The shaft smelled like rust and old blood. Ivy pressed her back against the rock wall, watching Cain stare at her mother's pendant like it might bite him.
"What does it mean?" she asked. Her voice came out quieter than she wanted. "The mark on the pendant."
Cain didn't answer. He was still gripping his shoulder where she'd dug out the silver, his knuckles white. The wound had already stopped bleeding but his breathing hadn't slowed. She could see the tension in his jaw, the way his eyes kept flicking between her face and the pendant.
"Cain."
"It means your mother lied to you." His voice was flat. "About what she was. About what you are."
Ivy's chest tightened. "I don't—"
A sound cut her off. Distant but clear. Boots on gravel. Multiple sets.
Cain's head snapped toward the shaft entrance. "They found us."
"How?"
"Does it matter?" He moved fast, grabbing her wrist and pulling her deeper into the tunnel. The pendant swung between them, catching the thin light from outside. "We need to move. Now."
The tunnel branched ahead. Cain hesitated for half a second, then pulled her left. The air got colder. Ivy's breath fogged in front of her face. She could hear the boots getting closer, echoing through the shafts behind them.
"How many?" she whispered.
Cain didn't slow down. "At least three. One of them smells human."
"Mara."
"Probably." He pulled her around another corner. This tunnel was narrower, the ceiling lower. Ivy had to duck. "The others are wolves. Not pack. Mercenaries."
"Can you fight them?"
Cain's laugh was bitter. "In an enclosed space? With you right next to me?" He glanced back at her, and for a second she saw something wild in his eyes. Something that wasn't entirely him. "No."
The tunnel opened into a wider chamber. Moonlight spilled through a crack in the ceiling, painting a stripe across the floor. Cain stopped so fast Ivy almost ran into him.
"What—"
"The moon." His voice was rough. Strained. "I can't go through there."
Ivy looked at the moonlight, then at him. His hands were shaking. The veins in his neck stood out like cords. "It's just light."
"It's not just light." He backed up a step, pulling her with him. "Not for me. Not anymore."
The boots were getting closer. Ivy could hear voices now. One of them was definitely Mara, sharp and commanding. The other two were deeper, rougher. Wolves.
"We don't have a choice," Ivy said.
Cain shook his head. His pupils were dilating. "You don't understand. If I go through that—"
"Then I'll go first." She yanked her wrist free and stepped toward the moonlight.
Cain grabbed her shoulder, spinning her back. "Don't."
"Why not?"
"Because if I shift, I won't be able to stop myself." His grip was tight enough to bruise. "And you'll be the first thing I go for."
Ivy's heart was pounding but she held his gaze. "You didn't hurt me before."
"I almost did." His voice dropped. "You saw it. When you were digging out the silver. I wanted to bite you so badly I could taste it."
She had seen it. The way his teeth had lengthened, the gold bleeding into his eyes. But he'd held back. He'd held back even when it clearly hurt him to do it.
"You held back then," she said. "You can hold back now."
"That wasn't moonlight."
A wolf's howl echoed through the tunnels behind them. Close. Too close.
Ivy made the choice. She stepped into the moonlight.
The world didn't change. The light felt cold on her skin but that was it. She turned back to Cain, holding out her hand. "Come on."
Cain stared at her like she'd just walked into fire and come out unburned. "Ivy—"
"We're out of time."
He took a step forward. Then another. The moonlight hit his face and everything went wrong.
His whole body convulsed. Ivy heard bones crack, watched his spine arch. He dropped to his knees, a sound ripping out of his throat that wasn't human. Wasn't even close.
"Cain!" She moved toward him but he threw out a hand, stopping her.
"Run," he choked out. His voice was barely recognizable. "Ivy, run—"
The shift took him. It wasn't like the movies. It was violent and wrong and she couldn't look away. His skin rippled, fur breaking through in patches. His face elongated, teeth pushing through his gums. The sound of it made her stomach turn.
And then he was a wolf.
Not entirely. Something in between. Bigger than any wolf she'd ever seen, standing on two legs but hunched, claws scraping the stone floor. His eyes were gold and fixed on her.
Ivy couldn't breathe. Couldn't move.
The wolf took a step toward her. Then another. His lips pulled back from his teeth and she could see the silver-burned flesh on his shoulder, still raw.
"Cain," she whispered. "I know you're in there."
The wolf growled. It was a sound she felt in her bones.
Behind her, she heard Mara's voice. "Found her. North chamber. Bring the nets."
The wolf's head snapped toward the sound. Ivy saw the decision in his eyes—Mara or her. Threat or prey.
He chose threat.
The wolf moved like liquid, launching past Ivy toward the tunnel entrance. She heard Mara shout, heard the thud of a body hitting stone. Snarling. Gunfire. A wolf's yelp—not Cain, one of the others.
Ivy should have run. Should have used the distraction to get away. Instead she ran toward the sound.
The tunnel was chaos. Cain had one of the mercenary wolves by the throat, shaking him like a rag doll. Mara was on the ground, her gun raised but her angle was wrong—if she shot now she'd hit her own guy. The third wolf was circling, looking for an opening.
Mara saw Ivy. "Don't move!"
Ivy froze.
Cain dropped the wolf he'd been holding. The body hit the ground and didn't move. He turned toward Ivy, blood on his muzzle, and the look in his eyes was pure instinct. Hunt. Kill. Claim.
He stalked toward her. Mara was shouting something but Ivy couldn't hear it over the sound of her own heartbeat. The third wolf moved to intercept Cain but Cain swatted him aside without even looking. His focus was entirely on Ivy.
She should have been terrified. Should have run. But something in her chest pulled tight, and instead of backing away she stepped forward.
"Cain," she said. Steady. Clear. "Stop."
The wolf stopped.
His whole body was shaking. His claws flexed against the stone. But he stopped.
Mara took the shot.
The tranquilizer dart hit Cain in the side. He snarled, turning toward Mara, but whatever was in the dart was fast. Ivy saw his legs buckle.
She moved without thinking, catching him as he fell. He was too heavy, they both went down, but she managed to keep his head from hitting the stone. The wolf was already shrinking, bones reshaping. In seconds it was Cain again, human and unconscious, his weight pinning her to the ground.
Mara stood over them, reloading her tranq gun. "Told you I'd find you."
Ivy couldn't move. Cain's breath was hot against her neck, his heartbeat slowing against her chest. She could feel the pendant pressed between them, the metal warm from their combined body heat.
"Get off him," Mara said. "Slowly."
Ivy didn't move.
Mara aimed the gun at her. "I don't want to shoot you, kid. But I will if you make me."
Cain stirred. It was barely a movement, just his fingers twitching against Ivy's ribs, but she felt it. Felt something else too. A pulse of heat from the pendant, like it was responding to something.
Cain's eyes opened. Still gold. He looked at Ivy, his face inches from hers, and his voice when he spoke was rough and barely human.
"Before the full moon," he said. "I have to break this bond."
Then his hand moved, faster than Mara could track. He grabbed something from his belt—a flash grenade, Ivy realized half a second before it went off.
The world went white.