With a challenging growl, Kris lunged himself toward Devlin.

Teeth bared, the brothers collided in midair, snarling. Their strong jaws were snapping, and their claws were tearing through fur to reach vulnerable flesh. I could smell the earthy scent of fresh blood on the air, and my nostrils flared in response. Was it because I was that much closer to a full moon and would soon be what they’d become?

They slammed to the ground, scrambling apart to regroup. They slowly circled, each searching for a weakness—a vulnerability—in the other. Kris waited, and I knew he was hoarding what little strength he had left. Devlin lunged.

Kris sprung to the side. Devlin landed. Kris pounced onto his back, biting into Devlin’s shoulder. Devlin yelped from pain and maybe surprise, too. Surely he hadn’t expected Kris to be so aggressive. Devlin bucked, trying to throw Kris off. Kris bit Devlin again.

They rolled. They snapped at each other. They broke apart and came back together. Over and over. I could see Kris’s strength waning. I kept my eyes on him, wondering what I could do to help and knowing with a sense of helplessness that there was nothing. Tomorrow it might have been a different story; tomorrow I might have been more help, with my first shift behind me. But for now, Kris had to battle alone.

I knew Devlin would show no mercy. Devlin would go for his throat if the opportunity presented itself.

They fought on. Tumbling, one over the other, they were getting closer and closer to the edge of the cliff. They broke apart as though they realized that was the only way to slow their momentum. I tried to blank my mind. I didn’t want Kris to know how frightened I was for him.

I didn’t want to make my previous mistake of distracting him. His breathing was labored, his side coated in blood.

I clutched Devlin’s shirt only because it was something to hold on to. I glanced over at his discarded pants and saw the gun. I scrambled over to it and lifted it. It was hard to hold with my hands tied, but I managed. My adoptive dad had taken me to the shooting range lots of times. I was pretty good with a gun, if I did say so myself. Even though up until this point, all my targets had been outlines on paper.

I aimed it, but Kris was in the way. Was this his battle and his battle alone to fight? Would he hate me for killing his brother? The bullet wasn’t silver. The odds were it wouldn’t kill him, but it might give Kris a chance. I moved over to the side, hoping for a better angle.

Devlin launched himself. Kris sprung up and slammed into Devlin, sending them both careening over the edge of the cliff.

My scream followed them down.

Still holding the gun uselessly, I rushed to the edge of the cliff and looked over it. I could see Devlin, partway down, impaled by the broken branch of a tree. He wasn’t moving and he was in human form. I assumed he was dead.

My heart was thudding painfully in my chest. Where was Kris?

Then I saw him, still in wolf form, making his way painfully back up the side of the cliff.

“No!” I yelled. “Go back down. I’ll meet you at the bottom.”

But he kept trudging upward until he reached level ground. He trotted over to me. He my chin. I wrapped my arms around him, buried my face in his fur, and wept.

After all that, my mind was blank. I didn’t know what to think, except that maybe he’d welcome the silence.

When my embarrassing breakdown was finished, I leaned back and looked into his silver eyes that remained the same whether he was wolf or human. “I was so scared. I know he was your brother and you didn’t want to fight him, but he forced you. It’s not your fault he’s dead.”

He threw back his head and howled. It was the most lonesome sound I’d ever heard. When the echo of his sorrow and pain fell into silence he collapsed against me. I didn’t know what to do, but I knew if I couldn’t stop the bleeding in his side, he was going to die.

His howl had been more than a reflection of his suffering. It had been a call to the others. Within an hour, a dozen wolves had reached us. A black wolf with brown eyes cautiously approached.

Using Devlin’s shirt, I’d been able to stop the bleeding, but Kris was too heavy for me to carry anywhere and too exhausted to move himself.

Kris lifted his head slightly and I knew he was communicating with the wolf. I also suspected who it was: Suho, who’d always been Kris’s second-in-command when we were taking the Dr.Won into the wilderness. He disappeared down the cliff and into the cavern for several minutes and when he returned, he was in human form and wearing clothes. He took charge.

The other wolves didn’t seem inclined to reveal their true identities, but when it became apparent that Suho couldn’t get Kris into the lair behind the waterfall alone, another wolf stepped forward. His fur was an almost golden hue, his eyes black. Chanyeol, I realized. He, too, went behind the waterfall and returned clothed and in human form.

Once we had Kris back in the cavern and beneath blankets, he shifted. I wouldn’t have expected Shifters to be so modest. Maybe it was only because I wasn’t one of them yet.

Suho examined his wound. “Looks like it’s healing slowly.”

“Yeah, if I go back into wolf form for a few hours, I think it’ll heal enough not to be bothersome.”

“So why did you shift?” I asked, squeezing his hand.

He gave me a tired smile. “Because I wanted to talk with you, be there for you.” He touched my cheek. “I know what you’re thinking, but you don’t know what I’m thinking—not yet anyway.”

I wished Suho and Chanyeol would leave so I could curl up against Kris. I just wanted to be alone with him.

Suho said, “I’m going to pack some gauze around the wound to slow the bleeding.” He gave Kris a pointed stare. “You should have called for us as soon as you started running into trouble. You don’t have to face all our problems by yourself.”

“Think you could chew him out later?” I asked. “He’s really been through enough today.”

“Do you want Devlin taken back to the village?” Chanyeol asked.

Kris nodded. “Yeah, my parents need to know.”

“We’ll see to him,” Suho said. He and Chanyeol left.

I touched his side near the wound. “I can’t believe you dug the bullet out.”

“It wasn’t that bad. He didn’t hit anything vital. I’m surprised it didn’t go through on its own.”

“So it’ll heal now?”

“It’ll take most of the day, and it hurts like a , but I should be okay by tonight.”

By the time I was supposed to transform.

“We should both sleep,” he said. “It’s been a rough day and tonight’s going to be challenging.”

“Okay.” I started to move back a little, and then changed my mind. I leaned forward and kissed him slowly. Whether I changed tonight or not, I was falling for Kris ... hard.

I drew away and gave him a soft smile. I twisted around and removed my boots. When I turned back, he was a wolf. I nestled up against his side. Sleep seemed impossible when I knew what awaited me tonight. So I was surprised when darkness claimed me quickly.