**ADDISON POV**
The moment the second heartbeat begins, my body reacts as if the earth itself is trying to tear me open. I hit the ground hard, fingers scraping through dirt, clinging to anything that might keep me anchored to this world. Energy surges through me in violent waves. They crash, recede, then crash again with even greater force.
My breath shudders out of me. My spine arches. My vision flickers silver at the edges.
The second heartbeat is not real. Not physical. Not an organ beating beside my own. It is the rhythm of my wolf. The rhythm of something ancient that has been trapped inside me for years. She is waking. And she is not gentle.
I dig my fingernails into the ground. Small stones cut into my palms. I barely feel them. My bones vibrate. My teeth chatter. My chest heav
