Next, I looked in the top nightstand drawer, but since I hadn’t even used the nightstand until now, I pushed it right back shut. I guess it really was still home then.

“Emely, there you are.”

I turned around with a jerk to look at Bayla.

What did she want from me?

“Is something wrong?”

Granted, it wasn’t because she wasn’t nice. On the contrary, she was somehow the friendliest one here out of the whole house. But the fact that she didn’t smell like the other witches and that, according to Julian, something abnormal had happened to her yesterday caused me to distrust her. The daughter of a witch remained a witch to me.

Julian had wanted to tell me, but Father had spontaneously called the pack to an emergency meeting at the estate.

There, where I was sure my cell phone was still lying. Shit, man.

“Why is everyone so mean to you?”

Bay sat up straight, but immediately slumped back against the wall behind her.

Had she maybe just had too much to drink at the campus bar yesterday?

I’d seen her there with Mady, which didn’t surprise me because Mady was like a burdock, and I’d been glad when my brother finally listened to our father and broke up with her. She had been friends with the witches, which had been a threat to our pack. But explain that to a human girl.

“Is it true about the drugs?”

I looked at Bayla again.

And I already had been wondering what kind of rubbish the witches were spreading about us. Even if heads would have to roll for the truth, the drug story was really a shitty way to go.

“Yeah,” I said, cursing myself for that.

Bayla would stay away from us, and that was the most important thing.

“You’re lying,” she just replied, running her hand through her somewhat disheveled hair. She looked really bad.

“You don’t look like someone who does drugs,” she added, and only now did I realize that she actually hadn’t bought the lie.

“You must know a lot about that, huh?” was all I said before I headed for the door. I should hurry before I might miss any important messages from Father.

“Wait,” Bay said quickly.

Slightly annoyed, I stopped and turned to her.

“You don’t deal drugs either.”

Okay, I was done. Before she could ask me any more weird questions, I opened the door to the hallway.

“I don’t think you’d be friends with a cop’s son if you did.”

Her words made me stop moving. Then I turned around and walked to her bed.

“Don’t pretend you know anything about us, okay? I really don’t feel like having any witches snooping around in my life!”

And again, I had responded too scratchily, because Bay looked at me with a confused expression.

“Witches?”

“Don’t act so innocent,” I sighed.

“I don’t understand...”

Was she really going to play this game with me?

“Is the word witch some kind of insult in these backwoods here? Because somehow everyone throws that at everyone here.”

And slowly, it started to sink in. What if she actually didn’t know? Was that even possible?

“I can understand you having something against people spreading rumors about you. But please leave me out of it. I haven’t done anything to you,” she replied. Her look was insistent, and she actually seemed to mean it.

Either she didn’t know, or she really wasn’t one of them… The longer I thought about it, the less sense it made to me. Because she still smelled so different. And not at all like a witch.

But suddenly, something else stole my attention. Her eyes.

What on earth was happening to her eyes?

Turquoise, as well as blue, gave way to an intensely bright orange-yellow. It was damn beautiful, like a bright fire spreading inside her eye. Like the one that could trigger a transformation in us because it captivated us too deeply. Peaceful, calming...captivating. A warm feeling that reminded me of home gradually rose in my chest. Very slowly and... Wait....

I probably wouldn’t have noticed if I hadn’t felt the signs of transformation on my own body. My eyes must have turned yellowish, and the veins were already sticking out wildly on my forearms.

I was still not sure about her species. It seemed that she really was one of them. But her eyes...and then I realized the resemblance to my own. No...it couldn’t be.

Bay herself was still leaning against the wall, staring at me as if she were absent-minded.

It was creepy as hell and I wanted to leave as quickly as possible when she suddenly started shaking, beads of sweat forming on her forehead. Her whole body seemed to be fighting something. Only what was it?

She sank back into the pillows, but the trembling did not stop. On the contrary, it became stronger.

Panic shot through my veins. Helplessness threatened to overwhelm me. Something inside me literally commanded me to help her, and more and more confusion, coupled with discomfort, spread through me. I was completely overwhelmed with the situation, with the indecision of what to do now. Finally, I jumped over to her bed and shook her vigorously.

“Bayla, what’s wrong? Do you need anything?”

What if she was suffering from a serious illness?

But instead of answering me, she squinted her still-bright eyes tightly as if she were feeling pain.

I winced as I brushed her skin. Christ, she was literally glowing!

Then, finally, it stopped, and her entire body relaxed. She slumped down until she was completely nodding off.