I moved past him, past the ferals still clustering around me like moths to a flame, and walked to Stone's door. My hand trembled as I raised it to knock.
"Stone?"
A sound came through the wood. Low. Rough. Barely human.
"Stone, let me in."
"You shouldn't be here." His voice was wrecked. "Lumi, you need to go. Now. Before I—"
"I'm not leaving."
"I can't control it." The words were desperate. "Whatever's happening to you, it's making everything worse. My wolf is—he wants—"
"I know." I pressed my palm flat against the door. "Let me in anyway."
Silence.
Then the lock clicked.
I pushed the door open.
Stone was on the floor in the corner, his back against the wall, his body shaking with tremors. Sweat glistened on his skin. Hiseyes were pure gold—wolf completely at the surface—but there was no violence in them.
Just desperate, aching want.
"I can smell you," he said. The words came out guttural. Half-growl. "From the moment you entered the building. It's everywhere. In my lungs. In my blood." His hands clenched against the floor, claws extending and retracting. "What's happening to you?"
"I don't know." I moved closer, even though every instinct screamed that I was walking into the den of something dangerous. "My senses are—everything's heightened. And there's this heat building inside me—"
Before he could respond, the door to the east wing banged open.
"Lumi!"
Neal. He strode through the common area, ferals parting around him, his face tight with concern. He stopped in the doorway of Stone's room, took in the scene—and went pale.
"You shouldn't be in here."
"I needed to see them."
"That's exactly why you shouldn't be in here." He reached for me, then hesitated. "May I?"
I nodded.
His hand found my forehead. He hissed through his teeth.
"You're burning up." He pulled a small device from his pocket—a digital thermometer—and held it to my temple. Waited. "104.2. Lumi, you're running a serious fever."
"I don't feel sick."
"You're not sick." He stared at the reading. "This isn't infection. This is something else."
"The heat." Stone's voice came from the floor. "It's starting. Can't you smell it?"
Neal went very still.
"Smell what?"
"Her." Stone's golden eyes found mine. "She smells like heaven. Like home. Like everything I've been starving for." His body shuddered. "And it's getting stronger."
