Aurelia had never wanted blood before.
Fury, raw and unrecognizable, flooded through Serena's core and into her limbs. Her vision tunneled, gold flickering at the edges, and her hands trembled, curling into fists she didn't remember making.
The sting on her neck over her mark was the only thing keeping her grounded.
She closed her eyes, and with every ounce of discipline she had, pushed her wolf down. Aurelia was not happy and it echoed through her bones for three full seconds.
Fin's Alpha command cut through the courtyard. "Guinevere. Shift back. Now."
The grey wolf's legs buckled, bones cracked, and the shift was slow. A forced reverse shift that she was clearly fighting. Guinevere came back into human form, shackles still dangling from one wrist where the shift had snapped the other.
Guards closed in.
✦✦✦
A wall made of magic was still a wall, and Dex had never met one he couldn't step around. He moved around it in a blur, and pulled Serena into his arms.
