Howdy! You're probably thinking, 'but Brie, today isn't Monday or Wednesday.' You're right. Unfortunately, things have gotten a little crazy around here. So, in order to give you guys the best chapters I can, I'll be switching to uploading every Tuesday and Friday. There may be some weeks I'm unable to update twice or at all, but things should settle back out a little in April and June.

I'll also be going back over old chapters, editing, replacing, and combining chapters as I go. I'll be sure to let you know of any major changes as I go along.

Once again, thank you guys so much for all your support. It really means a ton.

Enjoy!

Electricity hummed in the walls like a constant swarm of insects. Water gurgled through the pipes behind blue-gray paneling. The lake rolled in and out of itself, slapping against the rocks outside. Wind groaned as it bent around the outside of the building. But there was no conversation, no little grumble when Bruce got stuck on an equation. No thwack of Clint target practicing with his bow. Just a deafening silence.

Sometimes, Clint would head off for days at a time. He'd either come back smelling like gunpowder and stress or dirt and a few specific humans. Always the same ones. A family? Somehow that didn't surprise her. Either way, the two men had never both been gone at the same time.

Not without her.

Ugh. This wasn't fair.

There was still a handler out there. He could've warned Heinz. They could be walking straight into a trap and what was she doing? Hiding?

Useless.

She should be out there with them. But this new heat inside her was strong and angry. When her wolf first woke up, she had a hard time not chewing Bobby Thomas's face off each 3rd period. But this was so, soooo much worse. Every tiny thing grated on her.

Too quiet. Too loud. Too hot. Too cold. Too soft. Not soft enough. Too blue. Too gray. Who the hell even made this fancy shit, anyway? Was this a house or a lab or a conference center?

She paused, head cocking to one side with a tiny little smirk. Yes.

And then the smile faded.

Maybe this was for the best? If she couldn't control whose head she bit off, she was more liability than help. But reality wasn't going to stop her from her pity party. Only hot chocolate and some old Star Trek reruns could do that.

"Thank God I can still eat chocolate," she muttered to herself as she switched on the burner.

Imagine if all canine shifters just lost the ability to eat chocolate because they were dogs now. Fucking tragedy. That's what that would be.

She leaned against the center island in the kitchen, foot tapping on the floor. Come on. Boil you stupid piece of shit. Her jaw clenched. All she wanted was a little hot chocolate. The water should be hot by now. Why the fuck–

She looked down at her hands. Claws. Again.

Shit.

Okay. Um, a distraction. She needed a distraction… from her distraction.

Why was it so hot?

Maybe a walk? Yeah, a walk was good. It would cool her off and give her something to do besides watch water boil.

The second she opened the door, a sharp copper musk dug into her nostrils.

Fuck.

Magnum hit her like a truck, teeth snapping at her face. They tumbled over the railing in a tangle of fur and claws. Heat exploded inside her, green fur bristling over every inch of skin. [Her pupils bloomed, the last bits of life twitching from her body.] Claws burst from the tips of her fingers as she hit the deck. Alex lashed out for his face.

["Good boy," Rayner slapped the side of his rib cage. "Good boy."]

Y-owww!

The stink of blood filled the air as Magnum staggered back. Alex reached up to the jagged dripping tears she'd made now absorbed onto her own snout. Her eyes landed on shiny red in the grooves of her claws and rage boiled in her chest. Bastard!

For a moment, the two-legged dog crouched on the deck of the docking bay, staring at a much larger than normal two-legged green wolf.

She didn't give him time to think.

Seven-hundred pounds of emerald fury barreled down on him. He leapt out of the way, grabbing a mouthful of her neck fur as he went and–Crunch! [His eyes cracked open to a blinding ray of jungle sun reflecting off smooth yellow sandstone. Where? The cliff! That bitch!] She roared, spinning on one foot and smashed him through a window into the living room. Glass scattered behind them, in front of them.

She shoved him hard–crack–into the wooden floor. [Shaking fingers plucked a shirt off the line. Ping. Bad dog, his mind said.] Baaad adjusted his grip and bit down. His claws raked the back of her shoulders, feet kicking at her stomach.

["Do you mind?" Unknown voice. Threat! He spun around. Just a man. Soap scents. Metal. Not a gun and a gun. One eye glowed red.]

He shook his head, a deep snarl vibrating over the skin between his teeth.

[The hand lifted a gun and Magnum exploded forward with teeth and fur. The man screamed. Bang! Bang! Bang! An explosion of agony in his right shoulder. Fangs sunk into flesh.]

But the bite didn't go through.

His eyes widened.

Her lips pulled back, blood dripping into the white of her teeth. Fuck yes.

Alex yanked him off the floor with both hands. Panic exploded off him in a sour spike of scent, he let go of the fur of her neck and bit at her face. [The man fell back, hand on hip. There was a silent puff of air as the knife plunged deep into Magnum's neck.] She pulled her head back, squeezing her claws–Snap! Pain jolted through her arm, mixing with a hot cocktail of rage and confusion. Fucker! She flung him into the couch, cradling a now broken arm against her chest.

Her eyes burned into him. Little bastard.

Before she had time to think, Alex was across the room, claws ripping through the cushions. White feathers exploded over them. He scrambled down the hall.

She charged after him, slamming the back of his head straight through the paneling by the kitchen door. [He yelped, staggering back.] Her vision swam, a dull throb cracking open the back of her head. Warm wet flowed through the fur between her shoulder blades.

Magnum came at her from the side and the two of them fell into the lab. She hit the floor with a thud, wood buckling beneath carpet. A bolt of agony crackled around the inside of her skull. Her body twisted around, teeth sinking into his leg. A second later, her own burst open with a fiery burn.

[What the fuck? What the fuck! Terrified eyes, one blue, one red.]

He yelped, slapping his claws over her torn snout. Her teeth popped from his flesh and she shoved him back. Black marble screeched beneath his claws. The two collars clattered together on the floor, vibrating around each other faster and faster until… pop! They were one.

The green wolf rolled onto her stomach, anger bristling inside her. Black swam into blue and gray in front of her. White crackled around the lazy float of dark blobs. Somewhere above the water was a low steady growl. His? Hers? She couldn't feel it in her throat.

Her lips pulled back. Green eyes rolled up, locking onto a dark shifting shape in front of her.

He might think he'd won, but she knew. He didn't get her then. He wouldn't now.

She launched forward, snatching him by the throat. [His feet shifted back and forth on heavy feet. Squeezed inside shoes. How did they wear these things? Water splashed against the hull of the boat.] Her arms coiled, slamming his body into the countertop. The second before he crashed into black, she let go. His body cracked backwards with a reverberating thwack and counter split.

Magnum slipped to the ground, the dog pulling back inside his human self. A small heartbeat. Thready, but alive.

She stood over him, air panting out in gasps between her teeth. Slowly, her body shrank. Down, down, down until the green wolf was human again. She wavered on her feet, head snapping up at the sound of shouting.

Two dark shapes skidded into the room.