I scrambled to my feet, ignoring the sharp pain shooting through my shoulder where I had slammed into the pillar.
“Egon, stop!”
He didn’t hear me.
Or maybe he did—but the beast didn’t care.
Egon shook Derek like a ragdoll, slamming him down onto the marble floor with terrifying force. Once. Twice. The sound echoed through the ballroom like thunder.
He snarled something in a language I didn’t recognize—deep, guttural syllables that vibrated with raw fury.
Derek’s face was turning purple. His eyes bulged. His hands clawed desperately at Egon's wrist. He was going to die.
And Egon—my Egon, the male I had just realized I loved—was going to become a murderer in front of a ballroom full of cameras.
I moved.
I didn't think.
I just ran.
Pink tulle and ridiculous fairy wings flew behind me as I crossed the distance between them. I reached Egon's side and grabbed his arm—the arm currently holding Derek pressed to the ground. My fingers pressed into the rock-hard muscle of his forearm.
"Egon." My voice came out steady despite the panic pounding through my chest. "Stop." I tugged harder. “Damn it! Stop!”
He froze. Completely. Utterly. It was like someone had slammed a pause button on a monster.
The beast was still there. I could see it in his glowing eyes, the sharp fangs pressing against his lips, the unnatural bulk of his body where the Atlan transformation had partially taken hold.
But he stopped. For me.
I swallowed hard and forced the words out. "They'll put you in prison if you kill him."
My hand tightened on his arm. "They'll keep us apart."
His eyes locked onto mine.
The fury still burned there—but something else flickered beneath it now.
Recognition.
Trust.
"Let him go," I whispered. My voice trembled slightly. "For me."
For a long moment nothing happened.
The beast and the man fought visibly inside him. I could see it in the tightening of his jaw, the way his chest rose and fell with heavy breaths.
The beast wanted blood. The man wanted me.
Slowly… painfully slowly… his fingers opened.
Derek curled onto his side immediately, clutching his throat, gasping and wheezing as he dragged air back into his lungs.
Egon turned toward me.
The glow in his eyes dimmed slightly. But it didn't disappear. "You stopped the beast in a killing rage.” His voice was rough. Amazed. "The beast…" He swallowed hard. "He obeys you. Only you."
