Page 55 of Moon Claimed

No more.

Please.

The pained moans from my lips turned to high-pitched whines as the pressure in my face mounted. Mounted until my human shape could no longer contain the bulging shape pushing to escape. My cheekbones cracked, chin dissolving away as my mouth pushed forward, shoving aside my skin to lengthen to a snout.

Throwing my head back, Iscreamed…

… and mourned the howl that left my curled lip.

I trembled in the sand, a wolf, waiting for the next onslaught.

So weak. I listened to the whine escaping my animal face.

Hello, Andie Thana.

Intruder. I couldn’t even spare the energy to yelp. I inhaled instead, tasting the scents on the air.

Good water. Stone. Sand dirt. Little food. No danger.

Wait, what was I doing? This was crazy. Yet my nose hadn’t lied. I wasn’t in danger.

I was alone.

Mostly alone, yes. Except for me.

I froze as my ears picked out the familiar tones of the voice bouncing inside my head. Was thatmyvoice?

My brain was talking to me.

I am your wolf, Andie Charise Thana.

Frozen, I couldn’t move. Tuning inward, I could feel a… a foreign presence inside. I couldn’t say exactly where—in the same way I couldn’t describe myself as coming from one part of my body.

This thing was justinme. I mean, Sascha and Greyson were so different, but I’d always viewed them as Jekyll and Hyde. Different sides of the same coin. Butthiswas another entity within me. A living, breathing, and thinking entity.

This was bad. I should find out more.

You consider Luthers your enemy?she asked.

Should I talk back? Could she hear all my thoughts?Uhm, hey. And yeah. Luthers don’t like me. It’s returned.

Would that offend her? Him?

Good. I don’t like rules.

I closed my eyes.You’re a sigma.

The world was laughing at me.

Your labels are pointless. I don’t acknowledge them.

So that was a big, fat yes.Are you inside my, uh, body forever? And are you female?

Who knew how this stuff worked?

I am made for childbearing like you, yes. And I will be with you until death.

Crap, crap, crap!You kind of just stay in the background and talk?

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