lip. She wanted the cure to her lycanthropy, and though that’s what I also
 
 wanted, something about it still stung.
 
 A muscle in my jaw tensed as Alia dumped the cup of Savannah’s urine
 
 into the beaker. I leaned forward, anxious for the solution to turn red. But it
 
 didn’t.
 
 Alia gasped and took several steps back as the contents of the beaker
 
 turned a blueish purple and began bubbling. “Oh, no!”
 
 She dropped into a crouch as the beaker exploded, sending glass shards
 
 across the room.
 
 I was up in a flash, drawing Savannah’s body to my chest as the scalding
 
 projectiles embedded into my back. Growling at the pain, I looked down at
 
 Savannah, who was trembling.
 
 “It didn’t turn red,” she whispered.
 
 I said nothing because I’d seen it, too, and I had no fucking clue what that
 
 meant. The wounds on my back began to heal, and the glass shards dropped
 
 to ground as my body ejected them. Once I was certain Savannah was
 
 unharmed, I turned to Alia, who was inspecting the mess on her table.
 
 “Damn. That’s never happened before,” she muttered.
 
 “Yes, but what does it mean?” Savannah crossed toward Alia, wringing
 
 her hands in worry.
 
 The potion maker inspected the base of the beaker with a frown. “Well, it
 
 means that it’s not fucking lycanthropy, and now there’s pee everywhere.”
 
 Savannah braced herself against the table. “So I can’t be cured?”
 
 My stomach knotted. What the hell had they done to her?
 
 Alia sighed, traces of remorse in her beautiful features. “I’m sorry. I don’t
 
 know what this is, and the only cure I have is for lycanthropy. If you were to
 
 take it, it would likely kill you. It’s too risky.”
 
 Savannah strode to the window overlooking the balcony, hugging herself
 
 tightly. Her deep melancholy tore at me, and my wolf surged in my chest. I
 
 stepped close and gently touched my hand to her back, subtly pushing my