Shirley
The scream tore from my throat before I even realized it had left me.
There, sprawled in a puddle of blood and moonlight, was a massive wolf—its silver fur matted, its flank torn open by something brutal. It struggled to breathe, chest heaving, its amber eyes flickering with a strange, almost human awareness.
And then… it stopped.
The silence that followed was louder than my scream.
I froze, heart hammering against my ribs like it was trying to break free from my chest. My breath came in shallow gasps, eyes fixed on the lifeless beast in front of me. I had never seen a wolf that size before. It was wrong—everything about this was wrong.
My knees threatened to give way, but strong arms caught me from behind and held me firmly to a broad chest.
“Breathe,” Dante murmured in my
