It came as naturally to me as breathing. One moment, I felt Mac’s wolf stirring, struggling to get out. I don’t know how I knew, but I knew if he shifted, the others would be able to sense it. The closer they got, the harder it was for him to stay in control. Some dark part of me didn’t want him in control. I wanted to be in the presence of his wildness. My body seemed attuned to it.

But, if Mac shifted now, we were both screwed.

Fire burned inside of me as I brought Mac’s lips down to mine. Heat, light, electricity sparked through me. Something feral came alive inside of me as well. My kiss might have helped Mac keep his wild side contained, but it brought mine to life. The kiss was hot, wet heaven. The kind that could make you forget the rest of the world.

We couldn’t forget. The howling grew louder and I finally pulled away. Mac’s wolf eyes glinted bright silver, igniting the fire in my belly.

“Eve,” he said, his voice low and ragged.

“What was that?” I asked wiping my lips with the back of my hand. Mac’s touch still burned through me. I wanted more. So much more.

“They’re coming,” he said. He spanned my waist with his hands and turned me toward the brick wall. “You have to run!”

The air went out of me in a whoosh as Mac lifted me as if I weighed nothing. My skin ached with pleasure where he touched me. Every instinct in me burned to stay by his side. But, he was right; there was no more time.

With dizzying strength, he hoisted me to the top of the wall. It was a short drop down. I just prayed there were no cameras or patrols anywhere nearby. I’d never seen any in this part of campus. Squatting, I turned to Mac one last time.

“Will you be safe?” I asked. I could see the same question in his eyes.

“Meet me back in the park,” he said. “Two nights from now. I’ll find a way to get to you.” The desperation in his voice matched the rising hunger in me.

Two nights. It would feel like an eternity. I nodded, breathless, then jumped.

Running as fast as my legs would carry me, I headed straight for Camden Hall. The clock chimed the quarter hour. I’d make it back before curfew with fifteen minutes to spare. Was Nikki still with Joel? Did it even matter anymore?

Mercifully, Jasmine had the night off. The girl working the desk in her place didn’t look up from her phone when I waltzed through the double doors, trying not to seem out of breath. I kept my head down and went upstairs.

My room was quiet, Nikki hadn’t come back. I checked the window, but the quad was empty. It meant she was still with Joel. Fear for her snaked through me.

I grabbed my caddy and headed for the shower. Mac hadn’t told me to do it, but instinct told me another shifter might be able to pick up his scent on me. I let hot water sluice over my body and part of me regretted it. Mac’s scent was a heady, intoxicating mix of the woods and his own feral musk. I didn’t want to wash it away.

What the hell was happening to me? Mac had some sort of power over me. There could be no doubt. Was it any different than what Joel was doing to Nikki? The moment I thought it, the answer slammed into me. No. This was nothing like Joel and Nikki. Mac had been careful not to touch me. I’d been the one doing the touching. The mark on Nikki’s neck was brutal, as if it had been done by force.

Or was I just kidding myself? Was this some sort of shifter magic meant to lure me into doing something I wouldn’t otherwise? It didn’t feel like it. But, how could I be sure? Right now, the only thing I had to go on was instinct, and it burned like wildfire through me.

My fingers went to my lips. They were still swollen from Mac’s kiss. He’d been so careful, not even daring to put his hands on me. He let me lead the way. How had I known I had the power to help control his wolf? Again, it was instinct. I’d felt as though I could tether Mac somehow. I had so many questions. Would I be brave enough to ask them? Could I be daring enough to risk another meeting with him two nights from now? God, was I strong enough to stay away?

---

Nikki didn’t come home that night. She didn’t show up for our Psych class either. With each passing hour, the alarm bells clanged even louder inside of me. I just prayed whatever happened, Joel wouldn’t hurt her.

I was going crazy with worry. The one person I knew who might have answers was Mac. Would he tell me the truth? I passed the time trying to find out what I could about his sister. My resources were limited. I had the online student directory. But, that would only show me students who were currently enrolled. There was no Lena Morris listed anywhere. No one by that first name either. I had one other idea and a plausible enough reason to try it. Midterms were still in full swing, so I headed to the library.

The college still kept an archive of physical directories in the reference section. Most students never ventured back here, preferring to read their textbooks and do research online. I found the books easily enough. Birch Haven College was only thirty years old. Mac said his sister went missing two years ago. I pulled the volumes I needed, looking cautiously over my shoulder. Luckily, no one had much cause to be back here. I picked a study carol and started leafing through the yearbooks.

Lena Morris was easy to find. Her freshman orientation photo looked like my own and the dozens more on the page with her. She stared blankly at the camera, not frowning, but not quite smiling either. She looked enough like her brother that it sparked heat through me remembering Mac’s smoldering green eyes that went silver when he was stirred.

Lena was beautiful with straight auburn hair that she wore parted down the middle in this photo. In a simple black top, she cocked her head slightly to the side as if she were about to smirk as soon as the camera clicked.

I ran my fingers over the small square bearing Lena’s picture. She had no extracurricular activities listed below her name. That alone wasn’t surprising. I didn’t either. Lena looked cool and serious. I flipped to the contact information section of the volume. Lena had lived in Covey Hall on the first floor two years ago. This was the only picture I could find. She should be at least a junior by now, one year ahead of me. But, I couldn’t find her anywhere.

Had she changed her name? Gotten married perhaps? I flipped through, focusing on faces. No Lena. She’d dropped out or transferred.

Hunching over the table, I carefully tore the pages with Lena’s picture and address out of the books. Folding them, I shoved them in my backpack and put the directories back where I found them. I had another plan.

One of the girls who worked the day shift in Covey Hall, April Darcy, was an acquaintance of mine. She was a junior like Lena should be. Chances were, April at least knew who Lena was. It was just past two when I left the library and headed across the quad. I sent a quick text to April to make sure she was working. She answered back that she was just about to get off and we made plans to head over to the cafeteria for lunch.

I just prayed I could be casual about this and not rouse April’s suspicions. She was a sensible girl, not prone to gossip like Nikki and Jasmine were. If I told April I was asking for a friend, she’d take that at face value.

Just before I got to Covey Hall, I saw Deputy Joel standing on the sidewalk. He was deep in conversation with one of the groundskeepers. But, he saw me as I approached, his eyes narrowing. There had still been no word from Nikki.

I stuffed my hands into my jean pockets and tried to keep my head down. The last thing I needed was a confrontation with Joel. Still, a million awful scenarios raced through my head. Lena Morris had been a student at BHC. Then, she just dropped off the face of the earth if Mac was to be believed. I hadn’t seen or heard from Nikki in almost twenty-four hours. Was the same thing about to happen to her?

Joel saw me approach, jerked his chin toward the groundskeeper, and stepped right in my path. As much as I felt a pull preternatural pull toward Mac, I felt a strong revulsion toward Joel. My palms began to sweat and my heartbeat became a hammer blow behind my breastbone.

“Eve,” he said, his smile already fixed in place.

Joel’s shadow darkened my path. The torn yearbook pages in my backpack seemed to burn there. What would Joel do if he saw them?

“Hello,” I said, trying to fix my own bright smile. Behind Joel, April came out the front doors of Covey Hall. She saw me and lifted her hand to wave. Then, something changed in her as she saw who I was talking to. Her shoulders dropped and she looked quickly left then right.

“I’m glad I ran into you,” he said. “We were really hoping to see you last night.”

“What? Oh. Right. Sorry about that. I wasn’t kidding about the work I had piled up. I assume you had a good enough time without me. I didn’t get a chance to ask Nikki about it. I missed her this morning.”

I don’t know why I said it. Even worse, I don’t know what I was expecting Joel to say in return. Had she stayed at his place? That had to break a score of department rules. Nikki stayed out past curfew. Joel was an officer and she was a student. I’d never heard about an outright ban on fraternization, but I had to believe that sort of thing was frowned upon. And here he was trying to fix me up with his partner.

“Well, it was nice to see you,” I said, not waiting for him to respond. “I’ve got to get going.”

“Sure,” Joel said. He turned and let his eyes travel toward Covey Hall. April had stepped into the shadows of the stone alcove over the main entrance. There was no doubt she was hiding from him. She and I needed to talk about a hell of a lot more than Lena Morris, it seemed. My concern for Nikki grew to a near fever pitch. Instinct told me not to confront Joel about it. Not yet. I just prayed she’d be safely back in our dorm room by the time I returned.

Joel tilted his head toward me and smiled. He turned and walked away. Only then did April emerge from the shadows. She held her backpack in front of her like a shield as she came down the steps toward me.

“Hey,” I said, forcing a smile. “Thanks for meeting with me.”

April looked at Joel’s retreating back. “What are you doing talking to him?” Contempt dripped from her voice and she held her backpack that much tighter.

“I’m not,” I said. “He just sort of got in my way.”

April’s eyes flicked to mine. Hers were amber and wide. She had her long brown hair pulled back in a tight ponytail and a tremor ran through her as she looked back to Joel. He was moving at a brisk pace down the sidewalk, but it was as if he sensed April’s eyes on him, watching. He turned again and looked back.

“Yeah. I’m sorry,” April said, her voice cracking. “I thought I had some time for you, but I don’t. I gotta get to class.”

“Class? What class? How can you just forget you have a class?”

April’s face had gone sheet white. Seeing me with Joel had really spooked her. My own pulse quickened and my need to talk to her about Lena Morris seemed that much more urgent.

“Fine,” I said, before she could answer. “I’ll just walk with you for a few minutes. Do you mind? I’ve got something I want to ask you.”

April’s mouth opened and closed, reminding me of a beached trout as she tried to think of a quick reason to tell me no. I didn’t give her a chance. Instead, I linked my arm through hers and pulled her toward the lecture hall. Though I suspected she was lying about needing to go there, unless she bolted into a run, she wasn’t getting rid of me.

“Real quick,” she said. She stiffened as we started walking and I let her go.

A part of me thought it might be wiser to just turn tail myself and forget this whole thing. But, the more information I had about what might really be going on in Birch Haven, the better. Knowledge could be power.

I pulled the crumpled yearbook page out of my backpack, folding it over so Lena’s picture was the most prominent. I showed it to April. “You know her? Lena Morris? She’s your year. Lived in Covey.”

It was the wrong thing to ask. April stopped short and turned on me. “Don’t,” she said.

“Don’t what?”

“I can’t talk to you about any of this.”

“April, any of what? I’m asking for a friend who’s looking for her. That’s all. Do you know this girl or don’t you?”

April looked back over her shoulder. Joel had moved nearly out of view, but his presence seemed to hang between us. April bit her lip. I think she was deciding whether to run or stay. In the end she leaned far forward and whispered in my ear.

“That girl’s gone, okay? Tell her friend to leave it alone. And if this person was a friend to you, they wouldn’t make you ask.”

My heart raced. I’d been afraid before. All my suspicions were starting to bear fruit. But, the terror in April’s eyes floored me.

“I’ve gotta go now,” she said. “I’ll see you later, okay?” April put a gentle hand on my arm then turned to leave. When she did, her ponytail swung high. I almost didn’t see it, but the sun hit the back of April’s neck at just the right angle.

Just above her collar, Lena had a white, crescent-shaped scar at the base of her neck, just like the one Nikki had except this was well healed.

“April!” I reached for her. She whirled around, her eyes wide with fear. “Who bit you? What’s going on?”

April smiled, but it didn’t light her eyes. “Stay away from me, Eve,” she said, sadness making her voice thick. “And stay away from Joel Wisher. He’s one of the bad ones. Okay?”

I had a million other questions, but April jerked away from me. Her eyes went wide with fear again. Joel was gone, but Deputy Chris Woods was heading straight for us from the other end of the quad, his wolf eyes glinting gold.

April ran. It happened so fast I didn’t even have a chance to process it. Chris closed the distance between us. His hot breath on the back of my neck sent the same wave of revulsion through me that Joel’s had just a few moments ago.

Straightening my back, I turned to face him. Chris’s wolf was so close to erupting. I’d seen this same thing in Mac before. His cheekbones jutted at wrong angles and a tremor went through his fingers as he reached up to touch my hair.

Something inside of me cried out a warning. I wanted to run just like April had. But, I knew if I did, it would make it that much harder for Chris to stay human. The chase would spark his instincts in ways he probably wouldn’t be strong enough to hold back. Would he do that? Could he risk a shift here in the middle of the quad in broad daylight? It was a theory I had no intention of testing. As it was, my wildly beating heart seemed to fuel the naked lust I could see in his eyes.

“Joel said I’d find you here,” he said, his voice dropping low. Chris curled his hand around my upper arm and pulled me into the shadows on the west side of the building.

“I’m sorry,” I said. “I really don’t have time to talk. I’m on my way to class.” Now, I’d used the same flimsy lie as April.

“No, you’re not,” he said. “You don’t have class today.”

Ice flared inside of me. He knew my schedule. He’d looked up my schedule! Every instinct in my body screamed a warning. I wasn’t safe. Chris was dangerous. I was in way over my head. Another instinct flashed. I wanted desperately to call out for Mac. Just thinking about him felt right. If I did, would he come for me? Doing so would put him in mortal danger. I believed that with all my heart.

“What do you want?” I asked, growing bolder. I wanted to step back into the light, as if that would protect me somehow.

Chris’s wicked smile made my heartbeat turn to thunder inside of me. I could see the answer lighting behind his eyes. Me. He wanted me. And he’d be willing to take me any way he could.

I did step into the light. Moving as fast as I could, I backed up until I’d reached the sidewalk again. Chris followed, his gait casual. Of course it was. I had no hope of outrunning him if it ever came to that.

“Tomorrow night,” he said. “Let me take you down to the river. We’ll have the picnic you missed out on last night.”

It was such a seemingly simple request. And yet, the things Chris didn’t say burned a path of fear straight through me. It was a command, not a request. I did the only thing I could think of. I pretended this was normal. I wanted to make him reveal something more of himself even as it scared the hell out of me.

“I appreciate the offer. But, I’m not interested, Chris. I’m sorry.”

His face dropped, but not in some sort of offended indignation. If anything, he seemed relieved. Because now, there was no need for the pretense. He stepped forward and grabbed my arm again.

“It doesn’t matter. You should talk to your friend, Nikki.” Chris let me go but brought his fingers to the side of my face. He traced a path along my jaw, leaving a trail of ice. He shot me a quick wink and straightened his shoulders. Then, he turned and walked away.