I woke to the sound of Layla's voice calling my name. At first, I thought I was dreaming. Opening my eyes, I saw her standing over me at the edge of my bed. She wore a plain white tank top and jeans—nothing special, but she looked amazing.

"Hey, you," she said. "Eric let me in. Hope you don't mind. I texted a bunch, but you weren't answering, and I'm pressed for time."

I sat up, pulling the blanket over my body—cause, you know, and glanced at my clock.

"It's five A.M.," I said. "The sun's not even up yet."

"Am I that bad to look at first thing in the morning?" she asked, smirking.

"No, it's just—so what's up? What's so important?" I swung my legs over the side of the bed and patted the mattress beside me. Layla sat, our legs briefly touching.

Then, she inspected me closer. "Oh, my God," she whispered. "What happened to you?"

It took a moment to understand the question. But when her fingertips pressed against my cheek, the memory of my battle with the vampire came back in full force. I winced.

"Oh, it's nothing," I lied. "I... it's embarrassing. A raccoon startled me when I was taking the garbage out last night. I fell into some bushes and got kind of cut up."

She stifled a laugh.

"Hey, I said it was embarrassing."

"I know," she said, actually laughing now. "I'm sorry."

I let her have her moment. I was lying, after all. I couldn't expect that much sympathy. After she quit laughing at my expense, I said, "So, you were saying?"

"I'm leaving Atlanta for a few days." I think I noticed a bit of a frown, but she recovered quickly. "Won't be back for a week or so. After that big, scary dog and now the raccoon, I just wanted to make sure you'll be okay alone."

I laughed. "Yeah. I'm a big boy."

"I'm serious." She crossed her arms over her chest and gave me a stern look. "I realize what we talked about last night was pretty heavy. Just promise me you won't go searching for underground tunnels without me? It could be dangerous."

"And you're going to make it safer?" I asked. As soon as the words left my mouth, I realized my error. But, surprisingly, Layla just smiled that gorgeous smile.

"You know, I know we just met, but I feel like I've known you for centuries."

It was an odd word choice, but I agreed. "Same."

"Will you text me while I'm gone?"

"If you want me to," I said. "Why are you leaving?"

"Family stuff," she said.

"And you didn't know last night?"

She got a little flustered, tucking her hair behind her ear. "It's sort of an emergency situation."

I didn't press her. My own family had more problems than I liked to admit.

"I understand," I said. "Family stuff can be weird. Look, thanks for coming in person. You could've texted when you got there."

"I could've, but then I wouldn't have been able to see you."

"Guess I'm the lucky one, then," I told her.

She stood. "I should get going. I've got a plane to catch."

Keeping the blanket firmly pressed against my mostly naked body, I walked her to the door of my room. As I opened it, she turned to me.

"I'm really glad we met, Jude."

"Me too."

I stuck my hand out, not sure what she would do. She smiled and took it. Her skin was so soft. And cold. Electricity pulsed through me.

"Bye," she said.

"Talk to you soon."

She left, and I shut the door behind her. I stumbled back to bed and sat, the impression of her hand still tingling on my skin.

Class would be starting soon, but I decided to skip it. Missing one lecture wouldn't kill my grades, and I needed the time. Also, with everything going on, school just... didn't matter.

So, as it turns out, shape-shifting is exhausting. I'd changed my clothes as soon as I got home last night, laid down to figure out what leveling up meant, and was asleep before I knew it.

Since I was awake, I decided to try again. But first, breakfast.

I took the stairs two at a time. Eric must've dragged himself back to bed. His door was closed, and the living room was trashed from his night hanging out with Astrid.

I poured myself a bowl of Cruncher Browns and plopped down at the kitchen table. The familiar orange screen faded into view, and I looked it over.

[Unallocated Ability Points:] 1

[Unallocated Skill Points:] 1

Well, that seemed straightforward enough. I'd already decided to up my [Crafting] skill until I could activate [Spellcrafting], so I tossed the Skill point there.

That was easy enough. But then the real choice became where to allocate my Stat point. I was blown away when [Intellect] actually seemed to help me last night. I don't know if I'd have thought to use a tree branch as an impaling device all on my own. But I was also pretty disappointed in my strength and agility.

Honestly, I still wasn't even sure where those came into play. Sure, I could assume [Might] would affect my overall strength, but what about speed?

I checked my stats, and it seemed I'd already gained some speed and strength.

[Level: 2] Cub

[Auspice:] Crescent Moon (Theurge)

I still had no idea what that meant.

[Experience:] 35

It seemed like killing that vamp gave me an added 25XP.

[Humanity:] 100/100

[Health:] 10/10

[Current Form:] Human

[Strength:] 17

[Intelligence:] 18

[Dexterity:] 16

[Constitution:] 13

[Wisdom:] 15

[Charisma:] 14

If I remember correctly, I'd gained a point in [Strength] and [Speed]. That was good news. It meant I didn't need to worry about adding a point to the [Might] ability at the moment. I decided to focus on non-combat Skills and Abilities. So,I spent my Ability point on [Intellect] again. It had done me some good once, maybe if I keep going, I'll be Stephen Hawking or something.

So, with my adjustment of [Crafting], my Skills read:

[Transform:] 70%

[Unarmed Melee:] 70%

[Sprint:] 50%

[Crafting:] 75%

[Heal Basic Wounds:] 5%

[Knowledge:] 5%

[Research:] 5%

[Sense Motive:] 5%

[Search:] 5%

I could only guess the percentages meant I'd level up in those areas once I reached 100%. I'd have to wait to find out.

After successfully crafting the compass and finding the Darkness, I was excited to create more useful items.

However, even after leveling up [Crafting], I still couldn't craft a single piece of armor or weapon that would be helpful in any real fight.

My only hope was Spiritcrafting, but I wouldn't get access to that until I got past the first five cub Levels. Spellcrafting seemed even more powerful, and that took Level Ten. I would just have to stick to the path.

I dumped my unfinished cereal in the sink, then headed to the bathroom for a shower. As the warm water washed over my body, I noticed all the tiny cuts were already starting to heal. I guess being a werewolf wasn't all bad, I reasoned as I washed my hair.

After I dressed, I popped open my laptop and loaded the campus news homepage, curious if there were any reports from last night.

A few clicks later, I found a small one-paragraph brief about the tree being mysteriously destroyed. Campus police were looking for leads. I sighed a breath of relief. I would need to be careful going forward. That was the second time I had almost got killed on campus. The next time I might not be so lucky.

For now, I needed to wait til sundown and venture back to the Earth Sciences Building for another look.