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had spotted something else, a lone deer up ahead, young and probably inexperienced. Mature deer were rarely caught by us. We weren’t all that great at being wolves.
    Byron was nearly invisible, lying on the ground as black as night, watching patiently. He couldn’t outrun a deer, but I could. It was my job to herd the deer toward Byron. We could communicate, knew exactly what each other needed. He indicated for me to circle around the deer, but he didn’t have to as I knew our routine well.
    I trod silently on padded feet, as alert as I possibly could be, but barely able to hide my excitement. I needed to eat badly. The feed might give me the strength to get over everything going on in my human life. Things were a lot less complicated for Nathan the werewolf.
    I couldn’t see the deer, but I knew it was still there. I circled wide, keeping out of its hearing range. I could be the most silent animal in the woods if I tried. But I had to try hard.
    I crept closer to the deer. It still hadn’t noticed me, so I prepared to sprint. I became a little too over-excited and unleashed a nasty growl. The deer jerked its head up in fright before it scampered away. It was fast, but I was faster and gave chase happily.
    She took sharp turns, trying to trick me, outrun me, but I was agile, too. I skidded at one such turn, ploughing heavily into a tree, but I quickly recovered and re-joined the chase, panting hard. I heard Byron growl in annoyance. He hated when I had fun. I bypassed the deer and cut her off sharply. I had to repeat that method a number of times before I drove her into Byron’s path.
    The deer realised her mistake and belatedly attempted to retreat. Byron stepped toward her before leaping into the air, aiming at her throat. The deer froze in terror. He gripped her, and she made a few desperate struggles to free herself, but a couple of sharp twists left her limp. It was over.
    I shivered. Watching Byron kill was always an amazing, but chilling, sight. I needed that Byron at my side if the other wolves attacked again.
    He tore a lump of flesh and chewed before making a noise in the back of his throat. I joined him eagerly. We ate until our wolves were satisfied. We had to keep them happy, or they made our human lives hell. That was part of the price for the strength and speed we gained.
    We both ran, along with Cú , using up all of that excess energy that had had us on edge for weeks. For the first time, I felt calmer, less ready to flip out.
    In human form, back in the car, I gagged at the thought of what I had done on the hunt.
    Byron threw back his head and laughed. “Seriously, Nathan. Do I have to hear this every single time you hunt?”
    “Shut up.” I rolled down the window, just in case. “ Opa told me you were worse than me for the first few years.”
    “Maybe I was. Not half as bad as your father, though. Good Lord, he used to throw up more than he ate. Kept it up, too, until he met your mother.” His laughter died away, but a grin remained. “Takes a long time to get used to it, but it’ll come, especially now that you have Perdita .”
    The air felt clearer between us. As a rule, hunting brought the family closer together. But Byron had avoided turning wolf since disaster had struck, and we were further apart than ever. I hoped that would change. I felt as though I were spiralling out of control whenever I left it so long between phases. It hurt physically to turn human again because my wolf relished the freedom so much.
    “Can’t leave it so long next time,” I said, gasping after another retching fit.
    He tensed.
    “What’s with you?” I asked. “Why do you keep avoiding it?”
    Hesitating, he glanced at me. “It’s hard for me to come back when it seems like there’s nothing to come back for.”
    “Oh, great. Thanks a bunch.” I glared at him, watching his jaw twitch. So I had been right. Amelia and I were nothing to him. Hearing him say it felt as if I had been struck, though, and it