The sound of Luna Morgan’s footsteps faded down the corridor, leaving me alone with Marcus and Kane. I bolted.

My heart pounded in my chest as I ran down the dark service corridor, my breath coming in short, panicked gasps. Marcus and Kane’s footsteps echoed behind me. Drawing closer with each passing second.

”Where do you think you’re going?” Marcus asked, his hands like steel as he caught up to me and grabbed hold. He stepped closer, blocking my path to the stairs.

Kane circled around behind me, cutting off any hope of escape. “The Luna said we could do whatever we wanted to you. I've been waiting years for the opportunity to take your virginity, and the moon goddess has handed it to me on a silver platter."

“Please,” I whispered, pressing myself against the wall. “don't touch me, I won’t tell anyone. Please don’t do this, you don’t need to touch a filthy slave.”

Marcus laughed, the sound echoing off the stone walls. “Oh, you won’t tell anyone. We’ll make sure of that.”

My heart hammered against my ribs as Kane grabbed my wrist, his fingers digging into my bones. I tried to pull away, but his grip was iron. Years of malnutrition had left me weak, barely able to stand let alone fight.

“Get away from me!” I screamed, hoping someone, anyone, might hear.

“Scream all you want,” Kane sneered. “No one comes down here except servants, and they know better than to interfere.”

Marcus knelt in front of me, his face inches from mine. His breath reeked of alchohol and rotten food. “You’ve been acting too proud lately, slave. Time to remind you what you really are.”

Terror flooded my veins as his hand reached for the torn fabric of my dress. This couldn’t be happening. Not like this. Not when I’d just found my wolf, just discovered I might have a mate somewhere.

“Stop,” I sobbed, trying to twist away from his touch. “Please stop.”

But Kane’s other hand tangled in my hair, jerking my head back hard enough to make stars explode across my vision. “Hold still, or we’ll make this much worse for you.”

The fabric of my dress tore as Marcus grabbed it, the sound sharp in the narrow corridor. Cold air hit my naked skin, my nipples froze, I couldn’t breathe, couldn’t think past the panic consuming me.

Then something inside me snapped.

Heat exploded through my chest, different from the pain I was used to. This was fire, pure and protective. My vision shifted, colors becoming sharper, sounds clearer. I could hear both men’s heartbeats, smell their sweat and fear mixing with arousal.

“What the hell?” Marcus jerked his hand back as if burned.

I looked down at my hands and gasped. My fingernails had grown into claws, sharp enough to cut stone. Power thrummed through my muscles, strength I’d never felt before.

“Eos?” I whispered.

“I’m here,” her voice growled in my mind, fiercer than I’d ever heard it. “And I’m done watching them hurt us.”

Kane still held my hair, but now his grip felt weak, pathetic. I could break free easily. The realization sent another surge of power through my body.

“Let go of me,” I said, my voice carrying a growl that didn’t sound human.

Both men stepped back, confusion replacing their cruel confidence. Marcus’s eyes went wide as he stared at my face. I could feel the change happening, my canine teeth lengthening, my eyes burning with golden light.

“What are you?” Kane stammered, finally releasing my hair.

Instead of answering, I lunged.

My body moved with fluid grace I’d never possessed. Kane didn’t even have time to raise his hands before my claws raked across his chest, tearing through his shirt and the flesh beneath. He screamed, stumbling backward as blood soaked his clothes.

Marcus tried to run, but Eos was faster. I caught him before he’d taken three steps, my hand wrapping around his throat. The strength in my fingers could have crushed his windpipe with barely any pressure.

“You want to hurt someone weaker than you?” I snarled, my voice barely recognizable. “Try me now.”

I threw him against the stone wall. The impact knocked the breath from his lungs, and he slid to the floor, gasping. Kane was still screaming, pressing his hands against his bleeding chest.

The smell of their blood should have made me sick. Instead, Eos purred with satisfaction.

“We should kill them,” she whispered in my mind. “They would have destroyed us.”

Part of me agreed. These men had tormented me for years, and tonight they’d tried to take the last shred of dignity I possessed. They deserved whatever I gave them.

But another part of me, the part that was still human, recoiled from the violence. I’d never hurt anyone before, never even fought back. The power coursing through me was intoxicating but terrifying.

“Aurora,” Eos said gently. “We need to leave. Now. Before someone comes looking for them.”

She was right. The guards’ screams would draw attention soon. I looked down at my hands, still tipped with claws, still trembling with unused strength.

“How do I make it stop?” I asked.

“Breathe. Focus on being human.”

I closed my eyes, forcing my breathing to slow. Gradually, the fire in my chest cooled. My claws retracted, my canine teeth returned to normal. When I opened my eyes, the golden glow was gone.

A sharp thought crossed my mind, Marcus and Kane were going to tell others what happened, and the Luna will surely kill for attacking her guards. The thrill of attacking them was fading and now the slow sinking feeling that I just earned myself another round of torture. My stomach twisted with dread as reality crashed over me. What have I done? I slink slowly to the place I slept under the stairs.