We regrouped in the catacombs, Jason, Jill, and Paul emerging from their tunnel at a run. Jill and Paul both went to Jamie—sisterly concern in her eyes, something altogether different from the brotherly concern in his.
Jason’s eyes had shifted again from blue to the green of flower stems, a color that seemed unnaturally bright for a human . . . but better for a wolf. His hair was in disarray, sticking up at odd angles, a bruise across his left cheekbone. His gaze searched the crossroads, then settled on me, ferocity in his eyes.
His lips pulled into a wolfish grin, dimples at the corners of his mouth. I swallowed, the hairs on my neck standing on end at the primal nature of his gaze. I wasn’t sure if I was supposed to run and hide, or stand and fight, but the instinct had certainly been triggered.
He looked me over, and once assured that I was fine, checked out Michael and Scout. She was on the ground, sitting cross-legged. Michael sat beside her, holding her hand.
When the two groups had reunited, everyone had made sure that everyone else was okay, and everyone had been debriefed about the rescue, Scout spoke up.
“Thanks, everyone,” she said quietly. “If you hadn’t come—”
“Thank Lily,” Michael said, smiling up at me with appreciation in his dark eyes. “She’s the one who led the charge. She did good.”
“Parker showed some hustle,” Jason agreed, offering me a sly smile, his eyes now back to sky blue. “She’ll make a good addition to the team.”
Scout humphed. “She’ll make a good addition if Varsity lets her join, but that would require Varsity pulling their heads out of their butts. Katie and Smith are being total jerks.”
“They’ll unjerkify,” Jason said confidently. “Have faith.”
“I always have faith in us,” she said. “It’s them I’m not too sure about.”
“Have some water,” Michael said, passing her the bottle I’d pulled from my messenger bag.
“You’ll feel better. And when we get back to the enclave, you can tell us what happened to you.”
Scout snorted defiantly, but did as she was told.
I stood up and stepped away to a quiet corner and looked down at my hands, still in awe at what I’d managed to do.
And I was still unsure how I’d managed to do it.
Okay, that was a lie. I knew exactly what I’d done, the sensation of doing it somehow as natural —as expected—as breathing. It wasn’t that I’d suddenlylearned how to do it, but more that my body hadremembered how to do it.
I just had no idea how that was possible.
Jason walked over, pulled a candy bar from his pocket, ripped off the wrapper, snapped off an end, and handed it to me.
I took it with a smile, then nibbled a square of chocolate-covered toffee. I didn’t have much of a sweet tooth, but the sugar hit the spot. “Thanks.”
“Thank you,” he said. “You saved our butts today. We appreciate that, especially since your last visit to the enclave wasn’t very pleasant.”
“Yeah, I don’t think Smith and Katie liked me very much. And they definitely aren’t going to like me now. Not after this.”
“Like it or not, you’re one of us, so I guess they’ll get used to you.”
“I guess,” I said with a shrug. “The bigger question is, canI get used to it? Can my parents”—
wherever, whoever they were—“get used to it?”
“My parents did,” he said. “Get used to it, I mean.”
I glanced over. “They got used to the idea that you’re a werewolf?”
He gave me a sly, sideways glance. “Yes,” he admitted. “They got used to that. But it’s hereditary, so it wasn’t much of a surprise when I started howling at the moon.”
“They knew, and they sent you to Montclare anyway?”
He nodded. “Montclare was better for everyone.”
“Why?”
“The principal knows what I am,” he said. “He’s a friend of my parents’—grew up with my mother. They shared my secret with him so that someone would understand how to deal with me if something happened.”
“If you went allTeen Wolf , you mean?”
He grinned at me, his ridiculously blue eyes tripping my heart. “You say what’s on your mind,
don’t you, Parker? I like that.”
I rolled my eyes. “You have to stop flirting with me, Shepherd, or we’re never going to get anything done.”
“Flirting? You’re the one who’s getting me all riled up.”
“Oh, please. You’re all, ‘Here, Lily, have some candy.’ It’s obvious who’s flirting here.”
“Then maybe I should kiss you.”
I blinked, my cheeks suddenly on fire. “Oh. Well. If you think that’s best.”
He smiled softly, then leaned in toward me, smoke over sapphires as his lashes fell. I closed my eyes, blocking out the world around us, my heart pounding as healmost pressed his lips to mine.
“Well, well.”
Did I mention the “almost”? I mentally cursed my best friend before we jerked apart and sat up straight. Scout stood in front of us, one hand on Michael’s shoulder, looking a little better than she had a few minutes ago. The water and few minutes of rest in Michael’s company must have helped. And if anyone could summon up a little spirit and energy after a round of soul sucking, it was Scout.
“I assume I’m not interrupting anything?”
“I wouldn’t go that far,” Jason mumbled.
I snickered and gave him a gentle elbow to the ribs. “You’re fine,” I told Scout. “We were just taking a break.”
“I can see that,” she said. “We’re ready to hike back, if you want to join us.”
Jason turned back and offered me a hand.
“I think I can manage,” I said.
“Whatever you need, Parker,” he said, offering me a dimple-laced smile.
I had an unfortunate inkling that I knew what that was.
The air in the enclave was thick with tension when we arrived. Katie and Smith weren’t thrilled that we’d walked out on them, but they were happy to see Scout. They seemed considerably less happy to see me, and gave me dirty looks as we sat around the table and Michael, Jason, and Scout detailed our adventure.
As it turned out, the message Scout received said that an Adept had been hurt. Scout didn’t say which Adept, but given her glances in Michael’s direction, I reached my own conclusion. She’d gone back to her room to put up her books and prepare for a trip into the tunnels; that’s when they grabbed her. There had been two Reapers, probably college age, but not people she recognized. She had no idea how they’d gotten into the school, but they’d been dressed, she said,
like maintenance men— complete with badges and name tags. They’d already tossed her room when she arrived.
“Why you?” Michael asked, eyebrows furrowed. “If they were looking for a double shot of power, they could
