Chapter 523. The Beast Within

Aviva doesn’t scream. She stares up at me with her normal, slightly bored, yet skeptical, expression she naturally wears. I’m relieved, but a little unsure, as she goes perfectly still. 

The mist fades until there’s nothing between us, nothing blocking her view of the power, the gift, that makes me incredibly unique and horribly deadly. 

This is only the third time I’ve ever done it. 

It feels… great. Needed, especially after everything that happened over the last few days. 

I hold her gaze. She scans my eyes, relieved to find them the familiar blue I see in the mirror every morning. But nothing else about me is familiar. 

‘I can’t shift back for a few minutes. I needed this,’ I say into her mind. 

‘What is this?’

‘My… I’m not sure what to call it. My father and my uncle call it a beast form.’ I do my best to stay perfectly still so I don’t leave talon marks on the wood floor. My fur–now black as night and t