep the cut really was, and that normally it would have called for stitches. Then in less than a week the wound would be gone, no doubt she would notice. What then? Obviously there would be questions. What would I say?

When we pulled into my driveway ten minutes later, I sighed with relief as Kyla turned to me, unwilling to say goodbye. “So, I’ll look up the movies and let you know.”

With all the stuff on my mind, I had forgotten I’d made plans with her. There was nothing I wanted to do besides spend time with the girl, but not if it was dangerous. If I was already having control issues at this point, who knew how much control I’d have over myself if I couldn’t stop a Change?

With a nod I unbuckled my seatbelt and grabbed the handle to open the door, but Kyla reached over and put her hand on my arm to stop me. I smiled as I turned to raise a questioning eyebrow at her. Urge aside, I was off to a good start. She was already starting to get attached to me. “Thanks for catching me,” she said shyly, eyes running back and forth over my face, searching for something. An explanation.

Of course Kyla was already questioning things. She was obviously too observant not to notice. But I couldn’t, and wouldn’t, give her an explanation. Instead I tried to smile as gratefully as I could. “Thanks for taking care of my arm.”

I got out of the truck as Kyla shrugged it off like it was the least she could do, and then waved as the girl drove away. After watching the disappearing taillights for a minute, the slamming of the screen door behind me grabbed my attention. Bright blue eyes met mine, and my sister smiled, medium length jet-black hair bobbing as she hopped off the porch to make her way to me. We always picked on Sky and told her she was adopted because of her reversed physical features. Everyone in the family but Sky was blonde, and almost all of us had brown eyes except for her and Carter, whose eyes were also blue.

“Sky, I’m glad you’re home! I need to run, and talk to you. Talk first.”

She turned on her heels back toward the house and motioned for me to follow. We made our way to the porch swing on the right side of the deck, where I dropped my backpack and we sat facing each other, knees pulled up to our chests and shoulders leaned against the back of the seat. “What’s wrong little sis?”

“Well, there’s this girl,” I sighed as I started, and heard Sky laugh. A quiet growl escaped my throat, and I glared as I tried to maintain the seriousness of the problem. “It’s not funny, Sky. I think I’m falling in love with her.”

“Camille? In love?” She teased in mock disbelief. “I’ve never even heard of you being interested in anyone. She must be special.” I nodded with a reflective shrug. “Well, does she love you back?”

I shook my head. We had only met the day before. There was no way Kyla even thought about me like that. How could I already be in love with her anyway? I had to love her. Everything about her made my senses, my raw emotions, uninhibited. And that damn itch. That badgering need to release everything I tried to control.

“We kind of just met. You know, Rob Walters’ niece, Kyla. We’re friends I guess, but she’s not in love with me.” I sighed. Even just talking about it was tiring. “She’s absolutely beautiful, Sky. It’s seriously exhausting.”

“You’ve got to be careful with humans, Cami. You know how delicate they are.” I nodded knowingly before she continued. “You’re worried about the itch. Afraid you’re going to lose control?” I could feel her mood shift as she started to understand what I was concerned about.

I nodded again, leaned my head back against the swing, and sighed. “Is it because I’m in love with her? How come any time I think about getting close to her this curse drives me away?”

“Because you’re starting to crave it. You’re still young so let me make this easy for you to understand. You might love her, you might not, but there’s this little thing called hormones. Like it or not sis you’re an animal, through and through. That means fundamental instincts and fundamental needs. Your body wants what it wants.” Sky paused, thinking about how to explain it in more detail. “Most likely, it’s probably just infatuation. But if you’re not going to Phase when the urge comes up and you’re not going to be physical with this girl, then the only solution is to Change more often and make it easier to control.”

“Be physical with this girl.” I couldn’t help but laugh as I teasingly copied Sky’s words. “She’s not a sex toy, Sky.”

“I know. But Jesus, with urges like these I don’t get how you’re still a virgin. It just isn’t normal.” The teasing side-glance Sky gave me told me that she was only slightly joking, but when I shot her a glare she just laughed and got up to stretch. “You get the point. Come on, I need to run as much as you do.”

I smiled gratefully and stood to take my backpack into the house. When I reached my room I quickly threw it into the corner and stripped my clothes. Reluctantly I removed the bandage that Kyla had so tenderly placed around my arm, and then ready to run I stopped to think. The quickest way down was through the window.

I pushed open the large panes of glass, stopping for a second to breathe in the fresh breeze before I hopped out, Phasing in midair. Endorphins rushing from the Change made me sigh happily as I landed softly on the ground. Changing alleviated any stress that being with Kyla put on my body, and I was more than glad to be in wolf form again.

As silently as possible I padded around the house to find a steely blue wolf already waiting for me. Crouching low to the ground I crept closer and closer, hiding in the shadows the sinking sun had made out of the house, and when Sky was within leaping distance I pounced. The wolf nimbly rolled over to kick me off of her, and having done so tried to sink her teeth into my neck. We both tried to pin each other, and in a blur of fur and teeth we rolled into the side of the house. I had managed to get my sister trapped when our mother ran outside to yell at us.

“Hey! You’re going to put a hole through the side of the house!” She threw her arms up as she shouted. Sky used the distraction to her advantage, and flipped us over to get the final pin on me. The move received a death-glare from our mom. “Knock it off guys.” But attempts obviously unsuccessful, she just rolled her eyes and went back into the house.

Kicking the large wolf away from me, I sat up and tried to reach a fresh cut on my shoulder with my tongue. It was pointless though, since I couldn’t reach it. So I settled for scowling at my sister for beating me and adding a second wound in one day. Sky flashed a wolfish grin and rolled over innocently. She then got up and trotted toward the vineyard. I followed, and we ran for a while before Sky slowed her pace and changed direction to playfully chase after a rabbit that darted across our path. After a few minutes of letting her have her fun I nipped at her heels impatiently, ready to really run.

Once I got Sky’s attention off the rabbit I took off sprinting, getting a head start on her. She might have been better at wrestling, but my longer body made me faster. We raced through the trees on neighboring farms, Sky relentlessly snapping at my tail to try and slow me down.

Running west at full speed it wasn’t even an hour before we were halfway to the coast, but I kept pushing forward, my limbs thanking me eternally with each fatiguing strike. I loved thinking about and being with Kyla, but now I was free. Free from containment and disguises. Free from worrying about controlling my emotions and desires. Free to do whatever and be whoever I wanted.

The wind hitting my face got colder and colder as we got closer to the shoreline, and the colder it got the more alive I felt. Eventually the biting air turned salty. The stimulating ocean breeze filled my nostrils, and my heart raced toward the source faster than my legs could carry me. As we came bursting over the top of a hill my excitement peaked.

We’d reached the water. A fresh energy filled me as I bounded down the sandy hill, and upon reaching the bottom I rolled in the sand, kicking it up with my enormous paws. Sky happily lay to rest and watch me prance through the shallow tide. I nipped at the small waves as they rose to graze my paws and then tease me as they made their way back to the depths. I ran and rolled through the sand and water until I was soaked to the bone, and the weight of the water in my fur finally wore me out.

I made my way up the beach, teasingly shook the water from my fur all over my sister, and plopped down beside her, delightfully exhausted and ready to brave the rest of the week’s strain from my contact with Kyla.

After Camille had left I finished all my chores and then sat on the couch to do homework. Now that I was done I’d been flipping through channels on TV for the last hour, trying to find something interesting to watch. It was a little past eleven, so everyone was upstairs either asleep or getting ready to fall asleep. I was exhausted too, not having caught up on rest from the night before, but for some reason I didn’t feel like I was ready to lie down yet.

Finally I got sick of flipping through channels and settled on a documentary about some place in Africa. It wasn’t nearly as entertaining as I thought it would be, and after about five minutes I found myself sprawled across the couch, regardless of whether I wanted to lie down or not. I was half asleep before I knew it, until something stirred me enough that I sat up. I couldn’t be sure what it was. It was one of those instances that something wakes you and then stops, so that you never figure out what happened once you get up.

Now that I’d been asleep though, I could feel the exhaustion catching up with me. So I flicked off the TV and stood to make my way to my bedroom. Before I walked out of the living room, I stopped. Brandy and Blue had been sleeping in the hallway, and now both of their heads were picked up, ears cropped like they were listening for sound. Something really had woken me up. I stood near the entrance to the hallway for a minute, straining to see if I could hear what they did. It was quiet enough to hear a pin drop, but I couldn’t catch what they were listening for.

I was about to let it go and make my way to the stairs when Blue stood, and a second later I heard what sounded like an alarmed whinny from one of the horses. Blue strode to the front door and pressed his nose to the bottom, and I could hear him sniffing even from where I stood. Then Brandy growled, and there was another neigh.

I stood there for another second, my head tilted toward the ceiling to see if anyone else had heard it and was getting out of bed. Sometimes we left the horses in the corral so they weren’t cooped up in the barn every night, but even though they were out in the open and the barn didn’t muffle their cries, no one else seemed to be stirring. Still I stood there, debating whether or not I should go outside and investigate. Until Blue growled at the door, and worried an animal might be harassing the horses I decided I should check it out.

I strode to the kitchen to grab a flashlight, and when I got to the front door I grabbed a leash off of a hook on the wall to clip to Blue’s collar. “Brandy stay,” I whispered to the other dog, which had gotten up to follow us out.

As I closed the door behind us, Blue instantly began tugging the leash in the direction of the horses. I kept a firm grip, trying to hold him back while I stood on the porch and stared out into the dark. With my ears strained I clicked on the flashlight, shining it sideways toward the barn. From where I stood I couldn’t see anything, so I moved the beam across everything in front of me. It illuminated the edges of the orange trees, the gravel of the long driveway down to the main road, and the orange trees on the opposite side.

Nothing looked out of the ordinary, so finally I let the dog lead me to the side of the house, and when we got to the fenced area behind the barn I had to restrain him again while I checked on the horses. Every one of them was huddled on the far right and furthest from the left side, which was lined with orange trees – furthest from the place Blue was trying to drag me. Aside from being spooked the horses looked fine, but the way all of the animals were acting jump-started my heart, which quickened to a nervous beat.

I took a cautious step toward the trees, Blue growling as he used the momentum to drag me closer. I let him haul me over until we stood about six feet from the shrubs, and then stopped. The second my footsteps stopped, and just over the sound of Blue’s growls, I could barely hear the leafy crunch of something retreating farther into the trees. The confirmation that something was indeed hiding beyond my vision was frightening, even if it was just a rabbit or opossum, and the only thing that kept me from going back into the house was the comfort of the large dog at my side.

The beam from the flashlight only penetrated the first few feet in the line of trees. Beyond that, wherever the thing that had made the noise was hiding, was completely dark. Blue could sense it though, and he wasn’t happy about it. He stretched the leash as far as he could, and his growling escalated to snarling as he challenged whatever it was he could sense. The fiercer his snarl grew, the more and more my heart pounded, and it was almost to the point I was going to return to the house when Blue stopped.

He whined, retreated to my side, and stared silently into the darkness.

The following silence was almost more terrifying than the menacing snarls of the dog. Whatever it was had scared Blue to silence, and now we both stood there, so quiet I could hear the pounding of my heart in my ears. Then the growling started again, and I looked at Blue, expecting him to start tugging on the leash again. Only, he was still cowering at my side. The sound wasn’t coming from him.

My stomach lurched at the realization, and the low, throaty rumbling was so frightening that my first instinct was to turn and run. I refrained though, unlike the first night I was here. I wasn’t on a horse now, and whatever was making the sound would probably catch me in a matter of seconds.

I took a slow step back, the movement met by quick snarl. Blue whined again, and after I recovered from a wracking flinch I took a deep breath.

“Slowly,” I whispered quietly, trying to ease the horror in the pit of my stomach. “Moving slow,” I whispered again, this time in the most soothing and placating voice I could so the invisible animal wouldn’t think I was a threat.

The growling had resumed a deep, consistent rumble, so I took another step back. This time it escalated, and the response to my movement was a chilling snarl so loud it bordered a threating bark. My only reaction to the definitively canine sound was to freeze. I was so terrified that I couldn’t move even if I wanted to. Blue seemed to be in the same state as he cowered near the ground, ears laid back pleadingly against his head. The bark subsided, but instead of returning to a warning growl the animal continued to snarl, a noise that clearly meant it was getting sick of me standing there.

I lifted my foot to take another step back, and then there was another leafy crunch, as the snarling got audibly closer. The only image that ran through my mind was some massive canine, teeth bared and eyes locked on me as it advanced, waiting for the perfect moment to strike. The second I set my foot down the animal roared, and the angry snapping of its teeth was so loud I could hear it over the horrified ringing in my ears.

It took me less than a split second to drop the flashlight and turn, making a run for it. Over the sound of Blue’s paws and my own crashing footsteps I couldn’t be sure if the animal was chasing or was already in midair lunging at me, but as I got halfway to the door I had to be reassured that neither of us had been eaten yet.

I don’t think I had ever run so fast in my life. Not a second after I reached the porch I flew through the door, slamming it shut behind us and not caring if it woke everyone up. With a flick of my wrist I twisted the deadbolt, staring at the door as I speedily backed away, half expecting the animal to come crashing through. That’s when my back hit something solid, and it scared me so much I turned on my heels.

As I wheeled around I caught a familiar glimmer of metal, and I threw my hands up defensively. “Don’t shoot me!”

“Jesus, Kyla,” Rob laughed, nervously like I’d scared him too, even though I was so frightened I could hardly breathe. Then he paused to take in my condition, and he watched the leash dragging behind Blue as the dog trotted down the hall. “You went out there by yourself?”

I took a few more breaths, trying to calm the pounding of my heart before I answered. “I took Blue with me.”

“Was it him that was making all that racket?” Rob asked, glancing at the dogs, which were now lying in the hallway like nothing had ever happened.

I shook my head, that terrifying snarling echoing in my ears. “There was something else out there.”

My uncle made a move for the door, and I had half a mind to stop him from opening it. “Stay here,” he told me, undoing the lock. “I’ll be right back.”

When he closed the door behind him I went to it, placing my eye up to the peephole. His back was visible for a few seconds as he made his way down the stairs, then he disappeared beyond my line of sight. I took a few steps back and leaned against the wall to wait for him. It seemed like hours in the stillness that he was out there, so long that I almost stuck my head out to check on him. Then the handle turned, and in the quiet the metallic click scared me so bad I jumped.

“Whatever it was, it’s gone,” he told me, locking the door behind him and making his way past me and into the living room.

“What do you think it was?” I asked, and as I followed close behind him I couldn’t help but glance back over my shoulder at the door.

“Something mean.” He shrugged as he got to the fireplace on the left side of the living room, and he put the old Stevens shotgun he was still holding on its stand on the mantle. “Next time, come get me before going outside.” Then he started for the hallway and the stairs, and I followed him up. “There was an attack on a farmer a few years ago. Vicious thing. The newspaper said it was likely a wolf.”

“A wolf?” I asked in shock, a cold shiver going up my spine. That sounded like exactly what I’d heard.

As we reached the top of the stairs my mom poked her head out of her bedroom, squinting at us tiredly. “Everything okay?” When both Rob and I nodded, she smiled and closed the door. “Night.”

“Yeah, I know it’s strange,” my uncle said, returning to my question. “Just don’t go out by yourself next time you hear something, okay?”

“Okay,” I promised, giving a reassuring smile as I reached my bedroom. “Goodnight.”

After Rob said goodnight I closed my bedroom door behind me. Even though I was in the safety of the house, as I changed into my pajamas I was extremely tense, straining to hear if there was still anything outside. My stomach turned nervously as I flicked off the light, and then I darted under the comfort of my blankets. It took nearly fifteen minutes for me to even be able to close my eyes longer than a blink, and I knew it would take me forever to fall asleep, if I ever could. So I’d just lie there.

***

The loud buzzing of the alarm clock woke me the next morning and I hit the snooze button roughly, groaning for five more minutes of sleep. I hadn’t been able to fall asleep all night, and of course when I finally did it felt like the alarm clock went off hardly a minute later. At least daylight had restored my confidence, and I was no longer terrified. Reluctant to get out of bed I lay there, wondering why I didn’t want to wake up seeing as yesterday I’d been so excited to go to school.

A louder groan escaped me when I finally remembered what was keeping me under the sheets. The dentist. I was overdue for an appointment, and the only reason I’d waited so long was to find a new place once we moved. Well we’d found a new place, and I was looking forward to it about as much as I had back in Texas. Which was not at all.

A knock came from the outside of my bedroom door, and seconds later my dad poked his head in, hazel eyes scanning the time on my alarm clock. “You going to be ready soon?”

He shot me a look that I took as ‘get out of bed or we’ll be late,’ and I kicked off the covers to show him I was getting up. “Yeah, be down in a couple minutes.”

Once he closed the door I rubbed my eyes and rolled out of bed. At least going to the dentist meant I’d get to miss my first few classes. School was picking up, but I hadn’t even finished the first week yet, so it was still mostly slow and dull. I’d easily made friends in almost all of my classes, but aside from Camille they all seemed so common. Camille was the only person who seemed to have more to offer than homework answers and casual conversation. She was the only one who interested me to the point that I was eager to make plans outside of school.

Having showered the night before I threw on my most comfortable jeans and a t-shirt, and put my hair up into a bun. If I had no choice but to go to the dentist, then I would be going dressed as comfortably and possible.

“Kyla, you ready?” I heard my dad call from downstairs, and took this as my cue to grab my backpack from off the desk and bolt down to the kitchen. When I got there he was sitting at the island, head buried in the newspaper and eyes covered by the faded red baseball cap he always wore to hide the thinning of his black hair. Hearing me stop in the doorway, he looked up and put the paper down. “You need to eat?”

I glanced around the kitchen, but aside from a banana sitting on the counter I couldn’t think of anything else quick to make, so I shook my head. “I’ll eat when I get to school.”

“Alright.” He stood and grabbed the keys off the counter on his way out of the kitchen.

Still waking up I silently followed him to the white SUV, shoulders slumped unhappily as I got into the passenger seat. Once he started the engine I switched on the radio and leaned the seat all the way back so I could comfortably rest my eyes until we reached the dental office, already knowing a majority of the drive would be silent. I loved my dad and I’d call us close, but his was more of a silent affection.

“How’s school? Make any friends yet?” he asked as he turned down the radio so I could hear him.

Trying to be polite I leaned my seat back up so that I could look at him. We’d probably catch up for a minute before he ran out of things that say and I’d go back to resting. “It ain’t bad. I have a friend named Camille. She was over the other night watching movies with me.”

He nodded knowingly. “That’s what all that noise was about. Sounded like you were having fun.” As he looked at me a smile lit up his expression, probably because of the way I grinned when I talked about my new friend.

Things had admittedly started off kind of awkward with Camille at school on the first day. She was shy, and since I was the outgoing type I was used to people being a bit more unreserved with me. Once she opened up a bit though, I was glad we’d ended up being partners. She was someone I felt like I could get close to, and it was nice thinking I’d have a good friend in California.

I nodded, not knowing where to go with the conversation. It wasn’t that my dad wasn’t genuine in his curiosity about how I was doing at my new school. Ever since he was young he’d been at work. From what I’d been told, he dropped out of high school to help his brother and dad work on the farm and had never gone to college. The way I figured, he’d been working so long in the fields that his personal skills had taken a bit of a nosedive. He was a nice guy, but conversation wasn’t his thing.

“Have you talked to Aaron yet?” he asked after a few more moments of silence, refusing to make eye contact as he did so.

“No, not yet.” While my dad was supportive on my decision to date the senior football player, it was clear he didn’t like him, and maybe even hoped we wouldn’t last through a long distance relationship. But aside from the fact that Aaron was a grade older and a bit of partier, I wasn’t sure why. “He said he’d give me a little time to adjust before he called.” That was the extent of my dad’s conversation knowhow, so for the last few minutes of the drive it was up to me to carry it on. “How do you like working for Uncle Rob so far?”

“It’s nice.” He smiled warmly and lifted a hand to adjust his baseball cap. “Sort of like old times.”

After that he fell silent, and I couldn’t help but think that maybe I’d hit a sore spot. Of course he couldn’t have been disappointed that he’d be around his brother more often, but perhaps his ego made losing our ranch in Texas a bit of a touchy subject. So with the cue of silence, I followed along until we reached the dental office a couple minutes later.

The office looked nice enough, even nicer than the one I’d gone to in Texas. The way the morning sun reflected off the large spotless windows and the bright white exterior gave a clean appearance. Upon entering, the sandy colored wood furniture, blue trim and shell decorated walls almost made me forget we weren’t on the coast. A large, redheaded woman stood at the front desk, organizing the various toothpaste and other product samples that adorned the counter as she laughed on the phone with a patient. Seeing us enter she gave a big friendly smile and waved us to the front desk, where we stood for a brief second before she ended her conversation and hung up the phone.

“Good morning! Miss Walters, I presume?” the woman, whose nametag read ‘Nadine’, asked with cheerful pep as she sat in her chair and clicked on her computer. I nodded, and the woman made a couple more clicks before handing us a clipboard of medical and insurance forms. “These are for your dad to fill out. You can have a seat and the doctor will be with you in a couple of minutes.”

I smiled my thanks and followed my dad to the waiting seats. Waiting was always the worst part. Nothing to do but sit there in anticipation, waiting for the doctor to call me so I could go through the dreaded torture of scraping and pain. After shaking my leg and looking nervously around the room for a minute, I noticed a corkboard of patient photographs on the wall across from me. Taking this as a welcome distraction, I stood and walked to it, glancing over the perfect smiles of straight, white teeth. Some of the pictures were family portraits sent to the office as thank you cards. Others were photos of various kids and teenagers after having their braces taken off. Scanning each and every Polaroid taken in the office, I couldn’t help but grin as I came across a familiar face.

What appeared to be about a ten year old Camille grinned and gave thumbs up to the camera, while a much smaller Luna made bunny ears behind her head. The first thing I noticed was how much smaller Luna had always been. Even now she was inches shorter than Camille. After noticing the physical differences that had carried on to the twins’ teens, I studied the young Camille. Long, curly blonde hair that looked frazzled and messy, probably from roughhousing with her sister, fell in lengthy waves down to her waist. Bright brown eyes glittered with obvious excitement at freedom from whatever dental appliance she’d had, and her small white teeth shined behind a perfectly dimpled, chubby cheeked smile. If Camille had those same cheeks to this day I wouldn’t be able to resist the urge to pinch them. I was contemplating taking a picture of the photo with my cell phone to show Camille later, but just as I was about to the dental hygienist opened a door and called my name.

Very reluctantly I followed the young woman, probably in her late twenties, to a small room where I was directed to sit in the long chair. I leaned against the back of it as the brunette woman draped a vest over me and carefully placed a film in my mouth to take x-rays, politely asking me to hold still. We repeated the process a few times before the hygienist disappeared, and it took a few minutes before she reappeared with the developed x-rays and a small bag of instruments. That small bag of instruments cued my repression to tune out the rest of the appointment, and I did, until the doctor could come in and tell me that my mouth looked good. Surprisingly, the hygienist was uncommonly gentle and quick, and I was out of the office without half as much pain and in half the time I thought I’d be.

Apart from asking how the appointment was, my dad was quiet while he drove me to school. A glance at the clock and the school being only a minute away told me I’d get there in time to make it to fourth period chemistry. My dad pulled in at the front of the school right as the bell rang, and with a quick ‘thanks’ and ‘love you’ I dashed out of the car and into the building. Luckily my chemistry class was right down the hall, so I made it with time to spare.

With all the bustling of the students trying to get to their next class, a pair of guys standing at a locker next to the room caught my eye. One of them, with ear length, dirty blonde hair and dark blue eyes I recognized as my lab partner from chemistry class, which was probably why I noticed them in the first place. The other boy I’d never met, but he was tall and very muscular, most likely an athlete of some sort.

Curious as to why my partner wasn’t going into class with the bell a second away from ringing, I stood near the door and watched as he talked with the other student. Before I knew it I was watching him carefully pull a small medicine bottle a quarter full of pills out of his backpack and hand it to the other guy, who in exchange pulled what looked like more than just a couple hundred dollar bills out of his pocket. Feeling like I was doing something wrong just watching the exchange, I shiftily glanced around, wondering how no one else had seen it.

While I looked around nervously, my partner stopped on his way through the door and looked at me, chuckling to himself as I was just standing there; I must have looked like an idiot. “Hey Kyla, are you coming in?”

I smiled nervously and nodded, hoping he wouldn’t catch on that I’d seen his dealings. “Yeah, I’m coming.”

He motioned for me to go on first and so I entered the classroom as he followed me to our lab table. Sitting down we each pulled out our lab manuals and opened them to the page number that was written on the board. Without needing any instruction from our teacher, since the equipment was set out on our table for us, we started the experiment. We had done a simple experiment the day before and although we hadn’t talked much, my partner, Jonathan, seemed to know what he was doing. So today I followed his lead. The most help I could offer anyway was handing him instruments and occasionally measuring out a liquid.

“Did you go to the dentist today?” Jonathan asked as he carefully mixed two liquids that he’d poured into a beaker.

I nodded, adjusting the goggles that tightly hugged my face and made me self-conscious about the red lines I’d have at the end of the period. “Yeah, how’d you know?”

He laughed and shrugged. “You smell minty, like toothpaste.” Slightly embarrassed that the smell was that strong, I let out an awkward chuckle. “I thought most people wanted to get that out of the way before the school year started.”

I nodded. I could tell that even though he was focusing most of his attention on the experiment, he was doing his best to make conversation with me, so I decided to give a detailed explanation. “I would’ve, but I actually moved here the day before school started.”

“From Texas?” As Jonathan asked he pointed to a lighter, silently asking me to hand it to him. Even though he wasn’t looking at me he must have sensed my surprise at his correct guess, because after he lit the burner he looked up at me. The look dropped over my entire body, and ended with a smile as his gaze lingered at my eyes. Knowing what the look meant I tried to smile without giving him the wrong idea, but quickly broke eye contact and looked down at my paper until he answered. “I’ve been around. My family moves a lot, so I’m pretty good with accents. I actually just moved here too, a few weeks ago.”

“How come you move around a lot?” I asked. Despite not wanting him to mistake my curiosity for a deeper interest, his politeness made me wonder, and something about his natural charisma seemed familiar. While it wasn’t an overwhelming familiarity, if I looked hard into his eyes, something there sparked the feeling of acquaintance.

“Army brat,” Jonathan told me matter-of-factly as he jotted down a measurement and pushed his paper toward me so I could copy the information. “Last place I was in was Colorado. It’s not too bad moving around, you get to learn a lot and meet a lot of new people.”

Until this point, the way Jonathan spoke so casually and coolly had made me forget that I’d seen him dealing drugs. Having finally remembered, a spark of unease was reinstated in the pit of my stomach. I assumed being an army brat couldn’t be easy, so he’d just learned how to survive in his own way. Regardless, however, the thought made me uncomfortable, and for the rest of the period it took a tremendous effort to make small talk with him as normally as I could.

It seemed that I’d been doing a good job of not letting on, because Jonathan talked normally the whole time. He left the room a little into the period, as I’d noticed he did every time he was here, for a bathroom break and returned a few minutes later. Whether it was truly a bathroom break or a mid-class drug deal, I feared to speculate.

Around the middle of the period I got a text from Camille inviting me to have lunch with her and her siblings, so when the bell rang at the end of class I said goodbye to Jonathan and excitedly started my walk to the cafeteria. As I passed my locker on the way there I stopped, suddenly feeling that I smelled like chemistry chemicals and toothpaste. So I opened my locker and sprayed on my favorite tropical perfume, giving it a few extra sprays, before continuing on my way to the cafeteria. After going through the lunch line and grabbing my food I scanned the area until I found Camille already sitting with Luna and Niko.

“Hey!” Camille greeted me happily as I arrived next to the table, and pulled a chair next to her out so I could sit down.

I grinned and took the seat as I set my tray of food down on the table. “Hi. Hey Luna, hi Niko.”

They both smiled hello and continued to dig in to their food as if they were starving, making me want to do the same. I took a big bite of my tuna sandwich and voraciously chewed so I could start to fill my growling stomach.

“You smell good,” Camille pointed out as she also took a bite of food.

“Thanks,” I grinned; glad I’d chosen to spray myself with perfume. “It’s called Hawaiian Paradise, it’s my favorite.”

“I like it.” She smiled right back and then looked at her siblings, who both nodded in agreement, with Luna adding an extra eye-roll at her. Catching the roll I looked at Camille, who busily focused on her food, almost as if she was nervous. We’d been getting along so well though that it didn’t make much sense to me why Camille should be nervous, so I just assumed she was worried her siblings would embarrass her. Not a far-fetched assumption considering Luna’s quirky personality.

As each of us ate we grew silent, our main concern the food on each of our plates. With my tuna sandwich gone and slowing down as I worked on my chips, I looked around the cafeteria. For the first time I noticed how many boys there were wearing what looked like the school’s football jersey, and a spark of excitement made my lips curl into a hopeful smile.

“Is there a football game tonight?” I asked. Camille, Luna and Niko all looked at me confusedly, like they had no clue what I was talking about.

Camille was the first to respond with an unconcerned shrug. “I have no idea.”

My jaw dropped at her complete lack of interest. “Haven’t you ever been to a school football game?” She shook her head no, and I looked to Luna who also shook her head, and then to Niko, who actually nodded. “See, Niko’s been!”

“Niko just goes for the cheerleaders,” Camille told me, receiving a punch in the arm from her brother. After a moment of realizing that I was still struggling to absorb the horrible information, she asked, “Am I supposed to have been to a football game?” An amused smile spread across her lips at my obvious horror.

“I can’t sit here, I don’t even know you people.” I pretended to get up, but when Camille scoffed and called my bluff with an indifferent shrug, I chuckled and sat back down. I was exaggerating my shock of course. After catching Camille up on Disney movies it was no surprise that the deprived blonde had never been to a football game, but I was genuinely disappointed she had absolutely no school spirit. “Have you ever been to any sports game?” Camille shook her head again. “A dance?” Another shake and I let out a defeated sigh. The way Camille was looking at me made me feel like an alien, like showing interest in high school sports was the strangest thing they’d ever heard. “Oh Lord, Camille, that’s it, I know your secret.”

I watched Camille and her siblings look at each other and wondered what the nervous glances were for, but pushed the curiosity aside as after another second Camille looked back at me. “What’s that?”

“That you were born in cave!” The exclamation came out in utter exasperation as I wearily threw up my hands, and Camille let out a loud laugh.

“Yeah, you figured me out,” she admitted, still chuckling.

Despite laughing at my joke, her cheeks flushed with a tint of embarrassment. The red tint gave me the impression that I’d struck a chord, and the nervous glances confirmed there was in fact a secret to know, but I’d figure it out eventually. At the moment I had other things to worry about. Such as Camille never having been to a football game.

I grew excited as I realized that since I’d helped catch Camille up on her childhood with Disney movies, I could help catch her up on her teenage years. “If there’s a game tonight will you go with me?” She looked at her brother and sister, probably trying to think of an excuse, and when she looked back at me her face was scrunched with rejection. But I wouldn’t take no for an answer, and without a definite decline I knew I was already halfway to getting her to go with me. “Please.” I put on my best pouting face and batted my eyes at the sympathetic blonde. “I’ll pick you up, and pay and everything.” Her strength to resist was starting to deteriorate as the tiniest of smiles cracked her lips. “I’ll get on my knees and beg if I have to!”

“You don’t have to.” Camille finally grinned and laughed, sighing with defeat. “I’ll go.”

My smile spread from ear to ear and I almost cheered with excitement. When I lived in Texas I’d gone to every one of my high school’s football games, and not just because Aaron was on the team. I genuinely enjoyed watching, not to mention the socializing with whomever I went with. In this case, that someone just so happened to be Camille.

I sat on my bed reading through my history textbook while I waited patiently for Kyla to pick me up. There was in fact a football game tonight, and while I was excited about spending time with her, I couldn’t say so much about watching the game. Though, I’d had the same low expectations for all those Disney movies and had actually ended up liking them, so maybe I’d enjoy the football game.

Without bothering to knock, Luna opened my bedroom door, and after closing it she plopped down cross-legged on my bed, starting her question before she’d even sat down. “So you’re going with Kyla tonight?” I closed my textbook and nodded as I set it aside to talk to her. “Are you nervous?”

With a shrug I let out a sigh and wrapped my arms around my pulled up knees. “I’m not nervous really about hanging out with her. I don’t know.” I took in a deep, thoughtful breath as my eyes scanned the bed. “I don’t know what it is, but something about her makes me feel so weak. So powerless.”

“She seems pretty normal to me,” Luna teased and received a playful shove. “She’s cool, but you barely know her.”

The way Luna’s voice trailed off at the end of her sentence made me look at her concernedly. “What are you trying to say? Do you know something?”

She laughed at the paranoid tone to my questions and shook her head. “No, and I’m sure there’s nothing wrong with her. It’s just that you’ve always been so careful with your feelings and about trusting people, probably more than any of us.” With a pause she glanced around the room, thinking about what to say. “You just met her, and she is human. I just don’t want either of you to get hurt.”

“I know.” I nodded, turning the corner of my mouth down thoughtfully. “I’m wrong for her, and I know it.”

“That’s not what I was trying to say,” Luna said slowly, though I could see the agreement in her eyes.

“You don’t need to say it.” As much as I hated to admit it, I knew it was true. There was a reason werewolves tried to avoid humans. “It’s like, I know I should just walk away, but I can’t. More than that, I don’t want to. Even though I know I should.”

Luna studied me for a minute, and the way she looked almost made me feel like I was doing something wrong. Though it was far from common, werewolves weren’t forbidden from being with humans. And I knew nobody would really protest, other than telling me to be careful. Still, it was a dangerous combination that rarely worked, most often because either the werewolf didn’t have enough control over their instincts or because the human couldn’t handle knowing once they’d been let in on the secret. That kind of relationship was always shrouded in a cloud of uncertainty. Even the way I felt Luna looking at me now was full of doubt.

“Tell me it’s going to be okay,” I said, begging for the disapproving look to leave Luna’s eyes. “If I keep doing this, if I try to be with her, tell me I’m not going to screw up her life.”

At the pleading tone of my voice, the look disappeared, and Luna’s lips turned up in a smile. “Of course you won’t. She’d be the luckiest girl alive to have you.” She pushed me playfully, and then her eyes gained a teasing glow. “But, you know being a werewolf isn’t even your biggest problem right now?”

I raised a curious eyebrow, wondering how on earth I could have a bigger problem than that. “Really? Then what’s my biggest problem?”

“Seriously?” Luna asked like she was surprised I didn’t know what she was talking about. “You’re a girl. You don’t even know if you could get Kyla to like you.”

I grabbed one of my pillows and buried my face in it with a groan. “Don’t remind me.”

“Leave it to you to fall for a straight girl.” She laughed teasingly and hopped off the bed to glance out the window. “Your ride’s here.”

Just as Luna made that statement my cell phone buzzed on the nightstand. I picked it up and read the text from Kyla that said she was outside, and excitedly grabbed my jacket off the back of my desk chair. Before passing Luna to leave my room I stopped, taking a deep breath and sighing before I gave my sister a nervous smile that reflected the butterflies I was starting to feel.

“There’re the nerves!” Luna snickered and shook her head sarcastically. “Have fun.”

With that I headed for the front door. Once I opened the passenger side to Kyla’s truck, she turned down the radio and grinned hello. “You ready to watch some all-American football?” she asked excitedly, backing out of the drive once I got in.

“Ready as I’ll ever be.” I couldn’t be less excited about watching a football game, but the fact that Kyla was in such a good mood made me smile relentlessly. I’d already even forgotten about the hard truth of my conversation with Luna.

“Were you just kidding me? Or have you really never been to a football game?” Kyla took her eyes off the road long enough to give me a suspicious but playful glare, and then returned her gaze out the windshield.

I crossed my finger over my heart as I’d seen her do once before. “Cross my heart, hope to die, I’ve never been.”

She seemed satisfied, because she nodded and turned up the radio. I stared as discreetly as I could as she bobbed her head and sang every line of the song that was on. Watching the beautiful girl enjoy every minute without restraint gave me a giddy feeling I couldn’t remember ever having. There was a certain light-heartedness about Kyla that made me feel like I really was a teenager, that made me forget about any and every worry, and made me feel almost human.

The brunette stopped bobbing her head and looked over to me in the passenger seat, smiling shyly when she noticed I was staring at her. I thought she was too embarrassed and was going to stop or turn down the radio, but without warning the drum beat picked up and Kyla vigorously shook her head, hair flying in every direction before she started bobbing her whole body. That succeeded in completely loosening me up, and I laughed and couldn’t stop grinning as I started dancing along. As I threw my arms out and snapped along I saw Kyla look over and laugh, nodding her approval. I’d been following my instincts my whole life, the ones that told me to be careful around humans and to watch everything I did and said, but in that moment with the girl I was quickly falling in love with, I threw my instincts out the window and gave way to impulse.

We went crazy in the car, laughing at each others’ outrageous dance moves until we pulled into the near packed high school parking lot a few minutes later. It took Kyla a minute to go through the aisles and find a spot, but once she did she pulled in and shut off the car. “Okay Camille, prepare to have your mind blown.”

“Give it your best shot,” I challenged with a sly smirk.

I followed Kyla’s lead and got out of the car. Once we started walking toward the football field I was surprised that she knew what to do and where to go after only being at the school for a few days. The girl must have had a football radar or something. Reaching the field across the street from the school, we followed the spirited blue and white to our section of the bleachers and sat down near the middle of the field in the first row.

“Oh good, no one’s scored yet,” Kyla said happily as she took note that the game had started a few minutes before we’d arrived.

I nodded and studied the players on the field. It was obvious that the blue and white was my school’s team, and that the red and dark blue on the opposite side of the field was the other team. Aside from common knowledge that the players had to get the ball to the other side, however, I had no idea what was going on. Afraid to ask Kyla for fear of sounding like I really was born in a cave, I sat next to the cheering girl and followed the ball with my eyes, pretending to know what was happening.

As I watched, the guy with the ball ran up the field until a player from our team got in front of him and tackled him to the ground. The audible ‘oomph’ of the player with the ball hitting the ground caused me to let out a chuckle of amusement. It was no wonder Niko had wanted to play football, and also no wonder why he hadn’t been allowed to. If he ever hit someone like that he’d break more than a few of their bones.

It took about ten minutes into the quarter for Kyla to realize that I wasn’t cheering, and she grew silent as she followed my gaze. “Are you watching the cheerleaders?” she teased, and I couldn’t help but laugh as I earnestly shook my head. “You aren’t cheering. You are looking at the cheerleaders, aren’t you?”

“No!” I laughed and shook my head again. I really hadn’t been watching the cheerleaders. They hadn’t even stood out to me until Kyla mentioned it. So not wanting her to get the wrong idea about me, I decided to confess the truth. “I don’t understand the game.”

“It’s simple,” she said without being fazed. She’d probably expected I didn’t have a clue. “Pretty much, the quarter back,” she pointed to a tall, thin player in the center of the field, “Throws the ball to another player who tries to run it to the other end of the field. The other team tries to tackle the player with the ball before he can make a touchdown or run a certain distance. If he doesn’t make the distance goal after being tackled four times, then the other team gets the ball.”

I nodded and watched the next play to see if I could understand. It started to make more sense the more I watched. “How do you know how far he has to go?”

“That red thing that guy is holding,” Kyla pointed to a guy on the sidelines. “That shows you how far.” She waited for me to nod again and then nudged me with her shoulder. “Are you going to cheer now?” I couldn’t help but smile and give a shy shrug. Never having cheered before, I wasn’t really sure what to say. “Please Camille, tell me you know what cheering is. You know, saying ‘go team’, yelling for your mascot. That kind of stuff?”

“What’s our mascot?” I asked, and the look of shock I received from Kyla made me laugh at myself for having to even ask. This really was stuff I should know.

“How is it I’ve been here less than a week and I know things that you don’t know after three whole years?” After recovering from pretend shock-induced fainting, Kyla shouted in teasing exasperation and threw her hands up in the air, “We’re the tigers!”

I giggled at how matter-of-fact she was when it came to football. I figured it must have been a southern thing. “Well, the blue and white is really misleading.”

Kyla laughed and stood up to cheer as our school’s team made a touchdown, and after a moment she pulled my arm to make me stand up and cheer too. After the crowd settled down we sat back into our seats, but that didn’t mean Kyla stopped cheering. Which in turn meant I couldn’t stop cheering either. The fact that she was so carefree and having so much fun screaming and whistling started to get me to loosen up, and soon I was having fun too. I tried screaming louder than her, and after a couple attempts at besting the professional cheerer, we got into a screaming and whistling contest. While Kyla could definitely yell louder than me, her lungs were no match for my werewolf stamina. So toward the end of the second quarter she started tiring out, and eventually stopped cheering to simply watch the game.

“Is your first football game more fun than you thought it’d be?” Kyla asked, voice broken by a quick shiver that shook her body. “It’s starting to get chilly.” As her shiver subsided she hooked her arm through mine and scooted closer for warmth.

I knew it was a completely friendly gesture. Kyla hadn’t seemed at all shy about friendly affection, and had it been anyone else I would have hardly noticed. But as Kyla got closer my heart dropped to my stomach, where it stayed, almost making me queasy with each quickening beat.

It took me a second to recover and a clear of my throat before I could respond. “Yeah, it’s a lot more fun than I thought. Thanks for bringing me.”

Kyla smiled her response and I felt her grip tighten around my arm as we both focused on the game. My mind wanted so badly only to feel and regard the shivering body so close to mine, but I knew if too much attention was paid then the itch would start in my fingertips. If the itch started I would ruin the night, having to leave in order to calm my self-control.

The halftime show started with the end of the second quarter, and the school band and color guard stepped uniformly onto the field as the players left. The show was relatively short, only about ten minutes, but by the end I was already exhausted. Fighting my mind on the one thing it wanted was starting to take its toll, and so, as much as I loved having Kyla close, I had to do something to get her away. “Do you want to go get some hot chocolate?”

She nodded excitedly and stood, ready to walk to the line in front of the ‘Snack Shack’. “That sounds delicious.” I followed her to the line a short distance away and we stood there for a minute in silence before she spoke again. “What a jerk.” Worried I’d done something wrong I looked around, relieved when I followed Kyla’s gaze to a guy who’d skillfully maneuvered a girl into a corner, their faces too close for a platonic meeting. “Isn’t he with that one girl?”

I nodded. I knew who the guy was, and also knew the girl he was dating. “Yeah, Michelle I think.”

“Yeah, her.” Kyla nodded her agreement and turned her head, face full of disgust, to me so she could no longer see the pair near the bleachers. “Poor girl, she’ll definitely hear about this at school tomorrow.”

Even though I couldn’t have cared less about the affairs of my peers, I respected Kyla’s opinion on the subject. The disgust at our philandering schoolmate was a plus in my eyes, but it did mean that since Kyla had a boyfriend I’d have to be extra careful about how I acted around her. I wanted nothing more than for her to see me as more than a friend, but seeing as she wasn’t single, I’d have to wait patiently until the time was right.

“Do you like to keep up on all the gossip around school?” I asked as we inched closer to the window, only a couple people in front of us now.

My eyes kept dropping to Kyla’s arms, which now rested limply at her sides. Now that I had figured a way to get out of contact with her, I just wanted to link our arms and have it back again. Somehow though, I knew it would carry a different meaning if I were to instigate it. So instead, I shoved my hands into the pockets of my jeans.

Kyla shrugged. “I try not to get into other peoples’ business, but you can’t help but notice things.” She nodded back toward the pair in the corner near the bleachers. “Especially things like that.”

I couldn’t help but wonder just how much Kyla noticed, and how much of what she noticed she kept to herself. “Would you say you’re pretty good at figuring things out?” Then I added, “Like secrets.”

Kyla smiled, eyeing me suspiciously. “Why? Do you have a secret to figure out?”

I hadn’t been expecting her to react playfully to the question. In order to keep her teasing suspicion from being a real suspicion, I played along. “Would you have figured it out already if I did?”

“I could tell you,” she started with a smirk, “But then I’d have to kill you.”

We reached the window to the snack bar before I could come up with a witty response, so I just laughed. As Kyla ordered I wondered what kinds of things were obvious to her. Did she notice I had feelings for her? Or that I was a werewolf? After ordering her hot chocolate Kyla asked me if I wanted anything, to which I shook my head, and once she got her drink I followed her back to the bleachers.

The third quarter had already started, and I smiled as I watched Kyla frantically scan the scoreboard while we took our seats. The score hadn’t changed, and seemingly satisfied that we were winning Kyla relaxed and sipped her drink. The hot chocolate must have been warming her up, because she didn’t scoot closer to me for the rest of the game. Even though I was disappointed that I’d had to find a way to put space between us, I was relieved I didn’t have to try so hard not to think about the alluring brunette.

By the fourth quarter Kyla’s drink had completely rejuvenated her, and she began to cheer again, me following right along and cheering with her. We focused on the rest of the game without talking much, but I enjoyed it anyway. At the end of the fourth quarter I followed a victoriously excited Kyla along with the crowd of people back to the parking lot. A couple times some excited boys who were running through the crowd and jumping up and down screaming jostled us. Each of the few times I was pushed into Kyla or the other way around. Kyla just laughed and rolled her eyes, while the affect on me was far more dramatic.

When we reached the car and I calmly got into the passenger side, Kyla was already in the front seat shivering and starting the engine. “Mind if I turn up the heat?”

I laughed and shook my head. “Go for it.” I sat there for a minute as Kyla pulled out of the lot and started the drive home, and waited until the heat warmed her up enough for the shivers to subside before making her talk again. “Thanks for taking me tonight.”

She took her hands off the steering wheel for a second to rub them together, and then placing them back on she answered, “It was my pleasure! I just can’t believe you’ve never gone to any school events like that before.”

“It must be a homeschool thing. I never learned how to show school spirit.” I shrugged.

It may have been a little bit of a homeschool issue, but it was mostly a werewolf issue. I’d been taught the basics of fitting in with my classmates: don’t fight or growl, don’t stand out or get into trouble, and never, ever Phase in public. Other than that, however, I hadn’t been taught how to have fun. The way I played and joked with my brothers and sisters was completely different than how I was learning to act with Kyla. With my brothers and sisters it was more about the physical rough and tumble than it was about the verbal. I appreciated more than I let on how patient a teacher Kyla was, and that the girl didn’t make a big deal or ask too many questions about me.

I watched Kyla nod her understanding, and then waited for her to think of something to say. “We still going to the movies on Friday?”

“Of course, if you still want to.” As I answered, the driveway of my house came into view. Time always passed so rapidly with Kyla that I was reluctant to end the night. If it weren’t a school night I’d have asked her to go to the movies right then and there. “I can pick you up if you want?”

Kyla turned into the driveway of my house and put the car into park in front of the porch. “That sounds great.”

As we sat there, I watched Kyla look around, eyes scanning the vineyard and then taking in my house. My home wasn’t shabby or falling apart, but it certainly wasn’t comparable to Rob Walters’ place. The white paint of the wood-paneled exterior desperately needed a new coat, and the roof was missing a couple shingles. The driveway was nothing but dirt and potholes, and I was pretty sure there was even a missing window or two. It wasn’t that werewolves didn’t know how to decorate or take care of a house. My family spent so much of their time outdoors and away from the house anyway that I didn’t even notice it was a bit rundown until I saw Kyla looking at it.

Not knowing what else to say to keep me with Kyla longer, and a little embarrassed by the house, I opened the door. “Thanks again. I’ll see you at school tomorrow.” And with a smile I made my way up to the front door.

After closing the door behind me I stood with my back against it, listening to the truck back out of the drive. In an ideal world the only thing I’d be hearing would be Kyla’s footsteps coming up the porch. But it wasn’t my ideal world, and it wasn’t until I could no longer hear the tires against the dirt that I pulled myself from the door and walked up to my bedroom, wanting to immediately fall asleep so I could see her again the next day.

Hearing a honk from outside I eagerly looked out the window to see that Camille had just driven up in a yellow jeep and was waiting for me. Before leaving my bedroom I looked myself over in the mirror one last time. Not a spot wrinkled and not a hair out of place, I smiled as I hurried out the door and down the stairs. After the football game and waiting for my Friday movie plans with Camille, Thursday had seemed to drag on relentlessly slow. We ate lunch and had film studies together, but lunch was short and the entirety of sixth period was spent watching a movie in silence. I was thankful for the weekend to have finally arrived, leaving virtually no excuse not to hang out with her.

In a way it almost felt as if I was becoming addicted to my new friend. If I were to be completely honest with myself, I could admit that I’d developed a bit of a friendly crush on the blonde. The only reason I was comfortable admitting that to myself, given Camille’s orientation, was because it was an innocent rather than a sexual attraction. It felt kind of like being a kid again. That giddy excitement when you get a new best friend, and you have so much fun together that you just want to spend all your time with them.

The justification for that friendly crush? Camille was mysterious. It drew me in. It also drew me out. I spoke so freely to her, and was more comfortable with her than I’d ever felt with even a best friend. It was for that exact reason I was disheartened whenever we’d be talking and something would trigger Camille to shut down. For some reason, no matter how much I tried to put myself out there over the last week, she wouldn’t open up to me. I just kept telling myself that when she got to trust me more, then she would open up more easily.

I waved to Camille as I threw open the passenger door and hopped into the jeep. “You’re late,” I teased, glimpsing the time on the dashboard clock.

Camille glanced at the time. “Hm, nope. It just took you a whole minute to get your butt out here.” She made a ‘so, there’ face at me as she turned the car around to get back out the long driveway.

“Fair enough.” I resigned with a defeated laugh.

I began to flip through the radio as I studied Camille out of the corner of my eye. Her long blonde hair curled perfectly, falling a good six inches below her shoulders, which led my eyes straight down to the white tank top underneath her black leather jacket. I found myself admiring the perfection of her upper body. She wasn’t fragile or bony looking, but she didn’t seem to have an ounce of fat on her body. She’d told me she liked to run, and it made me wonder just how often she really did.

While trying to think of something to talk about I ran a finger along my chin, and feeling the scrape from falling off the barn ladder was suddenly reminded of the cut that Camille had sustained on her arm.

Since I’d completely forgotten about it and didn’t ask at the football game, I figured I should mention it now. “Hey, how’s your arm? Is it healing alright?”

To my confusion Camille hesitated to answer, and for a few moments stared straight through the windshield and at the road in deep thought. “Yeah, it’s healing fine.”

She answered without making the slightest eye contact, and I couldn’t understand where the awkwardness was coming from. Again, I was being shut down. Did she not want me to care about it?

“Can I take a look?” I was curious, maybe the cut was worse than I’d originally thought and Camille simply didn’t want me to feel bad.

She hesitated again before taking a hand off the steering wheel and lifting the sleeve of her jacket. I studied her arm for a moment, searching for the cut, before I realized it had already faded to a pink scar. My jaw dropped and I ran my fingers over it in disbelief. I’d never even had a paper cut that had healed that fast.

As I studied the absence of the wound I noticed all the other tiny, barely visible scars Camille had on her arm. Like scratches or bite marks from playing with a dog or cat. Judging from the way Brandy and Blue treated her though, and her comment about animals not liking her, I found it strange that she would have a ‘playful’ relationship with any animal.

I could feel Camille tensing and getting more and more uncomfortable with the silence that grew between us. “How’d it heal so fast?” I asked quickly, hoping that showing an interest would get her to open up about it.

She pulled her sleeve back down to cover her arm. “I take my daily vitamins.” She finally looked over at me, the first time since I’d asked, and smiled sarcastically.

But the smile was forced. I hadn’t known Camille for long, but I’d learned a genuine smile from a fake one. Even though the origin of her distress at the topic piqued my interest, I decided to let the subject rest. I couldn’t force her to give me answers. Still, I couldn’t change the fact that it began to irk me. Every time we were together something came up that I knew Camille was avoiding or giving half-truths about. It hadn’t even been a week and I was already questioning how long I could tolerate the mystery before it ate away at me completely.

While we sat in renewed silence I glanced at Camille, and I remembered it was the mystery that had attracted to me to the girl in the first place. In any town or city where the natural order of superficiality applied, Camille, the curly-haired blonde with the model-like body and the unnaturally down-to-earth confidence, would be the most popular, most out-there girl in the school.

As Camille pulled the car into a parking space in front of the theater, my thoughts got me carried away. I couldn’t force her to tell me anything, but it didn’t mean I couldn’t pry. She’d told me herself, she had trust issues. Maybe she just needed a little push. “Let me ask you something,” I started, turning to face her.

With a raised eyebrow, Camille characteristically put her hand to her neck and pushed her hair behind her shoulder. “Okay.” Then she turned to face me as I had done, meeting my gaze with those deep mahogany eyes.

“Well, you’re the prettiest girl in the school but you’re so–” I paused my explanation as I searched for the right word to use. “Reserved.”

I was waiting for her to nod or something, to give some acknowledgement that I could continue with my question. Instead, she smiled a shy, tickled smile as she playfully batted her eyes. “You think I’m pretty?”

“I was just saying!” I rolled my eyes and began to get out of the car as I tried to defend the comment, which had come out more of a compliment than I’d meant it, and played it off. “I mean good looks obviously run in your family. Niko and Luna are good looking too. But how come you don’t… like… capitalize on it?”

Camille’s eyebrows furrowed thoughtfully as she too got out of the car, meeting me behind it. “I don’t know.” Then she shoved her hands into the pockets of her jacket and leaned her back against the jeep, staring at the ground as she tried to come up with an answer. “You said so yourself that everyone here is boring. Maybe you’re the only one worth capitalizing for.”

The question hadn’t come out right or received the answer I was looking for, but the way Camille had batted her eyes and exaggerated my compliment already got me flustered. Then there was her answer, and I tried not to think too much about how exactly she meant she was capitalizing for me, or the way she looked at me when she said it. Either way, now I’d forgotten my original point, and didn’t feel like pressing the subject because she was too easily able to turn it around.

Camille was still watching me, leaning against the back of the jeep, and now began shaking her head and laughing to herself. Knowing the laughing was at me, I put my hands on my hips. “What are you laughing at?”

She grinned and chuckled again as she teased, “You so have a crush on me.” Then having made her quip, she took her hands out of her pockets and started toward the theater.

Nerves wrapped their way around my stomach. I could admit it to myself, but Camille wasn’t supposed to say it. I didn’t want her to think it meant more than it really did. We were friends. With a sigh, I scolded myself for the unintended flattery. One of the first things I’d learned about Camille was her sexuality, but I’d become so comfortable with her that I crossed the fine line between friend and flirt.

I found myself nauseated that I participated in the banter for what I told myself was the boost of confidence at the amusement Camille took from it. She seemed to love it when I made light of her sexuality. It was all fun and games, and she had to know better than to take it any other way. I’d even wanted to drop the subject because of how the question had sounded. I should have just dropped it after the accidental compliment. Regardless, the guilty nausea twisted my stomach into knots as I followed her, blushing madly.

I mentally kicked myself all the way to the ticket booth, where we each purchased our own ticket. Camille held the door open for me and I led the way to the left of the building. Once inside one of the two auditoriums in the tiny theater I looked to Camille, silently asking where she wanted to sit. I watched her scan the near full room with her eyes and point out two seats near the back. I nodded, followed her to the rear of the theater and sat down just as the movie began.

The first thing I noticed about the seats we’d been left with was that they were hard and worn, they didn’t recline, and after half the movie I knew I’d be uncomfortable. The second thing was that the armrest between Camille and me had been raised before we sat down.

I didn’t care about lack of an armrest, and I didn’t care about my seat being separated from hers. But without a barrier between us in the darkened theater and after Camille’s comment minutes earlier, I couldn’t help but feel like we were on a date. Her statement echoed in my head as the guilty queasiness again burrowed into my stomach. It wasn’t being close to Camille that made me uneasy. In fact, I rather liked being close to her. Even now I could feel the intense heat radiating off the girl’s warm body. I just didn’t like being called out on it.

I sighed as I realized that I was being contradictory. I liked being close to Camille, but it made me uncomfortable. I liked teasing her to the point it bordered on flirting, but felt guilty when she said something about it. God was it confusing. The thoughts racked my brain so mercilessly that I was starting to give myself a complex about it. Focusing on the movie helped to calm my thoughts though, and soon everything else was tuned out.

We’d picked a romantic comedy, and I watched as the cliché romance played out on the screen. Guy loves his girl best friend who loves a different guy. Even though I could already guess how it was going to end, I was able to get lost in the plot. Until about halfway through the movie Camille tapped on my arm. As my mind returned to the theater, I shivered and realized that I had started leaning into her. So much that my shoulder was shoved behind hers, and we were practically sitting cheek to cheek. Assuming I was being tapped as a polite way of asking me to scoot over, I did so and returned my attention to the screen.

“Kyla,” Camille whispered, tapping me softly again. This time I looked over and made eye contact with her. “Are you okay? You’re shaking.”

Leaning against Camille’s hot body I hadn’t noticed the chills. Now that I did, they seemed to get substantially worse, and rubbing my arms to create friction didn’t relieve them one bit. “Is it cold in here?” I asked Camille, who just shook her head.

When I didn’t say anything more, she put her hand to my forehead. “I think you’re running a fever. Maybe I should take you home?”

“No, I’m alright. I want to watch the movie,” I tried to reassure her through chattering teeth.

Not buying it at all she stood but kept low, grabbed my hand and pulled me out of the theater. Once we reached the outside where I could talk I tried to protest, but Camille shook her head as she put her hand to my forehead again, and then moved it to each of my cheeks. “Your face is pale and you’re burning up. I have to take you home.”

Disappointed, but feeling as though I were in an icebox and knowing that Camille was right, I let myself be escorted to the car. By the time we reached the parking lot though, my temperature had spiked, and I began to feel dizzy.

I slowed and put a hand on Camille’s shoulder for balance while I rubbed my eyes with my other hand. “I need to sit down.”

She stopped to look back at me worriedly. “Are you going to pass out?”

“No, I’m just really dizzy. I can’t see straight.” I started to sit down in the street, too dizzy to hold myself up, but Camille put her arm around my waist to stop me. She then grabbed my arm to put it over her shoulder, scooped my legs up with her other arm, and began to carry me to the car.

Too unsteady and beginning to feel exhausted, I refrained from protesting and rested my head on Camille’s shoulder until we reached the car near the end of the parking lot. Once we got to the jeep, she set me down and leaned me against it for support so she could get her keys. After being helped into the passenger seat I closed my eyes, willing away the chills. I felt so pathetic having to be carried, but I’d never had a fever like the one that had just flared up. Camille’s hot jacket being put over me helped a little, and I’d either fallen asleep or was completely out of it, because we pulled into my driveway what seemed like seconds later.

Feeling that the dizziness had subsided and that Camille had helped enough, I opened the door and started to get myself out of the car. It took less than a second for me to realize that the dizziness had been replaced by pure and utter nausea. Camille had started to come around to help me out but I couldn’t wait. I ran into the house and made my way to the first floor bathroom to relieve the queasiness.

When I finished trudging upstairs to brush my teeth, I trekked back down to the kitchen to find Camille and my mom waiting for me. “Open,” my mom told me, shoving a thermometer under my tongue. “So how was the movie?” she asked Camille while we waited for the thermometer to beep.

Camille pushed a stool toward me so I could sit at the island and then took a seat herself. “We didn’t get to finish it. Kyla was too sick to stay.”

My mom nodded understandingly as she removed the beeping thermometer from my mouth. “One-oh-three.” She kissed me on the forehead and pointed toward the stairs. “Straight to bed, looks to me like you caught a nasty flu. Try to get some sleep sweetheart.”

I slumped my shoulders as I made my way up the stairs, closely followed by Camille. Disappointed as I was that our plans had to be cut short, I couldn’t deny that sleep was top on my list of priorities at the moment. After I had lain down under the covers, Camille helped tuck me into bed, and I was grateful that the blonde cared enough to try and take care of me.

“I’m sorry I ruined our plans,” I told her as I shivered under the touch of the cold blankets.

“It’s not your fault. The flu can be a bitch.” She laughed and sat on the edge of the bed, distractedly fiddling with the keys in her hands. “Are you warm enough? You want me to get you another blanket?”

“I’m alright, thanks, Mom,” I teased and then sighed tiredly. Camille’s body was always unnaturally warm, and the seemingly icy feel of the sheets almost made me offer an invitation for her to hop in with me. At least then I’d be warm. “I hope this doesn’t last long. I have a paper due this week.”

“Already?” She made a disgusted face. “At least you won’t have anything better to do. I’ll go so you can sleep. You can text me when you’re feeling a little better and I’ll come over if you want.”

I nodded and pulled the covers up to my chin. “Thanks for taking care of me. I’ll probably be calling you in a few hours, feeling better and bored out of my mind.”

Camille laughed as she said bye and left. I curled up under the covers, pulling each side beneath me so I was wrapped in them tightly, and fell asleep.

***

When morning finally came I found not only had my strength not been restored, but also that I felt weaker than the night before. As gradually as I could, I mustered the strength to inch the blankets off of me and drop my feet over the side of the bed. A minute later I had managed to stand and get myself to the door, only to stop and stare at the long hallway I’d have to brave before I got to the stairs.

The bedroom door next to my room swung open and a full head of messy, straight brown hair stuck out. “You shouldn’t be up.” Green eyes full of worry, Jeremy opened the door completely and stepped out to help me back into my room.

“I’m so thirsty.” This was the most I could manage in the way of protest as he led me back to bed.

After carefully tucking me back into my blankets, he sat at the edge of the mattress. “What do you want, water?” I nodded meekly and he got up. “I’ll be right back.”

I lay there, feebly staring at the ceiling for a couple minutes before he came back in with a cup of water and a plate of toast. The smell of the buttered toast wafted to my nose and I inhaled sharply at the pang of queasiness, eyeing the large bowl my mom had placed by my bed in case it became too much to handle. Jeremy set the cup and plate on my nightstand and helped me sit up, then once I was secure he sat down in the same spot on the bed and handed me the water. I sipped the cold, soothing liquid little by little while he sat there silently, waiting until I had the last of it gone.

Taking the empty cup that I was handing to him, Jeremy put it back on the stand. He then began to pick up the toast until I shook my head, at which point he set it back down. “Feeling a little better?” I nodded, and he sat there in thoughtful silence. “How do you like it out here?”

I shrugged. There wasn’t much I could complain about. The weather wasn’t bad, the people were nice, and Camille had been a nice enough distraction that I hadn’t missed Texas yet. “It’s better than I thought it’d be.”

“How’s Aaron?” Jeremy asked, looking away apathetically. I appreciated him asking, but I knew he was just being nice. Like my dad, Jeremy had never liked Aaron either. There was something about teenage boys that drove dads and older brothers into a protective craze. I guess according to them nobody would ever be good enough.

Again I shrugged. “I don’t know actually, I haven’t talked to him yet. I think he’s trying to give me time to get settled before he calls.”

Jeremy nodded thoughtfully, and I began to wonder if he’d met anyone in the week since we’d moved. I opened my mouth, but he started to talk before I could ask him. “How about your friend that’s been visiting? Who’s she?”

“That’s Camille.” I smiled that he’d brought up Camille, someone I enjoyed talking about, and could without him getting agitated.

My excitement made Jeremy grin, as he seemed satisfied he’d found something better to talk about. “She’s cute.”

Reading his mind I shook my head vigorously, nearly making myself queasy again. “Don’t even think about it, bucko.” Something about the fact that someone found Camille attractive made me jealous, especially when that someone was my brother. Camille was my friend, Jeremy could find his own. With that thought, I decided I had to put the idea completely out of his mind, so I added, “Besides, you aren’t even her type.”

“What?” Jeremy exclaimed in disbelief. “How do you know I’m not her type?”

I couldn’t help but smirk. “Because you’re a boy.” I began to laugh in amusement as I watched his face go from confusion to shock to fascination.

“Oh, really?” he asked rhetorically, shock still subsiding. He thought about it more and then smiled, talking aloud to himself. “Well done, Camille.” A few seconds after that he stopped smiling and looked at me seriously. “Are you two?”

I raised an eyebrow thoughtfully, and when I realized what he was asking I shoved him defensively. “No way.” Even as I denied it, clearly decided, something about his question made me look away awkwardly. Maybe it was the fact that he even had to ask. “She’s just my friend.”

“No need to get defensive, I was just asking,” he laughed, clearly amused at my reaction. “Does she have any sisters my age?”

“Yeah?” I answered unsurely, thinking back to how old Camille had said her siblings were. When I saw my brother’s smile grow once more I pushed him again, this time harder so he’d get off my bed. “You know what, do your own girl scouting.”

“Okay, okay.” Jeremy threw his hands up in defeat and inched toward the door. Before leaving he turned back to face me. “I’ll come back in a few hours to check on you. Try to eat if you can.”

Once he was gone I picked up the toast and smelled it. The very scent of food made my stomach turn. So I set it back down, utterly disgusted. Willing the sickness to go away, I lay down hoping it would help, and effortlessly fell back to sleep.

Stomach growling, I wandered through my darkened house toward the kitchen. I’d been doing homework since I got home from school, and now that it was seven I was hungry enough to do something about it. Even though my night vision allowed me to maneuver the house without the lights I turned them on so I wouldn’t feel so alone. Everyone who had been home had gone out to run and probably wouldn’t be back for a few hours; Carter hadn’t come home from work yet, and I never knew what Sky and Michael were doing. Finally reaching the kitchen I pulled open the refrigerator and scanned its contents. Settling on leftover pizza I pulled out the box and set it on the kitchen table, not even bothering to heat it up.

For a Wednesday night things were looking pretty uneventful. I’d gone to Kyla’s house earlier to check on her and take over the homemade chicken soup I’d prepared, but the girl was still flu-stricken and sleeping, so not wanting to bother her I just left the soup with her mom. Not being able to spend time with Kyla like I had last week, my schedule had gone back to the way it was before I’d met the southern beauty. Now that I’d had a taste of paradise, I didn’t know how I’d ever lived so boringly before I met her.

As I finished a slice of pepperoni pizza and pulled out another, I began to wish I’d gone on the run with Luna, Niko and my parents. With so many family members it was a rare occurrence for the house to be empty, I should have been enjoying it.

The front door near the living room creaked open and I straightened up, wondering who was home. “Hello?” It was Michael. He closed the front door but he remained silent as he stood there, waiting for someone to answer.

“In the kitchen,” I called and heard his footsteps immediately pick up in my direction. When he reached the kitchen, he grabbed a piece of pizza from the box and leaned against the doorframe as he ate. “Hey,” I greeted him as I swallowed.

“Are you the only one home?” he asked, already three-quarters of the way done with his slice.

Him and Carter were the same height at about six foot two, but Michael was by far the most muscular of my brothers. He’d developed his body beyond the inherited werewolf tone and his bulk nearly filled the doorway. His brown eyes scanned the pizza as he reached for his next piece, and before he bit into it he adjusted the black trucker hat he wore backward over his short blonde hair.

I nodded, not bothering to explain since he would know everyone was out for a run. He nodded in return, and stood there chewing his food in thoughtful silence. After he’d finished the last bit of it he swallowed loudly and shoved his hands into his pockets. “I need you to pack a bag.”

I froze. “Why?”

Though I asked, I already knew exactly why. We’d moved away from Oregon because my father had wanted us to be safe from the dangers of Pack life. Eli Might, the Pack’s Alpha, was my father’s best friend and had been like an uncle to me. But as second in command my dad was a target to any other werewolves who wanted to hurt the Pack or prove themselves as worthy of the strength that being a werewolf gave. An easier way of getting at my father or Eli rather than taking them on directly was to take down a family member, which put all my siblings and I at risk. That’s why we’d moved away from the Pack territory to a small, relatively unheard of town in California.

It had been the hardest thing my father had ever had to do, leaving not only his best friend but also his Alpha, but he’d seen it as the only way to keep his young family safe. Even though it had been my father’s wish to put distance between the danger and us, Michael and Sky were among the oldest of us, and they decided to carry on with their duties to the Pack. This duty mainly involved dealing with mutts, werewolves that didn’t belong to the Pack, in the lower half of the west coast.

“There’s a mutt problem I got to take care of,” Michael answered simply.

But I was reluctant. “Can’t you wait for Sky or Carter?”

I knew if the Pack was sending in Michael that it was a termination assignment. When Eli had gained position as Alpha he’d changed the Pack’s view on mutts considerably, giving them a chance to live so peacefully that they disappeared or to join the ranks. Unfortunately, not all mutts could live with the options, and if they became a threat to humans and an exposure liability for the rest of us, they had to be taken out.

“They won’t be home for a few hours.” He was trying to be patient, but the way his eyes scanned the room it was clear he was in a hurry. “This guy’s body count is already at six, Cami. I got to go now.”

Michael turned and walked out of the kitchen. He would go by himself if he had to, but it was Pack standard that he didn’t work alone, and I wasn’t about to put him in more danger than he needed to be. With a sigh I pushed my chair back and followed him out of the kitchen. Instead of following him outside I turned up the stairs to my bedroom, and after dumping my textbooks out of my backpack I threw a change of clothes in it. When I reached Michael’s blue truck he was already in it, engine started and waiting for me.

The second I hopped in and threw my backpack to the floor at my feet he sped out of the driveway, sending gravel flying behind him. It wasn’t that he was in a hurry so much as that was how he normally drove. There was evidence of it in the form of skid marks all over the dirt.

“Thanks for coming.” He lifted the side of his mouth in a grateful smile as he habitually turned his hat around so the bill was facing forward.

I shrugged. “Yeah well, you’ve always been a little clumsy. Someone’s got to keep this guy from getting the drop on you.”

“Clumsy huh?” Michael asked, laughing as he reached his arm over and wrapped it around my neck. “You want to stick with that statement?” he challenged, and began shaking me back and forth playfully.

He wrestled with me for a minute until I slipped out of his lock and pushed his arm away. As I fixed my hair with my fingers I glanced at the GPS that hung in the windshield, noticing the time of arrival was around seven hours away. “Where are we going anyway?”

In the light the GPS gave off I could see Michael’s eyes glance at it before he answered. “Vegas.”

“Las Vegas?” I asked in shock, to which he nodded.

I hadn’t even thought we’d be going very far in the first place, let alone out of state. I should have guessed it though when he told me to pack a bag. At least I wouldn’t be sitting in film studies tomorrow wishing Kyla were there. I sighed at the thought of Kyla. Aside from earlier today I had visited her a couple times over the weekend, but the girl was always tired and queasy, so I had never stayed long. I was starting to really miss the adorable brunette.

In the silence that filled the car, I had forgotten about Michael until he unconsciously sniffed. Remembering him sitting there and thinking about Kyla got me wondering why none of my older siblings were in relationships. “Mike, how come none of you guys are married?”

He chuckled to himself at the randomness of the question. “Why get married when there’s so many beautiful fish in the sea?”

Smartass, I thought to myself. “But what about mating for life?” Even though my kind had amplified sex drives, we still had the wolf instinct to have one partner for life.

“I’m sure when I find a werewolf that I really like I’ll want to keep her forever.” Michael shrugged, and then a sly smirk turned up the corner of his mouth. “But until then, I have needs. I’m sure it’s the same for Sky and Carter.”

“Ew,” was all I could say at the thought of my brother’s ‘needs’, and he laughed at my disgust.

“Don’t be grossed out, Cami. The birds and the bees are all a part of life,” he grinned as he teasingly continued, “I’m sure Mom and Dad will have the talk with you some day.”

I shoved his shoulder and then put my hands over my ears. “Oh my god, stop talking. I don’t care what you do in your free time, but I don’t want to hear about it.”

Not wanting to hear any more details than I had to I stared out the window to ignore him, thinking to myself as Michael turned the truck onto the freeway. I’d come with him because even though he probably could have handled it, it wasn’t safe for him to go on his own. That didn’t mean I had to like going.

Part of our schooling growing up was combative training, which meant I knew how to fight. As the most protective of my siblings, if I had to I could protect whoever needed it, and I’d do whatever I needed to make sure they were safe. That didn’t mean I enjoyed the violence. More than any of my siblings, or any other werewolf for that matter, I hated it. Especially in a circumstance such as this where we were the ones going to the fight, not the fight going to us. Unfortunately for me though, violence was an inescapable part of life for us.

Feeling my eyes grow heavy I leaned my head back against the seat to take a nap. Every once in a while we’d go over a deep pothole that would jostle me slightly from sleep, or Michael would turn too sharply and shift my head out of place. Other than that I stayed asleep until we stopped for gas a few hours later.

When Michael got out of the truck to go to the pump I checked the clock. It was past eleven, and I wondered if we were still in California or not. Pushing the door open I felt a gust of wind get under my shirt, chilling my sleep-warmed body. I shoved the door closed and folded my arms across my chest, waiting for my body to wake up so my temperature would rise.

Looking around I spotted a sandwich shop called Barstow Subs, and if I could remember correctly Barstow was still in California. California or not, we were definitely in the desert. Now adjusted to what I realized was actually a warm wind, I inhaled. It carried the dry, vacant smell of a barren land, a scent that would succeed in making me feel lost in the darkness that I could see just beyond the lights of the gas station. It was a wandering wind, always on the move and carrying only those scents immediately available.

I shuffled to the bed of the truck and threw my arms over it, resting my chin on the edge. The gallon meter on the pump was only up to eight, so there were still a few minutes before we’d be on our way again.

“Hey, I’m going to get something to eat. Want anything?” I asked Michael, throwing a thumb behind me toward the twenty-four hour mart.

“Yeah, just get me a coffee.” He smiled his thanks and pushed his back off the pump, heading for the window squeegee to wash the windshield.

Before heading off toward the mart I shoved a hand in my pocket to make sure I really had the cash I thought I did. Cash confirmed, I picked up my speed, having to pry the door open from the wind trying to keep it closed. It took a second as I stood near the door before I spotted the snack aisle, but having found it I made my way over and stood in front of the shelves. Chips filled one side of the aisle and chocolate bars and candy filled the other, but on the very end of the chips was beef jerky, so I picked up a bag and headed for the coffee. Grabbing the first cup my hand touched, which happened to be a medium sized one, I filled it with the bitter fluid. Black, just the way Michael liked it. I took a curious sip and then smacked my lips with distaste. It just wasn’t the same without cream and sugar.

Surprisingly, the store was busy, and there were five people standing in line by the time I got there. As I waited, I glanced out the window and noticed that Michael had pulled the truck up to a parking spot in front of the store, and sat in it waiting for me.

“Hi.” An older man standing behind me tapped me on the shoulder. He had to be in his late thirties, but neglect and the hot desert sun had aged his skin years beyond that. In his hand he held an unopened forty-ounce can of beer, but his breath already stank of alcohol and cigarettes.  By his dirtied clothes and obviously less than standard personal hygiene this guy had to be one of those locals that hung around town drinking all day because he had nothing better to do. We had guys like this in Tranquility too. Most of them were harmless. “You from out of town?”

I took a step forward, grateful that I was almost at the front of the line, and nodded. The middle-aged woman in front of me turned her head and looked back at the man, and when she realized he wasn’t talking to her, she turned back around.

“Have you tried that sandwich shop across the street? Best subs in all of Barstow,” he asked me, and by the way he smiled his intentions were clear. I shook my head, hoping the woman in front of me would be done as soon as possible so I could get away from this guy. “I could take you there if you want.”

Thank God. I thought to myself as the woman in front of me left and I stepped up to the counter, handing the cashier the ten-dollar bill from my pocket. While he rang me up I turned back to the man behind me. “I’m actually in a bit of a hurry, thanks anyway.”

When I turned back to the cashier he was handing me the change and receipt, and I quickly took my items and hurried away. Getting hit on was nothing new to me. It actually happened on a regular basis, but I hated it each and every time. Something about having that kind of attention made me uncomfortable, and in my experience some guys could be a little too pushy. It wasn’t that I couldn’t defend myself, but in most occasions in a public setting, it wasn’t entirely appropriate to knock a guy on his ass.

Reaching the truck I jumped into the passenger seat and handed Michael his coffee. “Thank you,” he grinned happily and took it from me, and then chuckling asked, “Did you just get hit on again?”

“It’s not funny,” I said in exaggerated annoyance and pushed his shoulder as he took a sip of the hot coffee. “It’s so awkward.”

He jerked the coffee from his lips before it could spill down his chin, and set it in the cup holder. “Oh come on, I thought he was kind of cute.”

“Uh huh.” I chuckled and nodded my head toward a woman standing outside the shop smoking a cigarette, watching us in the truck and eyes particularly focused on Michael. “Momma bear over there is kind of cute too.”

Michael snorted with laughter and threw the car into reverse. “Alright, let’s get the hell out of here.”

After my laughter had subsided I ripped open the bag of beef jerky, taking some out and then offering some to my brother. He took a piece from the bag, popped it into his mouth and then reached behind his seat, fishing around for a moment before bringing forward a red folder and placing it in my lap.

“This is the assignment,” he told me, flipping open the cover. “You should know who we’re looking for.”

I nodded and flicked on the light above my head so I could read. I’d never done anything like this before, never had the desire to, but Michael was right. I needed to know what we were up against. A few times I’d heard him and Sky talking about an assignment they’d been on or a werewolf they’d taken out. Once before I had even seen a folder like this on the kitchen table and curiously flipped through it. It had similar information as the one in my lap. The first page was usually a picture and a description. In this case, it was a mug shot.

The werewolf in the picture was a young white guy, clean cut from his short black hair to his black collared shirt, all except for a colorful tattoo that could be seen stemming down the right side of his neck. The straight set of his mouth and his brown eyes showed no remorse for whatever he had done. Instead he looked apathetic and bored. The black sign he was holding up for the camera read ‘Bohls, Stephen’, and under his name it listed his height of six foot and his weight at one hundred and sixty pounds. The following page was a complete list of his arrests. There looked to be about seven: an armed robbery, a couple DUIs, a few drug possessions, and one a murder charge that he’d been acquitted of.

The next few pages were of credit card charges and full page receipts in order to locate him. “How does Eli get all this stuff?” I asked in shock as I flipped to the last page.

“The Pack’s got connections,” Michael told me with a shrug.

The last page gave me the information I’d been looking for, our destination. A hotel in North Las Vegas called American Casino Inn. According to the credit receipt, Stephen had been there for two nights. Looking back at his previous charges for up to four nights at other hotels in the area, it was likely he wasn’t planning on staying at this place for much longer.

“Are we going straight there?” I asked, holding up the hotel receipt so Michael would know exactly what I was talking about.

He nodded and took a sip of his coffee before answering. “Yeah, so if you’re going to need sleep, get it now.”

I could sleep some more, but wanting to make sure Michael would be rested asked, “Do you want me to take over for a bit?”

“No, go ahead. I’m fine. You have a couple hours,” he told me with a smile and turned his eyes back to the road as I settled comfortably into my seat.

Knowing this was probably all the rest I was going to get tonight, I fell asleep with ease. By the time I woke about two hours later we were entering the city through the south side of Las Vegas. Even for nearly three o’clock in the morning the city was still sparkling with millions of colorful lights.

The freeway paralleled the Las Vegas strip and was pretty clear of cars, but when we exited at West Hacienda, I could tell we’d be in traffic for a few minutes. I sighed with relief when Michael made a U-turn and started to head the opposite direction of the brightest part of the city. Now that we were close, I was starting to get nervous, as I remembered that I didn’t like what we were here to do. I just hoped finishing the job would be as easy and as microscopically traumatizing as possible.

“This is it,” Michael told me, pointing to the hotel we were passing on our right. “I think we passed some warehouses, we might be able to park the car behind the buildings or something.”

No one else being on the road, Michael nonchalantly made another U-turn. He then made a left on the corner the hotel sat on, and seconds later pulled right into a parking lot that sat on the opposite side of the same street. The headlights didn’t reach far enough for me to see the end of the lot, which gave me the impression that it was pretty big. In the center of the parking lot were two long, narrow buildings. These must have been the warehouses Michael was talking about.

As we passed the first one, the back was dimly lit and I could see the whole rear of the building was lined with large square openings about five feet up, the height a semi truck would reach when being loaded with shipments. We passed the second shipping warehouse and reached the end of the parking lot, which to Michael’s satisfaction was almost completely dark with a single streetlamp at the far end.

The very back of the parking lot was the typical area for trash bins, construction materials, and broken down semi trucks, hardly the place where anyone would be outside of business hours. Finding an empty spot between two of these broken down semis, Michael backed the truck in. It was the perfect spot where the vehicle wouldn’t draw attention but would be easy to get in to if we needed to rush.

Securely pulled into the spot, Michael turned off the engine and turned to me while I took a deep, nervous breath. “You ready?” I nodded and unbuckled my seatbelt. “Okay, this is what we’re going to do. If this job is going to be easy, it’s because we’re going to find him in the hotel room and get it over with pronto. In case he’s not in the room, we don’t want him to smell us on his way back. So we need to circle wide around the hotel. It doesn’t look like anything is going on in the building behind us.”

He pointed out the rear window to an enormous building that looked like some sort of event center, “We’ll go that way and circle around to South Dean Martin where the hotel is located.” He paused and waited for me to nod in understanding. I understood perfectly, but instead of nodding I took another nervous breath. “Don’t worry Cami, you’re going to do fine. I’ll let you know what to do, just follow my lead.”

He opened the door, and following his lead I got out of the truck. Based on my experience in Barstow, I expected to be assaulted by another strong wind, but evidently not all deserts are the same. I followed my brother farther behind the warehouses at a quick pace, but not so quick as to look suspicious. I thought about making conversation, but with each step my nerves grew more and more noticeable. By the time we’d circled around and I could see the hotel on the corner, I could hear my heart pounding despite the loud music from the nightclub a little farther down. As we finally stood on the corner of the hotel property Michael stopped, putting his hands in his pockets and leaning against a street sign, looking successfully like a bored loiterer.

“The folder said his room number is one-sixteen.” He squinted through the dark in order to see the room numbers on the red, white, and blue doors of the hotel rooms. Like the warehouses, the hotel stretched out before us in two long, completely separate buildings. In front of and centered between the two was the main office. “That’s got to be on the other side of the hotel. Stay close, okay?”

I nodded and followed Michael back to the opposite side of the street so we could keep our scents off the hotel sidewalks. It wasn’t until we stood in line with the far side of the hotel that we crossed the street again, this time sticking as close as possible to the hotel walls until we reached Stephen’s room. Through the curtained window I could see the room behind the blue door was completely dark and quiet, but even from the outside it stank of werewolf. This was definitely the place.

Michael looked at me and gave a questioning nod toward the door, silently asking if I was ready. I nodded and watched his hand go tightly around the doorknob.

Again he nodded his head. Once. Twice. And on the third nod he gave the handle a twist with as much werewolf strength as he could muster. The insides of the lock could be heard breaking with a metallic wrench, and with the unlocking of the door he flung it open, moving swiftly and silently inside.

Within seconds he had made his way to the bed. I followed closely behind him, not sure what exactly I could do to help. I expected an alarmed Stephen to jump out of the bed, fists flying in every direction in a sleep-muddled attempt to ward off his attackers. But when Michael stood at the side of the bed, he stopped. There was no Stephen. He turned to me as I stood halfway between the bed and the entrance, and in the dark I could see him point upward and mouth the words ‘get the lights.’ As silently as possible I took slow steps back toward the door. Feeling it safer if the door was closed I shut it quietly, and then flicked on the lights.

It took a second for my eyes to fully adjust to the illuminated room, and what I saw wasn’t at all what I’d expected. All of the blankets had been pulled off the bed except for the white fitted sheet that hugged the mattress. Neatly arranged on the bed were four large stacks of hundred dollar bills, a duffle bag full of clothes and three giant sized pill bottles, one of which was half empty. Next to the alarm clock a forty-five millimeter pistol occupied the nightstand, an extra clip sitting readily beside it. The medium sized table next to the TV set was littered with empty beer and hard liquor bottles and an ashtray full of cigarette butts.

The scene before me succeeded in settling my nerves slightly. I had faith in the Pack’s Alpha, but this confirmed that the guy we were after was to be taken seriously. Eli didn’t send Michael on assignments just for fun.

Snapping until he finally got my attention off the bed and gun, Michael pointed at the closed bathroom door, motioning for me to check it. As I turned I saw him pick up the gun and drop it into the duffle bag, starting to clear the room. Pressing my back against the wall as I’d seen in police movies, I placed my hand on the door handle and turned, throwing the door open. When nobody came charging out at me I reached around the door and flicked the light switch, flooding the bathroom with light.

Based on the main room I wasn’t surprised by the small bags of drugs and other paraphernalia on the sink counter, but I couldn’t comprehend how a werewolf could function and control Changes if he was intoxicated. That had been one of the first things I’d been told going in to my teenage years, that excess amounts of alcohol and any amount of drugs was off limits. But when I noticed a lacy red bra draped over the side of the bathtub, I understood. The drugs weren’t for Stephen. They were to entice entertainment.

When I exited the bathroom I saw Michael pull a two-inch flashlight from his pocket. “Here,” he said, tossing it to me. “We need to clean this place up, but turn the lights back off in case he shows up. Throw anything you find into the duffle bag.”

Doing as he told me, I returned to the light switch and flipped it down. I clicked on the small flashlight my brother had given me and followed its path of illumination back into the bathroom. Then I gripped the end of it in my teeth so I could use both hands for a fast cleanup. The first things I grabbed were the three small bags of drugs in one hand, and I carefully picked up a syringe in the other. After returning from throwing those into the duffle bag on the bed, I used the end of a toothbrush I found on the counter to move the lingerie into the bag. With a quick but careful flash of the light around the bathroom I did a final check for anything I could have missed, but all was clear.

When I got to where Michael was standing at the nightstand, he had finished throwing away all the bottles and had put everything else into the duffle bag. Now he held his light in his mouth, shining it down on a piece of paper as he scribbled out a note.

“I’ve got the perfect thing for you ladies,” a slurred but loud voice followed by giggling came from about fifty yards outside the door, and both mine and Michael’s heads jerked toward the sound.

We couldn’t be sure if it was Stephen, but the voices were getting closer. Michael hurriedly finished scribbling the note that read ‘For checkout. Thanks for the service’, and threw two of the hundred dollar bills down next to it. He threw the duffle bag over his shoulder and motioned for me to follow him to the door.

“He’s going to smell us,” I whispered as quietly as possible. With the shortening distance of the voices my heart began to hammer in my chest.

Michael nodded but continued standing near the door. As the voices neared about ten feet from the room he placed his hand on the handle. At five feet the female voices continued chattering excitedly, but the footsteps had stopped. It was Stephen. It had to be. Tension rang through the air as he clearly stood in front of his room, fearing opening the door to find the source of the unfamiliar werewolves’ scents on the other side.

Michael solved the problem for him and whipped open the door. In the split second it took both him and me to exit the room, Stephen shoved both of his female companions at us as a distraction and took off sprinting in the other direction. Prepared for it, Michael sidestepped the woman and hurried after Stephen, but I mistakenly caught the other confused woman by the shoulders, steadying her before I went around and losing a few valuable strides.

By that time Michael and Stephen were already across the hotel parking lot, and heading fast for the nightclub on the adjacent property. I took off as fast as I could after them. Ahead I could see that Michael was still carrying the duffle bag, and as he ran it flopped up and down, hitting him in the back. While it wasn’t heavy, it was awkward, and was already slowing him down. The pair a hundred yards ahead of me was almost at the rear of the nightclub, and a couple seconds later when they reached it I saw Michael throw the bag into a dumpster. At that point Stephen was twenty yards ahead of him and began veering off to the right, toward a vacant plot of land behind the club.

Far enough behind that I could cut him off if I made a straight line toward the far corner of the empty lot I kicked it into high gear, running as fast as my long legs could carry me. I was getting closer, running diagonally across the large patch of land as Stephen cut sideways through it. He didn’t see me coming which, when I caught up to him what I anticipated would be fifteen seconds later, would work to my advantage. I scanned the area in front of me, Michael had lost traction behind Stephen and now ran a good thirty yards behind him, but this was working out perfectly.

I was closing in, only fifteen yards now. Ten. I could smell him on the breeze. Five yards. Another second later I pushed as hard as I could off the ground, leading with my shoulder, and plowed into Stephen, knocking him to the ground. His body was harder than it looked, and I fell to the dirt on impact while he tumbled away from me. At the same time we both sprang up from the ground, and while I made a move to tackle him again he whipped his hand around from behind him. A dark sparkle of familiar black metal gleamed in the moonlight, and a deafening bang sounded through the night with a flash of light.

At the same time Stephen got his shot off Michael caught up, ramming hard into him and knocking his aim off so his shot just missed me. Stephen’s grip on his spare gun wasn’t as sturdy as his feet on the ground, so while the impact of Michael’s hit simply sent him skidding through the dirt, the gun flew out of his hand. While Stephen took off in the direction he was heading in the first place, Michael hesitated and turned worried eyes to me.

“I’m fine, let’s go!” I shouted and took off past my brother in pursuit of the werewolf. I watched Stephen jump over a low cement wall and veer left onto the bridge that led over the freeway. “He’s heading for the strip!”

In a burst of speed I knew could have only come from rage Michael flew past me, that same glint of metal in his hand. I pushed my limbs past their limit in an attempt to match his pace and keep up, but he was running faster than I’d ever seen him go before. In seconds he had run to be within ten yards of Stephen. As he continued sprinting he lifted his arm, taking aim at the man in front of him. Another shot rang through the dark, followed by a pain-shrilled snarl.

Michael slowed and shoved the gun into the back of his pants as a pair of headlights shone over the opposite side of the bridge. Stephen now sat against the wall that lined the road, panting in pain from the bullet wound through the back of his hip. After giving him a hurried pat down to check him for any more weapons, Michael hoisted him onto his feet, throwing one of Stephen’s arms around his shoulders. In what looked like a friendly embrace he began walking with Stephen back toward me, purposefully stumbling and giving a drunken wave to the car that passed by.

Once the car was out of sight he took Stephen’s arm off his shoulder and shoved the injured werewolf so he was limping a foot ahead. I would have worried about Stephen running or trying to make a final desperate attack at Michael, but each step looked excruciating. The back of his shirt and black pants already shined, soaked with blood all the way down to his ankle. I took stride beside Michael as we followed Stephen back in the direction we came.

I could barely see the grip of the gun still sticking out of the back of Michael’s pants, and just the sight of it gave me the chills. In my experience, nothing good ever occurred when there was a gun involved. Even just a minute before this I’d been shot at, and probably would have been killed if Michael hadn’t caught up quick enough. But did that mean that Stephen deserved to die? It’s not your decision Camille. Stop thinking about it.

As we followed close behind Stephen, he glanced back at us. “Are you going to make me walk the whole way?” He waited for an answer, but Michael simply clenched his jaw in silence. “You going to make me dig my own grave too?” he chuckled to himself as if his situation was amusing, and as he turned to walk backward a pained wince betrayed his look of defiance. “At this rate I’m going to bleed to death before we get there. Then you’re going to be stuck carrying a dead body anyway.”

Still Michael kept silent, even going so far as to shake his head at me so I knew not to engage him. Instead of turning around and continuing, Stephen kept walking backwards, only now he carefully studied Michael.

“You know, you look really familiar,” he said thoughtfully, and after a pause he chuckled again. “That’s right. You’re one of them werewolf kids from California. What about you sweetheart?” He turned his gaze on me, looking me up and down.

At this point Michael glared at him. “You’re awfully talkative for a dead man. Why don’t you turn around and start saying your prayers?”

“Oh, defensive.” Stephen laughed, harder this time as he smirked at me. “Must be family.” With another glare from Michael, Stephen turned around, still snickering to himself. “Shame, shame. Karma is a bitch.”

Karma’s a bitch? I passed a questioning glance at Michael, but he just shrugged and made a circle at his head with his finger, mouthing the word ‘crazy’. Despite Michael’s disinterest, the phrase made me terribly uneasy. Most mutts knew about the Pack, but the Pack lived in Oregon. So how did Stephen know we were from California?

By now Stephen was limping terribly, each step barely successful, and the blood had soaked through his shoe, leaving a red boot print behind. I couldn’t imagine how bad it had to hurt, or if he was scared. If he was starting to regret all the mistakes he made in his life and all he wanted was a second chance. But I couldn’t let myself think like that.

Michael had said Stephen’s body count was up to six. Did he consider his victims’ lives before he took it from them? Probably not. He’d even tried to kill me without the slightest hesitation. And who created this guy? He had to be bitten. Almost all born werewolves had the paternal guidance and the sense to stay out of trouble, mostly because they knew the consequences otherwise.

“I’m going to pass out.” Stephen’s voice had lost its defiance and it came out weak and strained, and he spoke without turning around.

“You’ll make it to the car. Keep walking.” Even though Stephen wasn’t looking, Michael crossed his arms over his chest in resolve.

“I’m bleeding to death, asshole. You’re going to kill me anyway. Just get it over with.” Now that I paid more attention, Stephen’s breathing was soft and shallow. He couldn’t run. Couldn’t fight. He was giving up. “Please.”

Michael stopped walking and glanced around to see where we were. By the look in his eyes I couldn’t tell what he was thinking. Whether he cared enough to put the dying werewolf out of his misery. Was this ethical? Why did Michael have to bring me with him?

“Camille, do you remember the dumpster I threw the duffel bag in?” Michael asked me and I looked around. To my surprise we’d already passed the hotel and stood across the street from the warehouse the truck was parked behind. I nodded my head. “Can you go get it? Take the gun out and leave it in the dumpster, make sure you don’t get any prints on it.” I turned to head off back to the hotel but he stopped me and pulled the second gun from his waist. “Wait, this one too.”

Hesitantly, I took the pistol from him, surprised by its weight. It felt large and awkward in my hands, like I held death itself. As I turned away again I made sure I kept my fingers far away from the trigger lest I should press it on accident. I even went so far as to squint for the safety switch, and turned it on with an uneasy click.

The walk to the dumpster was a short one, and when I got there I found the duffle bag sitting right on top. Before pulling it out I rubbed the grip of the gun I was holding in my shirt to wipe off any fingerprints, and then gently tossed it in. I did the same with the other one after I pulled the duffle bag out, and then started back toward the truck.

Being away from Michael and Stephen, my nose had been reaccustomed to fresh air. However, now that I was back on our exact path I could smell the blood footprints that led to the truck. I didn’t know whether or not Stephen had made it to the truck. Or whether or not Michael had given in to the dying werewolf’s final plea, but I tried my best not to think about it. Even as I reached the truck and Michael was waiting in the driver’s seat with Stephen nowhere to be found, I told myself I didn’t want to know. Though, by the fact that the cover was now secured over the bed it was hard not to speculate.

I climbed into the passenger seat and closed the door without speaking, staring through the windshield. Michael put the shifter into drive to start our next task and looked over at me, observing for a minute before saying anything. “You okay?”

I nodded, but out of the corner of my eye I could see he was still watching me, and I knew he didn’t buy it. “Don’t you ever feel guilty?”

“Guilty,” he repeated, glancing down thoughtfully. “No.” Then he looked over at me, scanning the tired and weary look on my face. “Cami, you got to ask yourself how many more humans he would have killed. And after that, how long until he exposed the rest of us.” His gaze refocused out the windshield, and he sighed before speaking again. “You can’t let yourself feel guilty for doing what needs to be done.”

Not knowing what exactly to say I simply nodded. Trying to take his advice, I pushed everything from my mind and leaned my head against the window. Then I let my eyes flutter closed and tried to sleep. I didn’t know how far into the empty desert Michael would drive until he was satisfied that no one would find the evidence. Or how he would go about getting rid of that evidence. All I knew was that I was ready for this night to be over. Ready to be back home. Ready to visit Kyla so I could start to feel normal again. But there was something I just couldn’t get out of my head.

Karma is a bitch.

I glanced at the clock on my nightstand and ended up staring at it for the next minute. It had finally rolled around to Thursday, and since I’d been feeling better I thought I should start on the essay that was due Friday morning. After six hours of working on it nonstop I was looking for any excuse to take a break I could get, eventually resorting to staring blankly at the time. As I stared at the clock my cell phone started buzzing on the bed next to me.

Excited, assuming it was Camille about to come over and rescue me from my boredom, I zealously picked it up. “Hello?”

“Hey babe.” With the deep voice that greeted me came a slight pang of disappointment, which I immediately scolded myself for. I hadn’t heard from my boyfriend in the two weeks since I’d moved away – I should be happy to talk to him.

“Aaron, hey,” I answered, moving my laptop to the floor and lying down on my back.

“How are you? I miss you.” Even though I’d been adjusting so well to the move, the way Aaron’s deep, relaxed voice came through the phone made me somewhat homesick. Especially since I’d been alone most of the last week while I’d been sick.

I took a minute to describe the new people I’d met and explain that I had the flu the past week. After a quick reply of ‘Oh that sucks’, Aaron went into a fifteen-minute update about all the football games and parties he’d been attending. I couldn’t deny that the feeling of homesickness grew a bit at his apathetic answer. So, half-listening in my own attempt at apathy, I sighed as I put him on speakerphone and silently fiddled with my guitar. I was unable to recall if the conversations we had in the past had always been so one-sided or if he just had a lot to tell me. It had to be the latter since I hadn’t spoken with him in a while.

Once the background noise of his chatter subsided I responded with a generic, “That sounds like a lot of fun I’m missing,” and put the phone back to my ear. “When is your flight out here? It’s soon right?”

“I’m glad you asked. It’s in a couple weeks I think,” he answered excitedly. Then I heard the shuffling of papers, and knew he was looking for his flight schedule on the always-cluttered desk in his bedroom. “Okay, my plane will be getting there in two weeks, on Friday morning. And I’ll just be there for the weekend, so we have to make the most of it,” he told me suggestively.

I fake-laughed for lack of a better response. We’d been intimate when I lived in Texas, and while I would admit it was never my favorite pastime, I was always able to get slightly interested. But what did he want me to say? While I felt I missed him on an emotional level, and I’d admit it was a surface emotion, he seemed only concerned with the sex he wasn’t getting. So, annoyed with Aaron for being a typical teenage boy and with myself for being over-critical I ended the conversation, making a mental note of his flight date so I wouldn’t forget to pick him up from the airport.

As I sat up, a shout from downstairs informed me that dinner was ready. Stomach growling I threw my phone back on the bed and scurried to the door. When I got to the dining room not seconds later and saw a huge grilled steak sitting on my plate, I folded my hands and thanked God my appetite had returned.

Immediately after my uncle had said grace I ferociously dug in, my mom laughing as she passed around a small basket of bread. “Someone’s feeling better.”

“Much.” I grinned, grabbed a bread roll, and then passed the basket to Scott, who was on the other side of me.

After having dinner with my family and stomach heavy from the large meal, I went straight to bed, falling asleep the moment I hit the pillow. One thing I liked about being sick was that I never had trouble getting to sleep. When I awoke the next afternoon I leaned up to glance at the clock, and immediately fell back onto my pillow with a grumble. My paper had been due at ten at the end of second period. It was almost one.

Frustrated but feeling it wasn’t worth the stress, I shrugged. There was nothing I could do about it now. Stomach rumbling I made my way groggily down the stairs and fixed myself a sandwich. The going was slow. My limbs weighed down by sleep I leisurely pulled out one item at a time. It took nearly thirty minutes before my simple meal was made and devoured, and I had my head down on the island trying to convince myself to wake up when a knock came from the front door in the hallway.

Slowly getting up I rounded the corner to see Camille waiting outside. The sight of her woke me up a bit, and a grin expressed my joy. Despite my excitement, once the door was open I stood there, blocking the way inside with a smirk. “Shouldn’t you be at school?”

She laughed and pushed her way through to the hallway, unconcerned about my teasing. “Sixth period just isn’t the same without you. So I brought it here.” She held up a movie and made her way to the kitchen cupboard to grab a bag of popcorn.

“My savior!” I exclaimed happily as I watched her put the popcorn into the microwave and sat back down, energy fully restored. “I’ve been going out of my mind with boredom.”

“You’re feeling better then?” She sat at the island across from me and leaned forward to prop her head up in her hands, resting it tiredly. She seemed just as talkative as she always did, and conversed calmly and easily, but something about her was disheartening. Her usually bright brown eyes had lost their luster.

“Yeah, thanks so much for the soup by the way. It was seriously delicious.” I gave a dreamy sigh like I wished I had more of it. “But I’m still tired a lot. And I was supposed to turn in my essay today, but I didn’t wake up in time so now it’s too late.” I got up and took the popcorn out of the beeping microwave. As I sat back down I could see that Camille was distracted, and now instead of looking at me the blonde was simply staring at the granite counter top. I had to ask what was wrong. It was obvious she wasn’t in good spirits, and I was hoping it wasn’t because of something I had done. “Are you okay?”

Camille took her eyes off the counter and focused on me, giving a small, half-convincing smile. “Yeah I’m fine. Just had a stressful couple of days.” That was all she would say as she stood and motioned for me to follow her to the living room. “What class was your essay for?”

I shoved the movie into the player and sat on the couch next to her, reaching for the remote control on the coffee table in front of us. “Music, Miss Hampton’s class.”

She raised a confused eyebrow, looking just as shocked as I’d been at having to write an essay for a music class. After a thoughtful glance toward the ceiling, a huge smile seemed to put some of the glow back into her eyes. “Don’t worry about it. I’ll pick you up at eight.”

Confused, and even more intrigued, I raised an eyebrow. “Pick me up for what?”

“I’ll tell you later,” Camille told me, making an exaggerated shushing motion with her finger. “The movie’s starting.”

I rolled my eyes, but put my feet on the coffee table and focused my attention on the screen. Camille had rented a science fiction movie about werewolves, and I watched on, slightly skeptical of the enjoyment I’d get. I knew what werewolves were of course, but had never watched a movie or read a book about them. Horror had never been the genre for me and I’d never heard of a werewolf movie outside the category.

This wasn’t, however, the average werewolf horror movie I expected it to be. There were no teens stuck in a forest being picked off one by one. There were no dark castles or wars with vampires. It was simply about a werewolf girl that fell in love with a human and tried to get her pack to approve, despite the legacy that she should marry the pack’s leader.

Fascinated with the story, I stretched my neck a little in an attempt to eye the DVD box, but all I could see on the cover was the word ‘Chocolate’. From my general idea of werewolves before this movie I’d found the horror and gore frightening. The same went with evil creatures that were much too strong for any human to kill. The supernatural had never been something I’d given much thought to, but the idea of a person turning into a wolf just because they were bitten was thought provoking.

There were stories about ghosts and the less frequent things like Bigfoot or the Loch Ness monster. If those things could potentially exist, why couldn’t werewolves? Thinking about werewolves reminded me of the two encounters I’d had in the orange fields since I’d moved here. Even my uncle had told me to watch out for wild animals. Aside from the wolf attack Rob told me about though, nobody had mentioned any stories to me about strange happenings in the area. But I had only been here for less than two weeks.

As the movie ended and credits began to roll, I switched the TV off and turned to Camille. “Is there anything like werewolf legends around here?”

She shrugged thoughtfully, and then shook her head as she turned to face me. “Not that I know of, but I’m sure you could find people in any city who say they’ve seen things.”

“Do you believe in werewolves?” I asked, taking another approach to my questions. A new interest made me hugely curious about what I’d seen and heard.

“Hm,” Camille made an interesting sort of face I hadn’t seen her make before. “Anything is possible. What do you think?”

The sound of that rumbling growl echoed in my mind. “I don’t know. It’s kind of scary to think about, if they are how the movies make them seem. All big and vicious.” I reached into the nearly empty popcorn bowl and grabbed a handful, smiling to myself as I realized it was almost gone and I’d barely eaten any.

“They weren’t all bad in this movie,” Camille pointed out as she got up to put the DVD back in its case. “If you think about it, a werewolf is just a person and a wolf. People aren’t always bad, and wolves aren’t evil or mean. Why would a werewolf be?”

“Yeah, I guess so,” I nodded in agreement, and then cautiously, in case she would think I was crazy, added, “What if I told you I heard something?”

She laughed and raised an eyebrow at me, looking at me like I might only be half-crazy. “Should we go werewolf hunting?”

Feeling like she was just teasing me, I rolled my eyes. The growling I had heard made me never want to hear it again. “I think I’ll pass.” Then I remembered my essay, and my curiosity about werewolves gave way to my curiosity about what we’d be doing that night. “So, why are you picking me up at eight?”

“We’re going to turn in your essay,” she told me as she snapped the DVD box shut and stretched. “I got to go. I’ll see you in a few hours. Don’t forget to wear black, makes it more fun.” She winked and headed toward the front door.

“Wait a minute! Black?” I questioned, following closely behind her. I dropped my jaw and in exaggeration took a deep, disbelieving breath. “Are we kidnapping Miss Hampton?”

As she reached the door, Camille turned around and put her hands on my shoulders to stop me from following. “No, because then we’d have a witness,” she laughed at the frightened look on my face. “I’ll see you at eight.”

“We’re going to the school?” I hollered at Camille, who’d turned to leave and just waved goodbye as she got in the car and drove away.

I laughed as I turned away from the front door. The excitement dwindling with Camille’s departure and suddenly exhausted, I decided to take a nap until she came to pick me up. As I lay down though, I was unable to sleep, my mind uneasy about something. I knew it had to do with Camille. Why else would I feel restless right after she left? However hard I thought about it though, I just couldn’t put my finger on it. My mind kept skipping between things so quickly I could hardly stop to think. The horses. Camille looked bothered today. She has nice eyes. I fell from the loft. The horses.

Then it hit me. Camille’s arm. At the end of last week she had shown it to me and her arm was fine. Where the cut from not even a week before should have been, a light pink scar was instead. I had a deep wound like that before when I was in middle school, and I remembered it taking over a month to even be a surface scab. But in a week Camille’s wound had run a two months course.

I shot up and grabbed my laptop off the floor, opening the search engine once it was booted. I thought about how best to word my search. Any way I put it, it was weird. So I settled for typing ‘super fast healing’. On a page of fifty searches, the first thirty were medical sites explaining the healing process, and most of the others were remedies to help heal faster. I skipped to the next page of results, which showed me the same thing. But there, near the bottom of the page was a word that caught my eye.

Werewolf. I clicked the link to find a list of things that pinpoint a werewolf. Among the list was accelerated healing and incomparable strength. It included other stuff like hairy palms and thick eyebrows. Camille’s eyebrows weren’t bushy and she certainly didn’t have hair on the palms of her hands, but I remembered when she had caught me, and picked me up as if I weighed nothing. She was undeniably mysterious. It wasn’t just the way she avoided certain topics or skipped out on me randomly. It was something I could feel in my gut. That instinct that told me something was different. I also wondered if she was trying to tell me something with the movie she’d brought over today.

What about the animal that had snarled at me the other night? It was definitely canine, and if it had anything to do with the one I’d seen on my first night here, then it was much too large to be a dog or even coyote. So what if Camille was a werewolf? She wouldn’t try to attack me, and I didn’t see why she’d ever growl or snarl at me. This was clinically insane to think about anyway.

I closed the laptop and laid it aside, positive I wasn’t going to get any more useful information from it. I had never even heard of anyone having hairy palms, and plenty of people had bushy eyebrows. Whether or not Camille was a werewolf, the explanation satisfied me no matter how unlikely or crazy it was. It gave me something to explain her odd behavior, and until she would tell me the truth, I’d be content believing some fiction I’d made up as long as I could believe she was one of the nice ones. With my mind somewhat at ease I was able to lie down and drift off to sleep.

The distant sound of knocking on the front door woke me a few hours later. I looked at the clock. 8pm. Those bright green numbers indicating I was running behind schedule made me jump out of bed and scramble into the darkest clothes I could find, dark blue jeans and a black pull over sweater. I opened my bedroom door right as Camille reached the top of the stairs.

“Ready to go?” she asked, receiving a nod. “You have your homework right?”

I pulled the hair tie off my wrist and put my hair into a ponytail as I turned to grab my essay off the nightstand. “Got it. Will you tell me what we’re doing now?”

We started down the stairs and reached the car before Camille decided to give me an answer. “We’re going to the school, and we’re just going to slip your paper into the stack of other essays in Miss Hampton’s room.”

“We’re breaking into the school?” I asked hesitantly, buckling my seat belt as we pulled out of the driveway and started our short trip to the school.

The fact that we could get in a lot of trouble if we got caught made me extremely nervous. Especially since Camille didn’t seem like the type to go picking locks or busting down school doors, which I knew would be considered vandalism. It wasn’t that exploring school afterhours put strain on my increasingly nervous stomach, but the vandalism part did. However, I trusted Camille and pushed away the nerves, telling myself there had to be some explanation.

“It’s not breaking in if you have a key,” Camille smiled, holding up a small silver key. “And besides, if we get caught it will just show how dedicated you are to turning in your homework.”

The fact that she had a key relieved my fear a little, and curious but oddly not surprised, I laughed. “How on earth do you have a key to the school?”

“My brother, Mike, worked janitorial last summer and he figured a key might come in handy someday. So he kept it.”  Camille tossed the key into my lap so I could look at it.

I chuckled and turned the piece of metal in my hand as I cranked up the music. I was excited. I never did anything fun or even remotely adventurous like this, and while breaking into the school to turn in homework wasn’t the most badass thing I could think of, it still got my adrenaline pumping.

Minutes later we pulled into the school parking lot and quietly got out. Even though there was no one around the dark lot, we made sure not to slam the car doors so nobody would hear. “Okay, stealth mode, on,” Camille joked.

I giggled and pulled the hood of my sweater over my head. “You’re such a bad influence.”

While Camille shrugged indifferently she smiled and motioned for me to follow her. We crept our way to the side of the school making exaggerated ‘Mission Impossible’ moves, and I could faintly hear Camille muttering the theme song under her breath. When we reached the entrance she stuck the key into the door and turned until there was the quiet clicking sound of it being unlocked. Then she pushed the door open and motioned for me to go in first, relocking it behind us. Quietly, we made our way into the hall, and sticking close to the lockers on the wall we advanced through the first hallway and up the stairs.

Once we reached the top we were already halfway there. A loud clanging sound made my heart drop, and after flinching I froze. When I eventually glanced back and noticed Camille looking blamefully at me, I realized I had made the noise by bumping into a lock, causing it to bang against the metal locker it was attached to.

“Sorry,” I mouthed and patted my chest to try and calm my heart.

Even though I was making some noise, it was still almost too easy to be as exhilarating as I was finding it. After a moment of deep breathing to relax the shock away, I continued down the hall with Camille in tow. I was getting ready to turn a corner and go down another dark hall when she suddenly put her hand over my mouth, and abruptly but gently pushed me against the side of a locker. Once I got over the initial shock of my heart speeding up again I understood. Down the hall we were about to go into I could hear footsteps and rolling wheels. Probably just a janitor pushing a trashcan or mop bucket, but it was best that we not be seen at all.

We waited patiently for the sound to fade, but I had forgotten the janitor moments ago. Camille had pushed us into a small space, and to make us as invisible as possible had pressed me firmly between her and the locker. The warmth of her body pushed so unexpectedly close against mine caused my heart to pound in my chest, and her steady, deep breathing in my ear sent jolts streaming from my head to my toes and everywhere in between. Trying hard to focus on something besides how weak I was beginning to feel, I closed my eyes and followed the paths of the jolts, leading to a strong pressure between my legs. The source of my weakness.

Camille’s thigh was pressed excitingly hard against me, each warm breath against my skin stimulating the rush that now started to turn into a noticeable urge. I was almost positive if Camille paid attention she could feel the pounding of my heart against her chest. Against her thigh. It took every ounce of restraint I could muster not to buckle under the feeling. Not to melt into the girl’s body.

Then she leaned her head forward to rest it on the locker behind me, moving her hot, steady breaths from my ear to my neck. The only thing that suppressed a startled moan from escaping my lips was her hand. Despite the thrill of the feeling, I could feel all the blood rush to my cheeks as my brain finally slowed enough for me to realize exactly what was happening. It couldn’t be happening.

Camille lifted and turned her head, straining to listen for the janitor, and I took the opportunity to reach up and pull her hand from my mouth to take a deep, relaxing breath. When I failed to let it go, too preoccupied with the complicated act of breathing, Camille turned her head back and made eye contact with me, her body still pressed tight against mine. I felt my eyes being searched under that intense gaze as she sensed something new.

She could tell what I was feeling. I just knew it. I could see it in the way she looked at me. And that smug, barely visible smile that crept across her lips. Did I think she’d done it on purpose? No. But she certainly wasn’t ashamed of it, and aside from the blood rushing to my cheeks and the embarrassment at Camille knowing, I was completely uncertain even how I felt about it. It had to be all the excitement of sneaking into the school. It got my adrenaline flowing in ways it wasn’t supposed to.

Slowly, as if reluctantly, Camille released me from being pressed against the locker, and when she motioned the coast was clear it took me another second to peel myself from it. We began the short remaining distance to the classroom, and then she stopped at a door to give one last look around before we entered the room.

“Made it in,” she whispered with a smile and sat on the edge of the teacher’s desk.

I could feel her eyes on me as I searched the room for the stack of essays to slip mine into. God, I hoped she didn’t know what had happened. My cheeks were still flaming hot, though with embarrassment, guilt, or excitement I didn’t know or even want to begin to think about.

“Here we go,” I said to myself when I found the papers. Having added mine to the middle of the pile I turned to Camille. “Ready to leave?”

She didn’t answer right away and sat there, still watching me, as if contemplating saying something. Eventually deciding against it she hopped off the desk and made her way to the door. “Yeah, let’s go.”

Exiting the classroom we went the opposite direction to get out of the school, since the back entrance was closer to the room and we could be certain the janitor had already passed that area. We went down a set of stairs, and once we reached the bottom it was a straight shot to the door. We were passing a row of lockers, nearly at the exit, when Camille stopped and glanced around.

“What are you doing?” I asked, looking around to try and see what the blonde was searching for.

She waved her hand with a flick to dismiss the question, and tiptoed toward the middle of the row of lockers. Without touching the tall locker she’d set her sights on she stared at it, studying it with her face inches away, as if it was different from all the others.

I tried to be as patient as I could but we weren’t supposed to be there, and since I was still sick I was starting to feel exhausted. “Cami, let’s go.”

A whole minute passed by before I couldn’t wait any more, so I started walking toward the exit, finally getting Camille to follow. Before leaving the building we checked the outside to make sure no one was there, and then walked back to the car.

“What was that all about?” I asked curiously, nodding my head back toward the school in case Camille wasn’t sure what I’d meant.

She followed my nod, and the building held her gaze longer than I would have liked. Because of the long pause I was expecting a detailed answer, but instead she shrugged almost too casually. “Nothing.”

I wanted to let out a sarcastic ‘okay’, but didn’t want to let on that her censorship was aggravating me. It’s not Camille’s fault, I told myself. You’re sick and grumpy. “I’m exhausted already,” I said as we each got into the car.

Camille started the engine and pulled onto the street. Her eyes didn’t leave the road as she stared not only through the windshield, but also through the very pavement ahead of us. “You should close your eyes, see if you can get some rest.”

I rolled the window down a bit for fresh air and leaned my head back against the seat. Next thing I knew we’d pulled into the driveway and Camille was walking around to open the door for me. As she followed me to the front door I felt the need to say something. About what, I was uncertain.

When she stopped outside and didn’t follow me in, I turned around confused. “You aren’t staying the night?” Since it wasn’t a school night I had assumed Camille would want to hang out more.

She mirrored my confusion though, and I realized I hadn’t given an invitation. “I can’t, I have stuff I need to do at home. And you’re still a little bit sick, you should get more rest.”

I nodded, a little disappointed, especially since I felt we were ending on weird terms. Camille had been so quiet on the ride back, her mind preoccupied with whatever that locker reminded her of.

“Well, thanks for helping me turn in my paper. I had fun.” Blood rushed to my cheeks again as I imagined how ‘I had fun’ could be misinterpreted. I seemed to be the only one who thought like that though, because Camille didn’t appear to notice.

“Okay, I’ll see you later.” Just like that she turned and walked away.

I trudged inside. Whatever was on her mind was so thought consuming she didn’t make a suggestive joke or even smile goodbye. The normally happy blonde seemed concerned and in a hurry to get home. The light from the bright, almost full moon shined through the window and I chuckled to myself. Maybe she was in a hurry so that she wouldn’t turn into a werewolf. Once I reached my bedroom I plopped facedown onto the bed, fully clothed, and didn’t have the strength to get back up.

I was so tired that it was frustrating when something woke me up about an hour later. Like the other night, whatever it was seemed to stop once I was awake. I knew the feeling in my gut though. The same one as the night I’d heard the growling. So I stood and opened the window beside my bed, pressing my ear against the screen to see if I could hear anything. Maybe the animal came back.

It was eerily quiet.

The second I pulled my ear away I heard a rustling from the line of trees behind the house and which my bedroom window overlooked. It was the patter of something running through fallen leaves. Straight across about a hundred feet and then back again, like whatever was doing it was particularly intent on making a path beneath my window. It was too dark outside for me to see anything, but when I put my ear back to the screen to hear better the running slowed, coming to a stop almost directly in front of my bedroom. I knew whatever it was probably couldn’t jump high enough, but when the footsteps stopped I drew my face back, as if it would come crashing through the window.

Then everything was quiet again.

What should I do? No way I was going back outside to investigate and potentially get eaten. There was a set of double doors in the living room that led to the backyard, and just beyond that were the trees the animal was hiding in. If I grabbed a flashlight maybe I’d be able to see something through the glass without really going outside. With this in mind I trotted swiftly down the stairs, hoping to catch a glimpse before whatever it was could run away.

After grabbing a flashlight from the kitchen I ran to the back door, pushing aside the blinds and shining the light through the glass. I had hoped to catch the animal by surprise, getting it in the beam before it ran away, but as I shone the light it reflected off the glass back at me so that I couldn’t see anything outside. I lowered it, glancing from the tool in my hand to the handle on the sliding doors. Then I took a deep breath, trying to gain some confidence as I reached for the lock, pushing it up and freeing the door.

I waited a few seconds, testing whether or not the animal could tell what I was doing. When nothing came charging at the unlocked door I stepped closer, then pushed it open just enough to get my head through. Before easing my face to the opening I directed the beam around the outside, making sure nothing was in the patch of grass before the trees. The coast was clear. I adjusted the light so it met the bottom of the first row of trees.

There was nothing around the trunks, but even if I couldn’t see anything suspicious, my heart was beating wildly just knowing something was out there. Every second and every foot I investigated with the light I grew more and more tense, waiting for the second I would see something. I had started at the trunks of the first line of orange trees, and with every swipe I moved it up, flashing the light deeper and deeper into the farmland.

By my fifth sweep I was beginning to grow impatient, thinking that I had missed it, and the speed with which I moved the beam grew quicker. I moved the light over a trunk. There was a glimmer as I passed over something. Then rustling, as I must have hit it and the animal had backed up.

At the rustling my heart dropped, and I backtracked with the light to where I’d seen the glimmer. It was nothing but bark now, but I squinted through the darkness, straining to see because the beam was weak enough that I couldn’t see much of anything even with the flashlight on. It only took a few seconds before the glimmer returned. Popped out from behind a trunk, and I almost gasped at seeing the bright glowing orbs that appeared.

Big and yellowish green. Just the way eyes look when they’re reflecting light back at you. And these were wide apart. Set in a head so large there was at least half a foot between the pair. It was too dark to see anything other than those glowing spheres. The spheres that remained unblinking, fixed on my light and me.

Just as with the growling the other night, I froze. I could feel a heavy gaze locked on me, and it chilled me to the bone. I half expected the thing to start snarling again, or to come running from the line of trees toward me. Only, it was dead quiet. Just staring at me.

So I opened my mouth and took a deep breath. I was going to say something. Was going to call to it. To see if maybe it wasn’t the same exact animal as the night before, and maybe this one was friendlier. But the second I took a breath the eyes disappeared, and in the weak beam of my light I caught the tip of a tail. A flash of dark fur and then it was gone.

I nearly dropped the flashlight again as I jumped, stirred to action, and closed the sliding door. After I locked it in place I sprinted up the stairs, immediately reaching for the cell phone on my nightstand. I had to tell Camille about this. Maybe then she wouldn’t think I was even half-crazy. There was something in the dark.

“Dad.” I knocked on the door to my father’s office. I’d just gotten back from going to the school with Kyla, and my dad was the first person I wanted to see. Usually when he wasn’t out running, he was in here.

“Hey Cami. How are you?” he asked, looking up from a piece of paper he’d been studying.

Instead of answering his question I sat down in the chair across from him, and my face grew serious. “Something’s up. I was just at the school and I smelled something.” I waited for him to set his papers aside and give me his undivided attention. “A werewolf. Male. His scent was all over a locker, so I’m assuming he’s either a student or passing himself as one. And unless the Pack has added another member, I don’t recognize the scent.”

He leaned back in his chair and tapped his fingers against his chin, absorbing the information. We sat there for nearly three minutes while he thought, until finally he stopped tapping.

“I’ll contact the Alpha, see if he knows anything. Luna!” he called and we waited for her to poke her head through the doorway. “Camille’s become aware of a mutt at your school,” he informed her, and after she dropped an expression of surprise she sat on the arm of the chair I was in. “You’re the most political of your siblings,” he winked at me as if to say ‘no offense’. “I want the two of you to see if you can find him and inform him that this territory has already been claimed. Unless the guy gives you two trouble, try to keep Niko out of it. He tends to be... aggressive.”

Luna and I smiled in unison, knowing all too well how true the statement was. “Well he’s bound to catch my scent by his locker. Hopefully he’ll get the hint,” I told him.

“I’m surprised none of us has noticed him. Either he knows we’re here and he’s been doing a good job of avoiding us, or he’s one lucky pooch,” Luna said, standing up. “Let us know when you hear something from the Pack.”

My dad nodded, and I waited for Luna to leave the room before speaking again. “Hey Dad, can I ask you something?”

He had picked up the phone to make the call, but when he realized I wasn’t finished he set it back on the receiver and nodded. “Yes, of course.”

“How did you know Mom was the one?” I set my hands nervously in my lap, and my dad let a small smile play across his lips. I was close to my dad and had heard him talk about how lucky he’d gotten with my mom plenty of times, but I’d never had to ask his advice. I don’t even think my siblings sought advice on the topic of romance.

“How did I know she was the one?” He leaned forward in his chair and repeated softly, to which I nodded. “Well, I don’t think you can ever know for sure, but I bet that when it happens there won’t be a doubt in your mind. Why do you ask?”

“There’s a girl,” I sighed and answered honestly. “A human girl.”

He made an ah-hah face and leaned back in his chair. “Well, I’d say our kind has come a long way with human affairs, and you know I would just want you to be happy.” He paused and studied me, and then his tone grew even more serious. “I can’t forbid you from a relationship like that, Camille, but I must warn you to be careful. And I know I don’t need to remind you of the consequences, anything could go wrong.”

“I know. Humans are unpredictable,” I repeated understandingly; Sky had told me something similar. “I haven’t known her for long.”

“But you’re already asking about it,” he smiled knowingly, his calm brown eyes watching me comfortingly. “That’s how it starts.” He gave me a mischievous wink and I couldn’t help but grin.

I got up and walked to his chair to hug him and kiss him on the cheek. “Thanks for the talk.” He nodded and smiled lovingly as I made my way to the door.

“When the time comes to make a decision, just make sure you’re listening to your head and not your hormones, okay?” he called after me, but instead of answering I just laughed and shook my head.

When I exited my dad’s office, Luna hopped up from the stairs nearby and began to follow me to the front door. “I’m going for a run if you want to come.”

I nodded and led the way out. A run was perfect for thinking.

On opposite ends of the porch we each stripped our clothing and set it neatly on the deck. The nights were getting colder and the cool air nipped at my bare skin, almost making me shiver. I braced myself, inhaling a deep breath before I focused and let the Change overcome me. The split second of pain ripped through me and I sighed as it faded, stretching my fresh wolf limbs.

A large white wolf trotted over to me, prancing around in circles, eager to run. I bent my front legs forward and massaged my paws into the soil to get my footing as I prepared to pounce on my sister. Then I sprung up, about to push Luna to the ground when she danced out of the way. My front legs buckled when they didn’t land where I had expected them to, and I stumbled. It was enough of a chance for the snow-white wolf to get the upper hand. Luna quickly took advantage of my imbalance as she came up beside me and used her shoulder to push me over.

I swiftly rolled out of the fall and regained my footing to see Luna teasingly prancing around, tongue hanging out in a wolfish grin, already at the start of the grape vines waiting for me. I stood there and cocked my head questioningly at the excited wolf, which then stopped prancing and sat on its haunches, cocking a curious head back. I used that second and took off toward my sister. By the time Luna was back on her feet I was there and tackled her. We rolled through the vines, almost knocking down a few before she got out of the tussle and took off running. My tongue lolled out happily when I caught up, and I ran next to her as we began our routine around the border of the farmland.

With every breath of air I took through my nose I subconsciously searched for the scent of the mutt. My father had grown up with the Alpha, and while his old friend gladly accepted the duties that came with being the law of our kind, my father had split from the Pack to raise his children away from the danger. My family had come across mutts before, but because non-pack wolves couldn’t hold territory, they had either disbanded when they found the territory claimed or had all just been passing through. From what I’d heard, we’d been lucky with werewolves we’d come in contact with. A lot of mutts caused trouble. Freshly bitten and without the guidance of a leader they weren’t in control, and therefore stirred up trouble with local law enforcement.

By having a locker at school though, it was obvious that this mutt wasn’t passing through, and I didn’t like the smell of him. He smelled aggressive and dirty, a combination that screamed up-to-no-good. So the remaining question was what this guy was doing in Tranquility.

Karma is a bitch. What Stephen had said had bothered me since I got home from Las Vegas. Considering how infrequently a mutt wandered into Tranquility, it couldn’t be a coincidence. However, eager as I was to have my questions answered, I didn’t know what this guy looked like or where he was staying. So I returned my focus on the run while keeping my nose open for any sign of him.

Luna led the way as we ran the edges of town, exhausting our limbs of every ounce of pent up energy we had. I eventually relaxed while listening to the rhythmic beat of our paws. Chasing the ever-elusive noise ahead of us, as creatures smaller than us fell quiet the closer we drew near. Reaching a small creek we slowed to a stop and rapidly lapped up water.

Both our heads shot up simultaneously when a distant howling sounded through the quiet night. Luna looked to me and pricked her ears forward, then took one quick drink before we began our run back home. It was our oldest brother Carter, calling us back in. Racing full speed it didn’t take us long at all to get back. When we managed to get our clothes on and made it into the living room the rest of our family was sitting around waiting for us.

“About time,” Sky teased sarcastically as me and Luna sat together on the couch next to her. I passed her a playful scowl before all of us looked to my father.

This was a family meeting, meaning he had talked with the Pack Alpha and had something important to tell us. My mom stood next to him, resting against his chair and lovingly scratching his back.

“You all know there’s a mutt in town,” my dad began, leaning forward and setting his elbows on his knees. “I got off the phone with Eli not long ago, and he informed me of a problem they’ve been dealing with recently. Three mutts traveling together, making their way across the country. Last city they were in was Stonegate, Colorado, and before that Winchester, Nevada. The Pack has been able to connect kidnappings and an increase in mutt number to these three.” He held up three photographs and passed them around the room.

Just as I repeated ‘increase in mutt number’ to myself, Niko spoke up confusedly. “They’re kidnapping people and turning them? Why would they do that?”

“Not quite,” my father answered bitterly. “They’re turning humans, but kidnapping other werewolves. Which makes less sense. They’ve been migrating to small towns, all with one other thing in common: each had been settled by a mutt. The Pack hasn’t been able to reach the mutts they kept in contact with, so they’re assuming that they’ve all reached an unfortunate fate.”

I received the pictures that Carter was handing to me and took a look at each of them. All three were male. Two of them looked related, however one of them was much younger than the other. Father and son was my first guess. While I couldn’t get a good judge of size from the portrait photo, the dad looked like he could be a very large guy. He had a thick, heavyset jaw. His light hair was buzzed so short you had to look closely to see he had any hair at all, and his deep-set eyes were the darkest blue I had ever seen.

I passed the photo to Luna and studied the picture of the son while my dad continued. “Luther and Jonathan Symons, father and son, and Charles Gleeson. Ages fifty-three, twenty-three, and forty-seven. The Pack has only recently become aware of the situation. They’ve tried investigating the towns these three have left behind, but haven’t been able to find anything substantial to tell us what they’re trying to do. And the Pack is too busy containing the new mutt problem to spend too long looking in any one place.”

So Jonathan was just passing himself as a student. Even for twenty-three, he looked young. He also looked a lot like his father, only differing in his smaller, thinner features. His hair was longer, covering the tips of his ears and a little bit darker. His eyes, though they were the same dark blue as Luther’s, were much more threatening. The untamed, disturbed sparkle in them made every hair on my arms and neck stand on end. Aside from his wild eyes, though, he looked so normal that seeing him on the street I probably wouldn’t have given him a second glance.

After passing Jonathan’s picture to Luna, I studied the last photo. Charles didn’t look quite as disturbed as Jonathan, but he certainly looked as muscular, if not bigger than Luther. His crooked, missing-toothed smile stuck out to me more than anything else. Charles was not an attractive man, and scars marred his big-jawed, tiny-nosed, bushy eyebrowed face.

Sky uncrossed her arms to take a picture from Luna. “How many mutts per city?”

“It varies, sometimes two, sometimes as many as four. Each of the new mutts has a criminal record, they’re all thugs, drug dealers and murderers,” my dad answered, and I watched each of my family members’ jaws either drop in shock or clench in anger.

Most werewolves lived their whole lives never Changing a human. We’re all territorial creatures, and why make more that you’d have to compete with for resources? Some just couldn’t stay out of trouble, but even then they’d only bite two people in their lives at the most. Any more than two and the Pack stepped in.

“So let me guess,” I started, mostly talking to myself. “The recruits wouldn’t talk to the Pack about why they’d been bitten?” My dad shook his head in response.

“Are they building an army?” my mother asked, still sitting behind my dad.

“It definitely looks that way doesn’t it? And it can’t be just a coincidence that their recruits aren’t model citizens.” He answered without looking up at her, and instead he looked each of us in the eye. “None of you are running unless it’s in threes. If you’re going into town be on your damn best look out, and don’t go down any side alleys, I don’t care how light it is.”

Out of the corner of my eye I saw Niko open his mouth to protest, but deciding better of it he closed it and sat back. None of us had ever before had to worry about where we went or when. Starting now would mean changing our habits. Being on guard where we were most comfortable.

“So what?” Michael started angrily. “We sit tidy and hope they’re just passing through this time?”

My father sighed. “No, if you see any of them watch and hopefully follow, from a distance, and see if you can figure out where they’re staying. The Pack is sending someone to help us keep things under control and speak for Eli. He should be here sometime next week. In the meantime, starting tonight we’ll be running patrols, see if we can pick something up or find out where they’re staying.”

I could see the worry etched into my father’s face. This was the very reason he had left Oregon and parted with the Pack. But he knew as well as any of us that our world was a dangerous one. There would always be a mutt to fend off, humans to hide from. Loved ones to protect.

“Who’s starting patrols tonight?” I asked, standing up. Even though I had already Phased, I was ready to go again.

Everyone followed my lead and stood up, preparing to go. “You, Sky, Niko and I will be going tonight, but tomorrow we’ll start patrols in town all day, and at sundown go in two shifts, early and late.”

I nodded, more than pleased that I’d be able to go on the first patrol. This whole situation already had me restless, and it would only get worse if I were sitting at home waiting for something to happen.

I was following the first group to the porch when I could hear my cellphone ringing on the living room coffee table where I’d left it. There was really only one person I could think of who’d be calling me. While I was anxious to catch the three mutts, there was hardly anything that could keep me from wanting to hear Kyla’s voice. Even if it was just to tell her that I couldn’t talk.

Waving the other three to go ahead I jogged back into the living room. “Hello?”

“It happened again!” Kyla’s voice was near a whisper, but that didn’t hide the excitement in it.

“What happened again?” I asked, making my confusion clear.

She chuckled like she realized she was getting ahead of herself. “There’s something weird going on here.” A pause before she clarified. “In Tranquility.” Then the speed of her voice picked up like she was trying to get it all out as fast as she could. “The other night there was something in the orange trees. Snarling at me! And I just saw it right now. Eyes, like huge, massive glowing eyes. Looking right at me!”

She paused again like she was waiting for me to say something. But I was frozen. All the blood drained from my face. None of my family ran through the Walters’ farm, always around. And certainly none of them would be growling.

“It was like a dog or something. Or a wolf,” Kyla added when I remained silent, prompting me to say something. “The biggest wolf in the world probably.”

Then my heart fluttered with excitement. She said she’d just seen it. Meaning if it really was the mutts, they might still be there. “I got to go,” I mumbled briskly, already turning for the kitchen.

“Hey, wai–” I hit the end button and tossed the phone onto the kitchen table.

The second I got to the porch I began tugging off my clothes. Each of the three wolves was sitting there waiting for me, watching with curious eyes. Wondering why I was pulling my clothes off in such a fury.

“The Walters’ farm. Kyla just said she saw something like a wolf.” Each of them stood instantly at my words, and I threw my last article of clothing down without bothering to fold any of it. “They might still be there.”

I didn’t waste another second Phasing, and the moment my paws touched down we took off toward the Walters’ farm. It didn’t make sense why the mutts would even be at Kyla’s house, and she made it sound as if they were watching her. She didn’t know anything about my family being werewolves, and she definitely wasn’t the mutts’ ideal recruit. Maybe they were covering their bases? Making sure she wouldn’t be a threat when they decided to make their move on my family.

There was hardly a breeze tonight, so when we got to the Walters’ place it took us a minute with our noses down to find a scent. Kyla was absolutely right. It was the same scent as the one on the locker, Jonathan’s; it was as fresh as it gets, and he had definitely been watching the house. His scent followed the boundaries of the trees around the house and down toward the driveway. Keeping under the cover of leaves we followed the trail as quick as we could toward the main road, hoping it would continue and we wouldn’t be far behind the mutts.

Our hopes were eliminated, however, when we got to the road. The trail stopped cold on the shoulder, meaning Jonathan had jumped in a car and they’d driven away. Not only were they long gone by now, but a car left no scent. There was no way we could follow.

We all came to a halt at the edge of the road, and I heard my dad give a frustrated growl that we’d lost the scent. He glanced up and down thoughtfully, and then with a huff he was off, each of us following with our noses alert. Even now though, at the very start of our run, I knew it would be no use.

We had no idea where these mutts were staying, and they were doing a damn good job of keeping their scents hidden. The only other thing we had to connect them to Tranquility was the locker at the high school, and while Jonathan’s scent on it was strong, it was old. It had been at least a week since he’d visited it. We had absolutely nothing to go on. We didn’t know how long the mutts had been here. Didn’t have any scents to point to where they were staying. No scents in town. No idea what they were really trying to do. Nothing.

At least I felt assured that even though Kyla had been watched, the mutts wouldn’t risk coming out of hiding long enough to take on a human that wasn’t even close to being a threat. At least she wasn’t in any immediate danger.

***

The next morning Luna threw open my bedroom door, harshly pulling me from a deep sleep. “It’s nine-thirty ass face, get out of bed.” I blindly threw a pillow in her direction, and with an amused laugh she disappeared from the door and made her way back down the stairs.

I muttered profanities under my breath as I groggily hopped out of bed. We’d patrolled nearly until the sun came up, and I wasn’t even close to being caught up on sleep. Regardless, the smell of eggs and bacon wafted up to me and made my stomach growl, effectively waking me up. By the time I got to the kitchen Luna had already sat down with a huge plate of breakfast. So I made my way over to bump her out of her chair and took her place, and her plate.

I heard Niko laugh his amusement as Luna growled but grabbed another plate of food. Looking at my sister, someone would never guess we were twins. At five-foot-two she was the tiniest out of all of us, and she didn’t even weigh a hundred-ten pounds. Sometimes I couldn’t help but feel guilty about retaliating, but Luna, however small, could definitely handle it, and most of the time she deserved it.

After breakfast Luna and I rode into town with Niko and Carter, splitting up in opposite directions. We started at a grocery store in the center of Tranquility and worked our way to the very edge of town, then met back at the middle. In a few of the hole-in-the-wall stores we walked into we caught the faintest whiff of another werewolf’s scent, but just like the locker at the school these scents were so old they were of no use to us. After the third store this happened in I started to grow impatient.

I had never felt unsafe so long as we’d moved away from Oregon. While we’d have to exercise caution no matter where we lived, Tranquility had always been a place we could relax. The farmland was vast for running and the town was so small it didn’t exist to other werewolves. Now our safe haven had been knowingly invaded, and the invaders were purposefully hiding away. With the impatience that built into the pure frustration I felt by the end of our shift, I could sense that this was how it was going to be. A waiting game. We’d catch the slightest hint that one of the mutts had been around but have no way to find them.

As we walked into the house after arriving home I let the front door slam shut behind me, causing my siblings to jump. Niko and Carter shrugged it off and dispersed, but Luna plopped down onto the couch and patted next to her, motioning for me to take a seat.

“I knew you’d be the one having the hardest time with this,” she told me, a concerned look in her eyes as I sat down beside her.

I sighed deeply, trying my hardest to relax in the safety of our house. “How’d you figure?”

“You’ve always been the most protective,” she said, and then cautiously shot me a side-glance. Once the stabbing pain of her statement settled in my gut I glared at her for bringing it up. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean it like that. I think it’s a good thing. It will come in handy now, if the mutts are still around.”

I knew Luna hadn’t meant to dredge up the memory of mistakes I’d made in the past, and so I couldn’t hold it against her. Still, it brought back the guilt I’d buried away deep in the back of my mind, out of sight where it would take a reminder like hers to bring it forth again.

My silence caused Luna to hastily try and change the subject. “Do we have first or second patrol tonight?”

“I think Dad said we have first. We’re patrolling again tomorrow morning so I think he wanted us to get as much sleep as possible,” I told her and then added sarcastically, “Like that’ll be easy.”

Luna nodded her agreement and sat there thoughtfully. In my own silence I could tell she was searching for something else to talk about. It was as if I could read her thoughts. Mutts. School. Kyla? But I knew that none of those were things she wanted to bring up, so feeling I was still hurt by her reminder she finally gave up on trying and went upstairs to her room.

I tried to distract myself with homework until patrols that night. It was tough, but eventually I was able to focus and forget about everything but the math problems in front of me. By the end of the night, both patrols turned up with nothing. If the mutts had Phased recently, then they hadn’t done it near town. I tried to tell myself to be patient. Nobody is perfect, and the mutts would either turn up or mess up sooner or later. Until then we’d keep scouring Tranquility day after day.

The next morning I had been patrolling for a couple hours with Luna when my phone started going off in my pocket. An enormous grin spread over my face when I read the caller ID that said ‘Kyla’. Since the first patrol the other night I’d been so preoccupied with all the mutt business that she had just been a fleeting thought every few hours. But now that she was calling me I realized how much I was starting to miss the adorable brunette.

“Hey, Kyla,” I nearly shouted with excitement when I answered the phone, causing Luna to roll her eyes teasingly.

“Hey, I finished all my chores early, I was going to see if you wanted to hang out?”

“Um, hold on.” I lowered the phone from my ear and covered the microphone end with my hand so I could talk to Luna. “Kyla wants to hang out.”

Luna laughed and then stopped walking to think about it. After a thoughtful pause and a glance around she nodded. “Ask her to come with us, we’ll just keep walking around.”

I grinned happily. “Me and Luna are in town just walking around. Want to come?”

I crossed my fingers and held my breath until Kyla answered. “Yeah sure! Where do you want me to meet you guys?”

“There’s a little restaurant on Anthony and Tuft. How about there?” I asked as I began walking again and led Luna down the street toward the restaurant.

I could hear Kyla shuffling around and then the metallic rattling as she found her keys. “Sounds good, I’ll see you guys soon.”

Entering the near empty diner, I followed Luna to a booth near the center of the restaurant. The tan leather seat squeaked against my jeans as I slid in across from my sister, still facing the door so I could see when Kyla came in. I picked up the menu and inattentively flipped through without really reading it, and a second later set it back down only to anxiously tap my fingers on the table top.

Luna scoffed at my restlessness, set her own menu down and folded her hands on the table in front of her. “Are you seriously nervous? You should be over it by now.”

“No,” I answered impulsively, and then realizing that I was fidgeting laughed at myself and took a deep breath. “Kyla’s in your math class right? What do you think of her?”

“She’s pretty cool,” Luna told me with a shrug as she picked up her menu to look through it again. Receiving an unsatisfied glare, she put the menu back down and took a moment to think. “She’s really nice, maybe one of the sweetest people in our class. She’s in a senior math so she’s smart, and she’s pretty cute I guess.”

“Cute?” I repeated with an offended sneer, at which she laughed.

“I know you think she’s like super beautiful. But to the casual observer,” Luna raised an argumentative eyebrow and repeated her former statement. “Cute.”

I looked up to the ceiling thoughtfully and then nodded my agreement. Kyla was certainly cute. The waitress came by to take our drink order, and both Luna and I asked for Coke while I ordered lemonade for Kyla. As she disappeared I turned back to my sister to ask more about Kyla.

“Does she talk a lot in class?” I leaned forward, interested in hearing Luna’s answer, but instead of responding she rolled her eyes.

“Ever since you met her she’s all I hear about, and she’s going to be here any minute and I’m already going to be the third wheel. Can we talk about something else for like two minutes?” Luna picked up her menu once again and opened it to the sandwich page. “What are you getting?”

I sighed in defeat, but then grinned as I teased, “I’ll order whatever Kyla gets.” Luna snapped her menu shut in exasperation and glared at me. At the look I laughed and threw my hands up, begging not to get smacked. “Kidding! I might have a burger.”

Finally letting her read the menu in peace I sat there, patiently and discreetly staring towards the door of the diner. I’d nearly begun daydreaming when about five minutes later the big wooden door swung open and Kyla stopped at the entrance to search the restaurant.

“Kyla!” I called, standing to wave her over, and after I let her slide in I sat back down nearest the aisle.

“Thank you,” Kyla said, and after settling into her seat she smiled at Luna. “Hi, Luna.”

“Hey. You find this place okay?” Finally deciding what she wanted, Luna closed her menu and set it at the edge of the table.

“Yeah, it wasn’t too hard to find,” Kyla answered and was about to say something else when the waitress returned with our drinks and set them in the center of the table.

“I got you a lemonade, is that okay?” I asked, pushing it toward Kyla. Out of the corner of my eye I could see Luna teasingly mouthing my words, so I kicked her hard under the table.

“Perfect, thanks.” Kyla smiled sweetly and then passed a questioning glance to Luna, who slapped her hand on the table in pain. An amused chuckle escaped me as I could tell Luna was holding back a growl. Had we been at home, she probably would have let out a full-blown snarl. Hell, she might’ve even jumped across the table at me. “So, what are you guys doing in town today?”

“Just hanging out, walking around,” I answered and took an antsy sip of my drink.

I don’t know how I was still nervous whenever I was around Kyla, but it was bad. Especially when Luna was around, because I wouldn’t put it past her to completely humiliate me just for kicks. It got even worse when Kyla shifted in the small booth, crossing her leg to put it beneath her and causing her knee to rest against my thigh. She didn’t even seem to notice, but my cheeks flared and I could see a smirk on Luna’s face when she looked at me, as it must have been obvious I was coming completely undone.

Kyla nodded and, trying to include Luna in the conversation, looked in her direction. “Do you guys do that a lot on the weekends?”

Luna shrugged and laughed. “There’s not much else to do on the weekends.”

“I’ve been figuring that out pretty quickly,” Kyla agreed. I hadn't seen her talk to many other people, but while she was talking to Luna I could stare at her smile without her noticing. At least until she turned and caught me staring. “How long are you guys staying today?”

“Who knows?” I shrugged, cheeks burning redder as I hoped she didn't know how long I’d been looking at her.

Then Kyla inched closer to me, and it was obvious that she wanted out, but I was so shocked by it I stared at her wide-eyed for a couple seconds. “Sorry,” she said with a giggle. “I’m going to go to the bathroom.”

I did my best to nod casually as I got up to let her out, and then sat back down with a sigh.

“Jesus,” Luna snorted with laughter as soon as Kyla was out of earshot. “You’re a fucking mess.”

“It’s not funny,” I scowled. “And for the sake of your shins, you better not make it worse.”

She smirked, raising an eyebrow teasingly. “How would I make it worse?” To put any ideas out of her head, I kicked her again. “Ow!” She growled, leaning forward against the table to rub her leg. “Do that again and I will make it worse. Much worse.”

Before I could retaliate with a threat, Kyla returned. While scooting in next to me she covered her face with her arm and coughed.

“You’re still sick?” I asked, shocked. Werewolves never got sick so I didn't know how long it was supposed to last, but I’d thought Kyla would have been completely better by now.

She shrugged nonchalantly and took a sip of her lemonade. “Eh, I’m almost better. I hardly feel it now.”

I was about to compliment her on being a trooper, but something made me freeze. I noticed Luna's nostrils flare and her body go frigid, and seconds later I knew exactly what caused it. The scent of a werewolf, slight and quick, blown in from the outside by the opening of the door.

I sat there, unsure of what to do with Kyla sitting there. Of course the minute Kyla arrived would be when the mutts finally turned up. Luckily, sensing my dilemma, Luna spoke up.

“I’ve got to make a phone call.” With that she slid out of the booth and followed the scent outside.

“How’s your weekend been so far? Why’d you hang up on me the other night?” Kyla asked, and remained looking at me until I tore my eyes off of Luna.

Even though I looked at her, I made sure I could see Luna out of the corner of my eye in case the mutt was still outside. It wasn't the same scent as the one at the school, and it didn't bear any resemblance to it the way biologically related scents would. It had to be Charles.

“Yeah, sorry about that.” I paused for a second, trying to come up with an excuse. “Um, Luna put liquid soap in the dishwasher. Bubbles everywhere,” I lied, pleased when Kyla laughed. Luna followed the scent into the middle of the street and stopped, looking up and down the empty road. From that I knew they'd driven away and there was no way to follow. “By the time we cleaned it up it was late,” I continued, still keeping my sister in my peripheral vision, “And I wasn’t sure I should call you back.”

Luna came back in but didn't sit down. “I just talked to Dad, he needs us at home.”

Even though I feigned disappointment, I really did wish I could spend more time with Kyla. We left a five dollar bill on the table for our drinks and as composed as possible escorted Kyla to her car. I left her with more than enough apologies and a promise that we’d eat lunch together the next day to make it up to her.

“They were in a car?” I asked as Luna and I nearly jogged back to the grocery store. She had already called Niko to have them meet us there.

“They had to have driven. The trail stopped cold at the middle of the street.” Luna nodded as we turned down another road.

I had a clammy, heavy feeling in my chest. Something else wasn't right. We hadn’t crossed that trail on accident and Charles didn’t mess up for us to catch his scent. We were being messed with.

“Camille, I don’t think they’ve just been watching Kyla,” Luna said as if she’d been reading my mind.

I nodded in agreement. “I know. They’ve been watching all of us.”

I walked into my third period English class and shivered as the blast of cold air hit me. Summer was long gone and I didn’t have the slightest clue why the school felt it was necessary to still have the air conditioner on. As I made my way to my seat on the opposite side of the room I scanned the agenda that the teacher put up on the board every day, and smiled when I saw we’d be doing worksheets the whole period. Worksheets meant the teacher didn’t really pay attention to us, which meant we would get to goof off and talk for the entire class.

With a smile at my friend who sat in the desk next to mine, I sat down and pulled out my literature book and a pen. Moments later the bell rang and the teacher strode into the room, set her bag on her desk, and busily pulled out the day’s worksheets. Without saying anything she passed out the papers and sat back at her desk, pulling out another stack that she immediately began grading.

After letting a minute pass to make sure the teacher was fixed on her work my friend, Megan, turned to me. “Hey, how was your weekend?”

The volume in the room began to pick up as more students chatted, so I gave my answer in a louder tone than she had used. “It was pretty good. I didn’t really do anything too exciting though. How about you?”

Megan smiled and turned toward me, clearly excited that I had asked. “It was great! I went to a party on Saturday night at Sarah’s house, she said she knows you, and I convinced her to have another one next weekend. But anyway, it was so fun.” Megan paused but looked like she had more to say, so I nodded with a smile. “You’re friends with Camille right?” I nodded again. “At the party I danced with her brother, Niko. He’s so cute. I was going to see if, since you’re friends with her, you could ask her if he said anything about me.”

I held back a laugh. Megan was obviously serious, but I didn’t have to know Niko too personally to know that he wasn’t the type to take girls seriously. However, I didn’t want to be the bearer of bad news, so hoping that Megan would soon forget about it, I agreed. “Sure, I can ask for you.”

“You’re the best.” She grinned thankfully and then paused like she wanted to ask something else. “Are you pretty close with Camille?”

With an upward glance from the teacher the room quieted slightly, so I whispered, “Yeah, I guess you could say we’re pretty close. How come?”

“It’s just so weird,” Megan whispered back, unashamed at how her comment could be taken offensively. I didn’t assume she’d meant it that way though, so I waited for her to continue. “Well, I just mean that I’ve never even seen her talk to anyone unless she really has to.” After another thoughtful pause Megan said, almost to herself, “I wonder if she likes you.”

I couldn’t help but be surprised at the comment. When Camille had told me that she liked girls it didn’t seem like she was entirely open about it. It made me wonder how Megan had suspicions about it. “What do you mean?”

“Well I heard she likes girls,” she answered matter-of-factly. “But I guess you’d know better than anyone since she actually talks to you.” Another pause, and after a few moments I realized that was her way of asking me if it was true.

“It’s not really my place to say,” I told her shyly. Curiosity took hold of me though, and I had to find out how she knew. “What makes you think that she does?”

Megan took a breath so that she could explain in one wind. “I have a friend that goes to our rival school who said she knows a girl that had a thing with Camille.”

I couldn’t deny that Megan’s explanation left me slightly confused. Whenever Camille and me talked, she never mentioned her past relationships. It was stupid of me to assume that Camille didn’t have a history, but a part of me was disappointed at hearing it from someone else.

I satisfied myself with the explanation that it couldn’t have been serious or Camille would have mentioned it. “Oh, I don’t know, she never said anything about it.”

Megan must have seen the disappointment on my face, because she apologized without hesitating. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to bring it up if the two of you…”

I laughed and shook my head at the assumption. “No, no. We’re not. I have a boyfriend.”

“Oh, sorry!” she apologized again, cheeks slightly blushing at the mistake of her assumption. “Is your boyfriend back in Texas?”

“That’s okay. Yeah, his name is Aaron,” I answered, exaggerating that it was okay that she made the mistake so she didn’t feel uncomfortable. Though I couldn’t help but wonder why people kept assuming. “We haven’t been together for too long, but we’re going to try the long distance thing.”

A nod of understanding showed Megan’s sympathy on the subject. “Well, I wish you guys luck.”

“Thanks.” I smiled genuinely and sat there thinking to myself as Megan turned to her worksheet. She seemed to know things about Camille that I didn’t. I knew Camille wasn’t social, but the fact that other people found it strange filled me with the need to ask. “Why’s it so weird that Camille talks to me?”

Megan finished whatever sentence she’d been writing on her worksheet before turning back to face me, and after turning she took another moment to think before answering. “Like I said she doesn’t really talk to anyone unless she has to. Her whole family seems to keep to themselves a lot, like they don’t want anyone getting too close, but I’ve even seen her sister and Niko hang out with people more than she does.”

So I’m not the only one who thinks she’s got secrets, I thought to myself, and wanting to hear more on the subject, asked, “Why do you think they’re like that?”

“I heard that they have some weird, cult-like religion,” Megan speculated with a shrug. “Like voodoo or something.”

The laugh that statement received earned me a few questioning glances, but the idea of Camille and her siblings being a part anything that extreme was too far-fetched to be taken seriously. My own theory that Camille was a werewolf was much more entertaining to me than the Zade family being radical religionists.

“I can safely say that that rumor isn’t true.” I made sure to put the thought out of Megan’s head so it wouldn’t spread any further.

She shrugged apathetically, but smiled at the reassurance the rumor was false. “I’m just saying what I heard.”

With a finishing nod I let Megan return to her worksheet and did the same, reading the questions and turning to my literature book for the answers. Once I became engrossed in the assignment the period seemed to fly by, and the bell for fourth period pierced my concentration, making me jump a little. With a goodbye smile at my friend I left for chemistry, pushing my way through the crowded halls until I reached the door.

Jonathan could be seen in the hallway through the spaces between other students, patting the back of the same guy I’d seen him exchanging with before. Not wanting to seem like I was spying on him, I ducked into the class before he spotted me watching. Out of the corner of my eye I could see him stop at the door, eyes scanning the room, and it must’ve been spotting me that made him continue to our table and sit across from me.

“Hey, Kyla.” He dropped his backpack on the floor with a smile and brushed his hair out of his eyes so he could see me.

“Hey,” I smiled in return, and thought about something to talk about while I pulled my workbook out of my own backpack. “How was third period?”

“I didn’t go,” he stated confidently while he followed my lead and reached into his bag. After pulling out his book he watched me carefully as he made his next statement. “I only came to chem because I wanted to see you.”

Ah, crap, was my first thought as I looked away awkwardly. I was always flattered when a guy was obviously interested in me, but when I wasn’t interested in return I hated having to feel bad for turning them down. Under the table I crossed my fingers that Jonathan would take my lack of response as the let down. Before things had a chance to grow increasingly awkward, the teacher walked in and began to explain the experiment we’d be doing because it was supposed to be extra difficult. It took about ten minutes, but after that he turned the class loose and Jonathan began grabbing instruments like he’d done the experiment before.

“You’re really good at chemistry, huh?” My question elicited a grin from a proud Jonathan, who began setting up beakers without glancing at the directions.

With a nod he paused to look up at me and answer. “You could say that. I love puzzles, especially ones like chemistry when there are always new things to discover.”

“I see.” I couldn’t see the allure in chemistry that he obviously did, but I admired his passion for it. “I wish I liked it as much as you did, I might actually stop having nightmares about this class.”

“No need for nightmares.” The apparent chemistry genius laughed and shrugged. “Never fear, Jonathan is here.”

I couldn’t help but giggle and throw up my hands in gratitude. “Thank God!”

He shook his head in amusement and continued with the experiment. After a couple minutes of instructing and letting me copy his answers he stopped again, and watched me until I met his gaze.

“So look, I don’t do this a lot,” with the pause my heart instantly dropped and my cheeks grew red. I knew the question that was coming and how awkward things would be after I turned him down. “But I was wondering if you’d want to go out with me Friday night?”

“I’m flattered, Jonathan, really, but um,” my cheeks grew a deeper crimson and I hoped nobody at the tables around us was listening and getting a laugh out of how uncomfortable the situation was. “I’m actually seeing someone already.”

“Oh, you have a boyfriend?” Jonathan said slowly, and when I nodded his eyes fell to the table. A second later he recovered and smiled at me. “Well, if things ever change, I’ll still be here.”

It was hard not to admire how easily he bounced back, and I was definitely grateful that he didn’t seem bitter about it. After that he got up to take his quick ‘bathroom’ break, and once he came back we continued working on the experiment. We finished out the rest of the period as we had before he’d asked me out. While I could still feel his eyes watching me every once in a while, I was relieved that at least now I didn’t have to worry about him pursuing me further.

When the bell for lunch finally rang at the end of the period, I gathered up my stuff and followed behind Jonathan toward the door. Upon exiting I saw him make for the nearest exit, and realized he had been completely serious about only coming to chemistry. I shook my head and smiled pitifully at the lengths teenage boys would go for a girl, and after stopping to spray my favorite perfume on I made my way to the cafeteria, planning to tell Camille about my awkward experience. However, when I reached the cafeteria and had made my way to Camille’s usual table, only Luna and Niko were sitting there.

“Hey guys,” I said and stopped, still standing near the table while their eyes, which had been wandering around the cafeteria, finally landed on me and they smiled. “Where’s Camille?”

Luna swallowed the large amount of food she had in her mouth before answering. “She couldn’t come today. She had some important stuff she had to do in town.”

“Oh.” The disappointment in my voice was obvious, and while I was hoping that Luna and Niko would pick up on it and invite me to sit with them, their eyes returned to searching the lunchroom. For what, I couldn’t be sure. “Okay, see you guys.” They were so distracted they didn’t even seem to hear me as I turned and searched for someone else to sit with.

Sarah could be spotted sitting on the other side of the room with Megan and a couple other girls I’d been introduced to the week before, and so I wistfully made my way over. Nearly every day I had seen Camille, and now that without warning she hadn’t shown up, I couldn’t help but feel severely disappointed. What kind of stuff in town would be so important that she would have to miss school?

All around smiles greeted me as I sat down at the table, but all I could think about was how boring the rest of the day was going to be. All the fun of the day relied on seeing Camille at lunch and during sixth period. Aside from boredom I’d been hoping to ask her about the girl that Megan had mentioned her being with, but that hope was shattered and now I’d have to deal with the curiosity and wait. It seemed like ever since I met Camille I’d been waiting to find things out about her. I supposed I could wait a little longer.

The Pack member, Julian, arrived on Wednesday that same week. He was a tall Native American man, probably the same age as my father if not a year or two older, who was as serious as they came. He and my family went through the routine of patrolling the town the entire week without turning up much of anything. We took shifts day and night, searching out every nook and cranny of Tranquility. I’d been allowed to bring Kyla along on a couple of my daily patrols under the façade that we were simply exploring town.

Niko had been able to follow Jonathan’s scent around the school and figure out a couple of the classes he had, but every route except one hadn’t been used in so long that his trail was almost gone. Good thing about this, the mutts were lying low and hopefully remained inactive for the moment. Bad thing, all werewolves need to Change sometime. Not finding their scent anywhere near town meant that they weren’t staying in town. In fact, they had to be staying quite a ways out of it.

After not finding anything the previous week and going through this week of the same disappointment, when I saw Niko practically running to our table during lunch on Thursday, I started to get excited.

“So,” Niko said grinning, and practically threw his tray of food onto the table and sat down. “I caught scent of our friend. Fresh scent. Like, still in the air fresh. Looks like he’s back from vacation.”

My heart raced with the sudden thrill that we might finally catch the mutts, and Luna and I looked at each other, each equally surprised. “Where at?” Luna asked him, swallowing the huge bite of turkey sandwich she’d been chewing.

“He was going to or from one of his classes I think. I didn’t see him anywhere though, and the halls were so crowded I figured now wasn’t the time to go looking for him.” He opened a bottle of water and gulped down nearly all of it.

I scanned the cafeteria. Werewolves got to eat, and I was hoping our luck was changing and I’d catch sight of him doing just that. Niko could have followed Jonathan’s scent, but our school was a big circle. He could have followed all day and come up with nothing so long as Jonathan was smart enough to cross his scents at the intersecting halls. I desperately searched every face in the lunchroom, but Jonathan’s was nowhere to be found.

Frustrated, I stood up, receiving questioning glances from my siblings. “I’m sick of looking and not having a damn thing to show for it. He’s bound to go to his locker sometime. I’m going to wait for him. Even if it takes a week.”

Both Niko and Luna got up to follow me, but I put my hand on Niko’s shoulder and pushed him back down. “You stay in case he turns up here. Luna will you patrol the upstairs halls? He’s around here somewhere.”

Luna nodded and we exited the cafeteria. When we came to intersecting halls I pointed to the left. “Go that way. Try to stay off the path to his locker so it doesn’t freak him out, and cross your fingers he doesn’t catch my scent on the way there.”

I walked as close to the wall as I could as I made my way to his locker. There was a fresh scent on it, but not fresh enough to convince me that he wouldn’t be back sometime soon, and I’d wait there all day if that was what it took. I leaned my back against the locker and shoved my hands in my pockets. The halls were nearly empty as everyone was off campus or in the cafeteria for lunch. All that I could hear was the distant chatter of everyone in the cafeteria and the ticking of the clock on the wall across from me. I glanced at the time and sighed. Still about thirty minutes left of lunch. Every second that ticked by left me more and more impatient.

A grueling ten minutes passed before I heard faint, lonely footsteps coming down the hall around the corner. I stood as silent as I could as the quiet, light-footed person walked closer. When Jonathan rounded the corner I held back a grin. Success. He came a way I hadn’t taken, and in not smelling my scent he hadn’t yet noticed I was there.

I stood quiet a few moments, letting him get closer before taking my back off his locker and my hands out of my pockets. The movement caught his eye, and after looking up I could see his body tense, preparing for flight. He looked around as his nostrils flared, searching for the sign of any of my family waiting nearby. Finding that I was alone, he smirked and practically strutted over.

I stepped aside as he confidently turned his back to me and opened his locker. Cocky son-of-a-bitch, I thought to myself, insulted that he didn’t feel threatened by me. I clenched my fist, debating whether or not I should knock him out and teach him better than that. But I took a deep, relaxing breath, telling myself that he was screwing with me as he closed his locker and turned around.

“You’re still standing there?” he asked sneeringly. “Why?”

I glared at him and growled quietly, “Why don’t you tell me what you’re doing? You’re obviously not a moron, so you know you shouldn’t be here. But then again, maybe you are just a stupid mutt.”

The smirk disappeared from his face for a brief second before he gained control of his temper and reverted to sarcasm. “I’m just trying to get my high school diploma, but you Pack members are so greedy. Don’t want to share a damn thing with anyone else.”

Frustration burned through me. Not only did his cockiness piss me off, but now he was just provoking me. I glanced around before grabbing the collar of his shirt and throwing him against the locker, pressing myself closer than I’d have liked in order to use all my strength to hold him there. “I’m sick of playing games Jonathan. What are you doing here?”

“What am I doing here?” he repeated, smirking as he eyed me. “Well, I will tell you this. The plan was to take you.” As he said ‘you’ he tapped my chin teasingly, and my heart dropped as I pulled my face away. They wanted to kidnap me? “The loner. The sexy little werewolf that it might’ve taken them days to notice was even missing. We could’ve had such fun.” He growled the last part suggestively and his nostrils flared again, drinking in my scent. I could smell, and to my disgust, feel him getting turned on from the tension. Sick bastard.

The angrier I got, the more I had to breathe and suppress the growing need to Phase. This is what I’d spent so much of my childhood practicing. Controlling the wolf when it was the hardest, but the way Jonathan provoked me made it extremely difficult. Deciding provoking him in return would be a calming satisfaction I raised an eyebrow and smirked semi-suggestively, as if I liked his idea, before kneeing him as hard as I could in the groin.

Blood rushed to his face as he buckled over and groaned from the pain. “You stupid bitch!”

“Oh, I’m sorry,” I whined mockingly and smiled, as seeing him in pain succeeded in reducing the tingling in my fingertips. “Did I ruin the fun?” Again I grabbed his shirt and pulled him up. “Why are you turning so many people?”

He opened his mouth, and his eyes glittered. “We’re hardly having fun. Yet.” He barely managed to sound sarcastic as he wheezed through the pain, but after another deep breath he seemed to recover, grinning at me evilly. “Don’t you want to know if I’m planning on taking you anymore?” I gritted my teeth, trying not to let the building sense of fear get to me. Jonathan didn’t seem to care that I had him pinned. Didn’t seem to feel threatened.

“I’m undecided, see, because you aren’t such a loner anymore,” he continued when he decided I wasn’t going to answer. “Some girl came along. You know the one? Cute brunette, southern accent.” My fist tightened around his collar, and when I glared at him he just smiled. “The first time I saw you with her I figured, hey, the loner’s just being nice to the new girl. But then I saw the way you looked at her.”

He studied me after that, but whether he was looking for a reaction at his knowing my feelings or for surprise that he’d been watching me, I couldn’t be sure. “Once I saw how you looked at her I just had to see for myself what was so appealing about that fucking human. So I went to her place.”

“Answer my question asshole.” I glared at him now. I didn’t want him talking about Kyla. Didn’t want him thinking he could use her to get to me. “Why are you turning people?”

“I think I know what it is now,” he said, ignoring my demand as he continued with his explanation. “She’s got the laugh of an angel. Right?” I pursed my lips, clenching my fist even more so I wouldn’t beat the shit out of him. Then he leaned in closer to my ear, the smile clear in his voice. “I’ve ruined a few angels, you know.”

I nearly snarled as I pulled my fist back, but before I could send it flying at his face I froze. The heavenly scent that I adored made its way to my nose, and I didn’t have to turn my head to know that Kyla was standing there, confused and probably horrified. So I stood there, panicked and frozen solid.

“Speak of the devil.” Jonathan laughed amusedly at my panic-riddled face and leaned closer to me again so Kyla couldn’t hear. “If you want, I wouldn’t mind giving her a little nibble. Be a shame to leave her in such a delicate state.”

My grip tightened further as I white-knuckled his shirt collar, growling through my teeth. “You’re not going to touch her.”

He chuckled an evil laugh as I stood there for another second, torn. I couldn’t let him out of my sight because I knew he’d run, but I could feel the terrified gaze that fell on my back, and I knew Kyla would want an explanation. Or what if she tried to break Jonathan and me up and got hurt?

Releasing my grip on Jonathan’s shirt, I turned and stepped back so I could see Kyla and at the same time keep Jonathan in my line of sight. “Kyla.” There were no words I could think to say. So… I’m a werewolf and this guy’s evil? That would scare her even more.

Kyla stood there, wide-eyed and just as frozen as I had been. “Camille, what’s Jonathan–”

Instant pain shot through my jaw as Jonathan’s fist connected with my mouth. I hit the floor face down, the harsh, coppery taste of blood saturating my tongue.

“Oh my god!” Kyla rushed over and lightly shook my shoulders. “Camille. Camille.”

I pushed myself onto my elbows, my forehead still resting against the cold floor, willing away the pain. A couple seconds later, once the shock had worn off and my head stopped spinning, I jumped up.

“Where’d he go?” I asked angrily.

Kyla jumped, startled at the sharp tone of the question and shrugged as she looked around. I groaned in pure frustration and threw my fist at Jonathan’s locker, denting it beyond further use. I felt hot blood snaking its way from the cut in my lip and wiped it off with the back of my hand. My mind was racing. Jonathan. Kyla had said his name.

“Wait, do you know him?” I asked, but she just stared at the busted in locker in shock. With a sigh, I reminded myself that she was confused and probably scared, and softened my tone, lightly resting my hand on her shoulder. “Kyla, do you know him?”

She looked at me, staring for a moment before she grew angry and pulled away. “Yes I know him. Camille what on earth is going on? First you’ve got him in a vice grip against the locker and then he right hooks you? What… I… Who does that?”

Taking a deep breath I tried to calm the itching that my frustration had brought back. I stepped closer to Kyla, who flinched at the movement. Horror hit the pit of my stomach at the thought that she could be afraid of me.

“Kyla,” I raised my arm, about to gently lift the frightened girl’s chin, but dropped it as I changed my mind. “How do you know him?”

She scoffed and shook her head as if warding off a dream. “You don’t think you should explain first?” Her attitude caused my frustration to burn again. I should have chased after Jonathan, but I was more worried about what Kyla would think.

“I–” I started angrily and then paused, softening my confrontational tone so as not to anger Kyla. The last thing I needed was for this to turn into an argument. I wanted to explain, more than anything I wanted her to know and accept the real me. “I can’t do that.” I lowered my head shamefully.

It was clear that neither of us knew what to say. Kyla stood there in deep thought, obviously still stunned, before she nodded and turned to walk away. Panic started to grow again in me. Everything I felt about that amazing girl screamed at me not to let her walk away.

“Kyla, wait.” She turned, walked back to me, and raised her eyebrow expectantly. “Do you trust me?”

Her eyebrows furrowed thoughtfully. She glanced from me to the dented locker, and back to me, before she tentatively nodded. “Yeah.”

I smiled as innocently as I could and motioned for her to follow me. On our way to the car I took the phone out of my pocket and called Luna and Niko, telling them to meet us there. As we exited the school I expected Kyla to protest leaving during the middle of the day, but the girl said nothing.

“Oh, hey Kyla,” Luna said as we all reached the car, passing a questioning glance in my direction and eyes widening when she saw my lip.

“Looks like you found her,” Niko told Kyla without looking up from moving things out of the back seat to make room for the extra person.

I rolled my eyes, annoyed, and smacked my brother on the side of the head. He was lucky I didn’t deck him. “Do you have a brain tumor or something? What the hell’s wrong with you? You knew where I was and you sent her after me?” I pointed to Kyla. “You want to know who else we found?”

“Ah shit,” Niko muttered under his breath, finally looking up and noticing my lip. “Um,” he glanced at Kyla awkwardly, unable to find anything to say, just as I had failed minutes before.

“Just get in the car.” I shook my head angrily.

I carefully helped Kyla into the car, but before I could slide in next to her Luna ushered me to the side. “What are you doing?” she asked, raising an eyebrow at me questioningly, though we both knew there was only one reason I’d be bringing Kyla with us. To tell her the truth.

“I don’t know,” I groaned, knocking my forehead against the tree we stood behind. “Who the hell am I to gamble with her life like this?” I asked, mostly to myself, refusing to look at Luna so she wouldn’t see the shame in my eyes. “What right do I have?”

She was quiet for a thoughtful minute, and when she spoke her voice was sympathetic. “Just let her go then. Tell her you’re sorry and you wish things could be different.” When I didn’t respond after a few seconds she added, “It’s not too late.”

“It is for me,” I told her, wiping away a single tear that filled my eye. My world would never be the same if I let Kyla walk away.

Luna sighed. “It’s selfish.” I could tell by the look in her eyes that even though she was playing the devil’s advocate, she wasn’t happy about hurting me. And I knew no matter how she felt about it, when the time came she’d back me up.

“He knows what she means to me,” I sniffled, crossing my arms over my chest while I leaned back against the tree. Luna raised a confused eyebrow at me. “Jonathan knows how I feel about her. I don’t think she’s safe anymore. He’ll kill her.”

“And if she reacts badly to you telling her we’re all werewolves?” Luna asked knowingly, her tone cautious. Like she was trying not to infuriate me. “The Pack will kill her.” I groaned again and dug the heels of my hands into my eyes, wishing this was all just a bad dream. Wishing the decision was easier. “Then you wouldn’t be able to protect her.”

I took a deep breath, refusing to look Luna in the eyes. “I could die trying.”

Everything was quiet for what seemed like minutes, until I glanced up, my sister staring at me in what looked like shock. “You’d do that for her?” I looked away again and nodded. “I don’t like it.”

“I know,” I sighed.

Instead of a response, I could hear Luna’s footsteps pick back up toward the jeep. After another deep breath I followed, jumping into the back seat with Kyla. Before pulling out of the parking spot, Niko turned around.

“I’m with Luna,” he offered as placatingly as he could.

“I didn’t ask you,” I grumbled moodily, and he just rolled his eyes and turned back around.

Kyla sat there the entire drive, painfully quiet, and in the silence I could hear her heart still pounding. This was it. This was the end. She was afraid of me, and if she was allowed to know the secret she would never want to see me again. Absentmindedly licking my lips, I was reminded of the cut as a sharp stinging shot through my bottom lip. She saw Jonathan hit me. She’d have to believe that he was the bad guy. Right?

Head facing forward I moved my eyes to look at Kyla, who sat staring out the window. The last thing I wanted was for her to reject me, but in our situation the only chance I had of Kyla trusting me, the only chance of protecting her, was to tell her the truth. Was I right to make that gamble? My dad’s words echoed in my mind. Listen to your head, and not your hormones. Was I making the right decision? Was I even being rational? It didn’t matter. I couldn’t live with what-ifs. I’d never be able to let it go. Let her go.

When we arrived at the house I led Kyla to the living room couch. “Can you wait here for one minute? I promise I’ll be right back.” She looked around the room nervously before giving a timid nod. With that I quickly made my way to my dad’s office. “Dad, Kyla has to know,” I told him bluntly as me and Luna barged into his study.

He chuckled nervously and cleared his throat. I blushed when I noticed Julian who, seemingly intrigued by my statement, had crossed his arms over his chest. “Absolutely not,” my dad told me, and when I didn’t leave he sighed. “Why does she need to know?”

“Well I saw Jonathan Symons at school today. Kyla saw us and she saw him almost knock me out.” I pointed to my bloodied lip. “Not only that, she knows him. I think they have a class together. She could help us.” My stomach was churning with anxiety, so I sat down in the armchair in front of his desk as I explained.

I knew he understood my situation, but with Julian there he had to try to convince me otherwise. “Camille, you know as well as any of us that people can’t know for a reason. Humans aren’t meant for that burden. Think about Kyla. This is a dangerous world, if she knew about you then that would make her a part of it,” he told me, hoping that it would end the discussion.

But I wasn’t done that easily, and with the guilt card of her being in danger, I knew it wouldn’t take much more pushing. “She’s already a part of it. He nearly knocked me out today and she saw it,” I reminded him again. “Dad, he threatened to Change her. I can’t let that happen, but I can’t protect her twenty-four seven. She needs to be aware of it. And like I said, we could use all the help we can get.”

His expression softened as he sympathized with my worry, but it was clear he couldn’t say that it was okay with the Alpha’s representative standing in the room. He opened his mouth, but closed it as he tried to think of what to say.

Julian uncrossed his arms and stepped forward. “Do you trust her?”

I looked up. The simplicity and shortness of his question surprised me. He hadn’t said much since he’d arrived. It appeared that he was here more to observe and help out where he was needed.

I nodded, the intensity of his stare causing me to look away shyly. “Yes sir, I do.”

He looked at Luna expectantly, waiting for her to answer the question as well. It took her a few seconds to realize it before she sighed, and for a moment I was almost afraid of her answer. “Well, I don’t know her as well as Camille, sir, but I know my sister. If Camille has that kind of faith in her, I’d trust her with my life.”

Julian tapped his chin thoughtfully. “A human could be useful. An unexpected ally if you will. But it’s risky. If she doesn’t take well to this…” He crossed his arms again and studied first me, and then Luna with his intense brown eyes. “Well, let’s hope for the best.” I should’ve been happy he was giving the okay, but now I felt like I was going to puke. “Try to go about this as gently as you can,” Julian reminded me.

“Okay, um, thank you.” I left the room, followed by Luna. I almost couldn’t believe how easily I’d been given consent. It was suddenly more nerve-wracking than I could have ever imagined. An anxious sweat moistened the palms of my hands, and I almost felt lightheaded. This was the moment that could change my life, and it was happening too fast.

“She’s got to see we aren’t dangerous first,” I said thoughtfully to myself, and then studiously looked at my sister. “Can you help me out?”

Luna was quiet for a moment, like she was trying to remind me that she wasn’t crazy about this idea. Then she nodded. “I’ll wait outside for you guys.”

I smiled my thanks. I figured that since Luna was the smallest of us, it would be the least shocking for Kyla to see her in wolf form first. As I made my way to the living room, I started to grow even more nervous. I wanted to be able to be honest with Kyla, but what if she freaked? I couldn’t bear thinking about the consequences. My hands got increasingly cold and clammy even without thinking about it, and the seemingly endless pit in my stomach grew.

Kyla was still sitting on the couch when I reached the living room. I sat down next to her and sighed, mustering up the nerve to say something. “Okay, I promise I’ll explain everything. But first, you trust me, and you know I would never do anything to hurt you, right?” Kyla nodded, the corner of her mouth turned down in worry at what I was about to say. “I want you to know that I trust you, and what I’m about to show you, you can’t tell anyone. Ever. I am literally about to trust you with my life, Kyla. I need you to tell me you can handle it.”

I sat there in what seemed like minutes of silence as Kyla stared at her hands in her lap and thought about it. It was killing me, but at least I could be sure she was grasping the severity of the situation. When she was ready she looked me in the eyes and smiled. “Give it your best shot.”

I couldn’t help but scoff in shock at her response, but I wasn’t about to try and talk her out of it. So I stood up and nodded my head toward the front door. “Come on, and uh, brace yourself.”

I led the way out the door, followed closely by Kyla. We wandered around the side of the house to where Luna was waiting for us.

“Is that a wolf?” Kyla stopped walking the second she saw the large canine laying beside the house, and the pit in my stomach started deepening again.

“It’s okay.” I gently grabbed her hand and slowly urged her toward Luna, who had gotten up to sit on her haunches. When we stood within an arm’s length of the wolf I dropped Kyla’s hand and lifted my own to rub the top of its head.

“But it’s huge,” was all Kyla managed to say about the wolf, which easily reached the height of her chin.

I waited patiently for a couple minutes while Kyla studied the wolf over, watching me rub its head. Finally she mustered the courage to hold her hand out palm up, which the wolf gently nudged with its wet nose, letting her know that it was okay for her to touch it. She giggled and wiped the palm of her hand off on her jeans. I was amused at how dog-like the interaction was between her and my sister. Getting more comfortable, seeing that the wolf wasn’t menacing, a small smile spread on Kyla’s face and she carefully ran her fingers through the long white fur on the side of the wolf’s neck.

“Kyla,” I started nervously, my eyes darting from Kyla to the wolf. “Um, well, you already know Luna.”

Kyla’s forehead creased in confusion as she struggled to figure out what Luna had to do with this. I watched her eyes meet Luna’s, and then her jaw dropped in recognition. She pointed to the huge white figure still looming in front of us. “Th-the wolf?” she stuttered in disbelief.

“Yeah um, Luna’s a werewolf. My whole family sort of are.” I watched her face twist in an expression I had never seen before. The mixture of what looked like fear and doubt caused my stomach to lurch in fear that the worst was about to happen.

After a couple minutes of mind numbing silence while Kyla wrapped her head around it, the disconcerting expression disappeared and she looked to me. “So you?”

“Turn into a wolf,” I confirmed cautiously, nodding my head.

She nodded in what seemed like understanding. Another long minute of silence as she mindlessly continued to run her hands through Luna’s fur. “Was it really a wolf in the orange fields?”

“The first night you got here, that was me.” I laughed nervously at the confession.

Kyla smiled and punched me in the arm. “You scared the crap out of me that night!”

I stammered and looked from Kyla to Luna, searching for a response, but I was shocked at the sudden playfulness Kyla had achieved. “You’re not freaked?”

Her smile disappeared as she regained her thoughtful expression. “Well, I sort of already thought. But I didn’t think,” she stopped, still in disbelief and waited for me to nod in encouragement. “It’s kind of like when I found out you’re gay. It shouldn’t really change anything right?”

Luna chuckled a wolfish laugh and I couldn’t help but giggle myself, but a moment later my expression grew somber. “Kyla, this actually isn’t like that. This is a dangerous secret. You’re not as safe because of this, and because of what you saw at the school.”

“Jonathan?” she asked understandingly, to which I nodded. “Yeah, your lip is busted.” I wasn’t sure if Kyla had brought it up to avoid more talk about how dangerous this was, but I wouldn’t be surprised considering that it was a lot to take in. “I can clean it for you, if you want.”

I grinned, and when again the action stretched and burned at the cut in my lip, I nodded gratefully. Then I thanked Luna and turned to lead Kyla into the house.

Once we reached the kitchen I grabbed a dishtowel and sat on the table across from the sink. Kyla wetted the towel under the faucet and looked to where I was sitting, trying to figure out the best way to go about tending my wounds. Then she made her way to stand in front of me as I sat at the edge of the table, me nearly straddling her so she could get close enough to clean my lip.

“No cuts on your hands right?” I asked before she touched my lip, not bothering to go through the hassle of ‘looking for dirt’.

“No, why?” Kyla asked, looking down at her hands curiously.

I shook my head, and not wanting to scare her about touching me, simply said, “Nothing.”

“So, Jonathan?” Kyla prodded, and she gently began to wipe blood from around the cut. I held out my hand so she could wipe the excess blood off the back of it and then let the girl continue on my lip.

“Mhm. He’s a werewolf too.” I stopped, and when Kyla didn’t look surprised continued, “He’s here with his dad and this other guy, all werewolves, and they’ve been kidnapping other werewolves, like my family, and then turning normal people like you into werewolves. Except not really people like you because all the people they’re turning are criminals.” Kyla made an alarmed face but didn’t say anything, so I finished my short explanation. “And until today we hadn’t been able to find them anywhere. Which is why, and I apologize, I got so frustrated after he got away.”

Turning back to the sink to rinse and wet the towel again Kyla nodded. “Apology accepted.” She returned to her place in front of me and cleaned the last bit of blood from the wound. “Is that what I’ve been seeing outside my house?”

I nodded. “Jonathan’s been keeping an eye on you.” Kyla’s eyebrows scrunched in confusion, so before she could ask I explained. “I’ve always been a bit of a lone wolf,” the corners of her lips turned up in an amused smile at the literal sense of the term. “When I started hanging out with you, he wanted to see what was so special.”

The moment I said the word ‘special’ Kyla’s eyes met mine for a brief second before she looked away. If I didn’t know any better, I’d say there was even the tiniest hint of a blush reddening her cheeks. She didn’t say anything though, just nodded, and a silence grew between us as she finished and set the towel on the table.

Still without speaking or moving she thoroughly studied my face, green eyes running over every inch, stopping the longest at my mouth. I knew she was probably studying me for any resemblance of a wolf in my human face, but the proximity and the way she stared caused my stomach to flutter and my heartbeat to pick up. There was something I liked about the way Kyla looked at me, and the smell of her sweet breath filled my senses, making me feel almost too weak to sit up any longer.

“That jerk,” she lifted a hand and lightly caressed my bottom lip with her thumb, “He ruined a perfectly good lip.”

That’s when the itching started in the tips of my fingers, so I joked to get my mind off the way she was looking at me. The way she was touching me. “Hey, it’s not ruined.” I made a pouting face and then puckered my lips playfully. “Still perfectly good for kissing.”

“Maybe when you don’t have a nasty cut on your face.” Kyla laughed and pushed my face in the opposite direction, teasingly declining the invitation. Hey, she didn’t say never.

“Uh-hum.” My dad cleared his throat from the doorway of the kitchen, Julian standing at his side.

Startled, Kyla stepped back from me, and I jumped off the table and greeted my father embarrassedly. “Hi, um, she was cleaning my lip. Jonathan, you know, sucker punch,” was all I could sputter out as I gently tapped my closed fist against my chin in a skittish re-enactment.

I saw a small smile crack Julian’s eternally hard cased expression, and felt a little eased knowing he found amusement in my embarrassment. “Is this Kyla?” he asked stepping past my father into the kitchen to shake her hand.

“Yes sir.” I nodded as Kyla reached out and took Julian’s hand, but it was clear on her face that the dynamic of his obvious authority confused her. “Kyla this is Julian. He’s here to make sure that everything goes smoothly, with finding Jonathan and stuff.”

Julian let go of her hand and sat down at the table. “Camille tells me she thinks you have a class with Jonathan Symons?”

Kyla timidly folded her hands in front of her, unsure of herself under that intense gaze. “Yeah, I have chemistry with him, he’s my lab partner,” she told him, promptly adding a ‘sir’ at the end of her sentence as I had done.

“Chemistry,” Julian repeated to himself, and motioned for her and me to sit. “How is he at chemistry?”

We both took a seat while Kyla thought of her response. “He doesn’t come to class a whole lot. But it seems like he’s sort of a genius.”

I sat there silently as Julian questioned Kyla and gained an idea of her usefulness. I looked to my father, who remained standing in the doorway and smiled at me fondly when I glanced at him. I knew him well enough that I could see the relief on his face, which certainly matched the relief I felt. As Julian explained what not to do, such as going out alone at night, I studied Kyla’s expressions. She appeared to be taking everything extremely well, and I didn’t know whether that should make me happy I’d be keeping my friend or frightened that she was okay with being in danger.

“And it’s to my understanding that Jonathan made a threat against your humanity.” Julian finished his sentence, making me wince at what I was hoping was something Kyla wouldn’t need to know.

Kyla looked at me questioningly. “Humanity?”

“He threatened to Change you,” Julian answered, spelling it out for Kyla, whose face went white with fear after the few moments it took her to figure it out. He started talking again, more so to himself than us as he tried to work out the situation. “While you being a werewolf would be safer for all of us, you are human. As a friend you need to be protected when you can’t be here. I don’t have the resources to have your house guarded. Camille, on your non-patrol nights you’ll stay with Kyla at her house, and keep her safe.” I nodded and Julian looked at Kyla. “Now Kyla, you get closer than any of us to him on a regular basis. I need you to do what you can to find out anything you can. Hint at subtle questions, and find out what his strengths and weaknesses are. Search his backpack for clues if you have to. Right now we don’t have much to go on, so we’ll take what we can get.”

Kyla nodded soberly as she soaked up all the new information she was being given. I felt slightly guilty that this was hardly half of it. There was so much more to my world that she had no idea about. I also couldn’t help but feel pleased that because of this I would get to spend more time with her. Julian left the kitchen and my father lingered in the doorway in deep thought for a few seconds before turning and following him.

Then I turned to Kyla, who sighed heavily. “It’s a lot to take in, I know,” I told her sympathetically.

Kyla leaned forward and rested her head in the palm of her hand. “Yeah it is. How’d I go in the matter of an hour from being a normal girl to Kyla: werewolf hunter?”

“Well, Slayer,” I laughed; still amazed she was taking it so well. “How does it feel living life on the edge?”

Leaning back in the chair she raised her arms and stretched. “I guess it’s alright. And it won’t be too bad, right? You’ll be with me a lot, so that’s good.” She looked me over, again studying my face and busted lip longer than usual. “How long until the cut’s healed?”

“Probably a couple days,” I told her honestly.

Kyla grabbed my arm and leaned in closer to get a good look at the scar as she rubbed it gently with her fingers. “And the one on your arm? How long did this one take?”

I looked at the faded scar. “About four or five days.” I held my arm steady as she ran her fingers along the scar, making sure for herself it wasn’t an illusion.

“Looking back on it now, anyone else probably would’ve needed stitches.” Kyla sat back and studied me again. “How does it work?”

“Which part?” I asked, suddenly growing shy from being so thoroughly examined.

“All of it.” Kyla didn’t stop watching me. It was like she expected me to Change right before her eyes.

“Well there are some things that make sense, and some that don’t. The fast healing for example, I don’t know where that comes from. And Changing, well when you’re born with werewolf parents like me, the genes don’t kick in until you hit puberty, but when you’re bitten, it’s immediate, no matter what age you are.” I went silent, not knowing what else Kyla wanted explained.

“How does Changing work? Does it take a long time, or is it fast?” she asked enthusiastically. “And what does it feel like?”

“It’s fast I guess, and I don’t know how you control it. You just do, but emotions can set it off. If I get too angry and lose control, I’ll Change. If I get scared, it’s defensive and I’ll Change. If I get too worked up, and don’t do anything about it, I’ll need to Change.” I said the last part before I could stop myself, but managed to speak quietly in hopes Kyla didn’t hear and notice I was blushing. She smirked, clearly amused, but didn’t make any comments so I continued. “When you first start to Change, it’s agonizing. I would have rather broken every bone in my body than done it, but you can’t stop it. You can put it off for a while, but it will always happen no matter what, and it still hurts after your body adjusts to it, but not as much. You kind of get used to it, like getting a lot of tattoos from what I’ve heard.”

“What about a full moon?” she asked, leaning forward with interest.

I couldn’t help but laugh. Of course she’d ask. “We don’t have to Change on a full moon, but the urge is stronger on those nights. So most of us do.”

Kyla nodded, she seemed to understand as best she could, but no one could understand fully without going through it. “Who’s Julian? He seems important.”

“You could say he’s pretty important,” I told her with a nod. “There’s a group of wolves called the Pack. They’re kind of like the government. If you’re not a member of the Pack you’re considered a mutt, like Jonathan.” I touched the cut on my lip bitterly. “Julian is a part of the Pack. The Alpha, who’s like the president, can’t be here so Julian is here to speak and act for him.”

“What about you guys? Are you mutts?” Kyla asked, clearly disgusted that my family could be compared to Jonathan.

“Well no, not really. My dad used to be like the Vice President, and Michael and Sky still do work for the Alpha. So even though we don’t associate with them on a regular basis, I guess we’re still part of the family. It’s confusing.” I laughed at the fact that even I didn’t have a clue exactly what to call myself. “I have no idea, but this is the reason my dad left. So that none of us would be in danger because of situations like this. It’s a dangerous world though, I guess there’s no escaping it.”

Kyla chewed the inside of her lip as she seemed to consider for the first time the gravity of what she’d gotten herself in to. “Oh crap!” I jumped at the exclamation, worried that now she was starting to react the way she should. “You made me ditch fifth and sixth period. I’ve got to get home and answer the phone call before my parents do.” She stood up and headed for the door, waving at me to hurry up.

Chuckling, I ran to get the keys from Niko and met Kyla at the car. She jumped in and speedily buckled her seatbelt. “My car is still at the school so you can take me there.”

I nodded and turned up the radio. It felt good to have someone besides my family know the real me. Out of the corner of my eye I watched Kyla bask in the breeze that flowed through the open window. The way I was driving it didn’t take long for us to get to the school, and I followed her directions to where she’d parked her car and dropped her off.

“Hey, I don’t have patrol tonight so I’ll come over a little later,” I told her out the window.

She stood there and smiled for a minute, like she was thinking of something, and then waved. “See you later.”

I drove away wishing I could know what she was thinking. Wished I knew why she was so okay with me being a werewolf. So okay with being the one to clean my cuts and go through the bad guys’ backpacks. I sighed, today could have gone a whole lot worse, but so far it was going pretty well, considering.

The dogs barking outside my window caused me to flinch, harshly pulling me out of deep thought as I lay on my bed. There was no single word to describe what I felt when I found out Camille really was a werewolf. Shocked? Scared? Calm? Confused? I’d known there was something different about her and already had my suspicions, so I wasn’t as surprised as I could have been. Even though I thought about it, never in a million years did I truly expect it was possible Camille was actually a werewolf. Not only was it possible, it was true – and yeah, I was scared.

Of Camille? Maybe when she practically knocked Jonathan’s locker off the wall. At that moment I’d been scared of her. I had never seen her angry. To me, Camille was the rescuer. The one who caught me when I fell and carried me to bed when I got sick, but it had always been obvious to me the mystery about her was a dangerous one. I could see it in the girl’s eyes every time I looked into them. So, surprised as I was with discovering the truth, I couldn’t avoid the sense of serenity that came with the confirmation of what deep down, I already knew.

Albeit, I couldn’t help but be concerned for my ‘humanity’, as Julian had put it. Jonathan had punched Camille without a second thought, a hit that probably would have knocked me out cold. Regardless, even though I wished the circumstances were different, I knew I still would have wanted to be told. Since I’d met Camille the mystery had plagued me. Now I wouldn’t trade it for anything. Besides, I couldn’t help but admit that I was growing a little fond of being able to tend to her battle wounds, to be needed by someone so extraordinary. Someone so special.

“Kyla!” my mom yelled up at me. I made my way down the stairs and into the kitchen to find Camille waiting for me. My mom discreetly eyed the blonde’s backpack and pulled me aside before I could greet her. “Is she staying the night?”

I mentally kicked myself for forgetting to tell her that Camille was coming over, and struggled to think of an excuse. “Sorry, I forgot to tell you. Her parents are out of town, so she’s going to stay here so I can take her to school tomorrow.” I ended the sentence on a higher note, indicating that I was asking my mom rather than telling her.

She sighed. “That’s fine.” I smiled and turned to leave, but she put her hand on my arm to stop me. “In the future, tell me before she gets here.”

“Sorry. Thanks.” I apologized again and pranced to the kitchen to greet Camille happily. “Hello.”

The smile that spread across Camille’s face was oddly contagious and I grinned back. My mom returned to her place at the stove as she finished cooking dinner and tried to make small talk with us. “Camille, I noticed that cut on your lip. What happened?”

Camille glanced nervously at me, and then turned her gaze to the floor. “Oh, um, a cabinet door was open in the kitchen and I wasn’t paying attention.”

My mom winced. “That sounds painful. The perks of being tall I guess,” she said sarcastically and then changed the subject. “You got here in time for dinner, I’ll call you girls down in a little bit.”

“Nice cover,” I whispered as I led Camille up the stairs. When we reached my room I took her bag and tossed it in the corner. “How is your lip feeling?” I stretched out on the bed while Camille sat in the chair at my desk.

“It’s great, thanks to Dr. Walters.” She smiled, running her fingers over the cut. “And how are you doing with the whole thing?”

“I’m okay with it.” I told her, and when I saw a small wave of relief wash over Camille’s face a slight guilt panged me.

It never occurred to me before now how scary it could have been for Camille to lay out her secret on a silver platter. I was glad she trusted me with something so huge. Especially because it made her so obviously happy, as shown by the way she enthusiastically swiveled in the rotating chair. I knew she had never had any real friends outside of her family, and I was glad I could be that person.

“I won’t stop being okay with it, Cami. You can trust me,” I told her reassuringly.

Camille stopped spinning back and forth and picked up the guitar sitting next to the desk to pick at the strings. “It’s not that I don’t trust you. I wouldn’t have told you if I didn’t trust you. I was just afraid that, I don’t know, you wouldn’t understand it. That you’d be afraid.”

I nodded in understanding, “I’m honestly not scared. The whole thing kind of makes you even more special.” As I finished my sentence, Camille’s eyes met my own.

Those warm brown spheres bored into me with what felt like a deep curiosity. It was strange to me that it was Camille who was giving off the curious vibe. I was the one who had all the questions. I watched her for a few seconds, wondering if there was something she wanted to say or ask. Then her cheeks tinted the tiniest bit, and she looked down to play with the guitar again. Even though she’d looked away, I couldn’t stop staring at her. Of all the things I wanted to know about her being a werewolf, about her life and the things with the mutts, my biggest question was why me?

Camille stopped picking at the instrument and glanced up to hold it in my direction. “Play something for me?”

I hesitated at first, and then with a shy chuckle I reached out, took the instrument and sat for a moment, deciding what I wanted to play. I grinned as I came to a decision and started strumming. For the next few minutes I played one of my favorite songs, singing along quietly. Once I finished I looked up to find Camille gawking at me. Blood rushed to my cheeks as I blushed and covered my face with my hands.

“You’re fantastic,” Camille grinned. I peeked out through my fingers and shook my head. “No, it’s true! You’re really good.”

I blushed even more, and my cheeks were flaming. “Thanks. I do what I can.”

Camille asked to hear another song, and it took a bit of pleading before I started strumming again, but then I sat and played until my mom called us down for dinner. When we got downstairs we were the only two that sat at the table, since my mom was still rounding up everyone else. As she set a basket of bread rolls down I noticed that she had put out the nice silverware, since we had a guest. Gold-rimmed plates sat on top of maroon place settings, complete with crystal glasses and my mom’s expensive silver utensils.

Out of the corner of my eye I saw Camille pick up a fork, and I turned to watch out of curiosity. After a moment of holding it she set it back down and furiously rubbed her hand on her jeans. “Are these real silver?”

I nodded, and Camille looked at me expectantly. It took me a little too long to put the pieces together, but when I figured it out I laughed in disbelief. “Are you serious?” Camille nodded, a slight red hue tinting her cheeks. “Okay, I’ll be right back.”

I grabbed Camille’s eating utensils and carried them to the kitchen, smiling to my dad and brothers as they entered the dining room. I chuckled as I returned the fork and knife to the drawer and grabbed the everyday, non-silver ones next to them. So werewolves were really allergic to silver? That was unexpected. Upon returning to the dining table I discreetly set them in front of Camille so as not to draw attention, and then sat down across from her while Rob said grace.

Once he finished his prayer we all took food from the plates we passed around the table. Aside from my Uncle Rob, my family hadn’t spent any time with Camille. So the whole meal consisted of them asking her questions about family, how many children her parents had, where they went to school, what they did for a living. It was strange for me that werewolves had conventional answers to the questions I considered average and a little boring. But I didn’t mind my family asking Camille too many questions. It did give me a chance to study her as she sat at the opposite side of the table. Memorizing every laugh line, every feature, and every move. Wondering how much of each of these were influenced by the wolf.

Knowing Camille’s secret not only drew me closer in knowing I was trusted, but it made me feel needed. Now I could do something for her, be it keeping her secret or getting information about Jonathan. Since I’d met the mysterious blonde, I’d wanted to know her on a level that no one else did, and I was making more progress than I thought possible. No matter where I looked as I studied the werewolf, I was pulled back to the cut on her lip. The only thing that corrupted those flawless, silk-soft lips. But even then it just gave her more edge, adding to the provocative mystique that was and ever would be Camille.

As Camille was answering another question she glanced at me, and at being caught staring I looked away, purely embarrassed. I sat silent for the rest of dinner, doing my best to look at everyone around the table instead of only at Camille. At the end of the meal everyone dispersed, and after my mom declined Camille’s polite offer of helping with the dishes we made our way back up the stairs to my room.

“I’m so full,” I groaned, patting my stomach and pulling my pajamas out of the dresser.

Camille laughed while she searched her bag for her own. I had already changed by the time she pulled her pajamas out, so I sat on the bed waiting for her to change. I picked at my guitar while she stripped within sights of my peripheral vision, and after a quick and involuntary upward glance I was stuck staring at her long torso and perfectly defined abs.

Again Camille caught me gaping and raised an eyebrow, laughing as she teased. “Like what you see?”

I almost smacked myself for doing it again. “You just have perfect muscle tone. It’s like strength without the gross body builder effect. Is it a werewolf thing?”

“Um, yeah I guess so. We just have really fast metabolisms.” Camille laughed awkwardly, and as she twisted to pull her shirt on my eyes were drawn to a long scar across her ribs.

“What’s that from?” I asked, leaning forward and stopping Camille’s hand from pulling her shirt down so I could point to the scar.

She stretched to look, and then finished putting her shirt on and sat across from me on the bed. “Nothing too exciting. When I first started Changing, into a werewolf, I lost control of it one time and Phased inside the house. I was in so much pain I didn’t feel it when I crashed into a glass cabinet and cut my side open.”

I winced at the thought of how much that should have hurt. “And all these little ones?” I asked, running a finger over the barely visible scars that decorated Camille’s arm.

It was quiet for a minute, and when I looked up Camille was watching me. Then she cleared her throat, glancing down at the scars on her arm so she could answer. “Those are just bite marks from play fighting, and maybe a couple from real fighting,” she told me, turning her arm to look at the back of it.

“With your brothers and sisters?” I asked, astounded, to which Camille nodded. “Isn’t that dangerous, fighting with them? I mean, with those big teeth?”

She laughed at the seriousness of my tone. “No, it’s not really a big deal. We’ve all got thick fur. That stops most bites from breaking skin.”

Running my fingers over Camille’s tattoo, I read the words to myself thoughtfully. “In spirit and truth. Is it really different? The way you think or react to things?”

When I looked up she was watching me again, and quickly looked away at being caught. Maybe I should stop touching her so much. I just got so curious sometimes that it didn’t cross my mind that she might not like it.

Camille gently pulled at her lip, poking at the cut on it while she thought about how to answer. “Well, instincts are a hard thing to control, they aren’t meant to be. So basic emotions and reactions, they’re very simple. It’s run or don’t run. Fight or don’t fight. Dominate or submit. Love or hate. The thing that’s hardest about it is having to adjust all of it to human standards.”

“For example?” I stretched my legs out next to her and leaned back on my hands, that way I wouldn’t be tempted to touch her again.

“Um, jealousy. It’s a simple human emotion. You want what someone else has. But to any animal, it’s territorial. Most things are never really yours unless you can defend it, so you fight for it, most the time to the death. But if I’m jealous of that guy’s cool cell phone I can’t go kick his ass just so I can have it. There are consequences in society that instincts have no interest in. So it’s confusing, and tiring, and all about self-control.”

I nodded thoughtfully. Aside from the meeting with Jonathan, the only Camille I’d ever seen was the calm and collected one. “If there were no consequences would your instincts take over?”

Camille thought about it for a brief second before answering. “Well all my life I’ve been taught to know those consequences. So if tomorrow they just disappeared would things change, probably not, but if they never existed? Without a doubt instincts would take over. I wouldn’t be anything like who I am now. But then again, would you?”

I let out a deep sigh. Even though now I couldn’t imagine what it was like for Camille to have to control the things she felt like she needed to do, I could understand and sympathize with it. “No, I guess I wouldn’t.” A flashback of her holding Jonathan against the locker forced its way into my thoughts. “And with Jonathan? Was that hard to control?”

It took Camille a second to understand what I was actually asking. “Oh, yeah. That took a lot of self-control. Especially after he threatened you.” Before I could answer, my cellphone starting buzzing on the nightstand next to the bed. I was going to ignore it seeing as I had a guest, but then Camille nodded toward it. “Go ahead.”

I smiled apologetically as I reached for it. “Hello?”

“Guess who you get to see this weekend?” the deep voice asked playfully.

I almost couldn’t suppress a sigh. I was in the middle of the most interesting conversation of my life, learning all about werewolves. The last thing I wanted to do was talk to Aaron... How messed up was that?

So I tried to be just as playful. “I don’t know. Who?” Then I gave Camille another apologetic smile, moving the phone from my mouth so I could tell her I’d try to be quick.

“Only the sexiest man alive.”

I was quiet for a second like I had to think about it. “I don’t know any sexy men.”

“Jerk,” Aaron laughed. “Are you excited to see me?” I mhm-ed, chewing the inside of my lip impatiently as I knew Camille was waiting for me. “So I was thinking of ways you and me could stay satisfied while we’re so far apart,” he started, and even though I wasn’t sure if Camille could hear, my cheeks flared instantly. “You want to try it out?”

He was not seriously about to suggest phone sex. Was he? “Actually, I got to go.”

“Come on babe,” he whined. “Just try it.”

I glanced at Camille, and her cheeks were about as red as mine. The fact that she could in fact hear this conversation was so mortifying I wanted to bury my head in a hole. Didn’t werewolves have super-hearing too? Not only did that make this even more awkward, but I didn’t want her to think that kind of stuff was normal for me. Aaron had never even mentioned it before.

“Aaron, I can’t,” I told him in an impatient whisper, as if it would keep Camille from hearing me. “I have a friend over.”

“But it’s a school night.”

“Yeah, her parents are out of town.” I don’t know why I lied; I didn’t need to explain it to him anyway. “I got to go. I’ll see you this weekend.”

He sighed. “Okay, I love you.”

That’s when my eyes went wide, and at hearing the words I felt the corner of my mouth twitch uncomfortably. For some reason I glanced at Camille again, maybe to see if she’d heard that too. Which she had, seeing as she awkwardly looked away when I caught her eye.

“Okay, bye,” I said hastily and then hung up. “I’m so sorry,” I told Camille, my cheeks flaring again, and then whispered quietly, “So awkward.”

“It’s okay,” she said, though I could tell she was uncomfortable. “Don’t worry about it.”

“So um,” I started, trying to remember what we were talking about before the phone call. Oh right, Jonathan turning me into a werewolf. The thought of it and all the pain Camille described made me cringe. “What would happen if Jonathan did Change me? How does it work?”

Camille seemed happy about the change of topic, and leaned forward with interest. “The ‘how’ part is just like the movies, you get bitten. I mean, you don’t have to get bitten. You just need to get a werewolf’s blood or saliva into your own bloodstream. And I was never bitten so I can only tell you what I’ve heard is supposed to happen. Once the werewolf gene gets in it starts the process of Changing you. Your temperature rises and your pulse quickens because all the blood in your body changes. The gene needs to build from a stable foundation, so before it goes further it heals any injuries, a lot faster than you’ve seen any of mine heal, and then it just sort of takes time for everything new to be set in stone. I’ve heard that it sort of feels like being set on fire.” As she finished explaining a somber tone fell over us. Fire didn’t sound appealing, and quicker and quicker it was becoming clear to me how different and dangerous Camille’s world was.

Feeling the silence thicken, Camille tried to brighten the mood. “But the healing thing happens no matter what. I remember Luna broke her arm a couple days before she started Changing. Normally it would take a few weeks to heal, but she woke up the day it started and her arm was as good as new.”

I smiled at her seemingly fond memory. “That sounds like a pretty nice perk.”

“Yeah, I guess it is.” She nodded and then stretched her legs next to mine and leaned her back against the headboard. “It’s not all bad being a werewolf. The strength, confidence, the freedom, it’s actually really exhilarating.”

I nodded and then laughed. “You know, I think this is the weirdest, most open conversation we’ve ever had. Or that I’ve ever had with anyone.”

“Welcome to true friendship.” Camille laughed and pretended to raise a glass to our accomplishment.

Friendship. I repeated in my mind as I smiled and faked raising a glass back. Something about the word left me disheartened, which in turn made me more confused than anything else. I wanted to be friends with Camille, and I’d wanted to get to the point where she would talk to me comfortably about her deepest secrets. We’d finally reached that stage. So what about the word friendship could possibly disappoint me the way it had? Something about the word reminded me of the girl I’d wanted to ask Camille about.

“Can I ask you something?” I started, unsure of whether or not Camille would be comfortable talking about it. She nodded and waited for me to ask. “I heard from someone about you and this girl from our rival school.”

She studied me for a moment, and then nodded as if she recalled the girl in question. “What about her?”

I hadn’t really considered what exactly I wanted to know, so the question got me confused. “I don’t know. I was just curious.”

“You want to know if it’s true,” Camille stated understandingly, to which I nodded. “Depends on what you heard. It was nothing serious.”

“There was a girl?” Again Camille nodded. “Did you guys?” I stopped, hoping Camille would understand the question without me really having to ask.

She shook her head. “No. We dated for about a week and that’s it.”

I nodded, but wanting more clarification I asked straight out, “You didn’t sleep with her?”

Camille shook her head, and an unexpected blush reddened her cheeks. She grabbed a pillow and stuffed it between her now pulled up knees, resting her chin on the top of it. “Kyla, I’ve never, you know, with anyone.”

“You’re kidding me,” I said as my jaw dropped. I couldn’t believe it. Not because I saw Camille as that sort of girl, but she was so attractive that she had to have more than enough options if she wanted them. It was that she didn’t want them that surprised me. “Is that a werewolf thing?”

“Oh, no. Werewolves in general are pretty lusty.” Camille laughed and shook her head earnestly. “But it is in the wolf genes to mate for life. I guess I just never saw the point in it if she wasn’t the one.”

I nodded in understanding. I admired that about Camille. It was a tough feat to stick to those kinds of ideals, especially at our age. “But how do you know if someone’s the one?”

“I don’t know,” she shrugged, giving a small, dreamy smile. “Call me a romantic, but I think when I meet her, I’ll just know. Right away.”

I couldn’t help but smile at her optimism. We hadn’t known each other for long, but I wanted Camille to be happy. I could make her happy. I kept from raising an eyebrow at myself. That thought was out of place, but even though we were just friends, if I liked girls I knew I could make Camille happy, and some girl would be lucky to have her one day.

Not knowing what else to say on the topic I changed the subject. “Silver can really kill werewolves?” When I found out about Camille’s family, I’d assumed most of the stuff from the movies was Hollywood fiction. Apparently I was mistaken.

“Yep.” Camille nodded and unconsciously looked at her hand where she had gripped the silver fork earlier that night. The skin on her fingers was a little more pink than usual, like it was slightly irritated. I was shocked at that, considering how fast she said werewolves heal. “It’s kind of like an allergy. If it touches our skin too long it will blister a lot like a burn, nothing permanent. But if we eat it or it gets into our bloodstream it could be fatal.”

“What else from movies is true?” I asked. I heard someone walk by my door and put my finger over my mouth in a shushing motion, lest whoever it was should hear us talking about werewolves. Camille laughed at me but waited patiently until I was satisfied they were just passing by. “What about super smell and stuff?”

“Super smell?” she repeated with a chuckle. “Yeah, I have a really good sense of smell.”

“How good?” I challenged, curious about just how good was really good.

Camille closed her eyes and inhaled a deep breath through her nose. “I can smell the spearmint gum you have in your backpack.” She pointed to my school bag in the corner of the room. “I can also tell that somebody’s in the shower across the hall. Washing their hair with the same fruity shampoo that you use.”

My jaw dropped in surprise. That was really good. Camille looked so normal, but nobody that was less than extraordinary could do that. Then I thought about who could be using the shower. My brother Scott was the only one who showered at night. “That jerk! I knew he was using my soap!” Camille laughed and shrugged, not knowing what to say. “That’s incredible. What about hearing?”

“Yeah I guess I can hear pretty good.” Camille shrugged like her abilities were nothing exciting, even though I thought it was the coolest thing I’d ever heard. “My hearing isn’t as good as my smell, but I can hear a lot if I try to.”

“What can you hear now?” I asked, extremely curious how far Camille’s talents could go, and just how well she’d heard my phone conversation.

Camille closed her eyes again and to help her concentrate I held as still and quiet as I could. After a few seconds she started tapping her hand in a steady rhythm against her knee. “Your heart.”

In the silence I could feel my heart beating, but I couldn’t even come close to hearing it. I grinned and shook with an excitement that was hard to contain. “That is so awesome!”

Another shrug as she tried to play it off, but her cheeks tinted red and she smiled a shy smirk. “Yeah, it’s pretty nice.”

“Did I ever tell you I saw your picture at the dental office?” I asked, and grinned as Camille covered her face with her hands.

“No you didn’t. That wasn’t me.” She took her hands from her face and set her mouth in a serious, straight line.

I almost fell for it before I remembered the picture exactly. It was definitely her. “Liar! I don’t know why you’re embarrassed about it, you were so cute!” Camille rolled her eyes as if to say yeah right, but smiled delightedly. “Did you guys have braces or what?”

For the rest of the night we talked until we were each too tired to hold ourselves in a sitting position. At which point we lay facing each other from opposite ends of the bed and talked until we couldn’t keep our eyes open. In the middle of the night I woke up shivering, but there was no way I could get under the covers without waking up Camille. So instead I scooted closer to the warm werewolf until our backs were pressed together, and then fell back asleep. The next morning the alarm woke me up, and I almost fell over when I got up to turn it off, my legs sore from hanging over the end of the bed all night. Hitting the ‘off’ button I looked around the house for Camille, who I eventually found downstairs in the kitchen.

“Pancakes?” she asked, smiling when I walked in. She held a spatula in one hand and the pan in another. All she was missing was an apron that said ‘kiss the chef’.

I sat at the kitchen island and yawned as she placed a plate in front of me. “Chocolate chip?” She nodded, put the pan in the sink and sat down across from me with only a glass of orange juice. “Aren’t you going to have some?”

“I already had like eight of them.” Camille laughed as she took a sip of her drink. I raised my eyebrows in shock. The pancakes weren’t small, and I myself would only be able to polish off two. “We eat a lot.”

After nodding in understanding, I forked in a mouthful and leaned back blissfully. “Oh my God, best pancakes ever,” I praised with my mouth full.

“Thanks,” Camille smiled happily, gulping down more juice.

“What time did you get up?” I asked, stuffed my mouth with another bite, and rolled my eyes in euphoria.

She glanced at the clock on the stove. “Around five I think. Your dad and uncle were down here getting ready for work and I couldn’t get back to sleep.”

I nodded, and enjoying my breakfast too much for words, finished it, happily patting my stomach before I spoke again. “Are you spending the night again tonight?”

Camille laughed and teased, “Why, you want me to cook for you again tomorrow?”

I smiled but shook my head. “I was just wondering.”

“No, I have patrol tonight. Tomorrow night too.”

“What about tomorrow day?” I asked thoughtfully, and she shook her head again. “Then can you come over before you have patrol?”

“Why? What’s up?” Camille finished the rest of her orange juice and got up to set the cup in the sink.

I got up to put my empty plate in as well and then turned to lean against the counter. Camille’s eyes lifted to meet my own as I turned, as if she had been looking me up and down. The thought was amusing and I would have teased her about checking me out, but I couldn’t be sure that’s what had happened, so I ignored it.

“I’ve got to bake some cookies for history. We’re having a first day of fall party or something like that. I was wondering if you could help me?” I asked with the cutest smile I could manage. “Since I can’t cook for the life of me.”

“Yeah, I can do that, but I have to be out of here by seven. Julian will have my head if I’m late for patrol,” she told me, to which I exaggeratedly nodded my head in understanding. “How come you get to have a party? We never did that in history.”

I laughed and shrugged. “I don’t think Mr. O’Leery likes teaching at all, so he uses any excuse he can to get out of it.” I watched Camille make an ‘oh that makes sense’ face. “Okay, I’m going to get dressed so we can leave.” With that I headed back up the stairs to change while Camille waited patiently for me in the kitchen.

As I finished dressing and looked myself over in the mirror I couldn’t help but wonder if Camille had really been checking me out. It was rather flattering if she was. But wouldn’t most girls be uncomfortable if their lesbian friend was doing the exact same thing? Why wasn’t I weirded out? Because Camille is different, that’s why. But what was different about her? I shook the thoughts away as I looked myself over again. Those kinds of questions were territory I didn’t want to catch myself in. It was something I didn’t want to think about.

When we pulled into the school parking lot thirty minutes later, a small pinch of nervousness rooted itself in my stomach with the reminder of my classes. Fourth period was chemistry, and the thought of being around Jonathan without Camille there was terrifying. I pushed the thought away and switched out some books in my backpack for the ones I needed in my locker. Once my locker was closed, instead of saying bye and leaving for class, I waited for Camille to finish getting the books she needed. I didn’t usually wait for her to be done, but this time it seemed like the right thing to do. We did come to school together in the first place.

She closed her locker and smiled at me, and then turned the direction of my first class. “I’m a little nervous about seeing Jonathan today,” I confessed to the girl, who now walked beside me down the hall.

“You’ll be okay,” Camille told me with a confident and comforting smile. As we came to a turn in the hall I expected her to say bye and keep going straight, but instead she turned with me to walk me to class. “Just act normal and he won’t be able to tell you know anything.”

I smiled to a guy in one of my classes who passed us by and waved at me, and then sighed as my thoughts returned to Jonathan. “I hope so. I don’t think he’d be happy if he knew I teamed up with you guys.” When Camille raised a curious eyebrow at the tone of my statement, I felt I had to give an explanation. “He asked me on a date last week.”

We stopped outside of my classroom and I could see Camille’s jaw clench angrily. Because Jonathan had asked me out? She was probably just being protective. When she still didn’t say anything I dropped my jaw, faking shock, and took a sarcastic breath. Since I truly believed she had been checking me out this morning, I couldn’t pass up another opportunity to tease. “You’re jealous aren’t you?”

Camille opened her mouth and shut it like she was looking for something to say. After a few seconds of silence she chuckled, smiled and took a step back as she started to leave. “I got to get to class. See you at lunch.”

“Yeah, yeah get out of here,” I laughed and turned to enter my own class. I didn’t know what that chuckle was all about, but at least she didn’t seem to take the accusation too seriously.

“Kyla,” a short, thin brunette said as she followed me to my seat and sat in the desk next to mine.

“Sarah.” I turned and smiled in response as I set my backpack on the floor and took my book out.

“What are you doing this weekend?” the girl asked excitedly, pulling self-consciously at her too-short cheerleading skirt so it would cover more of her thighs.

I looked toward the ceiling thoughtfully. For some reason I felt like something important was happening this weekend. Oh yeah, Aaron. “Um, my boyfriend is coming into town. Why?” The bell rang for the start of class and the girl stood up to go to her normal seat a few rows over.

“Party at my house on Saturday night. I’ll text you the address later?”

I smiled and nodded. Parties weren’t high on my to-do list, and I hadn’t yet been to one the whole time I’d been in high school, though it was mostly because I always had too many chores. I started to wonder if it was anything like in the movies. From what Aaron had described about his recent activities it sounded like he’d been going to a lot of parties, so I might as well go and see what all the hype was about.

***

The thought of Jonathan had successfully been pushed away until I was confronted by it on my way to chemistry. Since we weren’t doing a lab that day he was already at his desk in the middle of the room when I walked into class a few minutes before the bell rang. As a werewolf and since Camille told me his real age, I couldn’t imagine he really had any interest in schooling, and it didn’t seem like he’d been going to any other classes. The only reason he would be here today, especially after what had happened, was to see how I felt about it.

He stared at me, unwavering, as I made my way across the room to my seat near the front of class. “Hi.” He had made his way up and sat in a desk next to me. While he turned toward me his gaze remained fixed on my face, studying me keenly. “How you doing?”

I glanced up awkwardly, looking around the room, at his desk, toward the door, anywhere but into his eyes. “I’m fine.”

“You’re friends with Camille?” he asked monotonously.

It was surprising to me how his attitude could have gone from having a crush on me a couple days before, to the trace of hostility in his voice. It made me wonder if he really did have a crush on me, or just known I was friends with Camille all along and was trying to use me for whatever evil plan he had. At least that’s what I would have thought, if out of the corner of my eye I couldn’t see him continuously looking me up and down. He still found me attractive, only now, though I didn’t know for sure, he saw me as an enemy by association. The polite Jonathan was gone. Now he was just watching me with a lustful eye, and combined with his perceived hostility toward me, I couldn’t deny it frightened me.

“Um, I guess I know her. We just have a class together.” I remained facing the front of the room as I could feel him studying me. Pull yourself together, Kyla. In an effort to rid the growing nausea in my stomach I took a deep breath, willing myself to stay strong under that spiteful glare.

He leaned forward, putting an arm on my desk and getting into my face, forcing me to make eye contact. “She thinks I stole her mp3 player. Threatened to smash my car windows if I didn’t give it back.”

That’s what he wanted. As his eyes scanned my face after everything he said I realized that he was gauging my reactions, testing my knowledge, trying to find out what I knew. So far I didn’t think he knew the extent of my relationship with Camille. The sudden remembrance of him wanting to turn me into a werewolf and punching Camille caused an angry heat to flare in my chest. Gaining a spark of courage I turned to look directly into his eyes, and as he leaned back I leaned forward.

“She hadn’t mentioned it.” The testy tone of my voice made him smirk, and without saying anything he got up and walked back to his desk.

I turned forward and took another deep breath. I couldn’t tell if I’d given anything away or not. He seemed neither frustrated nor satisfied with our conversation. Despite my best efforts to pay attention in class, I couldn’t shake that intimidating gaze I felt boring into my back. The entire time I could feel him staring at me. It took every ounce of restraint not to give him any satisfaction in making me uncomfortable, but I had to fidget, shake my leg, stretch, anything to feel free of that awful scrutiny.

Finally freed by the bell, I all but ran out of the room, but it still didn’t liberate me from worry. For the rest of the day I was plagued by doubt at how I’d dealt with the situation. The only thing that would make me feel better would be talking to Camille, and the day passed agonizingly slowly until sixth period, where I was forced to stare at Camille’s back until the very end.

“I thought the day would never be over,” I complained when we finally left class together, turning down the hall our lockers were in.

“Yeah, it has been a long day,” Camille agreed nodding, and yawned. I felt bad that she wasn’t sleeping as much because she was always out patrolling. It couldn’t help having to be at school first thing in the morning either.

“Jonathan talked to me in chemistry.” I watched her face twist in a flash of anger again, but I couldn’t say I minded it. Having someone care that much made me feel more involved in the werewolves’ affairs than I really was.

She clenched her jaw like she had earlier this morning, and took a deep breath before responding. “What did he say to you?”

“Not much,” I admitted. “But I think he was trying to figure out how much I knew about what happened yesterday. He fed me some crap about you thinking he stole your mp3 player. Now that I know the truth about him, he’s actually kind of really creepy.”

Camille allowed a small, approving smile to escape her lips. As we reached our lockers she opened hers as she asked, “What did you say to him?”

“I told him you hadn’t mentioned anything and he left.” I followed suit and opened my own locker, but stopped to look at Camille nervously. “Did I say the wrong thing?”

“No, no, you did fine,” she reassured me and, having grabbed a book she needed, closed her locker. After I had finished getting what I needed we started on our way to the exit. “But that’s the kind of stuff we need you to pull to find out what he knows.” I nodded in understanding, but Camille could read the concern all over my face. She held the door open for me as we left the school, and after letting it slam shut resumed her stride next to me. “He won’t hurt you in the middle of class – there’s too many people around. All he can do is try to intimidate you, but if you see him for the lowlife creep he really is then you don’t have to be afraid of him.”

As we reached my car I smiled and leaned against the side. “Yeah I guess you’re right. Next time we have a lab together I’ll do what I can.”

Camille nodded. “Just go home today, relax. Don’t go anywhere alone. You know the rules, you’ll be fine.” She gave a reassuring smile and shrugged nonchalantly as she stuck her hands in her pockets.

“Okay,” I smiled, hesitating as I selected the ignition key from the set in my hand. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”

As I said my goodbye I threw my arms around Camille’s neck in a hug, entirely unsure of why I did so. The only time I’d ever hugged her had been when I’d fallen off the ladder in the barn, and then I had been scared nearly to tears. Was Camille even okay with being hugged? Were we even the kind of friends that hugged? The rhythm of my heart picked up as I grew worried that Camille would find my impulse awkward. But to my relief I felt her arms wrap around my waist and a second later I let go, releasing the blonde from the embrace.

What now? With a brisk nod of finality I turned and hopped into the truck, closed the door and started the ignition. However, feeling as though I needed to say something I rolled down the window with a smile. “Don’t forget to come make cookies with me.” I waited for Camille to nod and wave bye before pulling out of the parking spot and watching her fade in the rearview mirror.

When I got home to an empty house ten minutes later, after greeting my uncle’s dogs, Brandy and Blue, I stood in the hall and looked around causelessly. All the excitement I’d felt the past couple days faded away when I was alone, and now I didn’t know what to do with myself. With a heavy sigh I made my way to the living room where I flipped on the TV and lay on the couch. Brandy came in excitedly and sniffed me up and down, wiggling up to her nose as she wagged her tail, and after having done so she let out a concerned whine.

I patted the small bit of couch next to me for the dog to come and curl up by my side. “What’s the matter girl? You smell something funny? Is it Camille?” The dog cocked her head and then buried it under my arm, whining again but continuing to wag her tail. “What’s she smell like Brandy, is it confusing? A dog-person.” I sighed and rubbed Brandy fondly on the head. “Don’t feel too left out, she confuses me too sometimes.”

For the rest of the night I occupied myself with reality shows and the one homework assignment I had from English. Then after dinner I quietly practiced on my guitar until about eleven, when I got tired and went to sleep. The following day of school was just as boring. Jonathan didn’t show up to chemistry and Camille was out for the day because she had a patrol shift in the middle of the day. I didn’t know how she did it. If I’d had to be up long hours at night, continue patrolling during the day, deal with the stress of the ordeal, and go to school, I thought I might have a meltdown. I’d never met anyone so… strong, even if it was a matter of survival. Camille definitely didn’t get the credit she deserved.

When school finally ended I went to the grocery store to get the ingredients for my cookies, taking my time as I strolled through the aisles. As I sat at the island in the center of the kitchen at six waiting for Camille to come over, I sighed at the realization that the only time I wasn’t bored lately was when I was doing something with her. I had few chores compared to my brothers since I was the only one in school, and all my classes were easy, making homework a quick task. Even though I had little things to do around the house, everything seemed so insignificant compared to what Camille was dealing with.

A few more minutes of sitting passed by before a knock finally came from the front door. “Oh thank God.” I pulled Camille by the arm into the kitchen. “I’ve been dying of boredom for the last twenty-four hours.”

She laughed and looked around the kitchen. “Well then we shouldn’t waste any time! Where should we start?”

Before she could even finish her sentence I was excitedly pulling ingredients out of the refrigerator and cupboards, and before answering I turned on the oven to preheat. “I guess we’ll both start on making the chocolate chip cookies, and then while you’re mixing and putting them on the baking sheet I’ll get started on the snickerdoodles.”

“Sounds good to me,” Camille answered and took her place in front of the large bowl I had put on the counter. She then grabbed a measuring cup and started measuring flour to pour into the bowl. “What are you doing this weekend?”

I stood next to her and began breaking eggs into the bowl, making sure I didn’t get them on Camille’s hands as she poured in a cup of sugar. “Aaron is coming, so I have to pick him up from the airport tomorrow. Why, what’s up?”

“Oh yeah, that’s right. I was going to see if you wanted to go on a patrol in town with Luna and me tomorrow after school. But don’t worry about it, you should spend time with him.” Camille dumped in an entire small bag of chocolate chips instead of measuring, and looked up with a shrug and an innocent smile. “You can never have too much chocolate.”

I laughed and nodded agreement as I poured in the vanilla flavoring. “Well we should hang out sometime during the weekend. I want you to meet him,” I said, to which Camille grunted a half-acknowledgement. A slight twinge of confusion caused my eyebrows to furrow. Wasn’t it the right thing to invite her to meet Aaron? She was already one of my closest friends, shouldn’t she want to meet him?

Camille picked up and studied the recipe. “Okay, what are we missing? Oh, vegetable oil.”

I reached for it and poured it into the cup Camille was holding. Compared to everything else that was going on, meeting Aaron was probably the least of her concerns, so I let it go and asked about patrols. “Did you guys find anything on your patrol last night? Or today?”

“Nope,” she answered, the frustration obvious as she pursed her lips. “We even widened our search and still came up with nothing. They have to be staying pretty far out of town and driving everywhere.”

“Well hopefully I can find something out and help.” I poured in the last ingredient and handed Camille a spoon to start mixing.

She nodded as I grabbed another bowl and started measuring ingredients for the snickerdoodles. After she had finished stirring, but before she started putting the dough on the cookie sheet, she scooped some up with her finger and held it out to me. “Here taste this.”

Since I was carefully pouring vegetable oil, I leaned my head over without looking up from my duties and took Camille’s finger in my mouth. “Hm, needs more brown sugar I think.”

Out of the corner of my eye I could see her nod, but other than that the rest of her body didn’t move. More than that, she was completely frigid. Stupid. I scolded myself without looking at the blonde, instantly aware it was my fault she froze. She probably didn’t expect or know what to make of my complacency with things like that. It wouldn’t shock me if it made her severely uncomfortable, and yet I did it without thinking. Just like the hug the day before, even though then Camille hadn’t been quite so tense with the display.

Finally, after a few seconds, Camille recovered from her shock, mixed in more brown sugar and started scooping dough into her hands and pressing it into little balls to place on the cookie sheet. I finished throwing all the ingredients into the bowl and looked around for the electric beater, which lay on the counter a few feet away. After plugging it in I turned it on slow and started mixing the dough. A few seconds of mixing passed before my patience failed, so getting bored I stretched to turn on the radio a few feet away.

I successfully turned it on, but as I stretched my body, my grip loosened and the beater started to slip out of my hand. As quickly as I could I returned my other hand to the handle and let out a shriek as I accidentally bumped the dial, turning the beater up all the way and sending pieces of dough flying everywhere. I scowled at Camille who stood there laughing at me, beyond amused as I grabbed a paper towel and wiped dough off of my face and shirt.

“You missed some,” she informed me, still laughing as she pointed. “Right there.”

I wiped at my neck, but by the grin on her face I knew I wasn’t getting it. Still embarrassed I gave up and stretched my head in the opposite direction, hinting at her to wipe it off for me. Out of the corner of my eye I saw Camille glance at her own dough-covered hands, and then she stepped closer and lowered her mouth to my neck. The second her warm lips touched my skin a million powerful jolts went barreling throughout my body, causing an unbearable heat. The shock slowed time and I became aware of everything around me. The direction of each wanton jolt. The breath Camille let out that tickled my neck, accentuating the feel of her warm lips. The heat and blood that flooded my cheeks as I thoughtlessly closed my eyes.

After two long seconds I felt her tongue lightly flick against my skin to remove the dough. Her tongue was hotter and softer than her lips, and the touch of it was too painfully light. By the time Camille’s lips lifted unwillingly from my skin my heart was nearly pounding out of my chest. I stood there speechless. I couldn’t think past the hammering of my heart and the strong pulsating between my legs. There was absolutely nothing I could do to calm it.

“Thanks,” was all I could manage in a desperate whimper and Camille smiled, turning back to her work with deliberate preoccupation.

She had to have known what she did, but the way she smiled didn’t seem like she’d done it on purpose. Just like that night at the school. What was she thinking?

I tried to return to the task at hand, but now I was flustered and weak. I kept dropping things, making a mess with flour and salt as my shaky hands spilt it everywhere. The throbbing continued to distract me from tasks as simple as breathing, and caused me to feel faint even though nearly every ounce of blood in my body was in my bright red cheeks.

Camille finished putting the chocolate chip cookies on the cookie sheet shortly after. “Do you want some help?” she asked me, and I nodded and moved aside so she could finish.

I stood there watching her. I had moved aside, but barely, and now stood less than a foot from the girl. Close enough to feel the heat that poured off her body. Staring at those silky lips did nothing but intensify the pulsating, but I couldn’t look anywhere else. I wanted more. Wanted to feel Camille’s melting tongue on my skin again, anywhere on my skin. Hell, I just wanted her to touch me. Caress my cheek, my hand, any feeling in the world to free me from the debilitating throb.

Camille glanced up at the clock. “It’s already seven, I have to go. Will you be okay without me?” I looked from Camille to the dough and back to Camille, still unable to form words, and after frowning, nodded. “Okay, they’re ready to go in the oven. I’ll see you later.”

I just gave a meek wave and watched her run out the door. After the taillights disappeared down the driveway I collapsed into a chair at the table. I took a deep breath, willing away the throb, which instead just calmed into a dull ache. As I got up to finish baking I started to panic. What would Aaron do if he found out about this? If he knew that someone else, that a girl, just made me feel a way no one ever had?

I grabbed a glass of water and pushed away the panic. I didn’t really do anything wrong. Camille didn’t touch me, or kiss me. I pushed all thoughts of Aaron out of my head. While I didn’t feel like I was being entirely dishonest, I didn’t want to be thinking about him while I was still aroused. I busily scooped spoonfuls of cookie dough onto a baking sheet and then stuffed both batches into the oven. As I closed the oven door and set the timer my family came home from seeing a movie in town.

“Hey, it smells good in here,” my mom said, sniffing the air vigorously as they entered the kitchen.

“Thanks. I just put some cookies in the oven for a school party,” I told her as she grabbed a cup and filled it with water. “But I’m actually feeling pretty tired. You don’t have to take the cookies out or anything, but when it beeps do you think you could just make sure the oven’s off?”

She nodded and hugged me goodnight, and I made my way up to my room. After changing into pajamas and turning off the lights I lay down in bed only to find that I couldn’t get to sleep. Not only was it too early, but also with nothing to think about but Camille, the ache returned to a pulsating. With a heavy, frustrated sigh I turned to lie on my back. Folding my hands across my stomach I tried to justify ways I could satisfy the lust that had begun to grow. Justify what I knew I was about to do. I had school in the morning and I needed sleep. And I couldn’t get to sleep with that agonizing ache. I knew though that I didn’t feel the need to justify the what. It was why, and it was who.

“Camille!” Luna called up to me from downstairs. “Are you ready to go?”

After school on Friday it was once again my and Luna’s turn to patrol town together. My brothers, Carter and Niko, would be patrolling separately but at the same time.

I ran down the stairs, almost barreling into my twin. “Okay, I’m all set.”

She nodded and hurriedly pushed me out the front door. The four of us rode into town together and went opposite directions from our parking spot in the grocery store lot. Luna and I started our rounds toward the east side of town, checking the start of every alley and back door we passed.

“How was baking cookies with Kyla?” she asked, lightly bumping me with her shoulder as we strolled down the sidewalk, keeping our eyes and noses alert for anything useful.

I raised an eyebrow suspiciously. “What makes you ask?”

“Ever since you got home last night you’ve been quieter than normal. You didn’t steal any of my food this morning either. Something’s on your mind.” Luna smiled proudly at herself. It had to be because we were twins that she could always tell what I was thinking.

“I kissed her,” I blurted, to which Luna gave a shocked but approving grin. “I mean, I didn’t actually kiss her. I licked cookie dough off her neck. Well, first she put my finger in her mouth to eat cookie dough off it and that got me all antsy, and I lost control of myself. And I don’t know how she felt about it. Plus, she has a boyfriend and now I feel really guilty.” I paused while Luna patiently waited for me to continue. “Then after she kind of just stood there, and said thanks. I mean I know she was, you know, turned on. God, I could just smell it on her.” Just remembering it stirred me in places I didn’t want to think about. Not when I couldn’t have what I wanted. “But I don’t know how she felt about that.”

“Well that explains it,” Luna laughed and linked her arm with mine as we turned down another street. “Was she awkward after it?”

“I don’t know if I’d say awkward. She didn’t really say anything at all.” I turned the side of my mouth down in a baffled frown as I remembered what had happened. I couldn’t even believe myself when I’d done it. If I hadn’t been so caught off guard and worked up from Kyla’s mouth on my finger, I never would have taken it as far as I did. It was on a whole other level from what she had done, and I knew it. The action just couldn’t be stopped. The wolf had more power over me than I thought. “Argh, she makes me so impulsive.”

Luna was quiet for a few thoughtful seconds before she shrugged. “I don’t know what to tell you. Maybe actually try to make a move or something? You should have kissed her for real.”

“Yeah, but I already told you I can’t do that, she has a boyfriend.” I gloomily kicked at a rock on the ground. “And he’s here this weekend and they’re probably being all cuddly and shit.”

“I still think she likes you. No matter if she has a boyfriend or not. She’s in denial,” Luna told me matter-of-factly, adding a direct nod.

I laughed skeptically. If Kyla liked me then why would she still have a boyfriend? It didn’t make sense. “Why do you think she likes me?”

“Because of the few times I’ve ever talked to her in class she uses any excuse to talk about you she can. ‘Does Camille like the same foods as you? Camille said you have the same tattoo as she does. Camille this and Camille that.’ And if she didn’t push you away when you sucked her neck, then she obviously didn’t mind.” Luna paused. “And you said so yourself, she was turned on.”

I squeezed my sister’s arm fondly. She always knew what to say to make my troubles seem less difficult. I wanted to hear more encouraging things, maybe then I’d even work up the courage to do something about it, but my nose stopped me before my brain registered the scent that we’d come across.

I looked at Luna who nodded. “I smell it too.”

We followed the scent into a specialty school supply store, and each of us gave the other a puzzled look as we followed the smell directly to the chemistry aisle. Once again it was Charles’s scent, and it was strongest at the flasks and gas burners.

“Doesn’t the school supply chemistry equipment?” Luna asked, even though we both knew the answer was yes.

I nodded my head, struggling to think of other uses for chemistry equipment. Luna and I looked at each other simultaneously.

“Are you thinking what I’m thinking?” she asked me.

Again I nodded. There was only one thing criminals could want with that kind of stuff. “But if they’re making drugs, why? And what kind?”

“Seems petty for some werewolves as smart as Jonathan doesn’t it?” A nod. “Think this is worthy of an early end to patrol?” Luna asked, already pulling out her cell phone to call Carter.

With a final nod we left the store and met up with our brothers back at the parking lot. When we arrived home shortly after my family, along with Julian, met in the living room.

“What did you guys find?” Julian asked, standing at the head of the room with his arms characteristically crossed in front of his chest.

Luna looked to me to see if I wanted to explain, but I didn’t, so she began. “We found Gleeson’s scent leading to the chemistry aisle at the school supply store. It looks like he specifically picked up flasks and burners. Which wouldn’t be odd if the school didn’t supply chemistry equipment, but they do.”

Julian tapped his chin thoughtfully and then nodded in understanding. “They’re making some kind of chemical?”

“Unless they’ve suddenly taken up an extracurricular school activity,” Luna said sarcastically. “Camille and I were thinking drugs, but that seems like small money for some mutts as ambitious as these three.”

“Drugs,” my dad repeated to himself. “That explains them turning convicts into werewolves, and they could be just killing off others to make their jobs easier.”

“I agree.” Julian sat down on the couch and leaned forward, setting his elbows on his knees. “But we still need to know what kind of drugs they’re making.” He looked at me expectantly.

I knew what he wanted. We only had one sure source to Jonathan. “Kyla’s already mentioned looking through his backpack. I’ll update her on this and remind her about it as soon as I can talk to her.”

“Well that was a quick meeting,” Sky said in characteristic impatience. “Can we patrol now?”

My dad glared at her lack of respect, to which Sky shrugged apologetically, but still didn’t seem to care much. Julian purposefully ignored the exchange and stood up. “Yes, we’ll continue patrolling as normal.”

Along with Sky and Michael who stood to go with Julian, I hopped up. “Mind if I come?”

Julian shook is head and waved me along. I didn’t have anything to do besides sit and stew in the fact that Kyla was now spending time with her boyfriend. Changing wouldn’t push those thoughts away, but it would make the time go by quicker. One by one each of us Phased and met at the beginning of the vineyard behind the house. Our run started right on the outside of town and spiraled out about ten miles past the townspeople’s farmland.

I took a deep breath of cold night air as we started our patrol, Julian in the lead followed by Sky, me, and then Michael. Even though we were doing all that we could, I couldn’t help but think about how futile patrols were. Jonathan’s gang were doing a damn good job of hiding, and they could be anywhere within at least fifty miles outside of Tranquility.

I didn’t mind though that these patrols were putting me in the best shape I’d been in for a while, and they gave me a chance to wind down. As much as I liked Kyla, even she was work lately. Every sentence and every reaction had to be reviewed before I allowed myself to complete it. I’d been doing okay at maintaining my self-control until the day before. I slipped, and now I couldn’t help but worry that my friendship with her was going to have to pay for it. Kyla hadn’t called or texted me since I left her house last night.

I just wanted to see her again, see that we would be able to joke and talk like before. See that I hadn’t made her uncomfortable. I could only imagine what she was doing with her boyfriend at the moment. But at those thoughts, I drew the line and focused hard on the ground in front of me. I’d rather talk to Jonathan again than to think of Aaron touching Kyla.

Finally able to push any and all thoughts out of my mind, I focused on running. We traveled at a steady pace. Not slow enough that it would take us all night, but not fast enough that any scents we needed to catch would fly right by our noses. It took us about seven hours to finally return home, empty handed, around three in the morning. Frustrated and tired I dragged myself up to my room and plopped down on my bed, falling asleep five minutes later.

“Camille.” Luna gently shook me the next day. “It’s already like, noon, wake up.”

Groggily opening my eyes I glanced at the clock – Luna was right, it was already twelve-ten. I sat up and rubbed my eyes while my sister sat down next to me. “What do you plan on doing today?”

“Nothing. Homework,” I told her, and she looked at me disappointedly. I sighed sarcastically, throwing my hands up in frustrated defeat. “I plan on staying here and hiding until Kyla’s boyfriend goes home. There, happy?”

“Nope. That’s why Niko’s dragging us to a party tonight.” Luna stood her ground despite the near frenzied complaints I gave. “He’s making me go, and I hate parties as much as you do. So we’ll get through it together.” When I glared at her, she just smiled smugly.

“What time are we going?” I asked grumpily.

Luna grinned her happy thanks. “He wants to leave at nine-thirty.”

“Fine, but I do have homework I need to do,” I said, standing up and waving at her to go away.

Luna danced out of the room happily while I rubbed out a crick in my neck and grabbed a towel to jump in the shower. I devoted the rest of the day to calculus and a history essay until Niko slammed my book closed and dragged me out of the house. I resisted heavily until he threatened to physically throw me into the car, at which point the fear of humiliation made me give in, but that didn’t stop me from pouting all the way to the party.

I hated parties. Everyone at school getting drunk and using it as an excuse to be reckless wasn’t my idea of fun. Not to mention the horrid smell of closely crowded bodies and booze. Niko and Sky were the only two in the family who actually liked parties. I just considered them freaks of nature.

As the three of us walked in the front door of a girl named Sarah’s house I was greeted exactly as I expected to be, by a brick wall of smoke and teen stench. I walked through the living room and past the dining room, which for tonight’s event had been turned into a dance floor. I continued straight into the kitchen, where I smelled the various drinks until I found a bottle of cola that hadn’t yet been spiked. Before I found the un-spiked soda, I considered letting myself relax with a real drink, but as a werewolf, that wasn’t a good idea. Any kind of inhibition reducing substance made staying in control infinitely more difficult, especially at a young age like mine.

“Hey.” I turned to face a guy, who I didn’t recognize from my school and who reeked of alcohol, tapping me on the shoulder.

He said something that I couldn’t hear over the music and his slur so I turned my head, indicating he needed to talk louder. Instead of repeating what he said, he swiftly kissed me on the cheek and ran off to a bunch of his laughing friends, who high-fived him vigorously. I winced, disgusted, and wiped my cheek on my sleeve. He was lucky he ran off so fast or he would have gotten a nice palm to the face.

Still disgusted I went to find Luna, and we sat on the couch together where a girl from one of Luna’s classes talked to us for a good ten minutes before running off to dance. After a good twenty more minutes of being asked to dance by plastered schoolmates, and a few guys I’d never seen, I had had enough. I set my cup of soda on the coffee table next to the couch and desperately looked around for a place I could hide in the one story house. It took a couple frantic glances before I noticed a coat closet at the end of the living room.

As sneakily as I could I left Luna, opened the door to the small closet and shut it behind me. I inhaled deeply, relieved that while the closet was stuffy the air was cleaner than the rest of the house, with only a slight bit of stench leaking under the door. Leaning my body against the back wall I closed my eyes and breathed deep and slow, clearing my head. There wasn’t a whole lot I could do to entertain myself so I pulled out my cell phone, mindlessly clicking from left to right as I thought about whether or not I should text Kyla.

A minute later the closet door opened just enough for someone else to sneak in, and whoever it was stepped on my foot closing the door behind them. Then a sweet, intoxicating smell permeated the closet, and a slight relief washed over me as I noted that the scent was alcohol free.

“You really like beating up on my toes don’t you?” I reached over and flipped on the dim light.

Kyla jumped and threw her balled fists up in the air, surprised that someone else was in the closet. After realizing it was me, she giggled. “You scared me!” Then she squeezed my hand for emphasis and took a deep breath to calm her nerves. “What are you doing in here?”

“I hate parties, but Niko made me come. This is the only place where I could get a break.” I watched her lean against the wall opposite of me. But even on opposite ends of the two-foot deep closet, there was a small distance between us. “What time did you get here?”

“About an hour ago. I’ve been dancing, but I’m not big on parties either. I needed to get away,” Kyla told me, and I nodded understandingly. “How did the patrols go?”

“Well, we found out part of what they’re doing,” I began to explain. As I did I realized that Kyla hadn’t yet let go of the hand that she’d grabbed, and now she started to thoughtlessly play with my fingers. I pretended not to notice so she wouldn’t stop, and did my best not to let it distract me from my thoughts as for the next few minutes I told her about the weekend. “Um, we followed one of their scents into the school supply store, to the chemistry aisle. We think they’re making drugs, but we just need to figure out what kind, and why.”

“You know, I have seen Jonathan with a bottle of stuff,” Kyla said thoughtfully, like it all made sense.

I would have been more shocked that she already knew, but her alluring scent assaulted me from every angle, and the way the gorgeous brunette was playing with my hand was starting to cloud my thoughts. “We’re hoping that when you search his backpack you might find it.” I looked at Kyla who, while I knew she was at least half-listening, seemed to be in deep thought. I had to take Luna’s advice, even if I didn’t make a move I had to do something. I glanced down shyly, scared to see her reaction as I playfully tested the boundaries. “You know, I never realized how much I was going to miss you before I couldn’t hang out with you.”

She smiled sweetly and laughed, and in the dim of the light I saw what faintly looked like a blush. “You missed me?”

“Famously.” I gave a coy smile and glanced down at my hand, with which Kyla had stopped fiddling and intertwined her own fingers. “I always like being with you.”

She gave a shy giggle, and the fact that she wasn’t pulling away built my confidence. So I studied her face, gauging the girl’s reactions as I delicately slid my fingers down the inside of her other arm, tracing a trail to her fingertips and interlacing our free hands. My heart was pounding now, as I was unsure of what I thought was about to happen. Then Kyla pulled her back off the wall, moving a couple inches closer and putting a flurry of nerves in my stomach.

Kiss me. I barely, and very gently pulled Kyla’s hands toward me. Kiss me! Everything in my body was screaming at me to just close the distance, to take what I wanted, but as clouded as my mind was, I couldn’t do it. This was a delicate moment and I knew it. It had to be under her control.

My breath hitched as Kyla closed the distance between our bodies, the warmth of her front pressed delicately against me. With our faces only inches apart, her green eyes unsurely scanned every bit of my expression. I could feel her thumb running mindlessly over the back of my hand as she was thinking about what was happening. Would she really do it? Unsure and not wanting to risk the answer being no, I unfolded one of my hands to wrap around her, and set it low on the small of her back. Then I tilted my head forward so my nose brushed the tip of hers, letting her know that I wanted it too.

Our lips were less than an inch apart now, and I could practically feel them. Now kiss me. My heart and stomach were going crazy, and my body was begging me to finish it. I heard Kyla take a deep breath and lick her lips, mustering the courage to finally kiss me. I was so close. Then a loud thump on the door caused her to jump away, tearing her hand from mine. My heart stopped, and in my mind I let out a long list of profanities at whoever had ruined my chance.

Kyla stood there awkwardly, mouth hanging open in shock as she just stared at me. A pit formed deep in my stomach as I struggled for something to say. Sorry? I had nothing to be sorry for, and wasn’t, not in the slightest bit. It’s okay? Clearly something wasn’t okay to her.

“I should… go find Aaron.” Without a backward glance she practically ran out of the closet.

I quickly followed, and as I burst out of the closet I almost plowed into Kyla, who had stopped in her tracks. I followed her gaze to two people making out on a loveseat near the couch. I stood there confused, telling myself that the boy, who reeked of alcohol, couldn’t be Aaron.

“Aaron?” Kyla confirmed it, and he stood up, and having been caught scuttled away from the other girl. “What the hell?” I could hear Kyla’s voice breaking.

Aaron’s expression turned from shock to anger, and his voice came out slightly slurred. “You’ve been gone for like twenty minutes!” Kyla stood there, obviously unsure of what that had to do with it. “Oh whatever, don’t act like you care. We haven’t had sex since I got here. Every time I try to kiss you, you find some excuse to avoid it.” I looked around at the increasing few that had stopped to watch the commotion. “I don’t know why I even came out here. All I’ve heard for the past two days is Camille this, Camille-fucking-that. I don’t even know who Camille is! I hope you guys have a nice life together.” Bitterly he sat back on the couch and turned to the girl he was with earlier, leaving Kyla to stand alone and face all the inquisitive glances from around the room.

Kyla turned and looked at me just in time so I could see the single tear making its way down her cheek, and then she ran out the front door. Fury welled up inside of me. Who was this guy to yell at her and embarrass her in front of everyone? Who was he to make her cry?

Before running after her, I made a pit stop. “Hey asshole.” I tapped Aaron’s shoulder, and as he let out an aggravated sigh and got up to look at me, I pulled back my fist and sent it flying at his face. “I’m Camille.”

I stood there a second longer to see all my peers wince at the blood that trickled from Aaron’s nose, and a few let out an ‘oh’ of amusement, before sprinting for the door. When I reached the porch I looked around for Kyla, who I found leaning against the side of her car, tears streaming down her face.

“Kyla?” I touched her shoulder, but she pulled away and stared at the ground. “He had no… He shouldn’t have embarrassed you like that.”

Kyla looked up, her seemingly angry expression hard to read. “You think I care that he kissed that girl. He just did the same thing I was about to do with you. I’d be a hypocrite if I cared. But I don’t, and he was right. All I’ve been talking about is you. All I’ve been wanting to do–” I stood there in shock as Kyla started an emotional rant, tears now flowing freely. “But I don’t do that. I don’t almost cheat on my boyfriend in a coat closet. I don’t let my closest friends suck on my neck. A month ago I would have told myself I was crazy. Falling for a girl. And not only that, a werewolf! So yeah, Camille, he should have embarrassed me like that. I haven’t cared about him since I moved here.”

The anger I had felt at Aaron seconds ago had faded into confusion. “I don’t understand. If you don’t like him then why are you crying?”

“Because I’m confused!” Kyla practically shouted at me. “Because I have done all those things, and because I don’t know how you feel. You flirt and you joke, and you kiss my neck and you say how great it is to be friends. Because I’m falling for you and I don’t know what to do about it.”

As a few more tears fell down Kyla’s cheeks I stood there speechless, searching for something to say. Wasn’t it obvious how I felt?

But Kyla wiped her tears away, either impatient or not really looking for a response. “I have to go.”

Say something! I screamed at myself as I watched Kyla jump in her truck. Fuck. Don’t just stand here! But I didn’t know what to say, or even if it was the right time. I just stood there. Stood there and watched her taillights disappear.

“Okay Cami, you have to get up. It’s almost four in the afternoon.” Luna pulled on my arm, trying hard to yank me off the bed.

I used my free hand to cling to the mattress, making it impossible to be pulled away. “Go away. I’m a horrible person. Leave me to die.”

It was the afternoon after the party, and I’d been lying in bed mentally kicking myself all day. Since I let Kyla leave the party without telling her how I felt, it was like everything I’d worked for was lost. There was no point to waking up, and definitely no point to leaving my bedroom.

Luna’s hands rested on her hips as her face hardened into an angry scowl. “What the hell are you talking about? Kyla likes you! And now she doesn’t have a boyfriend. Get out of bed and stop pouting – you’re starting to get me all depressed.” In hopes of appeasing her and getting her to leave, I sat up and leaned against the headboard. “That’s a start.”

“Luna, she drove away and I didn’t even try to stop her. I choked. She was emotional and freaking out, so I choked. I let her drive away without telling her how I feel about her.” I sighed and leaned my head back in defeat.

“Oh my God,” Luna growled in frustration. “Camille, you dumbass. How many times do I need to say it? Kyla likes you. So stop acting like a pussy and go see her.”

I looked at my sister, and even in my desolation I couldn’t help but render a smirk. “Did you seriously just call me a pussy?”

“Yes, because you’re acting like one!” Luna laughed, finally succeeding in pulling me off the bed and beginning to throw clothes at me.

The small blonde’s energy gave me a burst of confidence, and I began stripping my pajamas and throwing on the clean clothes. “But I don’t know if she wants to see me.”

“Don’t think about it. She wants to see you.” Luna hurriedly pushed me out the bedroom door, almost plowing down Kyla, who had been about to knock.

“Oh shit, it’s Kyla,” Luna chuckled, clearly amused at the timing, and walked away smugly. “See ya.”

“Hi, I was just about to come see you.” I stuttered, backing into my room, closely followed by Kyla. I stood next to the bed, watching her pace back and forth near the now closed door. “Look Kyla, I want you to–”

“No, uh,” she cut me off, waving a hand in the air as if to ward off the sound of my voice. “Can you sit?” Kyla pointed to the bed, and after I had sat at the edge of it she continued to pace.

I didn’t know what to do so I sat there, waiting for her to work up the nerve or figure out whatever she wanted to say. But every second that went by without her saying anything the nerves in my stomach grew. I had no idea what was coming, and as what seemed like hours ticked by I started to fear the worst.

Finally Kyla stopped pacing, and even though she turned to face me, her eyes never left the floor. “Okay, first off, I want to say sorry. I said that you were being confusing and I couldn’t figure out your feelings, but I was stupid. You were just being respectful. I freaked out because I didn’t want to be the kind of person who cheats, regardless of what I feel, and you knew that. So thanks. For not pushing me too hard.” Realizing that Kyla was no longer upset I let my nerves settle slightly.

She took a deep breath before continuing. “And second, everything about my life has changed in the past month. New town and new school. Werewolves. New feelings. Everything changed so fast I didn’t know how to handle it. Allowing Aaron to come was stupid. It was my last attempt to try and keep things the same. To stop everything from changing so quickly.” As Kyla spoke she moved closer to me, and finally reaching where I sat, she put her knees on the bed on either side of me and leaned back in my lap. “But I realized that I need change.” She gently cupped my face in her hands and leaned her forehead against mine. “I need it desperately.”

Finally, Kyla lowered her lips to mine in a soft, delicate kiss, and even though I expected it, there was no way I could have prepared myself for the power of it. It was like a burst of electricity exploded in my chest, bringing back tenfold all those excited feelings I’d ever felt. She slid her hand from my cheek to behind my head, pulling me into a deeper kiss as she gently entangled her fingers in my hair. Each of the tiniest movements of her lips against mine made my stomach whirl and my head swim. Fiery warmth radiated throughout my entire body, spreading an absolute bliss that weighed down every muscle and clouded my every thought.

Moments later, Kyla lazily pulled away and sighed a deep, unfamiliar sigh. Worried it hadn’t been everything she had expected, I looked her concernedly in the eyes. “What’s wrong?”

She dropped her hands limply at her sides, and gave a reassuring smile and a shake of the head to instantly put my mind at ease. “Nothing’s wrong. I just can’t believe I let myself miss out on that for so long.”

I grinned as I wrapped my arms tightly around her, pulling her down on the bed and rolling us over so I was on top of her. She let out a playful shriek before she flung her arms around my neck and pulled me into another kiss. Every second our lips touched the fiery warmth spread, igniting an insuppressible passion in me that burned at my very core. As I slid a single arm under Kyla’s delicate waist and pulled her closer, I could feel myself losing control.

Each deepening kiss wasn’t deep enough. The intensity wasn’t intense enough. Closer wasn’t close enough. I took a deep breath, trying to force the heat away, but I was too close to the edge. In one swift motion I threw myself off Kyla and the bed and warily started to pace at the foot of it.

Kyla sat up, confusion and worry illuminated in her eyes. I smiled apologetically. “I’m sorry. Too much excitement too fast.” The confusion didn’t disperse, so I lay across the bed before her, folding my hands behind my head and continuing to breathe deep and slow. “I almost Changed.”

With a nod of understanding Kyla crossed her legs underneath her and leaned forward, taking care not to get too close so she wouldn’t set me off again. “A little too much pent up tension, huh?” she teased with a grin and a playful wink, and I was glad I wasn’t the only one who’d felt tortured by it. Growing serious, she looked down at the bed and began to pick at a stray thread on the blanket. “How can you stop it?”

“I guess taking things a lot slower, or the opposite.” I watched Kyla look up and then uneasily back down as she registered what the opposite was, and not wanting her to think it was expected, I added, “And I didn’t want to assume that it wouldn’t be too fast.”

“You’re right not to assume,” Kyla said shyly, and then worried that she’d offended me fumblingly added, “I mean I want you. It. Um…”

The blood rushing to her cheeks caused me to laugh heartily, supplying a release of tension that made it possible for me to regain full control of myself. “Kyla, it’s okay. I know what you mean. It’s sort of new to me too, you know.”

Gradually and reluctantly as she sat there, silently watching me, the red faded from her face. The gorgeous brunette was clearly in deep thought, and as she apprehensively leaned her face closer to mine, I understood what she was thinking. It was a kiss that she wanted, but she wasn’t sure if I was calmed enough to help herself to one. Not wanting to miss out, I pushed myself up to meet her lips halfway. There was nothing in my entire life I could compare to the tenderness, the taste, and the splendor of Kyla’s lips. It felt as though God himself had created them for my indulgence. As I pulled away and met those sparkling green eyes with my own, I knew there could be no other explanation.

Kyla directed her body horizontally so that she was parallel with me on the bed, and after scooting as close as possible until she was nearly on top of me she propped her elbows up to hold her head in her hands. Again I put my hands behind my own head, giving me some leverage so I could watch Kyla stare at me. The stare was similar to, but much more affectionate than, when she had found out I was a werewolf. The way her dark green eyes went over every inch of skin and every lock of hair it was as if she was seeing me in a whole new light.

Another minute passed before she put her hands down and spoke. “So, what are we?” I was trying to think of the best answer, the one Kyla wanted to hear, when the girl continued. “I mean, are we official? Or do you not want to be?”

I smiled and looked up in obvious thought so she would know I was considering the question. However, I already knew full well what she wanted. It was clear by the yearning in her eyes as she waited for an answer that she wanted an undeniable title for our relationship. And I wanted it too. “Well, Kyla Walters, will you be my girlfriend?”

“I thought you’d never ask!” she groaned in relief as she held back a grin, and throwing an arm over my stomach she leaned closer and kissed all over my face with quick, soft pecks. “Yes, yes, a million times yes.”

I playfully tried to catch her lips as they met my face, and as I did so out of the corner of my eye I read the clock. Without hesitation I felt my stomach tense with hunger, and sensing my distractedness Kyla stopped and waited patiently for my attention. “Sorry, I’m patrolling tonight and I wanted to eat first. Can you stay for dinner?”

With a final kiss Kyla pushed off the bed and held a hand out to help me up. “No, my parents are actually expecting me home already, so I should get gone.”

Finally having stood, I checked my hair in the mirror and instantly wished I’d brushed it before Kyla arrived. As I smoothed it I saw her watching me fondly. “Then what are you doing Friday?”

“Going to school,” she replied sarcastically as she shoved her hands into the pockets of her jacket.

“Friday night, smart ass.” I turned from the mirror and glared at her playfully. Taking a step forward I put my hands on her hips and pulled the girl close, planting a kiss on each cheek before landing one on her lips. Now that I’d gotten what I wanted, I just couldn’t stop.

Kyla grinned as she realized she was being asked on a date. “I’m doing whatever you had in mind for us.”

I smiled, pleased, and followed her as she opened the bedroom door to leave. As we made our way down the stairs and out the front door I watched Kyla walk ahead, enchanted at the power the girl had over me. If she asked, I would give her my whole life. She was already my whole world.

I opened the car door for her to get in and waited for her to roll down the window before resting my elbows on it. “So Friday night, it’s a bit of a drive. Make sure you can stay out late and we’ll leave right after school?”

“Where are we going?” Kyla asked, and when I pursed my lips in silence the curiosity riddled her face. “Cami,” she whined, “Please tell me.”

I smiled, pulling myself off the window. “Bye, I’ll see you tomorrow.”

Kyla drove away, but not before letting me see the exaggerated frown on her face. Still smiling, I turned to see Luna sitting on the porch, playfully gawking at me. When I made my way to the porch and sat beside her, she happily bumped me with her elbow. The smile on her face was so wide I would’ve thought she was the one who’d been kissed.

“What are you smiling about?” I asked, turning to face her and leaning against the porch fence.

“I’m your twin,” Luna shrugged. “I can always tell what you’re feeling. And you, my friend, are too happy for words.” I leaned forward and hugged her as tight as I could, finally releasing all the giddy joy from my system, and in response Luna playfully shoved me off of her. “Please don’t ever hug Kyla that hard. You’ll break a bone or something.”

Her stomach growled loudly, reminding me that I had wanted to make dinner, so I patted my sister on the leg and stood up. “Come on, I’ll cook something.”

Standing up and following me into the kitchen, Luna sat at the table and folded her hands across the surface. “Okay, now tell me everything.”

The alarm clock roared loudly Monday morning, practically scaring me out of bed. But it wasn’t the loud sound that caused me to excitedly throw on my clothes as fast as I could. It was Camille. After getting home from her house the night before, I had tried to go to sleep as early as possible so that the morning would come sooner. Of course, I was so excited it took me hours to fall asleep.

Finally morning had come, and even though I had to wait four periods to at least have lunch with Camille, today I would see her again. It was a strange feeling for me to finally be with her. It undoubtedly felt right, and it had been something I’d wanted even before I realized it. Now it was like everything had fallen into place. It was exactly as it should be.

After hurriedly getting dressed I raced down the stairs, shoved down a piece of toast and jumped in the car. It wasn’t until I accidentally ran a stop sign and was relentlessly honked at that I realized I was being absurd. Calm down Kyla, I told myself as I took a deep breath and purposefully exaggerated my stop at the next stop sign. You’re going to see her no matter what. Minutes later I had already rushed to and visited my locker, and stood there for a good five to ten minutes waiting for Camille before the blonde rounded the corner.

She spotted me waiting for her and grinned, and after what seemed like forever she finally reached her locker and I threw my arms around her neck. Camille let a few seconds pass by before letting go and pulling away awkwardly.

“You’re not worried about people?” she asked. Slightly hurt, I looked around and shook my head. She sensed the hurt and hugged me again in effort to apologize. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean it like that. I don’t care what people think, I just didn’t want you to feel obligated even if it made you uncomfortable.”

I leaned against some nearby lockers while she opened her own. It had never occurred to me to feel uncomfortable. I knew what I wanted, and now that I had it nothing would stop me from showing Camille that. “It’s not like we’re making out in the middle of the hallway. People hug all the time. Besides, I think everyone’s too self-absorbed to notice anyway.”

Camille smiled in agreement and shut her locker right as the bell rang. “I’ll see you at lunch, in the cafeteria?”

I nodded and grinned as Camille gave me an affectionate peck on the cheek, and then we went our separate ways. After the second bell rang for the start of first period my teacher assigned us work, individual or group, for the rest of class. Just as I finished opening my textbook, a short, thin brunette sat down next to me.

“Hey Sarah,” I greeted her.

Sarah smiled back at me. Every day that there was a school football game she was in her cheerleading outfit. I couldn’t help but notice how strange it was whenever I saw her in casual clothes. “Hey. How’d you like the party on Saturday?”

The teacher walked by and we both looked down, pretending to work on the assignment before I answered honestly. “Well I’m not really big on parties, but yours turned out okay.”

Sarah nodded before looking around awkwardly and leaning closer to me so only I could hear. “So um, are you and Camille like, you know, together?”

Surprised, I glanced up. I knew I should have expected it though. Everyone at the party heard Aaron yelling at me. I nodded. “Yeah, I guess since yesterday,” and then braced for having to defend myself.

Sarah sat there thoughtfully, and then smiled. “That’s cool I guess. I’ve never talked to her because she seems really shy, but she’s really pretty.”

Relieved, I let out a sigh and grinned appreciatively at the compliment. “Yeah, she’s a little shy before you get to know her.”

“I was talking about it with Kristen, you know her, she’s in your chemistry class, and she was really surprised because she kind of thought you had a thing with some guy named Jonathan.”

“What?” In utter shock I raised my voice, causing people around us to look over curiously.

Sarah giggled, “No need to get upset about it. She just thought that because he’s always staring at you. I think that’s a little creepy to be honest, so I’m glad you went with a better choice.”

After a moment of calming myself, I nodded my disgusted agreement. I shouldn’t have been surprised at that either. If anyone paid attention during lab they’d have noticed the way Jonathan looked at me. “He’s a huge creep. I hope you set her straight about that?”

Sarah tilted her head as she recalled what she’d said to her friend. “You know, I wasn’t sure about you and Camille then, but I did tell her that I thought it was weird.”

“Are most people here like you?” I looked down shyly. “I mean do most people not care about–”

“The gay thing?” she finished the sentence for me. I blushed as I nodded awkwardly. The word seemed so out of place, so powerful. I had never thought about it being a possibility, never thought about the fact that I might be gay. All I ever thought about was Camille, and that was all there was to it. “Um, I’d say it’s about fifty-fifty. Some people here were raised to care about it, and for others it doesn’t really matter. Personally though, as long as you’re happy I don’t think you should pay attention to what other people think.”

I nodded with a thankful smile, but was still in deep thought as I tested that three-letter word to myself. Hi, I’m Kyla and I’m gay. Hi, I’m a lesbian. I shook my head at the seemingly out of place words, and then smiled to myself as I put it a more comfortable way. I’m dating a girl named Camille. Eventually, maybe, I would use it to describe myself, but for now the fact that I wanted Camille was all I knew for certain.

Sarah and I worked together on the assignment until the bell rang, at which point we said bye and I made my way to second period, which ended up being less eventful than first. Eventually third and then fourth period rolled around and I made my way to chemistry. When I reached the room I stopped in the doorway, and my heart dropped.

All the lab equipment was set up on the tables, meaning we had an experiment today. My palms grew sweaty, the nervousness twisting my stomach into knots as I realized today was the day. If Jonathan was in fact there today, it meant at some point I’d have to go through his backpack. I shook out my arms and forced the rising nausea away, calming myself before I sat down at our table.

A few minutes after I sat down the bell rang, and Jonathan walked in and took his seat next to me. After the teacher explained the experiment he let us go to do our work, and Jonathan took his books out of his backpack and shuffled through some papers like I didn’t exist. What, now you don’t see me? Asshole. Jonathan looked up suddenly as if he’d heard my thoughts, and stared into my eyes with a cold hardness that gave me the chills. I smiled a quick, awkward smile and looked away, but he continued to stare, as if trying to get my attention.

I took a deep breath to will the nerves away so I could face him, talk to him without the slightest hint of fear in my voice. “What?” I finally asked with a scowl, purposefully sounding aggravated.

“Is it true what I’ve been hearing? You and Camille, a happy couple.” I didn’t like the ghoulish smile that spread over his face.

I shrugged obscurely. “It might be, it might not be. What’s it to you?”

He put his hand on my thigh, sliding it farther and farther upward, and the farther up he got the more toward the inside he shifted his fingers. “You know, she’s not as great as you think she is. My offer still stands, but I think we could skip dinner and get straight to the good part.”

In utter repulsion I slammed my hand down on his, stopping it before it got too far up my leg and pushed it off. “Are you trying to give her a reason to be pissed off?”

Maybe that’s why he was here in the first place. He’d already learned everything he could from watching Camille and me. The only reason I could think of that he had to keep coming to this class was to get to Camille, especially now that we were together. Or he was risking it so he could sell off those drugs I’d seen him with multiple time. Either way, he had to know that the Zades wouldn’t try to drag him out with all these students around and risk raising questions.

Jonathan didn’t let being turned down wipe the sadistic smile off his face. “I might be, I might not be. What’s it to you?”

Defiantly turning my head the other way, I stopped looking at him and began to read off the lab instructions. “It’s disgusting is what it is.”

He pounded his fist down on my paper, and with a slamming motion picked his stool up and moved it nearer to me so he could get close to my ear. “Listen you little bitch, I’m not stupid. I know Camille told you exactly what’s going on here. So I know you’re not dumb enough to believe I’d hesitate to kill a worthless human like you the next time you insult me.” I sat there, frozen solid, terrified by the speed at which he’d lost his temper, and more so by the fact that he was completely serious. “Do you understand me?” I nodded, the only movement I could manage. “Good.”

He looked around to make sure no one had heard his outburst and then scooted away to read over the instructions. For the next thirty minutes he held out his hand, naming things for me to pass him, and when I took too long he snapped his fingers impatiently. Each and every time he did it made me flinch. I didn’t think he would hurt me in the middle of a classroom, but I wasn’t positive, and we wouldn’t be here forever.

Finally Jonathan stood up, talked to the teacher, and left the room on his usual bathroom run. This was my chance. My heart practically pounded out of my chest as I looked around to make sure no one was watching, and then picked up his backpack. His threat rang in my ears as looking through the small, front pouch I found nothing but pencils and gum wrappers. I looked up to make sure he wasn’t coming and then opened the main pouch. Bingo.

At the bottom of his bag sat a large pill bottle, packed to the brim with tiny, liquid filled pills. Should I take one or two, or grab the whole bottle? If I took one or two he’d probably never notice, but if I took the whole thing then maybe he’d be out of business. I took the entire bottle out of his backpack and shoved it into my own before zipping it back up and returning it to its spot on the floor. By the time he reentered the room a couple minutes later my heart had stopped pounding and I was able to keep from acting too suspicious.

When I got a break from passing things to him, I pulled out my cell phone to text Camille. “Got something useful from Jonathan’s backpack.”

It took a few minutes until my phone finally buzzed in my pocket, startling me in my proximity to Jonathan. I must not have been as relaxed as I thought. “Perfect. Meet me in the cafeteria at lunch. No problems?”

I checked to make sure the teacher wasn’t watching and slid my phone beneath the table. “All’s good. See you soon.”

After what seemed like hours the bell for lunch rang and I practically ran out of the room. Pushing my way through crowds of students I got to the cafeteria as quickly as I could, where I saw Camille waiting for me by the entrance.

“Hey, what did you find?” she greeted me with a smile.

“Bottle of pills. Hopefully now we can find out what kind of drugs they’re pushing?” I asked, to which Camille nodded and grabbed my hand, pulling me against the crowd of people making their way into the cafeteria. “Where are we going?”

Once we reached a less crowded area she turned to me. “I called my dad, he’s coming to pick up the drugs so we can get results as soon as possible. Jonathan didn’t give you any trouble?”

I let Camille lead the way to the side entrance of the school. “Well, I don’t think he’ll be too thrilled when he notices the pills missing.”

She nodded her agreement and then added, “Unless he wanted you to find them.”

That hadn’t occurred to me, but then I remembered how I’d been so afraid of him. “He’s arrogant though, and he threatened me. I think he figured I wouldn’t have the guts to go looking through his stuff.”

“He threatened you?” Camille asked, a familiar, angry fire lighting her eyes as her jaw clenched.

“First he made a pass at me, I think it was just to get a reaction, and then when I told him what I really think of him, he threatened me,” I told her matter-of-factly, and then winced when the blood visibly rushed to her head. I’d forgotten that now that we were a couple, those were the last kinds of things that I should be telling her, especially because of her protective temper.

“How exactly did he make a pass at you?” the fuming blonde asked through gritted teeth.

We exited the school and sat down on the curb while we waited for Camille’s dad. “I shouldn’t have brought it up. I don’t want you to lose control,” I told her apprehensively. I knew I was right, but I still didn’t want to offend her.

She looked at me and, even though it was clear she was still angry, she gave a slight smile. “Yeah, maybe you shouldn’t tell me.”

“So!” I turned excitedly to face her, and in half curiosity, half attempt to change the subject, asked, “Will you tell me what we’re going to do on Friday now?”

“Nope, and I’m not going to tell you so you can stop asking,” she teased and stuck her tongue out playfully.

“But if you don’t tell me then I’m going to expect the greatest thing ever, and then if it’s not up to par I’ll be really disappointed. Is that really what you want?” I asked, batting my eyes and giving a shy, innocent smile.

“You’re horrible!” Camille sighed in defeat. “Fine. Have you ever been to the beach?”

I put my hands on Camille’s knee, excitedly pushing it back and forth. “No, I’ve never been. Are we going?”

“Well, yeah. It’s a couple hours away but I thought we’d leave right after school to make it there by sunset.” Affectionately running her fingers along my arm, Camille passed me a questioning glance. “Does that sound okay?”

“For our first date?” Excitement practically caused me to shake, so I continued to push her knee back and forth as the only way of releasing my growing joy. “Sounds like the best date ever.”

Camille grinned, and seeing her dad rounding the corner stood up. I followed her lead, and when he pulled up to the curb he rolled down the window to talk to us. “Hey Camille. Kyla, it’s nice to see you again.”

“It’s good to see you too.” I took my place next to Camille at the passenger window and rummaged in my backpack. Pulling out the bottle of pills I handed it through. “This is what I found in his backpack. Will you be able to figure out what it is?”

“It’s about a ten minute drive to San Joaquin. They have a small pharmaceutical lab there so I’ll see if I can pay off one of the technicians.” He opened the bottle and picked out a single pill, studying it while he spoke. “Hopefully we’ll have the results by tomorrow night. Kyla, you’re more than welcome to come over.”

“Thanks Mr. Zade. I’ll be there.” I nodded, zipping up my backpack and throwing it back over my shoulder.

“Oh please, call me Adrian. I’m not that old.” He winked jokingly. “Have a nice day at school girls.”

I smiled and waved as he rolled up the window and drove away. Camille didn’t talk about her dad much, but I liked him. “Camille?” She looked at me questioningly. “How old is your dad?”

“Do you really want to know?” she chuckled as we headed back into the school. I nodded. “He’s seventy–” She counted in her head. “Three. He’s seventy-three.”

My jaw dropped. I had expected her to say nothing more than fifty, and I thought that was way overshooting it. “He doesn’t look a day over forty!” My jaw still hung in shock. “How does it work?”

“We age at a tenth the rate that a human does.” Camille turned down a hall to lead us to the cafeteria, and as she did so she slid her hand into mine in a firm but gentle grip.

Furrowing my forehead in confusion, I thought deeply about it. “But then, shouldn’t he look like seven? I don’t get it.”

She laughed and shrugged. “I never fully understood it myself, but the best way I can put it is that aging and growing are two different things. Growing we do normally, but really, aging is deteriorating. We deteriorate slowly.”

“So technically you could live until you’re like, nine hundred years old?” Even though I understood what Camille had meant, it was still fascinating to me.

“Or longer. Technically.” Camille nodded. “But you’ve seen the kind of dangers that my family has to deal with. It’s a lot worse for most werewolves out there. It’s rare for us to really live that long.”

I fell silent. A sudden awareness hit me that if Camille lived a safe life, she’d be living most of that life without me. I stole a glance in her direction as we entered the lunchroom. One thing I knew for a fact was that at this moment in time, I didn’t want to be a werewolf. Yeah I’d thought about it, but aside from the obvious danger thing, age was the only issue that had arisen with me being human, so far.

A sudden fear caused butterflies to stir in my gut. What else wasn’t right about us? Camille had said so herself, this was a dangerous life. What if she died before I did? I didn’t know if I could live with that, but neither did I want her being okay with the fact that I wouldn’t live as long if I never gave up being human.

Having gone through the lunch line, we sat down across from each other in the near empty cafeteria to finally eat.

“Are you okay?” Camille asked, instantly making me nervous.

Never had we talked about something being wrong even while we were just friends, and our relationship was so new. I prayed I didn’t screw it up.

“I’m scared,” I spat honestly.

She looked at me, clearly concerned. “Of what?”

I stared down at my food. I couldn’t look into her eyes and tell her I already had concerns about our relationship. “I’m scared of us. You could live for a long time. If we’re together years from now, either I die and you got to live hundreds of years without me. Or you get killed and I have to live the rest of my life without you, and you seem so okay with it.”

After a moment of silence Camille got up and moved to sit next to me. “Kyla, I don’t want you to think for one second I’d be okay with that, but we’re still in high school – we’re still young. We have more important things to worry about. Like homework.” She tilted my chin up so she could look in my eyes. “Okay? When the time comes we’ll worry about it. For now, it’s just you and me.”

“You and me,” I repeated. That was something I liked the sound of, and in response I allowed a small smile to turn up one corner of my lips.

The rest of the school day I spent lost in thought. Thinking about what it would be like if I did become a werewolf, and what if I didn’t. I also went through every drug I’d ever heard of, pondering the possibility of what was in the bottle I took from Jonathan. He was sure to have noticed them missing by now. What would his reaction be tomorrow? The fact that Camille wouldn’t be spending the night at my house tonight caused me to fear the worst. What if Jonathan came over looking for revenge?

“Hey Kyla.” My oldest brother Jeremy came out of the house to greet me when I pulled into the driveway after school. “I have to go to the hardware store. Will you come with me?”

I gave him a weird look but nodded. Usually he’d have asked Scott to go before he asked me, but having spent little time him since we moved I gladly accepted, jumping in the truck with him. “What are we going for?”

“Some lumber. The horse corral has a couple spots that need mending,” he answered and backed out onto the road.

I noticed him open his mouth a couple times and then close it, like he had something to say but wasn’t sure about it. After a few minutes he finally decided to do it. “Are you with that girl Camille?”

My heart dropped at the unexpected question and blood rushed to my face. However, in no time the embarrassment faded to irritation. “What the hell? How’d you hear that?”

“Small town Kyla, a friend of mine texted me. His sister goes to your school,” he answered, keeping his eyes on the road.

“Jesus Christ, news travels fast.” I shook my head in disbelief while my heart remained suspended in my stomach, unsure of the conversation that was about to take place.

Jeremy glanced in my direction. “It’s true?” I nodded, staring straight ahead, blood still burning in my cheeks. “When were you going to tell me?” he asked, sounding more offended, or hurt, rather than angry.

“It just happened yesterday,” I told him awkwardly. “I’ve hardly had time to digest it myself.”

“Oh,” was all he said, falling silent for a minute in deep thought. “So, you’re gay?”

Again the use of that three-letter word confused me. I shrugged. “I don’t really know. Nothing like this ever happened before Camille.”

“Oh,” he said again, falling into another minute of silence.

I tried to gauge his reactions, tried to figure out what he thought about it, but with this he was impossible to read. This had never been a topic my parents had covered with us, so how we felt about it had been left to our discretion. I knew my mom had a tendency toward scrutiny of the lifestyle choice. We’d seen a gay couple only once in Texas, and the situation had made her terribly uncomfortable. My dad, much like my brother, was hard to read on an opinion.

“It’s safe to assume you haven’t told Mom or Dad?” Jeremy finally asked, and to which I shook my head. “Are you going to?”

It was obvious I’d have to tell them eventually, but when was completely reliant on when I’d have the guts. “I know I have to. I just need time.” I watched him nod in understanding. “You’re okay with it?”

He cocked his head thoughtfully, but gave another nod. “Well, it ain’t my decision to make is it? And I’ve seen how happy you are around her. Much happier than you were with Aaron,” he said bitterly and then grinned. “And you get props. She. Is. Hot.”

I laughed and punched him in the arm. “Creep! Those kind of statements are off limits now.”

“Okay, okay, sorry. Have you been working out?” He chuckled and rubbed his arm. “But do remind her that Dad still has a shotgun, and she better not go breaking your heart.”

“I’ll let her know.” I grinned and then appreciatively hugged his arm. “Thanks, J.”

“Aw don’t get all mushy on me.” He teasingly pushed me away, but still he smiled warmly. “It’s no problem little sis, and if you need someone there when you tell Mom and Dad.” I nodded, more than thankful for the offer.

Moments later we arrived at the hardware store and I helped him carry some lumber to the bed of the truck. Even though at the start of our conversation I had been scared to death, I was glad Jeremy had found out. I was even happier that he was supportive of it. Someone in my own family knowing about my relationship with Camille made it seem more official, and a little bit less intimidating.

Arriving home soon after I sat at the desk in my room, sighing at the amount of homework I’d accumulated throughout the day. I opened my math book and started what would take me until midnight to finish, breaking only to eat dinner. When that was finally finished at a quarter to twelve I climbed into bed, waking to the sound of my alarm clock before I knew I’d closed my eyes. The following morning I trudged from class to class, half sleeping through each lecture.

It wasn’t until I walked into chemistry that I really started to pay attention. Only it was hard to focus on anything but Jonathan’s cold, hard stare, never leaving my back. It locked on to me the second I walked in and didn’t leave me the entire period. Every minute that ticked by I grew more and more nervous. I wanted to turn and face him, relieve the stress of having my back turned. If he tried to attack me, I wanted to see it coming.

Finally the bell rang, and faster than ever I threw my stuff into my backpack and darted out of the room. But after I made it past the doorway Jonathan grabbed my arm and forcefully pulled me back, throwing me against the lockers and causing me to let out an ‘oof’ as the wind was knocked out of me.

He was close enough to leave me no escape, but far enough not to draw attention to us as the hundreds of students scrambled by. “So you grew a pair? I underestimated you.”

“Huh?” I played dumb, knowing full well it wouldn’t work.

“Huh?” he mimicked menacingly. “The pills, Kyla. That was a big mistake, and now you’re–”

“You want to back up now.” I glanced over Jonathan’s shoulder to see Camille coming to my rescue.

He turned his head, sighing a deep, aggravated sigh when he saw her. “Camille, you are really starting to piss me off.” After that he ignored her and turned back to me. “Where were we?”

Camille glanced around the nearly empty halls before grabbing Jonathan’s shoulder to try and pull him away from me. Feeling her hand before she could, Jonathan grabbed her arm and threw her against the lockers, moving away from me and pressing his hand high on Camille’s chest to hold her in place.

“Tides are turned Camille, and I have to say, I’m rather enjoying the role reversal.” Anger burned through me as Jonathan stared directly at me, and while talking ran a finger suggestively down Camille’s neck. “You know I’ve been looking forward to when I get my alone time with Kyla. But uh, I’d be willing to make an exception so you can join us.”

I scowled. I had had it with Jonathan’s obscenity. He’d pushed it too far. Angrily I stepped up to him and slapped him across the face. Hearing the loud ‘smack’ Camille let an amused smirk brighten her expression, but it immediately disappeared when she realized it had caused him to fume.

“Kyla, back up,” she told me.

My face paled. I knew what was about to happen, but couldn’t believe it really would. I hadn’t seen anyone Phase yet. I stepped back, looking around the halls and noticing a single student at the opposite end, paying no attention to us. Jonathan inhaled and exhaled, deep and fast in futile attempts to keep himself under control.

“Run Kyla, right now.” I stood there, frozen for a second before Camille yelled for me to ‘go’, and then I took off down the hall.

I had barely started running before a large black wolf clamped down on my backpack and whipped its head to the side, throwing me against the lockers. The large wolf lunged at me, being caught in mid air by another slightly lighter colored wolf knocking him to the ground. When I had been thrown against the lockers I’d hit my head hard, and now it was swimming. I lay there, rubbing the growing bump as the wolves tangled, snapping and clawing at each other, colliding with and denting lockers as they made their way down the hall.

“Crap, crap, crap.” I stood up, frantically trying to think of what to do. I ran to Camille’s backpack and pulled out her cell phone, racing through the contacts with trembling fingers.

“What? I’m in class,” the deep voice on the other end asked annoyed.

“Niko, it’s Kyla.” I spoke as fast as I could. “They just left the building. Go to the practice football field.” That was all I could manage to spit out through the panic and the pounding that had started in my head.

I hung up the phone and ran down the hall, exiting the doors that led to the empty football field. I stood there, frozen solid in fear as I watched the large wolves brawling on the grass, thanking my lucky stars that no one else was outside watching the same thing. They were a dark and snarling coil of fur. A rolling ball of fury moving so fast the only distinction in the dark mass was the occasional flash of pearly white fangs. About thirty seconds later Niko came bursting out the doors behind me, stopping at my side.

He growled, clearly frustrated at the sight, and then dropped his backpack and backed me a safe distance from him. “I texted Luna, she should be here any second.”

Confused I stood there staring, and right before my eyes an enormous light-brown wolf seemed to rip through Niko’s skin. The wolf took off running toward Camille and Jonathan, leaving shreds of clothing floating to the ground behind him. I watched him head-butt Jonathan away from Camille and then pin her to the ground as Jonathan sprinted across the field and to the farmland that stretched behind the school, leaving the scene. Camille struggled under her brother, desperately trying to break free so she could chase Jonathan, but as desperate as she was, she wouldn’t fight him.

Luna threw open the doors just as Camille had calmed enough for Niko to let her up. “Oh my God.” She looked at me, clearly confused, and looked back at the wolves in the middle of the football field. “Go through the wheat field. We’ll get the car!” she shouted at them, pointing to another stretch of farmland.

Grabbing my arm Luna ran toward the parking lot, dragging me behind her. I hopped in the passenger seat while she started the jeep, and with screeching tires threw it in reverse. I sat there without moving, unsure of what to say or do, in awe of what I’d seen.

“Kyla, are you okay?” Luna touched my arm comfortingly. “Are you hurt?” As her eyes scanned every inch of my bare skin I could have sworn she was looking for any bite marks.

Taking a deep breath, I touched the massive and growing bump in my skull. “I hit my head.”

She nodded as she sharply turned the steering wheel, tearing down a road at the end of which Camille and Niko were waiting. She slammed on the breaks when she reached them and they both jumped in the back seat.

“Here.” Niko reached behind their seat, handed Camille a blanket and then wrapped the second one around himself.

I glanced behind me, confronted by Camille’s exposed, blood-streaked body. “You guys are naked.”

“What did you expect?” Niko said rudely. Camille growled at him, a low sound coming deep from her throat, warning him to remember his place. “What the hell happened?”

I stared at my knees, guilt spreading through me like wildfire. This was my fault. I’d made Jonathan mad and Camille had to protect me. “I’m so sorry,” was all I managed to say.

“Jonathan lost control,” Camille said, directed more at me to make me feel better than at Niko. Then to her siblings she explained. “He lost control and was going after Kyla. I had to do it.”

The rest of the ride, however quick, was silent. Pulling into Camille’s driveway I slid out of the car and followed them into the house. When we reached the living room, Adrian had heard us come in and stepped out of his office, frowning when he saw Camille and Niko wrapped in blankets.

“Sit,” he commanded all of us, a mixture of intense emotions riddling his face. We all sat on a single couch, and he took a seat in an armchair across from us. “Who did you fight Camille?” he asked, clearly noticing the welted bite marks all over her skin.

“Jonathan,” she told him, a quick and one word answer, and then looked down at the floor. “Inside the school.”

“Please tell me you didn’t,” he said in an angrily raised voice, standing and pacing in front of the chair. “Do you have any idea how bad that could have been? You know better than all of us that someone could have been hurt.”

“You don’t think I know that?” Something Adrian said made Camille raise her voice defensively, and as her eyes glossed with held back tears she looked everywhere but in his eyes. She quickly blinked away the tears before answering. “I had to do it. He lost his temper and was going after Kyla.”

He folded his arms across his chest, turning his head when he noticed Julian come in the room. “And why did he lose his temper?”

Camille sighed in defeat. “We made him mad.”

Her dad sighed, frustrated, and rubbed his forehead. “Camille, do you have any idea how important this is? There’s a lot more at stake here than your goddamned teenage ego.”

I flinched as Adrian raised his voice, but as intimidated as I was I couldn’t let Camille take the fall. “It was my fault sir.” Both he and Camille looked at me. “I made him mad. Camille was just trying to protect me.”

Another sigh as he tried to calm himself, reluctant to raise his voice again. “Well, Kyla, needless to say you know the situation. Be careful from now on. Camille, any deep cuts?”

She shook her head. “Nothing a shower won’t fix.”

“Good.” He gave a small smile to let us know no grudges would be held. “Anyone else hurt?”

“Kyla hit her head,” Luna told him.

He motioned for me to follow him and dismissed everyone else. I followed him into the kitchen where he told me to sit on the table. “Do you remember what happened Kyla?”

“I slapped him,” I told him honestly, bowing my head in shame.

He chuckled in amusement. “I meant to your head, but nicely done.”

I looked away shyly and laughed at myself. “Oh, he threw me against the lockers and I hit it.” I winced when he lightly touched the bump on my head.

“Sorry. Any dizziness? You didn’t black out did you?” He motioned for me to look up into the ceiling lights so he could check my pupils.

“No. I was a little lightheaded and it was pounding at first, now I just have a little headache,” I told him, and started swinging my legs back and forth like I used to do when I’d visit the pediatrician.

“Okay, well you should be fine. Just let me know if you start getting disoriented or nauseated.” I nodded and he leaned against the kitchen counter, looking at me as if he had more to say. “It’s my understanding that you and Camille are a bit of an item now.” Growing nervous, I nodded again. “She wouldn’t have brought you into any of this if she didn’t care about you, and trust you. Just be careful with her.”

I understood. Adrian was such a nice guy he could never make the legitimate fatherly threat, so this was his version. “I understand. I would never hurt her.” Camille’s dad nodded and smiled at me, but I continued to sit on the table, unsure if he was done talking to me. “I didn’t know you were a doctor?”

“Oh no.” He chuckled to himself. “Don’t laugh at me, but I went to nursing school. Before I met Camille’s mother.” I held back a chuckle and nodded, hoping he would say more so we wouldn’t sit in awkward silence. “You don’t want to hear this boring stuff. Camille’s out of the shower now.”

I glanced up at the ceiling, but I couldn’t tell anything was different. Taking his word for it I hopped off the table and made my way up the stairs. “Camille?” I knocked on her door before walking in. She had her back turned and was finishing putting on a t-shirt, but not before I could see the welts and a few cuts on her back.

“Camille, I’m so sorry. I didn’t know he’d lose control so easily.” I sat on the bed, pulling her down to sit next to me.

“Don’t apologize.” She stretched out on the bed, putting her head in my lap and sighing tiredly. “It was only a matter of time before I hit him myself. At least now he knows you won’t put up with his bullshit. How’s your head?”

I laughed, knowing all too well how honest she was being about wanting to hit him too. “It’s okay, just a little bruised. And how’s your body?”

Camille smiled comfortingly. “My body is fine. You should see Jonathan. I got a couple good bites on him.”

“Oh, that’s good.” I pictured the two wolves fighting in the field, and the wolf that took Niko’s place in the blink of an eye. If I’d looked away I’d have missed it.

Always so in tune to my moods, Camille asked, “What’s wrong?”

“I won’t lie, seeing you fighting with him was scary. It looked like it was to the death, and I was scared you were going to get really hurt.” I half-lifted her shirt so I could draw pictures on her stomach with my finger. It was nice not having to worry about the ways I touched her now. “But I saw Niko Change, and that had to be the coolest thing I’ve ever seen. Except for the naked part afterward. That kind of threw me off.”

Camille laughed and stopped my finger, interlocking our hands. “Yeah the nakedness is something you get used to, but I’m glad Niko’s Changing didn’t freak you out. Was my dad being nice?”

“Yeah,” I laughed with a nod. “He checked on my head and then told me he went to nursing school.” Then I shrugged and looked up as Luna appeared in the doorway.

“Hey, Mike just got back with the drug results. Let’s find out what this asshole’s up to,” she told us and then turned and ran down the stairs.

Camille and I looked at each other excitedly and then got up, almost running down the stairs too. We sat on the couch next to Luna and waited for everyone else to sit or stand somewhere in the room, each of us nervously fidgeting or tapping our foot. Julian was the last to arrive and sat in an armchair that Adrian had reserved for him.

“Okay everyone ready to hear it?” Mike asked, pulling a folded piece of paper out of his pocket. “Alright, the drug you submitted contains high amounts of nicotine, not surprising,” he said to himself, and as his eyes continued on, his jaw dropped. “It also contains epinephrine, more commonly known as adrenaline.” He looked at each of us in the eye before continuing. “Adrenaline, apparently, from some species of canine.” As I looked around at dropping and clenching jaws, I didn’t think I’d heard right. I couldn’t have.

“Just to make sure we’re all on the same page here,” Camille asked, reading my mind. “They’ve been selling werewolf adrenaline to humans?”

“That’s what it looks like.” Mike nodded through clenched teeth.

“But why the nicotine?” Luna asked.

“Keep the customers wanting more,” Niko answered her with a shrug.

I sat there, frightened and confused, and turned to Camille to whisper in her ear. “How come if people take the adrenaline pills it doesn’t turn them into a werewolf?”

“In order to turn someone it has to enter their bloodstream. When you eat something your body doesn’t absorb everything,” Camille told me, and then explained further so I would fully understand. “A human taking werewolf adrenaline would probably be like them taking really good steroids, but because it’s a natural hormone it wouldn’t have any of the negative effects that steroids do, and it won’t show up on drug tests.”

“And the same thing with the nicotine,” I said, nodding in understanding. “But why not take the adrenaline and then let the werewolf go? Why kill them?”

“Leave no witnesses, other werewolves could ruin their plan, or just because they can. As long as we can’t find them, we can’t stop them and they can do whatever they want.” Camille sounded frustrated, like she wished Niko hadn’t stopped her from tearing into Jonathan earlier.

I sat there and let the situation sink in. As I looked around at all the people that I was starting to grow fond of, I feared for them, most of all for Camille. Jonathan had said that she was starting to piss him off. Why wouldn’t he go after her first? He had every reason. A cold pit grew in my stomach as it finally sunk in just the kind of dangerous situation I’d gotten myself into.

I pulled into Kyla’s driveway on Friday afternoon nearly shaking with excitement. For our first official date I’d packed a small cooler with food and was going to take her to watch the sunset at the beach. I knew it was cheesy, but I didn’t care. The beach was the only place I could take her where we could be alone and not have to worry about any werewolf business.

I knocked on the front door to be greeted by Kyla’s oldest brother, Jeremy. “Oh hey Camille, come on in,” he said, and then shouted up the stairs for Kyla.

As we stood there in the kitchen waiting for her to come down, Jeremy reached into a bag of chips, offered me some, and hopped up on the counter. He was studying me too intently to be doing it on accident. As I realized he was trying to intimidate me with that intense stare, I couldn’t help but smirk. He had to know about Kyla and me. So I reached into the bag of chips and smiled at him confidently, letting him know he wasn’t making me nervous.

He gave a quick smile back, and then tried to act serious. “I’m watching you little one. You be good to my sister.”

I couldn’t help but laugh at him as he tried to scowl at me, but only ended up looking like he belonged in a nuthouse. He chuckled along and offered me some more chips. “You don’t need to worry. She’s safe with me,” I reassured him as Kyla came hurrying down the stairs.

She saw Jeremy sitting on the counter next to me and squinted her eyes at him suspiciously. “J, are you being nice?”

Jeremy tsk-ed at her sarcastically while shaking his head. “Nice is my middle name.” Kyla laughed and rolled her eyes at her brother, ushering me out of the kitchen. “I like you so far Camille. You two behave yourselves,” he called after us.

Kyla waved and stuck her tongue out at him as we walked out the front door. “He knows about us, if you couldn’t tell,” she informed me as I jumped in the driver’s seat.

“Yeah I caught that,” I told her, starting the car and then leaning over to give her a hello kiss. “When did you tell him?”

“I didn’t actually,” she admitted as she pulled her seatbelt across her chest and buckled it in. “He found out from a friend whose sister goes to our school.”

I sighed, but my sarcastic tone assured Kyla I wasn’t aggravated. “People just can’t mind their own business. He seems to be okay with it though. Are you glad he knows?”

“You know, I am glad.” She let on a big affectionate smile for added assurance. “It’s kind of a relief knowing that someone from my family’s okay with it."

I nodded. I understood that perfectly. Werewolf or not, telling your family about something like this was hard and scary. “What about your parents? Are you going to tell them?”

I glanced over to see Kyla pulling at her lip thoughtfully. “Um, I don’t know. I mean I know that they need to know eventually, and I don’t want to put it off for too long. But I don’t know. Are you okay with me not telling them yet?”

“Of course,” I told her, nodding vigorously to emphasize how okay with it I was. “As long as you still want me, you do what you got to do.”

Kyla leaned over and gave me a tender kiss on the cheek before turning up the radio. She flipped through the stations and after finding one she liked she started belting out the song that was playing. I couldn’t help but laugh in sheer joy as I watched her sing and dance in the passenger seat, and soon enough was dancing along. The rest of the ride lasted a couple hours until we reached the beach, and we got there right as the sky turned orange. So far, our timing was perfect. I grabbed the little ice cooler out of the jeep and led Kyla to a small patch of boulders that lined the far edge of the sand. Aside from a small amount of other couples and bonfires that dotted the shore, it was empty.

I set the cooler down next to the boulders and turned to look at Kyla, who was staring in awe at the vast water and then lifted her face toward the sky. “What are you doing?”

“Smelling it,” she told me, laughing embarrassedly. “I wish pictures could capture smell. Then I could take this home with me.”

I smiled and thought about how if I could do that for her, I would in a heartbeat. “Well it looks like we have about thirty minutes until actual sunset. Do you want to eat?”

“No,” she started, suggestively stretching one leg before the other as she strode toward me.

“Um, take a nap?” I backed against one of the largest rocks as Kyla pressed right up against me, and I had to bite my lip to keep from jumping the gun. Such bold affection from her was definitely new, but I couldn’t say I minded.

She slid her hands halfway up my shirt, running a finger down my stomach before pulling my shirt over my head. She then slipped off her own shirt, rolling her hips provocatively as she did so, and revealing a royal blue bikini with a pink Hawaiian flower on one breast.

“We’re going swimming,” she laughed, and then apologetically pecked me on the lips for leading me on.

I laughed and shook away the effect she had had on me as she took off her shorts, now completely ready to go into the water. “I hope you know the water is freezing cold. Like an ice cube.” It was for that exact reason that I hadn’t even bothered to put on a bathing suit.

Kyla shrugged. “You only live once right?” To which I nodded in agreement. “Race you,” she called behind her, already sprinting toward the water.

I struggled to hurriedly strip off my jeans, but ended up getting them caught on my feet and face-planting in the sand. From the ground I kicked them off and darted up, taking off toward Kyla who was nearly halfway down the beach. I was almost at the water when she reached it, and once her feet hit the icy ocean she let out a shriek and backed out of it.

Stopping to stand next to her at the edge of the water I teased, “I told you the water was cold. Are you chickening out?” I was slightly hoping she would chicken out. The wet sand was already making my toes cold, and while my canine warmth would keep me from freezing, I’d still feel it.

“No,” she told me, inching closer to the water. Then spoke encouragingly to herself. “Just jump in. Just dive right in. It’s better that way.”

Seconds later she fearlessly ran into the water and dipped her head under when it got deep enough. She broke the surface gasping for air and shivering. “Come on in! It’s like a hot tub in here!”

“Looks like it,” I hollered back sarcastically, chuckling to myself, and then jumped into the water to meet her.

I shivered a bit as the cold water engulfed me from head to toe, but my body adjusted quicker than I thought it would. On the other hand, Kyla’s teeth chattered as she vigorously kicked her feet in an attempt to get her blood flowing.

“The water’s not always like this is it?” she asked shakily.

“Yeah, it’s always cold,” I laughed. “Are you ready to get out now? Your lips are turning blue.”

She jumped backward into a wave and dove under water one last time. “Okay, now I’m ready.”

Following a trembling Kyla back up the beach, I wiped the water off my body with my hands. As we reached the cooler we pulled our clothes back on, and sat down facing the water just as the sun began to reach the horizon. Instead of watching the sky, I gazed fondly at Kyla as she stared at the sunset, the brilliant purples and oranges dancing off the waves, reflecting in her eyes like diamonds. When she noticed she was being watched she peeled her eyes off the water, and the break in concentration allowed the shivers to return, causing her to rub her arms furiously. I smiled invitingly and patted the sand between my legs, and she delightedly took me up on the offer and sat there, leaning back into my chest.

“Is being super warm all the time a wolf thing too?” she asked, reaching into the cooler and pulling out a peanut butter and jelly sandwich.

I laughed and took a bite when she lifted the sandwich behind her head, practically shoving it into my mouth. “Yeah it is. Is it a perk?”

Kyla nodded and took a big bite, answering through a full mouth. “Mhm, definitely a perk.”

Once she finished the sandwich she grabbed my arms and wrapped them around her waist, leaning her head back on my shoulder. The way she held my hands in place around her with her own made me want to squeeze even tighter. All I could smell with her so close and leaning back into me was the salty water and her scent. The very scent that had attracted me from the beginning, and the very scent that even now put me into a calm and drunken trance. The sun had disappeared and the light was almost gone before either of us spoke again.

“Camille, can I ask you something?” Kyla asked without turning around, and her hands began tracing lines on the back of mine.

“Of course,” I answered, taking a deep, relaxed breath as I thought about how perfect this was going.

“You know when your dad kind of freaked out because of what happened at the school?” Kyla asked, to which I mhm-ed. “He said, ‘you know better than any of us that someone could have been hurt.’ Like you have a reason to know that.”

My heart stopped. No, this is going so well. I knew full well that I had a reason to know it. I had just been hoping I wouldn’t need to tell Kyla for a long time, if ever.

When I didn’t say anything, Kyla prodded. “Well, do you?”

Taking a deep breath, I practically sighed the word ‘yes’. In the fading light Kyla turned to face me, obvious worry on her face. “What happened?”

I thanked the darkening night for hiding the shame I felt creasing my expression. Then I sighed, trying to work up the nerve to tell her the truth. “I’ve told you about the instincts that come with being a werewolf, and when you first start Changing they’re really strong and hard to control. It takes a long time to adjust.” I waited for her to nod before continuing. “When it was all new to me, we used to sneak onto farms and scare the cattle. It was all fun and games, but for a new werewolf it’s exciting. It’s dangerous.”

“You killed a cow?” she asked, almost nonchalantly.

“No. Farmers are really protective of their cattle, and you’ve seen how defensive I can get, you know, with Jonathan and everything.” I paused, swallowing past the nauseous lump in my throat. “The farmer came out with a gun and fired a shot into the field. I tried to stop, but it set me off. I couldn’t control myself.”

I could feel the tension as Kyla froze. Her hand stopped tracing lines and her body grew stiff against mine. For the next minute she digested the information in silence, then, “You killed him?”

The way she said it made my heart drop to my stomach. She sounded confused, disappointed, like the Camille she knew would never do something like that. “All it took was one bite. The others got to me before I could do more damage, but that was all it took.”

“It was you,” she said to herself, falling quiet for a few moments. “But it was self-defense,” she said in a half-question as she turned to look at me, making an attempt at justifying it for me.

“No,” I whispered. I could barely stand the thought of losing Kyla, after finally getting her, because of this, but I had to be honest. She had to know the risks. “Any, more self-controlled werewolf would have just left the scene, without any confrontation. Luna was there that night, and she could just walk away. We shouldn’t have been there in the first place.” I sat there, watching her stare at me in shock. “Kyla.”

I reached for her hand but she pulled it away. Not out of anger, but she was clearly disconcerted, and maybe even a little afraid. “Just give me a second.”

It still felt like a heart-wrenching punch in the gut, leaving a hole in my stomach the size of a wrecking ball. Ever since I met Kyla I’d been working so hard to make sure she knew I could be trusted. That once she found out I was a werewolf she’d never need to be afraid. The look she had on her face now was the same one she’d had when Jonathan got away from me and I’d hit the locker. Did I ever want to lose her? No. It would crush me, but I couldn’t deny it might be better for her if she was afraid. If she did want out of this.

“Oh God.” I sat there for a few moments, and then stood up, then sat back down on a nearby boulder when my legs nearly gave out.

“Oh God what?” Kyla asked worriedly, quickly getting up and standing in front of me.

“This is the part that I’ve been scared of from day one.” Even though I knew it might be best, just thinking she might not want to be with me was devastating. “The part where you call me a monster and tell me you never want to see me again.” As I said the words the hole in my stomach filled with ice, freezing me to the rock. I couldn’t say anything else, couldn’t move, and definitely couldn’t breathe.

“Camille, what are you talking about?” Kyla pulled me by the hand off the boulder and wrapped her arms as tight as she could around my waist. “Look, you messed up pretty bad. I know it, but I also know that you’ve saved my life more than once, and you’ve made me happy so many more times than that. Call me selfish, but I wouldn’t sacrifice that happiness for anything.”

“You’re not afraid?” I asked, pulling slightly back from her embrace to look her in the eyes, to see the answer on her face regardless of what came out of her mouth. She shook her head. “What if you should be?”

“I’m not.” Her voice was unwavering. Fearless. “You’d never hurt me.”

She was right. I would never hurt her. Not even if I lost every ounce of control in my body. “How do you know that?”

“Aside from the fact that you promised?” She smiled a smug grin. “You’re kind of really crazy about me.”

The smile returned to my face and I laughed at her confidence. It was true. I’d even go so far as to admit to myself that I was in love with Kyla. “I’m crazy about you huh?”

I rested my hands on her hips and then slid them up to her ribs, tickling her furiously. Letting out a shocked scream she tried to wriggle free, but tripped over her own feet and fell to the sand. She reached out for me to help her up, but instead pulled me right down beside her, shifting on top of me and tickling back.

My ribs were attacked relentlessly until I was gasping for air. “Okay!” I screamed between laughing and gasping. “I can’t take anymore.”

Kyla stopped tickling as I sat up enough to rest on my elbows, a triumphant grin on her face. “Have I found your weakness?”

“You got me,” I laughed. “You found my kryptonite.” Raising her arms above her head like a champion, Kyla cheered happily. “Kyla?”

“Yeah?” She stopped cheering and lowered her arms at the now sincere tone of my voice.

I reached a hand up and brushed her hair behind her ear. “Thanks.”

“For what?” she smiled and turned her head shyly away from my hand.

“You know,” I shrugged. “For trusting me. Accepting me.”

“Couldn’t help it if I wanted to,” she shrugged back.

“Oh? And why’s that?” I laughed.

“Well, call me a sucker,” she started, a teasing smirk on her face. “But I just can’t resist a hot blonde.”

“I better be the only hot blonde,” I laughed and slid my hands up to Kyla’s ribs, threatening to tickle her again if the answer wasn’t satisfactory.

She giggled, wiggling away from my fingers as if it already tickled, and crossed her finger over her heart. “Promise.”

Grinning, I pushed myself all the way up until my lips met hers in an eager, passionate kiss. I let my tongue get as far as caressing her bottom lip, and as I finished the kiss with a nibble I nearly had to sit on my hands, forcing myself to keep them from wandering too soon where I’d never been. I sighed contentedly and lay back in the sand, with Kyla closely following my lead, stretching her body next to me and laying her head on my chest. We lay there for a few minutes before she yawned.

“What time do you have to be home?” I asked, gently running my fingers up and down the arm she had laid across my stomach.

“I don’t.” Kyla looked up at me and smiled proudly. “I told my parents I’m spending the night at your house.”

“Even better,” I laughed happily, giving the brunette a tight squeeze. “It’s starting to get pretty cold, are you ready to go back to my house?”

Kyla nodded that she was, but reluctantly lifted herself off me, laughing at her own unwillingness. “You’re just so warm.”

When we finally stood up, I glanced around thoughtfully before handing the cooler to Kyla and scooping her up. “There, now you can still be warm,” I smiled.

It wasn’t too long of a walk back to the car, but I carried Kyla the entire way, all the while holding her tight and close, something I’d wanted to do since the day we’d met. Lack of streetlights made it impossible for Kyla to really see more of me than an outline. A werewolf’s night vision, however, made it possible for me to meet the girl’s searching eyes even if she didn’t know it. When we made it back to the car I reluctantly set Kyla down and opened the door for her, waiting patiently for her to get in before I made my way to the driver’s side of the car.

The car had to be started as hastily as possible to turn the heat on for my now shivering passenger, but before taking another step to get us home I found myself staring at her. The girl was too busy trying to buckle her seatbelt with shaking hands to notice she was being watched, and the troublesome effort received an affectionate smile from me. The girlfriendly thing to do would have been to help Kyla out, but I was enjoying too much the lighthearted warmth that began to spread throughout my chest.

It was a different kind of warmth from the eager, passionate blaze that threatened to consume me the first time we kissed. This soft, nourishing glow I knew had saved me. From Jonathan. From myself. That glow was the spark of devotion. Devotion that could only grow into and exceed the all-encompassing flame my passion already was. There had always been too much riding against us for me to become fully attached to Kyla. But those feelings of devotion, that feeling that I had never felt in my life, was what made me finally and fully grasp the concept of that sweet, beautiful brunette. It would always be Kyla.

“Thanks for the–” Kyla had finally finished putting on her seatbelt and was going to make a sarcastic comment about me not offering to help, but when she realized how deeply and tenderly I was staring at her, she stopped. “What?”

I’m in love with you. I could admit it to myself, but on a first date I felt it would be too much to admit to her. So instead I just shook my head. “Nothing.”

I could tell by the curious look on her face that she knew I was thinking something. Hell, she could probably see the admission in my eyes, because she just smiled knowingly. When she finally leaned over and kissed me, I could feel her smile continue to grow. I could have stayed there with my lips against hers for the entire night, but a tremble pulled the freezing girl away from me. She wrapped her arms around one of mine to be as close as possible to my heat, and with a chuckle I put the car in drive.

When we got home a few hours later Kyla still leaned against me and was nearly asleep. As gently as I could, I removed her grip on me and got out. As I walked around the side of the car and opened her door I heard the silent padding of feet coming closer. A turn of my head put a familiar reddish brown wolf to the sound. As Kyla got out of the car it was clear she didn’t see the wolf until it was close enough for her to feel its breath, because she nearly jumped out of her skin as she grabbed my arm with one hand and put the other over her mouth to stifle a shriek. Releasing her death grip from my arm she took a deep breath and laughed at herself.

“Kyla, I don’t think you’ve officially met Carter yet, my oldest brother,” I told her, squeezing her hand to try and calm her nerves.

Stretching its front legs out and lowering its head to the ground, the wolf bowed politely. Kyla let out a giggle and playfully curtsied back. “Nice to meet you, Carter.”

The wolf let out a huff of agreement and goodbye, and then took off in the opposite direction toward the field next to the house. “They’re starting the second patrol,” I answered the desperate squint as Kyla tried to spot the other wolves she knew were in the field.

After a nod of comprehension from Kyla, I linked hands with her and led her into the house. A couple of my family members were still awake – my dad smiled at us from the kitchen and Luna was making her way down the stairs as we headed up. Once we reached my bedroom and I closed the door behind us, we each changed into pajamas. With a yawn I stretched and then climbed under the covers, Kyla sliding in next to me and turning on her side so that we were facing each other.

“Kyla,” I started, tracing the outline of her torso and hips with my fingertips. “I was just wondering, because you’re so okay with the whole werewolf thing, would you ever consider becoming one? I’m not asking you to. I was just wondering what you thought about it, I guess.”

“Well, I have thought about it. Maybe in the future, like, after high school I wouldn’t mind. But right now I just want you. If I can have you while being human, then that’s what I prefer.” She was quiet for a minute, and I assumed she was weighing the pros and cons of my question. “And besides, if I was a werewolf I’d be just as warm as you. So I wouldn’t have an excuse to cuddle with you.”

I laughed and yawned again. “You know you don’t need an excuse.”

I could feel her nod, and the girl laid silent long enough that I thought she’d fallen asleep, but when I had closed my eyes she spoke again. “Even if I can’t be a werewolf, I need to be able to protect myself, right?” The slow and careful tone of Kyla’s voice made me curious, and even slightly apprehensive about where the conversation was going. I muttered a slow ‘yeah’ and waited for her to continue. “I never had any training or anything, so what would you think about teaching me how to fight?”

I had had some training when I was growing up, but I wondered what it was that made Kyla assume so, since we’d never talked about it. Her being able to defend herself was something that I had never thought of. The only option for me was being there to protect her. Not to mention that the idea of Kyla trying to fight a werewolf was enough to scare me pale.

“I don’t know,” I said thoughtfully. “I don’t think it would be a good idea for you to be involved in the fighting. If something happened to you, I wouldn’t be able to live with it.”

Kyla was silent for another moment as she formed her rebuttal. “That’s exactly why you should teach me. What if one time you aren’t there and something happens? I don’t want to be in the fighting either, but I need to know how to defend myself.”

I sighed, knowing she was right. Even with training Kyla wouldn’t have a fighting chance against a werewolf, but there were threats other than supernatural in the world. “I won’t train you,” I started, and I could hear her open her mouth to protest. “But, that’s because I think Carter would be a much better teacher.”

“Thanks.” A pair of lips found my cheek in the dark, and shortly after Kyla folded her arms to her chest and inched closer to me, burying her head in the crook of my neck.

“Goodnight,” I said, smiling to myself as I wrapped an arm around her, falling easily asleep.

The following morning I woke to the feeling of a pair of unwavering eyes on me. When I opened my own eyes, Kyla was lying next to me, staring.

“What are you looking at?” I laughed.

“You.” She tapped my nose gently with her finger and scrunched her face in overwhelming adoration. “You’re so cute when you sleep, but you drool a little.”

“I do not!” I glared playfully, covering my face with the blankets in embarrassment.

“Oh, but you do. It’s rather endearing.” She rolled over so she was sitting on top of me and pulled the blankets away to plant kisses all over my face.

The last kiss landed on my lips, lingering long enough for me to slide my hands up Kyla’s thighs, stopping at her waist. She pulled back, staring into my eyes with a subtle hunger I hadn’t seen before, and then returned to the kiss. At first the desire with which Kyla kissed me was surprising, but before long I gave in and felt her lips part to give access to my roaming tongue.

Sliding my hands up Kyla’s shirt, I lightly caressed every inch of her skin, delicately dragging my fingertips down her stomach and running them along the edge of her pants, causing her bite down on my bottom lip. Pulling my lips away from hers, I kissed down her jaw line to the nape of her neck, gently grazing her skin with my teeth before lustfully sucking and kissing above her collarbone. Had I had any control over what I was thinking rather than feeling, I would have worried I was pushing things too fast. Control when it came to Kyla, however, wasn’t something I even remotely wanted to think about.

“Hey guys are–” Luna burst in to my room, stopping in her tracks when she saw us and laughed. “Oh, sorry, I should really start knocking. I’ll just um,” she started backing toward the door while Kyla rolled off me and cleared her throat uncomfortably.

“Forget it,” I told my sister, sitting up and sighing, aggravated. “Moment’s gone.”

“Sorry,” Luna said again, smiling a truly apologetically smile. “But we have to go into town. You know, patrols?”

I nodded and waved at her to go away. “Sorry about that, she’s really used to just walking right in.” Jumping off the bed I rummaged through a drawer until I found some clothes I was satisfied with.

Kyla followed my lead, and with a chuckle began to rummage and pull clothes out of her backpack. “It’s okay, I was starting to lose track of time anyway.”

I smiled, a faint blush coloring my cheeks, as I would have sworn there was a slight hint of playful suggestiveness in Kyla’s voice. However, unsure of it I let it be, and once Kyla had finished changing led the way out of the room, where Luna was patiently waiting for us.

Luna put her hand on my arm and slowed me, and with a smug grin whispered so Kyla couldn’t hear. “Hey, did you guys…”

“You’re so nosy.” I gave her a scowl to let her know it was none of her business, but couldn’t help but chuckle at her straightforward curiosity. “No, we didn’t. No thanks to you.”

She stuck her tongue out at me before dashing off ahead of Kyla. When we got out to the car Luna, along with Julian, Niko and Sky were waiting for us. It didn’t take long for us to get into town, and when we did we split into three groups. Luna went with Sky, Niko with Julian, and me with Kyla. Starting at the north end of town I led Kyla through the streets, pointing out places we hadn’t yet explored. We slowly but surely made our way toward the center of town, walking down every street we passed on the way.

A couple hours and miles later my stomach growled loudly. If it weren’t for how distracted I got talking to Kyla I probably would have eaten the second we arrived in town.

“Hey, there’s a coffee shop down this street, you hungry?” I asked her.

“Starving,” Kyla smiled and followed me toward a main road.

It took us a few minutes to get to the shop, but when we entered the fresh smell of coffee and pastries caused my stomach to growl even louder. Kyla made her way to the corner of the shop to save us a table while I stood in line. It only took a minute for me to get our coffee and pastries, but when I finally got them to the table Kyla looked even more famished than I felt.

After we had hungrily shoved down a few pastries and finished our coffee we got up from the table to continue our search. As we exited the shop the smell hit me almost the second I opened the door. The small brick of werewolf scent that blew in with the breeze made my hair stand on end. It wasn’t Jonathan, and it wasn’t his father. It was their errand boy, Charles.

“What’s wrong?” Kyla asked, noticing the look on my face and worriedly touching my arm.

I grabbed her hand and started following the smell as intensively as I could. It was fresh. He had to have passed by while we were inside, meaning we were being watched again. “Gleeson.”

“Werewolf?” Kyla asked as quietly as she could through a shocked voice, almost jogging to keep up with me.

I just nodded and continued following the scent. It led us so far toward the eastern part of town that what was considered downtown started to turn into farmland. I stopped suddenly, and felt Kyla bump into my back at the unexpected braking. Something wasn’t right. Another scent met Charles Gleeson’s. Jonathan. Both trails continued forward where they met two more.

“Oh no,” I murmured. One of the scents was undoubtedly Luther’s. The other was one I’d grown familiar with over the past weeks. Kyla stood there, unsure of what to do and gave me a worried and questioning look. “Julian,” I answered with one word.

“Camille!” Niko came running from south of us, waving his hands to get our attention.

I halfway met him and grabbed him by the shirt collar, pulling him forcefully to me. “Niko what happened? Where’s Julian?”

He looked frantic, breathing fast and heavy as he struggled to catch his breath. “I–there was a werewolf. Julian was following me but I turned and he wasn’t there anymore. I followed his scent here.”

I threw my hand to my forehead in disbelief and went back to where I first smelled Julian, but the trail only led me a few feet to the edge of a dirt road, where the dirt was kicked up from a car speeding off. We had to have only missed them by seconds.

I kicked at the dirt furiously. “They drove off!” There was no way for us to follow now. Pulling out my cell phone I punched in Luna’s number. “Hey, they took Julian. Meet us on the east side of town, West Silveria and Colorado.”

Niko had stopped next to me to check it out and ran his hands through his wavy blonde hair, quietly swearing to himself. “I don’t know how I lost him. He was right there.”

Kyla obviously didn’t know what to do or how to make herself useful, so she patted Niko on the shoulder to try and make him feel better. Each of us sat in the dirt and waited until Sky and Luna pulled up in the car a few minutes later.

“What happened?” Sky asked, jumping out of the car and running to us.

Both Kyla and I looked down, leaving Niko to explain again. “I lost him, and they took him.”

“Julian?” Luna clarified as she too got out of the car.

All three of us nodded, to which Sky sighed heavily, “Get in.”

Once we all hopped in the car Sky sped off toward our house. Arriving minutes later we found my dad in the kitchen, surprised to see us.

“Back so soon.” He looked over our shoulders and his expression grew worried. “Without Julian?”

“They got him. We would have followed but they were in a car,” Sky told him, looking anywhere but our father’s eyes.

He pinched the bridge of his nose in frustration and then slammed his fist on the counter, cracking one of the large ceramic tiles. “Fuck!”

Every one of us flinched, but I was the first to recover and speak. “Do you want us to search? See if we can find him?”

“He’s already as good as dead,” he growled through clenched teeth. “We’ve done enough messing around. Monday I want you to bring Jonathan to me. Make a goddamned scene if you have to. I want that kid.” As each of us nodded he rubbed his anxiety-creased forehead. “I have to go call Eli. He won’t be happy about this.”

The five of us stood there, frozen, unmoving until Niko lumbered away. After a while Kyla and I were the only ones remaining in the kitchen.

“We can’t just leave it like this,” Kyla stated, sitting at the table. “We’ve at least got to look for them.”

I collapsed in a chair next to her and laid my forehead on the table. “Where are we supposed to look, Kyla?” I asked grumpily, lifting my head. “We don’t know shit about anything.”

She furrowed her eyebrows at me. “Don’t get mad at me. I’m just trying to help.”

Turning the side of my mouth up in a small, apologetic smile, I put my hand on hers. “I’m sorry. It’s just, I feel the same way you do, but there really is nothing we can do until we see Jonathan at school on Monday. I feel completely useless.”

We sat there for a few minutes in silence. I was sure that Kyla was trying to think of what to say, but I didn’t feel much like talking. I felt like a failure. Granted I hadn’t been the one who was partnered up with Julian, but we’d had so many chances to grab Jonathan at school. Even if we made a scene and got people asking questions, at least we would have prevented this.

“Well, we should at least get your mind off it. I’m hungry again.” Kyla sat there waiting for me to say something. “Let’s cook something yummy?”

I gave a small smile and meandered over to rummage through the cupboards. Anything with sugar in it would succeed in lifting my spirits. It worked every time. “Cookies?”

Kyla seemed to think about it, and then bit her lip as she raised an eyebrow expectantly. “You remember what happened last time we made cookies?”

“How could I forget? I still have no idea how you felt about it though.” Making a thoughtful face I leaned against the counter and studied Kyla’s expression. I had never seen her blush so much since we’d met. Her cheeks turned tomato red and she avoided eye contact at all costs. “You’re blushing. Is that a good blush or a bad blush?”

“I liked it and that’s all you need know.” She stood and opened a cupboard door to bury her face in it and avoid having to give more of an answer.

But I knew she was hiding something, and now I was dying to find out. “You liked it, but you’re still blushing. You don’t blush when I kiss you now.” Kyla pretended not to hear me, so I walked over and put my hands on her hips, forcefully turning her around so she had to look at me. “What was different?”

“I…” Kyla dragged out the ‘I’ for a few seconds and then before turning around quickly muttered, “Had to touch myself.”

I scoffed in disbelief, thinking I had heard wrong. “Wait, what? When?”

“Oh my God this is so embarrassing,” she groaned without looking at me. “That night, after you left,” she admitted with her face still buried in the cupboard.

“Really?” I was still surprised. I didn’t think I could have had that kind of effect on her, especially before we’d gotten together. Even though I was surprised, however, I was far from disappointed.

“Yes. Can we drop it now?” She walked past me and grabbed a cup to fill with water at the sink, busying herself in her embarrassment.

I still couldn’t stop smiling. The thought of her doing that because of me was not only flattering, but also unconventionally enthralling. I made my way to Kyla and lifted her onto the counter, placing myself between her legs.

“You want me,” I teased in a singing voice, maybe a little bit too pleased with myself.

She studied my face for a second and then punched me in the arm. “You’re turned on aren’t you?”

After a shrug I rubbed the spot where Kyla had hit me. “That hurt. And I can’t help it! Can you blame me?”

“Hm, I guess not. I’m just so sexy,” she teased and wrapped her legs around me, pulling me into a kiss.

Whistling loudly, Luna came into the kitchen to get something to eat while pretending she didn’t see us. So I ignored her and silently shook my head at Kyla, telling her to do the same. My sister made her way casually past us; her only acknowledgement of us was lifting her foot to kick me in the butt. Moments later she walked by to leave with a box of granola, and I lifted my own foot, tripping her and causing her to fall face first to the floor. Neither I nor Kyla could hold back laughter as Luna sighed in what seemed to be defeat. I was mistaken, and she got up, striding back to me and pouring half the box of granola on my head.

I stood there shocked as Kyla burst into uncontrollable laughter. “You think that’s funny?” I asked her as I took the box from Luna and poured granola all over her straight brown hair.

Now was Luna’s turn to laugh as she fell back onto the floor, grasping her stomach and rolling. Kyla and I both looked at each other, raising an eyebrow at each other before turning our mischievous looks toward Luna. Realizing the looks she was receiving, she stopped laughing, staring at us for a split second before taking off out the front door. I took off after her, closely followed by Kyla who’d jumped off the counter to sprint after us.

“You go that way, I’ll go this way.” Kyla pointed in each direction around the house and we both ran in separate directions to cut Luna off.

I caught up to my twin first, tackling her to the ground and shaking the granola out of my hair and all over her. When Kyla came rounding the corner about ten seconds later, I saw what had been taking her so long. She came sprinting, dragging the hose behind her, and when she got within spraying distance of us soaked us both to the bone. She let out an exaggerated, evil muah-ha-ha laugh, but then seeing two soaked girls running after her dropped the hose and took off running in the other direction. I caught up to her without difficulty and dragged her back to where Luna was waiting with the hose, holding her tight while Luna streamed water in our direction.

“Camille! Luna!” my dad called for us from the other side of the house, cutting off all of our laughter.

Entering the house dripping wet, each of us grabbed towels out of the hall closet before meeting my dad in the living room. He shot us a questioning glance when he noticed we were soaked, but deliberately disregarded it.

“I talked to Eli. He wasn’t happy to hear about Julian. So,” he took a deep, stress-burdened breath before continuing. “He’ll be coming here himself, and he would like us to have Jonathan in our custody before he gets here. He has a few things to take care of before he leaves but he’ll be here by the end of the week.”

“He’s coming alone?” Luna asked, surprised that he would be coming at all.

“No,” he answered. “He’s bringing two more Pack members. The house will be a bit more crowded. Monday, I’m going to have Carter drive to your school to help with wrangling Jonathan. What time should I have him there?”

The three of us looked at each other. “Well, Kyla has fourth period with him, so we can get him right after that? At twelve-thirty.”

“Okay, you can go back to” – he looked us over with a slightly amused glint in his eye – “whatever you were doing.”

As I followed Kyla out of the living room I sighed deeply. “This is going to be a busy couple of weeks.”

“I never kidnapped anyone before.” Kyla shook her head wearily and plopped limply down on the couch.

“I’m sure you’ll be a natural.” I jokingly nudged her with my elbow as I sat down too, trying to make her feel better.

She giggled and rubbed her hands together wickedly. “I’ll bring the duct tape.”

“Hey Mom, I’ll be back later.” I had meant for the statement to be a fleeting goodbye as I headed for the door, but an ‘ah-ah’ from my mom made me stop and backtrack to the kitchen.

“Come here, sit down.” She motioned for me to sit at the island in the kitchen, and then turned back toward the stove where she was making French toast. “Where are you going?”

I smiled at Jeremy who was sitting in a stool with a cup of coffee as I took a seat next to him. “To Camille’s house, I’ll be back later though.”

“Camille’s house,” my mom repeated to herself as she placed a large white plate in front of me. “You’ve been going over there a lot. Are you getting your chores done?”

“Yeah,” I said haltingly, and then knowing that I’d be caught in a lie added quietly, “Most of them.”

“Uh huh.” After walking to the stove and grabbing the skillet she returned to the island to put a couple slices on my plate. “Kyla, we all have responsibilities and I’d really like you to prioritize a little.” She waited for me to nod and then turned around to return the pan to the stove and pour herself a cup of coffee. “Otherwise, Camille seems like a good kid. Am I mistaken?”

It wasn’t normal for my mom to ask so many questions about my friends, so I shot a look at Jeremy thinking that he’d said something about Camille and me. When he threw up his hands and shook his head I shrugged the curiosity away. “Yeah, she’s a really good kid.”

“Does she know you haven’t been getting your chores done?” she asked in a scolding voice and sat down across from me.

“I’ll get them done, I promise.” I sighed and after checking the clock I shook my leg impatiently. “Can I go now?”

“Take a couple bites of food first, and then you can go,” she answered, sipping her drink.

I shoved two bites of French toast into my mouth, and without swallowing said bye and made for the door. As I left I thought I heard my mom mumble to Jeremy about teenagers, but I couldn’t hear his response since I was already halfway to the truck. Two nights ago I had talked to Camille about being trained to defend myself, and so this morning would be my first lesson.

I was a little disappointed that Camille’s oldest brother Carter would be training me instead of her, but something was better than nothing. Ever since I’d seen how readily Jonathan had lost his temper and had come after me, I’d been scared of how helpless I was. It was obvious that there was really nothing I could do should Jonathan ever attack me when Camille wasn’t around, but having some way to try and protect myself made me feel at least a little better about it.

Camille must have heard me pull into the driveway, because when I arrived at the werewolves’ house a couple minutes later the gorgeous blonde was coming out the front door. After I’d turned off the engine and jumped out of the car I ran up the porch steps, throwing my arms around her waist and happily giving her a kiss.

“I missed you too,” she chuckled, picking me up and spinning me around before releasing me from the hug. Titling her head up toward the second floor of the house she yelled, “Carter, Kyla’s here!” A moment later Luna came out the door and smiled at me. “Is your name Carter?” Camille teased, but Luna didn’t seem to mind as she continued past us.

“No, but I want to watch this.” She made her way to the porch steps and sat down. “I got to watch so I can let you know when Kyla gets good enough to kick your ass.”

I laughed and shook my head. “Luna, you think too highly of me.”

“Or you think too highly of Camille,” she teased, and when Carter walked out the door a second later she scooted over so we could all make our way down the steps.

“You ready Kyla?” Carter asked, not wasting any time as he took his place in front of me. I nodded and looked around at Luna and Camille, who had also sat on the porch, as I started growing slightly self-conscious that I was being watched. “Okay, well the first thing I want you to know is that whether against a werewolf or a human, if you can run, you should.” His blue eyes watched me closely, looking for any sign that I wasn’t sure about being trained. When again I nodded, he looked over at the porch and motioned for Camille to come over. “You didn’t think you were getting out of it that easy did you?” he asked her as she sauntered over.

“Guess not,” she shrugged and stood behind me, wrapping her arms around my waist in a hug and resting her chin on my shoulder.

Carter casually walked over and pulled Camille’s arms away, moving one of them up so it was wrapped around my neck. “The chokehold is probably the most common way you’ll get attacked from behind. Don’t be a sissy Camille, squeeze tighter.” I could hear Luna giggling from the porch. If I didn’t feel my air supply getting cut off I would have giggled too, but Camille had me tight enough now that I was beginning to feel trapped.

“Kyla, watch me.” Carter must have known I couldn’t breathe well, because he spoke expeditiously. “First thing you’re going to want to do is panic. Don’t.” He put his hands on my shoulders and directed my body inward. “Turn towards Camille, this way, and bend over a little.” Once I followed his directions I could feel enough space between my neck and Camille’s arm for me to slip out of her grasp, which I did without needing to be told.

Luna could be heard clapping her praise from the porch, so I playfully bowed. With a chuckle Carter wrapped his arm around Camille’s neck, continuing with his instruction. It was clear Camille knew what to do and she turned just as I had, but before she slipped out of Carter’s grasp she paused so he could explain.

“Now after you turn, you’ll put your inner leg behind your attacker’s,” he waited for Camille to put her leg right behind his, clearly in a position to trip him, “Then you’ll put your hands on their chest and push as hard as you can.”

Camille didn’t demonstrate the last part but instead walked over to me, placing me in another chokehold so I could try it. “Don’t hold back,” she whispered in my ear and then pecked me on the cheek.

I laughed, half in disbelief. She didn’t really want me to use full force, right? “What if I hurt you?”

“You won’t,” she laughed and tightened her grip on my throat. “Werewolf, remember?”

With a shrug I took a deep breath to prepare myself. Out of the corner of my eye I could see Luna lean forward expectantly, waiting for the entertainment to begin. Without further adieu, in as fluid a motion as I could manage I leaned, put my leg behind Camille’s and pushed her backward almost as hard as I could. There was a slight ‘oof’ as she hit the ground, and worried she’d been hurt I kneeled beside her.

“I told you she’d kick your ass!” Luna hollered at Camille in hysterical laughter. “It hasn’t even been thirty minutes yet!”

Camille sat up laughing while she brushed the dirt off her back. “That was really good.”

“It didn’t hurt?” I asked worriedly, still reluctant to believe I hadn’t been too rough. But when Camille shook her head with a grin, my pride told me I shouldn’t have held back, so I playfully pushed her back to the ground. “Next time you won’t be so lucky.”

“Those’re fighting words,” Carter laughed and held his hand out to me for a high-five. Turning to Camille he teasingly tried to rush her. “Camille, if you’re ready for another beating, would you mind hurrying it up a bit?”

“Geez, tough crowd,” the dirtied blonde complained as she pushed herself off the ground and dusted herself off. I was worried she might be offended by the banter, but my worry disappeared when I kissed her on the cheek and she received it with a genuine grin.

The training continued much like that for the rest of the session. Most the time Carter just used Camille to demonstrate what he was trying to teach me, but every once in a while he had me use her as a test dummy. It was at these times that Luna could be heard enjoying herself way too much and teasing her sister from the porch steps. If I didn’t know how close Camille and Luna actually were I’d have thought that Luna’s pestering would have been getting on her nerves by the end of it, but Camille took it in stride and a couple times couldn’t help but laugh along. Carter promised that he’d get in another session before the Alpha arrived, but I already felt as if I was more equipped to handle myself. However, from what I understood about Jonathan, I could use all the help I could get.

“Were we really doing that stuff for five hours?” I asked in shock as I gladly took the cup of water Camille was handing me and sat at the kitchen table.

“Hard to believe isn’t it? You’re a natural though, you’d make a great–” As Camille took a seat next to me she stopped her sentence short, but I knew what she was about to say. Werewolf. I’d make a great werewolf.

She had asked my opinion on being Changed, and I’d been honest in my desire to remain human as long as possible. As much as she tried to hide it and tried not to push, it was obvious she wanted it for me. Never did I believe she wanted it for selfish reasons. The bottom line was that it would be safer for me if I were a werewolf. I knew it as well as everyone else did, but that didn’t stop me from fearing the loss of everything unrelated to Camille, most of all family.

“I’m sorry,” she started, but worried she’d made me upset she was at a loss for words. After another moment she added, “I don’t want you to feel like I’m pressuring you.”

“Hey, it’s okay,” I told her, and put my hand on her thigh for added reassurance. “I know what you meant.”

Camille turned up the corner of her mouth in an understanding smile, but it was clear it was still on her mind. I mirrored the smile awkwardly as I thought about what to say. I’d never felt about anyone the way I already felt about Camille, and I knew I wanted to be with her for the rest of my life. If things went according to plan, sooner or later I knew I’d be a werewolf. Not just so that I could be with her for an unnaturally long time, but also because I did want it eventually.

With a sigh I leaned into Camille and put my head on the girl’s shoulder. “I don’t feel like you’re pressuring me. I do want to, eventually.” I felt her lips press against the top of my head. “When the time is right.”

I walked in to chemistry on Monday nervous as all hell. I knew that I wouldn’t physically be helping to catch Jonathan. I’d be more of a distraction than I would be useful, but the fact that I’d be taking part in something so thrilling made every muscle in my body tense up, ready for action. Sitting at my desk I folded my arms across my chest and fixed my eyes on the door, waiting for the satisfying second he walked through it. As the tardy bell rang a few minutes later and Jonathan had yet to walk in, a small ball of disappointment started to form in the pit of my stomach. I waited ten more grueling minutes before pulling out my cell phone.

“He’s not here,” I texted Camille, almost fuming.

I had barely put my phone back in my pocket when she texted back. “I’ll meet you right after class. Let me know if he shows.”

Paying attention to the teacher was impossible, and I kept my eyes on the door the entire period. I barely heard the bell ring at the end of class as I stared, trying with all of my might to make Jonathan materialize from thin air. Camille was already outside the classroom waiting for me when I finally made my way out of the room.

“What do we do now?” I took stride next to her, still raging that he hadn’t shown. Though, now that I thought about it, it would have been stupid of him to show up, and he had to have known it.

“We try again tomorrow. We wait this whole week for him to show, and if he doesn’t we’re screwed. Hopeless.” The monotonous tone of Camille’s voice already sounded hopeless, like we would never find him and never get Julian back.

“You don’t think he’ll come?” I asked.

“You’ve met him,” she started as we entered the cafeteria and sat at the table where Luna and Niko were waiting for us. “And you know he’s not dumb enough to come back. I think the only way we’ll see him again is if we go to him.”

“I can’t believe that bastard didn’t come.” Niko slammed his fist against the table, and then gave an awkward glance to the quiet students at the table next to ours who he’d startled. “I was really looking forward to kicking his ass.”

Camille reached into her backpack and pulled out two lunch bags, one of which she had made for me. Grinning and looking in the bag curiously I gave her thigh a thankful squeeze. She shrugged as if to say ‘no big deal’ and then turned to her brother. “You can still kick his ass Niko, we just need to find him first.”

Luna sighed. “Where are we supposed to look? Our searches aren’t coming up with anything and we don’t have the resources or the energy to search the whole west coast.” She tapped her chin thoughtfully, talking mostly to herself. “If I was a bad werewolf, where would I hide?”

Each of us stared at the table for a brief minute in deep thought, but none of us could think of a place. My head shot up as I remembered one of the things my parents had said to coax me to California in the first place.

“State parks!” I exclaimed. The other three looked at me like I was speaking another language. “If I was a bad werewolf where would I be? I’d be far from Tranquility, but somewhere that I could run and take captives without having to worry about humans. A state park. If they found a cabin to stay in, they have limitless land and privacy.”

The confused looks directly turned to brightened smiles, but Camille’s was the first to fade. “I think you’re right, but do you know how many there are just within an eighty mile radius of here? Way too many to search without an army.”

“The most likely place would be east, but there’s over two-hundred miles of forest out there.” Frustrated, Luna propped her head in the palm of her hand. “This is impossible. They’re just going to pick us off one by one.”

My jaw dropped as I looked at Luna, horrified. “That can’t happen. We can’t let it. Let’s start looking now. The faster we move, the faster we cover ground.”

I stood up, ready to go, but Camille pulled me back into my seat, chuckling to herself. “We won’t let them pick us off. This weekend was a mistake. One that hopefully won’t happen again.” I sighed in defeat and wearily nibbled at the sandwich she had made me. “We’ll try again tomorrow. I’m going to the bathroom.”

Getting up to follow Camille to the bathroom, I linked arms with her and sighed heavily. After a curious eyebrow raise from her, I squeezed her arm fondly. “I just can’t help but worry, a little for Julian, but mostly for you. Out of everyone, it seems Jonathan has the biggest problem with you. I’m just scared he’s going to take you away from me.”

Camille pulled her arm out of my grasp and wrapped it around my waist, pulling me close in a reassuring hug. “You don’t need to worry about me. I’ll be okay. You’re going to be stuck with me for a long time.”

I grinned as we entered the empty bathroom, and as I leaned against the wall I spoke in the most teasingly suggestive voice I good muster. “Good, because I’m not near done with you yet.”

I heard Camille chuckle, then a flush as she came out of the stall. As she walked to the sink to wash her hands I couldn’t help but stare. The way her long, curly blonde hair fell over her shoulders. The way the hips of her perfectly slender body swayed when she walked. And like now, when she knew she was being watched, the way the corner of her mouth turned up in a smirk and the underlying smile beamed in her eyes. I had always been attracted to Camille. Anyone could see how obviously beautiful she was. I never considered my feelings for Camille strictly sexual. I was falling in love with her, but here, now, what I felt was pure lust. It made me bite my lip and I had to glue myself to the wall.

Camille dried her hands and continued to let me look at her for a moment, then turned and raised a confident eyebrow. “Are you checking me out, Kyla Walters?”

“I might be,” I said it neutrally, but let my eyes give her an obvious up-down.

Now that we were a couple I didn’t feel at all uncomfortable showing her affection, but I couldn’t disregard the fact that she had never been intimate with anyone before. It made me cautious about how much I let that lust show, because even though being with a girl was new to me, having that kind of relationship with anybody was new to her.

Grinning that playful smile, Camille strode over until she had me pushed against the wall with her body. While pressing her hand flat against my stomach, she lowered her mouth to my neck. “I’m glad to see you’re getting closer to admitting it.”

The words themselves were far from provocative, but the way those lips felt on my neck caused me to shudder with desire. Each and every time her lips touched or even came close to my neck it made me wildly unstable. Just like that night at the school, and just like with the cookies, it sent waves of craving throughout my body. With each passing day my desire for Camille grew beyond powerful and undeniable to commanding and irrepressible.

After planting a few more gentle kisses on my neck Camille pulled away, and I looked her in the eyes, trying so hard to think of something to say. Be it witty, cute or sexy. Eventually she grinned, clearly flattered by the fact that I was staring at her.

“What?” she asked shyly.

Failing to find the right words I simply lifted my lips to hers, where I would have left them for hours if the bell hadn’t rang for fifth period. Taking her hand I followed her to the cafeteria to grab our backpacks and then let her walk me to fifth period.

After school ended Camille had to go home for early patrols, and I had to prove to my mom that I was still the responsible teenage daughter I always had been. I went straight home after class to do some of the chores I’d been neglecting. First on my list was the pile of laundry that had begun stacking up in the corner of my bedroom. While those were in the wash I finished unpacking the last two boxes that I’d set on the desk.

There was nothing in the first box of great importance. I pulled out the handful of novels and the Bible I owned and stacked them on the corner of the desk. A few of the novels were ones I’d been required to read in school, and the others were ones I enjoyed enough to go out and buy. The Bible I had completely forgotten I had. I considered my family religious, though we were the typical family who only showed up to church on Christmas, Easter and other special occasions. For the few years before we moved my dad had to work so much that he was in the fields seven days a week. Once he stopped going, the rest of us had stopped.

Returning to the box I pulled out a small picture frame with a photo of my family and me in it, and set it next to the books on my desk. The next picture frame I pulled out had a picture of me and some of my friends from Texas. Before I’d started dating Aaron I didn’t have a lot of friends, only about three good ones that moved up with me from junior high. The friends in the picture were girls I’d met through Aaron, and who had been friends with him first.

Considering this, I was sure he’d gone home and told them all about what had happened on his visit to California. I could just hear their shocked exclaims, and since I always knew they’d been jealous of me for dating the football player, upon hearing of our break up I imagined they were already competing for his attention. Feeling like I wouldn’t be hearing from any of them, I held the picture in my hands for a minute in thoughtful consideration, and then dropped it into the trash under the desk.

As I reached into the box to pull out another book that had fallen to the bottom, I heard someone knock on my closed bedroom door, and seconds later my mom walked in and sat on the bed. “I’m glad to see you’re finally unpacking.” I smiled the affirmative as I set the book on top of the others. “Does that mean California’s starting to feel like home?”

“Yeah, it does.” I couldn’t keep from giving a grin. It wasn’t California that was starting to feel like home. Rather, it was Camille. Anywhere that curly-haired, affectionate werewolf was would feel like home. “I like it here.”

“I’m glad, honey.” My mom smiled happily as she looked around my room. As she scanned the books on top of the desk her eyes finally led her to the trash can beneath it, and they grew full of concern. “Why’d you throw that picture of your friends away?”

I sighed. The drama of being a teenager wasn’t a conversation I was particularly interested in having with my mom, but I hadn’t yet told my parents that I’d broken up with Aaron. Now was as good a time as any. “I broke up with Aaron, and they were always better friends with him.”

“Aw, I’m sorry,” my mom said with a sympathetic sigh, as her eyes carefully looked me over in case I needed a hug. “When? What happened?”

“Just before he left,” I told her apathetically, glancing toward the door in hopes she would be satisfied with the conversation and leave. The details of the break up weren’t something I was ready to explain. “I don’t really want to talk about it.”

“Okay.” She nodded understandingly, and before I could kick her out continued, “What about Camille? Does she have a boyfriend?”

My heart dropped. Why did she keep bringing up Camille? Did she know about us? No, I was just being paranoid, and if I let it show that I was nervous then she would really figure it out. “Nope, no boyfriend.”

“How come? She’s so pretty!” A look of slight shock lit my mother’s eyes. Maybe I really was being paranoid and she was just trying to find something to talk about.

“I don’t know Mom, she just doesn’t,” I told her, and smiled at the compliment to Camille.

Because Camille’s with me. I wished I could say it. Wished I could tell my mom about how happy Camille made me, but every time I really considered it my heartbeat picked up and my breathing shortened. Eventually I’d let them know.

“Okay sweetheart,” she said, and after sitting there for another minute in thought she got up and kissed me on the head. “I’m going to make dinner, I’ll call you when it’s ready.”

With a smile I closed the door behind her and finished unpacking the last box. By the end of the night I had finished unpacking, doing laundry, cleaning the horse stalls, helped my uncle do the dishes and even managed to vacuum the living room. I felt rather productive by the time I was ready for bed, but before turning off the lights to lie down I stood at the light switch and looked listlessly around the room.

Something was holding me back. I’d been spending so much time with Camille that now, when she wasn’t around, I knew I’d have a hard time getting to sleep. Especially since they were all out doing patrols, and maybe even putting themselves in danger. I had no way of knowing. As I looked around I noticed a maroon jacket of Camille’s hanging with a couple of my own on the coat hook next to the door. How I didn’t realize it was there before was beyond me.

I grabbed the jacket off the rack, and as I did a crinkling from the inside caught my attention. Safety-pinned to the inside of the jacket was a note from Camille. ‘To snuggle with. On those nights I can’t be there. –Cami’. I grinned and took the jacket with me to bed. I hadn’t the slightest clue when Camille had put it there, or even how she’d known it would come in handy, but I was glad she did. As I crawled under the covers I laid the jacket over a spare pillow at my side and draped an arm around it.

Laying my head down on the edge of it I took in a deep breath of the scent that saturated the jacket. Camille didn’t have a strong scent. She didn’t wear any perfumes and as far as I could tell all her soaps were very lightly, if at all, scented. But still, the jacket smelled like her. A pure scent, distinct yet subtle, that I felt more than I smelled. Just like her eyes, her scent painted a portrait of her character. It was an aroma that instantly made me feel safe and warm. An aroma that inspired a profound comfort unlike any I’d ever felt, and I fell asleep easily as it flooded my senses.

The next morning I walked into math to find that our teacher had turned us loose for the period to study for a test we had coming up. I scanned the room until I found Luna and sat in the desk next to her.

“Hey, Kyla,” she greeted me with a smile. “We hardly ever do anything but lectures in here, sometimes I forget you’re in the same class as me.” I laughed and nodded in agreement while I pulled out my textbooks to make it look like I was studying. “I haven’t really talked to you much about everything. Are you really taking it as well as you seem to be?”

“Um, yeah, I am. I always knew something was different about Camille so it didn’t surprise me too much when I found out about you guys.” My reminiscent smile faded, and as everyone in the room focused on studying I lowered my voice to a whisper. “I did kind of freak when she told me about that farmer though. I didn’t want her to know it scared me, but honestly, it kind of did.”

“Yeah I understand.” Luna nodded distractedly as she disappeared for a moment in her thoughts. “But, you know you have nothing to be scared of. Camille loves you more than anything I can think of. She would never hurt you.”

A small, shy smile crept across my lips. Camille had never verbalized her feelings, so to hear someone else say it was shocking. “She does?”

“Yeah, she really does,” Luna laughed. “But don’t tell her I told you that. She’d kick my ass. To tell you the complete truth, what Camille did, it’s not uncommon. Which probably doesn’t make you feel better, but the difference with Camille and most others is that she really almost died of guilt afterward.”

I looked down, feeling guilty for thinking even for a split second that Camille hadn’t felt unease about what she’d done. I should have been more sympathetic about it. She had trusted me with that hard information and I’d responded as though I couldn’t handle it.

“I’m a horrible person,” I said with a sigh. “I probably made her feel so bad when she told me.”

Luna shrugged and then leaned forward a little so no one else could hear her over the dull buzzing of voices in the room. “I think you reacted how anyone would have. The thing you have to remember about Camille is, yeah she’s tough and she won’t think twice about killing to protect someone she loves, but that doesn’t mean she isn’t really affected by it.” Luna took note of the somber mood that had fallen over me, and trying to lift my spirits playfully bumped me with her elbow and smiled. “Your girlfriend’s just a big marshmallow.”

I giggled as a smile spread across my face. The word marshmallow had never crossed my mind to describe Camille, but now that I thought about it, it was perfect. “She is, isn’t she?” I agreed.

The teacher noticed Luna and me having too much fun and cleared his throat at us. Giggling at a mocking look from Luna, I turned back to study for the rest of the period, and that was the most eventful class of the day. For some reason, since Julian had been taken, the days seemed to pass by increasingly sluggishly. The mutts had a fresh supply of adrenaline and now they’d remain invisible until they needed more.

The fact that one of us had been taken, even though we didn’t act like it, was on the back of all of our minds. It hung over us like that ominous gray cloud you can see coming before a rainstorm. Like that split second before I’d fallen off the barn ladder. When time stopped so I could feel the blood flee every muscle of my body and I went cold. So I could feel and know in my gut that I was about to fall to my death. I could tell that this slowness was the calm before the storm.

We all worried about Julian, and with each day he didn’t return the tension grew. If Jonathan, his dad and Gleeson were able to take a six-foot Pack werewolf from right under our noses, then nobody was off limits. That was what worried me the most. The fact that the mutts couldn’t be found meant they couldn’t be predicted, and when they were ready they could get their hands on anyone they wanted to.

Friday rolled around still without any sign of Jonathan or Julian. By that time it had felt like weeks passed and I had to double-check my phone calendar when the bell rang at the end of the day. The whole week Jonathan hadn’t shown up, which hadn’t particularly shocked any of us. However, now that it was the weekend I could spend more time at Camille’s house and feel like I was making myself useful instead of sleeping at home while all the wolves were out on patrol.

“When’s the Alpha coming? Eli?” I asked as I followed Camille to the car after school.

“Sometime tonight. He’s a good guy, and he’s done a lot for the Pack, but he doesn’t totally trust humans. So I’m worried it will be awkward, you know, that you know everything.” Camille finished the sentence tacitly, making it clear she was uncomfortable with the topic.

“I don’t have to hang around if you don’t want me to. I’ll understand.” Arriving to the car before Luna and Niko, I leaned my back against it and pulled Camille’s body to mine.

She kissed me on the forehead, smiling as I slid my fingers between hers. “No, I want you around, but we’ll see how he is. If it’s weird, we’ll go to your house?”

As I nodded, Luna and Niko arrived at the car. Luna waved to me and before jumping in the backseat patted her sister on the back. “Hey marshmallow.”

Camille looked at her sister confusedly, and seeing that I was laughing along smiled and shook her head. “Glad you guys have inside jokes.”

I gave her a mischievous kiss on the cheek and slid into the back seat of the jeep. When we got to her house about ten minutes later I followed her into the kitchen where we made a snack of fruit salad and sat at the table to do homework. Though we sat close, neither of us said much. By the way Camille was answering simple questions intermittently it was clear she was thinking about things besides homework. Most likely that thing was Julian, or the fact that the Alpha was coming soon.

Every once in a while I would see her eyes shift my direction, and then a second later return to her book. One of these times I gave a playful glare to see if she was just looking for a distraction. But she smiled and returned her eyes to her book like she had each time before. Something was on the werewolf’s mind, more so than usual. It had to be the fact that the Alpha was coming, but what about him was making Camille so anxious?

In an attempt to get Camille’s mind off of whatever was bothering her, I gave her a tender kiss on the cheek and then leaned my head on her shoulder. “How’s homework?”

She rested her hand softly on my thigh in acknowledgement and leaned her head against mine. “It’s fine. Not too exciting.”

That was all she said before she sighed and just left her head rested on mine. So she didn’t want to talk about it. I would just have to wait and see if I could figure out myself what was on her mind when the Alpha arrived.

“Hey you know there’s a bunch of scary looking guys coming onto your porch?” Kyla had gotten up from doing homework to get a glass of water, and as she looked out the kitchen window she pointed.

I stood and walked to the window to see three large men about to knock on the door. “That’s the Alpha.” I waved for her to follow me as I went to open the front door for them. “Eli.” I opened the door and smiled at him.

The werewolf my father’s age grinned when he saw me. He didn’t look much older than the last time I’d seen him. There wasn’t a speck of gray in his mahogany hair, and his bright hazel eyes were still filled with youth.

“Camille, my God I haven’t seen you in a few years and you’ve grown so much.” He hugged me like an uncle would, and I gladly hugged him back. He was of average height, and although he wasn’t bulky his body was muscled and rock solid.

Once he released me from the hug I brought Kyla forward to introduce her. “Eli, this is Kyla. Kyla, Eli.”

“The human?” Eli asked, and I saw the slight flare of his nostrils as he took in her scent, an action that Kyla most likely wouldn’t have noticed. The smile slightly faded from his face as he stuck out his hand for her to shake, and I nodded an affirmation. “Well, it’s nice to meet you Kyla.”

Kyla smiled and nodded as easily as she could, but I could feel the tension radiating off of her. It was probably my fault for making her so nervous about meeting him.

Luckily my dad came excitedly around the corner. “Eli, old friend!”

Eli strode past us to greet my father, so I was left to introduce Kyla to the other two werewolves. “Kyla, this is David.” I pointed to the largest man I recognized as the Beta wolf.

I’d met the black haired, blue-eyed Beta before. Though the last time I’d seen him he didn’t have the large scar that stemmed from his right ear to his jaw.

The other werewolf I hadn’t yet met. He was young and had to be around our age. He was tall, tan and lanky, with blonde hair and blue eyes, and looked like a poster boy for some surfing brand.

“We haven’t met.” I looked at him questioningly.

He flashed a white smile and stuck out his hand, shaking mine and then Kyla’s. “William. Or Will. That’s up to you.”

“Camille.”

“Kyla.”

We each shook his hand and politely introduced ourselves. I then stepped back to let David and Will in the house and once they were in, followed Kyla back into the kitchen. I grabbed an apple and sat at the table, carefully watching Kyla sit down across from me. Now that Eli was here I wondered what extra things we’d be doing in order to find Jonathan. More so than that, however, I wondered what Eli would say about Kyla being involved. Surely Julian had told him, but it was far from customary to allow a human in on such a big secret.

Luna walked in and sat at the table next to me, distracting me from my thoughts. “Oh my God. Did you see Will? I want me some werewolf.” Both Kyla and I laughed but didn’t say anything. Kyla was focusing too much on her homework and I was still thinking about the situation.

Not getting much of a response from either of us, Luna looked at me questioningly, one eyebrow raised as she glanced from me to Kyla. The way she looked at me, I realized the silence could have seemed like Kyla and I were upset with each other, so I quickly shook my head. In order to give an explanation of my own silence I quietly pointed at Kyla, tapped the tattoo on my arm and then threw my thumb toward the door, mouthing the word ‘Eli’. After a second of thought Luna nodded in understanding.

With an exaggerated sigh she resumed the topic of Will to try and relieve some of the tension that filled the room. “He’s a good looking piece o’ meat. I think he goes to the private school up in Oregon near the Pack.” Then with another, but this time suggestive, sigh she added, “I love me a man in uniform.”

Kyla looked up from her homework now and laughed. “You know, I was getting hungry a few minutes ago, but I think I’ve lost my appetite.”

I chuckled and nodded in agreement. “And Luna, isn’t he like three feet taller than you?”

Luna glared at us. “That’s an exaggeration. Besides, size doesn’t matter. Well, in the height department anyway.”

Both Kyla and I made disgusted faces. “Yeah okay we’re out of here!” I stood up and tossed my apple in the garbage, with Kyla standing up to follow me. “We’re going to watch a movie. You can come as long as you don’t talk about Will.” I stopped to think about what I said. “You know what, why don’t you invite him? That way you don’t have to talk to us at all.”

Unsure of whether to stick her tongue out at the insult or smile thankfully for the invite, Luna just shrugged and ran off to fetch the new werewolf.

“I’ve never seen that side of Luna before,” Kyla said, laughing as she followed me out of the kitchen.

I shrugged, having seen it plenty of times. “Luna might look all innocent and sweet. Don’t let it fool you. I bet she’ll have the poor guy wrapped around her finger by the end of the night.”

Making our way to the living room I popped in a movie and cuddled up next to Kyla on the couch across from the television. Minutes later Luna walked in with Will and sat down on the other couch at a right angle from us. As Kyla and I tried to watch the movie we could hear Luna and Will talking and giggling and sure enough, halfway through the movie Luna had managed to snuggle herself right under Will’s arm. I nudged Kyla and nodded in my sister’s direction with an I-told-you-so look on my face, to which she laughed and shook her head in disbelief.

A minute later I leaned forward, about to get up before I stopped and turned to Kyla. “I’m going to get a drink, do you want something?” I asked, to which Kyla nodded. Getting up I quietly left the living room and made my way to the kitchen. “Eli. Hi.” I greeted the werewolf sitting alone at the kitchen table.

Despite the wary look on his face, he managed a smile and patted the seat next to him. “Camille. Sit down.” I did so and folded my arms on the table. The anxiety I had been feeling all day returned now that I sat with him. “Are you a senior now?” I nodded. “You’re getting so grown up. Your father’s my best friend, I would have loved to see all of his children grow.”

I smiled my timid response. “He doesn’t talk about it, but I know it was hard for him to leave. He loved being so involved in everything.” As my father’s best friend, Eli had been close with my siblings and me growing up. I had never been uncomfortable around him before, but now I sat there, wondering when he’d say what I’d been waiting for all day.

“Yes, but he knew his priorities. He made the right choice.” Eli leaned back in his chair, setting his hands in his lap. “So, Kyla, Adrian tells me you guys are romantically involved.” Blushing slightly, I nodded. This was it. This was what I was waiting for. “How’s she doing with all of this?”

“She’s actually doing really well with it,” I assured him eagerly. This was my chance to make him okay with Kyla, especially her as a human. “She’s been a big help. It was her that took the pills out of Jonathan’s backpack so we could figure out what they were.”

Eli nodded, a tiny smile showing his approval. “What about being a werewolf? Have you discussed it with her?”

My heart dropped, but I took a deep breath to try and reassure myself. There, he said it. That wasn’t so bad. “I’ve mentioned it. She hasn’t denied the possibility, but I think for now she’s happy with being human.”

“Have you told her how highly it’s recommended?” Eli asked, and the corners of his mouth turned down unhappily.

“No,” I admitted shyly.

The ‘recommendation’ was about a step away from being a requirement. I hadn’t mentioned to Kyla the likelihood of her having to become a werewolf out of fear of scaring her. From what I knew, any human who’d known about werewolves had willingly been Changed, but I didn’t want to think about what would happen if she never wanted it.

“I haven’t said anything. She knows the dangers, both with being human and with being a werewolf. When she’s ready she’ll let me know.” I tensed myself, half expecting Eli to be offended by my last sentence, by me putting my foot down. When it comes down to Pack hierarchy, if the Alpha makes a suggestion, you take it as an order. But I would never force Kyla to give up her life, no matter how hard anyone breathed down my neck.

Thankfully Eli stood up and stretched. “Well, I’ll let you get back to your movie. I’m glad to see you’re happy with her.”

I smiled my thanks, and when he walked out I got up to get the drinks I’d come for in the first place. That conversation wasn’t half as bad as I’d thought it would be, and I didn’t know why I had been stressing about it all day. I’d known Eli my entire life. I had to have known he wouldn’t force me to Change Kyla. As I rummaged through the refrigerator for some sodas I heard a soft pair of familiar footsteps coming toward me.

Kyla wrapped her arms tight around my waist from behind. “Hey, just wanted to see what was taking so long.”

Closing the fridge with a grin, I turned around and returned the embrace. “I was just talking to Eli.”

“Oh, about what?” Kyla asked as I easily lifted her onto the kitchen counter and placed myself between her legs.

I shrugged. I thought about telling her the true nature of our conversation, but I was afraid. She had already stated her opinion on being a werewolf, and I wouldn’t push. “Just catching up.”

Nodding, Kyla absentmindedly twisted her fingers through the ends of my hair, turning the length of my already curly locks into a tighter loop. “He looks so young. I was expecting him to be an old guy.”

“He’s about the same age as my dad. He’s aged really well though.” I laughed knowingly and then nodded my head back toward the living room. “Do you want to finish the movie?”

“Nah,” Kyla shook her head. “I thought we’d leave Luna alone with Will. You know, play wingman and leave them be.”

I stretched and yawned. “Yeah okay. I’m actually pretty tired anyway. Are you staying the night?”

“Yeah, if that’s okay? With Eli.” Kyla whispered the last part in case anyone else in the house could hear.

I nodded my head and took her hand to lead her up the stairs. After changing into pajamas I turned off the light and plopped onto the bed, and Kyla lay beside me and draped an arm across my stomach. Even though Eli hadn’t tried to force it, I couldn’t help thinking about how much he ‘recommended’ that Kyla become a werewolf. All I’d have to do is break her skin with a tooth. The Alpha’s will would be done, Kyla would be much safer than she was now, and I’d get to be with the girl for hundreds more years, potentially.

Never could I do something like that without Kyla’s permission, but I couldn’t deny that it was an alluring solution. I opened my mouth, preparing to talk about it with her when I realized her breathing had slowed, already taken by sleep. I couldn’t help but smile as I nuzzled my cheek against the top of her head and closed my eyes, shortly falling asleep myself.

The next morning I felt Kyla stir and sit up. Opening my eyes I looked over to see her stretching.

“Awake already?” As Kyla nodded I glanced at the clock. “Ugh,” I groaned and rubbed my eyes. Six-thirty in the morning wasn’t my ideal waking time.

“I’m starving. I could go for some chocolate chip pancakes,” Kyla hinted as she kissed me on the cheek. I made a frowning face and put my hand over my eyes, willing myself to go back to sleep. “I’ll make sure you’re thoroughly rewarded,” she whispered in my ear as she lightly caressed my lips with the tip of her finger.

I couldn’t hide the smile as I gave an exaggerated sigh and rolled off the bed. “Okay, fine.”

She grinned and excitedly jumped off the bed, speeding down the stairs ahead of me. As I mixed together ingredients for pancakes, she poured us each a glass of orange juice and then sat at the table, staring tiredly. It took about fifteen minutes for me to finish the pancakes, and Kyla smiled happily as I set a small plate in front of her and then sat down with a large one of my own. I had finished licking my lips hungrily and raised my fork to dig in when there was a quiet thud from the porch. I looked at Kyla curiously, but the other girl didn’t seem to hear it.

I was hungry enough to shrug the sound off, but something told me it wasn’t right. Everything else in the house was so quiet, except for that single sound. I had to investigate. I got up and strode to the kitchen window that overlooked the porch with Kyla watching me curiously.

“Oh my God.” A large copper werewolf lay collapsed on the porch. Julian. “Dad!”

I ran out to the porch with Kyla following close behind. Julian lay on his stomach, the large wolf now a naked man, breathing so slow and shallow I couldn’t even see his ribs rise and fall.

“Dad!” Frustrated that he hadn’t come down yet I yelled as loud as I could until I heard him rushing down the stairs.

Each side of Julian’s torso, just below his ribs, were severely bruised and covered in small, dark red spots. Needle holes, big ones. I put my fingers up to his neck to make sure he still had a pulse.

My dad knelt beside me. “He has a pulse?”

“Barely,” I told him.

Kyla came back out of the house with a blanket, though I hadn’t even noticed she went inside. She was closely followed by Eli, who stood in the doorway and looked on as though he wanted to get involved, but knew my dad was the only one who could take care of Julian. Julian’s face and body were beaten and bruised, his lips dry and cracked, and I was sure there’d be a broken bone or two. My dad shook his head grievously as he wrapped the blanket around Julian’s body and picked him up, carrying him inside and mumbling to himself about x-rays and dehydration. Everyone in the house was awake at that point, now in the living room in his or her pajamas, watching, eyes full of concern.

“We have to go, now.” Carter was the first to speak a minute later as our dad rapidly tended to Julian as best he could.

Everyone passed him glares at his insensitivity, but Eli slowly nodded his head in agreement. “Carter’s right. It looks like he escaped and ran here, which means right now we have a trail to follow back. If we wait too long it will just lead back to nothing, they’ll leave once they notice he’s gone.” He paused while everyone looked down at the floor, knowing he was right but unwilling to leave when one of our own was in such critical condition. “Will and David, take Carter, Niko, Camille and Sky. Luna and Michael will stay with Adrian, Rachel, and I.” As he spoke he pointed, motioning to each of us, and then my father and mother. He then made his way to David and whispered in his ear. If I was any farther away I wouldn’t have been able to hear, and I was glad Kyla couldn’t. “I don’t need to remind you how to dispose of the bodies. I suggest you do it as quickly as possible.”

David nodded and motioned for those who were going to follow him. As we exited the house I could hear Kyla’s soft footsteps following close behind me. I stopped and let the others pass before turning to face her.

“I’ll be back soon. Keep those pancakes warm for me.” I felt guilty for the worried look on her face, and sincerely wanted to squeeze the anxiety out of her. “Hey, there’s three of them and six of us. You don’t need to worry about me okay? Help my mom and dad?”

Kyla didn’t say anything, just nodded and let me peck her on the lips, watching worriedly as I stripped and Phased. Before I took off to meet the five other wolves waiting for me on the other side of the house I looked at Kyla and gave her a wink, wagging my tail playfully. I stood there, waiting for a response from her before I would leave, and eventually she let a smile spread across her face. Taking the smile as the permission I needed, I flashed a wolfish grin and took off behind the house.

I followed right behind Carter, Sky’s paws striking dirt close behind me. Julian’s trail was leading us east towards Fresno, and I prayed that he had gone around the city instead of through it. While it would have been easy for one large wolf to slip through unnoticed, six would conjure a more dramatic reaction. The route we were taking, having to duck through various farmlands in daylight, was already dramatically slowing us down. God forbid we had to track Julian’s scent through the entire of Fresno city.

Ten-mile mark. About another twenty to go until we could see whether or not we’d have trouble with the trail. Luckily for us it was fall and the days, while still a little warm, had been growing cloudy and the sun didn’t beat down on us too mercilessly.

Ten minutes later, another few miles down. The smell of smog filled my nostrils as we kept getting closer and closer. A minute later I sighed with relief as David started leading us south, around the city. Another ten minutes and we came skidding to a halt. It only took me a second to figure out why.

Over a small hill we were crouching behind I could hear the roar of engines speeding by, some louder and more powerful than others. We’d already crossed highways, but the others had storm drains leading beneath them. This one didn’t, and it was busy. Not seven seconds went by without a car tearing past, and I started to wonder how Julian had managed it. I waited my turn as one by one the wolves ahead of me darted across the highway, hearing a honk more than once.

It was finally my turn, and I listened carefully for the sound of any oncoming cars. I could hear one coming, a sports car, loud and obnoxious, the roar of its engine near deafening. The split second it whizzed past me I darted out, making it halfway across the highway before I noticed the hybrid. Ah, damn. The car was so silent compared to the sports car there was no way I could have heard it. It was heading right for me and I had too much momentum to stop in time.

The driver saw me and slammed on his brakes, screeching loudly but not slowing fast enough to avoid the collision. At the last second I pushed off the ground, three of my feet landing hard on the roof of the car, but my last back leg hit the top frame of the windshield. With the loud crack of breaking glass the hit knocked me off balance, causing me to fall off the car and skid across the remaining feet of highway on my back. As Carter nudged me concernedly I heard the car screech to a halt on the side of the road, along with a couple of the cars behind it.

Sky and Will, the last two on the other side, came bounding across the road as quick as they could, receiving shouts from a couple of people on the highway. We had to leave before the drivers really saw us, so I snorted that I was okay and shook out my leg before we took off running and continued following the trail. Once my heart stopped pounding from nearly getting run over, I could feel the pain.

Every strike of my paw against the ground sent pain shooting through my leg, and to top it off I could feel the sting of a large road burn straight down my back. So much   for telling Kyla not to worry. I must have been limping slightly because Sky caught up and nudged me, laying her ears flat against her head worriedly. Again I grunted and shook my head, the equivalent of ‘I’m in pain but I’ll be fine’.

The farther we got east the more spread out the farmland became, allowing us to speed up at not having to worry so much about being seen. Finally Julian’s trail led us straight to a river that cut a path through the mountains. We followed alongside it for about twelve miles until the trail stopped, picked up on the other side and led us northeast. Each mile became more and more forested, and with all these trees and being in the mountains it was obvious we never would have been able to find the mutts on our own.

Once we were completely surrounded by miles of forest it didn’t take long for us to get traces of the other werewolves’ scents. We were in the right place. A growing relief and excitement started to fill my chest, making me forget the pain and giving my limbs an extra boost of energy. The others seemed to mirror my enthusiasm, because they too increased their speed.

It was another fifteen miles into the forest before we slowed to a crawl, somewhere in the near distance we could hear roaring laughter and the opening and closing of doors. I lifted my nose to the air as the breeze carried the heavy scent of werewolf directly to me. Out of instinct the fur on my neck and straight down my back rose aggressively. David pointed his nose to me, Niko and Carter, snorting to his side to tell us to go left, and then did the same in the opposite direction to Will and Sky. We all crouched as low to the ground as we could get and spread out, surrounding the house. I watched Luther and Charles come out the wide-open front door, each carrying a big cardboard box.

“I can’t believe that son-of-a-bitch got away! Sneaky bastard, huh? Now we got to move all of our shit,” Charles whooped.

“Easy there big fellah.” Luther dropped his box in the bed of their truck and tried to pat the laughter out of Charles. “There’s no way he made it back alive, but better safe than sorry.”

I was shocked at the small stature of Luther. From his picture I had assumed he’d be a tall, burly man. Burly as he was, he was shorter than me. Charles on the other hand was bigger and more muscular than I’d gathered from his picture.

As I watched closely, I saw both of them tense up, and a second later I understood why. A small breeze had picked up and carried Will’s scent across to me on the other side of the house. The two men had undoubtedly picked up on it. In the split second it took us all to spring into action, Luther and Charles Phased and instantly searched for an escape route. Noticing they were surrounded they had a fraction of a second to look for the weakest link, which they decided was me, and went barreling toward me.

I stopped going after them and skidded to a halt, watching each of the large wolves closely to see who would go where. Charles, being bigger than Luther was faster, and darted to the side of me, while only a second later Luther went soaring over my head. I lifted my head just in time to catch one of his hind legs in my teeth, and I ripped him out of the air. Niko and Carter were already chasing after Charles and I could hear the others’ steps hurrying to my aid.

With a hold still on Luther’s leg, I dragged him toward me and stood up, preparing to sink my teeth in while he was still on his back. But the second I stood he kicked his legs in the air, catching me from underneath and sending me flying back toward the cabin. The second I hit the ground near the house I smelt it. Another werewolf, and it wasn’t Jonathan.

A fourth werewolf? How could there be a fourth one and we didn’t know about it?

I checked to make sure no one else needed my help and then poked my nose inside the house. Yep. It stank of him. I’d never met this werewolf, but somehow his scent gave me déjà vu, like I had met him at some point. As silent as I could I crept inside the house. It was clean and decorated, aside from the mess the werewolves had made while there. It was more of a luxury cabin than a house, and it looked well cared for. Which meant it was probably well frequented by its owners, leading me to only one conclusion. These guys hadn’t given the owners a fair chance to keep their house, or their lives.

My ears perked forward and I turned my head toward the ceiling. I couldn’t hear anything now, but there had been the tiniest creak of the floorboards from upstairs. Someone else was definitely here. I crept around the inside of the house until I found the stairs, and then delicately and silently padded up them, keeping my ears and nose peeled for any sign of the other werewolf. I cocked my ears toward the first door at the top of the stairs, and hearing nothing from within poked my head in just to double check. I did the same as I made my way down the hall, clearing the first couple rooms.

The third room I poked my head in was some sort of empty game room, with a single children’s toy chest in one corner, and it reeked of the fourth werewolf. Before entering I glanced in for an obvious hiding spot. On the other end of the adjacent wall was a closet, and that had to be where he was hiding. Keeping my ears alert I snuck into the room and cautiously made my way to the closet. Another step, another foot closer. Step, closer. Closer.

I heard the scrape of nails against the wood floor behind me as he leapt from a cubby in the wall before I had time to turn and meet the attack. The wolf landed square on my back, causing my legs to buckle as I crumbled to the floor. Hitting the ground I reflexively rolled out of the way before he could sink his teeth in and sprung up, lowering my head as I faced my attacker, snarling. The gray wolf was double my size, and as he blocked the doorway to the small room, I was trapped.

I saw his muscles tense and when he pounced, I was ready for it. I ducked at the last second and darted out of the way, causing him to stumble and hit his nose on the wall. But he didn’t leave time for me to counterattack, and right away turned to face me. I was a good fighter, but any other werewolf this size would’ve already given me a good gash or two. This guy was clumsy and unsure of himself, unsure of four-legged balance. Freshly bitten.

He tensed again and sprang to pounce, but instead of trying to land on me, landed a foot short and knocked me backward into the wall. He had crouched down and sprung again as I recovered just in time to kick him away from me. While he was too large for me to kick him across the room, I managed to knock him off balance and he stumbled, eventually falling. I took advantage of the split second it would take him to stagger back to his feet and pounced on him, sinking my teeth into his neck. To my frustration I got a mouthful of nothing but skin and fur.

I had him pinned on his back and he was kicking up wildly, desperately trying to kick me off of him. One of his paws managed to slash at my stomach, tearing a deep gash down one side. Yelping loudly, I stumbled back and shook it off as he got to his feet. Watching him out of the corner of my eye I desperately searched the room for a line of attack. He crouched down again, but before he could spring I leapt sideways and kicked off the wall to come at him from his left. Being caught off guard, the split second he was dazed was enough time for me to get my head under his neck, and with one strong clamp of my jaws I had him.

I heard and felt everything collapse under my teeth. He opened his mouth to yelp, but when nothing came out he whipped his upper body back and forth, desperately trying to fling me off of him. I had him in a lock, and held on tight until his thrashing eventually weakened and he collapsed to the floor. I held on a minute longer to make sure he wouldn’t be recovering, and then let go. To assure myself I’d done my job, I still stood there watching the body for another minute. When I was finally convinced, I made my way back downstairs and outside. Noticing that everyone had Changed back to clear the evidence, I Phased.

Sky looked up as I exited the house, and noticing my torn side she raised an eyebrow. “Jonathan?”

I shook my head and looked at the cut that streaked my ribs. “Nowhere to be found. A freshie though. He’s upstairs.”

Sky sighed disappointedly and then waved her hand for me to follow her to the porch. “Come on, I found a first aid kit in their truck.”

While I let Sky dab some rubbing alcohol on my wound and then cover it with a bandage, Carter and David passed us and went into the house to bring down the other werewolf.

“Woo-wee, this is a big boy Camille. Nicely done,” Carter praised as they carried the now human body down the stairs. Seeing the boy’s face for the first time I froze. “Do you know him?”

I nodded. “From high school.”

I’d never talked to the guy, but he played on the football team, and I’d passed him in the hallways multiple times. That’s why I’d recognized his scent. I gulped back the nausea that started to cripple my stomach. While I never liked killing, with assholes like Jonathan the guilt subsided quickly. This kid didn’t need to be here. As far as I knew, he didn’t deserve this.

“Why do you think they Changed him?” Niko asked to whoever would answer him.

“Probably to carry on the business after these goons moved on,” Will explained, pointing to Luther and Charles’s bodies.

“Do you need any help?” I asked. I didn’t want to lend a hand getting rid of the bodies, but I felt I had to offer since everyone else was busy doing something.

I saw Carter look over at Sky, who was shaking her head at him. “No that’s okay. How about you find us some clothes?”

I nodded and made my way back into the house. I remembered there being a dresser in the first room that I’d checked, and thanked my lucky stars that someone had lived here, because there was no way in hell I was putting on any of those rotten werewolves’ clothes. Rummaging through the drawers I didn’t find any girl’s clothing, but pulled on some men’s basketball shorts and a tank top and grabbed some more jeans and shorts, and a shirt for Sky. Once I got outside I tossed everyone the clothes and sat on the porch to rest.

My leg was severely bruised, my back was scraped and I had a deep cut down the side of my stomach. The others had scrapes and bruises but not like mine. Kyla was going to flip out and all I wanted to do was lie down and sleep for a week. I leaned against the porch railing as David came out of the house with two shovels and a large hunting knife. Sighing in disgust I got up and went back into the house. I knew all of this had to be done, but that didn’t mean I wanted to see it.

I lay on the couch and stretched, wincing as the movement pulled at the wound in my stomach. I relaxed and laid an arm across my face to block the light from my eyes, and had almost fallen asleep when I shot up, cursing myself for nearly forgetting. The cut in my stomach was deep, and there’s no way that I hadn’t bled on the floor. I got up from the couch and made my way upstairs to see how much blood there was. There wasn’t too much, a few big splatters here and there, and most all of it was mine.

That still didn’t stop the sight from being gut wrenching. I angrily clenched my fist, wishing it didn’t bother me as much as it did. Luna shared my disgust for extreme violence, and while we simply realized it was a part of life, most other werewolves cherished the rough style of living. Any abhorrence by our aggressive nature was seen as a weakness, so I adapted to the best of my abilities.

After five minutes of searching I finally found a bucket and some bleach, and after filling the bucket I dragged it upstairs with some rags. Getting down on my hands and knees I scoured the entire room, wiping up as much as I could with a dry hand towel. I then carried the bucket to the far corner of the room, and after dunking another towel in the bleach-water I wiped the wood floor of the entire room. Once I was done I sat outside the door of the room and leaned against the wall while I waited for it to dry.

Five minutes later when the floor was dry, I studied each bit of it to make sure there was none I had missed. I sighed as I noticed a dark spot in one corner and grabbed the rag to wipe. I scrubbed and lifted the cloth to see it hadn’t disappeared. So I scrubbed harder and longer, but it still didn’t go anywhere. I growled angrily as I put all my weight on the rag and buffed at the floor. Rage started to boil over as the longer I cleaned the more the spot seemed to stand out.

“Camille.” I hadn’t even heard Sky come in until she grabbed my shoulder. “Camille, it’s paint.”

Still outright pissed, I stood up and threw the bloodied rag at the wall, causing it to make a light blood stain on the cream paint.

“Goddammit!” I practically snarled at the spot as I hit it, sending my fist straight through the drywall. Sky stood there silently and let me fume. “I’m sick of this! We’ve been playing these games for over a month and Jonathan isn’t even here. It should have been him I sunk my teeth into. Not some fucking kid. Did you know that guy was a junior? Not even eighteen yet. I’m going to kill him. It should’ve been him.”

Sky picked up the rags and the bucket and moved them next to the door. “Camille, they wouldn’t have Changed him if he hadn’t volunteered himself. Did you think about that? I’m not saying he deserved it, but this wasn’t just Jonathan’s fault. You did what you had to do.”

“I know.” I took a deep breath and tried to bring my temper under control. “But what if I’d known him? What if he’d been a friend of mine? Would I have had the balls to go through with it?”

“I don’t know, kiddo,” Sky shrugged honestly. “But you can’t get pissed off about what ifs. You did the right thing.”

I sighed, still upset, and picked up the rags and bucket. I followed Sky downstairs where we threw the rags along with the dead werewolves’ clothes into the fireplace.

“Hey, you guys can go ahead and drive their truck back to the house,” David told us as he lit the fireplace and sat on the couch. “Will, Carter and I are going to stay in case Jonathan shows up, and then we’ll run back.”

I gave a sigh of relief as I took one last look around the house. Aside from the hole I’d put in the wall, nothing looked out of place. Luther and Charles had done us the favor of packing up what little property they had and already put it in the truck. I followed Sky and Niko out of the house and hopped into the truck with them. As I leaned my head against the window it didn’t take long for me to doze off, and we were home before I realized it.

Kyla was already jumping off the porch when I opened the car door. She had been running to hug me, but stopped short when she saw my shirt. Apparently my cut had continued bleeding and I hadn’t noticed it, so it now stained the front of my shirt.  She looked at me disappointedly, a protective scowl crossing her face.

“Turn.” She swirled her finger in a circle, motioning for me to spin around so she could look me over for wounds. As I turned the road rash on my back was visible as it stemmed over my shoulder. Kyla whined. “Camille. How come Sky and Niko look decent, but you come home with scrapes everywhere?”

Sky laughed loudly as she passed us and walked toward the house. “You’re in trouble now little sis.”

I glared at her before turning a fond smile toward Kyla. “I’m okay. Just might need a couple stitches is all. How’s Julian?”

She sighed to relieve the stress of my injuries, and then grabbed my hand and led me into the house. “He’s doing a little better. No broken bones, but he’s been through a lot, physically and emotionally. He was conscious long enough to tell us how they kept him alive just to suck the adrenaline out of him. Hence the bruises and needle marks.” I shook my head disgustedly. “How’d it go? You get everyone?”

As we walked into the living room I just nodded, reluctant to go into detail about what had happened. Julian was lying on the couch, sleeping. My dad had managed to stick him with an IV that he hung from a standing lamp. How and where he got the IV was beyond me, but I was glad he had enough resources to take care of Julian.

“Hey.” He smiled at me when he saw me walk in with Kyla.

“Can I tear you away for a minute for some medical attention?” I asked him, smiling warmly at Julian who had woken and weakly looked up to see who’d walked in.

My dad nodded while he patted Julian gently on the shoulder, and followed us into the kitchen. I lay over the kitchen table, wincing as I carefully put pressure on the scrape across my back, and lifted my shirt over my ribs so my dad could look at it.

“Oof.” He winced sympathetically as he sat in a chair next to me, and then rummaged through some medical supplies he had in a red briefcase-like container. “How’d that happen?”

“A fight,” was all I answered, and sensing my tone he let it drop at that.

“And your back?” he asked in a soft, fatherly voice as he pulled out a surgical needle and threaded it with black medical thread.

I winced as he pushed in the first stitch with a pair of forceps, but then couldn’t help but laugh. “Crossing the highway. Cracked the windshield of a damn Prius.”

My dad found it as amusing as I did, but Kyla, who was now leaning against the kitchen counter, didn’t seem to think it was funny. “How do your siblings come back with minor bruises and you nearly get yourself killed?”

“I live life on the edge,” I joked lightly. I could understand why she was worried, but as far as I was concerned I’d gotten back in one piece. Stitches and a scrape were nothing that wouldn’t heal. What I really wanted was for everyone to lighten up so I could forget about it.

My dad hid a smirk from Kyla as he scolded me and tied up the last stitch in my side. “Kyla was really worried about you. Remember, this is all new to her.”

I smiled apologetically at Kyla, and once my dad finished sat up. “Thanks Dad.” He patted me on the leg and walked out of the kitchen, leaving me alone with Kyla. “Were you really that worried about me?”

“Yes. And for good cause too!” The concern still hadn’t faded from her face, and her eyes kept darting from around the room to my bloodstained shirt.

“Come on, I need to change.” I held out my hand for her to grab, and when she did I stood and started to lead her up the stairs.

When we got to my bedroom I stripped off the borrowed clothes, replacing them with only a big t-shirt and pair of shorts, and lay down on my bed. Kyla lay down beside me, and since she couldn’t wrap her arm around my stomach settled for resting it across my hips.

“Are you sure you’re okay?” she asked.

Lifting my head to see her face, I caressed her cheek and kissed her tenderly on the lips. “I’m fine. See, I can still make out just fine. What else do you need me for?”

“I need you,” she told me seriously, emphasizing the word ‘you’.

She scanned my face to make sure she was being taken seriously, and to show her I understood, I pulled her back for a longer, deeper kiss. After a few moments I playfully tickled at her ribs, sending her rolling to the other side of the bed with a surprised shriek.

Kyla laughed happily as she resumed her position next to me. “Next time could you try to come back to me in better condition? I can’t even hug you right.”

“I promise I’ll do my best,” I said while crossing my heart with my finger.

She smiled and kissed me on the cheek, then grew more serious. “So how’d it really go? You didn’t seem too happy when you got back.”

I contemplated whether or not I wanted her to know. The last time she heard I’d killed someone she didn’t take it too well. This was different though, and if I trusted Kyla with my secret then I could trust her enough to talk to her about these things. “Um, we got Luther and Charles, but Jonathan wasn’t there. And someone we didn’t expect was.”

“That’s how you got cut, on your stomach?” Kyla asked, to which I nodded. “Who was it?”

I sighed heavily. “Some guy from our high school. He was your grade. They turned him and he attacked me, so I, you know–”

She nodded understandingly, squeezing my hip for extra comfort. “You can’t blame yourself for that. It was you or him, and I’m glad it wasn’t you.”

“Yeah, me too.” She was right. If I didn’t do what I’d done, I wouldn’t have made it back. I yawned as I stretched an arm around the amazing girl next to me. “I’m exhausted.”

Kyla gave a simple nod while mirroring my yawn, and laid her head down so we could sleep. The ravenous growling of my stomach woke me a few hours later. As Kyla stirred next to me I realized the growling was louder than I thought.

“I put the pancakes in the microwave for you,” she smiled at hearing my stomach and stretched.

I grinned, giving her a huge peck on the cheek. “You’re the best.”

I hopped off the bed and pulled on jeans and a sweatshirt. Excited to finally eat I hurried down the stairs, exaggeratedly jumped off the last few and skipped into the kitchen.

“Hey, Luna,” I greeted my sister as I made my way to the microwave.

Luna looked up from a large plate of ham and mashed potatoes to smile at me. “Hey, where’s Kyla?”

“Sleeping,” I told her, pointing upstairs. I opened the microwave and grinned when I saw my pancakes still sitting there. After hitting the one-minute button I sat next to Luna.

“You seem chipper, considering today,” she noted with a hint of curiosity.

“Sleep works wonders.” I winked, and when the beeping went off to let me know my food was done I got up to get it, and then sat back down.

“Well I can see you’re physically fine, but that’s not what I meant. Niko told me about that guy from our school.” Luna shoved a bite of potato into her mouth and waited patiently for me to chew and swallow my own food.

I shrugged as nonchalantly as I could. “I’m going to try not to let myself stay too upset about it. I talked to Kyla a little bit and she was,” I paused thoughtfully as I searched for the right word, “Gentle about it.”

“I talked to her about it too the other day, after you told her about that rancher. She didn’t realize that you’re really sensitive about this kind of stuff.” Luna stabbed a piece of my pancakes with her fork and shoved it into her mouth.

“Marshmallow?” I smiled, and a giggle from Luna confirmed the origins of the nickname. “The others aren’t back yet?”

She shook her head. “It’s only six. I’m sure they’ll be back pretty soon though.”

Just then Julian lumbered in from the living room and sat at the table. Luna greeted him excitedly.

“Hey, Julian. You look good,” I said happily, getting greeted back by a loud stomach rumbling. “Can I make you something to eat?”

He nodded, and gave a thankful smile while I got up to make him a plate of leftover ham and potatoes. “Did you get them all? Is it done?”

I set the plate in front of him and resumed my seat at the other end of the table. “Luther and Charles were no problem, and I assume you know about the kid, we got him too. Jonathan wasn’t there though.”

Julian stopped wolfing down his food and his eyes filled with hate, lips turned down in disgust. “That bastard. How a kid gets to be so screwed up–” He shook his head in pity. “Let me tell you something, he’s the brains behind this whole thing. He’s smart and ruthless. Worst of all he’s unpredictable. That kid is unstable.”

I opened my mouth to ask exactly what he meant, but then decided better of it and just sat back to let him return to eating. I wondered if the others had caught him yet, but that was unlikely. They’d been gone too long, and all of our scents surrounded the house. Jonathan would pick it up and know better than to return. I hoped now that he had nothing left, he’d disappear and we’d never see him again.

Kyla came down the stairs yawning then, and after sitting in the chair next to me, leaned her head on my shoulder tiredly. “I should probably go home tonight. My parents don’t like it when I’m gone too long.”

I nodded in understanding as I bit in to my last bite of food. “Okay, I’ll take you now.”

I stood up and stretched, wincing as I again forgot about my wounds. Kyla followed me out to the car and once inside continued to rest her head on my shoulder. I drove with one hand, the other I placed in Kyla’s lap where she played mindlessly with my fingers.

“Why so tired?” I asked after a minute of silence.

“It’s hard work worrying about you all the time,” she teased with a smirk. “I haven’t been sleeping well. I keep having bad dreams all the time.”

“What happens in your dreams?” I turned the music down so I could better hear her soft, tired voice.

Kyla sighed a heavy, disconcerting sigh. “I can never remember after I wake up, but once I’m awake I still feel scared. It’s like being scared of the dark, when you know there really isn’t anything to be afraid of, but you’re scared anyway. Do werewolves have bad dreams?”

I couldn’t help but smile. I felt bad that she was having nightmares, but this innocent, vulnerable version of Kyla was kind of cute. “Yeah, we have bad dreams too. You just have to remember it’s not real.”

She nodded and fell silent for the rest of the ride back to her house. When I pulled into her driveway, she sighed in obvious unwillingness to leave. “You can’t stay the night tonight, can you?”

“I should stay home in case anything comes up.” I frowned at having to put down the hint of hope in her voice, but I pulled her in for a kiss. “Or you know, we could just stay in here.”

I could feel her mouth turn up in a smile in the middle of our kiss as she laughed. “As tempting as that sounds, I think my parents would notice a strange car parked in the driveway, and you wouldn’t be the most welcomed guest after they came out to investigate.”

“Good point,” I laughed, giving her another kiss.

When we pulled away, I caught her gaze, and as usual, I couldn’t help but stare into those entrancing green eyes. The brunette had been so amazing, so accepting, and I didn’t think I could ever express how grateful I was for that.

After almost a minute of it, Kyla smiled shyly and waved a hand to get my attention as she giggled. “Why are you staring so much?”

“I’m in love with you,” I admitted it before I could stop myself.

It wasn’t that it wasn’t true, but I’d wanted to wait at least a little bit longer before I told her. Now by the look on Kyla’s face, I really wished I’d waited. A poorly hidden shock widened her eyes, and they darted around, looking everywhere but at me. In the light of the dashboard I could see the girl’s cheeks darken with an uncomfortable blush. I’d seen this exact look before, and after hearing these exact words. It was the same look as the night I’d heard her phone conversation with Aaron, and he’d told her he loved her.

“I’m sorry,” I said promptly, desperately trying to ease the tension. “That was too soon.”

“It’s okay,” Kyla said almost inaudibly, still looking terribly uneasy.

Stupid, I scolded myself, wishing so badly that I could take it back and save it for a more appropriate time. But it was too late, and now I just wanted to hide in a hole. It looked as though Kyla was still trying to find something to say, and not wanting her to feel obligated to repeat the words if it wasn’t true, I shook my head.

“You don’t have to say anything. I’ll see you later.” So stupid. I just hoped this wouldn’t scare her away. Wouldn’t ruin everything.

Kyla nodded awkwardly and turned for the door handle. Stopping when she got halfway, she turned back and planted a small peck on my cheek, only a slight comfort in the thick of the tension, before heading out the door without a word. I watched her walk all the way into the house before heading back home, trying hard to forget about the blunder. The last thing I wanted to think about now was how embarrassing that was.

Will, David and Carter returned home shortly after I got back, and just as I had thought, Jonathan was nowhere to be found. With that, the rest of the weekend passed leisurely. I didn’t call or text Kyla, since I figured I should give her a little time to get over the shock of my declaration. Aside from mine and Julian’s wounds it was pretty much like before Jonathan and his goons showed up, even a little more boring. Eli and the other Pack members left Sunday night, seeing as Jonathan was the only one left. They assured my family that they’d keep looking for him, but now we had nothing else to worry about. There was no way he’d be coming back to challenge my whole family on his own.

***

“Miss Walters,” I smiled, albeit somewhat uncomfortably, as I took a seat next to Kyla in sixth period that Monday. After not having heard from her all weekend, I was a little worried about how things would be between us now.

“Hey,” Kyla smiled back and watched as I sat down beside her. “How’s your side?”

“It’s good. My dad took out the stitches this morning, should be completely gone by Thursday.” I shrugged as I read over the assignment our teacher had passed out and sighed. So far, even though Kyla seemed a little tense, things weren’t too uncomfortable. But I couldn’t be sure if it was really her, or if I was just projecting my own unease. “This is the last thing I want to be doing.” As Kyla mumbled her agreement my phone buzzed in my pocket and I took it out to check my messages.

Luna: Going to a friend’s house. Be home at six.

I reread the message curiously. While Luna did have friends at our school it was unusual for her to go to their houses, but I shrugged it off seeing as she had a way of being unpredictable. Kyla and I worked on the assignment for the rest of the period, getting distracted once or twice to talk about something unrelated to school, but most the time the assignment kept things from getting too awkward. Finally, after what seemed like hours, the bell rang and relieved us for the day.

“Are you coming over?” I shoved my hands into the pockets of my jeans and asked as we walked out the front doors of the school.

Kyla frowned and shook her head. “No, I got a lecture the other day about how I’m spending too much time at your house and still slacking on my chores. I’m supposed to clean and stuff the second I get home.” I gave an exaggerated scowl, while I tried not to let on how disappointed I really was. A part of me was afraid it was just an excuse, that maybe I really had ruined things by admitting my feelings too soon. “But I’ll call you tonight, after dinner.”

We reached Kyla’s car, and after she gave me a somewhat comforting peck on the cheek I opened the door for her to get in, closing it once she slid into the driver’s seat. I said bye and after watching her drive away met Niko at our car. When I got home, for lack of anything better to do, I made a snack and sprawled out on the couch. I couldn’t deny that after running patrol for weeks, night and day, it was nice to be able to be lazy. Lying there on the couch it wasn’t long until I dozed off, waking up a few hours later to Niko poking at my forehead.

“Camille.” He continued to poke until I sat up. “What time did you say Luna was coming home?”

I yawned and smacked his finger away as I sat up. “She said six. Why?”

“It’s six-thirty, and she hasn’t called or anything.” Now that my eyes were fully open I could see that Niko’s face was etched with worry. It was unlike Luna to be late without calling.

Taking a deep breath to keep from worrying too much, I reached over and grabbed the phone off the coffee table. I called Luna’s cell. No answer. I scrunched my eyebrows and tapped my foot, waiting a minute before calling again. Every ring caused my heart to beat faster. As Luna’s voicemail kicked in, I remembered what Julian had said. Jonathan was ruthless, and unstable.

He wouldn’t take on my whole family, but we’d killed his father. If he were crazy enough, he would get his revenge. I called again. Voicemail. A deep, icy knot started to form in the pit of my stomach, and I forced back the rising nausea and with shaking fingers dialed again. Still, no answer. I stood up and started pacing in front of the couch, Niko watching me worriedly.

I handed the phone to him and had him call. And the longer he sat there without her picking up, the bigger and colder the icy knot. I was starting to panic. Impatiently I grabbed the phone from Niko and dialed Luna’s number one last time. Hearing the click of someone answering, my heart stopped.

Then the voice came on. His voice. All I could hear was the pounding of my pulse in my ears and him. Everything else around me stopped.

“Luna’s cell phone. Can I ask who’s calling?” Jonathan’s sadistic voice rang over the other end. He was practically singing his triumph.

“I want my sister back you son-of-a-bitch,” I growled into the phone. Out of the corner of my eye I could see Niko’s jaw drop, his face going white with fear for our sister.

“Umm,” he pretended to think about it. “No. Camille, did you know that I absolutely, one hundred percent, with every fiber of my being, hate you? And since you guys killed my father, I think I’ll just keep Luna.”

I started to spew out a long list of profanities, but got cut off by the dial tone. I made a motion to throw the phone but stopped before I released it. Kyla. I had to call her, make sure she was safe. Niko was no longer on the couch. I could faintly hear him upstairs talking to our parents.

I dialed Kyla’s number, which just like Luna’s, rang until it went to voicemail. “Fuck!”

My knees started to go weak, and I could feel myself getting lightheaded. I sat on the couch and called again. Once again, voicemail. I sat there, frozen with panic. Now my entire body was shaking violently and I had to tap my foot to keep some part of my body under control. I couldn’t lose either of them, especially in the same night. The ringing of the phone in my hand made me jump. I checked the caller ID. It was Kyla.

“Kyla, I’ve been calling. I’ve been worried,” I said quickly and waited for her to respond. I could hear breathing on the other end, but she didn’t say anything. “Kyla?”

Another moment of silence before I heard her voice. “Camille, I can’t do this anymore.”

The simple sentence hit me in the gut like a ton of bricks. “What do you mean?”

“Us. I can’t do us. It was a mistake.” Her voice was quiet, a near whisper. “I’m not–” But she stopped. She didn’t need to finish. I knew what she was going to say. I knew I ruined it.

Now my mind was going blank. I couldn’t handle this, especially not when I had Luna to worry about. It was all too much. Through shallow, labored breaths I tried to get out a whole sentence. “Kyla please. Not now. Any time but now.”

She was silent for almost a minute. “I’m so sorry. Don’t call back.”

And then the dial tone. I could feel my throat closing up. I couldn’t breathe. Couldn’t think. I bit back a flood of tears that stung my eyes, and desperately held back the nausea threatening to release. My mom and dad came down with Niko. I could faintly hear them speaking to me. Asking what happened? I couldn’t hear, couldn’t understand anything but the pain that threatened to crumble me like a broken statue.

On wobbly legs I stood up, nearly buckling over. Everything was falling apart. My fingertips started to tingle, and then itch. It was spreading too fast for me to control, but I didn’t care to control it. A split second later I Changed, taking off toward the living room window. As I shattered through it I could hear everyone inside yelling after me, but it was done. Nothing I did now was of my own accord, but I knew exactly where my limbs were taking me.

To get my sister back.

I finally finished all my chores later Monday afternoon. Aside from cleaning my room I had to exercise the horses and clean the stables. My family was going out to dinner, but being too exhausted and still having chores left they told me they’d bring me back some food. When I’d reentered the house from being in the barn I trudged up to my room. It took a little while for me to fall asleep though, with Camille on my mind.

I hadn’t had any contact with her since she’d used that four-letter word, except for today during class, and she was obviously still embarrassed about it. I felt a little awkward too, though not because it had been said. On the contrary, I was quite aware Camille’s feelings for me were that strong. I just didn’t think she would actually admit it so soon. So when the time came, I just couldn’t say it back. My feelings for Camille went deeper than they’d ever been for anyone, and I was almost positive that I was in love with the werewolf.

But I had never said those words to anyone before, and our relationship was so new the thought of saying it scared me. Especially with everything that was happening. Especially when the same day Camille had come home needing stitches because of a fight. When every day I was reminded that I was in danger because I was only human. When there was a chance Camille could be ripped away from me at any second. If I’d repeated those words to her and made it even more real, then if something happened to her I was sure my heart wouldn’t survive it. I tried to say it back, but I was too afraid of what it would mean.

Eventually thinking exhausted my mind too much to stay awake, and what seemed like minutes later, Brandy and Blue woke me up. I tried to ignore the barking, but after ten minutes of nonstop noise I grumpily rolled off the bed. Not a second after my feet hit the floor did the dogs stop barking.

“Oh Lord,” I grumbled, glancing from the bed to the door, eventually making up my mind to go downstairs anyway.

As I stumbled through the dark and into the kitchen I nearly tripped over something someone had left on the floor. I stepped over it and maneuvered my way to the light switch on the other side of the kitchen. After flicking it on I turned to walk to the refrigerator, freezing in my tracks.

“Hey sleepy head.” Jonathan stood leaning in the corner with his arms folded across his chest. I made a move to run to the phone but he agilely caught my arm, yanking me back. “You’re not happy to see me?”

My eyes darted every direction, searching for any possible escape route. My gaze dropped to the floor, the thing I almost tripped over. Blue. “What did you do?” I raised my voice as loud as I could, yelling in anger, but it cracked as I held back a horrified sob.

“Don’t worry about that. Poisoned meat. Your family will think they got in to something.” He stood there, watching me carefully.

His body was tense, as every second he waited for me to bolt. I wouldn’t give him an excuse to hurt me, or the satisfaction of thinking I was afraid of him.

“What do you want?” As much as I tried not to be afraid, I was terrified. I leaned against the counter for support as the fear started sinking into my weakening limbs.

“You’re going to call Camille and break up with her.” He re-crossed his arms over his chest, daring me to defy him.

Fear turned to fury, and I glared at him. “Go to hell.”

Jonathan smirked, clearly taking pleasure in the fact that he’d get to do things the hard way. “You’re going to do it Kyla. Now whether or not you want to put your family in danger is up to you.”

I clenched my jaw as my heartbeat quickened. I didn’t doubt for one second he was crazy enough to do anything that he said. I couldn’t put my family in danger, but I couldn’t break Camille’s heart. I just shook my head.

“No? Too worried about hurting her feelings?” he teased sadistically. “How about this, you call her now. Or I’ll snap your neck. Which one do you think would hurt her feelings more? You breaking up with her, or her having to live for the rest of her life with being responsible for your death?” He practically spat the word ‘death’ at me. A threat I knew he would live up to.

The sound of my own heart pounding in my ears was so loud I could barely think. Out of the corner of my eye I caught a slight glimmer of metal. The knife rack. I impulsively reached over and pulled out the biggest knife I could, holding it toward Jonathan. As I slowly backed out of the kitchen and toward the front door, he didn’t even seem to care. And seconds later, as I hit a hot, solid wall of a large man, I understood why. I hadn’t even heard the huge, bald, tattooed guy standing there.

Jumping with shock as my back hit him, I turned on my heels and pulled my arm back to stab. He reached out with a quick, fluid motion and grabbed my wrist, squeezing harder and harder until I dropped the knife. When it clattered to the floor I expected him to turn me loose, but instead he stared me down, a smile spreading across his lips as he continued to squeeze. He squeezed until we both heard my bones snap.

As I fell to the floor screaming in agony, Jonathan let out a whooping laugh, cut off by the ringing of my cell phone on the countertop. He earnestly checked the caller ID and grinned. “Ah, just who we wanted to talk to. Are you ready to talk to her?”

Gasping for air in between excruciating sobs of pain, there was no way I could answer. The phone stopped ringing and Jonathan carried it over to me, digging his hand into my shoulder to lift me off the floor and sitting me on a stool at the island. Again the phone started ringing, but I was in pain, too shocked and overwhelmed to form a sentence.

“You better compose yourself quick.” He waited a couple seconds for me to slow my breathing and force the pain out of my mind. Then he thrust the phone in my face. “Call, and don’t give a damned thing away. Or we’ll break every other bone in that fragile human body.”

I picked up the phone, dialed Camille’s number and put it to my ear. It rang once. Rang twice. “Kyla, I’ve been calling. I’ve been worried.” Her voice sounded shaky, frantic. Camille, I need help! I yelled mentally as I held on to the thought of the pain in my arm, trying to convince myself a broken bone hurts far more than what I was about to do. “Kyla?” I looked over at Jonathan who glanced up from a note he was writing and glared at me, telling me to speak.

I took a deep breath. I didn’t have a choice. He’d kill my entire family. “Camille, I can’t do this anymore.” I could practically hear the breaking of her heart as it echoed in my own. I’m in love with you!

“What do you mean?”

I wiped away the tears that now started rolling down my cheeks. I had to whisper so she wouldn’t hear that I was about to lose it, that I was about to break down in sobs. “Us. I can’t do us. It was a mistake.” I looked to Jonathan who nodded, urging me on by sliding his index finger across his throat. “I’m not–” I couldn’t even finish the sentence. It was wrong. Everything was so wrong, and now I wished more than anything I’d told her how I felt.

“Kyla please. Not now. Anytime but now.” Camille was begging me, and the pain in her voice made me wish I’d chosen the broken bones. I loved the feeling in my wrist compared to this. But the damage was done. I had to follow through with it.

Don’t fall for this Camille! I didn’t know what to say. Ask me if he’s here! Tell me you’ll come and save me! But as I realized she wouldn’t figure it out, I couldn’t just hang up. Everywhere I’d been, everything that had happened since I’d met Camille, I didn’t think I’d end up here. Jonathan was probably going to kill me anyway, and I wasn’t ready to go. Not leaving Camille this way. I’m so sorry. I hope you can forgive me. I winced as I clenched the fist of my broken arm, using the pain to suppress the desolate sob forming in my throat. I had to just hang up.

“I’m so sorry. Don’t call back.”

I hung up and let the tears flow down my cheeks. Jonathan stood there grinning, wider than I’d ever seen. In that moment, I wished a death on him that I’d never wish on anyone else. I hated him. Wanted him dead and wanted to do it myself. As I glared at him he continued to grin, watching me closely with a strange look in his eyes.

No, it wasn’t strange. I’d seen it before. It was the same look when I knew he was checking me out during chemistry. Only now it was worse. We were alone. We hated each other, and the carnal look had gained a fiery tint of malice.

“Let’s go,” he said, snapping his fingers for added emphasis. “If she goes looking for her sister first we’ve got about three hours until she finds the barn.”

My head snapped up. “You took Luna?” That’s why Camille sounded frantic, and Jonathan had just used me to add torture to agony. I was furious. “Take me instead. Let Luna go and take me!”

“I’m taking both of you!” Jonathan shouted angrily, and as he turned he led with his hand, the back of it catching me in the cheek. “You could have avoided all of this, Kyla.” He stepped closer to me and lifted my chin with his hand – so gentle it was hard to believe he’d really just hit me. “I made my desire for you perfectly clear.”

“Don’t touch me.” I pulled my face away from his hand, refusing to look at him.

“I’ll do whatever the fuck I want. Do you understand me?” He raised his voice again, and this time he grabbed me by the shirt collar, pulling me up out of the chair and close to him.

I pushed away from him, wrenching out of his hold, but the large man stepped up behind me, pulling both of my arms and holding them in place behind my back. I struggled against him, ignoring the pain in my wrist and trying to break free of his grasp. Eventually I resorted to kicking my legs wildly, trying desperately to get Jonathan and causing him to step back and smile at my futile attempts. All too soon I tired out, the mixture of despair and panic was exhausting, and I stopped struggling.

“Now that’s better. Are you ready to do this the easy way?” he asked, getting so close to me that I was now sandwiched between the two of them.

‘Do what?’ was going to be my next question. I’d already broken Camille’s heart just like he wanted. As I saw the gleam of pleasure in his eyes as he glanced down at the proximity of our bodies, I knew what he wanted. “Please, no,” I begged.

He smirked, checking the time on his watch with a slight nod. “Hold her still for me, will you friend?”

“Don’t touch me!” I yelled and began to struggle again, this time frantically.

Panic started to rise in my chest and my breathing and heartbeat quickened. It gave me the energy to kick and struggle, to buck back in hopes I’d get out of the larger man’s grasp. It was no use. I was just a human. Just a small, weak human against this sick, psychotic werewolf. It wasn’t long until the panic turned to pure terror and I couldn’t breathe at all. Darkness started closing in on me. My lungs burned and felt like they were being crushed.

At least I’d welcome the darkness over this. Anything but this. My eyesight started to go, tunnel vision making it slimmer and slimmer until finally everything was black.

“Kyla.” The sound came only as a distance mumbling, like in a dream. “Kyla.” A little louder now. “Kyla, wake up.” When I recognized the voice as Luna’s I mustered all the energy I could to open my eyes.

However, the second I did, I wished I hadn’t. I was sitting in a chair, my arms tied behind the back of it, causing excruciating pain to constantly shoot up my broken arm. Biting my lip to distract from the stabbing agony I looked around. We were in a large barn, about thirty-five feet up in a loft, and Luna was tied up next to me near the edge of the platform. It had been my hope that I’d wake up, finding this whole thing was just a terrible nightmare. Only, it wasn’t a nightmare. The pain in my wrist reminded me of that.

That realization caused my heartbeat to pick up again. It was real, and it wasn’t over. Be strong Kyla. I took deep breaths to calm myself. This is bad, but you can get out of here alive. Then I remembered why I’d passed out in the first place, and eagerly tried to push the thoughts away. Forget it. Deal with it later. It took a minute and every bit of repression for me to forget everything and focus on the immediate situation.

After briefly taking in my surroundings I fixed my eyes on Luna, looking her up and down and sighing with relief that, aside from obviously being hit in the face a few times, she was healthy. “You’re okay.”

Luna gave a tiny nod. “For now. Are you hurt?”

I looked down, a sudden and overwhelming feeling washed over me again. Guilt? Embarrassment. Forget it Kyla! “They broke my arm, but other than that I’m fine.” I shook my head in disbelief. Every overwhelming emotion bubbled over, filling me until I couldn’t take it any more, and before I knew it a sudden hysteria overtook me. I laughed uncontrollably until the shaking caused more pain in my wrist, forcing me to stop. “Is this normal for you guys?”

“Broken bones?” Luna asked confused, looking around as she struggled against the ropes that held her.

I started laughing again, as it was the only way I could release every one of the all-consuming emotions that poured out of me. “No. Getting kidnapped.”

Luna started to share the panicked hysteria as a smile spread across her face. “This is a first for me.”

Jonathan poked his head up from the ladder and smiled when he saw that I was awake. He climbed all the way up, carrying a few clothes articles with him. Just the sight of him made me sick. “When Camille finally gets here, which do you think she would like best?” He set a pair of jeans on the ground and held up a dark blue and a red t-shirt. “I’m going to leave them outside for her to get dressed.” Each of us just stared, so he shrugged and took the clothes back down the ladder.

“He’s being nice?” I asked, so confused it made my brain hurt.

“No,” Luna scoffed angrily. “He’s insulting her. You might not be able to smell that asshole very well, but we can. Those were his clothes, and they reeked of him. If Camille runs here, then she has to chose between coming in here naked or wearing his stuff. It’s disgusting.”

As I understood what Jonathan was doing I myself grew offended, but I was too tired and in too much pain to call him names or complain. Everything hurt, my brain, my wrist, my soul, and every other bit of me.

“I hope Camille comes soon,” Luna sighed as she resumed pulling at the thick ropes that bound her hands.

“I hope she doesn’t come.” I looked up to see Luna raising an eyebrow at me. “God only knows why he’s waiting for her to get here. He’ll probably kill her too. She doesn’t deserve this.” I studied the rope binding Luna’s hands. “How come you can’t Change and get us out of here?”

“My arms are pulled too far behind my back. It’s not a normal position for a wolf. If I Phased I’d still be tied up and probably break something,” Luna said disappointedly.

I nodded and craned my neck to see behind us to the bottom of the barn. From what little I could see by way of a single floodlight, it looked as though it had been abandoned for a while before Jonathan had moved in, and was completely empty except for an old tractor in one corner. Jonathan was shuffling around at the bottom, and I followed a path to the door. The big, bald man that had held me earlier stood guarding it with another man not quite as big, but just as scary. Both of their faces were completely hidden by the dark of the outside.

Eventually the stretching I had to do to look behind me put too much strain on my arm, and I had to turn around. I couldn’t see it, but I could only imagine how swollen it was. Jonathan came climbing up the ladder again and walked to the far end of the loft to sit in front of us. Reaching behind him, he pulled something dark and shiny out of his belt. A gun. He took out the clip to make sure it was loaded, put it back in and then set it beside him. Returning his gaze to Luna and me he leaned back on his hands casually, and sat there watching us closely.

“What are you staring at creep?” Luna growled, angrily pulling at her ropes.

“It’s just such a shame. You’re both such pretty girls, but one of you won’t be going home today.” An evil smile spread across his face.

Both Luna and I looked at each other, frightened and confused. “Which one of us?” I asked him.

He shrugged nonchalantly. “That’s not up to me.”

“Camille,” I whispered, scowling at Jonathan, who nodded with pleasure.

“Offer still stands Kyla,” he smirked his usual, evil, psychopathic smile. “I’ll let both of them go.”

I turned my face away. I couldn’t even look at him with the reminder. He wouldn’t really let Camille and Luna go. He was only harassing me, adding insult to deep, deep injury. Luckily for me Luna responded before Jonathan could talk to me again.

“Are you going to shoot one of us?” she snickered at him. “You’re a pathetic coward.”

Jonathan’s face flared with anger and he stood, rushing to Luna and getting inches away from her face. He pointed the gun at her angrily. “You’re in no position to be insulting me right now!”

I watched Luna wipe the wince off her face as she continued laughing. “You don’t like being called names very much do you? Fucking mutt. I heard your dad cried like a girl before they killed him. He begged for mercy. An even bigger coward than you are.”

In that moment, the way Jonathan’s features twisted with anger, I feared for Luna’s life. He wrapped a hand around the tiny blonde’s throat and shook angrily. It was clear he wanted to kill her, but his plan seemed to be the only thing that stopped him.

After staring at her for a moment he started laughing, and after letting go of her throat made his way to sit back down in front of us. “You’re good. You almost had me little one. But if I kill you now, it makes Camille’s life easier. You see?”

We sat there for a minute in silence, both Luna and me glaring at him, until both Luna’s and Jonathan’s heads cocked toward the door. I strained to hear what they did, but couldn’t pick up any sound. A minute later I heard the faintest sound of footsteps coming up the ladder. Jonathan grabbed his gun and stood up a second before Camille’s head poked over the top of the loft. Her eyes scanned the area, looking relieved when she saw Luna was okay, and then flaring with confusion when she saw me there.

She looked into my eyes for a split second before turning her gaze on Jonathan. She didn’t look at me again after that, and her refusal to do so was like a stab in the heart. I knew I’d hurt her, but surely she would forgive what I had to do. Studying her face I saw an enormous mix of emotions. Her mouth was set in an angry scowl, eyebrows raised in what I assumed to be panic, but her eyes. Her eyes were exhausted and sad. She looked done, like she could give up and collapse at any second.

“Nice clothes, I see you went with the blue,” Jonathan sneered.

“You know,” Camille picked at the clothing, “You really should invest in some deodorant.” The corner of my mouth turned up in a smile. That was just like her to turn an insult around and make a smartass comment when our lives were in danger.

Receiving no reply, Camille made a move to step closer, but stopped when Jonathan cocked the gun and pointed it at her. “It’s not loaded,” she tested him. He lowered the gun, causing her to jump when a loud bang put a hole through the floor at her feet. “What do you want?”

“I want you to suffer, Camille,” Jonathan hissed, and I could see her flinch. “I want you to pick between Luna and Kyla and live with that decision for the rest of your life. Like I’ll have to live without my father.”

Camille’s gaze dropped to the floor. Her chest rose and fell in a staccato of fast breaths. “Why me?”

“I don’t know which one of you bitches killed my father, but you want to know whose scent was all over that house? Whose scent pissed me off the most?” He paused while Camille met his glare. “Yours Camille! So now I’m getting my revenge. Who will it be?”

Camille clenched her fists angrily as she took a moment to think. “Me. You can kill me.” That very statement made me wish she would spare Luna. I didn’t want her to suffer any more than she already was, any more than I had already caused.

“Funny, I don’t remember that being an option.” I could hear Jonathan’s voice growing impatient. “Kyla or Luna?”

“You know the others are on their way. You’re a dead man, asshole,” Camille threatened him, trying to buy time until the rest of her family could get there.

Jonathan’s eyes narrowed and he growled. “We better make this fast then.”

“I already told you. You can have me.” Camille’s body tensed, like she was waiting for the right moment to spring at him.

“And I told you that’s not an option. Choose now or I’ll pick for you.” Jonathan looked at Camille, and they stared each other down for a good thirty seconds before he shrugged. “Okay.”

Camille sprang into action the second she heard the click of Jonathan cocking the gun. But she was too late. By the time she was done Phasing Jonathan had already pulled the trigger. Her wolf eyes scanned Luna and me, and when she saw the blood she snarled so loud it was near a roar.

I looked down at my torso in shock, gasping for air. Through the harrowing pain and the inability to breathe I could feel the bullet had collapsed a lung, and now between gasps and coughs I struggled for air. Camille started charging toward us. Jonathan had a split second to realize his aim hadn’t achieved the one shot kill he’d hoped for, and in the same second it took Camille to sink her teeth into the rope that held Luna’s hands, Jonathan kicked my chair over the edge of the loft.

I could feel myself falling, but through the pain in my chest it didn’t even register from what until I hit the ground. Luckily the chair hit first, saving me from hitting my head too hard. But as the chair shattered beneath me one of the legs splintered between the ground and my own leg, causing it to pierce through my thigh. If I had the strength and the breath, I would have let out an agonizing scream, but instead I laid my head back, praying I’d pass out from the pain or die quickly.

Then two dark wolves fell over the side of the loft, hitting the ground with a loud thud and coming back up snarling. The two men that had stood guard near the door already Changed, and were watching the two wolves tangle, prepared to step in if things looked too dire for Jonathan. A white wolf jumped over the side of the barn and came to stand over me, eyes scanning me, unsure of what to do. Luna knew what she had to do though, the only way to save me.

I could feel myself losing consciousness. Stay awake. I was getting cold. Through blurred eyes I continued to watch the two dark wolves fight. The lighter one knocked the dark one hard into the wall and then came over to me. It nudged me gently with its nose, and I know those eyes. Those warm, golden brown eyes that make all pain and worry melt away. Camille.

I lifted my arm to run my fingers through her fur, but dropped it as searing pain shot through my torso, causing me to cough and increasing the pain. The wolf whined worriedly and nudged my face with the side of its muzzle, as if to say goodbye. Then turned and continued to fight with the black wolf that had just gotten up. Once Camille was gone I noticed the white wolf sitting beside me. It took my hand into its mouth and I could feel it applying pressure. Biting me? But it stopped before it broke skin and instead lay beside me. A smile crossed my lips as the wolf made me feel warm again.

Another cough and I noticed the coppery taste of blood in my mouth. My lips weren’t cut, the blood was coming from inside. I could feel my heartbeat slowing, and for the first time since Jonathan shot me, I was truly afraid. It wasn’t time. I couldn’t leave Camille like this. My pulse continued to weaken as I frantically looked beside me. The wolf was still there, but where did the heat go? My breaths were shallow, hardly breaths at all.

I closed my eyes, as keeping them open was using too much energy, and motionlessly listened to my heartbeat. Bump……. Bump. I could hear more commotion in the world around me. More snarling, more yelling, and more chaos. I found the strength to open my eyes to a slit, and if I could have felt anything it would have been joy. Joy that the others had arrived. Joy that they were ripping into the mutts, that they were tearing those revolting creatures to shreds. But all too soon that small bit of strength faded, leaving me in a calm, painless world of my own. This was it. I was falling away. Bump……………..Bump. I pulled a picture of Camille out of my memory and stared at it. My very last memory, last love, and I was as ready as I’d ever be. Bump.

Then my eyes snapped open as I gasped so deep I nearly passed out again from the excruciating pain. My heart was pounding so fast I thought it was going to explode out of my chest. I closed my eyes again as I heard a deep, friendly voice. Adrian. He was saying something about epinephrine that I couldn’t make out. Everything still seemed so distant. Then the next wave of pain reached me. In my leg, the wound I’d already forgotten about I was instantly reminded of as I felt the splintered wood torn out of me.

After that I felt my arm get picked up off the ground, and then a snap. More agonizing pain as my broken bone was set back in place. Finally my other arm was picked up, and though I assumed the motion didn’t reach my physical body, I cringed, waiting for more torture. I’d already endured so much, what was a little more?

And then it came. Like fire. It started with a prick in my flesh, and then permeated my entire body. In my skin, in my veins. In my blood. Once again my eyes snapped open, and this time I had the strength to let out the scream that mirrored the burning I felt. It grew and spread, and burned hotter and hotter until it was so excruciating that my body couldn’t handle it any more. Finally, darkness.

I thought that was it. Thought I was finally finished. Until God knows how much longer I woke up, springing forward to sit, gasping for air. I groaned in frustrated fury when I realized I was still in pain, and it didn’t seem like it was going to be subsiding anytime soon. Looking around I could see Adrian, Camille, and Luna in the room, but I didn’t care.

I screamed at them to put me out of my misery. Out of my misery? Who says stuff like that? Not the Kyla I knew. But everything, every thought, every feeling, every emotion was so intense I’d lost myself in the anger, in the pain. I still felt like I was burning. Every inch of my flesh, every inch of muscle straight through to the marrow of my bones was on fire.

“Painkillers won’t help. You know that Camille,” Adrian whispered, so low I found myself wondering how I’d heard it.

I continued to yell at them, profane words I’d never even heard, but that didn’t even come close to matching what I felt. I yelled at Adrian. At Luna. The things I yelled at Camille. The pain made me hate everything and everyone, and I verbalized it. Time and time again I told Camille I hated her even though I knew I couldn’t take it back.

Eventually through the fog in my eyes I saw Camille leave. The only thing I could do now was begin to hate myself. In utter despair I lay back down, taking in quick, shallow breaths and gripping the bed sheets. Trying anything I could think of besides screaming to distract me from the agony. The fabric I was gripping in my hands tore with a loud rip, and I threw the shreds to the ground. Finally I was getting lightheaded, and welcomed the darkness that closed in on me, alleviating me from the distress.

I woke up like that countless times over the course of a time period that I couldn’t pin point. It could have been hours. It could have been weeks. All I knew was that finally, after I’d lost count of how many times I’d woken up screaming, finally the pain was gone. My eyelids were heavy, and I was able to sit up and lean against the headboard before I could even open them. I put my fingers to my eyes and tried to force them open, making them water until tears ran down my cheeks.

Inhaling deeply to try and calm myself, to force my body to wake up, I got a whiff of so many new things. The bed I was lying in, though it was saturated with the scent of my own sweat, had an underlying aroma that I recognized quite easily as Camille’s. The musty smell of an old textbook, which must have been somewhere nearby. The scent of cooking meat wafted through the open door, causing my stomach to rumble.

I managed to open my eyes halfway, but they were still too heavy to open completely. As I set my feet on the ground to stand up and nearly collapsed, I realized it wasn’t just my eyes that were tired. My whole body was weak, exhausted. Using the end table for support I straightened myself, and stood there until I felt I’d mustered enough strength to take a step. I’d managed to walk a few feet when I heard footsteps getting closer to the door. My body tensed, preparing for an enemy to walk through, but the second the person did, my face turned up in a huge grin at finally seeing a familiar face.

“Camille,” I almost laughed with joy.

She hurried over to help me balance. “You should really lie back down. Your body’s worn out from everything.”

Even though she was being helpful, I could feel her body tense up awkwardly. For some reason, even I tensed up at being touched.

I shook my head, clearing all the questions I needed to ask and focusing on just one. “Worn out from what?”

“Um, here, sit down.” Camille guided me back to the bed and sat beside me. “Do you remember being in the barn, when Jonathan tried to kill you?” I nodded with a wince. I didn’t want to remember. I didn’t want to ever think about that night again. “Well, he nearly succeeded. You were practically dead when um, well, you’re a werewolf now.”

The tension rang in Camille’s voice. Like every word was a struggle. She didn’t look me in the eyes, and I could tell just being next to me was painful for her. So she was still hurt about the phone call? “Camille, I’m so–”

“Please don’t.” I was about to say sorry when she read my mind and interrupted me, her tone pleading. “I’m not ready to talk about it.”

I stared into space, too tired to argue. I supposed I already knew I’d been Changed. What else could account for the pain, the blackouts, and the increased sense of smell and hearing? “How long was I out for?”

“It’s been a little over two weeks,” she told me honestly.

My head snapped up, and I started to panic. “What about my parents? Do they know about this? Do they know where I am?”

Camille shook her head. “That night we got a call from them saying that you left a note and were running away. Did you know about that?” I shook my head, but I seemed to recall Jonathan writing something before they took me. It was like a distant nightmare now. “They can’t know about this, and there was no way they would let you stay at our house so long without a good reason. We had to let them think you ran away.”

“Oh man.” I put my hand to my forehead. “I am so dead when I get home.” I paused and looked at Camille questioningly. Now that I knew how long I’d been gone I suddenly missed my family. “When do I get to go home?”

She shrugged. “We need to make sure you can control your Changes before we let you go home. Or it puts you and them in danger.”

“Have I already Changed?” I lay back on the bed, overwhelmed by everything that was happening. It hadn’t felt like I was out for two weeks, and now I felt like I was in a fog. It didn’t feel real.

With a nod Camille pointed to a part of the wall that was dented in. “Didn’t go so well.”

“Sorry,” I scoffed in disbelief. “How do I control it?”

“Before you can Phase on command you have to know what it feels like, where it comes from. If we don’t induce the Change, we have to wait for it.” She stood up, slightly facing the door like she couldn’t wait to leave my presence.

“Let’s do that,” I said, following her lead and stiffly getting up. Camille raised a questioning eyebrow. “Let’s induce it, or whatever.” I figured as long as I was already getting in trouble for ‘running away from home,’ then I might as well have fun with it. And who knows how long waiting for it would take.

“Are you sure?” she asked surprised, to which I nodded. “You should eat first.”

I shook my head. I was hungry, but I wanted to get this done, and I couldn’t deny that I was a little bit excited about it. I could feel the newly acquired power coursing through my veins, and I wanted to really feel it. “I’m okay. Let’s do it.”

I followed Camille down the stairs, where we picked up Luna as we made our way outside. Once on the porch Luna stripped and Phased, and Camille stood there, watching me expectantly.

“What now?” I asked, confused as to what they were waiting for.

Camille blushed slightly as she pointed to Luna’s clothes, which lay folded on the deck. “If you’d like, it’s best not to be wearing clothes. No need to waste some perfectly good ones.”

“Oh.” I looked around awkwardly. Of course that’s what they were waiting for. I already knew they were all without clothes when they Phased. “Okay.”

“You know what, I have an idea.” Camille disappeared into the house, and came back out a minute later with a small blanket that was just big enough to cover my body. “Here, go ahead and strip and then you can cover yourself with this. Me and Luna won’t look.”

I waited until Camille and the big white wolf turned around, and then laid my clothes beside Luna’s on the deck. I couldn’t deny that Camille turning away hurt, but what did I expect? I knew how hurt I myself had been after that phone call, and I could only imagine how much worse it had to have been for her.

“Okay,” I said as I wrapped the blanket around me.

“Ready?” Camille asked, and I nodded. “What’s one of the strongest emotions you can think of?”

I thought about it. “Um, love?”

“Anger,” she answered, and before I could respond she slapped me. Hard.

“Hey! What was that–” Another slap. I stood there stunned, a small shred of fury planting itself in my chest. “Is this part of–”

Slap. I took a deep breath, trying to calm myself. I could feel an unfamiliar tingling in the tips of my fingers and toes. Camille slapped me again. My cheek was burning, and now it was starting to hurt more than just my ego. I could feel tears begin to sting in my eyes.

“Okay, I get the–” Another slap. I growled, an unexpected low, rumbling sound that startled me, but I couldn’t suppress it through the frustration burning at my core.

Camille stepped back as I started to fume. The startling tingling spread to my limbs. Now I knew what Camille meant every time she said she was losing control. It was like having a severe muscle spasm all over your body. I could feel the Change coming and knew there was nothing I could do to stop it. It was internal chaos. Finally it turned to itching, and then peaked. A ripping pain shot through my body, worse than the whole weeks’ worth of pain I’d just experienced.

As my wolf paws hit the ground I stumbled and fell, too uncomfortable on my new feet to even stand. I didn’t mind falling. I lay there panting, tired, waiting for the fading pain to fully subside. A shadow shaded my eyes as Camille stood over me. I smiled at her, and to my surprise my tail started wagging. The unfamiliar motion caused me to giggle, making it wag even faster.

Camille laughed at me. “Don’t worry, the pain gets easier every time. Want to try standing up?”

I took a deep breath, looking down at my golden colored paws before pushing myself up to sit on my haunches. While I took the time to get my footing, Camille stripped and Phased with an ease that made me green with envy. My legs wobbled slightly as I pushed myself into a standing position, and finally feeling stable with my balance I stretched. I watched Camille prance over to Luna and tackle her, play fighting. I wanted to join, but as I took a step forward my limbs betrayed me, and I went tumbling back to the ground. With a frustrated whine I stood back up. Digging my paws into the ground I tensed every muscle in my body, testing the way they flexed and moved. The power I felt behind every muscle shocked me. I felt strong. Powerful.

I moved one of my fore and back legs at the same time to try and take a step. No, that combination was wrong. I tried another combination of movements. It still didn’t feel right. Luna came over and slowly strode in front of me, showing me how it was done. Copying the stride I let out a wolfish laugh of joy as I figured it out. I ambled around the front yard until I felt comfortable. Then Camille huffed at me impatiently, and I grinned and pranced over. I was sure I looked like a puppy, hopping more than trotting, but I didn’t care. Once I reached where Camille was sitting at the edge of the vineyard she jumped up and took off into it. Not even a second later Luna ran a circle around me, nudging me forward and then taking off after her sister.

I ran as fast as I could to catch up, nearly tripping dozens of times, and eventually Camille and Luna slowed to keep pace with me. I was shocked by how freed I felt. I’d never been fond of running, but now every breath I took fueled my limbs, filling them with power. And each and every breath filled my nose with a flurry of scents I recognized but never smelled before. I felt like I could appreciate everything I used to overlook and ignore. The chirping of the crickets and birds, the rustling of leaves in the wind, the rich, earthy smell of the dirt my paws kicked up. It filled me with a deep sense of belonging that made me wonder why I’d missed out on it for so long. While the old Kyla built the foundations of this golden wolf, I was new. I was better. Exhilarated. Impassioned.

In spirit and truth, I was born again.

Keep An Eye Out!

Watch for Camille and Kyla in this next installment of Zoe Reed’s In Spiritu et Veritate Series, as they find out just how vast and dangerous their supernatural world really is. Keep reading for a preview…

Phantoms of the Otherworld

Greg sat on the park bench in Portland, Oregon, in his black suit and tie and stared out over the dark river. The moonlight glittered silver and white over the small ridges of the current, and the breeze carried the sweet smell of the water to his nose. His mouth turned up in a sad, reminiscent smile as he remembered all the fond memories of his mother bringing he and his siblings here when they were young. Every Saturday they packed a picnic basket of fruit, cheese and a loaf of bread. Half the loaf always went to the hungry ducks which, after weeks of visits, grew comfortable enough to eat from their hands. He wiped a tear from his cheek. Having just left his mother’s funeral, this was where he wanted her memory to lie.

Standing up, Greg grabbed the lotus flowers and small urn from off the bench next to him and walked to the canal’s edge. He and each of his siblings had been given a bit of his mother’s ashes, to either keep or rest in a place of fondness. Reaching the stone lining of the water, he knelt and unscrewed the vine-patterned lid, taking a last, long look at the stars reflected on the glassy garnish of the channel. He slowly cascaded the water with the ashes before laying the lilies on the surface and saying a last goodbye.

A small breeze picked up as he rose, and through his thick overcoat the hairs on his arms and neck stood on end. At first he thought it was the breeze, but he was used to the cold. It was something else. He felt like he was being watched. Turning, he squinted into the darkness, and after a minute of staring the feeling of paranoia subsided and he shook off the cold.

With a final look across the water, Greg turned and started his walk home. Or was he going home? Going home to be alone. Granted, it was getting late, but home was the last place he wanted to be. The nearest bar was a bit farther of a walk than his house, but it was one he could tough out. While he walked he hummed a sad tune lightly to himself, giving small smiles to the few passersby. A couple blocks later he waited for a taxi to pass before crossing the street, and headed toward the bar at the end of the road.

Except for the lights outside the bar and the dim lamps that seemed to randomly litter the street, it was dark. Perhaps the darkest street he’d walked yet. He laughed while, as he walked toward the bar, he could see a couple of drunkards goofing off outside, making fools of themselves for the attention of a girl that leaned against the wall. After a few more steps he recognized one of them as an old family friend.

Greg was about to holler his friend’s name when he stopped walking and turned his head. Down the alley to his left he could hear crying. It sounded like a woman.

“Hello?” The feeling of paranoia returned, his hairs again standing on end. But he told himself to man up. This girl could be hurt. “Hello,” he called again, greeted still by the quiet sobbing.

Pulling out his cell phone, he used it to illuminate the way into the dark alley. He was about halfway through when he could see a small woman leaned against the front of a large trash bin. Her knees were pulled up to her chest, and she had her arms wrapped around them, sobbing with her head down.

“Hey are you okay?” He continued forward cautiously until he was standing directly in front of her. The small, pale, blonde girl looked up at him with bright, tear-filled blue eyes. “Are you hurt?” He knelt beside her and waited patiently for her to answer. Through the stench of the garbage he could smell what he assumed was her – a sweet, sugary vanilla smell that flooded his senses, and in any other situation, he might’ve made an attempt at flirting.

“No,” she answered in a soft voice, barely audible.

“What’s your name?”

The girl looked up at him shyly, boring into his eyes before she answered, “Cynthia.”

He slowly held out his hand for her to take, and then helped lift her off the ground. “Well Cynthia, let’s get you out of here?”

She nodded and let him lead her toward the entrance of the alley. They were about twenty feet from the street when a man stepped in front of them, blocking their exit. Greg hesitated for a split second before confidently leading Cynthia forward.

“Excuse me sir.” He stared at the ground and tried to politely sidestep the man, who moved again into his path.

Greg looked up into the man’s eyes. He wasn’t tall, about the same height as Greg, who was only five foot nine himself. Nor was he muscular. But his dark eyes stood out against his pale skin and conveyed a cold emptiness that sent a shiver down Greg’s spine. He felt Cynthia’s grip tighten on his arm, and assuming she was afraid, tried to sidestep the man again. He soon realized Cynthia wasn’t clutching him for comfort. She was making sure he didn’t go anywhere, holding him in place. His heart skipped and a small knot of fear settled in his gut. He shook his arm free of the girl and took a step backward, while his eyes darted from side to side, deciding which way he’d have the biggest chance of escaping if he needed to bolt.

Cynthia greeted the man with a smile, and took stride beside him as they advanced on Greg, pushing him farther and farther into the alley. As he realized his only escape route was blocked, his mind started racing. His brothers, his sister, his father, would he never see them again? The newspapers. His mind flashed to the local paper. Over the past few weeks there had been a spike in the number of kidnappings, and not just women – men, some of them big men. His back hit a wall as he reached the end of the alley, and the two continued to close in on him. Both Cynthia and the man smiled evil grins, sharp, bright white teeth glowing against the dark night. Against the cold air he felt something hot run down his leg, and seconds later the stench of urine reached his nose.

“Coward.” The frightening man’s deep, ringing voice cut through the silence as he chuckled.

Greg tried to think of anything else but this. To turn his mind somewhere happy, somewhere he could escape to, but it returned to the newspaper. How many people had been reported missing? Eleven, and not a single body or survivor had been found. He closed his eyes and felt a cold hand press hard against his mouth, stopping him if he tried to scream. Eleven people had been taken. And he would be the twelfth.

***

Crouched as low as I could get to the ground in the Dolan’s wheat field, I held my breath against the cold night and pricked my wolf ears forward. No more than thirty feet in front of me, I could hear the tiniest crackling of semi-frozen twigs in rhythm with a slow stride. With minimal progression I crawled a few paces, using the weight of my body to muffle any crackling sounds I may have made with my own paws. The rustling was getting closer. Luckily, what little breeze that blew wasn’t coming from behind me. I was hunkered downwind, and my scent wasn’t going anywhere near my target. Not only was the wind on my side, but I also had the advantage of camouflage – my golden brown fur matched perfectly with the wheat.

Just a little closer…  I urged my mark to take those last few steps that would bring it within striking distance. Finally. Teeth flashed in a wolfish grin as my back and shoulders tensed, paws digging into the dirt, preparing for the pounce. The rustling stopped as if detecting my presence. Releasing all the tension in my muscles I leapt, the white wolf noticing me a second too late. I crashed down on its back, sending us tumbling through the field. I had the upper hand in catching it off guard, but because the wolf was smaller and had so much more experience, it was able to wriggle out of my grasp and knock me off my clumsy feet, pinning me to the ground.

A big smile reached Luna’s hazel eyes, as she remained champion. I gave a defeated sigh and rolled out from under her hold. I understood now why Camille had so many tiny scars on her arms. While Luna and I had only been play fighting and romping around for less than a minute, I could already feel the slight sting of a few bite marks on my limbs. Instinctively, I ran my tongue down one front leg, too busy cleaning my little wounds to notice Luna, who came running at me, lightheartedly but roughly head butting me and sending me tumbling in the opposite direction. I heard the crashing of her paws disappearing across the field, and swiftly bounded after her.

Upon bursting out of the wheat field I could see the blur of white sprinting ahead of me – I was closer than I thought. I jammed my paws harder into the ground, pushing forward with stronger strides to try and catch up. It wasn’t long until I nearly did, and with one last strike I crouched and sprung into the air, flying at the white wolf. But the second I jumped the wolf hit the brakes, and I went flying over Luna’s head only to hit the ground ahead of her, spiraling repeatedly, head over heels. Once I finished wheeling across the dirt and came to a stop, Luna pranced over, jumping and nipping at me gloatingly. The smaller wolf stopped when I growled at her, and a blink later took off, leaving me to chase once again. It took all my strength to catch up, but instead of pouncing when I did, I just ran alongside Luna.

It didn’t take long until we were in our own field of grape vines, and a minute later we sauntered onto the front porch, gulping frosty air into our burning lungs. I casually trotted to my clothes, which I had folded and laid on the deck and which now, as I touched them with my nose, I could feel were as freezing as the air.

Luna had rapidly Changed back and was pulling on her own icy clothes. “Got to love winter, huh?”

I huffed my sarcastic agreement before Phasing. Without my thick fur to keep me warm, I could already feel the cold seeping to my bones, and pulling on frigid clothes didn’t help one bit.

“You’re really getting good,” Luna praised excitedly as I followed her into the kitchen of her house.

“Eh,” I shook my head, “you’re still the champ. I can’t even keep you on the ground long enough to pin you.”

“Hey Camille,” Luna greeted her sister as she sat at the table, and shrugged humbly. “Yeah, but I didn’t even hear you coming. Once you get better at your pinning technique you’ll be unstoppable!”

“Where’d you guys go?” Camille sat down at the table with us, directing her question more at Luna.

I avoided making eye contact with her, knowing she probably wouldn’t look at me anyway, and instead glanced at the smaller of the twins. It had been two months since I’d been Changed, and Camille still hadn’t forgiven me for having to break up with her. I understood that it had to have been painful for her, and assumed that maybe she was afraid of it happening again. While I was willing to wait the rest of my long life for her to forgive me, I’d been hoping I wouldn’t have to.

Over the past months, it was Camille who’d been teaching me how to control my Changes. Even though we’d slowly been recuperating our relationship to friendship, it was still awkward between us. I could admit it was due, largely in part, to my mood swings and angry outbursts. Being a werewolf made all my emotions and instincts more acute, and while I learned how to control them, I was prone to frustration tantrums. Unfortunately for Camille and I’s relationship, it was almost always her who was at the receiving end of my fits.

I tried to hide a frown as I remembered one of my worst fits. I’d learned to Phase when I wanted to, but couldn’t stop it when I didn’t want to. Camille had been trying to get me close to the edge of a Change when I lost control of myself. Because she thought I had more restraint than I really did, she didn’t back up in time, and I bit her on the hand. I’d let go as quickly as I could when I realized how out of line I’d been, but the damage was done, and she had needed stitches. I’d almost died of guilt, and wanted so badly for her to bite back sometime, or at the very least get mad. But she’d just shrugged it off and said we’d try again in a few days.

My eyes led me to the pink scar on the back of Camille’s hand. Even though it was a couple weeks ago, the mark still looked fresh. Or maybe it was my mind playing tricks on me, amping up the damage so I’d have a reasonable symbol of my guilt. Her hand disappeared under the table, and I looked up to see that she’d caught me looking at it. I awkwardly cleared my throat and got up to get a glass of water.

“You really should’ve come this time Camille,” Luna was still talking about our night as I sat back down. “Kyla’s getting really good. I bet she could hold her own even against you.”

Camille let the corner of her mouth turn up halfway in praise, and I realized it had been an entire two months since I’d seen a real smile, one that spread beyond those perfect pink lips to her dark brown eyes.

“I think you’re ready to go home in a couple days,” Camille told me. I perked up and couldn’t help but smile. “You have to make sure you run at least every other day, but your uncontrolled Changes are happening less often. I think you’re ready.”

My grin disappeared as more guilt invaded my emotional privacy. The night a dangerous mutt named Jonathan had kidnapped me, he’d forged a note from me to my parents, telling them I’d run away. I’d passed by my house on runs, snuck close to catch a fleeting glimpse of a family member, but they hadn’t seen me. I hadn’t spoken to them or left any clues as to where I was, and this whole time I’d been not even ten minutes away. So after weeks of no contact, knowing the trouble I’d get in for leaving, and how much of a struggle it would be to be back home, I was nervous as hell.

Both Camille and Luna were looking at me concernedly, as my anxiety must have been etched on my face. “I’m just nervous, and I know I’ll be in a lot of trouble.” I apprehensively fidgeted with my fingers.

“Yeah, but I know they’re going to be really happy you’re okay,” Camille told me reassuringly.

“And they’ll be even happier you’re okay so they can kill you themselves,” Luna nodded her agreement and joked sarcastically.

“Oh that’s something to look forward to, thanks,” I laughed, rolling my eyes.

Luna shrugged and stood to stretch. “Well I’m going to bed. Night ladies.”

Both Camille and I said goodnight, and then sat there in a moment of semi-awkward silence. We both stood at the same time, laughing nervously as the tension thickened. I motioned toward the door for her to leave first, and then followed her into the living room. While she sat on the couch and flipped through the television channels, I walked to the large bookshelf on the far side of the room. The whole time I’d lived with Camille’s family, I hadn’t noticed the books until now.

Nearly all of them were old, and I took in a deep breath of the rich, musty smell they gave off. Running my finger along the spines, I silently mouthed the titles until I reached one that spurred my interest. The Underworld Omnibus. I pulled the large volume from the shelf, and as I opened the cover, plopped down on the couch. I felt Camille’s body tense when I landed closer than I’d expected to her, and after an embarrassed and apologetic smile I scooted a couple inches over.

It took a moment for me to recover from pulling myself away from Camille, as I realized how much I missed being close to her. Pushing back the deep sense of longing rising in me, I turned through the first couple pages. Each of the leathery pieces of paper was thick, and if not for the yellowing crisp of old age, they’d have been strong and flexible. Going through the table of contents I read what seemed to be a categorized list. Deities, page 5. Demons, page 98. I continued reading until a category caught my eye. The Undead, page 387. Turning to page 387, I skimmed through until I found what I was looking for. Vampires. I’d heard about vampires in stories and movies, but I never thought they could be real. Of course, a few months ago I wouldn’t have thought werewolves existed either.

“Camille?” I waited for her to raise her eyebrows questioningly. “Are vampires real too?”

“Mhm,” she nodded, and with a click she flipped to the next channel.

I looked over the picture of the vampire in the book and studied what seemed to be an exaggerated drawing. The vampire was wearing ancient, tattered formal wear. Two large, pointed wings stemmed farther than both arm-spans from each side of its back, and it smiled so its sharp fangs flashed menacingly. “Have you ever met one?”

“Nope,” she answered, shaking her head. “Why?”

“I was just wondering. They’re in this book.” I held up the book so Camille could see the picture. “Are we really mortal enemies with them?”

She chuckled, while again shaking her head. “No, but we’re not best of friends either. I’d say it’s more of a… you do your thing and I’ll do mine and we’ll try not to cross paths kind of a relationship.”

“Oh.” I yawned and closed the book. “Well, goodnight. We’ll practice Phasing some more tomorrow?”

Camille nodded and said goodnight, and I trudged up the stairs to her room. Since I’d been staying there, Camille had given up her room for me and had moved in with Luna. I felt bad for having kicked her out of her room, but even though I missed her, I preferred that to the tension between us. Closing the door behind me, I started stripping my clothing, stopping to look at myself in the mirror. I slowly gazed down my torso to the scar under my left breast, and turned to look at the same one on my back. I don’t know where the bullet had gone after Jonathan shot me, but when I was bitten, the werewolf gene left me with a nice blemish to remind me of the pain. Holding up my hand, I studied the two small, round scars on my palm, then flipped my hand to look at the matching two on the other side. They weren’t big, but I did wish Luna had bitten me in a more inconspicuous place. I rarely wore gloves, and so the bite-marks would be ever present and visible.

After pulling on my pajamas, I lay down on the bed and buried my face in the pillows and sheets, inhaling as deeply as I could. Camille’s scent was long gone from the covers, but it didn’t stop me from trying. With a gloomy sigh I grabbed the extra pillow and set it beside me, wrapping my arm around it and trying to trick myself into believing there was a warm body with me. That Camille was there with me.