Trey’s arms locked around Serena, trying to keep her from hurting herself as spasm after bone-snapping spasm threatened to tear her apart. The convulsions were so strong that he had to struggle to hold her.
“Get Kyle!” he shouted as he tried to ease Serena to the ground.
I couldn’t think and I couldn’t move. I just stood there, staring at the flecks of blood on the wall.
“Mac!” Eve shook me, snapping me out of it. “Get Kyle. Now!”
She pushed me to the door, trying to keep her body between me and Serena.
I didn’t fight her. I let her shove me out of the room, and then I raced down the hall and out the door, raced as though I could outpace the sight of Serena’s blood splattered across the wall.
Kyle’s car was still parked behind the church, but it was empty. Heart in throat, I ran around the front of the building. Where would he and Jason have gone? Not far—not when the men who were after Serena were still out there—but somewhere they could talk without being overheard by the other wolves.
The housing development.
My sneakers skidded on gravel as I sprinted down the lane.
“Mac?”
Kyle’s shout spun me around and pulled me up short as I reached the street. I gasped for air and tried to find my voice as he and Jason jogged toward me. “Serena,” I managed. “Seizure.”
Kyle didn’t wait to get the rest. He sprinted for the church, moving far faster than a reg could. Jason started after him, but slowed when he realized I was having trouble keeping up.
“Something’s really wrong.” I forced the words out between gasps. “She was okay and then she started bleeding and shaking. . . . Trey . . . he said . . . to get Kyle.”
Jason threaded his fingers through mine. In that moment, our argument in the church didn’t matter. “Come on.”
Together, we ran back up the lane.
Kyle had already disappeared inside. As Jason let go of my hand and reached for the door, we heard the first scream.
Every hair on my body stood at attention.
Jason’s fingers curled around the door handle, gripping it so tightly his knuckles were white. He glanced at me, eyes wide, as a second scream followed on the heels of the first.
No throat—wolf or reg—should have been capable of making a sound like that.
Swallowing roughly, Jason pulled open the door.
“Hold her arm! Don’t let—” Trey’s voice was lost under a large thud and a sharp crash.
Jason reached the office first. He choked out a stream of curses and then turned and tried to block the door with his body.
I ducked under his arm. He should have been able to stop me, but whatever he had seen had left him slow and shaken.
“Mac, wait—”
The acrid scent of vomit and the tang of copper hit me like a slap as my eyes struggled to make sense of what was happening.
The room was a scene from a horror movie. It was blood and breaking bones; 3-D gore with surround sound.
Serena thrashed on the floor. Eve held her legs down, while Trey and Kyle each fought to restrain an arm. For weeks, Serena’s strength had been reduced to little more than a reg’s; now it took three werewolves to hold her down.
Kyle’s hands were slick with blood. He lost his grip and in the three seconds it took him to regain control, Serena reached up and clawed at the skin on her neck, peeling it back the way you’d peel an onion.
A wave of bile rushed up my throat and I stumbled back against Jason.
Kyle’s gaze snapped to the door and went wide. “Get out of here!” he yelled as Serena managed to shake off both him and Trey.
Jason’s arms locked around my waist. If he was trying to keep me from running forward, it was a wasted effort: it was all I could do not to bolt from the room.
Eve threw all of her weight down as Serena’s muscles began to twist and jump under her skin.
The amount of time it took each werewolf to transform varied, but it was never like this. As Serena shifted, I was able to see every muscle tear beneath the skin and I could hear every bone snap—all 206 of them. It was like it was happening in slow motion.
I tried to watch, but in the end, I turned in Jason’s arms and buried my face against his chest. He tightened his arms around me, but the embrace offered no comfort. Not when I could still hear the noises Serena’s body made—sounds that somehow managed to be both brittle and wet.
And then it was over.
I felt Jason let out a deep, shuddery breath as silence filled the room.
Nerves humming like a power station, I stepped away from Jason and turned.
“Serena.” Her name was a raw whisper as relief made my knees weak.
She was alive.
A large, black wolf pushed itself—herself—up onto shaky legs. She turned to Trey and let out a high-pitched, almost apologetic whine.
Trey, Kyle, and Eve all looked decidedly worse for wear. Their clothing was ripped and stained, and both Eve and Trey were sporting gashes. The cuts would only take a few minutes to heal—one of the perks of being infected—but for now they looked painful.
Kyle climbed to his feet and reached for me before remembering his hands were covered in blood.
Jason cleared his throat. He stared at Serena for a long moment and then glanced at the blood splatters on the wall. He looked ill, so ill that he was practically shaking. “Is she . . .” He turned to Trey. “Is she all right?”
Serena let out a sharp bark.
“I guess that’s a yes.” Relief flashed through Jason’s eyes as he ran a hand over his neck.
Eve pushed herself to her feet and headed for the door. She held her hands slightly in front of her as Jason and I stepped aside to let her pass.
“I don’t mind getting my hands dirty, but this is just gross,” she muttered. She glanced over her shoulder at Kyle and Trey. “I’ve got a jug of water in the trunk of my car if you want to clean up.”
Trey hesitated, watching his sister for signs of further trouble, but Kyle followed Eve out into the hall.
“Wait,” said Jason. His shoulders tensed and he dropped his gaze to the floor.
Everyone stared at him expectantly, even Serena in her wolfish form.
“I was wrong.” He raised his head. “Before.”
Silence greeted his statement. His voice took on an edge that was harsh and a little defensive. “CutterBrown has billions tied up in research. Their security system makes the one at Thornhill look like a joke. Getting past it won’t be easy.”