He raised his hand.
The claws gleamed in the moonlight, ready to carve through flesh and bone.
This was it.
My chest seized, my pulse wild and broken. I couldn’t stop shaking, couldn’t think beyond the horrifying certainty that in seconds, I’d be nothing but torn meat on the chamber floor.
“Stop,” I whispered, voice raw, broken, desperate. “Please… don’t do this.”
The claws came down—
I braced for pain. For death.
But instead—
The beast froze.
His arm trembled mid-air, claws mere inches from my chest. His entire body shook violently, muscles seizing, fur bristling, a guttural growl tearing through his throat. His head jerked back, eyes squeezing shut as if in agony.
He staggered, growling louder, fighting something unseen. His breaths came ragged, sharp, desperate, his chest heav
