~ RIG ~I almost shifted, but if this thing was just a strange human, or if there were other humans around I needed to be in human form—and not be naked. So with a low growl, I moved as quickly as any human witness would think was realistic, following Cara’s trail deeper into the trees.Why had she done it? Why had she come in here alone after what had already happened?A tiny voice nudged at the back of his mind—why had I let her? But I shook it off. She was human and an adult. Not my responsibility.Moments. It took only moments to find the trail and follow it at a full sprint, first down the trail, then, where her scent mingled with that other thing, into the trees and underbrush.Teeth bared, hands whipping branches aside, I tore through the trees, then broke out into a small clearing where the moonlight turned everything silver and black… and my chest turned to stone.The moment I broke through the trees, the male on the other side of the clearing froze.He held Cara facing me, o

~ RIG ~I had to think fast. She was growing suspicious and I couldn’t use the Allure to soothe her.“Because you need help,” I said simply.“Bullshit, Rig. There are girls all over campus who need help. Why me?”“I’ve had to save you twice already,” I said with a wink. “If the hospital kills you now, it will have been for nothing.”But Cara didn’t grin with me. She shifted uncomfortably on the bed, but didn’t say anything. For the first time, I wished I could mindlink with her, hear her thoughts. Understand what she was thinking. Because my own instincts were on high alert, too. I doubted it was good.As her scent prickled and grew hard, I scrambled. I needed to distract her from her suspicions before she convinced herself not to trust me at all.“I’ll go get us some coffee,” I said suddenly. “There’s an espresso shop downstairs. It’s probably crap, but it’ll keep us alert anyway. You have to keep an eye on the doctors. They’re always trying to screw you on the charges.” I laughed un

~ CARA ~The next morning, I was swinging myself along the sidewalk towards the cafeteria, starving. I’d eaten all of my snacks and couldn’t afford to buy more until I got paid at the end of the week. With everything that had happened over the weekend, I needed to catch up on the studying I had missed. But if I was going to concentrate I needed to eat, and that meant having breakfast in the cafeteria. Which meant, with the crutches, that I was out of the door early to give myself extra time.I thought I would be sore after working so late the night before. But all that sleep had done my knee good. I still couldn’t put weight on it, but it wasn’t aching as badly as when I’d come home from the hospital. As I clunked onto the sidewalk outside the dormitory, I winced. The undersides of my arms were being rubbed by the crutches. How was I going to handle two more weeks of this?I wasn’t even halfway down the block when the rumble of a vehicle approached from behind, then slowed to roll alo

~ CARA ~The pet store was huge, but mostly a warehouse area full of food and toys. Only one section of the store, brightly lit and smelling like sawdust, had pets.I had headed straight for the back wall that was lined with aquariums glowing blue. I’d assumed Rig would take the easy route to a first pet—but to my surprise, as we passed the first aisle and entered the rows of cages and crates, Rig stopped a few feet from where a large square on the floor had been gated off. Inside was a pile of blankets… and a litter of kittens.I cooed and rushed to the little fence immediately as five or six tiny balls of fur on legs started hopping towards me. Their little triangle-tails stuck straight up and they gave high-pitched mewls as they tumbled towards me. “They’re so cute!”Leaning my crutches on the wire sides of the enclosure, I reached awkwardly over the low gate to pick up a little tabby who purred immediately and rubbed its face on my nose when I leaned in to kiss it.Rig had stayed

~ RIG ~My head buzzed with stunned disbelief as Natalie threw herself into my chest, squeezing my middle.I was suddenly nauseous. Natalie? Here? What the actual—“I can’t believe you’re here! What a coincidence!” she gushed.“What the hell, Natalie?” I muttered, peeling her arms away from my waist, everything in my body recoiling.“It’s so good to see you! It’s been forever.”“That’s not an accident—”As if I hadn’t spoken, Natalie kept her grip on my shirt but peered around me, smiling too-wide. “Who’s your friend? I’m Natalie,” she said brightly. I wanted to snap my teeth. “Rig and I go way back—you must be from the university?” She reached past me to offer Cara a perfectly manicured hand that Cara shook mechanically.“Cara,” she said quietly, but then she looked up at me, a question in her eyes.She’d kissed me. She wanted me. She was mine—I blinked, then pried Natalie’s grip off my shirt and took another step back. “Natalie. What are you doing here?”She couldn’t ignore me sinc