Malric’s Pov

I was losing myself.

For two days I had scoured every inch of neighboring towns, ridden until my horse collapsed beneath me, sent warriors into every corner of Velmora’s borders, yet nothing. No scent. No trace. Delilah was gone.

And the longer she stayed gone, the louder the madness inside me grew.

Tonight, when I returned through the gates of Velmora and found them half-asleep, warriors chatting as though their Luna had not vanished, I snapped.

I killed them.

My claws tore into their throats before they even realized what they’d done wrong. Blood stained the stones at the gate, and I let it. Let everyone see what...