His Luna, His Enemy, His Doctor

ent crack of wood splintering, the metallic scream of the lock tearing free, the heavy slam of something large colliding with the

I see

built for something larger than the shape they are currently forced to hold. His dark clothing hangs torn at the seams,

eyes that st

are

t bloodshot. Not

pth that suggests intellig

redistributing, shoulders tightening, the air around him growing dense with tension. The room

s wrong. It is layered, a dual vibration of

, and his voice drags against

nter at my back. I am aware, with sharp

lookin

ace of casual arrogance in his tone now. What remains is a

y, not in a smile but in anticipation. "S

phrasing makes my pul

the transformation begins before

ot happen

in horrif

ath skin that splits and reforms in the same breath. His hands contort, fingers elongating, nails blackening and curving into claws that scrape

e layered cracking of bone, the wet

onds, the

ace stand

me even on all fours, its shoulders nearly level with my chest. Its red eyes burn with calcul

elief I have about biology and medicine fract

I whisper, though the wo

l m

not he

in the center of my living room, shattering the coffee table beneath them. The impact drives

ts jaws inches f

eeper and resonant with a power that fe

he sh

le and bone, skin giving way to dark fur threaded with streaks of silver that catch the light like molten metal

t the ground, th

gold, blaze wi

wood. The second red-eyed wolf bursts through the ruined doorwa

nnot

ould

in place, breath shal

ention fixes on me wi

not he

lun

tretch

les toward me, something

fe

hing

de

is no faint echo. It surges through my veins like wildfire, exp

stinctively, but I do

's body jerks sideways midair as though struck by an invisible wall. It crashes into the adjacent

silent for ha

's oppone

staring at them as if the

t touch

not sh

ing answer

there is no other word for it-p

man form, though his body remains tense, streaked with blood that is already fading as

s, and there is no triumph

their bodies low and wary now. They no longer look at

, its voice disturbingly intelligibl

odl

es something d

nses sharpen painfully; I can hear the faint hiss of a leaking pipe in the wall, the distant elevato

ed with my own heartbeat,

sepa

exte

intertwin

g the counter t

nderstand,

erstand," Kael replies.

as if testing the boundary of

pectedly, replaced

pted from me earli

nded to

rote

e, preparing to

ise my hand

de me, the heat that now feels less l

leap, I do

ele

ppling through the apartment. It slams into both wolves midair, hurling them backw

trembles unde

e is only the echo of distant

sil

ret

n the air eases, in the way the hea

my knees weaken. His hands grip my arms firmly,

e," he say

door across the kitchen, where

rifying moment, my

himmer

iv

d they retu

oom t

or is gone. My wall cracked. Furniture splintered. And

ot be real

his voice low and certa

at?" I a

are no lon

eet below, faint but approaching. My neighbors will ha

slightly as he look

come agai

ttles over me heavier than

egan, I realize with cold certainty

s wha