rey

esponded with cold, calculated precision. Years of Krav Maga training, d

retreat.

y nose, close enough for me to smell the metallic tang of her rage. As her momentum carried

lance, a momentary b

the openi

s, flashed out. A sliver of polished steel caught the light.

nd with a flick of my wrist, brought the blunt spine o

seized her wrist, twisting it to control her movement. In the same fluid motion, my ot

e finger. No one saw the invisible cloud of custom-engineered fungal spores that settled deep int

ut programmed to react violently to a specific DNA sequence. A s

seconds. To the terrified onlookers,

h shock and fury. The wolfless weakling knew how to

e lunged again, this time abandoning her claw

nkle slammed into the leg of an overturned stool. A sharp,

A grunt of agony escaped my lips, my mo

Her foot connected

heap. The scalpel flew from my numb fingers, skitt

nting, her hair disheveled, a cruel, triumphant smile

elegant shoe poised directly over m

e forward, but Bertha, recovering from he

began its

TO

that commanded instant obedience. It cu

ot froze

le, functional tunic of a high-ranking pack official. Mr. Hayes, the pack's steward. His gaze swept the scene, taking in

ss this. Mr. Hayes was a stickler for pack law and o

ine wince of pain cross my

delivered. The play

do was wait for