Darius tightened his grip on Hannah, her unconscious body light in his arms as he backed away from the monstrous form that had once been Alpha Austin. He couldn’t let fear take hold, even as the twisted creature before him snarled and advanced. Hannah’s hair had turned an unnatural white, and her skin felt cold to the touch. She had been affected by whatever dark magic fueled Austin’s transformation, but Darius couldn’t dwell on that now. He needed to get her out of there—before Austin’s madness claimed them both.
The chamber felt alive, the walls seeming to pulse with the same dark energy that now radiated from Austin’s monstrous form. The cryptic runes along the walls shifted, glowing faintly in hues of red, gold, and deep violet. It was as if they were feeding off the chaos in the room
