I stared at the double doors at the end of the hallway like they might swallow me whole. Which, considering the knot in my stomach, didn't feel far from the truth. Still, Lucy had done a surprisingly good job calming me down. The fact that she genuinely believed I could handle this meant more than I wanted to admit. My parents hadn't built Vale Biodyne by making careless decisions. They were methodical people. Brutally intelligent. The kind of people who thought ten moves ahead while everyone else was still studying the board. If they left the company to me, then there had to be a reason.

Even if I couldn't see it yet.

I squared my shoulders and pushed through the doors. The boardroom was quiet enough to hear my own breathing.

A long blackwood table stretched through the center of the room beneath a ring of suspended lights. Four people sat waiting for me, all dressed like they'd stepped out of a finance magazine cover.

"Mr. Vale," the oldest man said smoothly as he rose from his chair. "A pleasure."

Tall and silver-haired, Adrian Blackwood carried himself with the kind of calm authority that made people lower their voices around him. His gray eyes studied me carefully, not unfriendly, but sharp enough to cut through bone.

"Ethan is fine," I replied.

"Of course." He gestured lightly toward the others. "Please, sit."

I recognized them immediately from Lucy's briefing.

Evelyn Ward sat to Adrian's right, elegant and unreadable in a dark suit that somehow made her look even more intimidating. Across from her sat Lexi Peterson, younger than the others, composed and observant behind bright blue eyes.

Then there was Daniel Mercer. The treasurer looked about my age, maybe slightly older, though stress had already started aging him around the eyes. His expression tightened the moment I entered, like my existence personally offended him.

Interesting.

"Welcome to Vale Biodyne," Lexi said politely. "We're glad you're here."

"That makes one of us," Daniel muttered.

Evelyn shot him a look sharp enough to draw blood.

I pretended not to notice.

"You've met Lucy already?" Adrian asked.

"Yeah. She's been helping me figure out where I'm supposed to be."

"And the camera?" he asked immediately.

The room shifted.

It happened subtly, but I felt it all the same. Every eye locked onto me at once.

"I haven't watched it yet," I said slowly. "Why?"

Adrian leaned back in his chair. "You should."

Evelyn folded her hands together. "Your parents left instructions. Watching the footage is important before we can proceed with anything."

"It will answer questions," Adrian said carefully. "Questions we may not be able to answer ourselves."

I glanced between them. "Okay... now I'm officially concerned."

"As you should be," Daniel said coldly.

"Daniel," Lexi warned.

"What?" He spread his hands. "You all keep dancing around it like he's a child."

Adrian's voice sharpened slightly. "Enough."

Daniel fell silent, though not happily.

I crossed my arms. "You know, for a welcome meeting, this feels weirdly close to an intervention."

That earned the faintest twitch of amusement from Lexi.

Adrian stood. "For now, your focus should be learning the company. Familiarize yourself with the structure. Watch the recording tonight. After that, we'll proceed further."

Which sounded suspiciously like my life was about to divide into before and after.

I started backing toward the door. "Right. Secret mystery tape. Understood."

"Ethan," Evelyn said before I could leave.

I looked back.

"Your parents trusted you with this company for a reason."

The sincerity in her voice surprised me.

Before I could answer, Daniel spoke again.

"Let's just hope that reason survives first quarter earnings."

There it was.

I looked directly at him for the first time since entering.

"You're Daniel Mercer, right?"

His jaw tightened slightly. "I am."

"Lucy mentioned you."

"Oh, did she?"

"She said you're very passionate about this company."

Adrian coughed suddenly into his hand, clearly hiding a smile.

Daniel narrowed his eyes. "I've dedicated years to Vale Biodyne."

"I can tell." I smiled pleasantly. "And honestly, I respect it. Must be rough watching the CEO position go to somebody else."

Lexi looked down immediately, shoulders shaking slightly. Daniel's face reddened.

"But don't worry," I continued before he could respond. "I'm not insecure enough to fire people just because they wanted my job."

The room went dangerously quiet. Daniel opened his mouth, then closed it again. Adrian finally leaned back in his chair with something dangerously close to amusement in his eyes.

Interesting. So Daniel irritating everyone wasn't exactly breaking news.

I smiled at the treasurer one last time. "I think we're gonna get along great."

Then I walked out before he could recover. The second the doors closed behind me, muffled laughter erupted inside the room. Mission accomplished. I headed straight back to the elevator and returned to the ninety-ninth floor. Lucy looked up the moment I stepped out.

"Well?" she asked, leaning forward slightly at her desk.

"They seemed fun"

She laughed immediately. "That's good."

"Daniel Mercer definitely wants me dead."

"Oh no." Her grin widened. "What did you say to him?"

"Nothing terrible. Just putting him in his place."

Lucy shook her head, laughing under her breath. "First day in the building and you're already making dangerous moves."

I leaned against her desk. "They all told me to watch the camera tonight."

The amusement faded from her expression almost instantly.

"I figured they would."

"What's on it, Lucy?"

Her eyes dropped briefly before meeting mine again. "Something your parents wanted you to know."

Again with the careful wording. Whatever was on that tape, everyone seemed terrified of saying too much.

Lucy stood and brushed invisible dust from her skirt. "Come on. I'll show you the rest of the building."

She led me back toward the elevator, pointing out floors as we went.

"Seventy-two is research operations. Fifty-eight handles legal and acquisitions. Forty-seven is biotech development. Thirty-three manages logistics and external distribution."

"And the button marked W?"

Lucy hesitated almost invisibly before pressing it.

"The warehouse level."

The elevator descended.

"We store secured inventory there," she explained. "Some of the company's more sensitive materials."

"Heavily guarded secret biotech warehouse," I said. "Very supervillain."

She didn't smile. In fact, her whole expression tightened.

"There have been break-ins before," she said quietly.

Something in the way she said it made the temperature inside the elevator drop.

"Corporate espionage?"

Her hesitation returned.

"Something like that."

The doors opened.

Cold air rolled into the elevator.

The warehouse stretched endlessly beneath industrial lights, rows of massive storage containers disappearing into shadow. Security towers overlooked the floor from elevated platforms while armed guards patrolled the aisles below.

"This place is enormous," I muttered.

Then it hit me. A sharp pulse beneath my skin. I froze mid-step. Suddenly every sound sharpened with terrifying clarity. Boots scraping concrete. Radios crackling two aisles away. Heartbeats. Actual heartbeats. Pain ripped through my body so violently my knees nearly buckled.

"Ethan?" Lucy grabbed my arm. "What's wrong?"

Heat exploded through my veins. I staggered backward, gasping as something inside me twisted hard enough to make me scream. My hands-

"I don't know. Something's... wrong."

I could hear numerous footsteps further into the warehouse and the stench of something sour. It violated my nostrils and sent me staggering back into one of the shelves.

I could feel my anger bubble up as my elbows hit the cold metal, and before I could stop myself, I let out a deep howl that ricocheted off the cement walls around us. There was something in here with us that howled back, and I looked down at my dark clawed hands in bewilderment.

Claws burst through my fingertips. Lucy's face went pale. Bones cracked beneath my skin. My vision sharpened into impossible detail while a growl tore itself from somewhere deep inside my chest.

And suddenly every instinct in my body screamed the same impossible truth.

I was a werewolf!.