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Sascha licks his lips. “Okay. Goodnight.”

Dipping his head, a smile revisiting lips that remember too well the ridges of Sascha’s, Avery says, “Goodnight, Sascha. I’ll see you soon.” He turns and breaks into a run, hoping his internal compass is correct. Even if it’s not, getting away from the man who doesn’t want to stop kissing him is more important.

Avery counts the days several times, cross-referencing thephoto he snapped of his schedule from the operations room to ensure he doesn’t make any mistakes.

The full moon is in exactly a week. Everyone has that day off, for obvious reasons, making it the only day every lunar cycle where the shifter employees actually have to work. Avery’s only day off before then is in three days, on a Wednesday. It’s hardly enough time to prepare physically, nowhere near enough time to prepare mentally, and he has no choice.

Sascha, whom Avery still has not fucked, is going to see him shift. Going to coax him into doing it partway, somehow, stopping before the seven-foot-tall (and then some) mutant ursine comes fully out to play. What if Avery can’t control it? What if he hurts Sascha, or—god for-fucking-bid—fucks up so bad he seriously harms or kills him? It would be a death sentence for Avery, one he’d accept willingly. There’d be no option other than to return Sascha’s body to the Madison alpha and request a quick execution.

But that’s catastrophizing. It won’t happen that way. Sascha is an experienced shifter who’d be able to evade a clumsy half-transformed monstrosity with ease. Even with that spinning sickness he’d mentioned.

Avery scrubs his hands through his curls. No, no, no. He can’t think like this. It’s going to befine.

Three days until Wednesday. Then four more until Sunday’s full moon. Maybe practicing with Sascha will make that one go more smoothly because Avery has no idea where he can safely spend the night. Not having control of his giant transformed body is dangerous for any nearby living thing, but here, with dozens of other werecreatures competing for land to ride out the shift on, the risk of sustaining his own bodily harm is high. Avery doesn’t know which scares him more.

Before leaving his bunk, Avery texts the details to Sascha.He receives a reply before making it out of the housing block, and can’t help the smile that blooms across his face.

Sascha

What time? I’ll meet you by the farm and take you somewhere safe for us to practice. I know a place.

Avery can barely smother his laugh. ‘I know a place.’ Like this is a cheesy teen romance film, not the summer vacation horror flick that’s turned into his autobiography. He goes to text a reply, but while his head is ducked, he misses the shadow approaching him until it’s too late.

Even with the muscle Avery has built from increased physical activity, he’s still short and trim, which means he goes flying way too easily when suddenly hip-checked against the wall. Avery’s phone clatters to the floor, coming to a stop under the boot of a total stranger.

Except, wait. No. Avery recognizes them, gasping when the recollection hits.

The werecreature enforcer from the Wilderness Wolf pack. Avery doesn’t remember their name, but he remembers the viciousness with which they demanded respect for their alpha. What the fuck are they doing here, if they have a pack?

Yellow eyes flash in warning, the werecreature staring Avery down while he tries to steady himself without acknowledging the pain in his shoulder. It’ll heal. He won’t even feel it in ten minutes—something that can’t be said for his phone, its newly cracked screen visible beneath the aggressor’s boot.

“Can I fucking help you?” Avery demands, an unfamiliar growl rumbling in his throat. He’s not used to making sounds like that, so it startles him more than it intimidates his harasser.

In fact, theylaugh, before kicking his broken phone back toward him. Avery stoops to catch it before it hits the wall,potentially doing even more damage. He nearly collides with another worker who keeps their eyes straight ahead while weaving around him.

Avery flushes, now angry enough to step into the Wilderness enforcer’s space. “Why are you here? You aren’t packless.”

“Good to know you remember me, considering I didn’t introduce myself directly,” they say, casually removing a piece of gum from their pocket and tossing it between their sharp teeth. “My name’s Beryl, and I’m here because I want to be. Thewhyisn’t any of your business.”

“Stay out of my way, then,” he snaps.

Beryl’s lips turn up, but their eyes reflect no amusement. “Make me, ursine. I’ll be ready if you try, but I won’t hold my breath.”

Not bothering to let the sentiment linger, they turn to shove through the door, bumping into more than one other person on their way out.

CHAPTER

SEVEN

Sascha

Wednesday comes before Sascha is ready. Every hour since Avery left him on the street at near-midnight has been full of longing. He can’t wait to see Avery again. Wanted to do it sooner, to steal Avery from that shitty exploitative farm every night. Sascha isn’t unobservant—he can see clearly how much of Avery’s humanity has been stolen, and he’s desperate to give back what he can.

Maybe that’s why he didn’t try to fuck him. That, and the wholevertigo episodething. Had he given in, he’d have fainted with his pants half-off, and that would have been twice as humiliating.

Sascha drums his fingers on the steering wheel. Avery texted exactly eight minutes ago that he was on his way. It’s only ten AM, but Sascha feels as if they have no time at all. He doesn’t know what to expect, or even how to follow through on helping Avery through a partial transformation, considering Sascha has never experienced one. In truth, he’s never witnessed a werecreature transformation before, something he might have forgotten to mention to Avery.

No doing anything about it now. Avery will show upsoon, and Sascha will invite him into his car and try not to kiss him stupid before they even make it off the property. Maybe they’ll kiss later—Sascha hopes, at least—but for now, he has to focus on not breaking Avery’s trust. A lot of people have done that up to this point in Avery’s life, and Sascha has no intention of joining them.