Maria.

I turned sharply, my eyes narrowing the moment I registered the presence that had just entered the room. And then I saw her.

Galen.

A wave of disbelief mixed with irritation washed through me almost instantly.

"Why did you come back here?" I asked, my voice low and edged with anger that hadn’t even begun to fade. It still burned hot inside my chest, heavy and suffocating, as if it had nowhere else to go except outward.

I didn’t move from where I was, not even an inch.

I was still over Vanessa, my grip firm and unrelenting as I kept her pinned tightly to the ground. She struggled faintly beneath me, but I wasn’t in the mood to loosen my hold. Not yet. My focus only shifted slightly, my attention split between Galen’s sudden appearance and the fury still clouding my judgment.

In fact, I was still ready—still prepared—to land her another slap if she so much as made another sound.

"We will talk about me later, but get off Vanessa." Galen said calmly, her tone controlled, almost too controlled, like she was deliberately trying to sound unbothered.

She stepped forward slightly as she spoke, as though she had the authority to command the situation.

That only made something in me tighten.

My jaw clenched.

My eyes darkened almost immediately.

"One more step from you, Galen," I said firmly, my voice dropping even lower now, each word carefully pronounced, deliberately slow, "and I can’t guarantee you won’t end up like Vanessa."

I made sure she felt every single word.

Every syllable carried weight, sharp enough to cut through the space between us.

Galen stopped mid-step.

Her body froze as if she had suddenly hit an invisible wall. I watched the exact moment her expression shifted—watched the confidence slip, watched the color drain from her face as my words fully registered.

For a second, silence stretched between us.

Then she let out a small breath, almost disbelieving.

"What the hell is wrong with you?" Galen asked, her chest rising and falling slightly as she steadied herself. Her eyes stayed locked on mine, confusion flickering across her face. "You were never like this!" she added, her tone sharpening with something that sounded almost like disappointment.

That word—never like this—only made my anger spike higher.

I scoffed under my breath.

"Why does it seem like you are acting like you know me?" I shot back immediately, my grip on Vanessa tightening again as irritation surged through me. My voice carried clear frustration now, raw and unfiltered. "You don’t get to stand there and talk like you understand me."

Galen exhaled again, this time more sharply, clearly losing patience.

"Stop acting tough, Maria," she said, rolling her eyes away briefly before snapping them back to me. "You are nothing like that!" Her tone grew harsher, more cutting as she continued. "It’s only making you seem pathetic!"

The word landed like a spark on dry wood.

Something inside me snapped tighter, and then I felt it.

A shift.

Deep inside my mind.

"Bitch!" Vernia growled from within me, her voice sharp, violent, alive with rage that mirrored mine—and yet amplified it a thousand times over.

My breath hitched slightly as I felt her presence press forward, stronger than before.

I knew exactly what was coming next.

She was ready to take control and honestly...I was more than ready to let her.

"Say that again!" Vernia roared, her voice ripping through my mind as she fully took control.

The shift was instant and violent.

I felt my body respond before I even had the chance to think. My control slipped away completely as Vernia surged forward, dominant and unrestrained. Standing over Vanessa, I rose abruptly, releasing my grip as my form began to change. Bones cracked, muscles twisted, and skin rippled as the transformation took over in a wave of raw force.

Within seconds, I was no longer human.

My wolf form emerged fully, powerful and bristling with rage.

Without hesitation, I lunged straight at Galen.

There was no warning. No pause. Just pure instinct and fury.

My claws struck out the moment I reached her, and I slashed across her face with brutal precision. The impact was immediate—warm blood spilled down her cheek in thin, rapid streams, but I didn’t slow down. I didn’t even blink. The rage inside Vernia pushed every movement forward, relentless and unforgiving as I kept striking her again and again.

"You want a fight, huh!" Galen managed to say through gritted pain, her voice strained as she struggled to keep up with my attacks.

She staggered, trying to regain balance, her movements becoming more defensive. For a moment, she fought back fiercely, pushing against my wolf form with all her strength. The force of her shove caught me off guard, and I was thrown backward.

My body hit hard against the wooden bed frame.

The impact sent a sharp shock through my frame, but I didn’t stay down for long.

Before I could even properly recover, Galen shifted.

Her transformation happened quickly, her body folding and stretching into her wolf form. Grey fur coated her frame as she fully emerged, but something about her size immediately caught my attention.

She wasn’t as large as I expected.

In fact, she was noticeably smaller.

Vernia’s presence within me flared with satisfaction.

She was bigger than her.

And that realization alone made this fight feel even more interesting.

Around us, the tension thickened.

Vanessa still lay motionless on the ground, barely conscious. Her face was swollen and bruised, her breathing uneven. Yet, despite her condition, a faint, almost satisfied smile tugged at my face—Vernia’s satisfaction bleeding through my expression.

She was weak.

Too weak to even be a concern anymore.

Without hesitation, I stepped forward again in my wolf form, my heavy paws pressing down as I moved with deliberate force. I lowered myself slightly and brought one paw down onto Vanessa’s stomach.

The moment I applied pressure, she let out a sharp, broken scream, her body curling instinctively as pain shot through her.

She winced violently, her hands trembling as she tried to push me away, but she was far too weak to resist.

That only made Vernia more satisfied.

Galen reacted immediately.

A furious growl tore from her throat as she launched herself at me, her grey wolf form charging with speed and aggression. But I shifted just in time, twisting my body away with sharp precision. She missed me completely.

Instead, her momentum carried her forward. Her wolf head slammed directly into the wooden frame with a heavy crack.

The sound echoed sharply through the space.

She stumbled back slightly, disoriented for a moment.

"What the fuck is this?" a voice echoed from behind me, cutting through the chaos with shock and disbelief.