Her jaw cracked, elongating, teeth sharpening into brutal points. Her hips snapped wider, her frame swelling with dense muscle, her shadow stretching monstrous across the nursery walls.
The sounds, gods, the sounds. They were wet, tearing, tendons reforming, a low, rolling growl building in her chest.
Then it became a laugh.
Not human. Not wolf.
Hyena.
When she lifted her head, her eyes were molten gold, pupils slit like a cat’s. Her lips peeled back, revealing a nightmare of serrated teeth, saliva dripping in thick strands. She was as big as Valor, but her broad build looked stronger. To say she was pissed was an understatement.
A snarl ripped from her, half roar, half cackle and then she lunged.
I barely dodged, her claws gouging the doorframe where my head had been. Wood splintered. The twins stirred, but I didn’t have time to check on them before she was on me again, her weight slamming me into the wall. Her breath was hot, rancid with raw meat and fury.
“Mine,” she rasped, but her voice was distorted, inhuman.
I ran, ignoring Valor’s need to stand his ground.
She gave chase, her gait uneven but terrifyingly fast, her laughter echoing behind me like a hunting song. I barely made it to my truck, her claws scraping paint as I peeled away.
The pack compound was in sight when I finally let myself breathe. I triggered her inner animal by becoming a threat to the twins. If Mercy’s hyena was this strong now, what would her full moon cycle be like? I shuddered at the thought.
No, she wasn't a wolf. The moon wouldn’t affect her.
She was not human, but why had she smelled like one?
I hoped that Shaya would have the answers.
???
The scent of fire and incense sticks surrounded me as I tried to process what Shaya was telling me. Our mate was a hybrid werehyena.
“You knew,” I said, flatly, feeling betrayed.
Shaya didn't flinch. She never did. Her gnarled fingers stirred a steaming cup of something that smelled like rotting flowers.
“Oh, don't pout,” she chided, as if scolding a pup. “If I'd left her drowning in wolf scent, she would've torn out everybody's throats by now.”
The image flashed behind my eyes—Mercy's golden stare, her too-wide jaw unhinging—
“Yet you activated her hyena through your magic,” I raged through clenched teeth.
“Would you rather she fled into the night with your pups? Helpless? Human?” Her nail tapped the cup. “She was always leaving, Alpha. The only question was whether she'd do it as prey...” She paused. “Or predator.”
The truth settled like a stone in my gut.
Damn it, she was right, but I didn’t have to like it.
“What now?” My voice was rough, thoughts spinning to Imani and Omari—their tiny fingers, their milky scent. My chest ached.
Shaya’s grin was all teeth.
“What now?” she echoed, mocking.“You do what any male with sense does. You bow to your queen.”
A cackle, wet and wheezing, rattled from her throat.
My lip curled.“You’re enjoying this.”
