THE BEAST IS UNLEASHED!

It was hard to tell if the sounds around them — leaves dropping in the forest, distant birds calling — were louder or quieter than normal, because to Serena, everything sounded muffled. It wasn’t the peace of the woods she felt — it was pressure building. Because in her form, the Onyx wolf lived there, always. It thrummed through her veins, a shadow pulse beat of not hers. Now it was louder, banging about the walls of her head, demanding to be heard, demanding to be let out.

She pitched to the side, unable to hinder the draw of the thing. Her muscles were sore, and every step hitched with a million others. They hadn’t escaped their secret stronghold by the skin of their teeth, the fight she’d somehow persuaded herself to leave behind only a distant whisper of smell and sound, but the tension vibrating between her and Lucian was one she could practically pluck between her fingers. It was suffocating, heavy in the atmosphere suspended in the space between them, and instead, it only fed the thing swirling in her core.

A few steps ahead of her, Lucian strode forward, the deep lines of his brow a laden contrast from the tight-lipped expression that had graced him since they’d bolted from the pub. The mask of calm cracked, and Serena didn’t know if he was terrified more for her or for the danger closing in all around them. She sensed his gaze and did not look up. Instead, she focused on the ground beneath her, trying to keep some semblance of control.

The Onyx wolf had always been there, sleeping just underneath the surface. But in recent years, it had felt like more than that. It felt like it was beginning to define her. She could sense its hunger, hunger for release, a scraping, insistent thing that sat within her. And the more she tried to hold it in, the more powerful it grew.”

Serena balled her hands into fists at her sides, digging nails into the soft, sweet flesh of her palms, fighting to pretend there wasn’t a wolf at her ear. No longer the wolf — a storm, dark and furious and feasting. And part of her wanted to yield to it, to let the storm carry her off, because it felt so strong and free. But another part of her, the part that remained captive to her humanity, was afraid of what might happen if she did.

“You okay?” Lucian’s voice intruded on her thoughts, kind yet staid. He angled his face toward hers in what was a compelling mix of worry and another expression, stuff she couldn’t even parse.

“I’m fine,” she said, the words coming too fast and too near. She made a face at her own tone, but did not apologize. It was harder and harder to give a damn about how she sounded.

Lucian didn’t reply, but she sensed his gaze on her. His refusal also brought a different sort of pressure.

Elias followed him, looking ahead, expression unreadable. Since they’d left behind the fortress he had scarcely spoken, quieter than she’d ever known him to be, and something about his state just felt wrong to Serena. For did he not contain a shadow, a darkness of depth, a something not yet fully disclosed and it made her uncomfortable. They all had secrets — and hers were becoming a bit too hard to swallow.

As the sun dipped towards the horizon, casting surrounding trees in twilight colours, they came to a clearing. It was nothing much — a small stretch of grass with trees on either side — but it would do. Lucian with the palm of his hand made a stop signal; everyone stopped.

“We’re going to stay here for the night,” he said softly. We cannot make this march happen without a hurt solved stop. We’ll leave before dawn.”

Serena nodded: a break from the barrage, a relief. She sat squat on a patch of grass, letting her back lean against a tree. She closed her eyes for a moment, letting the cool air do its thing. She needed to calm down. She just needed some time to get her ducks in a row.

But the Onyx wolf did not wish her silent. It was always staring at her, plotting to push her over the edge. Serena wheezed, her palms trilling over the dimples of her forehead, trying to talk the load into unwrapping itself from her head. She couldn’t think. Not with the wolf clawing at the inside of her.

Lucian had settled himself beside the fire, facing her. He’d wanted her to open up, to talk, but she wasn’t there yet. She couldn’t open up. Not yet. He didn’t understand. No one did.

Forget thinking about getting a damn parking space anyway when Elias’d already started unpacking, body moving in this well-oiled way that said practice practice practice, like he’d done this a thousand times. He hadn’t said, but Serena could feel the tension within him, as well. It was a statement for silence that says even more. He was keeping something — something big — a secret.

They could be silenced for what felt like eternities, and Lucian had finally broken theirs. “You’re not Serena, Serena.”

She looked up at him and saw him looking at her. There was anxiety in his eyes, yes, but also something more elemental, that something more elemental. Maybe it was fear. Fear for her. The fear of what they were doing to her.

“I’m fine,” she said, her voice cracking. “Just tired.”

Lucian shook his head. “It’s more than that. I can feel it, Serena. So that wolf inside you … it’s winning.”

A spike of rage flared up within her, but she swallowed it. Her own misery? Or the wolf’s voice? Either way, it didn’t matter.

“I’m in control,” she said, but even as she said it, she knew it was a lie. The Onyx still clung, still ripping and tearing through her mind, still searching for an opening to escape. And she was becoming aware of it expanding.

Lucian had dropped his voice into a whisper. You don’t need to go through this on your own. Let me help you.”

The words were painful, not in the way they meant them. Not that Serena needed his help — not now. Nobody was coming to help her.

“I don’t need your help,” she said, rising. The Onyx wolf poked her, its need bordering on painful, and she gasped shallow rasping breaths as her chest tightened closed. “You don’t understand. Do you know what this feels like … this … this thing inside you taking over everything.

Lucian also stood, one hand reaching for her, his voice steady yet anguished. “I know more than you think I know, Serena. And I’m not going to let you self-immolate.’”

She froze. For a moment, the words lingered in the space separating them like a storm cloud, heavy and embattled.

Elias shifted, the silence splitting, his tone frigid. “If we’re going to fight this battle, let’s get ready … for what the next battle looks like.”

Serena turned to face him. His eyes were sharp, with razored gaze that fixed on something beyond the clearing’s threshold with razorlook.

“What do you mean?” she asked, her voice rough.

Elias’s eyes narrowed. “Yes, we’re dealing with a rogue werewolf in the area. I can feel it.”

A moment before she could explain, the energy around them snapped. It felt like the forest was getting quieter, an itch on the back of Serena’s neck. She spun, instinct taking over. There was something wrong. Something was coming.

And then it was there.

A dark shape galloped between trees, quicker than Serena could follow. It attacked her before she could get on the road, either. She backed away instinctively, but the beast closed the distance. It hit her and she fell to the ground.

The Onyx wolf broke free inside her, pure fury and ruin. The rasp lost in the roar; the force tore through Serena like old leaves. Her hands that were clenched and then, suddenly, it burst.

She wasn’t Serena anymore. She was the Onyx wolf. And this beast, it would soon discover, would soon discover exactly what meeting her fury was like.

Lucian and Elias pressed ahead in vain. Serena’s eyes lit up with a feral glow as she surrendered fully to the power of the Onyx wolf.