Mia left her shoes tucked away next to the motel desk and her bare feet clattered on the metal steps as she descended into the parking lot. It was a grungy little place that smelled like bad milk and used socks. It was situated near the massive highway that led to DC and was full of stragglers, loners, and people who wanted to disappear. It barely intersected with the town itself and reminded Mia of a horror movie set or else a place you find baby teeth in the walls.

Of course, she didn't have to worry about staying in the motel that night. Mia took deep even breaths and the scents of the world were coming into focus one at a time.

The fragrance of cut grass and motor oil and old garbage trickled through the air and she sighed to herself as she crossed the empty street. The scraggly grass scraped against the soles of her feet as she walked headlong into the woods.

The sun was already slanted across the land and there was a muggy heat that permeated through the air. Summer was on its way and it had teeth.

One last night, she reassured herself. One last night this month and then it’s over.

She could move on after that. Or else stay a few extra weeks before heading out. There was a freedom in it. There was a relief. She imagined the open road again as she strolled away from the roads and buildings of civilization.

The woods were tall here. They smelled of old growth and thick moss and tinges of rot within the bark of some of the older ones. The ground was covered in small leafy bushes and rich dark earth. Small creatures dug through the dirt and sang in the treetops and snuffled through the underbrush.

Noises were sharpening now too. She could hear a far-off deer picking its way across a river, and crickets in the bushes singing to themselves.

It was a thick woods that had been here long before people came with their axes or tree harvesters or machines and the type of forest that would probably be there long after they were gone. Mia held her breath as she traveled deeper and deeper into the heart of the place under the green canopy.

Most of the trees were enormous maples and oaks and a few thick pine trees that dropped prickling needles onto the ground. Her limbs were growing stiff and prickling all the way up her shoulder blades and down her spine. Her nerves were flaring and a fever-hot heat was pouring into her muscles.

The transformation would tear her away from herself and give the wolf free rein. She usually tried to get as deep into a forest as she could before that happened. Of course, she had no idea why the wolf had been dropping her off near the same diner two days in a row.

Usually, it busied itself with digging or hunting or howling or whatever else it did during the nights and she rarely woke up in the same place twice. Mia shook her head as the yellows of the world began to fade into a dull grey and she grit her teeth together.

There was nothing but birdsongs overhead and no sound of a car for miles around. She stopped besides an oak tree the size of a truck and figured it was as good a place as any.

Mia patted her pockets to check she had her keys and wallet and wiped her sweaty palms down on her pants. She re-tied the waistband on her sweatpants and knelt down on the soft earth and braced herself.

It was only after a moment that Mia’s eyes flew open again. Her head jerked around and her nostrils flared.

She smelled something on the breeze. It wasn’t the scent of squirrels or dead meat or rain to come, and it made the hairs on her arms stand on end. She frowned and stood up again. “Hello?” She whispered and there was a crack somewhere in the distance.

Something was rustling nearby and Mia didn’t like this. She didn’t like how the wolf part of her was standing on edge and some of her rawer instincts were telling her to run.

Mia took a few tentative steps forward and looked around the corner of the massive tree. The space was empty, but the smell was back. It was fresh and sharp and slightly musty. Mia stood up completely straight.

“Is someone . . . there?” She recognized some part of that sharp scent. It was like silver chimes or an electrical storm. It was the type of scent from something that used magic. She turned around in circles. “You should leave here!” She warned, “There wolves even in West Virginia.”

Another snap sounded to her left and she whipped around. There was nothing but air and forest and that same terrible smell of frying magic and something powerful.

If Mia had been in her other form she might have raised her hackles, but instead she reached for the tree to steady herself. Her breathing came out in panicked puffs, but it was already too late to leave the area.

Her skin was burning with fever and her vision was swimming. It was far too late.

Keep us safe, she begged the wolf inside. Don’t go chasing after that thing.

Something growled inside her chest and then she blinked and the world was gone.

One thing was for certain: There was something else in the woods of Nolan.