My hands flex.
Claws extend—sharp, deadly, gleaming in the lamplight.
I didn’t call for them. Didn’t shift. Didn’t even think about transforming. They just came out, sliding from my fingertips like they have a mind of their own.
Stop. Stop this. What’s happening? Why can’t I—
My wolf is silent. Completely, utterly silent. The constant presenceI’ve had since I first shifted, the companion who has always been there in the back of my mind—gone. Not dead. Not sleeping. Just…absent. Locked away somewhere I can’t reach.
That terrifies me more than anything else.
I move.
Lightning fast. Faster than I’ve ever moved before. Too fast for anyone to react, too fast for Daciana to raise her hands in defense.
My claws are at her throat.
NO! STOP! PLEASE GOD, NO!
I scream with everything I have, every ounce of will, every desperate fragment of consciousness still floating in this nightmare. I thrash against the invisible chains holding me, flailing, fighting, begging.
But my claws tear through my friend’s flesh anyway.
Through skin. Through muscle. Through the delicate column of her throat.
Blood sprays hot across my face, across my hands, across everything. The metallic scent fills my nose, overwhelming and wrong. Daciana’s eyes go wide—so wide—with shock, with pain, with confusion.
With betrayal.
She tries to speak. Her mouth moves, but only a wet, gurgling sound comes out. Blood bubbles at her lips.
Then, she crumples. Her knees give out, and she falls, hitting the floor with a sickening thud.
NO NO NO NO THIS CAN’T BE HAPPENING WAKE UP WAKE UP WAKE UP!
But I don’t wake up. This is real. This is happening. I just killed Daciana.
The horror should crash through me like a tidal wave, but it’s distant, muffled, like I’m feeling it through layers and layers of thick cotton. The numbness swallows most of it, leaving only a dull, throbbing ache where the full weight of what I’ve done should be.
My body doesn’t care. Doesn’t stop. Doesn’t even pause to look at what it has done.
Astra screams. The sound is raw, primal, filled with terror. She backs away, stumbling over her own feet, one hand still protectively on her stomach. “Selene! What are you—”
The healer moves.
Fast. Faster than I would have expected from someone so young, so slight. She lunges past me, past Daciana’s body, and grabs Astra from behind. Her hand clamps over Astra’s mouth and nose, cutting off the scream.
Astra struggles. Her hands come up to claw at the healer’s arm, drawing blood. Her feet kick out, her body thrashing wildly. But the healer holds firm, her grip unbreakable despite Astra’s desperate fight.
What is she doing? Why is she—
Within seconds, Astra’s movements grow sluggish. Her eyes flutter. Her hands drop from the healer’s arm, falling lifelessly to her sides.
Then, her whole body goes limp.
The healer drags her to the window, grunting with effort. She opens it with her free hand, and the cold, night air rushes in.
Then, she looks at me.
