It was a fight to even wake up, with swirling dreams of slashes on the wall and being chased by terrible shadows trying to drag me down. In the distance, I could hear a wolf’s howl, met by the roar of a jaguar, and that finally jolted me awake. I felt terrible.

Ugh. No more drinking. Ever again.

My brain was so foggy it was a struggle to even remember what the hell happened last night. But once I did, it hit me like a train—the attack in the woods. Ejiro saving my life, and Zel patching me up.

I raised a hand to my forehead and felt the cut gingerly. It was tender and bruised, but the cut itself was mostly healed. I peeked under the bandage Zel had put on my arm and saw that cut was healing nicely too. Those were the only good things about the morning. My head was absolutely pounding, and I had no way of knowing if it was the alcohol or a mild concussion.

Nope. Absolutely never again.

I eased into a robe and headed for the common room to see my housemates equally struggling. Shane looked a little green, sitting on the floor against the couch he’d fallen off of, his knees pulled up and his head between them. Darius was a little more dignified, trying to keep it together perched in a chair, sipping water, but I could tell he was hanging on the edge of being sick.

One of the doors burst open, the heavy oak hitting the wall, and out came Alexei, freshly washed and far too cheerful. And loud.

“Good morning, all!” he called gleefully, grinning as we all winced.

“I’m gonna kill him,” Darius muttered miserably, and Shane just groaned.

Movement in the corner of my eye caught my attention, and I turned to see Zel sitting on the sofa by the window, reading. I caught his eye, and we shared a measured look. He didn’t seem entirely friendly still, but at least he wasn’t glaring daggers at me. His hair, I was super annoyed to have noticed, was back to its usual style, pulled back and out of his face.

“Wow, Makiko,” Shane said, and it took me a second to remember that was me. “You look exactly how I feel.”

“Hey, watch it,” I said, but it still made me smile.

Alexei stopped his grinning when he looked at me, though. “What the hell happened to your lovely face?” he demanded, striding across the room and reaching toward me, but I batted him away. Darius tried and failed to get on his feet but demanded the same answer, and Shane didn’t speak, but his eyes were suddenly alert and filled with concerned.

“Relax, guys,” I said, side-stepping Alexei. “I fell on my way back. It’s no big deal. I’m fine.”

They let it go, but I could tell no one really believed my story. It was like having three overprotective big brothers. The thought made me giggle a bit because I certainly didn’t think of any of them as the brotherly type.

“Had you just come home with me, that wouldn’t have happened.” Alexei smirked, sauntering over to the pitcher and pouring a glass. Definitely not like brothers at all. But he brought me the water and stopped his teasing.

Shane finally dragged himself onto the couch. “Let’s go to the dining hall together,” he suggested. “I don’t know about you guys, but I’m going to die if I don’t get some bacon and coffee in me right now.”

…

I was quiet on the way to the dining hall, we all were, even the incorrigible Alexei, who was mostly content to whistle cheerily alongside us. They were probably too sick to speak, but I was still going over the attack. Maybe it was just some kind of school ward to prevent intruders and me being a human set them off. Ejiro said wards wouldn’t harm a student, but I wasn’t supposed to be a student, was I? I was dealing with Shifters, after all; who knew what other kinds of magic could be all around me that was never meant for a human to deal with. No wonder Shifters kept mostly out of the human world.

Still troubling me were the other massacres on human families, and Ejiro, and this headache.

Five minutes into the meal and the boys were scarfing down breakfast, fully recovered, it seemed. I, however, still felt like an anxious mess. Almost…angry? That felt wrong, but there was something crawling through my emotions I just couldn’t control. A streak of anger or irritation or something that I couldn’t explain away, and my headache was worse than when I first woke up. No one had warned me drinking would be like this.

I watched Shane stack four pieces of bacon on top of each other, fold it, and bite into like a sandwich. Twenty minutes ago, his head was between his knees. Maybe Shifters just handled their liquor better.

Beyond Shane’s head, a flash of purple caught my eye. Sameera was waving at me and I felt a genuine smile grow on my face. Grabbing my tray, I headed over. Maybe what I needed was a little girl-time.

The boys were too focused on their food and coffee to even notice my getting up…all except one. Zel watched me leave with a raised eyebrow. But I didn’t need to report all my movements to them, did I? He could handle being curious.

The dining hall, surprisingly, was the most similar thing to a normal school. It had the long communal tables and lines for food and lunch ladies behind the counter. Except the tables were polished mahogany with cutlery, glasses, and pitchers of fruit-infused water interspaced along the white runners with golden trim. Not to mention the chandeliers, the stained-glass ceilings, and bright murals all along the walls…okay so nowhere near like a regular school.

When I sat beside Sameera, she gave a low whistle. “You look like you had a crazy night.”

I winced. If only she knew. I’m sure I looked a sight what with the collection of motley bruises on my face, and the level of green I’m sure my skin had taken on.

“Were you at the party too?” I asked, hoping to turn the attention away from the fact that I looked like an abused ghoul.

Sameera laughed. “No, it’s not really my thing,” she said. I liked her more already.

We talked for a bit about adjusting to the school before I tried to casually bring up overhearing about the massacres. Sameera’s expression grew very serious as I told her what I’d heard.

“What was that all about?” I asked.

“It’s been all over the Shifter network,” she said in hushed tones. “Someone is going around killing human families. There’s been a couple killings reported in the last month, but no one really knows why or who is responsible.” I felt something inside me crumble at that. Maybe there wasn’t more information to find here. “There’s always some Shifter supremacy groups that try and start trouble,” she continued, “but they’ve never been this bold before.”

I took it all in, wondering if that could be it. Some Shifter supremacy group randomly picked my family to attack? But that didn’t explain the Brighthaven letter or the police, unless they were Shifters, too. Once again, I had too many questions and not enough answers.

Ignoring the ringing in my ears from all this, I asked, “Did you hear about the one in Maine?” My voice sounded far away.

“Yeah,” Sameera said, “That was the last one reported.” Her face started swimming in and out of focus. I wanted to tell her to be still, but the words wouldn’t come. “Whoa, you don’t look so good—”

I couldn’t hear her anymore. There was a brief sensation of falling, and then the world went black.

…

Saltwater invaded my senses, burning my nose, my eyes. Through the tears, I could see two familiar silhouettes reaching for me. I tried to run to them, but they just kept pulling farther and farther away. In the distance, a wolf howled.

I jolted awake, sunlight and a familiar pair of dark brown eyes chasing away the last of the dream.

“She’s awake, guys!” Shane yelled, and I winced.

“Not so loud,” I croaked. Ew, I sound terrible.

Shane handed me a cup of water. “Sorry,” he all but whispered.

“You had us a bit worried,” Darius said, coming to sit at the edge of the couch by my feet. Alexei appeared over the back, peering down at me with a smile.

“Maybe we better train you up with drinking before we go that hard again,” he mused, earning him a light punch in the shoulder from the tiger.

Shane helped me sit up and I smiled at them all. I was growing fond of them in my own way, and I would be lying if I wasn’t touched that they seemed so genuinely concerned.

“I’m sorry for making you guys worry,” I said, “but I am feeling much better now.” And I realized it was true. My head barely hurt, and for some reason, I felt much calmer.

Just as I was about to try standing, the door opened. We all looked over to see Ejiro step inside. I waited for some aggressive comment, or something rude and dismissive, but he just leaned in the doorway for a second, an ashen cast to his features. He definitely looked unwell, but more than that he seemed…uneasy. Not nearly the cocky, standoffish guy he was last night.

I started to feel a little concerned, but of course that shattered when I heard his voice so clearly say, “Well, she looks terrible.”

Indignant, I fired back, “Hey, you look pretty bad too!”

Everyone, including Ejiro, stared at me like I’d grown a second head.

Again, I heard his voice. “Is she crazy?”

“What are you talking about?” I snapped. “I’m not crazy.”

Shane and Darius turned back to me, identical expressions of confusion on their faces. It would’ve been funny if they weren’t freaking me out. Worse was Ejiro. He looked almost startled, and after the way he went after that creature without hesitation…

Can you hear my thoughts?

I heard his voice so, so clearly. But I was watching his face this time, and his mouth didn’t move.

This can’t be happening, I thought, and his eyes widened. Wait, could he hear that, too?

Why the hell can we hear each other’s thoughts!