“Phil, get back here.” Mom grits her teeth when Dad storms off. She looks at the camera with a panicked expression, “Just a minute, Honey.”After a few crashing sounds in the background and listening to Mom chastise at Dad for losing his temper, they both come back into the frame. Dad smooths back his hair and looks above the camera, taking deep breaths, while he calms himself down.“So let me get this straight. Mom already told me you took in this girl because she was having trouble with some male wolves in the dormitory.” He crosses his arms in front of himself. “Tonight, you were picking her up on campus and you saw her being attacked by one of Williams’ trainees?” “Yes. He was wearing a trainee uniform, had his claws in her arm, and he was about to forcibly mark her.” I can’t help but snarl at the memory.He looks serious at the additional details and continues to confirm that he understands the

  “Thanks for meeting us, Greg,” I shake the hand of Crystal Lake’s lead guard. He’s an intimidating guy with light blue eyes and a buzz cut. His long sleeve shirt is an attempt to look professional, but he can’t hide the tattoos on his oversized hands and thick neck.   “Anytime, Marshall. The human library is an odd choice, but I get it. Neutral ground, like you were saying.” He shrugs and looks around. Behind him, a mother is ushering her child, who is pointing at Greg, into the library. “I’m glad to hear you’re okay.”   “You heard what happened?” I cringe. If he knows, word has spread quicker than I thought.   “Keller, everyone’s heard what happened,” He nods matter-of-factly. “Killing two of Williams’ trainees? That isn’t going unnoticed by the community.”   I widen my eyes and try to shake my head so he won’t expose my secret to Zara, but he doesn’t see me in

  On Friday, Zara avoids me again, leaving another note about class and work, but not mentioning times. I know I messed up, so as long as she keeps telling me where she is going, I let her be. I call Sam to apologize for my behavior. To make it up to him, we go out to dinner, then eventually make our way to a couple of nightclubs. I don’t make it home until after the sun comes up on Saturday morning and head straight to bed.    When I wake up, I find Zara's note saying she will be at the university library. How can someone could spend so much time at the library? At Rocky's insistence, I head there to be sure she is okay. I wander around pretending to look for books until I see her sitting with two other students in a study room. They are staring at her laptop screen as she explains something to them. A smile forms on my face when I see her interacting with other people. She's in a study group? This means she made a coupl

  Zara’s POV   He recognizes me. He knows. Jensen doesn’t have warm, welcoming eyes like Keller. He’s deep brown eyes are glaring at me like he’s going to pounce on me again. I can feel my heart pounding in my chest.    “Say something, Zara!” Lavender pushes.   “What should I say?” I feel like my mind is being scrambled.   “Anything! Distract him!” She sounds slightly panicked.   “I, um, I work at the Cozy Up Cafe. Maybe that’s, uh, that’s where you’ve seen me? If you, um, if you haven’t been there, y-you should try the meatloaf. It’s amazing,” I stumble over my words.   “Kids, come on, time for dinner,” Amy calls from the dining room.   Jensen keeps staring at me while we all make our way to the dining room and take our seats.   “I remember now. You were in th

  I’m in my bed. Sunlight is peeking through the blinds. Everything is in slow motion. My head is pounding and I feel dizzy. I think today is purple, but it might be an elephant. I’ll ask Mom when I remember her name.   I try to raise my arms, but I can’t because I’m being held down. Keller is holding me in his arms. His breath is even and slow. Is Keller a dragon? Can he breathe fire? I tilt my head to look up at his face. Even through the fuzzy edges of my vision, he looks peaceful with his eyes closed. I feel calm surrounded by his muscular arms. As long as they don’t turn into snakes, it’s okay. I take a deep breath. His scent is so comforting, it even feels like it’s helping my headache, but my belly feels funny.    I was a bunny, but I don’t think I’m like that anymore. Keller’s mom has pins taped to the ends of her fingers. She’s scary. His dad is a monster with vice grip