Chapter 2

I didn't know how to explain to Roger why I didn't want to go to the analysis center, and so found myself on the table again while he listened to my heart and lungs. “Just once last night?”

I glanced at Rafe, found he was watching me with his unreadable gaze, and looked quickly back at Roger. “Uh, what?”

“You phased just once last night?”

I shook my head. “Three times, two in my room, and one, uh, elsewhere.”

He frowned slightly and noted something on the clipboard.

I knew like I should tell him about Rafe's ability to talk, but something kept me from doing it. I skirted around the topic instead. “Would it be so bad if that werewolf wanted to go back to the wild? Maybe he's happier as a wolf.”

Roger glanced at Rafe. “You've never seen the destruction a single werewolf can cause.” He sighed and looked toward the door, but no one came through. “My son was killed by a werewolf. It was a brutal attack, and it changed our lives.”

My heart fell and I touched his hand. “I'm sorry.”

He gave a small nod. “Me, too.” He took a breath. “The police said it was a wild animal attack and brushed it off, but we knew deep down it was something else. We searched on our own until we found the same kind of occurrences happening elsewhere in the country.” His lips tightened as though fighting back unpleasant memories. “The Hunters found us, recruited us, which wasn't hard given the circumstances, and we pretty much spent the next several years wiping werewolves from the earth.”

My stomach twisted at the note of regret in his voice.

He glanced at me. “It took another werewolf to show us the error of our ways.”

“Jaze.” I named the calm, confident Alpha who had saved Kaynan and Grace after they fled Dr. Tannin's lab. A shudder ran through me at the thought of the doctor who had turned us into werewolves. He was dead now, killed the day my brother saved me from that horrible place. I shied away from the thought and turned my attention back to Roger.

“Yes, Jaze. He helped unite the Hunters and werewolves, and now we work together to keep the country safe for both humans and werewolves to live.” He glanced at Rafe again, an exasperated expression on his face. “But in order to determine whether a wolf is a threat, we have to be able to talk to him.”

“I think he's alright. He's stayed in his human form. Maybe that shows he's friendly?” I hazarded.

Roger motioned for me to follow him to the cage. I did so reluctantly and refused to meet Rafe's eyes. Roger pointed at a thin metal band around Rafe's neck that I hadn't noticed when we talked the night before. “He doesn't have much of a choice. He can't phase with the band on his neck or he'll strangle because a wolf's neck is thicker than a human's. We can't teach him if he's in wolf form, so we have to keep him human.”

“That's cruel,” I said, fighting down the wave of anger that rushed through me at the thought that someone could keep him from phasing. I realized that was what Rafe had been talking about the night before when he said if he could have phased, he would have. They were forcing him to stay human.

Roger shrugged. “It's necessary.”

“What about a full moon?”

His eyes tightened. “I guess he needs to learn quickly.”

I hated the way he talked about Rafe as though the werewolf wasn't right in front of us listening. I met his eyes, tempted to tell Roger the truth so that he would quit treating the werewolf as though he was dumb, but Rafe gave the tiniest shake of his head. I opened my mouth to argue and he shook his head again, his eyes crinkling slightly at the corners.

Frustration ran through me at both of them. I huffed out a breath and said, “You underestimate each other.” Then I turned and stalked from the room.