I scream.

I can't stop screaming. Even when my throat is raw, I scream and scream and scream.

"More ice!" Blake snaps.

A cold rag drags over my face, and I lean over, emptying my stomach into the bucket once more. Blake pulls my hair back, whispering into my ear the whole time.

"It's nearly over."

I don't know if he's right. I have no idea how much time has passed. It feels like months. Years. And yet, the full moon still hangs in the sky, torturing me.

Blake pulls me back against him when I'm done. My body's gone limp. When I try to move, my body only trembles in response. Ice covers my legs, but it's not enough. I'm burning up.

"Stay with me," Blake mutters, holding me tight to his chest.

His teeth scrape against my bite mark again, a desperate attempt to relieve my pain, but it doesn't work. Not when everything feels out of shape. Wrong.

His touch does nothing to help me now.

My heart sinks like lead as I lean against Blake. He combs his hand over my hair, whispering comforts into my ear, but I can't hear him over my own screams and sobs.

Somehow, I know this isn't right.

This shouldn't feel like this. Something is wrong.

I pant heavily, clenching my teeth to suppress my screams. Beside me, Leyla throws more ice onto the bed, while Thomas cowers against the wall, his eyes wide and full of concern.

I wonder how I look to him. Even Leyla, who has seen Thomas' transformation on his full moon, stares at me in disbelief. She moves quickly, but her actions are unsure. She doesn't know what to do.

The realization hits me. I lean closer to Blake. My throat is rubbed raw from screaming, so my voice, when I speak, is rough and low.

"I'm dying," I grit out.

At first, I think Blake doesn't hear me, but then his grip around me tightens.

"Don't say that," he growls.

"I'm going to die, Blake," I say. I try to crane my neck. I want to see his face one last time. It takes everything in me to tilt my head.

"Shut up!" he snaps. "You have to keep fighting. It's nearly over."

My body spasms again and he holds me tighter. His hand moves over my cheek, wiping tears from my face.

His blue eyes stay focused on my face. I've never seen him like this. The Blake I'm used to is emotionless. Unaffected. But this Blake... I don't miss the way his eyes well with tears. The scrunch of worry between his brows. The beads of sweat on his forehead.

I hate that he's worrying about me. I wish I could take it away.

I imagine Blake tomorrow morning, when the sun rises and I'm no longer with them. Will he cry then?

I should have never gone into the diner that night. I should have never spoken with Blake or run into the forest. He should never have followed me.

What I regret most is never kissing those pursed lips of his. I should have held his hand more, hugged him, slept beside him. I should have just treasured my time with him more—my mate.

The silver string between us flickers and Blake's eyes grow wide with it.

"What does that mean?" he spits, his gaze leaving me for a moment.

I don't know what the others say. Pain rips through my body, but at this stage, I'm practically numb to it.

All I can do is tremble in Blake's arms.

I try to lift my hand. I want to feel his skin one last time, but it's impossible. My muscles refuse to cooperate.

Slowly, my eyes fall shut.

"Come on, Clover," Blake says. "Look at me."

His forehead presses against mine. I try to open my eyes, I really do, but my body doesn't listen to what I want. Not anymore.

"We need to get her outside," he orders.

"But—the chains—"

"If she runs, I'll stop her," Blake says.

"Are you sure?"

"Get the fucking door!" he snaps.

My body shifts and I wince, the movement only worsening the pain. I'm lifted into the air, and I feel myself rocking against Blake's chest.

"Stay with me, Clover," he murmurs.

I know we're outside when I feel a cool chill on my wet skin. The night breeze. Blake moves fast and before I know it, he's resting me on the cold grass.

Is this where I'm going to die? On the grass, outside?

I shiver, trembling through the ripples of pain in my body. My limbs are tense, seizing with pain.

It'll be over soon. I can feel my mind drifting away, my soul. It's like walking into a fog.

Blake's voice is somewhere beneath it all, distant and muffled, but I don't have the strength to grab onto it.

It's like the night I was stabbed. I could feel my life slowly seeping from my body.

Except...something in my chest stirs.

My eyes burst open, and I find myself staring directly up at the moon above me. I'm bathed in its light.

As stupid as it sounds, I feel the urge to howl. Or maybe just scream.

Mostly, I just want to shout at it. Shout at the moon, like that will accomplish anything. Tears flood my eyes as I glare into the sky. This is all the moon's fault.

Before I can have the chance to curse at the moon, my body feels like it breaks into two.

I think I scream. It's hard to tell at this point, but I definitely curl into a ball, pulling my knees to my chest. I squeeze my eyes shut, my skin burning.

I choke on a strangled breath. I don't know what I expected shifting to feel like, but all at once, the burning vanishes, replaced by a strange sensation, like an itch I have to scratch.

Voices surround me—Blake, Leyla and Thomas—but I don't hear them. All I can hear is the blood rushing in my ears, and then...sound.

It's like my senses have been turned up to one hundred.

Suddenly, I can hear everything. The sounds of the forest. The grass blades in the wind. The bugs crawling between them. Blake's breath.

My body moves to stand, except I'm not standing. At least, not on two legs.

I don't know how it happened, but when I rise to my feet, they're not feet—they're paws.

I spin, my head dizzy. I'm not used to the way my body moves in this...this form.

"Clover?"

I turn to Blake, but his lips aren't moving.

"Can you hear me?" he asks, his voice ringing out in my mind.

Every time I think I'm used to the world of werewolves; something happens to remind me—nothing is what it seems.

It takes me a moment to realize that Blake is speaking to me through my mind.

I choke on my own saliva and try to speak, but all that comes out is a whimper. I don't even realize that my body's not hurting any more. I'm too distracted by the overwhelmingness of it all.

I step towards Blake. Our silver string shines between us, brighter than I've ever seen before. He stares at me in shock.

I can smell him, stronger than ever, and for the first time, I understand what he meant that day. You smell like you're mine.

But then I catch another scent.

Food.

I turn, my newfound wolf instincts taking over. I don't know what it is exactly, all I know is that my wolf-side wants it.

Without thinking, I start to walk into the forest. It's clumsy at first. I'm not used to coordinating four legs, but before I know it, I'm sprinting. Racing. The wolf-half of me knows exactly what to do.

"Clover, stop!"

The words roll right over me. I'm too busy running. Racing. I feel the wind in my fur, and it's like nothing I've experienced ever before.

My legs are wobbling. It's been a long night, but I keep pushing, chasing the scent.

Above me, the moon shines. It powers me. Energizes me.

I run faster than I thought was possible. The scent is getting closer. In the distance, I can see some faded lights. That must be where it's coming from.

"Clover!"

That voice again.

I'm tempted to glance over my shoulder, but my wolf instincts tell me to keep running, and so I do.

I weave between trees, my paws light on the leaves of the forest floor.

I see the clearing, just meters ahead. Beyond it, lights. I can hear the quiet chatter of people, barely audible under the loud roaring of cars.

Ah, that's what they're called. Cars.

It's hard to think through the cloudy fog of what my werewolf side wants. It's all I can think about. That scent. I need to get to it, now.

I'm just about to reach the clearing, when something tackles me.

I gasp, rolling off my feet and tumbling across the forest floor. Above me, Blake grapples me. I catch a flash of his white fur, realizing he's in his wolf form too.

He pins me down and glares at me with his icy blue eyes.

"What are you thinking?" he asks, through the mind link.

I blink up at him. How do I reply?

The thought is fleeting as my eyes catch on the silver string that connects us and I decide that I don't want to reply.

I want him.

I lean forward, rubbing my nose into his mane. He smells so strong here. I can't help it when my tongue darts out to lick him.

Blake shivers, pulling his head away. One second, he's staring at me with his wolf-eyes, and the next, he's human again.

"Clover," he says, still holding me down. "I need you to shift back."

I stare at him. I don't know how to shift back. I don't even want to shift back.

"Look, the moon is fading," he says, nodding to the sky. I look up. He's right. The sky is starting to lighten. I must have been writhing on that bed for longer than I thought.

"Come back to me," he says.

And that's all it takes.

I slump under his touch and, before I know it, I hear the sound of my own voice, crying.

Blake shushes me, holding me against him. Somewhere, deep down, I realize we're both naked, but I'm not thinking about that right now.

"I couldn't stop myself," I say, my voice cracking as I sob into his chest.

"I know," he says, stroking my back. He swallows hard. "Come on, let's get you back home."

He lifts me into the air and starts the walk back into the forest. In the distance, I can still hear the cars. The people.

I almost ran in there. I don't know what I would have done if I came across a person. It's like I had no control over my body. The only thing controlling me was my wolf instincts.

We make it back to the cabin quickly. Leyla and Thomas are nowhere to be found, but I can hear their heavy breathing from behind their bedroom doors. They must be asleep.

It's been a long night, after all.

Blake places me on my bed and pulls the covers over my bare body, though I don't need it. I'm not cold at all.

It hits me then.

I survived.

I'm officially a wolf. I may not know how to control it well, but I made it through the night.

I blink up at Blake, tears welling in my eyes.

"I'm alive," I mutter.

Blake exhales sharply and nods. "I know."

"It was so painful," I say. Just the thought of it stirs my stomach. "I've never felt pain like that before."

Blake nods again. "I know."

We stare at each other in silence.

A million thoughts run through my mind, but one pushes past it all.

What happens now?

My eyes flicker to the silver rope connecting us. How many times has Blake pulled away from my touch with the excuse of waiting for the full moon?

"Don't cry," Blake says. I don't even realize that I'm still crying. I can't help it. I sniff, trying to swallow the lump that sits in my throat.

"Tonight's just been a lot," I say, trying to explain my tears.

He moves closer, swiping a thumb under my eye to catch a tear. At his touch, my entire body is ignited.

It's different from before the full moon. If I thought his touch was exhilarating before, this feels like I've ascended into heaven.

I don't realize my breath has caught until I have to force myself to breathe again.

"Is this how you felt?" I ask, my voice quiet. "When we would touch?"

Blake's eyes harden and he looks away. It's answer enough for me.

I don't know how he's survived this entire time. If my body wasn't so fatigued, I'd be tempted to jump onto him right now, wrapping my arms around him, wrapping my legs around him...

Even the thought makes me blush, butterflies bursting in my stomach.

Suddenly, it's very difficult to ignore the fact that he's naked. It takes all my energy to stop my eyes from flickering downwards.

I decide to play it safe and look away entirely. My face is probably red from all my blushing and I can only hope that Blake can't tell in the dark of my room.

"Go to sleep," he says. "The sun will be up soon."

I frown. I'm exhausted, and sleep sounds really good right now, but I don't want to be left alone. Not after everything I just went through.

"Will you sleep here with me?" I ask.

He looks at me. I can see the hesitation on his face, the worry, but eventually he nods.

"Let me just..." He leaves me room and I listen to his footsteps as he trails to his bedroom at the end of the hall.

Seconds later, he's back, dressed in a long-sleeved shirt and long sweatpants. He's even pulled on some long socks.

I get the message. Reduce skin-to-skin contact.

He moves towards me but pauses, hesitates. His eyes drop to my body, hidden by the thin bed sheets.

"Do you want to get dressed?" Blake asks, uncertainty filling his voice. It's almost funny, seeing Blake like this. "I can get Leyla."

"No," I say. "Don't wake her up. Can you just pass me a top or something?"

Blake nods. His Adam's apple bobs with a hard swallow before he tears his eyes away. He pulls my wardrobe open and digs around the few pieces of clothing I have to my name.

Luckily, I have an abundance of baggy t-shirts, so he finds one quickly, tossing it towards me.

I don't even bother trying to catch it. My muscles move slow, my body resisting every movement.

Blake turns, facing the corner as I slowly sit up, the bed sheet sliding down my torso. I pull the shirt over my head and clear my throat.

"I'm decent now."

Blake turns, his eyes running down over me once quickly. He nods once and crosses the room, drawing the curtains shut.

When he joins me in the bed, his arm brushes mine. Even through the thin material of his shirt, desire shoots through me, and I shiver.

I want him closer.

"Good night, Clover," he says, his voice strained.

I frown. I'm not sure how easily sleep will come to me now, with our arms rubbing like this, but I try to hide my disappointment.

He's probably right. My body is sore and tired. My mind is spinning. I can still taste bile in my mouth, and I can't stop hearing, smelling, things.

"Good night," I mutter, my voice still croaky from screaming myself raw.

The second I close my eyes; I drift off to sleep.