Alexei's POV

My bones began to crack and reshape, snapping with the rhythmic pop of dry wood. The familiar, agonizing heat of the shift surged through my veins, a fire that promised destruction. They wanted to see me burn their pack down? I was more than happy to oblige.

I moved with a lethal, heavenly grace, a blur of fur and teeth. I didn't just fight; I tore. Heads were ripped from shoulders in a spray of crimson, but I didn't care. I couldn't stop. I was drowning in a toxic cocktail of anger and cold, paralyzing fear, the fear that I might not reach her in time.

I spotted...