I didn't know how anyone in Make Them Scream got any sleep.

Jake's snoring sounded like someone'd tried to shove a chainsaw through a woodchipper. Even covering my head with my pillow didn't stifle the sound. I clenched my teeth, pushing myself up on my elbows in the bunk the band let me borrow.

There was no way I was going to be able to sleep with the noise. The fact that my twenty-four-year-old semi-immortal parents were spooning each other in the tiny bunk across from me didn't help.

As quietly as I could, I climbed out of my bunk. It creaked as I shifted my weight, and Liz's eyes snapped open.

"Everything okay?" she whispered.

"Just having trouble sleeping." I tilted my head towards Jake's snoring, unconscious body.

Liz gave a light chuckle. "You get used to it."

"No, you don't," I heard Alex mutter under his breath.

Liz rolled her eyes and shook her head, giving me a light smile.

I smiled back. "I think I'm going to sleep in the other room."

She nodded as I grabbed the pillow and blanket. I tip-toed out of the room and into the main section of the bus, clicking the door shut softly behind me.

I curled up on the crinkly leather bench and pulled the blanket over me. The air in the bus was cool and dry, but I liked it. The stink of old sweat and stale beer were less oppressive when it wasn't humid and hot.

"Can you at least let me take a look at it?" a soft, muffled voice echoed quietly through the divider of the bus. I recognized it immediately. Liz.

"I'm fine," Alex's voice replied.

"You don't have to always act so tough," she said. "You're hurting. I can tell. It's okay to admit it. It's okay to let someone care for you."

There was silence for a moment.

"Do you think you cracked a rib?" Liz finally continued when Alex said nothing.

They were quiet again, and I pinched my eyes closed, trying to block out the voices I didn't want to overhear. I felt terrible about what I'd done to Alex.

But not nearly as bad as you should feel about what happened to Blake.

Cold sweat broke out over my chest. I knew the voice had come from within me, but yet it didn't feel like it was me. Like it had formed somewhere deep within my mind— a place that I was not able to control.

I shook myself, trying to clear the thought.

Stop thinking. Stop thinking.

"Did you really hear nothing when you tried to listen to her?" Liz's voice continued, but there was something eerie and distant about it. It wasn't muffled like when I'd heard their voices resonating through the wall. Instead, it sounded like it was coming from all around me—from every direction at once.

There was a long pause. "It was like James," Alex's voice finally came through with the same haunting omnipresence. "She's like our son."

My heart pounded as his voice echoed through my mind. Chills rippled down my arms and legs.

"No, she's not like that," Liz growled back. There was something animal and aggressive in her tone. "She can't be. I refuse to believe that."

"When I tried to read her, her wolf threatened me." There was a pause, and I held my breath, like when I was a child and I listened in to my parent's phone conversations on the land line through another handset, worried they'd hear me breathing.

Don't listen to them. They're lying. The same haunting, distant thoughts I'd heard before struck me. I blinked, my head spinning with dizziness.

"She's going to try it tomorrow night," Alex said. "On the full moon."

"No, Allison is stronger than that. She won't lose herself like what happened with James. I won't allow it."

My skin itched as thoughts continued to accost my mind. Don't trust them.

"We have to exorcise her. It's the only way," Alex's voice said.

Listen! Listen to what they are planning to do to you.

My body ached as a shudder of heat pulsed over me, like opening a door to an oven. I scratched at my arms, the veins twisting and rolling under my fingertips as worms burrowed beneath my skin.

"That's why you want to go to the clearing?" Liz's voice continued.

"If we can't separate it from her, it will take over her, just like James."

Lies.

"But it didn't work with James, Alex. You remember—"

"I fucking remember all of it!"

There was a long pause. My breath caught in my throat like something was choking me. I heard the sound of my own bones cracking and joints popping.

"I will not lose another child," Alex said. "I won't let her become a monster. If it comes to it . . . I'll do what needs to be done."

He's going to kill us!

"Do you hear that?" Alex's voice asked.

"What?" Liz replied.

Everything was silent for a second. I heard my own heart pounding.

"Someone's listening in." Alex's voice was a whisper.

Run. Run!

Fire raged through my veins as I jumped to my feet. Bones shifted and snapped in my arms and legs. My vision tunneled around me as something deep within me drove me to push forward.

I couldn't control my own body. What was happening to me? I tried to force thoughts to stop myself from running, but everything was blocked.

What the fuck is happening to me?

The sounds of Alex and Liz getting out of their bunk resonated from beyond the divider.

My heart raced as I stumbled down the stairs and slammed into the door. Fur grew across my arms, spreading down to the back of my hands. I grasped the door's handle with clawed fingers, finally managing to grip it, and swung it open. As I leapt out of the bus, my arms and legs dislocated and crunched into a new form. My jaw and skull crushed, extruding out as a snout.

Stop! Stop! I needed to regain control, but my panicked thoughts remained locked in my mind.

I landed on four paws, my claws scraping against the ground and kicking up gravel and dirty snow. The muscles in my legs contracted, driving my body to run forward.

"Allison!" voices shouted behind me, but I didn't stop. I didn't look back.

My strong legs moved outside of my control, propelling me forward into the forest like I was falling. The world around me glowed yellow and blue in the light of the moon and stars, like wearing night vision goggles. I dodged trees and leapt over rocks, my feet rushing gracefully over the uneven ground.

A frozen stream babbled through the woods. I could hear a river rushing in the distance, and my legs propelled me towards it, my paws splashing through icy water as I ran along the side of the creek, searching for its destination.

Finally, when I was deep within the darkest part of the forest, I slowed, panting to catch my breath. My tongue lapped at the stream, quenching my thirst before my legs lead me away from the water.

What was happening? I'd shifted, but yet I was still here. I could hear. I could see.

They want to kill me. A haunting voice called from the back of my mind. They'll kill you too if you don't go along with them. Please, you have to listen to me. I don't want to die. I don't want us to die.

My wolf. I was hearing her, for the first time. The channel was open. We'd found the streamway!

How? I sent the thought out, hoping—praying—that she would hear me. How are we able to hear each other now? How am I conscious during the shift?

It won't last. I can't hold the channel open for long. I'm too weak. But, I'm growing more and more powerful each day. Eventually, I think we'll be able to communicate constantly. I think I'll be able to clear the streamway. This will work.

Pine needles crinkled under my paws as I paced around the forest floor. In the distance, above the sound of the babbling stream, I heard shouting and screaming.

"Allison!"

They're coming. My wolf told me. You have to trust me. Trust me that we can work together. Don't believe their lies. Don't let them kill me tomorrow.

I won't.

A growl came from behind me, and I snapped my head around. A huge wolf stood between two large pine trees, its jowls pulled back into a snarl, revealing sharp teeth covered in saliva. Its fur was a mix of grey and white with black patches surrounding its glowing red eyes. I recognized it. It was the same wolf I had seen on the bus—Alex.

Let her go. Shift back, now! The thought crashed like thunder in my mind. It was coming from everywhere around me at once. My consciousness dimmed for a second—fading nearly to black like I was on the edge of passing out.

What's happening?

I felt my lips curling into a snarl, and a growl escaped my throat.

A second wolf emerged next to Alex, this one smaller but just as elegant and sleek. Its coat was a mixture of deep brown, white and light grey. Its blue eyes glinted as they reflected the light of the moon. I recognized this wolf, too—Liz.

Shift back. Alex growled at me again. His tail snaked up in the air behind him as he bowed into a threatening pose. All of his hackles stood up on his spine, from his neck all the way to his tail. The two wolves prowled towards me. Liz took a line to my left, and Alex stalked around to my right, neither one of them taking their gazes off me.

I snapped my head back and forth between them as they backed me up against a tree. They had me out numbered. I locked eyes with Liz for a moment, trying to get a read on her—hear her voice like I could with Alex—but I got nothing.

If you stand down, we won't hurt you. Alex said, and I snapped my head over to meet his gaze.

Just let me shift back. I tried to communicate with my wolf, but she wasn't listening. Let me explain to them what is going on.

What if they don't believe you? They are planning to destroy us tomorrow! We have to get away from them!

My wolf let out a threatening bark at Alex, and he backed up. I took a step forward, my body moving outside of my control, like I was a passenger in a vehicle. My vision tunneled around me. Something violent tugged at my mind. I imagined being sucked into the event horizon of a black hole, my mind stretching out as the tremendous gravity stripped it away from my body.

Alex gave a defensive growl, and suddenly, I charged towards him, my mouth open with teeth bared. With a crash we collided. The full force of my body smashing into him knocked the wind out of my lungs. Alex slammed into the ground beneath me, letting out a high-pitched yelp.

My teeth dug into his neck. Skin broke beneath the pressure, coating my tongue in blood.

Stop! I tried to communicate with my wolf, but she was in too much of a frenzy. She was too panicked to listen to me.

Alex snarled as his claws scraped through my fur, grazing along my chest and startling me enough that I backed up. He rolled over and scampered to his feet.

I snapped at him, bloody saliva foaming in my mouth and oozing from my jowls and onto the dirt in front of me. I glanced at Liz for a split second before looking back to Alex.

Then, I turned and ran.

My feet kicked up dirt and pine needles as I darted away, my heart racing. I leapt over logs and rocks, putting as much distance between them and me as I could.

Where are we going? I tried to communicate again. Stop!

Before I had gotten more than a dozen yards, something heavy slammed into my side. I tumbled, my shoulder crashing into the ground. I skidded across the rough dirt until my back hit the trunk of a tree. My legs tangled around me as I tried to right myself.

I snapped my head up just in time to see a third unfamiliar wolf charging in with its mouth wide and teeth glistening. Brown fur rimmed the tips of its ears and top of its head like a crown.

I kicked my legs, pushing myself to the side to dodge the attack. After clawing myself to my feet, I snapped at the other wolf, my teeth clenching around nothing but fur as he ducked.

He bucked his head up, clapping me under the jaw and knocking me back. I bit down on my tongue, sending a sharp shock of pain through me.

His claws came at me. They tore through my fur and scraped against my skin. A stinging pain flared across my side.

Jake! I heard Alex's voice in my head. Don't hurt her!

I growled at the wolf—Jake—and snapped my jaw. He snarled back, his yellow eyes flashing in rage, but he took a step down from me.

I bared my teeth. Just as he was taking another step in retreat and I was getting ready to turn and run, an out-of-place sound rang through my honed ears.

Footsteps.

Human footsteps.

Before I could react, my vision suddenly went dark.

Something dug into my throat like a collar or a rope. I snarled and snapped my jaw. I was blinded, like there was a bag or a sheet over my head. The more I thrashed, the tighter the noose became, cutting off my airway. I choked, gasping for breath.

A hand gripped my side, fingers clawing into my fur.

"I'm so sorry, Allison," I heard Liz's voice say—her human voice. "I promise, this is for your own good."

There was a sharp prick in my right shoulder, followed by a cool rush like slushy ice through my veins. My head spun. I took a stumbling step forward, but my leg buckled beneath me, and I collapsed onto my side. The voices around me distorted as they became distant, fading out like the end of a 90s pop song until finally, everything went silent. Silent, and dark.