"Oh no," said Soren.
"Oh no what?" said Selah.
"She's not supposed to evolve for another twelve days."
"Who says?"
"Forum post. Very detailed, the guy had a spreadsheet."
Selah opened her mouth and closed it.
Grimm was glowing brighter.
Soren dropped to his knees in the dust and put both hands on her.
He felt the problem immediately.
Her bones were moving under her skin in a way bones shouldn't.
Her body was F-rank, a closed fist of gray fur, and whatever she was trying to become was already too large for what she currently was.
The book had called the first evolution of a Shadow Fang Wolf "a quiet transformation, like the animal falling asleep and waking up older."
This was not that.
Her sealed eyes were bleeding.
Master. Master it hurts. Master it's too much, I wanted to be bigger for you but it's too much...
[DING!] — Evolution failure imminent. Bonded beast will die in 47 seconds.]
"Hey," Soren said. "Look at me. Don't do the noble sacrifice thing. Nobody asked for it."
I wanted to protect you better...
"I know. But you're reaching for something your body isn't ready for and you need to pull back. Let it go. Do it slowly."
She shook her head against his hands.
She was going to die on the floor of this dungeon in chapter four because she loved him too much to stop.
The system was counting down.
Soren had maybe one option, and it was stupid, and he was going to do it.
He pressed his forehead to hers.
"Take mine," he said.
[DING!] — Tamer offering soul resource to bonded beast. This action is...]
[DING!] — ERROR. This action is...]
[DING!] — ERROR. Authorization: APPROVED BY UNKNOWN.]
Something cold poured out through his chest and into the puppy's body.
His vision went white.
Grimm screamed.
The glow tore sideways and snapped, and the dungeon went very dark.
When Soren could see again the puppy was gone, and a wolf stood in her place.
Smaller than she should have been, thin-ribbed, fur still patchy gray, eyes still sealed, but wolf-sized, her head level with his chest.
She leaned into him and he caught her.
He was also bleeding from his nose and both ears, and hadn't noticed until Selah was in front of him with her hand on his shoulder, saying something he couldn't hear through the ringing.
[DING!] — Evolution: [Blind Shadow Pup] → [Runt Shadow Wolf] (sub-variant, restricted path).]
[DING!] — Soul Friction: 41%. Tamer in critical range.]
[DING!] — Obsession Index: Grimm 41/50 (FRENZY STAGE).]
The ringing had a voice inside it, a woman's voice, sweet and calm and faintly amused.
Oh, master. That was very brave and very stupid.
Do that again without telling me first and I'll make sure the one who was supposed to claim me never gets the chance.
He knew that voice.
His eyes rolled back.
The last thing he saw was Selah's face close to his, and he noticed she had stopped looking like someone analyzing a problem.
He noticed that right before the lights went out.
Behind her, in the dust of the chamber, a second shadow stood at her shoulder that didn't belong to anyone in the room.
Wolf ears, white hair, and a small wave.
[DING!] — Unregistered entity detected in your vicinity. Classification: IMPOSSIBLE.]