Staring—well, more like glaring—out of the window, a man with a square nose on a square head pointed a thick finger directly at her. Then the face disappeared.


    “What’s a bad guy doing here?” Brendan cried. He popped to his feet and brushed himself off.


    “Probably coming out to grab us. Maybe Aunt Violet is a hostage. But not for long.” June rushed toward the trees. “Turn around.”


    She hadn’t fought another person before as a werecat, but if that guy had Aunt Violet, she wouldn’t hesitate. He might even be a demon.


    “Woah, woah, hold up,” Brendan said, waving his hands frantically. “It’s much better if he thinks we’re harmless kids. He might even talk about his plans in front of us; bad guys can’t help but monologue, and adults always underestimate kids. Just play along so we can mine him for information before you go werecat on him.”


    June wrinkled her nose. “Seriously?”


    “Seriously. Let’s go back to the porch. That way Dr. Stupid in the car will at least see the guy too.”


    June giggled as they walked back the way they had come. Brendan had taken a serious disliking to Dr. Chase.


    At the porch, Brendan stopped on the first step. “You really should think of a catchphrase to yell when you Shift.”


    June continued past him. “That’s ridiculous. I’m not yelling a catchphrase.”


    “Fear the werecat!” Brendan responded just as the door flew open and the man June had seen in the window now filled the doorway—literally. He was colossal. June approximated his height at 6’3” and thought she’d never seen such a square-shaped person before. He wore a black suit, with a black shirt underneath, and no tie. His black hair, slicked back on his head, shone in the light coming from the entryway behind him.


    Good grief, he even dresses like a villain, she thought.


    “Where’s Aunt Violet?” June growled.


    The man smirked and June realized he resembled a badger. She resisted the urge to Shift and wipe the expression off his face with a claw. Just as he reached out to grab her, he looked over her head and saw Dr. Chase’s car, and presumably, Dr. Chase still hanging his dopey head out the window. The smirk turned into a look of…something. Maybe it was surprise, maybe it was confusion, maybe it was fear. But why would anyone be afraid of Dr. Chase? June decided she couldn’t read his blocky face well enough to know for sure. The badger-man grabbed June in one hand and Brendan in the other and had just started pulling them inside when a voice rang out.


    “You there, you in the suit!” Dr. Chase yelled. As June turned to watch, he popped out of the car, duffel bag in hand. He was doing something courageous; maybe she’d not given him enough credit after all. “Take your hand off those children!”


    The badger-man frowned and wrinkled his forehead as Dr. Chase shuffled up to the porch. He tripped on the last step and sprawled awkwardly at their feet. To her surprise, she found that a little bit of pity had welled up inside her. Brendan, on the other hand, must have found the whole display amusing, because he shook and his mouth made a tight line like he was suppressing a laugh.


    Dr. Chase stood up, red-faced, and brushed himself off, hung the duffel bag on his shoulders, and stepped in front of the badger-man. “How dare you, sir! I’ll have you know this is June Robinson you are manhandling, the daughter of a prominent scientist and colleague, Cordelia. You are playing with fire if you don’t unhand her this instant!”


    Any pity June felt burned away and she had to resist the urge to strangle Dr. Chase. How could he be so stupid as to say her name? The badger-man, however, ignored Dr. Chase entirely, still clutching a handful of June’s and Brendan’s shirts, and made to pull them inside.


    “Look, the police are behind you!” Brendan yelled.


    The badger-man spun around, eyes wide. He didn’t release them, however, and when he faced them again, he did not look pleased. Switching his grip so that he had both June and Brendan in one hand, he awkwardly pulled Dr. Chase inside the house, too, with his other hand and kicked the door closed. He seemed uncomfortable grabbing Dr. Chase, as if he was far less confident when his kidnapping involved adults instead of teenagers.


    A single lamp lit the entryway and the hallway that led to the back of the house. With one hand, the man wheeled June and Brendan down that hallway like a grocery cart while he pulled Dr. Chase—who now seemed to be trying to swallow his head with his own shoulders—behind him. June caught quick glances of other rooms as they rolled along. Each looked ransacked, with drawers strewn about the floors, pillows ripped open, couches and chairs upside-down.Find this and other great novels on the author''s preferred platform. Support original creators!


    “What was that about the police?” she mouthed to Brendan.


    “I just wanted to see if it would work,” he replied in a whisper.


    They were led into the kitchen and pushed toward seats at the island. The room had not been spared from the destruction: shattered dishes covered the counter, and the cabinets were opened and empty. Some drawers had been pulled out and left hanging open too. Aunt Violet was nowhere to be seen. The weak light from the entryway left the kitchen filled with shadows.


    “Sit,” the badger-man commanded. His accent sounded Eastern European. He yelled something over his shoulder, down the hallway, in a language that June couldn’t place. She closed her eyes and focused. He seemed to have a reasonably calm heart rate for someone kidnapping two teens and one buffoon, and June could hear someone coming down the steps from upstairs.


    The badger-man wedged himself against the side of a bank of cabinets and studied his three prisoners. Then he looked at the back door, behind them on the far side of the room. He didn’t appear concerned that they might try to run.


    Brendan glanced around the kitchen. Dr. Chase whistled awkwardly on her other side.


    “Who are you?” June demanded.


    Badger-man eyed her and sneered—or maybe he smiled. June couldn’t tell the difference on his squat face. “You may call me Officer Dolph.”


    Brendan laughed. Dolph’s face went taut with anger. “Is my name funny?”


    Under his stare, Brendan cowered and shook his head. “But can we, uh, see your badge then, please?” he asked. “Since you’re an officer and all.”


    “No.” Dolph''s tone brooked no argument, and Brendan seemed to agree because he shriveled up and sat very still. June gave their captor an icy stare.


    In a few moments, another man came down the hallway into the kitchen, dressed just like Dolph. His nose was less square and more puggish, like a bear’s nose. June blinked several times to make sure her eyes were working—the man stood even taller than Dolph. She guessed he was just an inch or two shy of seven feet. He had short, choppy black hair and puffy little ears, just like a black bear, and he was built like, well, a bear. Still, if she Shifted, she would be bigger than both men combined. And way stronger.


    The bear-man’s eyes went wide when he saw the three captives. Dolph spoke rapidly in the foreign language and the bear-man nodded. He walked to the opposite side of the kitchen and stood in front of the back door.


    “Why are you here? Where’s Aunt Violet?” June asked.


    “Quiet!” Dolph ordered. “We know who you are, girl, so tell us, where is your mother’s research?”


    June turned her head slowly to face Dr. Chase and made her eyes into murderous slits. He gave her a weak smile and seemed to understand her meaning—his shoulders sagged even lower.


    These were the men who robbed the lab. They looked big and strong enough to overpower Mr. Moseley. And that meant one of them had bled him and used that blood to write on the glass. Her hands clenched into fists.


    “It was you,” she growled. “You robbed the lab.” Her insides burned with fury.


    Dolph chuckled like he found that amusing. “Us? No, we did not rob the lab. But you certainly know the person who did.” He said something to the other man that June couldn’t understand and they both laughed. “Now do not play dumb with us. You know what your mother was doing, no? So tell us where the research is; her life may depend on it. And you don’t want anything to happen to your friend here, do you?” He motioned to Brendan.


    “No, please, please don’t hurt me!” Brendan protested in a shaking voice that sounded both forced and exaggerated to June’s ears. He didn’t chew on his lip, or show any other signs of actual worry, either. “Just tell us why you want the research,” Brendan continued.


    Another ambiguous sneer-or-smile split Dolph’s lips. “We want it because we want it. You think I will tell you everything because you asked?”


    Now Brendan looked confused, and to June, it appeared genuine. “But you, uh, you owe us that much if you are going to murder us or whatever,” he said. “That’s how this works.”


    Dolph and the bear-man both laughed.


    “Officer Rudolph, shall I show the boy how this really works?”


    A grunt from the bear-man, apparently named Rudolph, must have meant “yes,” because Dolph lumbered over to Brendan. Whatever he planned to do, it wasn’t good. June’s eyes darted around the room. If she Shifted, she’d probably send Dr. Chase and Brendan flying in opposite directions. Dr. Chase would hit a wall, which was fine with her. Brendan, though, might go flipping over the island and into the cabinets and drawers—he might get hurt.


    Dolph towered over Brendan, and Brendan’s face turned a ghostly white, again genuine.


    As Dolph raised a hand in the air, Brendan turned to June with panic in his eyes and then scrunched them closed.


    The blow never landed.


    June’s hand shot out and grabbed Brendan by the shoulder. She pushed him to the ground, and as Dolph swung his hand through empty space, she Shifted. In a blink—less than a blink, even—she exploded into the werecat. Bits of silk pajamas and sweater went flying.


    As her monster emerged, time moved in slow motion. Her werecat body collided with Dr. Chase and sent him flying sideways just like she’d predicted; he would hit the side wall and be fine. Brendan was in the process of falling to the floor, positioned to land on his butt. Other than perhaps a bruised bottom, he’d be okay, and maybe his pea-cloak would cushion the landing.


    Dolph, still in the follow-through of his swing, opened his eyes wide as he realized what she’d done, but that was all he had time for; she grabbed him by the arm and threw him toward the hallway like a trash bag. He sailed through air littered with tiny pieces of clothing falling like snow.


    She heard another grunt from behind and spun to see Rudolph beginning to transform.