The back alley, the tight courtyard between the buildings hidden from the eyes of those on the streets, had fallen into complete silence. There was no growl coming along with the might ripping from my body letting everyone know my fury, no roar announcing the arrival of the beast, only a chilling silence.

Granted, making a sound when a huge human was crushing your throat was awfully challenging, not to mention painful. But that was hardly the main reason for the silence, nor was it the only difference between now and then, between my first full turn into a beast and this one.

And no, it wasn't the fact that, at the time, I was in the dark, damp cellar in the presence of two lunatics. In fact, in that regard, this place wasn't that different from Dungreen's so-called lab - I'd even go so far as to say that the alley was cleaner than that accursed place.

No. What gave me pause and kept me silent was my change itself, the beastification, or, as the locals would say, shift into my beast form. You see, instead of turning into a full beast like before, growing in size, and losing my sanity to beastly instincts, I found myself stuck, not even halfway through the shift.

Instead of growing a snout, only the fangs in my mouth had grown. The thick fur, mixed with feathers, didn't cover my entire body; patches of it that I had in my human form merely spread a bit. My hair had grown, and my sense of smell had improved. All in all, small changes, the biggest of which came to my hands and feet, now covered whole in fine fur. In the shift, I grew paws on my human legs, and my bitten nails turned into sharp claws.

Thankfully, the shock of the incomplete change only lasted until my beast instincts kicked in.

'Ria!'

»The pup!«

With a strangled roar pushing its way out of my throat, I cut the improvised handcuffs with my claws irritatingly easily and began, as if deprived of my senses, to hack and claw at the shithead's arm he was holding me with. Whether it was because my beast might had frozen the big guy in place or because he had such a stubborn tolerance for pain was hard to say, but it felt like an eternity to get him to loosen his grip. The moment he did, though, and I fell to the ground, I cut the bindings on my legs, yanked Sage out of the human bitch's hand, and slashed at the other one she was holding Ria with.

Just as I had hoped, the human bitch let go of the little kitare. Ready for that, of course, I caught the pup in my arms before she hit the ground and hid her in the embrace of my wings. Much to my awe and concern, the little pup was still unconscious. Neither the fall, nor the human bitch’s scream, not even my might, which had scared a trio of monsters shitless, woke her up.

The pup was alive. I could hear her faint breathing, see through my domain her little chest heaving, yet her eyes remained closed.

»What have you done to her?!«

'Eh . . . ?'

»What have you . . . ?«

'Shit!'

Despite my half-assed beast shift, my vocal chords turned out to have completely lost the ability to speak the human language. Nothing new. Just unexpected - and rather inconvenient. Unlike the shoelace bitch and her mind tricks, none of the monsters seemed to understand my bestial growls.

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Idiots.

Stupid as they were, though, they didn't just stare at me with wide eyes. My growl and especially their bleeding arms brought them out of the shock my might had put them in.

The first to react was the human bitch. Despite her injuries being trivial compared to those of the big human whose arm looked like it went through a shredder, her scream cut sharply into my ears, making me twitch in pain.

"What the fuck, what the fuck? What the fuck are you, cunt?"

Fear dripped from her voice, and I could even smell it oozing from her scent, not to mention the stench of her piss.

»What you wanted me to be,« I snarled back, baring my fangs as the corners of my lips lifted in a grin. Alas, the big human's frenzied roar didn't let me enjoy her panic for long.

»Concoction,« A disgusted growl escaped my lips after seeing him finish some sort of potion. Whether it was the liquid's work or if he used some weave, I didn't know - but when his hand, scratched by me, stopped bleeding, the hairs on my body bristled and I watched him grow a little taller.

In response, I growled back, no meaning, just a warning, letting him know I wasn't intimidated, just annoyed.

'Shit! Get your priorities straight, you cocky beasts.'

The pup!

'Yeah, Ria.'

The little kitare lay peacefully in my arms, hidden from the monsters by my wings.

'Run, get help!'

That would be the smartest thing to do, but not what the beast - what I hungered for. Those three touched the pup. They didn't listen to the warnings nor the pleas. Stupid and arrogant they were, no different from feral beasts and mindless monsters. There was no running from those, only chasing them down.

'No! Shit! No! Just run!'

Run away? Stupid. Not necessary. Those three were weak.

'But so am I.'

True enough. Admitting that hurt my pride a bit, in fact, more than it should have. As a slave to that deranged human, I was reminded daily how weak I was, not able to resist any of his bullshit. But that was the human side of me, the pathetic one of the two.

The blood of the beasts coursed through my veins now, burning with rage and bloodlust.

'No. No, no, no, what are you doing?'

Being gentle but quick, I laid the pup on an old barrel lid lying by the wall behind me, and as the hairs on the back of my neck stood on end, I hunkered down to avoid the big human's fist strike. Slipping aside and attacking from the flank would be easy but an option that would put the pup in danger.

No, I had no choice but to face the big human head-on, protecting the little one.

"I don't know what trick you pulled, but it won't work twice, cunt," growled the big human, tossing the vial aside. "But I'll make sure to beat the shit out of you."

»Do your best, then.«

A bit cocky, for sure.

Vexing, but the big human wasn't slow for his size. In fact, when he unleashed a barrage of punches, as if resolved to make good on his word, I had my work cut out for me. Standing my ground and avoiding his fists, while fully aware of the force his blows packed, was a nerve-wracking ride.

»Is that all?«

'The f . . . ? Are you crazy? Shut up, Korra! I mean you..beast! One hit, and . . . shit!'

That was a close one.

I could feel his fist brushing against my fur.

My fangs bared in a grin, though.

The narrow dodge got me behind his balled fists and exposed his defenses - no hesitation, I pounced, launching a flurry of attacks of my own.