Nine doses of wolfsbane remained in the vial.

I held it up to the greenhouse light, counting the drops left inside before setting it on the table. Nine mornings. Nine days until the suppressant compound stopped protecting my secret.

Then the buffer would dissolve, my real scent would surface, and the bond would be free to complete whatever it had been fighting to finish.

I swallowed today's dose and put the vial away.

Nine days.

"You're going to wear a hole in that table if you keep ...