Sarah padded into the living room as wolf, Thomas trailing behind her. Macy squealed—“My dog!”—and rushed over, burying her face in thick grey fur and rubbing behind the ears like she’d been waiting all day for this exact moment.

  Sarah’s golden eyes flicked to Kim—looking as helpless and resigned as a 400-pound werewolf could.

  “Is she your dog?” Macy asked Thomas brightly.

  “She’s a wolf,” he said flatly.

  “Well, she’s a very good wolf.” Macy dropped to her knees and kept petting. Sarah tolerated it with saintly patience.

  Thomas eased onto the armchair beside the couch, hands resting loosely on his knees like a man used to waiting out storms. Shannon, Adam, and Macy shared the couch cushions; Kim sat cross-legged on the floor. Sarah curled up between Macy’s feet and Kim, massive head resting on her paws.

  Jill strolled in last, casual as anything, and perched at the dining table like she belonged there.

  Thomas looked at Shannon first. “I saw the texts. I suspect there’ve been a lot more like that—to other kids at school.”

  He let that sit a second before continuing. “This is what wendigos do. They don’t just feed on flesh. They feed on the pain they cause. They don’t have friends or allies. No one who knew Sam is safe.” He met Macy’s eyes. “But we’re not without hope.”

  He nodded toward Sarah. “You see that wolf?”

  They all looked. Macy patted her again for emphasis.

  “She’s a special breed,” Thomas said. “One that lives to hunt things like your Sam. Anything the world spits out that doesn’t belong.”

  Macy’s face lit up. “So we follow Snowball home, raid Dad’s armory, and turn that piece of shit into Swiss cheese?”

  “We’d only get in the wolf’s way,” Jill said, voice dripping acid.

  Thomas ignored her. “These wolves are great weapons. And dangerous ones.”

  “So this thing can kill Sam?” Shannon asked quietly.

  “Oh, it can kill anything,” Jill answered. “That’s the trouble with wolves. Get too close when they’re hunting, and you’re the prey.”

  Sarah’s ears flattened. A low growl rolled out of her throat—aimed straight at Jill. Jill returned it with a silent snarl of her own.

  Macy threw her hands up. “Wow. Grown-up drama. Super boring. Can we get back to wolves and AR-15s? I mean, I hate to interrupt whatever mopey Indiana Jones and Wednesday Addams have going on, but we’re all staring down impending death here. So could the adults in the room maybe be just a touch more mature than the actual children? And get to the damn point! Some of us grew up with cell phones and as a result have the attention spans of goldfish!”

  Thomas exhaled. “Alright.”

  He looked at Sarah.

  “That wolf is Sarah.”

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  Silence.

  Then Macy: “Yeah, no. I’m gonna need more than your word on that one.”

  Sarah stood. First to all fours—slow, deliberate. Then she rose onto her hind legs. Bone shifted. Fur receded in waves. Muscle compacted. In seconds a naked teenage girl stood where the wolf had been—wild hair, golden eyes, completely unbothered.

  Shannon managed a strangled, “That’s a naked girl.”

  The rest stared in stunned silence.

  Macy shot to her feet. “No. No no no. Not today. Absolutely not. Stop the crazy train—Macy wants off!”

  She paced in tight circles, hands in her hair. “I wanna go home, but that’s where the evil Cindi monster is. I wanna stay here, but the crazy girl is actually a very nice wolf, which makes the crazy make sense—but that makes all the things that make sense crazy! I can’t—I can’t—”

  Kim stood and caught her shoulders gently. “Macy. I know it’s a lot. But we need you. I need you. Breathe. Rant. Cry. Whatever you need. But you can’t lose it now.”

  Macy’s eyes were glassy. “When all this was dragging you down, you dragged me back up.” Kim continued. “I need you now more than ever.”

  “And when did you start speaking in paragraphs?” Macy said. She fell forward into Kim’s arms. “Are you gonna turn into a wolf too?”

  “Eventually,” Kim said softly.

  “Of course you are…” Macy’s voice cracked. “Do you think we have time for a little more crying?”

  “Maybe just a little,” Kim murmured, smoothing Macy’s hair back. Macy collapsed heavily into her arms, fingers digging into the back of Kim’s shirt like it was the last solid thing in the world. Quiet sobs shook her shoulders.

  Sarah walled over, she placed her hand on Macy’s elbow gently. Holding her hands out to offer a hug.

  Macy lifted her head, wiped her face, and put a hand on Sarah’s furry forehead. “Now listen, Snowball. You have two choices: a fully clothed girl, or a big furry dog. Macy draws the line at cuddling with naked girls. Nothing personal, Shannon, but Macy doesn’t play for the home team.”

  Sarah didn’t hesitate. She shifted back to wolf in one fluid motion—fur rippling, limbs lengthening, dropping to all fours again.

  “Yeah,” Adam muttered, staring. “That’s gonna take some getting used to.”

  Macy walked over to Adam, draped his arm around her neck, and sat down leaning into him. “Alright, wolf girl has the floor.”

  Sarah planted her massive front paws on Macy’s shoulders. Macy sighed, hugged her with her good arm. “Good choice, Snowball. Now get down—you’re gonna get fur all over me!”

  Kim looked at Thomas, then back at the group. “At camp someone poisoned Sarah. Werewolves don’t usually attack humans. And if they do, it’s because the human is defending or enthralled by some creature. But she attacked me one night under the full moon.”

  Sarah whimpered softly.

  “It wasn’t her fault,” Kim added quickly. “But the result is I’m changing into a werewolf.”

  “Wait,” Adam said. “So how do werewolves become werewolves if not by biting people?”

  Macy shot him a look. “Have you never had the birds-and-the-bees talk? What do you daydream about when you’re thinking of me?” She pressed a finger to his lips before he could answer. “Maybe we save that for another kind of conversation.”

  He gave her a surprised, hopeful look.

  “Oh relax,” she said. “You’re growing on me. You can’t be that obtuse. But let’s bring our attention back to class now. We’re all trying to get out of this alive.” She turned back to Kim. “Go on.”

  Kim picked up the thread. “From what I’ve pieced together, if they can get a werewolf to eat a human, they go crazy. They become something werewolves call Dogmen. But I survived Sarah's attack. And she changed me instead. I was lucky. Apparently it's rear to be attacked. Reader still for that attack to result in a transformation. Almost unheard of”

  “It’s a bit more complicated than that,” Jill piped in. “But that’s it in a nutshell. dogmen have to actually kill and actually eat a human.”

  Thomas took over. “In a couple weeks Sarah’s parents will arrive for the November full moon—when Kim becomes a full werewolf. I think whatever wanted Sarah to go dark is trying to do the same to Kim.”

  “That’s why we’re telling you all this,” he said. “Stay together. Don’t trust anything you read about each other in a text or online. If you find out more manipulation is happening, let me know!”

  Jill added, “Toward that end, I reached out to some people associated with my organization. Thomas will be the new guidance counselor at the school over the next few weeks.”

  “Oh yeah,” Macy chirped. “Because you seem qualified!”

  Jill looked at the teens as they teased Thomas and eased into what Sarah had revealed. At peace with her choice.

  It was Daniel she wanted dead. Not the children.