Chapter 4: The First Blood

The first wolf hit her like a truck.

Luan slammed into the ground. Teeth snapped at her throat. She caught the wolf's jaws with both hands, held them open an inch from her skin. Saliva dripped onto her face. The thing in her chest screamed.

Not fear. Hunger.

She shoved upward. The wolf flew off her. She rolled to her feet. Three more wolves circled. The grey-eyed man watched from the edge of the clearing, arms crossed, smiling.

Kill her quickly, he said. I have dinner at eight.

The wolves attacked together.

Luan moved before she thought. Her body knew what to do. She sidestepped the first wolf, grabbed its fur, and used its momentum to slam it into the second. They crashed into a tree. The third wolf lunged for her leg.

She kicked it in the skull.

Bone cracked. The wolf yelped and retreated. The thing in her chest was roaring now. Her nails had grown into claws. Her teeth felt too large for her mouth.

The first wolf recovered. It charged. She caught it by the throat and squeezed.

It whimpered.

She could kill it. So easily. Her fingers closed around its windpipe. The wolf's eyes went wide. Human intelligence behind the animal gaze. Begging.

Do it, the grey-eyed man said. Show us what you are.

Luan looked at her hand. At the wolf choking beneath her. At the blood on her knuckles.

She let go.

The wolf scrambled backward. She stood in the center of the clearing, breathing hard, claws extended, eyes burning.

No, she said.

The grey-eyed man raised an eyebrow.

No?

I won't kill for you.

He laughed. It was a cold sound, like stones grinding together.

You think this is about me? He stepped into the clearing. The wolves parted for him. This is about you. You're a latent wolf. The first transformation will kill you within a year. Every shift after that burns your life to ash. He stopped three feet from her. I am offering you mercy. Take the suppressant. Live.

I said no.

Then you are a threat to every wolf in this territory. He raised his hand. The wolves circled tighter. And threats must be eliminated.

A blur of motion crashed into the clearing.

Cass.

He moved like something not human. He hit the nearest wolf with his shoulder, sent it tumbling. He placed himself between Luan and the grey-eyed man. His eyes were gold. His hands were claws.

Julian, he said. Back off.

The grey-eyed man—Julian—smiled wider.

Cass. I thought you had more sense than to interfere.

I have no sense at all. That's why I'm still alive.

Julian tilted his head. The wolves stopped circling. They watched Cass with something like fear.

You know the rules, Julian said. A latent who refuses suppression must be executed. For the safety of the pack.

She's not a threat.

She killed one of mine last night.

Luan's blood went cold. She looked at her hands. The blood under her nails. The memory of teeth and screaming. She had thought it was a dream.

She looked at Cass.

Did I? she whispered.

His jaw tightened.

You defended yourself, he said. That's not murder. That's survival.

Julian laughed again.

Semantics. He stepped closer to Cass. They were the same height, but Julian was broader, older, more sure. You can't protect her forever. The moon is in sixteen days. When she transforms, she will burn. And she will take half the pack with her.

Then I'll take her away from here.

Where? There is nowhere the pack cannot find you.

Cass grabbed Luan's wrist. His grip was warm and unbreakable.

Then we'll run until we can't run anymore.

He pulled her toward the tree line. The wolves growled but did not attack. Julian watched them go, his grey eyes unreadable.

Sixteen days, he called after them. I'll be at the first transformation. Either she controls the wolf, or I put her down myself.

Cass did not look back.

They ran through the dark woods. Branches whipped Luan's face. Roots tried to trip her. Cass held her wrist and pulled her forward, faster than she thought she could move. The thing in her chest was still roaring. Her lungs burned. Her legs burned.

But she kept up.

They ran for what felt like hours. Finally Cass stopped in front of a small cabin hidden in a grove of ancient firs. The windows were dark. Smoke rose from the chimney.

Where are we? Luan gasped.

My home, Cass said. The only place Julian doesn't come.

He pushed open the door. The cabin was one room. A bed. A stove. A table covered in books. Shelves of jars labeled with words she didn't recognize. Wolfbane. Silver salve. Moonflower.

You live here?

When I'm not running.

He closed the door and bolted it. Then he turned to her. His eyes were brown again. His hands were shaking.

You shouldn't have come to the station, he said. You shouldn't have followed me into the woods. You shouldn't have told Julian you choose to burn.

You shouldn't have kissed me, she said.

He flinched.

That's different.

How?

Because I'm trying to save your life. He ran his hands through his hair. The grey streak at his temple caught the firelight. Every second you're near me, the hunger gets worse. For both of us. The wolf wants to claim you. And if I claim you, you'll shift faster. You'll burn faster.

Then don't claim me.

I don't know if I can stop.

The cabin was silent. The fire crackled. Luan looked at the bed, the books, the jars. At the man who had carried a dying dog three miles in the dark. At the grey in his hair and the scars on his chest.

How much time do you have left? she asked.

He looked away.

Eight months. Maybe less.

And if you claim me?

He was silent for a long moment.

Weeks, he said. Maybe days.

She should run. She should take the suppressant. She should go back to her apartment and draw the blinds and forget any of this had happened. She had spent her whole life being small, being safe, being nothing.

But she was standing in a cabin in the woods with a dying wolf, and the thing in her chest was not asking permission anymore.

Then let's make them count, she said.

Cass looked at her. His eyes were gold again. His hands stopped shaking.

Luan. If we do this, there's no going back. The wolf will bond to you. You'll feel everything I feel. The hunger. The pain. The death.

I already feel it, she said. I've been feeling it my whole life. I just didn't have a name for it.

He crossed the room in two strides. He cupped her face in his hands. His thumbs traced her cheekbones.

Last chance, he whispered. Walk away. Live.

She stood on her toes and kissed him.

It was not like the first kiss. Not desperate. Not hungry. It was a choice. She kissed him like she was signing a contract. Like she was lighting a match.

He pulled back. His forehead pressed against hers. His breath was warm on her lips.

Sixteen days until the moon, he said. We need to train. We need to prepare. Julian will come.

Then we'll be ready.

He kissed her again. Slower this time. Deeper.

Outside, a wolf howled.

Cass pulled away. His eyes were pure gold. His voice was low and rough.

That's Julian. He's marking the territory. He'll be back before dawn.

Then we don't have much time.

For what?

She took his hand and placed it over her heart. The thing in her chest surged against his palm.

To wake the wolf, she said.

The fire flared. The cabin shook. And somewhere in the dark woods, Julian howled again.

This time, Luan howled back.