Alexei's POV

The world turned into a blur of fur and teeth. We came to a bone-jarring halt as the Lone Wolves swarmed us, we were hopelessly outnumbered. My first instinct was to reach Novel, but the wolves didn't give us the luxury of time. They charged from the shadows, a wave of grey and black.

I leaped from my horse, shifting before my feet even hit the dirt. The change was a familiar agony, muscles snapping and bones elongating until I stood on four paws. I tore through the first wolf, the metallic taste of blood filling my mouth, but for every one I downed, two more appeared. One...