CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX: A Battle to Death

I watch with wide eyes as the apprehension continues to crackle in the air between Hugh and Dwight, like sparks ready to ignite into a wildfire. I feel a bile rise in my throat, a scream clawing at the back of my mind, desperate to do something. But fear, cold and paralyzing, holds me in its suffocating grip.

Hugh's smirk twists into a cruel grin as he delivers his cutting words, each syllable laced with venom. "No matter how much you try to pretend or to think otherwise, you know the truth. You know who Anastasia is in love with. It's not you and never will be. She’s just with you because of… you know what. You'll always be a second choice, a spare."

Dwight's expression darkens, a storm brewing behind his eyes. It’s obvious that Hugh's words have struck their mark. Dwight lets go of my wrist, and without a warning, fur sprouts from his skin, muscles rippling and contorting as he shifts into his wolf form, a huge black wolf. The growl that emanates from him is guttural and menacing,