She was acting. She had to be. It was the only thing that made sense to me at first. Whatever Nikki had been up to the other night, she’d lost track of time and blew curfew. So, to get herself out of it, she’d flirted with Joel Wisher, sweet talking him into looking the other way. I’d seen my mother do the same thing with state troopers half a dozen times to get out of speeding tickets.

But, two days later, and Joel was all Nikki could talk about.

We sat across from each other at lunch. Nikki was a vegan. Today, she sank her teeth into a double cheeseburger. I absently ran my fork through my spaghetti noodles.

“You’re meeting him again tonight?” I asked. I tried to keep my tone light. That first night, when I’d confronted Nikki about what I saw out the window, she’d gotten defensive and shut down on me.

Nikki dabbed the corners of her mouth with her napkin. She fixed her wide, blue eyes on mine. She was beautiful in every traditional sense. Though our backgrounds were similar--no family--Nikki Rogers had things a whole lot easier than I had. At least, on paper. She kept her homecoming queen sash draped over the vanity mirror beside her bed. She was easier with strangers, the kind of girl that would always come out on the top of any popularity contest.

“Don’t give me that look,” Nikki said, easing back into her chair. “I know what you’re thinking.”

“I promise, you have no idea what I’m thinking. I’m just...I worry about you. A week ago, you were thinking about reporting Wisher to the chief of police for stalking. Now, you’re gushing about him. I just want to make sure you’re all right.”

Nikki’s eyes went blank. Her hand fluttered and went to the back of her neck, rubbing it. It was a new gesture for her, but one I’d seen her do maybe a dozen times over the last couple of days. Her cheeks colored and her face split into a bright smile.

“I just hadn’t given him a chance. Now, I have. Joel isn’t what I thought he was. It’s fine, Eve. Promise. You know. We were talking last night. About you, actually.”

My pulse quickened with alarm. Instinct told me the less Joel Wisher or any of the authorities in Birch Haven thought about me, the better.

“He has a friend he thinks you’d like,” Nikki’s smile didn’t falter. She reached across the table and put a hand on my wrist. Her skin felt hot, almost feverish. It was just one more thing that didn’t add up about the way she was behaving.

“I’m not interested in any of Joel Wisher’s friends,” I said, my voice coming out more clipped than I’d like. “I’m not interested in anyone at the moment, Nikki.” I found my own smile and tried to lighten the conversation.

Nikki waved me off. “You need an open mind. You spend all your time studying. What kind of life is that?”

“College life? Nikki, come on, you bombed that Psych exam. What are you going to do when the registrar gets a hold of your semester grades? Aren’t you worried about your scholarship?”

The easy expression on Nikki’s face stayed intact. She folded her napkin and set it on her plate. “College isn’t everything, Eve. Not for me. And not for you either. Come on. You need to live a little. Joel and I are having a picnic in the park tonight. You should come. Chris will be there.”

“Chris?” Nikki hadn’t mentioned Joel’s mysterious friend yet, but I knew instantly she meant Chris Woods, the deputy from the other night. “No,” I said firmly. “No way. I told you, not interested.”

Nikki’s spine stiffened as the door to the cafeteria flew open. Bright sunlight flooded my eyes. I shielded them with my fingers. Nikki jumped out of her seat and turned toward the door. Deputy Joel Wisher crossed the room with long, sure strides.

Nikki’s face colored and it seemed like she was having trouble catching her breath. The moment Joel got close, she went still. Nikki’s hands fluttered at her sides. If I had to guess, she was fighting the urge to touch him.

Joel gave me a stern look as he came to Nikki’s side. He too kept a careful distance from her. Whatever was going on with them, Joel apparently didn’t want to make his affection for Nikki obvious to the other students dining around us.

“Are you about finished here?” he asked Nikki while keeping his gaze on me. Deep lines creased his brow. Joel’s hard stare made my skin crawl. He wasn’t touching Nikki; he wasn’t even looking at her. But, just his straight-backed posture and tilt of his head, seemed possessive, almost predatory. Nikki flocked to his side and rubbed her neck again.

“Yes,” she answered, breathless. “I was just telling Eve how much we’d enjoy her company in the park tonight. She needs a little bit more convincing.”

Joel’s eyes narrowed. I saw the hint of his wolf within them, flashing dark. The shudder that went through me didn’t escape his notice.

“It’s a good idea,” he said.

“I’m sorry,” I said, rising. “I’ve got a project due later in the week. I’m behind.”

“No, you’re not,” Nikki said. “Eve, come on. I told you, you need to live a little.”

Joel moved away from Nikki and toward me. With his broad shoulders and towering height, he blocked out the sun streaming in from the windows behind him.

His presence here drew some stares from some of the other girls at the tables around us. But, when Joel turned around to stare back, they quickly diverted their attention. It wasn’t just me. This guy put off a dangerous vibe. Up until a few days ago, Nikki had thought so too. Her change of heart struck cold fear in mine. What had he done to her?

Joel touched me. On the surface, it was nothing, just a light brushing of his fingers against my arm. It set off every alarm bell my body could produce. A cold sweat made me shiver. My breath left me in a whoosh. It took everything in me not to recoil. Somehow, I knew that would be a sign of weakness that wouldn’t serve me well with him.

“You should really listen to your friend,” he said. “You’ll have a good time. There are some people I think you should meet. I hear you’ve already met one the other night. It’s a good thing you did.”

Was that a threat? Joel’s cold expression alone would have made anyone shudder. Nikki beamed up at him. It was if he’d pulled her into his orbit somehow.

“I’ll think about it,” I found myself saying. I didn’t mean it. But my need to get away from this guy and whatever power he had over Nikki burned through me.

“Good,” Nikki said, clasping her hands together. She went up on the balls of her feet. I think she would have kissed Joel if his quick glance hadn’t frozen her. He did reach for her though, trailing his fingers against hers. Nikki’s cheeks colored again and a groan escaped from her lips. A wave of nausea rolled through me.

“See you tonight,” Joel whispered to her, though he fixed his eyes on me.

Nikki dared a quick squeeze of his shoulder before Joel finally turned and walked away.

I didn’t wait for Nikki to start in on me again. Instead, I grabbed my laptop case and went out the other door. I couldn’t stand to hear more lies coming out of her mouth. There was no getting to know Joel Wisher. He wasn’t some different guy the more familiar you got. I knew his type. I’d known dozens of them weaving in and out of my mother’s life. I only hoped Nikki would be strong enough to come to her senses before she got hurt. My mother never did.

---

Nikki didn’t come back to the room until just before dinner. When she did, she was happy, singing a song in her high soprano as she threw practically every article of clothing she owned on top of her bed. I kept my nose in my laptop, pretending disinterest. After all that, she settled on a tee shirt and tight jeans. She pulled her blue suede cowboy boots up her calves and sat on the edge of her bed.

“We’ll be down at the park,” she said. “I’m not going to beg you to come, but I really wish you would.”

I turned to her. “Nikki, you’re an adult. More or less. So am I. I can’t tell you what to do or who to date. But, I’m not going to pretend this shit with Joel isn’t disturbing. You go from healthy suspicion and downright loathing in less than twenty-four hours. Plus, he’s, I don’t know...creepy, Nik. Red flags everywhere. Plus, he’s a shifter. You shouldn’t mess with him. Trust me on this.”

She bolted up and got in my face. Her move was so quick, so aggressive it startled me. If I didn’t know better, I’d think she was the one who had wolf in her. “And you don’t know what you’re talking about. You might want to shut your mouth until you do.”

I think I would have been less shocked if she’d actually slapped me. This wasn’t Nikki. She didn’t have a temper. I’d never heard her utter an unkind word to anyone, let alone me, her supposed best friend.

As quickly as she snapped, she plastered that bright, familiar smile on her face and turned to leave. Her hair swung with the movement and I got a look at the back of her neck. That’s when my heart turned to stone.

I bolted out of my seat and grabbed her arm. “Nikki, what is that?” I pulled the hair away from her neck. Nikki resisted, trying to jerk away from me, but it was too late. I’d seen enough. At the nape of her neck, Nikki had an angry, crescent-shaped red welt. There were tiny puncture wounds all around it. It got hard to breathe as I realized what it was. This was a bite mark. That motherfucker had taken a chunk out of her.

“It’s none of your business,” Nikki said, finally freeing herself from my grip. “I told you, it’s not what you think it is.”

“He bit you? It looks like more than once. Are you going to stand there and deny it?”

Nikki’s eyes widened, reddening as she searched my face. She held back tears and backed away toward the door. “Just forget about it, okay? Joel hasn’t done anything I didn’t want him to. I wish you’d come down to the park with me. See for yourself.”

“Uh. Thanks, I’ll pass.”

Nikki’s shoulders dropped. “Please, Eve? For me? Just this once? I promise you won’t regret it.”

I hated disappointing her. Something very terrible was going on between Nikki and Joel. Anyone could see it. I just wasn’t sure I was willing to let myself get sucked under by it. But, what kind of friend would I be if I didn’t step in to help her?

“Maybe,” I found myself saying. “If I have time.”

Nikki rushed forward and hugged me. There was desperation in the gesture, but it passed just as quickly. In the distance, I swore I could hear a rising howl. It was faint, but out there nonetheless. When I turned toward the sound, I heard the door slam shut. Nikki had bolted at the sound. I knew in my heart it was Joel, calling for her.

I went to the window and watched her race across the quad toward the park.

The park. I’d been just steps away from leaving Birch Haven behind for good. At least, that’s what I’d told myself. But what really might have happened if I’d kept on running? My thoughts drifted back to Mac. The moment they did, my pulse quickened. Was I any different than Nikki? There’d been something about Mac that drew me to him when I knew I should probably be afraid.

I didn’t know him. I had every reason to be afraid of him. And yet, every night since, his silver wolf eyes came to me in my dreams. He wasn’t like Joel. He wasn’t from Birch Haven and he’d been just as afraid as I was.

The smartest thing to have done was stay away. I was smart, but I was also Nikki’s friend. She and I had been thrown together freshman year. I would have understood if she’d just been polite to me. We had to live together, after all. My whole life, I’d made an art form out of pushing people away. It was easier that way. Less painful when they inevitably let you down. But, Nikki had stuck with me. She could have easily roomed with someone else this year. I would have understood. Hell, I would have expected it. She didn’t though.

“Dammit, Nikki!” I muttered as I grabbed my hoodie off the back of my desk chair and headed out the door.

What would work against a wolf shifter? Pepper spray? A swift kick in the balls? I knew the answer was nothing. Shifters can move so fast you can’t even see it until after they’re across the room. My heart raced thinking of what Joel could do to Nikki...what he had already done to her. That bite meant something.

I thrust my hands into the pockets of my hoodie as I made my way across the quad and back toward the park. It was dinner time; most of the students of Birch Haven College were back in the cafeteria. Day classes were over. There were no evening classes on Fridays. Still, it seemed strange that campus was this deserted. The lights from the town twinkled in the distance, but no cars turned down Campus Drive. It was almost as if Joel had planned things this way. The air itself seemed to turn sinister and cold as I took the trail down to the riverbank.

Light laughter reached my ears. My pulse quickened as I got closer to the sound. It was Nikki, all right. She sounded happy, not the least bit distressed. I stepped off the trail and headed for the woods, letting the thick brush shield me as I approached. If Joel tried to hurt her, I didn’t know what the hell I could do about it, but Nikki was my friend. She deserved for me to try.

They sat on a bench together, facing the river. Joel had his arm around Nikki. She sank into him.

“Do you think she’ll come?” A voice came from the west, further down the embankment. It was Chris Woods. He was out of uniform, just like Joel. Somehow, he looked even more imposing in his dry-fit tee shirt stretched taut over solid muscle. His wolf eyes glinted nearly red. I’d come to recognize that as a sign of a wolf barely in control.

Nikki seemed so calm as she sat at Joel’s side. It was odd. She stared straight ahead almost as though she were in a trance. She didn’t even turn toward Chris as he approached.

“Wait here,” Joel said to her. Nikki gave him an absent nod and stared out at the water. Chris and Joel stepped away from her. I crouched lower, hiding behind a thick bush.

“You’ve got to be patient, man,” Joel said. “I told you. I put in a good word for you, but these things take time.”

“I don’t have time,” Chris snapped. He growled and bared his teeth. Joel growled back. The sound of it came to me first as a feeling, sparking through my nerve endings. Every cell in my body wanted to run. I tried to keep my eyes fixed on Nikki. She sat still as a statue, looking out at the water.

“You have as much time as the Alpha says you have,” Joel snapped. “You know how this works.”

“Yeah? What makes you so special with her? It was my turn, Joel. I outrank you.”

Joel squared his shoulders and put his body between Chris and Nikki, blocking the other man’s view of her.

“It works how it works,” Joel said. “It’s not just about rank. There’s politics involved. I’ve been telling you that for years. You want special consideration from the Alpha? Do something to let him know you deserve it. Nobody’s entitled to anything the Alpha doesn’t want to give.”

“So maybe it’s time I just take what I want.” Chris turned on Joel. His eyes were blood red and his fangs came out. It was as if the air in my lungs turned to ice. Chris was dangerous. Deadly. Nikki was sitting so close to them. Couldn’t she see what was happening? If Joel and Chris came to blows, she wasn’t safe there. I wanted desperately to call her to me.

“Don’t be a fucking idiot, Chris,” Joel said. “I told you. The Alpha will be here soon. You ask for a meeting with him. I’ll go with you. I’ll put in a good word for you. You have been in service to the Pack for a lot of years. That won’t go unnoticed. But if you charge in there eyes blazing and pissed off, you’ll be lucky to get out of it with your head still attached to your shoulders.”

“I. Want. Her. Friend.” Chris’s voice barely sounded human. And I could barely keep my balance. Her friend. Nikki’s friend. Chris was talking about me.

“You’ll get her, man. You will. If you play it cool, you’ll be next in line for a mate. I know what I’m talking about. Nikki was worth the wait. Eve will be too.”

I don’t remember moving. I don’t remember making a conscious choice to run. But, before I knew it, branches clawed at my hair as I went as fast as I could through the trees.

Chris wanted a mate. He wanted me to be his mate. Oh, God. And Joel had done something to Nikki. Is that what Chris was planning for me? Would he bite me like that and subject me to whatever fucked up mind control Joel seemed to have Nikki under?

I couldn’t. I wouldn’t.

I was luckier than I was smart that night. Before I knew what was happening, I’d crossed over a steep embankment, scrambling my way up the brush. I wanted to scream. I wanted to shout and fight and put as much distance between myself and Birch Haven as possible. It didn’t occur to me what I’d do if Joel and Chris realized I was there. I just knew I needed to get away.

Something happened.

My pulse beat a furious pace, but then it slowed, growing steady and calm, almost as if I were outside of myself. A shadow crossed my path and I ran smack into a brick wall. When I looked up, I realized it wasn’t a wall at all.

Mac caught me by the elbows, his eyes silver and wild. A low growl tore through him as he broke my fall.