Blood. That was the first thing I smelled when I woke. Metallic. Warm. Mine.
The scent clung to the sheets, the floor, my skin—like a cruel perfume of power and pain. My shoulder throbbed, torn where the blade had sliced through flesh. The shape-shifter had warned me it would be painful, but he didn’t say it would feel like I was being reborn through fire.
Because I was.
I have my avatar now. The raw energy pulsed beneath my skin, screaming to be unleashed, to tear the world apart and rebuild it in my image. But I had to play it cool. Not just yet.
The chamber door burst open.
Luca.
His scent hit me like a storm—furry, smoke, a touch of something softer. Worry?
“Who did this?” His voice was a growl.
I didn't flinch. That alone took effort.
He stalked toward me, eyes raking over th
