shirt. I flailed. I had never learned to swim. The wolves never let the slave use their pool. I was choking, sinking. Strong cold hands grabbed my waist and pulled me up. Kad

" "Tomorrow is the full moon banquet. Marcus promised you to Gunnar. If you don't show up, he loses face. He will come for you tomorrow night whether it means war or not. So you have 24 hours to learn to not die." 24 hours. "First, fangs," Kade said. He walked behind me, and in the mirror I saw us - him tall, pale, powerful, me small, wet, wrapped in a towel, eyes red with a silver ring. "Call them out." "I don't know how." "You did it in the basement when you were angry. Do it again. Think of Ethan stepping on your hand." I thought of Ethan. Of his shoe. Of being called a pet for nineteen years. Heat flooded my face. My fangs slid out with a soft _click_. Long, sharp. "Good. Now retract." I tried. Nothing happened. "You have to want it. Like a cat with claws." I focused. Thought of being normal. Slowly, they slid back in. "Again. Out. In. Out. In. Faster." For ten minutes I did it like an exercise. Out, in, out, in, until my jaw ached. "Now claws," Kade said. "Same thing. Think of scratching Ethan's smug face off." I laughed despite myself. Then I growled. And my nails grew - black, long, sharp as knives. "Good girl." The words made my stomach flip strangely. No one had ever called me good. "Now both at once. Fangs and claws. And eyes." I did it. In the mirror, I looked terrifying. Red eyes, fangs, claws. But also... beautiful. Powerful. Not a slave. Kade stepped closer behind me. He was so close his chest almost touched my back. I could feel his coldness. "Now the hard part. The wolf." "I don't want the wolf," I whispered. "The wolves were cruel to me." "The wolf is not them. The wolf is you. Your father's blood is cruel, but your wolf is yours. If you reject it, you will never be whole. And a half-powered hybrid cannot beat Marcus Wolf. Call it." "How?" "Howl." "What?" "Howl, Lin Yue. Like you did last night." "I can't howl in an apartment!" He smiled in the mirror, his fangs showing. "This building is soundproof. No human can hear us. The wolves outside? They already know you're here. Let them hear what you have become." I hesitated. Then I closed my eyes. I thought of the moon I saw through the vent. I thought of running. Of freedom. Of the wind in my hair for the first time. A sound started in my chest. Low at first. Then louder. It wasn't a human sound. It was not a vampire hiss. It was a howl. A clear, high, silver howl that made the mirrors vibrate. My body changed. White fur sprouted on my arms - then vanished. My ears became pointed. My teeth became all sharp, not just fangs