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  Mason looked at me. “Of course, the real money will be in recreational uses. If we can create a drug that will transform you for just a couple of hours—wouldn’t you take it? Just to know what it’s like? Lycanthrope parties will be all the rage. And we’ll hold the patent. And if the FDA doesn’t approve it—who cares? We’ll make more money on the black market anyway.”

  So it wasn’t about the good of mankind. It was about money.

  “It was really selfish of you to hold back, Lucas. You should have willingly donated yourself to our research. Instead we had to come out here and lure you into our trap. It was so easy once we realized how protective you were of Kayla.” Mason poked him again, and the wolf growled.

  “It’s not Lucas. You sound insane,” I insisted.

  “Of course it is. You’ll see. He’ll grow too weak to hold this shape, and he’ll revert back to human form. Then you’ll know.”

  “They’re not going to let you walk out of here with a wolf.”

  He gave me a cocky grin. “We’re not walking. We have choppers landing in the morning. Why do you think we wanted a spot at the edge of a large valley? We’ll take you with us, and once you see everything, you’ll understand the significance of our work. I want you to be part of it. We’ll have that candlelit dinner to celebrate.”

  In my mind I was screaming, “No way!”

  But I knew I had to play it cool. Until I could figure out a strategy of escape for me and the wolf, I had to start pretending that I thought all this was amazing. I had to lie. And I needed more information.

  “So what? You’re taking him back to the university?”

  “God, Kayla, how naïve can you be? Get with the program. It was all a con. My dad isn’t a professor. He’s head of research at Bio-Chrome. Ever heard of us? ‘Studying chromosomes for a better tomorrow’?”

  I had a vague recollection of some stupid commercial I’d seen on TV.

  “But his students—”

  “We’re all his research team. We’re geniuses.” He laughed. “I graduated from college at seventeen. My roommate used to live around here. He told me about the rumors that shape-shifters were hiding in this forest. Even told me to keep a special eye on Lucas. I started doing research. Way too many sightings for it not to be true. And now we’ll not only prove it, but we’ll benefit from it.” He looked back at the wolf. “You’re going to make history, Lucas.”

  Mason turned his attention back to me. “Can you envision it? Can you see what we’re going to accomplish? I want you to be part of it, Kayla. We want you to be part of the team.”

  “I’m still in high school, Mason,” I said, playing along. There was no way I was going to join his team.

  He rolled his eyes. “This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, Kayla. My dad can get you a high school equivalency diploma. You can start taking college courses online while you work on the research. This will all be cutting-edge. We’ll all be millionaires. We’re offering you an opportunity to be part of it.”

  I swallowed hard. “It sounds great,” I lied. “I’m so in.”

  “I knew you would be once you understood everything. And don’t worry about Lucas. He’ll come to understand it all, too.”

  Mason got up and walked away, leaving me there. My fingers were wrapped so tightly around the bars that they were beginning to ache. I studied the wolf and held his gaze. He held mine.

  It was a strange connection. Maybe I was a little insane, too. I knew werewolves—shift-shapers, lycanthropes, whatever you wanted to call them—existed only in movies and TV shows. Still, I leaned near and whispered, “Lucas?”

  With great effort, he lifted his head and licked my fingers.

  I released my hold on the bars and scrambled back. It couldn’t be. It just couldn’t be. Werewolves did not exist.

  And this wasn’t Lucas.

  I jerked my head up at the sound of someone approaching. Ethan was holding a rifle. I didn’t know if it held more tranquilizer darts or bullets. He gave me an awkward smile.

  “Pretty cool, huh?” he asked. He sat on the ground, leaned against a tree, and set the rifle on his lap.

  “Are you afraid he’s going to stage a prison break?” I asked lightly, trying to appear as nonthreatening as possible.

  He shrugged. “Until we study him, we don’t know what he’s capable of. Besides, he’s not the only one. The others might try something.”

  This was just getting better and better.

  I was furious at Mason and his father, and I was terrified for the wolf. I was plotting an escape. But I knew none of that showed on my face as I sat by the campfire following supper. Mason was toasting marshmallows again, which seemed so bizarre. Dr. Keane was sitting on his little stool. I envisioned kicking it out from beneath him and laughing as he tumbled to the ground. But he wasn’t worth my effort.

  I had to act normal. I had to give them the impression that I’d accepted their insane plan and that I could be trusted.

  Mason offered me his perfect marshmallow. I gave him a flirtatious smile before popping it into my mouth.

  “See, Dad?” Mason said. “I told you once she understood, she’d see the value in our work.”

  Dr. Keane gave me a suspicious look, so I smiled brightly and said, “I think you’re an absolute genius.”

  Dr. Keane’s chest puffed out slightly and he yammered on for a while about all the money they’d make once they figured out the werewolves’ secret to transforming.

  “So you think there are more creatures like this one?” I asked, pretending to be interested in his insane ideas.

  “Oh, absolutely,” Dr. Keane said.

  I glanced over at the cage. Tyler was standing guard over it now. “Shouldn’t you feed him? Or at least give him some water? You wouldn’t want him to die on you.”

  “Oh, I think he’s a long way from dying. Right now it’s imperative that we weaken him, so he’ll revert to human form. Takes a lot of energy to stay in wolf form,” said Evil Scientist—my new name for Dr. Keane.

  “How can you even know that?” I asked.

  “Because it makes sense.”

  “What if the wolf form is his natural form and it takes more energy to remain in human form?” I asked. I’d been trying to make conversation, but the words sent a chill through me. I didn’t believe any of their insane theories, but what if they were true? Would it be cool to be able to shift into another shape? Or would it be a nightmare? A nightmare, I decided. Ever since my parents were killed, I’d spent my life trying to fit in. I couldn’t imagine anything more horrifying than being so different from everyone else.

  Evil Scientist pondered my question for a moment, then smiled his wicked evil-scientist grin. “I guess we’ll do some experiments and figure it out. Which came first? The wolf or the human?”

  I wished I’d kept my mouth shut. I didn’t want them experimenting on the wolf. I felt an obligation to protect him.

  Mason took my hand. “Don’t look so worried. It’s not to our benefit to hurt him.”

  Right. And shooting him was your way of making him feel good.

  I didn’t say anything aloud. I just plastered on a smile that said, “I think you’re absolutely wonderful. Great boyfriend material. I’m the luckiest girl.”

  “The chopper will be here at dawn,” Dr. Keane said. “We’ll need to break camp before that. We probably all need to turn in early.”

  As everyone got up and headed toward the tents, Mason took my hand again and pulled me into the shadows. “I just want you to know that I wanted you to stay here because I do like you. It wasn’t just about using you to capture the werewolf.”

  “You could have just told me. Then I could have helped.”

  “We needed your reaction to be honest.” He touched my cheek. “I really like you, Kayla.”

  I smiled. “I like you, too.” The lie came easily, maybe because he’d told me so many lies that I didn’t have any problem repeating a few back to him.

  He leaned in