“Are you insane?” I yelled as I rushed over to the wolf. I couldn’t believe what had just happened—any of it actually.

The wolf wasn’t dead, but his beautiful eyes had a glazed look to them. He was panting.

He made a futile effort to rise and slumped back down. I buried my fingers in his fur, searching for the wounds. I saw only a trickle of blood and realized Mason hadn’t been shooting bullets, but darts.

“Got him,” I heard him say.

I snapped my head back around. He was holding a walkie-talkie. He strolled over and crouched down beside me. “He’s not hurt, just drugged.”

I slammed my fist into his shoulder, then punched him in the chest. “You creep!”

“Hey!” he yelled and grabbed my hands. “Take it easy. I wasn’t really going to hurt you over there. I just needed him to think that.”

I jerked free and shoved him again. I wanted to rip his eyes out for terrifying me.

“Hey, will you stop?” he yelled, scrambling back. “God, I wasn’t going to do anything. I was just pretending. I needed him to think you were in danger.”

“What are you talking about?”

“I knew he’d show himself if you were being attacked.”

Was he insane? Did he think the wolf’s personal mission in life was to protect me? I mean, sure, maybe we’d bonded a little with the bear attack, but he was a wild animal, not a domesticated dog. That he was following me, that he’d come to my rescue again—no one could have predicted that. It was just a huge coincidence.

While I was stunned by the wolf’s presence, I was furious with Mason’s actions and betrayals.

“So this whole romancing thing was a ploy to attract the wolf?” I didn’t bother to keep the anger out of my voice. His actions were unacceptable. To frighten me, to make me think he was going to hurt me . . . to use me as bait. It was dehumanizing.

“Don’t say it as though my feelings for you are insincere,” Mason said cajolingly. “I do like you, Ye Jin. A lot. But we had something larger to accomplish and we needed you to be part of it.”

I was so angry that I could barely see straight. I felt as though Mason had made a fool of me.

But worse, he’d used me, used me to capture the wolf. My voice was seething when I asked,

“Mason, what is going on?”

But he wasn’t looking at me. He was mesmerized by the wolf. “Look how big he is. Look at how human his eyes are. Everything else changes but the eyes remain human. It’s just like he told me it would be.”

“Who? What in the hell are you talking about?”

Before he could answer, I heard the crackle of brush being trampled. Coming from between the trees, David and Jon carried a cage with metal bars. It was a little smaller than the crate they’d been hauling. Was that what had been inside it?

Dr. Won was behind them. He strode forward and slapped Mason on the back. “Good job, son.”

“Thanks, Dad.”

As they slipped a muzzle over his mouth, the wolf made another valiant effort to rise.

“I gave him two doses of tranquilizer. He should be knocked out cold with that much,” Mason said, clearly baffled. “Should I shoot him again?”

“No, he’s drugged enough that we can handle him. His resistance is strong. That’s good,” Dr. Won murmured. “He’ll need all the strength he has.”

I got right in Dr. Won’s face and stood on my toes so he could see how angry I was. “What are you going to do to him?”

Dr. Won looked at me as though I were an irritating gnat. “Why, study him, of course.”

My heart was thundering as I trudged back to camp. I felt as though I’d betrayed the wolf. I thought about how protective Yi Fan was of the wilderness, the animals, and especially the wolves. I hoped he never found out about this. I could think of only one way to make this right. I had to figure out a way to set the wolf free.

David and Jon set the cage up at the far end of the campsite, near the woods. An insane excitement reverberated through the camp as everyone came around to stare at the wolf. I hated that he was on display like that. I wondered if animals felt humiliation.

Even if he didn’t, I was embarrassed for him. He seemed like such a proud creature. He deserved better treatment than this. My heart ached for him.

After a while, everyone wandered off. Everyone except Mason and me. Mason was incredibly fascinated by the wolf. But how could he do this to so beautiful a creature? It wasn’t right. I’d thought I knew Mason, but I realized I didn’t know him at all.

Why hadn’t I left with Yi Fan and the others? And what was I going to do now? They had put a simple key-lock on the cage door. But I didn’t think they’d leave the wolf unguarded.

“Isn’t it gorgeous?” Mason said, without taking his eyes off the wolf.

My therapist had hypnotized me once to try to get to the root of my fears. I had a feeling I’d looked a lot like Mason did now—like I’d been smoking something illegal.

I was furious with Mason and myself. Why hadn’t I seen this coming? There weren’t many wolves with this unique shading of fur. I knew it was the one that had saved me from the bear attack. I owed this animal. And because of me, he was locked in a cage.

The wolf stirred. I watched as he struggled to his feet. The cage was small. He couldn’t stand up fully. He couldn’t pace. He would be hard-pressed to turn around. They’d removed the muzzle once they’d gotten him into the cage. I looked into those silver eyes and I felt the same connection I’d felt right after the bear attack. What was there for Dr. Won to study?

He was probably a descendant of the wolves that had been reintroduced into the wild. I had a feeling the wolves’ tendency not to attack man was about to be turned around. Dr. Won and his students were declaring war on a species. Why were they doing this?

Mason crouched, poked a stick through the bars, and jabbed the wolf in his side. He issued a low, warning growl and drew back his lips to show his teeth.

I grabbed the stick from Mason and tossed it aside. I was seething with anger. “Don’t do that.”

Mason stood up. “You’re right. If he’s angry, he won’t shift back.”

“Shift? What are you talking about? He’s a wolf and it’s illegal to capture them.”

He gave me a grin that seemed to say, What world do you live in?

“It’s not a wolf ,” he said. “Well, obviously it’s a wolf right now, but before it shifted, it was human. With that fur coloring, I’m pretty sure it’s Yi Fan. Makes sense. The way he watched you, I knew he wouldn’t leave you behind.”

Okay, someone needs to go back on his meds. I laughed. “Are you freaking mental?”

He narrowed his eyes at me. “Lycanthropes exist, Ye Jin. Here, in this wilderness. There’s a whole village—”

“No, they don’t,” I interrupted. “And no, there’s not. If anything, it’s just legend, crazy stories people tell around the campfire.”

With a wicked grin, he leaned toward me. “I can prove it’s true.”

He crouched down, ped his backpack, and removed a gun. It wasn’t like the one he’d used before. This one looked like the Glock my dad carried.

“What the hell—”

Before I finished my sentence, he calmly aimed it at the wolf—

“No!” I screamed, lunging for Mason. Again, too late.

He pulled the trigger. The wolf yelped and fell to his side. Blood gushed from his hip. Students started rushing over.

“It’s okay. Just an accident. The gun misfired. No big deal,” Mason called out, waving them back.

No big deal? He’d purposely shot the wolf!

I shoved him hard and he staggered back. “What is wrong with you?” I demanded to know.

“I’m proving my point.”

“You are mental.” If I could get my hands on that gun, I’d shoot him. I grabbed the lock and rattled it. The wolf was panting. I could see the pain in his eyes. “Get this open so I can do something for him, before he bleeds to death.”

“Calm down. He’s not going to bleed to death.”

“Don’t tell me to calm down. I’m not going to let you hurt him again. I need to see the wound.”

He gave me the calm smile that I was starting to hate. “Okay,” he said, crouching. “Look.”

I dropped to my knees and curled my hands around two of the bars.

“Look at his hind leg where I shot him,” Mason said.

Almost as quickly as the blood had gushed, it began to slow to a drizzle. Then it stopped altogether. Using another stick, Mason lifted the fur. The wound was closing, like a time-lapse video that I’d seen in biology class. I wouldn’t have believed it if I hadn’t seen it with my own eyes.

“When they’re in wolf form, they heal faster than we do,” Mason said. “Imagine the medical ramifications. If we can isolate the gene, we can create a serum that would replicate the rapid cell rejuvenation. Someone is in a devastating car wreck, bleeding to death. We give him an injection and he’s healed before an ambulance gets him to the nearest hospital. Then, of course, there are the military uses. An army of shape-shifting soldiers, with their heightened sense of smell, hearing, and sight. It would be invincible.”

He made it sound as though he were doing all this for the good of mankind. Did it make me an awful human being because I thought it was wrong to exploit this species like that?

Not that I believed for one minute that it was a werewolf—that it was Yi Fan. For some reason, this particular wolf had amazing healing properties—but it had to be a genetic mutation, a fluke. It wasn’t a special species of humans who changed into wolves, or wolves that changed into humans.

Mason looked at me. “Of course, the real money will be in recreational uses. If we can create a drug that will transform you for just a couple of hours—wouldn’t you take it? Just to know what it’s like? Lycanthrope parties will be all the rage. And we’ll hold the patent. And if the FDA doesn’t approve it—who cares? We’ll make more money on the black market anyway.”

So it wasn’t about the good of mankind. It was about money.

“It was really selfish of you to hold back, Yi Fan. You should have willingly donated yourself to our research. Instead we had to come out here and lure you into our trap. It was so easy once we realized how protective you were of Ye Jin.” Mason poked him again, and the wolf growled.

“It’s not Yi Fan. You sound insane,” I insisted.

“Of course it is. You’ll see. He’ll grow too weak to hold this shape, and he’ll revert back to human form. Then you’ll know.”

“They’re not going to let you walk out of here with a wolf.”

He gave me a cocky grin. “We’re not walking. We have choppers landing in the morning. Why do you think we wanted a spot at the edge of a large valley? We’ll take you with us, and once you see everything, you’ll understand the significance of our work. I want you to be part of it. We’ll have that candlelit dinner to celebrate.”

In my mind I was screaming, “No way!”

But I knew I had to play it cool. Until I could figure out a strategy of escape for me and the wolf, I had to start pretending that I thought all this was amazing. I had to lie. And I needed more information.

“So what? You’re taking him back to the university?”

“God, Ye Jin, how naïve can you be? Get with the program. It was all a con. My dad isn’t a professor. He’s head of research at Bio-Chrome. Ever heard of us? ‘Studying chromosomes for a better tomorrow’?”

I had a vague recollection of some stupid commercial I’d seen on TV.

“But his students—”

“We’re all his research team. We’re geniuses.” He laughed. “I graduated from college at seventeen. My roommate used to live around here. He told me about the rumors that shapeshifters were hiding in this forest. Even told me to keep a special eye on Yi Fan. I started doing research. Way too many sightings for it not to be true. And now we’ll not only prove it, but we’ll benefit from it.” He looked back at the wolf. “You’re going to make history, Yi Fan.”

Mason turned his attention back to me. “Can you envision it? Can you see what we’re going to accomplish? I want you to be part of it, Ye Jin. We want you to be part of the team.”

“I’m still in high school, Mason,” I said, playing along. There was no way I was going to join his team.

He rolled his eyes. “This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, Ye Jin. My dad can get you a high school equivalency diploma. You can start taking college courses online while you work on the research. This will all be cutting-edge. We’ll all be millionaires. We’re offering you an opportunity to be part of it.”

I swallowed hard. “It sounds great,” I lied. “I’m so in.”

“I knew you would be once you understood everything. And don’t worry about Yi Fan. He’ll come to understand it all, too.”

Mason got up and walked away, leaving me there. My fingers were wrapped so tightly around the bars that they were beginning to ache. I studied the wolf and held his gaze. He held mine.

It was a strange connection. Maybe I was a little insane, too. I knew werewolves—shift-shapers, lycanthropes, whatever you wanted to call them—existed only in movies and TV shows. Still, I leaned near and whispered, “Yi Fan?”

With great effort, he lifted his head and my fingers. I released my hold on the bars and scrambled back. It couldn’t be. It just couldn’t be. Werewolves did not exist. And this wasn’t Yi Fan. I jerked my head up at the sound of someone approaching. Jon was holding a rifle.

I didn’t know if it held more tranquilizer darts or bullets. He gave me an awkward smile.

“Pretty cool, huh?” he asked. He sat on the ground, leaned against a tree, and set the rifle on his lap.

“Are you afraid he’s going to stage a prison break?” I asked lightly, trying to appear as nonthreatening as possible.

He shrugged. “Until we study him, we don’t know what he’s capable of. Besides, he’s not the only one. The others might try something.”

This was just getting better and better.

I was furious at Mason and his father, and I was terrified for the wolf. I was plotting an escape.

But I knew none of that showed on my face as I sat by the campfire following supper. Mason was toasting marshmallows again, which seemed so bizarre. Dr. Won was sitting on his little stool. I envisioned kicking it out from beneath him and laughing as he tumbled to the ground. But he wasn’t worth my effort.

I had to act normal. I had to give them the impression that I’d accepted their insane plan and that I could be trusted.

Mason offered me his perfect marshmallow. I gave him a flirtatious smile before popping it into my mouth.

“See, Dad?” Mason said. “I told you once she understood, she’d see the value in our work.”

Dr. Won gave me a suspicious look, so I smiled brightly and said, “I think you’re an absolute genius.”

Dr. Won’s chest puffed out slightly and he yammered on for a while about all the money they’d make once they figured out the werewolves’ secret to transforming.

“So you think there are more creatures like this one?” I asked, pretending to be interested in his insane ideas.

“Oh, absolutely,” Dr. Won said.

I glanced over at the cage. David was standing guard over it now. “Shouldn’t you feed him? Or at least give him some water? You wouldn’t want him to die on you.”

“Oh, I think he’s a long way from dying. Right now it’s imperative that we weaken him, so he’ll revert to human form. Takes a lot of energy to stay in wolf form,” said Evil Scientist—my new name for Dr. Won.

“How can you even know that?” I asked.

“Because it makes sense.”

“What if the wolf form is his natural form and it takes more energy to remain in human form?” I asked. I’d been trying to make conversation, but the words sent a chill through me.

I didn’t believe any of their insane theories, but what if they were true? Would it be cool to be able to shift into another shape? Or would it be a nightmare? A nightmare, I decided. Ever since my parents were killed, I’d spent my life trying to fit in. I couldn’t imagine anything more horrifying than being so different from everyone else.

Evil Scientist pondered my question for a moment, then smiled his wicked evil-scientist grin. “I guess we’ll do some experiments and figure it out. Which came first? The wolf or the human?”

I wished I’d kept my mouth shut. I didn’t want them experimenting on the wolf. I felt an obligation to protect him.

Mason took my hand. “Don’t look so worried. It’s not to our benefit to hurt him.”

Right. And shooting him was your way of making him feel good.

I didn’t say anything aloud. I just plastered on a smile that said, “I think you’re absolutely wonderful. Great boyfriend material. I’m the luckiest girl.”

“The chopper will be here at dawn,” Dr. Won said. “We’ll need to break camp before that. We probably all need to turn in early.”

As everyone got up and headed toward the tents, Mason took my hand again and pulled me into the shadows. “I just want you to know that I wanted you to stay here because I do like you. It wasn’t just about using you to capture the werewolf.”

“You could have just told me. Then I could have helped.”

“We needed your reaction to be honest.” He touched my cheek. “I really like you, Ye Jin.”

I smiled. “I like you, too.” The lie came easily, maybe because he’d told me so many lies that I didn’t have any problem repeating a few back to him.

He leaned in to kiss me. I put my hand on his chest. I couldn’t bear the thought of him kissing me. “I’m sorry. After this afternoon, I’m a little bruised—physically and emotionally. Even though I understand why you did what you did, and I would have done the same in your place, I’d like to go a little slow now.”

“Sure. You’re right. It’s been a day of discovery.”

A day of betrayal was what I was thinking.

He walked me to my tent and said goodnight. I crawled into the tent I was sharing with Monique. She was already curled up in her sleeping bag and reading a book.

“So all the flirting you were doing with Yi Fan . . .?”

She smiled. “Just part of the lure. Although he is hot. And if he is this wolf, that makes him so much hotter.”

She was sick. Totally.

As I got ready for bed, I slipped my metal nail file out of my backpack and tucked it into the pocket of my shorts. I would need it to pick the lock.

It may seem strange, but after all, my adoptive dad is a cop. I was bound to pick up a few tips on criminal activities like hotwiring cars and breaking and entering.

I made my way into my sleeping bag. “Goodnight.”

It was several minutes before Monique turned out the light. I lay there, not moving, just planning.

I finally heard Monique’s breathing drop into that slow shallow rhythm that meant she’d gone to sleep.

I hadn’t zipped my sleeping bag because I hadn’t wanted the rasp of the zipper to wake her up. I scooted out from my bag. Looking over my shoulder at her, I tugged on my boots. A bright moon provided enough light for me to see her silhouette. She didn’t move at all.

I slipped my hand back into my sleeping bag and wrapped my fingers around my flashlight. I always kept it handy in case I had to get up in the middle of the night. I definitely needed it tonight.

I crept out of the tent. I didn’t take my backpack with me. I wasn’t planning to leave—I didn’t think I could make it back to the village on my own anyway. I just wanted to set the wolf free. If Mason and his dad figured out it was me, they might get mad, but they weren’t going to shoot me. Would they? Of course not. I did think they’d gone over to the dark side, but they were scientists, not murderers.

The camp was eerily quiet. I straightened and slipped around behind the tent. I moved stealthily until I reached the outer perimeter where Jon was once again watching the cage.

He was sitting cross-legged. Every now and then, he poked the wolf with a sharp stick. I guess he figured if he wasn’t getting any sleep, the wolf shouldn’t either. Or maybe it was part of their plan to wear the wolf down until he shifted back into human form. Personally, I thought it was a bad idea to prod wild creatures.

I tightened my hold on the flashlight. It was a good, heavy, solid tool. When needed, it made a terrific club. And right now I needed a club.

My heart was pounding so hard that I was surprised the guy didn’t hear it. Actually, I was surprised it didn’t wake the entire camp. I took another step—

Snap!

I landed on a dry twig and grimaced. Jon started to twist around—

I swung with everything I had in me. The flashlight slammed against his skull. I felt the shock of the contact ricochet up my arm. Jon keeled over in a sprawl. He never even saw me. I knelt beside him and checked his pulse. It was steady. He probably wouldn’t be out for long. I had to work fast.

I took a quick look around. I couldn’t believe they had only one person guarding their precious prize, but I figured they thought he was securely locked up. And only Evil Scientist had the key.

I scrambled around to the door, my flashlight, and set it so the light illuminated the padlock. It wasn’t anything fancy. This was going to be easy. I pulled the file from my pocket and went to work.

“I’ll have you out of here in a minute,” I whispered.

I was surprised by how alert the wolf seemed. Especially since they’d been denying him any sort of comfort or essentials—like food and water—while trying to weaken him. Sadists.

He issued a low growl, almost a purr. A throaty sound. I ignored it. I didn’t want him trying to communicate with me. I just wanted him to get the hell away.

I heard the lock click. I snapped it apart and jerked open the door. Swallowing hard, I scooted back.

With lithe movements, the wolf sauntered out of the cage and went over to the guard. He began sniffing around. I wondered if he was considering eating him.

I moved over to him. “No!” I hissed. “You have to go. Shoo! Go!”

But he didn’t go. He just got very, very still, unnaturally so, and I could feel a small electric charge in the air. I stood up and glanced around. We were still lucky. No one was in sight.

Maybe if I hit the wolf with my flashlight, it would frighten him away. I reached down, grabbed it from where I’d left it on the ground, and turned back—

The wolf was gone. But I felt no relief. As a matter of fact, I felt close to panic. Because while the wolf was no longer there, Yi Fan was. A very Yi Fan was crouched near Jon. I couldn’t process that. He was a werewolf? Dr. Won and Mason were right? No, no, no. There was another explanation. There had to be. My world tilted and I had an urge to scream hysterically.

I stared at his while he tugged off Jon’s cargo pants. He had absolutely no tan lines.

He was like a perfect bronzed god. I might have fallen in lust right then and there if I didn’t know that he came with issues in the form of a furry body and canine incisors.

“Good luck,” I said. My voice quivered, and I knew I sounded completely dazed. I was close to totally losing it. Maybe I was still in my tent dreaming. I took a step back toward the shadows.

“Wait!” Yi Fan ordered in a low voice.

I glanced back. He’d already pulled on the pants and was zipping them up.

“I have to go,” I said.

Before I could race away, he was beside me, grabbing my arm.

I jerked away. “Leave me alone. You’re free. Just go.”

“I’m not leaving you here with Mason. Not after what he tried to do to you—”

“It was all fake. He wasn’t going to hurt me.” I shook my head. “I don’t know how or why, but he knew you were around and he was trying to draw you out. Obviously it worked.”

He clenched his jaw. “I fell right into his trap. I forgot about everything when he attacked you. I just wanted to rip his throat out. He might try it again—”

“No, I’m on to him now. I won’t let him put me in that position.” As a matter of fact, I was thinking that I might head out on my own as soon as I saw that Yi Fan was safely gone.

“You have to come with me,” Yi Fan said.

“I’ll be fine.”

“No. You won’t be,” he said with incredible seriousness. But then he was always serious. The guy never laughed, and he seldom smiled. But, oh, when he smiled, the things it did to my heart.

“They don’t know it was me who let you out,” I insisted.

“That doesn’t matter. In less than forty-eight hours there will be a full moon, the first full moon since your birthday.”

“So?”

“The first transformation happens during the first full moon after your seventeenth birthday.”

“Okay, great, nice to know, but we don’t have time for a Werewolves for Dummies lesson. You need to get out of here.”

I should have run when he stepped over to me, but I didn’t. I stood there gazing into his silver eyes. They held me captive. They wouldn’t let me look away. I felt this strange pull. I wanted to lean into him. I wanted to wrap myself around him. Around Yi Fan, who always made me feel like I wanted to crawl out of my skin. His eyes were so solemn. But there was something else there, something possessive.

I wanted this to be a romantic moment, like those corny movies. I wanted him to take me in his arms and kiss me like his life depended on it. Then I wanted him to run off into the woods and disappear forever. Be safe.

Why was it suddenly so important to me that he be safe?

He wrapped his hands around my arms. I thought he would jerk me toward him now and plant that kiss that I so desperately wanted.

Instead he said solemnly, “Ye Jin, you’re one of us.”