Chapter 6

"You're being ridiculous."

I stood in front of my bathroom mirror at eleven thirty that night, having this argument with myself for the hundredth time. My small apartment felt too quiet, too empty. The text message glowed on my phone screen, taunting me.

Come to the old medical library at midnight.

Every rational part of my brain screamed that this was a trap. That going alone to meet some mysterious stranger in an abandoned building in the middle of the night was possibly the dumbest thing I could do.

But the other part of me, the part that had performed two impossible surgeries today, the part that felt something awakening inside me, that part was desperate for answers.

I grabbed my jacket and my keys. If I was going to do this stupid thing, I should at least tell someone where I was going. I pulled up Juniper's number, then hesitated. The text had said to come alone. To not tell anyone.

What if telling someone put them in danger? What if this person had information about my wolf, about why I couldn't shift, and they'd only share it if I followed their rules?

I put my phone down. Just this once, I'd be stupid. I'd go alone. But I'd keep my phone in my pocket, ready to call for help if things went wrong.

The old medical library was on the edge of the hospital campus, in a building that hadn't been used in years. The hospital had built a new, modern library five years ago and this one had been scheduled for demolition. But budget cuts kept pushing the timeline back, so it just sat there, dark and forgotten.

I parked my beat up car in the empty lot and stared up at the building. It looked like something from a horror movie. Broken windows. Overgrown vines. No lights.

"This is insane," I muttered. "This is how people die in movies."

But I got out of the car anyway.

The front door was unlocked. It creaked when I pushed it open, the sound echoing through the empty building. My phone's flashlight cut through the darkness, illuminating dust particles dancing in the air.

"Hello?" My voice sounded small and scared. "I got your text. I'm here."

No answer. Just the settling sounds of an old building.

I moved deeper inside, past empty bookshelves and overturned chairs. The place smelled like mold and old paper. My footsteps echoed on the tile floor.

A light flickered in the back. Just for a second, then darkness again.

My heart hammered against my ribs. Every instinct told me to run. But I kept walking toward where I'd seen the light.

The main reading room opened up before me. Moonlight streamed through the broken windows, casting strange shadows across the floor. And there, standing in the center of the room, was a figure.

"You came." The voice was female, smooth and cultured. "I wasn't sure you would."

She stepped into a patch of moonlight and I gasped. She was beautiful. Impossibly beautiful. Long silver hair that seemed to glow. Pale skin. Eyes that reflected the light like a cat's.

"Who are you?" I asked, trying to keep my voice steady.

"My name is Serena Whitlock. And I'm here because we share something in common, Mary Hart." She smiled, and her teeth seemed too white, too sharp. "We both have secrets about our wolves."

"How do you know about that?"

"I know a lot of things." She moved closer and I fought the urge to step back. "I know that you performed a Bentall procedure today with the skill of a surgeon who's been practicing for twenty years. I know that you saved a boy's life with a cricothyrotomy you'd never performed before. I know that your wolf has been dormant your entire life, trapped inside you, unable to emerge."

"Everyone knows about the surgeries. It's hospital gossip."

"But not everyone knows why you can perform them." Serena circled me slowly, like a predator. "Your wolf has been awake inside you since birth, Mary. Learning. Absorbing knowledge. Growing stronger. But someone put a binding on you. A spell. To keep her locked away."

I stopped breathing. "What? That's impossible."

"Is it?" She stopped in front of me. "Think about it. Have you ever felt her? Even a little? Most wolves show signs by age ten. A flash of golden eyes. Heightened senses. But you? Nothing. Not until recently. Not until something started breaking the binding."

My mind raced back through my childhood. She was right. I'd never felt anything. Other kids talked about hearing their wolves in their minds. About feeling stronger, faster. I'd always just assumed I was a late bloomer. That my wolf would come eventually.

"Who would do that to me? Who would bind my wolf?"

Serena's smile was cold. "That's the question, isn't it? Who would have access to you as a child? Who would have reason to suppress your wolf? Who would benefit from you being weak?"

"My family." The words came out as a whisper. "My parents?"

"Perhaps. Or perhaps someone close to them. Someone who knew what you would become if your wolf was allowed to emerge." She tilted her head. "Your wolf isn't ordinary, Mary. The knowledge she possesses, the abilities she's developing, they're extraordinary. Almost as if she's connected to something ancient. Something powerful."

I shook my head. "This is crazy. You're talking about magic and spells and ancient power. That's not real."

"Isn't it? Then how do you explain what's happening to you?"

I had no answer for that.

"The binding is breaking," Serena continued. "Whatever holds it in place is weakening. That's why your wolf's knowledge is bleeding through. That's why you can suddenly do things you never learned. Soon, the binding will break completely and you'll shift for the first time. When that happens, Mary, everything will change."

"Why are you telling me this? What do you want?"

"I want to help you." She reached into her pocket and pulled out a small vial filled with silver liquid. "This is a catalyst. It will speed up the breaking process. Instead of waiting weeks or months for the binding to naturally deteriorate, you could shift within days."

I stared at the vial. "And what do you get out of helping me?"

"Smart girl." Her smile widened. "When your wolf emerges, I want you to remember who helped you. I want you to owe me a favor. Nothing sinister. Just a favor to be called in when the time is right."

"A favor? That's it?"

"That's it. One favor. And in return, you get answers. You get your wolf. You get to understand what you truly are." She held out the vial. "What do you say?"

I reached for it, then stopped. "How do I know this isn't poison? How do I know you're telling the truth about any of this?"

"You don't." Serena shrugged. "You have to trust your instincts. What does your gut tell you, Mary? Am I lying?"

I looked into her reflective eyes, trying to read her. She felt dangerous. Predatory. But not exactly evil. More like someone who played by different rules.

"Why do you care about my wolf?" I asked.

"Because powerful wolves are useful. Because the world is more complicated than you know. Because there are forces gathering in the shadows, preparing for something big, and I'd rather have you as an ally than an enemy." She pressed the vial into my hand. "Take it. Don't take it. The choice is yours. But know this: the binding was placed on you for a reason. Someone fears what you'll become. And when they realize the binding is breaking, they'll come for you."

Cold fear trickled down my spine. "Who? Who will come for me?"

"That's what you need to find out." Serena stepped back into the shadows. "Drink the catalyst or don't. But either way, watch your back, Mary Hart. The game has already begun, whether you know it or not."

"Wait!" I called out. "I have more questions."

But she was gone. Vanished like she'd never been there at all.

I stood alone in the abandoned library, clutching a vial of mysterious silver liquid, my mind reeling.

A binding on my wolf. Someone who feared my power. Forces gathering in the shadows.

What had I just walked into?

My phone buzzed, making me jump. A text from Owen.

"Where are you? I stopped by your apartment. We need to talk. It's urgent."

My stomach dropped. Owen was at my apartment? How did he even know where I lived? And what was so urgent that he'd come looking for me at midnight?

Another text came through, this one from a different unknown number.

"You shouldn't trust Serena Whitlock. She's using you. If you want the real truth, meet me tomorrow night. Same place. Same time. Come alone again. This time, I'll tell you who really bound your wolf. And why."

I stared at my phone, then at the vial in my hand, then back at my phone.

What the hell was happening to my life?