adimir'

ancient stone walls like a whisper from the abyss. Deep within the fortress, behind heavy iron doors engraved w

g with something dark, something hungry. His fingers gripped the armrests of his thron

when the moo

as the Lord of the Drakovich Clan. It was a punishment, a consequence of the

ething els

trusted advisor, stepped inside, his dark robes trailing behind

carefully, "the hunge

ilting his head back. "You

eeps through these walls like a sickness. T

d feared him. He could hear their whispers in the halls-stories of the Mad Prince,

pple through the air. "Tell me, Lucien, how long do

m. "You are their Lord. The

angs gleaming. "Not unles

d before him, vast and endless, the forests below a sea of shad

g. Cal

twisted inside him. It was not

somethi

ing pr

y. "The blood moon will rise soo

the balcony railing. "The blo

th know that

iadimir's jaw. He knew

the hunger became unbearable, when the voices of the past

when the other sid

hat should

ampire nor human, but somet

ked onto it instantly. The scent drifted toward him, fami

o

t any w

ra

rst encounter haunted him-her defiant golden eyes, the way her presence

e thing he sho

et, h

longer just the thirst for blood. It was som

took a cautious step closer.

not answer. H

ries, something beyond the

he blood moon tha

was

s First Tr

f Ebon Hollow was eerily silent, save for the rustling leaves and Lyra's ragged breathing. She pressed

ough her veins

er. Her limbs trembled violently, her muscles spasming as

t. It's h

ble. That her body, still clinging to its fragile human form, would

idea it would f

ting in ways they never had before. Her spine arched, lengthening, her fingers str

gures standing at the edge of the clearin

dable. Even her father, Ulric, the Alpha, remain

ld not h

trial, her bu

ying to fight it. But the b

rpened, the world around her shifting. She could hear the heartbeat of a rabbit hidin

suddenly

different now. It was no longer som

time before a violent crack

en-sil

yra's place stood a massive wolf, her silve

ew, powerful lungs. Her claws dug into the di

ng was s

ken as another wolf-a dark, tow

fath

lack-furred form imposing. His golden eye

out warning-h

lashing. The weight of a tr

ncts screaming at her

no

d not be

ing. She lunged, her movements faster than they shoul

r wolves

e paw slamming into her s

got ba

her, then let out a l

a true Alpha,"

reathing hard. She knew

d her first transformati

she also knew s

east within her-

er. Wi

terrifi

ing with the

d at the edge of a quiet brook, her massive paws sinking into the damp earth. The refl

ooked bac

esh memory of her transformation still lingered-the agony, the power, the clash with he

beas

skin, whispering at t

un free. H

king her head violently. No.

ast consume them, their humanity lost to the bloodl

ot become o

ast wanted

lance she was barely maintaining. Her heart pounded, her

distant rustling. Instinct flared

stop it. Her claws flexed, her hi

o

the brook and stumbling back.

rder than s

d sky. The moon was still calling to her, filli

o regain

athing. Steady. Ground yourself. You are

ier said t

in, ears flattened. A scent drifted tow

ia

s smaller than Ulric, but still powerful in his own right, hi

his voice carrying through t

breath, lowering her

g before her with his arms crossed. "I know that look." His to

y. "It's louder than I

ransformation doesn't just change your body-it aw

lexing them. "I can feel it," s

e the beast only knows instinct. It only unde

to his. "And if I

ent before answering. "Th

an down he

hat she fe

earlier-the way her instincts had overtake

fig

hur

e half-feral creature destined

her shoulder, firm but reassuring. "It will take time

eyes. "What if

ned. "Then you fight fo

cool against her fur, the sounds of t

just a gir

just a wol

thing caught

hat would have