The world explodes in scent—earth, sweat, fire, blood, moon.
And then—
I am my wolf.
She is me.
We are one.
The circle erupts with gasps, howls, stunned silence.
Cassie freezes.
I bare my teeth.
She runs at me, shifting in mid-air.
My wolf does not yield.
We meet midair with force that makes the ground tremble. I don’t hesitate. I don’t flinch. I let the instincts take over. Every move Cassie plans, we’re already there.
We don’t fight to win.
We fight to end it.
Cassie hits the dirt hard, pinned beneath my forepaw, my teeth inches from her throat.
Then slowly, carefully, Cassie’s wolf form begins to shimmer and recede. Fur dissolves. Limbs contract. She shifts back into human, chest heaving, dirt streaked across her arms and jaw. Still beneath me.
Then she turns her neck to the side, deliberately baring her throat.
She yields.
The shift takes me again—this time in reverse. Bone and sinew folding back into girl.
I stand there in the ring, sweating and shaking, back in human skin.
And the entire pack is staring.
Not like I’m strange.
Not like I’m an outsider.
But like I just changed everything.
Bolton steps into the circle, his eyes glowing.
He doesn’t say a word.
He just reaches for me, and this time, I don’t step away.
Chapter 14
Bolton
She’s still trembling beneath my hands.
Not from fear. From aftermath.
