half my vision turned red.
I stumbled to the ground in agony. My mind swam, and I couldn’t think.
Embrace the pain, my wolf said as she suddenly seized control.
She didn’t ease the transition but rather shifted in a single fell swoop.
Fur sprang from my skin, and my back twisted. My jeans and sweater
tore, and my face lengthened into a muzzle as my fangs erupted.
Unimaginable anguish ripped through my body, and in the span of two
breaths, I’d transformed from girl to monster.
The snakes had lost their hold during the transformation. With lighting
reflexes, my wolf clamped the larger serpent in our jaws and bit down. The
snake’s head was severed, and its body exploded in a spray of red.
Before the other snake could bite, my wolf dashed through the darkness.
Even limping, she moved with utter silence.
Kahanov spun around slowly, listening and searching the darkness of the
cavern.
As we crouched down, a pebble scrapped beneath our foot.
The sorcerer’s head whipped toward us, and he unleashed a torrent of
flame.
But my wolf didn’t dodge it. With a howl of pain, we leapt through the
inferno. Fur burning, we hurtled through the air and rammed our paws into
Kahanov’s chest, slamming him down onto his back.
He sank the Soul Knife into our belly, but my wolf ignored the pain. With
a savage movement, she bit down on his throat.
And tore.
The metallic tang of blood coated our mouth, and I gagged as Kahanov’s
body twitched and then went deathly still.
My wolf rose, and we leaned against the wall, panting. It’s done. I can’t
climb. Can’t take the knife. We need to shift.
The horror of the moment was replaced by a new fear. Shifting will kill
us! We’re bleeding out. We need to wait to heal, I said.