The moon had long since climbed into the night sky, hanging low like a silver eye peeking through the blackness, and the air outside Lupin House was tense.
Inside the cramped apartment, the one the heirs had so graciously locked her into like a pretty bird in a cage, Wren paced barefoot across the worn hardwood floor. Her breath steamed against the cool glass of the only window, but outside, nothing stirred or moved.
There were no howls or signs of the monsters she'd been told were coming.
Well. Except for the one already sharing her body.
"You should sit," Lulu said, appearing again in that smoky shimmer that always started with a whiff of lavender and some other old fragrance.
"I can't sit." Wren spun around, arms folded tightly across her chest. "You said the heirs are coming anytime from now. You said I needed to brace myself. How do you brace for that?"
Lulu raised one brow, arms crossed in the same fashion, like a mirror with a personality disorder. "By not pacing like a feral squirrel. You'll twist your ankle before they even lay a claw on you."
Wren dropped into the single chair in the corner. It creaked lazily and she dragged her fingers through her hair.
"I'm scared."
Lulu's cheeky smirk dissolved and turned maternal. A warm, supernatural breeze circled the room, brushing a few of Wren's curls off her face. "That's good. Fear means you're alive."
"Not helping," Wren mumbled.
"It also means you're aware. Alert. You'll need that." Lulu stepped forward, the hem of her spirit form whispering across the floor. "Listen to me, Wren. You will not survive as a human in this building. The northern wolves are bullies, devious, and unapologetic. They don't see humans as anything more than... accessories. Pests. Pets, on a good day."
Oh, great. That certainly makes it better; Wren internally rolled her eyes.
She paled as she asked. "So what, they're going to eat me?"
"They could." Lulu's shrug was infuriatingly casual. "But they won't. They'd rather use you. Bully you for sports, humiliate you, and you might or might not survive in the end."
Jesus, it just keeps getting worse. The more she learned about this godforsaken Lupin House, the more her urge to flee far away from it was.
Her chest tightened. "So you're saying I have to become a wolf to survive here."
"No." Lulu crouched in front of her, eyes glowing violet in the dim room. "I'm saying you have to become their wolf. Being an ordinary wolf doesn't necessarily mean you'll survive. And as a newly turned, you sure as hell are going to be the object of scorn. But if you have the protection of the heirs, there's a chance. And even then, the odds are crap unless you're very, very strong."
"I—I don't know how to be strong. Not like that. I don't even know how to fight!"
"You don't have to yet." Lulu extended a ghostly hand and gently poked Wren in the forehead. It felt like a cool breeze brushing her skin. "That's why I'll be with you. Every step."
Wren clutched her knees, exhaling. "You promise?"
"I swear it on my own bones, chica. But there's something we have to do first."
Lulu stood and the air suddenly felt staler, like the atmosphere was trying to squeeze itself into Wren's lungs.
"I need to enter you. Possess you. I'll stay dormant, like a hibernating bear, until the heirs are done turning you. But I need to be inside so I can help... when things get messy. Plus I can't risk being sensed. Werewolves are instinctual creatures."
What in the blazing hell did she just say? Possess her?!
Wren's heart leaped into her throat. "You're going to what…"
"Shhh." Lulu lifted her arms.
The lights flickered. The wind outside shrieked as though the house itself knew what was about to happen. The shadows in the corners lengthened, then slithered back as the full moon cast its light across the room like a spotlight on a stage.
Lulu's body began to glow, pulsing like a heartbeat. She smiled, but her expression had a note of solemnity that almost resembled grief.
"This might feel... weird."
"Define weird…"
But then she was gone.
The world seemed to implode for a second—Wren couldn't breathe.
She didn't feel pain, not exactly. It was like her insides turned inside-out. Her skin went cold then blisteringly hot, her veins singing like tuning forks, her bones fizzing like soda.
There were voices in her head. Not words, exactly… more like snarls and purrs and thunderous footsteps through memory.
She dropped to the floor, gasping, fingers scrabbling against the wood as her vision blurred with white-hot static.
And then, came the silence.
Lulu was there inside of her. Silent but present, like a warm ember nestled deep in Wren's chest.
Holy hell, Wren thought. I just got haunted from the inside out.
She barely had a second to recover before she felt it. That strange pull that hit her skin like warm rain seeping into her skin.
Her body prickled with goosebumps.
They're here.
She turned toward the door just as it clicked. It didn't burst open or slammed. It didn't even creak. Just... clicked.
Four tall shadows slid through like smoke. Like they'd always been there. Like the night opened a door and whispered them in.
Radek.
Jace.
Arlo.
Dimitri.
Lulu, she… she had briefed Wren about each character. Perhaps, she thought it'd make her more confident in her approach to them, but it only succeeded in making her freaking scared of them.
Scared to the point that she started to feel pressed but in the most absurd way possible. Like she wanted them to open their mouths while she sat her ass on them.
What the hell, brain? she thought, alarmed. That's not me. That's not me. That's not me…
Was this the—erh, mate bond doing its work? Its effect seemed so jarring, so putting wild thoughts in her head and making her drink in their presence despite all the warnings.