CHAPTER 33

Alph tore through the thick woods behind the school, his quickened senses tracking the scent of Maxine. He knew the earthy smell of pine needles and dampened dirt, but beneath it all was something unmistakable-the trace of Maxine. Yet hers was different, stronger, more intense, tinged with a wildness as if the woods themselves were carrying her through the air, drawing him to where she had gone.

"Maxine." Alph whispered to himself, his mind racing. He just could not shake off the picture of her earlier-the raw energy coursing through her veins, morphing. The emergence of her wolf was fierce and uncontrollable, like nothing he had ever encountered. He did know that Maxine was strong, but this. This was far beyond his expectations.

He fought his way through a thicket of bushes, still reeling from the events that had just unfolded. "Coreen shouldn't have done that," he muttered under his breath, anger bubbling beneath the surface. Coreen had deliberately provoked Maxine into taking th