Chapter 77

Addy’s POV

Damien cut the engine, and suddenly we were swallowed by the hush of the forest—like the world pressed the pause button and leaned in to eavesdrop. He turned to me, eyebrows raised. “Ready?”

I swallowed. “As I’ll ever be.” I didn’t exactly relish the whole bone-cracking, gut-wrenching agony of shifting—I’d nearly forgotten how much it felt like someone was doing Jujitsu on my skeleton—but no one ever accused me of being a quitter. I pressed my hands to my knees, braced for the fireworks.

The shift hit like a brick. Every muscle and fiber of my body rebelled against gravity and sanity: jaw creaked, fingers snapped over, ribs creaked under new contours. If it had been filmed, it would have zero stars from the Better Business Bureau for pain management. I squealed once—just a single, high-pitched “AHH!”—and then the world tilted, and my wolf self took the wheel.

Freedom. My paws hit the earth, and the hellish zing of pain drained into oblivion.