Bodies. Alice felt her skin prickle as the word sank deep into her mind. "Where are they?"

"In graves in the forest. I left without looking them over. Wanted to check on you." Colton scanned their surroundings as he spoke, alert to the distant lights glimmering between the trees—the only hints of the hotel and the rest of the resort from where they stood. Then he looked back at her, eyes gleaming with that vicious energy that always filled him on hunts. "Ready to find out what's happening?"

An answering thrill rose within her, but she had enough presence of mind to turn back toward the villa. Denise and Fleur were surely asleep by now, oblivious to the strange things stirring outside their windows. "Is it safe to leave them?"

The roughness in his voice turned sly. "I made a distraction over at the hotel. One they'll be working on all night."

He didn't give her curiosity time to crystallize into a fresh round of questions, instead shifting form and laughing a wolf-laugh at her indignant huff. He lingered close as she stripped down and changed over, still amused while she shook her fur into place. She kept quiet, well-aware of the need to remain unnoticed, but rubbed against him in a wish to know more. Show me everything.

Their path wound through the darkest shadows bordering the pathways around the resort until the dim shape of the hotel hardened into harsh lamplight and sharp voices. The smell of wet earth filled the air, bright and mineral-rich, as water erupted from the back garden. Froth caught the tallest branches from a nearby pine; the patios were already flooded. Staff still in their uniforms slipped and slid while trying to erect a barricade, their words swallowed by the roaring. Now it was Wolf-Alice who laughed—a plumbing leak, indeed.

Into the forest, then, away from the tar and smoke and fences of the civilized world. The land grew rough and uneven between the trees, with branches tangling over streams and ferns clustered around jutting rock, but they ran without care, fast and sure beneath the moon. For Wolf-Alice, running by the black wolf's side was sheer joy after a day of hiding her hunger behind a pleasant smile, and a sweet ache filled her full as the rhythm of his panting matched hers.

The first hints of rot sobered her. Their pace slowed as the black wolf took them around a slab of granite worn with age, their paws sinking into the gritty soil. To human eyes, the stretch of earth there might have seemed as untouched as the rest of the forest, nothing more than ground cover growing over rock and root. But Wolf-Alice let her nose guide her to where the smell of death strengthened into something definite, into hints of hair and rotting cloth and porous bone. Beside her, the black wolf began to dig, and she soon joined in.

Trees loomed in silence as they clawed away the soil, unearthing teeth along with pebbles. The reek of decay intensified. When they were finished, Wolf-Alice whined low in her throat as the moonlight shone on bones that had been hidden for years, now uncovered like grisly jewels, like shameful secrets.

The curve of a femur. The empty cavern of a skull. The jumble of ribs. All of them were dirt-stained, picked clean by the grubs and beetles. Clothing had disintegrated into a few lingering scraps bleached of color. These were old remains, long forgotten.

Still more used to hands and their dexterity, she changed form, waiting for the shaking to pass before reaching for a femur. Her touch held care, reverence, but some part of her winced over examining these sad bones, tossed together as casually as bits of trash.

Then her fingers ran over a deep mark on its surface. A few shallower ones were present, too, all of them thin and straight as if made by a blade. "Were they hacked to death?"

At that, Colton changed over as well, eyes still gleaming in the dark. "No. The cuts would be deeper. More destructive. These are made from cutting the flesh off."

"They were fed on." It wasn't the cold night air that brought goose bumps to her skin.

"And now whoever did it is hungry again." He turned enough to guide her gaze toward a patch of earth hidden between the massive roots of a pine tree. Someone had dug a large pit there, the upturned soil fresh and damp.

Alice understood the implications but still had to say the words, still had to unearth the horror behind such a simple sight. "They're getting ready to bury more people. But... What are they waiting for? Why dig a grave before you even have the bodies?"

"The feeding's not done here. This is just the garbage pit. It's an entire fucking cycle. Graves scattered everywhere, each one older than the last."

"And each one with multiple bodies." She closed her eyes then, trying not to think of the vivid images from her dream even as her fingers curled into claws. "So, they are witches."

A brief growl from him was the only confirmation she needed. "Is there anything else we can find out about them?"

"No. There's nothing left to do until they make a move. Expose themselves."

She frowned while pushing the dirt back over the bones. It seemed kinder to keep the pitiful remains in their grave rather than leave them exposed to scavengers. An image flashed before her eyes of Fleur's face disappearing beneath soil, of Denise's body dropped against others. It made her stomach twist, made her next words come out as a snarl. "What if their next move is killing people?"

Colton's voice remained steady. "Then we fight over some bodies."

She jerked to her feet, shock spiking through her. "But..."

When the rest of her words faded into silence, he moved close to her. That hunter's tension hadn't left his face, but something in his eyes turned almost tender as he said, "The safest thing for your family is leaving this place, but they won't believe the truth and won't listen to a lie. Next safest thing is killing the resort staff since we don't know who else is in on this besides the owner and that handyman fuck. But a slaughter brings the wrong attention. We'd have to hide afterwards. All that's left to us is waiting until we can pick them off."

She couldn't disagree with what he'd said; it was practical if harsh, a coldly realistic look at things. Still, she found herself circling away to look up at the moon, serene and heavy in the sky even as she shivered with frustration, worry, and a little embarrassment over how inexperienced she must have seemed to a seasoned hunter like him.

Then he caught her from behind, arms wrapping around her waist, coaxing her into relaxing again. Dirt rasped against her skin even as his voice rasped against her ear. "You were laughing when we left. Excited to hunt. What makes it different now that we're a step further?"

Each word hurt, drawn up from somewhere deep inside. "It's the fact that I can't do anything yet. The last time I waited, you were shot and burned alive."

The tension in his body changed. Then the heat of his mouth pressed against her neck, as tender as a kiss against a bruise. "Alice. Don't put that on yourself. I came out of it fine, and in the end we were the ones shaking blood off our fur."

She nodded, but he must have sensed how unconvinced it was, because his next breath was a sigh. "You know I hate words. But for you, I'll say this. Things will get messy. A hunt always does, especially when it means more than eating. You think I didn't want to tear you away from that fucking woman? Especially when you said you'd stay with her?"

She shuddered while turning enough in his grip to face him. "I was too scared to leave with you."

"I know. And I knew killing her then wouldn't have helped your fear. I had to wait." His hand stroked along the line of her back, the tension in it suggesting just how hard that had been, before he added, "But I did, because what happens on a hunt doesn't matter. It's what you gain from it. Or what you protect."

Then he caught her chin, urging her to look at him. "Don't bite at yourself over this. You've lived with people who expected you to be fucking perfect and follow cues like a dog. Hunting's nothing like that. It's always a struggle."

Her fingers dug into his back as she nodded against him, not wanting to speak until she was sure the words would come out steady. "I just want to keep them safe."

"We will. We'll look out for them until there's more to do. It's not as empty as it sounds."

The sick pit in her stomach eased slowly but surely, and within a few more breaths, she managed a faint smile. "Thank you. I know that took a lot. You haven't talked that much in months."

It drew a soft growl from him. "If you need to hear it, I'll say it." He brushed a few strands of hair from her face before adding, "Ready to go?"

They traveled back swiftly, the stars above already fading in the growing greyness of dawn. The moon remained a faint ghost, and only it and a few startled deer were the witnesses to their arrival at the villa.

After they shifted back to human form, Alice smiled at him, wishing there was time for a long goodbye. Not wanting to wake her stepmother or Fleur, she only teased—running fingers along his jaw in that one way that always made his eyes dilate—before turning toward the window. It was cracked open just as she left it, and she clutched her clothes to herself while quietly crawling inside, not wanting to wake Fleur.

Then the light flicked on, revealing Denise waiting there in a fluffy, pink robe. "Alice! Why are you sneaking out at night like a..."

Alice froze as her stepmother's voice faded, realizing how it must have looked, her coming in naked, disheveled, and still panting.

When she said nothing, Denise started to stutter. "You—you didn't... You're not cheating on..."

Colton leaned in through the window, already in his jeans. "No."

Denise's expression changed yet again. "Oh, I can't believe this. You couldn't go four days without seeing her?"

"No."

With a huff, her stepmother walked over to the window, forcing him to duck back outside. "I'll talk with you later." Then she slammed the window shut and pulled the curtains, already looking at Alice. "At least I don't have to ask what you were doing all night."

"Mm." Alice had already pulled on a robe and now picked fir needles from her hair. She glanced over at Fleur's bed and found her sister holding a pillow over her head, clearly uncaring of anything except grabbing a few more minutes of sleep. Deciding there was no use in playing coy, Alice looked back at her stepmother and said, "Why are you up so early? It's not even dawn."

"Food poisoning." Fleur's words drifted out from the pillow, the glee in them obvious despite being muffled by fabric.

"The food was delicious and perfect," said Denise, rubbing at one temple. "It's a stomach bug. It was going around back home and I'm sure I caught it. Simple bad luck."

Then the door to the room opened, and Colton walked in fully dressed. Alice circled over to him even as her stepmother sighed. "I'm too exhausted to fight about this, so I won't. To answer your question, Alice, I came in here to look at our itinerary for today. I don't think I could do anything as demanding as horseback riding, but—"

"Horseback riding?" Fleur pulled the pillow away and sat up. "But Dad said no more lessons until my grades went back up."

"I know what he said, but I wanted to surprise you," said Denise, smiling faintly. "That's what the 'Spend a Day in Nature' package is—riding to various outlook points."

With them both distracted, Alice took the chance to glance at Colton, wondering if she was the only one who saw the ominous potential in a group of people riding in remote areas. The sudden, feral glitter in his eyes was answer enough.

Alice tried to keep her voice neutral as she asked, "Is it really an all-day thing?"

"Six hours total, which is much more demanding than anything I could do today, but the rest of our planned activities will be fine. I was thinking that if none of us wanted to go on it, then—"

"No!" The syllable exploded from Fleur as she tossed the pillow aside. "I want to do it. Please, Mom."

At the look on her stepmother's face, Alice knew the chance to err on the side of caution and cancel the riding trip had just been snuffed out. Denise and Fleur both turned to her then, and for a moment, the resemblance between mother and daughter was uncanny as Denise said, "Alice, how about you?"

It had been years since she had been on a horse, but the idea of Fleur riding into a trap alone made her want to snarl. "I'll go, too."

"Then it's all settled." Despite the dark circles beneath her eyes, Denise's expression had regained some of its usual glow. When her gaze fell on Colton, though, her smile faltered. "Except for the fact that you're here. Normally, I think it's very sweet that you adore her—don't take this to mean you can start neglecting her—but this was supposed to be a trip just for the girls."

Alice took in a breath, ready to argue, but Colton's amused glance calmed her again even as Denise added, "I'm guessing you planned to hang around until we went home tomorrow."

"Sure. Shouldn't be a problem."

"Of course it is. You're not a registered guest. As soon as a staff member sees you, you'll be asked to leave." Then her expression brightened. "I know. While they're riding, we can go into the historic parts of Mariposa and look at the preserved buildings and gift shops."

If there had been anything less than a threat of death hanging over her stepmother, Alice knew those words alone would have pulled an inflexible "no" out of him. As it was, he didn't even hide the reluctance in his voice. "Shopping?"

"Yes. Oh, don't worry. I won't overdo it. You can never be too sick to shop." Then Denise glanced at the nearest clock. "We should all start getting ready. Breakfast will be here in under an hour."

The rest of them stared after her as she left the room, fingers already working at her hair. Then Fleur jumped out of bed and grabbed her toiletries bag, expression still ecstatic. When her sister disappeared into the bathroom, Alice brushed Colton's arm in a silent signal before moving for the privacy of the reading room.

As soon as there were walls of books to muffle her words, she said, "There's no way I was going to let Fleur go alone. A group of people led deep into the wilderness sounds like a trap to me."

"Horses are fucking neurotic. Easy to have an accident while riding. Or to make it look like there was one." Then he cocked his head at her. "You feel up to this? Watching over her alone?"

She nodded. "What about you and the shopping trip?"

"Shopping's fucking annoying. It's not dangerous."

It wasn't fear she felt. It wasn't even nerves. Instead, as she pressed her tongue against her teeth, testing their feel, a diamond-hard determination settled in her heart. "I know. But Denise needs protection, too. And there's no way you could be around horses. They scream as soon as they smell you."

He grimaced but couldn't disagree. When he remained quiet, she ran a hand along his jaw, feeling the tension there. "I'll never be afraid of the woods, no matter what's in them."

There was a strange look in his eyes as he studied her, and suddenly nothing about him seemed human. "I know. Knew it from the first time I saw you."

Such simple words, and yet her heart throbbed at hearing them. As their noses brushed, she whispered, "Look, if something does happen..."

"I'll find you even if it means razing the entire fucking forest." His voice seethed, hot as a kiss, savage as a bite.

The sound of Denise calling her name broke through, drew her back. Without the warmth of his presence, her skin suddenly felt chilled, but she managed a smile. "I don't think it'll come to that."

The intensity in his gaze didn't leave, even when Denise called for her again, and she couldn't resist running a hand through his hair a final time before pulling away. "I'll see you soon."

The morning light appeared watery and weak as Alice and Fleur joined eight other guests going on the ride. Alice was given an Appaloosa mare called Pepperjack, who remained docile as the line started moving. Fleur was a few horses ahead, her grey gelding easy to spot even once the brush thickened around the trail.

Alice didn't pay much attention to the guide, instead scanning her surroundings whenever she wasn't watching Fleur. The plodding gait of the horse was strange yet lulling, a rolling movement that threatened to seep her caution along with the growing heat of the sun.

They went uphill, the earth firm as the trail dwindled to flattened grass between looming trees. Some of the clearings they passed reminded Alice of the one from her dream, and a shiver ran through her even as they stopped at an old gold mining site and listened to the guide's inane facts about the local history. One or two of the horses snorted uneasily at being so close to the rusted equipment, but all fell back in place as they continued along the tour.

Fleur was the happiest Alice had ever seen her, her smile big enough to split her face as she cooed to her horse. She also helped the rider behind her remember how to hold his reins, and when they paused for a break, took a photo for a couple. It was as if being around the horse melted her anger, frustration, and pain—or at least let her forget about it.

The sunlight strengthened into something that glared from the sky, and Alice heard murmurs of relief as open land closed into thick forest. This time, the shadow of the trees seemed darker than before, and colder, too. After a few minutes, Pepperjack began shaking her head uneasily, the reins jingling with each twitch as Alice tried soothing her with pats to the neck. One of the horses ahead snorted, its tail swishing.

Movement flickered off to the right, too fast and obscured to make out what it was. The horses were no longer walking, instead milling and stamping as the guide shouted back instructions for keeping them from being spooked by deer or birds. Fleur's gelding whinnied and jerked his head, the whites of his eyes visible, but she managed to coax him still even as another horse startled, nearly dislodging its rider.

Then something brushed the edge of Alice's senses, a laugh so faint that she thought she misheard it over Pepperjack's nervous stamping. Another laugh, this one strong enough to send chills down her spine, and then twigs snapped in the distance, sharp as gunshots.

The horses bolted.

Alice was off the trail within a heartbeat, the world shuddering as Pepperjack carried her into the thick brush. Hoofbeats, shrieks, yelling. Horses thrashing through trees in all directions, some with their riders and some without. Despite the chaos, Alice somehow caught sight of Fleur's grey and pointed Pepperjack after them.

Pepperjack resisted, tossing her head until the rough leather of the reins ripped against Alice's hands. Gritting her teeth against the pain, Alice dug her heels in until the horse ran in the right direction.

Trees flashed past. Noise faded to her pounding heart and her cracked voice as she called out to her sister. Then branches slashed across her face, blinding her. Just as Fleur and her horse both screamed somewhere ahead, Pepperjack stumbled. Alice felt a sickening weightlessness, and then the ground slammed into her. Shock shot through her limbs as the taste of blood filled her mouth, as the sound of hoofbeats faded. The forest fell silent.

Eventually, she was able to push herself up, raking hair from her face with a shaking hand. The cracked bark of mammoth pines surrounded her, as idyllic as the grass and ferns growing over their roots. Then her eyes cleared enough to look further, to find her sister's body among some ferns.

"Fleur!" Alice stumbled up on shaking legs, reaching her sister just as she groaned and rolled over. "Wait. Take it easy. Does anything hurt?"

"I don't think so." Fleur's expression remained dazed as Alice helped her upright. "Where are the others?"

"We got separated." Then Alice glanced around, taking in the indifferent silence of the forest. Deciding it would be better to save her breath rather than call out and risk unwanted attention, she added, "Want to try standing up?"

Fleur nodded, accepting Alice's offered hand in silence. Her face paled as she looked around at the pines, all of them the same in appearance. "Oh, God. The trees didn't look like this near the trail. And why don't we hear anyone?"

Alice just studied the pockets of gloom, searching for any hint of figures watching them.

Fleur grabbed her arm, hysteria rising in her voice. "Are we lost? Are we going to die out here?"

"No." Alice kept the word firm and reassuring. "We'll find our way back. The trail runs north and south, and we're on the west side of it. All we have to do is walk east until we reach it."

"Are you sure?" Fleur held onto her arm, breaths closer to frightened gasps.

"Positive. Colton and I hike without a compass all the time."

One heartbeat, two, and then Fleur reluctantly said, "Okay. Maybe it's better to move around, anyway. It was a big group and all the horses bolted. There has to be someone else out here."

Alice merely nodded, biting back her honest response as they started walking, the forest around them still eerily silent. That's just what worries me.