Chapter 11 · Moonclaim - Chapter 11: When His Wolf Breaks Loose

The syringe hit the floor and rolled under the lab bench.

Leon's eyes weren't human anymore. Gold bled through the gray, pupils contracting to slits, and his shoulders hunched forward like something inside was trying to claw its way out. The fluorescent lights overhead flickered once, twice, and Ivy's heart kicked into her throat.

"Leon." She kept her voice steady. Didn't move. "Look at me. You're still in there."

He wasn't looking at her. He was looking through her, at something she couldn't see, and his breathing came in short, harsh bursts. The veins in his neck stood out dark against his skin. One hand gripped the edge of the metal table hard enough that the surface dented under his fingers.

Ivy took a step back. Her hip hit the counter where she'd left her phone and the thumb drive with her father's files. The drive. If he shifted now, if he lost it completely, the lab would be trashed. Everything she'd copied would be gone.

His head snapped toward her. Fast. Too fast.

"Shit," she breathed.

Leon lunged.

She threw herself sideways, grabbed the nearest stool, and swung it between them.