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I couldn’t see the expression in its eyes, but I knew something had changed. Because in the next moment, a rough tongue dragged slowly across the bare base of my neck. “What are you doing?!” I yelped, jerking instinctively, suddenly feeling exposed in a way I hadn’t expected.

Panic tightened its grip on me when the second lick dragged from my neck to my cheek. The beast brought its face directly into my line of sight. My vision blurred beneath the deep color of his coat, the dark fur swallowing my view as he assessed me.

Arianna reached down and stroked his coarse fur. “I want to show you something,” she murmured. Then she unhooked the thick chain collar from his neck.

Her eyes finally found mine as she spoke softly. Something in her mood had shifted. I could feel it in the air. The tension that had filled the clearing earlier eased, just a little. I stayed quiet. The last thing I wanted was to interrupt her. If she could force me to my knees with almost no effort, I didn’t want to imagine what she could do when I was already compromised.

Arianna nudged the beast aside with her foot, pushing him forward out of my way. I braced for a growl. But he didn’t even flinch. He moved as if she’d spoken to him, quiet and obedient. No aggression. Nothing but an eerie calm. He stood still, unnervingly silent.

Wild things like him weren’t meant to be tamed, yet around Arianna he behaved more like a soldier than a beast. His movements were more controlled now than when he’d launched at me earlier in the shed. His entire demeanor carried a sharp edge of discipline. Maybe even monsters needed structure. “What exactly am I waiting for?” I asked.

“Just watch. And get up, Alex.”

The shadows that had pinned me to the ground finally loosened. Their iron grip released me at her command, melting away like ice and leaving a lingering chill against my body as the night air embraced me again.

Standing slowly, I kept my focus on the creature while another part of my mind carefully marked where Arianna stood.

I would never forget this night. The way my body had felt utterly useless beneath her grip. Or the way that creature’s rough tongue had scraped against my skin. At least the mermaids had possessed some beauty to pair with their viciousness. But these two, these underworld-bred beings, felt far more monstrous than alluring.

The hyena whooped once at me, as if signaling for my attention. The bass of the sound rattled through the clearing, sending vibrations through my chest. The forest echoed with another set of deep, laughing cries. It stood in the snow with those deadly yellow eyes staring straight into the depths of my soul before suddenly throwing its spotted head back.

Then—

A sickening crack of bone split the night.

The shift was violent. Unnatural.

It grabbed my attention the way a car crash does—horrifying, impossible to look away from. Another snap followed, sharp enough to twist my stomach. The hyena’s body trembled with a bone-deep shudder. The change came quickly, but not quickly enough to hide what was happening.

Reality itself seemed to twist as it began.

Fur along the spine tore open, peeling like a cocoon split down the seam—something raw and human clawing its way out. Flesh burst through in slick patches, dark and steaming in the cold air. A violent tremor ripped through the back, forcing it to arch before straightening as bones snapped into place. Another crack followed as the legs jerked, locking into a new shape. The animalistic snout smoothed into something human, though still savage, with only a wild, untamed beard left behind. Above it, a thick crown of jet-black hair, kinky like cotton, framed the head. The features that emerged were sharp and hard-set.

And he was tall.

Easily eight feet, an enormous tower of shadow.

I had never seen skin that gleamed dark as oil before. It stretched tight over muscle built with brutal strength. And the eyes, still the same dull, unreadable yellow, had followed him from the beast. The wild scent of musk and smoke sharpened as the body finished contorting upright. He stretched the naked form beneath the moonlight and drew in a deep breath.

The cool breeze drifted toward me. The scent carried with it something strange—like fire fading into ash, with a faint trace of earth beneath it.

Just as I observed him, his thick nose turned toward me as if doing the same. I didn’t know how many times during this visit I’d find myself thinking I’d never seen such a thing, but this transformation would be carved into my memory forever. As painful as it had sounded, there had been no grimace, no tightening of the jaw. No sign of distress.

Only steadiness.

Maybe even a hint of fascination glinting beneath the moonlight.

Arianna stepped past me, her expression softening as she approached him. There was a calm reverence in the way she looked at him. She lifted a hand and gently cupped his cheek. “Bomani,” she sighed, “I want you to properly meet our Bastard King, Alexander.” Her gaze shifted briefly toward me as his own followed. “I know you’ve already been introduced… but this time it’s properly. He’s Valentina’s friend. I don’t want you to harm him.”

The shadows bending around her body stretched through the air and reached him. They curled around his ankles and climbed upward, wrapping around his waist before settling against his figure, draping from his hips like dark cloth.

Bomani looked down at her.

For the first time, something flickered across his features, faint, but unmistakable. His brow furrowed, and his mouth lifted just enough to resemble a grin. Then he turned to me, that same strange softness lingering in his eyes. “Starvos Belento Eari,” he rumbled. “Friend… you are indeed a friend.”

For the first time that night, my mind froze the same way my body had earlier. Everything around me seemed to stop the moment he spoke that name.

It was like I knew it, but couldn’t attach a memory to it. Something clicked somewhere inside me all the same. The wind roared around us, kicking snow into wandering spirals. But the cold wasn’t the only thing sending a shiver through me.