Chapter 7 · Moonclaim - Chapter 7: The Wolf Behind the Glass

Leon's hand slammed into the lab bench hard enough to crack the metal edge. His shoulders were shaking. Not from the cold. Ivy stepped back and her heel hit the door frame. She could smell it now—wet fur, blood, something sharp like ozone before a storm.

"Leon."

He didn't answer. His back was still to her but his spine was arching wrong, vertebrae pushing up under his shirt like something was trying to claw its way out.

She should run. The stairwell was ten feet behind her and the front door was unlocked. She had her fake ID and enough cash in her jacket to disappear for a week, maybe two. That's what she'd done for the last four years. That's what kept her alive.

But the stolen chip was still plugged into his computer. And the screen was still flashing that one line: NEXT DOSE REQUIRES COMPATIBLE GENETIC SAMPLE.

Her blood.

Leon made a sound that wasn't human. Low. Guttural. His hand left a dent in the bench when he shoved himself upright and staggered toward the glass partition at the far end of the lab. The one he used for the live trials.