“So, he’s dead,” Alexius gleaned.

Mikar inclined his head. “Or deep undercover. I’d like answers if I can get them. I’m friends with his sire.”

Ah. If someone his friend had turned died doing a job for Mikar’s sire, figuring out what had happened was the least he could do to avoid complicating their relationship.

“Anything I can help with?”

Mikar lifted his gaze from the computer, surprised.

It couldn’t be the first time Alexius had offered his help, right?

Come to think of it, it probably was. Most of the time, he assumed Levi had things covered for his slayers. Which he did.

“Thanks, but I think I’m going to have to track him the old-fashioned way.”

“Good luck with that.”

He picked up a few instruments he’d left on his desk and returned to his lab.

He’d received a fax overnight, written in a strange, brusque, and elegant hand meant to write runes more than modern languages.

Finally.

Alexius eagerly read The Wolf’s report about zombies. It started with the obvious—description, ways to recognize them. Then, it moved on to their abilities, among which high speed and preternatural force were listed.

Extremely hard to kill. As they’re already deceased, and have been spelled to complete a specific task, the undead have to be reduced to particles. Recommended: incineration.

They certainly could have used that information a couple of weeks back.

He put the report aside, sighing.

Too much was going on right now. He couldn’t believe he was thinking that; boredom was usually his greatest enemy in Oldcrest. All of a sudden, they had a feral attack, followed by a demon attack, their wolf allies went off their rockers, and there were zombies.

Alexius blinked, realizing something.

The ferals had been sent to kill Chloe. The demons had tested their borders for the same ultimate reason. The zombie had gone for Greer, the guardian of their wards. Given everything going on, what were the odds that the wolves would have acted so out of character right now without reason?

Their little hunt hadn’t been random. Somehow, they had a link to everything else going on. It was about the damn queen Seth was chasing around.

Alexius just had to figure out how everything was related.

Challenge

The first full day was brutal. First of all, finding her way through the dozens of identical sinuous corridors was a feat in itself. She arrived late to three of her five classes.

Then, Avani was starting to realize just how out of practice she was at, well, thinking. Stats seemed like magic. Actually, no, her theatrical magic class was a lot easier than stats.

“A little lost?”

She turned to the whisper on her right. A very pretty young boy was sitting at the next desk; she doubted he was more than twelve, maybe thirteen.

She winced. “You could say that.”

The boy leaned toward her messy notes and, pencil in hand, started to jot on the side, circling some data, linking them with arrows and writing small tips.

He was done in a minute. Her eyes widened. He’d simplified the whole thing, making it understandable.

She should probably have felt ashamed that a kid was clearly smarter than she, but Avani wasn’t going to judge her worth based on one stat class.

“Thank you,” she whispered.

The boy winked. Except he wasn’t a boy anymore. Fin Varra was seated in his place.

Her jaw fell open.

“You…you.”

Just like that, he changed again, aging before her very eyes, so fast she might have missed it if she’d blinked. His skin looked like wax for a fraction of a second before molding itself to return to the teenager version.

“There’s a reason humans used to call us the little people, in the good old days,” he told her. “I find that using my younger shell can be useful when I don’t want to be noticed.”

She doubted it was possible for Fin Varra to go unnoticed, regardless of how young he appeared. If he walked around like this, he’d be stopped by dozens of head hunters for fancy glossy teen magazines.

“That’s pretty awesome. Now, don’t distract me.” Avani smiled, redirecting her attention to the front of the class. She hadn’t expected that he'd help her like that.

Fin accompanied her to her next class, and disappeared without warning. She could only laugh.

He waltzed in and out of her life during her classes, and with his aid, she somehow survived the next few days, and the rest of the week. She made good use of the weekend, burying herself under piles of books in an attempt to catch up with everyone.

By Monday, she felt drained, but she actually understood most of the lectures.

She was done at five, and right outside of the business strategy class, a small and rather grumpy raven flew right to her, waiting just in front of her.

“Oh! Right.”

Fin had shown her the aviary. She’d winced, remembering just how many birds she’d chased around as a wolf. At least, she didn’t think she’d killed any. Their bones were too fiddly to deal with when she had her fangs and claws. She relaxed, reasoning that she was unlikely to get mail sent to her. Apparently, she’d been mistaken.

Avani lifted her hand to the bird; it dropped the letter, and bit one of her fingers before setting off.

Which she probably deserved.

Blood marred the corner of the beige envelope. By the time she brought it to her lips to lick it off, the small cut was already entirely closed.

Right. Vampire blood. It was probably still in her system from yesterday.

The unexpected letter was signed from Greer.

Yoga at eight tonight at Chloe’s?

She looked in the direction where the bird had flown away, but it’d already disappeared out of an ornate alcove window. No matter. She could send the reply by text once she’d left the Institute.

Phone reception didn’t work well anywhere in Oldcrest, as she knew, but it was entirely blocked by magical wards inside of the old castle.

Stepping out in the rain, Avani felt herself grow tense. She was alone, and the Wolvswoods seemed so very close.

She set off through Adairford, careful to stay away from the outerwear and sports goods shop that belonged to Draiden’s brothers. Every unexpected noise made her jumpy. Dammit.

Avani was right in front of the dorm when someone touched her shoulder, without any notice. She yelled, punching the arm out of the way and snapping back, only to find Mikar standing next to her.

Shit. “I’m so sorry.”

From the angle where it was hanging, she’d broken his damn arm at the elbow. Ouch.

He shrugged it off. “Don’t sweat it. Good reflexes. You’d better go in. I can hear one of them coming.”

His eyes were on the forest.

Avani turned to stare in the direction where his attention was focused. Now that the wolf was closer, she could also hear steps—and smell the intruder.

“Wait. That’s just my friend, Julie. She’s harmless.”

Mikar hesitated. “It could be a trap.”

It probably was. Julie wouldn’t hurt her. That didn’t mean she hadn’t been sent by the new—or old—alpha. She and Avani may be friends, but unlike her, she was part of the pack. If she’d been given an order, there was nothing she could do to go against it.

“Probably. Then again, you would have sensed if someone else was around. I’ll speak to her, see what she has to say, all right?”

Mikar nodded. From the looks of things, he didn’t intend to return to whatever shadow he’d stepped out of. Before Avani had had the time to tell him to give her some room, Julie appeared at the border of the forest, taking all of her attention.

“Oh my God.”

It had been a long time since Avani had seen her like this, bruised and scantily clad. Two years, in fact. Her olive skin was marred with shadows of fingerprints holding on to her too tightly, scratches deep enough to have drawn blood though they wouldn’t scar. Her scent…it was going to make Avani feel sick.

She smelled of sex, and of too many males. At least ten had touched her since she’d last taken a shower. Which could only mean one thing. Julie was back in the Pleasure House.

Avani felt tears fall on her cheeks before she realized she was crying, as guilt gnawed at her entrails.

It was her fault. She just knew it was her fault.

She rushed forward, but Mikar held on to her arm. She turned to glare at him. He held on tight, shaking his head.

“She’s my friend.”

“She’s here to upset you, make you act out rather than use your brain,” he replied evenly.

Yeah? Well, it was going to work.

She snatched her arm back and joined Julie, pulling her tightly into her arms. “What happened? How… What about the boys?”

Julie hugged her back, remaining silent for a minute. Then, she laughed with good humor, as if everything was fine in her little world. There wasn’t even an ounce of bitterness. “Oh, Avani. Always the protector. Don’t worry about me, okay? I’m doing exactly what I want to.”

Avani narrowed her eyes, trying to understand. Julie sighed. She looked past her, to Mikar. “Is that your friend?”

Avani nodded. “One of my friends, yeah.” In a fortnight, she’d accumulated more friends than in a decade in the Elder Pack. “Mikar, Julie. Julie, Mikar.”

The vampire took two steps forward, but remained at a distance from the submissive wolf, still tense.

Avani sighed. He wasn’t going to chill while they were out here in the open. He still visibly suspected an attack. “Shall we go inside my dorm?” she offered.

Julie shook her head. “I’m not allowed. I’m supposed to convey a message and come back. They specifically said I was not to interact with anyone. I’d rather avoid disobeying Yves.”

Her voice had changed when she’d said the new alpha’s name, growing considerably darker.

Avani frowned. Come to think of it, she didn’t think Julie had ever liked Yves. He was her uncle, and she’d stayed with him for a few years after her parents had passed away. Avani was such a shitty friend, she didn’t really know much else about their relationship.