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“Who the fuck are you?” Fergus sneers at me, and Alice hisses at him from my side, rage radiating from her.

“I’m someone you don’t want to piss off.” I lift my chin, looking down my nose at him even though he is taller than me.

“This is pack business, little pointed-ear freak.”

My lips curl into a smile.

“Back the fuck up,” Fergus snarls at me.

“Ferg—”

“You shut up, too. You’re already enough of an embarrassment to the pack,” Fergus interrupts Brett, turning his furious gaze on him.

Fergus’s body shakes as he struggles to contain his rage. I don’t move, and he shoves me. The second he does, the entire room moves, trying to get away from him. Alice calls for me, but she’s washed away in the sea of people.

I shove him back. “You’re a fucking asshole bully, throwing your size around to intimidate your pack.”

One minute, I’m looking up at him, and the next, pain explodes across my face, my ears ringing with the force of his backhand. The power I’ve repressed most of my life stretches awake at the threat. I realize now that I have just been pretending to have it leashed. It has grown stronger and more unruly each time I’ve encountered another fae. The wall holds, but just barely, my power eagerly pushing through the fissures created by the force of my anger. It is raw, untamed, and vicious. Light sears my eyes, and the sound pierces into my ears painfully.

No. Not again. How could I have done this again?

Show me what you can do, Summer.

I blink away the light, a deep exhaustion permeating my body. Chaos reigns around me, assaulting my senses. Fergus is in a heap on the floor, and the room is a mess. People are screaming and scrambling for the doors. Someone obviously managed to erect some sort of force field to limit the harm to the other partygoers, but the furniture was not so lucky.

Blood trickles down my cheek, but I don’t care. The room quickly clears except for Brett. Fergus narrows his eyes at me, his body vibrating and his rage palpable. His form explodes, shreds of his clothes and skin fluttering to the floor. In his place is a massive snow leopard with bright yellow eyes filled with malice. Brett shoves me out of the way, and I see that his eyeshave gone completely feline, the same luminous yellow as his brother’s.

“Run.” A roar laces his voice as he starts to shift.

I shake my head. Fuck that. I have been running my entire life. This time, I am going to fight. Besides, I’ve already burned through decades of repressed power. Why not finish this? Swiping my cheek to gather the blood there, I try to recall some of the runes we’ve been learning and push away the frustration that I’m not further on in my studies. I draw the runes on my arms and push, casting circles illuminating before my palms. The power throbs, writhing within my hold, eager to get free. How can it still be throbbing like this after being unleashed so ferociously? I look down at the general runic circles that I have managed to create. They are not great, but I grit my teeth and focus on fueling them. Carefully, I draw only what I need, trying not to consider the depth of my power.

“Come on, kitty cat. You can’t bully me,” I purr.

Fergus’s maw pulls back in a snarl, revealing his large canines. The light of battle flashes in his eyes, and I know he relishes the approaching fight.

The scrap of power I’ve sunk into the circles tempts me, pushing for release, urging me to let it out to play and destroy. If I unleash it without direction, I could hurt people. Again. The wall is now imperfect, and my power is barely contained, even with the runic circles and the runes to help me. The wall is now imperfect. Many of the runes I’ve been storing on my skin now fill the circle, ready to be used, and I am thankful I’ve been practicing.

Fergus leaps for me, and I throw one of the spells at him. I lean into my power, and my reflexes become sharper, everything clearer.

Power. Make them pay. Stain the realms with blood.The words whisper through me, teasing at the edges of my mind, the darkness in me peering out from the abyss.

Fergus snarls when the magic hits him in the shoulder. I ready myself to throw another spell at him, but he lunges again, pain exploding through my thigh as his claws slash deep into my flesh. My leg gives out, and I crumple to the floor, struggling to hold on to the casting circles. The light of victory flares in Fergus’s yellow eyes, but he only manages one step in my direction before a blur collides with him, pinning his huge feline body to the wall.

“His throat, Sum. Aim for his throat,” Alice growls. Her fangs are larger than I’ve ever seen them, but she is still struggling to keep him pinned. Even a vampire’s natural strength will have trouble against a fully transformed and super pissed-off shifter.

I delve a little deeper into my power, fighting through the pain and anxiety to summon another spell. I throw it at him, watching in satisfaction as it hits the center of his neck.

More. Revenge. Kill. Destroy. Obliterate.

The chant is oddly familiar, comforting, and irresistible.

No. Only maim,I command, refusing to cede control.

Fergus slumps and Alice releases him, letting him fall to the ground in a clumsy heap. I stare at him, fear coiling through me until I see his chest rising and falling with life.

I struggle to my feet, every muscle in my body groaning as I move. Awkwardly, I kick a broken piece of a coffee table out of my way with my good leg. “I just want to go to one fucking party without getting into a fight with some dickhead,” I groan.

Alice is right behind me as I limp out of the house and walk directly into a hard body. I bounce back and look up, surprised to see Professor Draco’s handsome face glaring down at me. His eyes flash gold, his pupils narrowing to eerie slits.