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changed when we were touched by our designated full moon. I didn’t want to contemplate all that awaited me—even the possibility of death.
    “Yeah, I guess,” I muttered, wanting an easy explanation. “But if you’re a Shifter, why are your emotions cut off?”
    “I don’t think they are.” He dipped an onion ring into the ketchup and proceeded to eat it as if I wasn’t dealing with an incomprehensible situation here. How could he be so unaffected? It irritated me that he wasn’t willing to help me solve this puzzle.
    “Why aren’t they slamming into me?” I persisted.
    “I don’t know.”
    “Are you doing something to hold them back?”
    “If I am, it’s subconscious. Or maybe it’s because we’re not at Wolford. Have you ever sensed Shifters’ emotions when you weren’t at Wolford?”
    “Yes.” I’d lived with my parents in Tarrant, before they’d died. Humans and Shifters resided there, although the humans weren’t aware of our abilities. The small town was near the national forest that we considered our true home. As a child, I’d felt Shifters’ emotions—even when we were on vacation. My parents tried to take me places where there would be mostly humans, but Shifter families enjoy Disney World as much as humans do. I’d gotten lucky with Athena.
    Daniel distracted me from my thoughts when he set his elbow on the table and bent his arm until his fingers touched strands of my hair. I’d released my hair from its clip before leaving work. Now it hung loose past my shoulders. “So you don’t know what I’m feeling right now?” he asked.
    Swallowing hard, I thought it would be extremely easy to lose myself in his eyes, especially when he acted as though touching me was the most natural thing in the world for him. Why was he so comfortable around me when I was so uncomfortable around him? I’d never before flirted with a guy. I’d watched Lisa, picked up a few tips, but I’d never tried them out. As much as I wanted to with Daniel, I knew that he was here on a mission to take me back to Wolford. I didn’t want to fall under his spell. I turned my gaze away from him. “I think you’re messing with me.”
    He kept his hand where it was, his fingers touching nothing but air now, his gaze roaming slowly over my face. “It must be very hard to be you.”
    “You are the king of understatement.”
    Slowly he sat back. “I know what you’re feeling toward me. Anger. Resentment. You’re no good at hiding it. But I’m just the messenger, Hayden.”
    “No, you’re not. You’re the bounty hunter.” I leaned forward again, wanting him to see the desperation in my brown eyes. “Why don’t you just go back and tell them that you couldn’t find me?”
    “Because three days ago you turned seventeen. Happy birthday, by the way. And in nine days your full moon will roll through the sky and you’ll go through your first transformation. You know a female Shifter risks death if she tries to go through it without a mate. And then there’s the harvester. You can’t face it alone.”
    “I have to face it alone,” I insisted. “The harvester snatches a soul at the moment of transformation. To guide me through it, a mate would transform at the exact moment that I do—and bam !” I slapped my palm on the table for emphasis, not that my action startled him. His eyes didn’t so much as widen in surprise. “The harvester has us both.”
    He assumed that stillness I’d seen in him earlier. There was only one movement: a slow blink.
    “Do you see now?” I asked. “Do you understand?”
    “The elders insist that I bring you back. Explain to them what you think will happen.”
    “It would be better if I just stay here where there are only Statics. There’s a chance the harvester won’t even find me here. I’ve studied the transformation process as it’s described in the ancient texts. I really believe I can survive the physical pain.”
    “Hayden.” He took my hand. Again I was