I'm here now, dad. I promise I will succeed. I will not let our family legacy be dishonored.I took a deep breath.Time to stop feeling sorry for yourself, Josh.I needed all my intelligence back to destroy the paintings without arousing suspicion. And I needed to stay calm around Allora. It would be better for both of us if we didn't get involved.I pushed open the trailer door. Ruth and Frances looked up from the table, one giving me a bright smile, the other a disdainful look. Allora's eyes flickered briefly to mine, and then she looked away, suddenly absorbed in her porridge. Not wanting to make her any more uncomfortable, I sat down at the opposite end of the table and intentionally prompted Ruth into a conversation about fossil fuels. If Allora would ignore me, I could follow her lead. alloraAll through breakfast, I kept sneaking glances at Josh. He sat at the opposite end of the table and was completely focused on Ruth's every word of flattery. He forgot the kiss too quickly,

I looked at him, wanting to turn around and leave him out there in the cold. But curiosity devoured me. I wanted to know what his game was, why he was trying to get me involved with this old wives' tale.Josh stared at me steadily, his gaze intense. At first, nothing happened. But then I noticed her face was changing. The bones under her skin seemed to move, elongating her nose, rearranging her cheekbones, flattening her skull. His ears receded into his head, the lobes growing up and out. His eyes remained locked on mine as his chin and nose came together into a muzzle, his teeth curling into two long, sharp canines.What was it? What was happening?Josh fell to the floor on all fours. His clothes ripped from his body as the muscles in his shoulders bulged, coming to merge with his neck, throwing his head back at an impossible angle. His back arched, and his legs and arms flexed and moved, his knees creaking as he moved backward.This can not be happening.My entire body went rigid wi

alloraAs I dug through my bags for a change of clothes, Josh's words buzzed through my mind. The phrases spinning over and over like a scratched record.I'm just teaching Miss SanDiir jungle survival… jungle survival…Ruth knew. She knew what had happened to Ben. Everyone at the university knew. Ben was a popular guy, president of the Student Society and the Ecology Club. His death was all over the newspapers. Reporters interviewed me. I've even been on the Daily Post. STUDENT DEVASTATED AFTER BOYFRIEND FALLS TO DEATH. People asked me so many questions, as if I could read Ben's thoughts in his last moments. Why did Ben decide to go through the rift without equipment? Why did the rangers take so long to find him? Did I have some kind of bad feeling when he left for the weekend, some kind of premonition of his death?The idea was ridiculous, but I often found myself replaying our last conversation in my head, wondering if I should have felt the reaper over his shoulder, if I should hav

joshI accelerated as hard as I could through the woods for as long as I could, crossing an area not frequented by hikers.My paws shook violently as I gripped the steering wheel. I cursed myself for going back and leaving Allora a note. Nobody saw me, but it cost me precious time. I gritted my teeth as my wolf form pushed against my skin, begging to be fully unleashed. Gray hairs stood on end all over my body, and I had to kick off my boots as my feet turned into paws. It took all my concentration to keep the truck on the road. Sweat trickled down my face, and my entire body raged with an itch that only disappeared when I gave in fully to my wolf side.Ahead, the road ended in a small gravel clearing. A sign indicated the local flora and fauna, and arrows showed the direction to the next hut. There were no trails here. Anyone walking here had to use a compass and a map to find their way. The only people who came here were conservation groups studying birds or squirrels or lizards, an

joshANDI chased the double scent trail deep into the woods, where it intersected with those of a herd of deer and a hound, and then I lost it completely. By now, the smell was hours old, and it was tainted by other animals, a hunting party, and the onslaught of rain.Damn it. I landed under a tree, digging my paws under me and furiously licking the mud from my fur in a vain attempt to hide my frustration. The chase took most of the day. The sunlight was gone, covering the forest in a gray twilight.Something else was bothering me, mostly about the wolf that attacked Allora last night. He smelled familiar to me, like I'd met him before. But I didn't recognize him. Dad and I met very few other wolves — that was the point of hiding in the Black Forest — and he was definitely not one of them; the red stripe on his back was distinctive, I would never have forgotten. So where had I seen him before? Déjà vu tugged at the corners of my mind, but every time I thought I grabbed recognition, i