Katie was somewhere she'd never been. It was nighttime and the moon cast an eerie glow through a set of narrow windows. She moved closer to them, her bare feet silent on the cool stone floor. She touched a hand to a pane of thick glass, an old-fashioned type of glazing that somewhat distorted the view outside. Her breath fogged the surface as she leaned in closer to look.

"Katie." She was not surprised by the whisper, nor by the firm hand on her shoulder.

She turned into his embrace, looked up into Adrian's soulful eyes. His shirt was open and he pulled her to him, pressed her body against his bare skin. She slid her hands across his firm chest and down. She pressed her lips to the place over his heart and breathed his name into her kiss. "Adrian."

He speared his hand into her hair, his strong fingers cupping the back of her head, pulling her closer still. She could feel his breath on the top of her head as he kissed her there. She lifted her head slightly, moved her lips up his body while her hands moved down.

"Tell me you want this." He rumbled in her ear. His mouth moved across her earlobe, her jawline, her throat. "Tell me you're mine."

She was swimming in the erotic pleasure of his lips on her neck, his tongue moving slowly and firmly across her pulse. Her breath was shallow, almost non-existent. There was only her heart, pounding hard and fast. She could hear it in her head, inside the room. And his kiss—his lips, his tongue, his teeth.

"Say it." He wrapped his arm even more tightly around her, his voice a lusty, insistent growl. "Tell me, Katie."

"I—" She could barely breath. Every cell in her body was alive and excited, every nerve ending tingling at the pressure of his...

"Katie." His breath was hot and urgent. His body was hard and insistent. She could feel his hardness, pressing into her, demanding her response.

She gasped for breath, grabbed at his back, desperate to pull him closer, to have more of him, to...

"Katie." His lips drew her skin. His teeth scraped across her throat. The feeling was somehow wrong, forbidden. And yet, it was so entrancing, so pleasurable, she couldn't resist. She wanted it.

He said her name again. Every time he said it, she fell deeper and deeper into the abyss. Every time she heard it, felt it on her skin, she let herself fall. "Katie."

"Katie!" A woman's voice niggled at her subconscious. She resisted, at first, unwilling to give this all-encompassing eroticism up. But the voice was insistent. "Katie! Look at me!"

"Katie, say it." Adrian's mouth, his body, his hands were her entire world now. She lived for this touch, for this feeling.

"Katie! You have to stop!" Katie's eyes opened a slit. Her lids were so heavy and her body was so tired. She tried to focus. The woman...

And then Adrian's hands were on her bare skin. Where were her clothes? Wasn't she wearing clothes when she got here? She opened her eyes a little more.

"Katie." Adrian's fingers caressed her firmly, unrelentingly. Her body responded on its own.

But her mind grasped for reality, tried to pull her up and out of the fog. She cast her eyes around for the voice, for the woman.

"Katie, wake up!" She said. And now Katie could see who it was.

"Grandma..." She mumbled.

"Wake up!" Grandma stepped out of the shadows of the room, as if she were emerging from another place. She held her hand out in front of her and a ball of light began to glow in her palm. "You have to fight!"

"Katie, say you're mine." Adrian held her tightly. If he saw Grandma in the room, he gave no indication of it. His hands and lips were just as insistent as before.

Only now, Katie wasn't sure she wanted this, after all. Suddenly, it seemed not just forbidden, but wrong. How did she get here? Where was she? Why was she doing this with Adrian, a man she had barely spoken to? And why was Grandma here?

"Wake up!" Grandma was closer now. The ball of light in her hand was bright, growing brighter.

"I—" Katie's heart was beating hard, but now it wasn't the erotic sensation it was before. Now it was something closer to confusion, to fear.

"Wake up!" Grandma's ball of light flared and she thrust it into Katie's face, the searing light blinding her, making her jerk her head back, groan—

--as she awakened into the morning sun, cutting a sharp slice of light through the gap in the curtains and shining directly into her eyes. Katie squinted, put her hand up to block the rays, as she swung her legs out of the bed.

Her heart was still pounding wildly. She looked around the room, but nothing was out of place. Nothing was different. Except, she was shaking. And her nightgown was on the floor, next to the bed.

**

Katie stepped into the family room. Blake was sprawled across the couch, one leg up over the arm and one foot on the coffee table. When he saw her, he quickly moved his shoes off the furniture.

"There you are!" She said. "I've been looking for you."

"Oh hi, Miss Gallagher." His gaze had returned to the television.

He didn't move from the couch, so she came closer. "It's time for class."

"Okay." He nodded. "Can I just finish watching this?"

She glanced at the television, surprised that it was only a morning news show and not some monster movie. "What are you watching?"

He glanced up at her, "A girl was murdered last night."

"Oh my gosh! That's awful." Katie turned her full attention to the television. "What happened? Where?"

Blake shrugged. "They said near downtown, on Devonne Street."

Katie started. She remembered seeing a street sign for Devonne Street. It was very near the restaurant they were all at last night. A chill ran through her.

"The police think she was attacked by a wild animal." Blake elaborated. "But I think it's a maniac serial killer."

It could not be coincidence that the murder took place near where they were, where Walter was. He was right. The killer was trying to make it look like him, trying to frame him.

"Because, like, this is not the first one, right?" Blake explained. "All the murders are just like this. That's interesting, right?"

Katie collected herself. She picked up the remote control and clicked it. "Yes. But while that's a very interesting and frightening story, you shouldn't be watching this. It's time for class."

Blake got up reluctantly. "Fine."

Katie took a deep breath. She had a terrible feeling that she couldn't quite place. It started with that crazy sex dream about Adrian Chesterfield. Then somehow, Grandma found her way into her subconscious. And now this. She had to get a grip. She was starting to think that maybe Miss Bonham was not wholly to blame for her actions.

**

"Okay, I think that's enough math for today." Katie looked at the children's bored faces. It was late afternoon and they were restless and ready to be done with lessons. "Let's move on to Health Science. Do you remember what we talked about yesterday?"

"Noooo!" Blake groaned and leaned back in the chair, almost bent in half with the pain of listening. "No more, Miss Gallagher!"

"That's right, Blake." She continued, undeterred. "Disease. So for your Health Science project, I want you to think of a disease..."

Blake rolled his eyes and shouted toward the ceiling. "Scurvy! Malaria! Hiccups!"

Delia kicked his chair under the table. "Hiccups isn't a disease, Blake."

Katie sighed. "Let me finish, please."

"Pregnant!" Blake shouted.

Clarissa joined in. "Also not a disease."

"As I was saying, think of a disease that is a problem in the United States today. And then come up with a way of getting information on the disease to people." Katie continued. "It could be a pamphlet, a poster, a television commercial..."

"A song?" Clarissa seemed a little more interested now.

"Yes. Anything." Katie smiled her encouragement. "As long as you are being informative about the disease. Think of not only causes and symptoms, but also treatments and preventions."

Clarissa wrote something in her notebook. "So like a public service announcement on lung cancer?"

"Yes. That's a great idea." Katie nodded.

Delia raised her hand excitedly. "What about how to wash vegetables before you eat them? So you don't get collie?"

"That's e coli." Clarissa corrected.

"Yes, that's great, Delia!" Katie looked at Blake. He had straightened a bit and was starting to gain interest.

He laughed. "I'm going to do a poster with all kinds of gross stuff on it."

Katie shrugged. "As long as you also do the research on it."

Blake nodded. "Cool."

Bill knocked on the door and entered at the same time. "Sorry to interrupt, Miss Gallagher..."

"No apology needed." She smiled and led him several steps away from where the children were sitting. "What's up?"

Blake snickered. "Look. Bill's coming to flirt with Miss Gallagher again."

"I just wanted to let you know that Walter was... uh... called away on business a few minutes ago." Bill gave her a meaningful look. "He won't be home until late."

Katie smiled to hide her concern. The children were watching and she didn't want them to think there was anything wrong. "That's unfortunate."

"Nah." Clarissa said quietly. "Look at that fake smile. Bill is solidly in the friend zone."

"Okay, everyone. Get started on your assignments, please." Katie turned back to Bill and lowered her voice. "I'm glad you're here. I wanted to talk to you."

Blake deepened his voice and kissed the back of his hand as he spoke. "Oh, Miss Gallagher. I love you so much. Kiss. Kiss. Kiss."

"Stop it, Blake!" Delia whispered harshly.

Clarissa laughed. "I don't see it."

"I know I'm old, Miss Gallagher, but I'm so in love." Blake was emboldened by Clarissa's laughter. He stood and pretended to hold someone. "Kiss. Kiss. Kiss."

Katie turned to him and snapped her fingers. "Blake, sit down and focus, please."

Blake sat down quickly, his cheeks reddening. "Ok. Sorry Miss Gallagher."

Clarissa laughed again. "Busted."

Bill frowned. "Did you see the news?"

"Yes. Keep your voice down." Katie moved even further away from the tables. "Come over here."

She tapped the screen of her tablet and handed it to Bill. "Here's the online news report about the woman who was killed last night. Look at the map. That's the same place that we were."

"Yeah. I know." Bill nodded. "Marcus Jones is questioning Walter about it. That's why he's going to be late."

"Yes, but look what it says. The time of death was after we were there." Katie pointed to the tablet in Bill's hand. "And she was torn up. Like, by a werewolf."

Bill snapped the tablet shut angrily. "Katie, I went back for my jacket. You can't think that I—"

"Of course not." She shook her head and took the tablet from him. "I wasn't implying that at all."

"Sorry." Bill seemed a little confused. "I guess I get a little sensitive about it."

Katie raised her eyebrows. "Bill, think about it. It wasn't a full moon last night."

He nodded, not quite following her line of thinking. "Yeah. So it couldn't have been me."

"Or any other infected type of werewolf." Katie nodded. "But it could have been a natural born werewolf."

The thought took a moment to sink into Bill's mind. Then it dawned. "You're thinking it could have been the werewolf that created me?"

She shrugged. "What are the chances that there are more than two werewolves in such a small town?"

Bill was already jumping ahead in his mind. "So if we find it, we can cure me."

"Exactly." Katie said. Then she sobered with the implication of her words. "But that means you would have to..."

"I can do it." Bill's face firmed with resolve. "Let's not forget, this person is a killer."

"Yes, Bill." She frowned. "But... you're not."