Narrator POV
The creature that was Maya Rodriguez stood in the center of the arena, barely recognizable as anything remotely human or wolf. Her body had twisted into something between both species, something evolution never intended to create. Patches of fur sprouted irregularly across skin that rippled with exposed muscle. Her spine curved at an impossible angle, vertebrae pressing against flesh that struggled to contain them. Claws, longer and sharper than any wolf's, dripped with Alexei's blood.
The crowd pressed backward, panic spreading through the spectators like wildfire. Parents grabbed children. Warriors reached for weapons. This wasn't the Silver Death they'd heard stories about. This was something far worse.
Alexei struggled in the creature's grip, his enhanced combat trainin
