Sawyer:

They cheered loudly as I made my way toward the truck.

I had a bag with me, and several people suggested I leave it behind since it would

be useless once I shifted.

Little did they know, I had no intention of shifting to finish the monster.

I wasn’t going to kill the monster in my lycan form.

Still, I needed to make sure everyone stayed far away when I did it.

The transformation was important for another reason.

I had to prove that my lycan was under my control.

That whenever he emerged, he would know right from wrong.

He would know who to attack and who to leave alone.

That was why I’d told them I would shift and fight the monster.

In reality, I was going to kill it with a gun.

If I’d told them that from the beginning, they probably would’ve shrugged and said, ‘Well, anyone can do that with good aim.’

By the time I reached the mountain top, evening had already fallen.

I looked around to see if anyone was still in sight.

There was no one.

People had fled back to their homes after realizing the monster would go berserk once it started fighting me.

No one was going to risk staying outside and getting caught in the middle of it.

Pieces of meat were scattered everywhere.

I knew the monster would be on its way soon.

I paced for a moment before lowering the box to the ground and pulling out the gun.

I loaded three bullets into it.

Then I glanced around once more before taking off my coat, shirt, and pants, leaving myself in nothing but my shorts.

It was getting cold, to be honest.

And my lycan, if I knew him at all, was eager to come out and fight the monster.

I moved to the side and dug a shallow hole where I placed the weapon, keeping it within easy reach.

“Okay. It’s time for you to transition and put on a little show,” I said, allowing my lycan to rise to the surface.

Within seconds, my body began to elongate and my skin stretched over shifting bones.

Grunts escaped my lips without me even realizing it.

Then my nails extended fully.

Finally, I heard the flapping of wings.

My lycan lifted its head, and we saw the monster coming toward us, violently beating its massive wings through the air.

I had seen the creature before, but this time, something about it looked different.

It seemed more feminine. I could have been wrong, but even its eyes looked different.

Neither I nor my lycan had the chance to examine it properly.

Night had already fallen, and we had to fight.

The monster dropped from the sky

its

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tore into the ground before

it lunged straight at me. .net>

My lycan met it head-on, slashing across its side as its talons ripped over my shoulder, exactly as I wanted.

The more wounded I looked, the easier it would be for people to believe that I had risked my life for them.

I let the monster come closer and rake its claws across me again

before twisting out of its rea net

tearing a few feathers from its wings.

The struggle continued.

At one point, we rolled across the ground while I clung to one of its wings.

The creature released strange, piercing cries as my lycan howled and clawed at it in return.

Its beak caught against my back while its claws raked across my skin.

My lycan winced and roared in pain.

Finally, I broke away and rushed toward the spot where I’d hidden the gun.

At the same time, I forced myself back into my human form.

The scratches remained, and blood continued pouring from my wounds Cause I refused to let during

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I grabbed the gun.

The monster was still charging toward me when I raised it and fired.

The first bullet struck between its eyes.

The creature staggered backward, and a strange howl escaped it.

I fired again, hitting its chest just as it spread its wings.

The third bullet tore through its throat.

The monster went completely still before collapsing to the ground with a heavy thud.

I walked over to get a better look and realized that this creature really was different

from the one I’d fought before.

It was smaller.

And it was female.

But the monster was dead.

Only then did I realize how much time had passed.

The fight had lasted longer than I remembered the previous one.

None of that mattered now.

I had to return and tell everyone that I’d done it.

I had saved them from the curse.

I looked toward the sky and started chuckling, ready to take over the world.

My lycan pushed closer to the surface, restless and hungry for more.

That was his way of telling me we weren’t going back.

We were going back to take the Alpha King’s crown.

We were going to claim everything we’d ever craved.

And the moment the sun came up, we would attack the humans before they ever

saw us coming.