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"By day, we lose ourselves," Another said quietly, the stag-man's voice gentle despite the horror of his words."By night, we remember what we were...and what we lost.Worse, when we do find people to interact with, they see dwarves instead of the men we are.They're terrified of us."

"And now," the bear-man said, stepping closer, looming over me, "the curse has brought you back to us."

Finally, I managed to sit up, drawing my knees to my chest.The cabin spun around me.My stepmother's cold smiles made sense now.The ancient books in her study.The way she'd muttered about bloodlines while drawing my blood.She hadn't just wanted immortality… There had to be more to the spell, and she'd wanted to finish what my ancestor had started.

I wanted to run.I wanted to scream.But I couldn't move.At this point the headache had evolved into a migraine which made it impossible to think clearly.

"How do you break it?"I asked, barely breathing.

They looked at each other, then at me.The silence stretched, broken only by the pop of embers in the fireplace.It was the fox-man who answered, voice unusually serious.

"You have to give us your heart.Willingly.Fully."

I swallowed hard."Like...love?"

His smirk faded, eyes darkening to forest shadows."Like...death."

The silence that followed was thick enough to drown in.My heart hammered against my ribs, desperate to escape the cage of my chest.The irony wasn't lost on me… that's exactly what they needed.

"If I break the curse," I whispered, "I die."

"Yes," the bear-man said, no gentleness in his voice.

My mouth tasted of copper and fear."And if I don't?"

"We stay monsters," One of the others finally spoke up, voice low and rasping from disuse.His dark eyes burned into mine."Forever."

I wrapped my arms around myself, shivering despite the fire they'd built.The choice they presented wasn't a choice at all.My life, or their humanity.Either way, blood would be spilled.Either way, I would die so someone else could live.

"So what now?"I asked, surprised at the steadiness in my voice.

The wolf-man's mouth curled in a bitter smile."Now?You stay."The words hung between us, both promise and threat.

"Until when?"I demanded.

Panther-man's eyes darkened, pupils elongating slightly… a reminder of the beast within."Until we figure out what the hell we're going to do with you."

I straightened my spine, refusing to cower.I'd spent my life being caged, studied, prepared for sacrifice.I wouldn't make it easy for them."And if I try to leave?"

The panther-man stepped forward then, his movement liquid grace."The forest won't let you."He crouched beside me, close enough that I felt his heat."It brought you here for a reason."

His proximity stole my breath.Up close, I saw the flecks of gold in his dark eyes, the scar that bisected his lower lip.His gaze dropped to my throat, where my pulse hammered wildly.

"Your heart," he whispered, so low I could barely hear."Is already pounding like prey."

I didn't flinch.Didn't look away.If I was to die here, in this cabin of monsters, I wouldn't do it cowering."I'm not prey," I breathed back.

Something flickered in his eyes… surprise, maybe even respect.He stood in one fluid motion and backed away.The others watched, a new tension crackling in the air.

"Dawn comes in three hours," one of them said, breaking the silence."We should prepare."

My blood went cold."Prepare for what?"

Fox-man's smile returned, brittle and sharp."For the change, little Winterbourne.When the sun rises, we lose our minds."He gestured to the walls, to the scratches and gouges in the wood."And it would be a shame if we accidentally ate you in our madness."

The bear-man nodded once, decision made."Kade, take her to the cellar.Lock it."

Before I could protest, Kade hauled me to my feet.His grip was firm but not cruel, his body heat burning through my tattered clothes.I stumbled against him, legs still weak from hours of running through the forest whenever that was…