I was going to ask her more about it, but she had started to shift, so I did the same. My wolf didn’t fight me for once, and thankfully, her lethargy faded as our bones cracked and reformed into the wolf.

When I was on four paws, shaking off the change, my red fur bright under the moonlight, Sam padded toward me. Despite our heights being similar in human form, she was a smaller wolf, with shaggy black fur, and the most striking silver eyes. If I had to guess, her eyes matched the silver in her tattooed beast.

She yipped low at me, and I returned the sound, nudging her toward the door. It was thankfully unlocked and slightly ajar, and since I hadn’t even thought to check, it was a damn good thing my practical friend was here.

The interior of the school was dark, cool, and quiet, but with the monochromatic wolf sight, I could see everything as clear as in the day. It took us no time to make our way down the hall and into the cordoned-off section of the school. In wolf form I could smell the soot and char before we even entered the theater basement, and as we descended the stairs, it grew strong enough to fill my nostrils completely.

I sneezed a few times, and when Sam did the same, it was clear the sensitive wolf nose was reacting to more than just a long-ago fire.

Something big had gone down here, and whoever had tried to clean it up might have missed important clues.

We just had to find them.

13

This time in the basement, there was no swirling in my stomach. Maybe the wolf was able to filter it better, or maybe the swirl had turned into a flutter in my chest, since that was what I felt as I stepped into the room.

Sam stayed close behind me, and I kept my nose to the ground, following a familiar scent. It wasn’t until I was near the center of the room, right in the spot that had clearly been hit the hardest by the flames, that I figured out why it was familiar. It had a lavender and aniseed undertone. Two smells I associated directly with one person: Simone.

She had been in here. Either before or after the fire, and the thought that the hints of death that lingered here might be due to her presence almost sent me back into my human form.

I couldn’t think like that. I had to stay calm and keep searching, for her sake.

And my own, because if anything had happened to Simone…

Yeah, not a sentence I could finish.