Chapter 4

Ellie's POV

Lucas curled into himself, his body contorting as bones cracked and reformed. His skin rippled as dark fur pushed through, his face elongating into a muzzle. The transformation was never pretty—Hollywood got that part right, at least. His clothes tore at the seams as his body expanded, muscles bulking beneath his new coat.

I stepped back, giving him space as the final stages of the change took hold. Within minutes, where Lucas had been, now stood a large wolf with midnight-black fur and glowing amber eyes. He shook himself, adjusting to his other form.

While he paced in circles, adjusting to four legs again, I pulled out my phone and dialed.

"Caroline? It's Ellie," I said when Lucas's mother answered. "I had to pull Lucas from the game. He was about to shift in front of everyone."

"Oh God," she breathed. "Where are you now?"

"Pine Trail woods, about half a mile in from the east campus entrance. He's fully shifted now." I watched as Lucas-wolf sniffed the air, his ears twitching at the sound of my voice. "Listen, I told Coach Bennett you called because you were rushed to the hospital. If he calls you—"

"I'll say I had chest pains but I'm fine now," she finished. "This isn't my first emergency cover, Ellie."

"Thanks. And..." I hesitated, debating whether to mention Samantha. Thalia wanted me to tell Caroline everything—about the human girl, about Lucas rejecting the moon tea, about the growing distance between us. But something made me hold back. Despite everything, I couldn't bring myself to betray him like that.

"And what?" Caroline prompted.

"Nothing. Just... he's fully shifted now, so be prepared when you get here."

There was a pause, then the sound of another phone ringing in the background. "That's my other line—it's the school's number. Probably Coach Bennett. I need to take this."

"Of course," I replied. "I'll stay with him until you arrive."

"Twenty minutes," she said before hanging up.

I hung up and leaned against a tree, watching as Lucas loped between the trees, occasionally stopping to sniff something interesting. Despite everything, I couldn't help admiring his wolf form—powerful and graceful, midnight fur gleaming in the moonlight filtering through the branches.

Thalia stirred restlessly within me. We should run too.

"Not tonight," I whispered. "Someone has to keep watch."

For the next half hour, I stood sentinel while Lucas explored the forest. He seemed to have forgotten our argument, lost in the simpler pleasures of his wolf consciousness—the scents of the forest, the feel of earth beneath his paws. Wolves didn't hold grudges the way humans did.

Headlights swept through the trees, and I heard a car door slam. Caroline Miller appeared minutes later, following the trail I'd texted her.

"Where is he?" she asked without preamble.

I pointed toward a clearing where Lucas had just emerged, his muzzle wet from drinking at a small creek.

Caroline pulled something from her pocket—a small vial of liquid that I recognized as essence of wolfsbane, diluted enough to be safe but potent enough to force a shift back. Before I could protest, she uncorked it and flung the contents toward Lucas.

The effect was immediate. He yelped, dropping to the ground as his body began the painful reverse transformation. Within minutes, Lucas lay naked on the forest floor, human again and disoriented.

I quickly tossed Caroline the spare clothes I'd grabbed from his gym bag. She threw them at her son.

"Get dressed," she ordered.

Lucas complied slowly, confusion giving way to recognition, then wariness as he registered his mother's fury.

Once dressed, he stood, swaying slightly. "Mom? What are you—"

The crack of her palm against his cheek echoed through the trees.

"How dare you," Caroline hissed. "How dare you risk everything we've built here? Shifting during a basketball game? In front of hundreds of witnesses?"

Lucas's hand went to his reddening cheek, shock turning quickly to anger. "I didn't choose to shift! It just happened!"

"It 'just happened' because you refused the moon tea," she shot back. "Because you're too busy chasing some human girl to remember what you are!"

I felt my stomach drop. I'd deliberately avoided mentioning her during our brief phone call, but of course Caroline would find out anyway. Coach Bennett had just called her, and Lucas and Samantha's relationship was hardly a secret at school. The way they'd been practically attached at the hip for weeks, it was probably one of the first things anyone would mention when discussing Lucas these days.

Lucas's eyes flashed yellow again. "Don't talk about Samantha like that. You don't know anything about her."

"I know she's human. I know she's a distraction. I know she's the reason you nearly exposed us all tonight!"

I stepped forward, trying to defuse the situation. "It wasn't entirely Lucas's fault. I... I forgot to prepare the tea early enough. It might not have been at full strength."

Caroline's sharp eyes cut to me. "Don't lie for him, Ellie. I taught you how to brew moon tea when you were twelve. You've never once forgotten."

"Samantha needs me," Lucas interrupted. "Her parents died last year. She's living with her foster mother who treat her like garbage. She's alone in the world."

"And you think you can save her?" Caroline laughed bitterly. "By what, turning her? Bringing her into our world? Or were you planning to hide half your life from her forever?"

"You don't understand what it's like to be alone!"

"No, I only watched our entire pack get slaughtered!" Caroline's voice cracked. "Your father and I barely escaped with our lives. We were hunted across three states before finding refuge here. If the Greens hadn't taken us in, helped us establish new identities, you wouldn't even exist! Everything I've done—every sacrifice, every move, every lie—was to keep you safe. And you're throwing it away for a girl you barely know."

Lucas's jaw tightened. "Samantha is worth it."

Caroline stared at her son, a mixture of hurt and disappointment in her eyes. "When you've lost everything for her, I hope you still think so." She turned and stalked back toward the path. "Find your own way home."

The silence after she left was deafening. I stood awkwardly, uncertain what to say.

Finally, I approached Lucas. "She's just worried about you. About us all. It'll blow over."

He whirled on me, eyes flashing. "Did you tell her about Samantha? Is that why she showed up here ready for a fight?"