My breathing faltered. I tried to breathe as little as possible, just to avoid inhaling the intoxicating scent again. Damn Diana and her ideas. With each second, my anger at Smirnova grew, not understanding why she even agreed. My spine cracked like peanut shells, and I jerked in shock. My gaze slid over her smooth white skin, catching on the protruding veins on Diana's neck. I could hear my blood quicken its pace, circulating through my body. Soon, another sound joined it, like a rapid tapping in the distance.
Knock-knock.
Knock-knock.
Only by forcing myself did I realize that it was the rhythm of Diana's heart. It was calling me. Commanding me to touch it, like the neon liquid, wanting to merge with the creature inside me. Kaandor must have been rubbing his hands together in his cell, anticipating the feast, suspiciously silent. I was sure that any moment now, the dark companion would burst out and consume Diana completely. Devour the offense with the slightly sweet flesh of my best friend.
"Stop the car," I croaked as soon as I realized what was happening. "STOP THE CAR!"
It took an incredible effort to force myself to look away. I stretched my hands in front of me and lowered my head to my knees. I slammed my fingers into the dashboard with force. The plastic felt so soft that my fingertips sank deeper and deeper, as if there were no barrier at all.
Diana touched the switch, and the quiet clicks of the turn signal came. The car swerved to the right and gently stopped.
A scraping sound of skin against skin: Diana shifted the gear. Only then did I allow myself to spring into action. I had to get out of the car—and fast. Flustered, I unbuckled my seatbelt and, losing all sense of myself, pushed the car door open.
My legs carried me into the forest; I sank into the deep snow and broke its virgin smoothness—no human foot had stepped here. I had to get out of there. Far from Diana. Far from her blood. The life-giving liquid that filled Smirnova's body was calling me, and even if only for a moment, the idea of giving in to the sweet promise didn't seem so bad. Was that even possible? Did werewolves need blood too, or was it the venom I had been taking for the past month?
Suddenly, the forest opened, and I emerged onto a narrow patch before gray residential buildings. Along the edge of the snow-cleared sidewalk, cars were tightly parked. I couldn't go back, so I continued in an unknown direction, not knowing when I would stop. Only one thing mattered: to get as far from Diana as possible until this damn feeling passed.
Knock-knock. Knock-knock.
No! Could she be chasing me?
Knock-knock.Knock-knock.
"Don't come closer!" I shouted as loudly as I could, hoping Smirnova would obey.
I circled the nearest building, went into the inner courtyard, and caught sight of an illuminated street sign: Admiralteyskaya Street, building 23. The heavy iron door of the nearest entrance was invitingly open. Without slowing down, I headed there. Someone had wedged a piece of concrete slab in the gap between the metal frame and the ground, preventing the door from closing. Hurriedly, I kicked it away, denying Diana the chance to follow, and slipped inside. Behind me came a deafening crash.
Knock-knock. Knock-knock.
I ran up the stairs, skipping every other step, grabbing the railing to push myself upward. First floor, second, third. Faster, higher.
Knock-knock.
The sound seemed quieter. Reaching the top floor, I found a door made of thin metal bars. A heavy lock hung on it, threaded through a narrow ring near the handle. I pulled—it was locked. What now? I couldn't let anyone see me. Not now. Not in this state.
Knock.
I gripped the lock with my palm and squeezed hard. The shiny silver loop snapped.
Run! Run up to the roof!
Two flights just like the rest of the building, followed by a steep, rusty staircase with narrow steps. When I finally overcame the last obstacle, I was on the roof. I closed the door behind me and pressed my back against it, ready to resist until the end, just to keep the uninvited guest away. No one could reach me from the roof, and the heavy metal door was a perfect barrier between predator and prey.
The air turned to steam with each breath, but I didn't feel the cold. My body was so hot from the recent sprint that it could have warmed a room.
Only upon reaching the top could I catch my breath. Exhaustion overwhelmed me, and tears welled up, either from the wind or sheer despair.
A crunch sounded, and my legs buckled. I collapsed onto the cold surface, fingertips brushing a rough yet soft coating. It seemed that if I pressed harder, the surface would give way like sand, enveloping bone in the form of a thousand tiny spheres.
I lifted my head to the sky, letting the tears flow, and before a veil clouded my eyes, I saw the clouds part beautifully, revealing a full moon in the sky. Full moon. Of course.
Another crunch made my spine arch. Everything happened so suddenly that my head instinctively dropped toward the floor. I saw blackness of the roof beneath me and what had once been my hands—now extended from my shoulders were the paws of a beast. The gust of wind stirred my thick fur. Moonlight shimmered across it with every movement.
Crunch.
Father had warned me. I should have stayed home. At the doorstep, I hadn't heard anything clearly, lost in thoughts about other problems. How ridiculous. And when did the important become so secondary? Tell me in the rector's hall that I would never get into Xerton State—this wouldn't have hurt as much as four short words in a message from Stas: "I don't need anyone." Just like that. I wished I could say the same, but you can't fool your heart. It was already full of pain from mistakes that followed one after another, leaving no respite.
"I'll say it for you," Kaandor said, and the walls of the prison collapsed to the ground in a thousand shards, reflecting the perfect round disk of the Moon.