A deep growl reverberated around the room. Alice stepped forward, her fangs on display. Fur rippled around her arms and bones snapped. Nails turned into claws, and fabric disappeared behind growing muscles

"How. Dare. You," Alice whispered.

Devon met her eyes, unflinching. His back was straight, but I watched as his fingers clawed at the underside of his chair.

"You know why," he said.

"I'm not Elias' responsibility anymore. I haven't been the moment I became a pup."

"Exactly. A pup."

She cracked the floor as she stomped closer. "I'm a Grimm!"

"And still a pup! A child!" Devon roared.

He stood up and launched the chair into the wall, smashing against the wall.

"Children hide. Pups. They eat or get eaten!"

Her chest had transformed with sickening pops, indicating her ribcage expanding. Her legs extended as she crouched, her muscles tensing.

Devon remained human except for his claws.

Alice leaped, her body completing the transformation. When she landed, she stood up to Devon's height.

"Live. Die. Hunt! I am a Grimm!" she yelled. "If you can sacrifice pups. Sacrifice Cain. Then you can-"

"No!"

Devon's words washed over my core, the same authority from before aiming to grip me tight.

My canines cut into my lip as I stifled the rage that flared.

Devon pushed a finger into Alice's chest. "Not you! You're! You're…"

It happened too fast for me to react, but as Devon smashed into the wall, I stood up and summoned Freki. He went to Devon. I stood in front of Alice, arms held akimbo.

"Stop. That's enough," I said.

Alice moved so that her teeth were inches from my face. Crimson eyes bore down on me, but I kept my cool.

"That's enough, Alice."

"Wulf!"

I ignored Freki's growl and kept my focus on Alice.

"Why?! He's willing to let you die. You don't matter!"

Her claws gripped my shoulder, and my cloak shifted them off.

"And I'm furious. But I already knew I meant less than you."

"Raaagh!"

Spittle smacked my face, and I turned away as hot air blew into my eyes. "I'm not Devon, Alice. But I am stronger than you."

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"Not right now!"

"Try me."

"Why are you defending him!"

The world took on a brighter shade, its colors exploding in my sight. My core churned, the lava inside my chest spreading to every inch of my body. I felt an itch, a need to let the mana run wild and transform me. The beast wanted out of its cage, but I kicked it away.

"I'm not. But he won't hurt you, and you won't get anything out of this. The Ashtons don't need this, and screw Garret for letting him get under our skins. You want to beat him up? Do it after we get back to the Warren!"

She tensed, the muscles in her legs coiling like springs.

Pack! Dominion! Fight!

Fuck off!

For a moment, she looked ready to tear my throat out. The hulking werewolf towered over me, and I was prepared to intercept. But a heartbeat passed, and she looked away. Bones adjusted and the fur sank into her skin as clothes reappeared at the end of her shift.

As Alice calmed down, I turned around and found Freki beside Devon, snarling at the hunter.

"I'm leaving," Alice whispered before the door to the study slammed shut.

The room shook, and I heard metal break as the door settled awkwardly inside its frame. The handle was twisted in three places and the edge of the door had impressions of fingers pushed into the material.

Now that we were alone, I dropped the calm I had been forcing upon myself and welcomed the pain as it grounded me. Green flames sprouted from my palms, wanting to spread before I forced it down and kept it contained. It hurt, and my muscles spasmed, but I accepted the disruption to the emotions churning beneath the surface.

"Devon," I said. He tore his eyes from the door and frowned as he saw me. "I don't believe you anymore."

"What do you mean?" he growled.

"You never outright stated it. But I knew. And seriously, fuck you. My life isn't yours to sacrifice. I'm not your lamb to slaughter."

"I said-"

"Doesn't mean crap! Not when you say that Alice is the exception, and I'm not."

He stalked forward, and Freki spat a torrent of flames at his face. Devon stopped, but he didn't back away as the flames dissipated.

"Cain."

"I'm not as angry as Alice. But I need some time to think. Should I expect trouble from Garrett?"

A frown creased his face, but I ignored it. He had plenty of time to explain, just not today.

"No," he said eventually. "He heard my warning."

I closed my eyes and let the flames sputter. They burned at my veins, and I let them cool, until only my core continued to slosh around in protest.

"And the Blood Harvest, what is it?"

"It's… A slaughter," he growled. "The worlds align, and the monsters are empowered. They spawn in mass, flooding the lands. We perform a ritual and force them to come to specific places. We then hunt and fight until it ends."

"And you didn't want Alice to participate because?"

He winced. When he looked me in the eye, he looked away a moment later. "The mortality rate for low-level Grimms is high. We'll lose people; we always do."

I didn't know what to do with the information. I could barely think, let alone deal with the bombshell he dropped.

Freki backed off until he sank into my shadow. I turned around and opened the door, only to be greeted by a very concerned Yadalee.

Her eyes darted around the room, taking in the smashed chair and the dent in the wall before she swallowed.

I patted her on the shoulder and left her there as I walked away. I stopped only once I turned the corner and was out of sight from Devon. Despite what I said and all the bravado, I felt like ripping something's throat out.

A growl left my lips, and I swallowed it, burying the primal urge to act on the impulse.

Hunt.

Yeah, that would have been an easy solution. Another horde like the corpses back at the village would have been perfect for a time like this. But I wasn't at the village, and destroying the building around us would have been needlessly stupid.

I continued to my bedroom and stepped inside, taking in the dim lighting from the lamps embedded into the wall. The bed welcomed me as I flopped into its cushioned embrace and sank below the covers.

It really was a comfortable bed. And yet.

Ek kalla heiðarloga!

"You really think I couldn't smell you?"

The person standing menacingly in the corner grinned, exposing shiny canines. "You're a pup, fifty-fifty chances of you not being able to tap into your senses yet."

The flames turned emerald as they covered my arm. My hand was steady as I kept it trained on the man.

"Where did you come from? You weren't there a second ago."

Garret pointed up. "Nobody checks the ceilings. Pup mistake."

"What do you want, Garret?"

He stopped grinning and lowered his arm. His red cloak hung just below his knees, the tattered ends jostling as he subtly moved.

When he spoke, he did so with a voice that scratched at the beast inside its cage. "I wanted to have a talk. You and me."