LOGINMY FIRST THOUGHT WHEN SOMEBODY SHAKES ME AWAKE IN the middle of the night is that Zane was right.Which is not something I necessarily love to acknowledge.“Come on, killer.” A large, calloused hand pushes back the damp strands of my hair. The touch is warm and firm, should probably feel like too much, but I don’t mind it at all. In fact, when it moves away, I let out a small whimper. “Bath’s ready.”I make myself murmur something unintelligible that’s half exhaustion, half gratitude. Opening my eyes takes more effort than a graduate degree. I wait for my body to inform me that yes, a lawn mower did just finish joyriding all over us and we do feel like utter shit, as per our regular programming.Except, we don’t.Yup. Zane really was right. Watch me drown myself in the tub to avoid admitting it.I sit up slowly, rubbing the sleep out of my eyes.“C’mere,” Zane tells me.His arms close around me and carry me into the bathroom. He’s bare-chested, wearing gray sweats and nothing else—
Slowly, keeping his eyes on my mouth, he lets go of me.“Let me guess: because you didn’t want to needlessly upset me in case it didn’t turn out to be true.” I sprawl against the backrest. “Withholding information to avoid hurting people. Reminds me of something or someone was recently criticized for doing— ”His palm slides to my neck. Tightens in a threatening curve at my nape.I laugh, unfazed. “It’s okay, Zane. I forgive you.”“Aw. Thank you,” he says, parroting me. But his expression is somber. “Remember your interview? Those people outside of the studio?”“Not really. What— ” I gasp. “The man with the sign. Yelling something about . . . reborn flesh?”He nods. “His talking points hit a little too close. I asked Amanda to track him, but it was Human territory, in the middle of a crowd. She couldn’t shift and she lost him.”“I see. How many children were there in the cult?”Zane presses his lips together, clearly worried, and my entire body hurts with how much I care for him.I w
“How the hell was he proposing to turn Humans into Weres?”“Apparently there were bites and mutual blood drinking and a not insignificant amount of sex rituals.”I groan. This is too stupid, even for me. “What about the fact that they are different species? What about science?”“You are so cynical. A little science could never stand between a frat boy and his desire for a monthly howl fest.”“It makes no sense. We both lived among Humans— have you ever met anyone who said wished they could be a Were?”“No. But I’ve also never met anyone with a belly-button fetish, and they exist.”“Do they?”“Alvinophilia. Look it up. Anyway, fast-forward ten years or so, and Constantine has hundreds of followers. Lots of them are Humans from the rural places neighboring the original settlement, but some are from The City, too. They basically act as servants and free labor, which in turns begets new Were followers. The leadership is fully Were. Constantine’s career as a charismatic leader is up and co
THAT NIGHT ZANE HAS A PACK MEETING AT THE CABIN.I get out of the shower, quickly put on leggings and one of his shirts (which I sniff for over a minute, with inappropriate enthusiasm). I’m about to move to the living room and not mind my own business, when my phone lights up with a call.From someone who usually prefers a string of twelve multi-paragraph texts over a one-minute chat.“What’s up, Bleetch?” I ask, terrified that Zane might have gone behind my back and told Seraphine about my situation.I will stab him, I vow. I will chop him into pieces and sell him at a wet market. For pennies.“Not much.” A beat. “First question: Are you alone?”“You mean, existentially, or . . .”“Is there someone around you?”“No. Why?”“Second question: Are you in the right headspace to receive information that could possibly hurt you?”My heart drops. “Seraphine, if— ”“No, I’m serious. I talked to Lucien about the Northwest, and it’s bad.”“How bad?”“Bad bad. Like . . . Our lives, bad.”“Whoa.”
It likely speaks of how much my sanity has devolved that I exhale a laugh. “Got it.”He grunts, a fraction mellower. I wonder if he really thinks that he can will my illness into nonexistence.Maybe someone who’s been Alpha for two decades is too accustomed to power to entertain the idea of something not going his way? But slowly, eventually, he lets go of me, and I take a step back, nearly walking into the parked car. I let the sleeves of his hoodie swallow my hands, and God, that shopping trip was so unnecessary.“The thing is,” I try to explain, “it might be for the best.”The way he looks at me is so indignant, it makes me chuckle again. Which is not appropriate for the conversation.“I mean, it’s not like you and I could . . . You have the covenant. And I’m not exactly available for a long-term relationship.” My smile feels a little forced. I hope it’ll work on him anyway. “The reasons why it couldn’t work between us are not just yours, or just mine. None of that one-way unrequit
DR. SEM CAINE’S OFFICE IS AT THE OUTSKIRTS OF THE DEN. HE checks my vitals and listens to a detailed recap of last night’s episode, but what he spends most of his time on is the records Dr. Henshaw sent over.Zane waits by the door, cross-armed and dark-clouded. He dispassionately informs Sem of my prognosis, commands him to refute it, kill it with fire, salt it, and then simply gazes stoically into the distance as I put my clothes back on.It was a shared but unspoken decision, him staying for my exam.Maybe he’s afraid I’ll bolt, even though I’m here neither reluctantly nor under duress. Maybe he cannot physically stay away. All I know is that my heart is squeezed into the tightest of fists. It’s obvious what he wants to be told.Sem glances away from his tablet to give me a warm healthcare-professional smile. “Alpha, I think it would be best if you and I could talk privately.”“About me?” I sit back in the chair and cock my head. “That has to be a HIPAA violation.”Sem’s brow furr
“She never mentioned the Weres to me, not even in passing. But she didn’t love her colleagues in the financial division. Maybe she was angling for a better job and exploring nonfinancial stories. Though she would have told me.”Would she? She was clearly hiding stuff from you, a nagging voice offer
She shrugs. I shrug, too, and go back to my bed.It's not like I’m gonna tattle her out. “Which one is it?” she asks.“What?”“A spider monkey. Is it a spider that looks like a monkey, or a monkey that looks like a spider?”“Hmm, not sure. Let me google and—” I pull my computer onto my lap, then re
A wave of dread sweeps over me. There is no air in the world left for my lungs.“And who would that be?” Lucien murmurs, licking his lips. He inhales me deeply, purposefully. “How interesting. In the past week I’ve witnessed two attempts on your life, and you’ve never smelled as scared as you do ju
The following day I sleep until late afternoon. I’m tired enough that I could go longer, but there’s something going on outside, on the usually calm lakeshore. It involves screaming laughter and charred smells, and I drag myself to the window to check it out, making sure to avoid the direct light s







