The Fight Begins

Kane’s POV

The transformation took me almost instantly, muscle memory from decades of practice making the shift from human to wolf nearly effortless. My bones reformed, muscles restructured, consciousness expanded to include enhanced senses that made the world simultaneously simpler and infinitely more complex.

Calla hesitated beside me for just a fraction of a second—she’d only managed partial transformations so far, didn’t have the experience or training for full wolf form yet. Asking her to attempt it now, in the middle of combat, would be suicidal.

“Stay human,” I said through the pack bond we shared, that supernatural connection that let transformed wolves communicate despite lacking human vocal cords. “Use your speed and intelligence like Luna taught you. Let me handle Marcus directly—you focus on surviving Goran.”

Marcus was already shifting across the arena, his transformation smooth and practiced, refined over decades of regular use. Goran remained conspicuously human, which