I felt the world tilt as Kaspar’s weight suddenly vanished from my shoulder. The sound he made as he hit the quartz wasn’t a roar, but a wet, human wheeze that cut through me like a blade.
“No!” The scream tore from my throat.
I dropped to my knees beside him. The fur on his back was already retreating. The silver of the bullet had triggered a violent, agonizing regression. Black blood, thick and oily, pooled on the white stone.
“Sloane! Sloane, we’ve got you,” Silas’s voice was closer now. He scrambled up the ridge after us, his face a false mask of heroic relief.
“Stay back,” I spun, my teeth bared. “Don’t you dare come another step.”
Silas froze, his hand outstretched. Behind him, Thea and Eden were sobbing, holding onto each other like their lives depended on it. The handgun d
