The pain of the transformation was a fire that cleansed me of the sun’s curse. It was agony, but it was necessary. The human skin felt like wet parchment. It was a weak, suffocating prison that betrayed my true strength. The snap of the silver chain was the sound of freedom.
A roar ripped from my lungs, leaving me breathless for a moment as the world snapped back into place.
I rose from the bed, my hooves clicking against the stone. I was whole. I was the Krampus. Night had begun and it belonged to the Master of the Hunt. But tonight, the first soul I hunted was already in my lair.
I turned, my senses immediately pinpointing her. She was huddled on the sofa, clutching an old book. She wasn’t screaming. She wasn’t even flinching. She was watching me, her pupils were dilated with a del
