Chapter 43: The Beast Unleashed

The shift was agonizing. Every fiber of her being twisted and contorted, the pain radiating through her body as her muscles lengthened and her bones shifted. The air around her hummed with an energy so thick, so powerful, that it felt like the very forest was holding its breath.

Kavy fell to her knees, her head spinning, the world around her spinning as she struggled to control the animal instincts rushing through her. She could feel her senses sharpening, her hearing more acute than it had ever been before. Her nose flared as she inhaled deeply, the air rich with scents—earth, leaves, and something deeper, darker… Dante.

She forced herself to stand, her legs unsteady but strong beneath her. Her hands flexed, claws now replacing her nails, and she could feel the heat of the wolf inside her, growing, expanding, taking over.

Dante stepped back, his eyes studying her with a mixture of awe and something deeper—pride, perhaps. "You did it," he said, his voice thick with emotion. "You're free."

Kavy felt the wildness inside her—a freedom she had never known, a power that coursed through her with each breath. She could feel the shift within her mind as well, the instincts of the wolf trying to dominate. It was tempting, so tempting, to give in to it completely. To run wild and free, to embrace the chaos within.

But something stopped her.

She turned to Dante, her gaze meeting his. He was waiting for something, watching her with such intensity that it almost felt like a challenge. It was like he was daring her to embrace the wolf fully, to lose herself in the power and ferocity that surged within her.

But Kavy wasn't ready for that. Not yet.

She took a deep breath, grounding herself in the moment. She was still Kavy Carter, despite everything that had changed. She was still her.

"I'm not ready to be a beast," she murmured, her voice raw, the growl of her wolf vibrating beneath her words.

Dante's lips curled into a knowing smile, but there was something softer in his eyes now. "You don't have to be," he said gently. "But you need to learn how to control it. To use it. Not let it control you."

Kavy nodded slowly, her heart pounding in her chest. She had a long way to go, but she could see it now—what Dante had been trying to show her. The wolf was not a curse. It was power. And with his help, maybe, just maybe, she could learn to control it.