The victory of standing my ground evaporates in an instant as heat floods my system—not metaphorical heat of confrontation but something far more primal and terrifying. My skin prickles like I've been wrapped in electric wire, sweat beading along my hairline and trickling down my spine in a sudden rush. My knees wobble traitorously beneath me as the familiar symptoms crash through my body. No. Not now. Not here. But my biology cares nothing for convenient timing. My wolf, dormant since ...