WE DROVE IN silence, Adam taking control of Sebastian’s black SUV. Elizabeth sat up front with her boyfriend, not wanting to let him out of her sight after so long apart, and I rode in the back with Sebastian. He had been poring over the contents of the folder for a while, his jaw set in a hard line as he delved further into the information.

‘Find anything useful?’ I asked.

‘Hmm?’ He lifted his head slowly as if only just realising he wasn’t on his own. ‘Oh, yes, it would be quite brilliant if it wasn’t so awful. Mr Parker appears to have travelled extensively to search for a specific species of plant. His notes refer to the strychnine tree found in Southeast Asia.’

‘Strychnine? As in rat poison?’

‘Yes, exactly. I’m impressed you knew that, Mia.’

I huffed. ‘I might not have participated a whole lot in science class, but I did listen.’

‘Well, the tree contains the poison, and for many years it was used as a common rodenticide, but somehow he has genetically engineered it to blend with my serum. Strychnine causes deadly muscular convulsions, the type of convulsions you would experience during a turn on the full moon.’

‘So it’s hidden in plain sight because the packs would expect their children to be convulsing?’

‘Precisely! What’s interesting is that some of the children are able to fight it. Did you say you’d met one who had turned early?’

‘Ari, she’s ten years old and a fledgling wolf.’ I smiled as I thought about her. She was going to make an impressive wolf one day. ‘She was taken with her sister up in Yorkshire to receive your so-called cure. Her sister didn’t make it.’

‘Interesting.’ Sebastian’s head bobbed up and down as he took in this information and flicked back through the notes.

‘Why did Ari survive but her sister didn’t?’ I asked, hoping I could give Ari and her family some useful information to ease their grief.

‘I’m not sure, it’s actually more fascinating that your friend survived at all as this stuff should, by rights, kill anyone who takes it!’

‘So Parker is distributing a flawed serum under the secret protection of a pharmaceutical company who claim to be sympathetic to the werewolf cause. They’re enticing the pack leaders to hand over their children with the hope of a cure.’

‘It certainly seems that way.’

‘Why would they want to do that? Surely if the alphas cured their kids, the werewolf lines would come to an end.’

Sebastian put down the folder and glanced over at me, his eyes showing a warmth I had never seen before. Or perhaps never noticed.

‘Your mother wanted you and Zak to receive a cure so you wouldn’t have to go through the pain of turning or having the burning desire to hunt and kill.’

I was briefly reminded of my run-in with Felicity and the fact I’d nearly killed her in my heightened emotional state.

‘Not all wolves hunt and kill,’ I said, thinking of all the packs I’d met so far.

‘Sometimes you don’t have a choice, the turn changes you mentally as well as physically, and any harm you inflict is often done without intention.’

Again I thought about Felicity. Had I intended to finish her off? Was I capable of killing her, or of killing anyone? It was true that the wolf side of my personality was ruled by emotions, and I had been struggling to control this, but could it drive me to take a human life?

Sebastian continued. ‘As a parent, you would want to do everything in your power to keep your child safe. Just because the alphas are giving their pack the option to prevent a turn doesn’t mean they forfeit the lifestyle and community of the pack.’

‘I guess so. Although…’ I looked away and watched the shadows whip past the car window as I tried to sort out my jumbled thoughts. ‘I don’t think I belong in a pack, being a hybrid like you said. I feel like I’ve got one foot in the hunter camp and the other in the pack, but I don’t really belong to either.’

Sebastian leaned over and placed his hand over mine.

‘Sometimes you create your own pack without even realising it.’

He patted my hand and inclined his head towards Elizabeth and Adam. My pack. I’d been so hung up about being an outsider that I hadn’t noticed what I was creating within my circle of friends. We all watched over each other, cared for one another, like a proper pack would. I felt a tug in my chest as I realised, almost for the first time, that I did belong somewhere after all.

Sebastian rummaged around in his bag and pulled out a notebook. It had a creamy golden cover and well-worn pages. He handed it to me with a small smile.

I flicked it open and the word hybrid jumped out at me.

‘It might help answer a few of your questions,’ he said.

I flipped open the first page and began reading, absorbed in the notes scribbled in the book.

It went on to talk about the dual personality of a hybrid, and I was about to laugh at the similarities between me and the notes when Adam broke into my thoughts as he slowed the car down and switched off the headlights.

‘We’re here!’

We all gazed up at the imposing structure looming out of the darkness. The warehouse was long and thin, its plain grey walls stretching for at least a mile behind to a newly constructed glass entrance, the Evermore logo emblazoned across the top half of the glass with a smoky background to help it stand out.

‘Okay, so what do we do now?’ Elizabeth’s bright blue eyes were wide as she turned in her seat to look back at me.

‘We burn it down.’ It was the only way I could think of destroying all the serum and prevent the facility from being used. Yes, we could break in and steal the boxes, but that would only put a dent in their sickening plans; I wanted to obliterate them.

THERE WAS A large docking area near the back of the warehouse where two trucks were parked up presumably awaiting their shipments. Adam broke into one and confirmed it was empty, but the other had already been loaded.

‘Perhaps we could steal this one,’ suggested Sebastian as he climbed into the truck’s cab. ‘I’m sure I could drive it if necessary.’

‘Maybe later, we need to destroy the warehouse first. Did you see any security?’

Adam nodded. ‘There are two guards at the front of the building. One of them is asleep at the desk and the other is watching a late-night chat show. If we’re careful, we can be in and out before they know it.’

‘Okay, let’s get on with it.’

We all squeezed under the roller shutter door that Adam and Sebastian had managed to pry open with a crowbar from the truck. From the outside it shouldn’t be immediately obvious that anything was amiss if the security guards were to venture out of the comfort and warmth of their office and do a patrol.

The inside space was cavernous, with high ceilings, and long racking units stretching the full length of the storeroom. Thousands of boxes displayed the Evermore logo.

‘How do we know which boxes contain the serum?’

It hadn’t occurred to me that Evermore probably supplied other products as well as Parker’s evil werewolf-killing serum. Did we have time to sort through them all?

‘We’re going to have to burn it all.’ It was the only option. Time wasn’t on our side. Parker would sweep across the country like a disease making sure every pack was offered the cure; he wouldn’t hesitate in his actions, and I had to adopt the same attitude.

We searched around the store until we found five large containers of cleaning fluid with a Warning: Highly Flammable sign on the packaging and began to soak the boxes, leaving a trail in the hope that one box would ignite the next and so on. Once done we all stood by the exit and took in a collective breath. This was it.

Adam lit the match and threw it into the nearest box. It caught light at once and began to crackle and pop as the flames devoured the cardboard.

‘We need to leave, now! Once the fire reaches the silver tubes filled with the serum, they’ll go up like fireworks, and goodness knows what else this place is storing.’

We scurried under the door and rolled out onto the packing area, taking in a great lungful of air to rid ourselves of the cloying scent of cleaning fluid. The flames reached the first tube as we jumped down onto the tarmac, and the bang caused us all to drop to our knees instinctively. One after the other the boxes exploded, and smoke poured out from under the shutter door.

We pushed backward, breaking into a sprint as the booms got louder, rushing for Sebastian’s SUV and the protection it offered.

The entire warehouse was ablaze now, and none of us could turn our faces away as the fire tore through the structure. The speed at which it moved both startled and impressed me.

The glass entrance shattered under the intense heat, spraying shards of the blackened Evermore logo over the car park. The two bewildered security guards stumbled out of the main door sprinting for safety, and as we drove away, the back wall buckled and fell, crushing the two trucks in the loading area under the twisted metal struts.

None of us spoke. Adam sped away and only switched on the headlights when we were at a safe distance. We passed a police car and three fire engines tearing down the main road towards the warehouse oblivious to the fact that they’d been so close to the arsonists responsible for the destruction they were about to find.

‘Well, that’s one down,’ said Adam breaking the tension in the car. ‘Where do we go next?’

Sebastian shuffled the files in his lap and opened up the folder containing the academies and locations of the packs.

‘Looking at the schedule in Parker’s files it says a shipment was delivered to Somerset yesterday, which means they should be rolling out the injections in the next few hours.’

I squinted at the clock on the dashboard, 4 a.m. If we pushed hard, we might make it in time to stop any of the children receiving the serum.

Adam caught my eye in the mirror and winked. ‘Somerset then?’ he asked.

‘Somerset it is,’ I confirmed.

MY HEAD BOUNCED off the car window as I was jolted awake. Sebastian snored softly from his seat next to me, and Elizabeth’s head hung forward cradled by her seat belt. The sun had risen and as I rubbed my eyes and stretched, I glanced around at the scenery flashing by.

‘Welcome to sunny Somerset,’ Adam said from the driving seat.

‘I’m so sorry, Adam. I never meant to fall asleep and leave all the driving up to you.’

‘Do you drive?’

‘Well, no, obviously, but Sebastian could have taken over for a while.’ I looked across at my father as his mouth hung open and a little snore escaped. ‘Or maybe not!’

We both giggled, and I wriggled forward in my seat so I could chat with my friend.

‘Do you think we’ll find the alpha in time?’

I shook my head. ‘I’m not sure. I hope we can, but these Evermore doctors have been so convincing in their argument that no alpha, or parent for that matter, could resist putting their child forward for a lycanthropy cure.’

‘Would you take it if you could?’

It was a valid question and one I’d contemplated several times when Sebastian locked me in the hospital wing all those months ago.

‘I don’t know. It’s not like I’m a full werewolf. I don’t have to experience the excruciating pain of every bone in my body breaking and re-setting. For me, it was easy, apart from my gum aching where the fangs slide out.’

‘What’s it like? Did anything else change for you?’

‘Everything changed. I can hear what people are saying when they’re far away, and all the smells are stronger too. It’s pretty neat apart from this thirst to rip people’s throats out.’

Adam laughed. ‘By people you mean Felicity.’

‘Uh-huh, I only stopped because Zak turned up and did his alpha mojo on me. Don’t get me wrong, I’m glad he stopped me, but up until that moment I would have happily sliced her throat open.’

‘Good to know, I’ll be sure to stay on your good side then.’

I punched him on the arm and laughed.

Elizabeth stirred in her seat and gave a little sigh. ‘Is it morning already?’

Adam slipped his hand into hers. ‘Only just.’

Sebastian yawned from behind me, and I sat back to take in the sight of my friends and family, fighting by my side to right a terrible wrong done to the werewolf community. It felt good to be doing something worthwhile.

THE PACK LIVED in the woods near the Somerset Hunters Academy, and as we approached the turn for the alpha’s house, we saw the school from the road. It was nothing like Hood Academy. Instead of the grandiose setting of Hood’s majestic gardens and historical backdrop, this school occupied a modern building with tinted glass windows, and resembled an office block rather than an establishment for werewolf hunters.

‘Ugh, it’s ugly!’ Elizabeth agreed with my first impression.

‘The GA have spent large sums renovating this centre following a recent fire.’ Sebastian said. ‘They wanted it to be the flagship school for the UK.’

I huffed. ‘Well it needs burning down again.’

‘Oh no! We’re not going to burn this place to the ground too, are we?’

I laughed at the squeal in Elizabeth’s voice and the unintentional way she still scrubbed at her hands where it appeared the cleaning fluid had irritated her skin.

‘No, Lizzie. We’ll leave this one standing. We’re here to prevent the wolves from getting that serum and nothing else. If we can do what we need to without the hunters even knowing we were here then that’s even better.’

Adam pulled off the main road opposite the academy and drove for a mile down a dirt track, which ended at a scenic wooded picnic area. As we all climbed out of the car to stretch our legs, I heard the roar of the sea in the distance.

I turned my face up to catch the early morning sun. There was no real warmth in it yet, but it held the promise of a pleasant day ahead, which was a blessing as I realised I’d left my coat behind at Hood Academy. I tuned my senses in to listen to the surrounding wildlife noises and picked up something different, a commotion that wasn’t at home in this environment. It almost sounded like a playground chant, or a bully taunting their victim. Before I could mention anything to my friends, a shrill scream tore through the wind.

I broke into a run, sprinting towards the sound, my senses switching on to full alert. I could hear Lizzie and Adam running after me, crashing through the trees in pursuit. There was a dull ache in my jaw, and I realised my fangs had slid forward, and the pounding in my head increased with every slap of my feet against the dry path.

A second scream ricocheted off the trees, and I adjusted my route, breaking through the treeline and heading deeper into the woods. Nothing could have prepared me for what I found.

Three young children, no more than twelve years old, thrashed around on the ground, their bodies twisting and convulsing as the pain shot through their tiny frames. One black-haired boy and three girls stood over them all dressed in the grey jumpsuits I recognised as the hunters’ uniform. Instead of helping the children, they watched the spectacle like it was paid entertainment.

Bursting into the small clearing, I growled at the hunters, startling them into action. By the surprised looks on their faces they’d never seen a hybrid, or at the very least they’d never seen a wolf in the daylight. Their wooden staffs lifted in unison as they circled towards me. From the nervous glances they gave each other, they were unsure how to deal with me. One last look at the children pushed any rational thoughts I had aside and angered me enough to snarl at the foursome. My claws flicked out as I shook my hands and flexed them, clicking the nails together. Beads of sweat covered each of the students’ foreheads and the sound of their hearts pounding filled me with surprising joy. I wanted them to fear me, I wanted them to panic and forget their training, and part of me wanted them to run so I could hunt each of them down.

Adam burst through the trees causing one of the hunters to cry out.

‘Help us!’ she yelled, her eyes imploring my friend to assist them.

Adam ignored her pleas and moved towards the children, kneeling beside them to check their pulse and try to calm the convulsions. Lizzie arrived soon after and skirted around the edge of the clearing to Adam’s side. After checking on the children and her boyfriend, she moved to stand next to me.

‘Who are you?’ It was the boy who spoke, taking a step forward in a bid to assert his authority. I growled, and he jumped back.

Elizabeth ignored him. ‘You’re students at the academy.’ It wasn’t a question. ‘How many children have been injected with that serum?’

‘How do you know about the serum?’

‘Because I’m the one who created it.’ Sebastian walked into the clearing and stalked over to where the children writhed on the floor in agony. He flipped open a bag and took out a small flask. ‘Here, get them to drink this, it might help with the pain.’ He handed Adam the container and leaned in closer as my friend whispered something in Sebastian’s ear. He nodded and squared his shoulders before moving to my side.

‘I’m Dr Roberts from Hood Academy in Nottingham, and the serum you are using on these innocents is defective. I’m here to recall all vials.’

His voice boomed with authority, and I shifted my stance so I could study him. He looked like he did the night he first walked into my life: dignified, strong, and someone to be respected. Adam had no doubt instructed Sebastian on what to say but he had played his part well. A bubbling of pride lit up my chest.

‘We weren’t told about any recall. Headmaster Gregory sent us out to do a job, and we’ve done it.’ The boy gestured towards the children. ‘Killing werewolves is what the hunters’ oath is all about after all.’ He slid his predatory gaze upon me, and I felt the corners of my mouth curl into a snarl.

‘Bring it on,’ I whispered flexing my claws once more.

Elizabeth stepped in front of me sensing my need to lunge forward and tear the kid’s face off.

‘Our friend is a hybrid, she is part wolf, and part hunter so she understands our oath perfectly well. We don’t want to fight you; we just want to stop the killing of innocent children.’

‘Well, sweetheart, that’s too bad because we came out here for a fight and so that’s what you’re gonna get.’

For a moment I wondered if we’d found the male version of Felicity before snapping into action and leaping forward to knock the closest girl to the ground. She screamed and dropped her staff, which rolled harmlessly away. Her eyes sparked with fear as I traced a claw down the side of her face.

‘Leave this place before I rip you apart piece by piece.’ I growled.

She was on her feet and running before her friends could help. Another girl joined her and disappeared into the treeline.

The boy rounded his staff on me and stood his ground. If I wasn’t so overcome with rage, I might have been impressed. Lizzie approached the remaining girl, her fists held high as she prepared to fight alongside me.

‘Come on then, sweetheart; let’s see what a hybrid’s made of.’

I heard Sebastian’s audible tut as he stepped aside to give me room to manoeuvre. I didn’t need the extra space, I only needed enough room to reach across and cut the idiot’s cheek. He cried out, and it felt good.

‘Nobody calls me sweetheart apart from my boyfriend.’ He’d picked the wrong person if it was a fight he was after. Felicity nearly lost her life for calling me wolf girl, so this smarmy kid was in serious trouble. I knew I needed to rein it in this time, as Zak wasn’t around to use his alpha connection.

The boy’s staff flew through the air and connected with my shoulder. I flinched but shook off the pain, swinging my arm out to smash the wood from his grasp. It hit the floor, breaking into two pieces. The hunter wasn’t finished though and pushed forward punching me first in the face and then in the stomach. My cheek stung from the blow, and the ache in my jaw intensified, but I didn’t go down. He advanced again, but I swung my leg out high in a roundhouse kick connecting with the side of his head. He dropped like a stone, blood pouring from his ear.

‘Enough!’ I screamed, the sound echoing off the surrounding trees.

Lizzie held on to the girl’s arms as she squirmed and tried to flee, clearly eager to leave the boy to fend for himself.

‘I don’t think much of your hunter friends,’ I said standing over him. ‘Two have deserted you and she looks seconds away from ditching your ass. So much for looking after each other and uniting against the common enemy.’

He spat at my feet. ‘They are the common enemy.’ He pointed at the children.

‘No,’ I said. ‘They’re kids who happen to have been born to werewolf families; they didn’t ask for this.’

I realised my voice sounded normal again and a quick check of my hands proved my claws had retracted and the fangs had disappeared. I was Mia again.

‘What’s your name?’

The boy looked up at me, his green eyes filled with loathing. ‘Ethan,’ he replied.

I held out my hand to help him up and his brow creased as he contemplated slapping it away or accepting it. ‘I’m Mia, and this is Lizzie, Adam, and Sebastian.’

He wrinkled his nose as he took my hand, acting as if I might infect him with some deadly disease. I pulled him to standing where he began dusting off his jumpsuit. I was half expecting him to run, but he didn’t.

‘I won’t say it’s a pleasure to meet you,’ he mumbled.

‘We’re not the enemy, Ethan. We’re trying to help save these children. Evermore Pharmaceuticals have misled the packs by offering to administer a cure for lycanthropy that doesn’t exist. There’s a Mr Parker at our academy who’s determined to wipe out the werewolf gene for good by killing the innocent.’

‘Well, this Mr Parker of yours has probably succeeded,’ he said. ‘These three were the last of the Somerset packs to receive the serum. We were tasked with escorting them back to their parents after the injections.’

‘Instead, you brought them here, and you would have happily watched them die.’ Elizabeth was angry, and her eyes flared with unspoken words. She’d released her grip on Ethan’s companion, who now took a step back before speaking up.

‘We were told that some of the kids might react badly to the injection and if that was the case we should—’

‘Kill them!’ Elizabeth finished the sentence for her, disgust written all over her face.

‘Yes,’ the girl mumbled. ‘But he forced us to do it. Told us he’d get us kicked out if we disobeyed.’

‘Who did?’

Ethan crossed his arms over his chest and sneered.

‘She’s talking about me.’

‘What gives you the right to condemn these kids?’ I could feel my pulse quickening as I eyed the arrogant boy in front of me.

‘Our job is a pretty easy one, sweetheart. We destroy the wolves who threaten our town. Simple as that.’

I bristled at his words. It appeared he’d chosen to disregard my earlier threat about calling me sweetheart. I’d never wanted to slap someone so much in my life.

‘No, it’s not that simple. These children never asked to be wolves, their parents never asked for it either. They are what they are, and we are what we are.’

Ethan laughed. ‘I don’t think anyone knows what you are.’

I ignored his attempts to goad me and turned my attention to the girl.

‘I doubt your headmaster knows the truth about what’s going on here,’ I said. She was shrivelling up on herself under Ethan’s glare. She shook her head.

‘I suggest you go back and tell him what’s happened. Make sure he knows that the serum is flawed.’

The girl nodded and sprinted off in the direction of the academy.

Sebastian cleared his throat. ‘It’s obvious that we arrived too late, but hopefully, we can get these youngsters back to their families and help save their lives.’

‘Agreed. Ethan will lead us to the packs.’

‘What? No, are you crazy? I’m not going to any wolf den and I’m certainly not helping you.’

I stood millimetres from his face and growled at him.

‘You are going to help me and my friends, and you are going to help save these kids, or we’ll let your headmaster know how you twisted his orders for your own sick benefit. I’m fairly sure you’ll be expelled and I dread to think what happens to rogue hunters. It’s not up for debate.’

His shoulders slumped and I watched his Adam’s apple bob up and down in time to his heartbeat.

‘Hand over your weapons and phone.’

The muscle in his jaw flinched as he turned out his pockets. Adam confiscated his knives and I pocketed his mobile.

‘You’ll get them back when you’ve earned it,’ I said.

Turning away from the reckless hunter, I spoke to my friends. ‘Once the kids are returned we need to get a message to Zak, so he knows what’s going on. The packs need to know the danger they’re in and unite before Evermore wipes everyone out.’