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“It’s more than that,” Tanner says quietly, putting his hand on my forearm as he moves toward Snow and Nova. His head jerks to the side. He screws his eyes shut, then pushes his fingers through his hair. When he opens his eyes again, he points a shaky finger at Sam. “I see something else.”

“What do you see?” I ask, ducking to meet Tanner’s eyes.

He swallows hard. “A shadow. A shadow inside him. Flickering.” He shakes his head and steadies himself on my arm. “I’m not sure. I can’t catch hold of it.”

Sam scrambles to his feet and waves his arms. “Guys, I swear to you. I’m here. It’s me. I was in that place but then I was here.” He turns to Nova. “I told you everything I remember. You have to believe me.”

But before he can finish speaking, Snow lurches for him. In one swift move, he nudges Nova out of the way, knocks Sam to the ground, then sits next to him and pins him down with his heavy white paw. Looking over at me, he lets out a noise that’s half-growl, half-yowl.

“I think Baloo disagrees,” Luther says, tilting his head to take in Sam’s face.

Hearing his nickname, Snow snorts and turns his head away, but he doesn’t take his paw from Sam’s chest.

“Stop this.” Nova steps into the middle of us. “He’s been through enough.” She turns to Snow and puts her hands on her hips. “Let him go, Snow. Please, let him go.”

Snow, however, dutifully ignores her.

“Nova…” I put my hand on her shoulder, but she shrugs away from me. “I think what Tanner and Snow are trying to say is that Sam might have come back different, and that we should ask some questions before we let him close to you.”

Her eyes flashing, Nova shakes her head at us. “We’ve been through this before, haven’t we? With Nico. You judged him before you—”

“Not a great example, Nova,” Luther says—more gently than I’d have expected. “We were right about Nico.”

She opens her mouth to object but, before she can, Tanner says quietly, “What happened to Nico?” He walks over to Sam and crouches down, ignoring the fact Sam’s struggling against Snow’s foot. “What happened to your brother?”

Nova jerks toward them as if she’s going to tug Tanner away but I stop her. “He’s searching Sam’s emotions.” I meet her eyes. Trust him, Little Star. They’re just talking. Let them talk.

31

MACK

Sam is not himself. He smells different. Acrid. Like sulfur, and darkness, and death. Even the wolf in him is drowned by it. I sense it, and Snow smells it, and there is no way in hell we are letting him near our girl.

We press our paw hard on his chest. Not hard enough to break his fragile body, but hard enough to keep him where we want him. He writhes against us, but he cannot overpower us.

Tanner seems to have pulled himself together and walks slowly over to crouch beside us. He catches Sam’s gaze and reaches for his hand. “What happened to your brother, Sam?”

We feel the boy tense beneath us. His entire body stiffens. “He was bleeding,” he says. “I think he’s dead.”

“When did you last see him?” Tanner asks, putting his hand on the side of Sam’s face so he can keep it turned toward him. We have seen Tanner do this before—he is searching Sam’s mind. He can sense others’ emotions easily, without needing to try, but what he’s doing now is a little different. It is more purposeful, more determined. He is looking for something out of place. He’s looking for something that will tell him whether Sam really is himself.

“I don’t know. I don’t remember.” Sam shakes his head. “He was bleeding. I bandaged him.” He looks down at his shirt and tilts his head. “I used my shirt…” He frowns. “But I’m wearing my shirt…” He screws his eyes shut. “I don’t know,” he says again. “I don’t remember.”

Tanner watches him closely. He moves his hand from Sam’s face to his chest. Too late, we realize what he’s trying to do.

He’s going to jump.

* * *

I shift back and grab Tanner’s shoulders but he’s already jumping, muttering quickly under his breath. His eyes are filled with the same bright white light we saw yesterday. This time, lightning does not flow from his fingertips, and he does not float in the air. He falls back and starts to shudder.

“He’s having a seizure,” I yell to the others. “Hold him still!”

As Sam stares wide-eyed, Luther and Kole run to us. Kole gently holds Tanner’s head while I hold his upper body and Luther slams an instant restraining spell on Sam’s legs and arms.

“What’s happening to him?” Nova falls to her knees next to Tanner. “What’s happening?”

“He tried to jump. Tried to get inside Sam’s head.” As the convulsions slow, I release my hold on him. He starts to cough. He has bitten his tongue and spews blood-laced saliva onto the sand. Disorientated, he struggles to sit up. Kole pulls him to his chest and holds him still. At first, he strains against him, then gradually he is back, staring at us, his pupils impossibly wide.