With Gael's much-needed assistance, I drag Shi to the back room, the second time the three of us have been here amongst the meat fridge and wine storage. Shi, looking exhausted, rests against the wall between two shelves, his head craned back as his chest heaves. I come to a seat in front of him, glancing up at Gael as he stands beside me. "Is the guy alright?"

Gael's clearly still flustered. He looks down at me, then towards the door, then back at me again. "The guy? Oh. Yeah, yeah, he'll be fine. I told someone to get him to a hospital," he says, then gestures toward Shi. "This guy on the other hand..."

"I should've known something was wrong," I say. "He told me he was starving for no reason this morning—"

"Hey," Shi cuts in sharply, his eyes flitting open. He regards me from underneath his eyelashes, lifting a hand to wipe blood from his face—which proves useless, since this only smears it further. "There's no need to talk about me as if I'm not sitting right here."

"Well, fine," I agree, crisscrossing my legs and folding my arms. I stare at him levelly, irritated but not angry with him. "Are you going to tell us what's wrong with you, then?"

"Unless adding to the infamy of Revlin's bar brawls is totally normal for you," adds Gael, looking down at Shi with contempt, barely contained. He leans against one of the shelves, his eyes narrow. "I mean, Jesus, that wasn't even normal for Revlin."

"I suppose I can't get out of this one with a sly half-truth, can I?" Shi replies, an odd smile playing at his lips.

"No, no you cannot," I say. "Spill the beans."

"If you must know," Shi begins, exhaling as he lowers his head. "There's only one reason I ever get that out of control...and I'll tell you this, it's not good."

The picture begins to put itself together before me, and Shi's words are no longer needed. I raise a hand to my temple, groaning. "Oh, God, Shi...you can't mean..."

"Wait, what? What can't he mean?" It's Gael, as clueless as ever. Some things will never change.

"The full moon's coming, genius," growls Shi, glancing in Gael's direction. "That's what I mean. That's the reason."

"You idiot!" I exclaim, unable to contain myself. I strike my hand across Shi's cheek, and it seems to wipe the collected look off his face; now he just looks stunned. "You knew, didn't you? And you didn't bother to say anything?"

"I had a plan, Gemma," pleads Shi, rubbing his cheek tenderly. A red color has began to flood through the spot where I slapped him, and I realize I hit him much harder than I thought I did. For some reason, this makes me feel empowered. "I still do have a plan."

I scoff, rolling my eyes. "And what is your marvelous plan, Shiloh Carmichael? Go on a rampage and eat everyone in your sight?"

"No, no, that is not the plan," Shi counters. He pulls one knee up to his chest, resting his elbow on it. "The plan is that I go back to the Ancient Forest. That is the plan."

"So you're going to change in the Ancient Forest again, is what you're telling me."

"Uh-huh."

"That sounds like a good idea to you."

"It's like you said: a marvelous plan."

"No! No, it's not a marvelous plan! It's a dumb plan! A very, very, very dumb plan, Shi!" I shout. I throw my arms up in exasperation; I thought he was smarter than this. "You think risking getting caught as a rogue again is a good idea? You told me the fact you were let off this time was a blessing, and you're just going to throw that away? Not to mention, what if wolf-you decides it doesn't want to stay in the forest, and wanders back into Revlin? It will be a massacre, Shi, and no one is equipped to handle that much blood on their hands! So, no, it's not a marvelous plan. It's a hideous, stupid, unintelligent, ignorant, all-the-synonyms-for-dumb-in-the-thesaurus plan, Shi!"

My breathing is taking a bit more effort now; I sit back with a huff, aware that both Gael and Shi are looking at me as if I'm a bomb about to explode. Gael, shaking his head, sighs and asks, "Are you done, Gem?"

My eyes roll yet again. "Yes, I'm done."

"Well, good," Gael replies, then flicks his gaze toward Shi. "You should know that I agree with her. The whole rant."

"Yeah, yeah," Shi waves him off. "Of course you do. You're just her little loyal lap dog, aren't you?"

"Ironic that you are the one referring to me as a dog," Gael counters, appearing pleased with himself. Shi blushes furiously, and is silenced. I can see the steam billowing from his ears, and it's all I can do not laugh until my stomach hurts. The look on his face is priceless.

"Okay, okay, cool it, you two," I say. "Right now we need to think of a new plan, one that is not bogus, am I right? This demands both of your cooperation."

"Fine," grumbles Shi, and Gael just shrugs. "What do you have in mind?"

"I ask the questions first," I reply. "So, how long do we have?"

"Er...I dunno," Shi answers, itching at the back of his neck. He bites his lip. "Two or three days, tops."

"Jesus Christ, Shi..." I shake my head, still irritated but knowing I have more important things to focus on right now, like how to keep Shi from turning an entire nation into a chew toy. "Whatever. Okay, if two or three days is all we have, we'd better start building this thing now."

Gael blinks at me. "I'm sorry...building what, exactly?"

"Shi's own chamber, of course," I say, hopping to my feet. "It should be easy. We find a space, and we, um, werewolf-proof it. How hard can that be?"

Shi scoffs. "A lot harder than baby-proofing, that I can guarantee."

"Shi, I don't need your negativity right now," I hold up a hand towards him, shaking my head with closed eyes. "I'm on to something." My eyes open, meeting Gael's. "Gael, is there somewhere...uh, discreet in your house that we could confiscate? Just for this one night."

He thinks about it for a second, then says with measured exuberance, "I have a basement no one goes into."

"Good! That's the space then. Step two: We get your family out of the house."

Gael's exuberance fades into worry. "For an entire night? How the heck am I supposed to do that?"

"I don't know, uh—"

"You're not going to do that," comes Shi's voice, and both of us glance down at him. His expression is studious and thoughtful: That's the Shi I know, the one that thinks up rational ideas instead of ones that end in tragedy. "You're going to tranquilize me, that's what you're going to do."

"Sorry, but that idiot faerie stole my tranquilizer gun from me, along with everything else," I remind him. "We don't have anything to tranquilize you with, even if that's not a bad idea..."

"We don't have the money to buy a new one, either," Gael adds. "It would be nice, but I guess I'll have to figure something else out—"

"No, you don't. You guys aren't thinking. Whatever the heck they put in tranquilizer darts is not the only thing that can put me to sleep," Shi interrupts, an impatient eyebrow raised as he waits for the gears in our head to turn.

It takes me a second to get it. "Wolfsbane," I say, and a smile lights up my face. I approach Shi, giving him an encouraging punch in the shoulder. "You've redeemed yourself. That's not a bad idea."

"Yeah, maybe not, but where the heck do we get wolfsbane?" Gael asks.

I realize there's one good thing about Shi's and my little trip earlier; the two of us had passed by an apothecary shop, and I'm sure of it. I had looked it over, thought about entering, but then decided against it, because I just had the feeling it wouldn't cure my boredom. "There's an apothecary out in the main street. They should have some there, right?"

"Most likely," commends Shi. "Well, this is good—if Gael can just keep his family out long enough for me to change and Gemma to tranquilize me, we'll be fine."

I bite my lip. "Is it going to last the whole night?"

"Wolfsbane?" Shi laughs. "The stuff's toxic to us; of course it will. It'll probably have me half-dead, but, hey, as long as I don't sink my teeth into anything...anyone."

"Fair enough," I say with a shrug. I reach down, helping Shi to his feet as the three of us head in the direction of the door. "It's settled. Gael and I will commence construction as soon as he's off his shift, won't we, Gael?"

"Yes, of course we will, Gemma," says Gael, shoving open the door, and, to my surprise, nearly hitting his older brother with it.

Kip sidesteps the door just in time, the look on his face a bit frazzled. I get the feeling I'm more startled than him. "Kip? How long have you been standing there?"

"Oh, not long," he says with a warm smile, dark eyes swimming with a certain strange inauspiciousness that causes my heart to skip a beat. "I was just stopping in after my shopping trip to see G here, but couldn't find him at the bar...but here he is. Why, is something wrong?"

"No," I say, with measured caution. "Nothing's wrong, nothing at all."