Alvin prowled closer. He seemed to laugh, the sound keening and manic.
“Don’t take another step,” Maddox shouted with his weapon raised.
I grabbed his arm and yanked it down. “If you shoot and miss, you could hurt someone nearby. You and I both know a bullet isn’t going to stop Alvin.”
“It has a name?” Maddox shouted.
“Long story.” I flung out my hand.
My arcana spilled out of me. It rushed forward with more glee than I’d ever felt. I shuddered at my own power. Not only did it take the form of an indomitable wave, but it hadteeth.
I didn’t mean that literally. My arcana felt hungry in a way that I couldn’t quite describe. It saw Alvin’s hobbling form and knew that a meal was in store. I only had to loosen the reins and let it take its meal.
My breath trembled. I wasn’t used to this. I had no control of it.
Alvin’s broken wolf laugh echoed in my room. He crouched low to leap. I tried to lash out with my power, but it spiraled away from me. Our breaths fogged in the air. Maddox groaned and swayed.
I should have known that Alvin wasn’t the meal. My arcana didn’t see death as sustenance. No, it needed life force.
I cried out as Maddox tumbled backwards. Alvin saw weakness and leapt—not at Maddox, but at me.
The detective threw himself in front of me despite his exhaustion. Alvin hit him and sent him crashing into me. Together, all three of us hit the floor. The impact sent my breath rushing out of my lungs. My chest lit on fire as I gasped beneath Maddox’s inert form.
Alvin stood atop him. Rancid breath washed over us both. Alvin lowered his head and sniffed. The growl that left him chilled my bones.
Hunger.
He was sohungry.
My arcana grazed him, and the feeling echoed back at me. It was so familiar that I nearly mistook it for my own at first. The stomach-pinching sensation made my head light. My vision blurred.
I needed sustenance. I needed…
Life.
A creature burned bright in the room with me. He was so warm and bursting with life. My arcana swam around him. It licked at his energy like a hungry cat. Something told me that I shouldn’t take it, but the memory was far away.
If I took this energy, then I would be able to do anything. I would be able to break the killer’s hold on Alvin. The undead Alpha wolf would bemine. I would make him bow to my control.
“You don’t get to hurt her,” Maddox growled.
I snapped back to reality and realized that I’d been about to eat Maddox’s life force. I yanked back on my power, but not before weakening my friend. Alvin saw the opening and took it.
Jaws wide, Alvin struck. I moved to put my arm between the two of them, but I was too slow. Alvin’s fangs sank into Maddox’s flesh. Alvin flung his head back and forth to tear through Maddox’s shoulder.
Maddox’s scream dragged me out of my arcana daze.
Do it, my arcana whispered.Take the dog. Make him yours.
I had to. There was no other way out of this. I’d already taken enough of Maddox’s life to do what needed to be done. If I didn’t take charge of the situation, it would get worse. It was on me to step up.
Fear made me shaky, but I took ahold of my arcana and slapped it at Alvin. The force of it made him recoil. Maddox hissed in pain. I flinched and almost pulled back, but I couldn’t stop now. If I did, Alvin would kill Maddox.
This was my fault. If I hadn’t weakened Maddox, we wouldn’t be in this situation. I needed better control. Now wasn’t the time to learn. I should have done it years ago. If I had, then no one would have gotten hurt tonight.
Stop. Focus.
Maddox