Hybrid’s Aegis

Hybrid’s Aegis
  My wolf howled, and my sorceress hummed, delighted as my body contorted to house them both.
  The two halves weren’t clashing anymore as they folded into one to agree that Higan needed to go.
  My sharpened claws burst from my knuckles as white fur spidered up my forearms and calves, tearing off my sleeves and shoes.
  The ground froze and cracked where I stepped, with frost licking the air around me. “Your biggest mistake was not being afraid enough to leave me alone,” I spat to no one in particular.
  Vorare recoiled, moving back into the storm like he couldn't imagine his meal growing feral.
  Higan didn't run yet. Instead, he did what a cornered dog does and lunged forward, taking advantage of my attention on Vorare. The heavy scent of his beast split out of him in denser waves, and I leapt back, realizing he was forcing a shift.
  “Of course,” I watched him closely.
  His shape shifted from man to wolf as his limbs bent and snapped with morbid precision. His spine cracked up like a startled cat as his frame grew larger, leaving me to witness the blurry tangle of pale gray and ghost-white fur.
  When he hit the ground on four paws, the granite shook with tremors. His snarl echoed over the rumbling thunder, and I felt his authority as an alpha pushing out to pressure me into submission.
  I'd rather bite my tongue and perish. I bared my teeth. “You'll have to try harder than that to subdue me.”
  He thrashed forward at me with his massive, furry head. I twisted in the air with him, slamming my claws into his flank to tear through fur, scoring skin at his sides.
  His fangs snapped at my shoulder, but found frost as solid ice wrapped around my left shoulder like protective armor.
  Heat built under my tongue as he pulled away. I needed to go on the offensive too.
  I let the heat bleed through my ribs, hoping to build up a flame from tampering with the temperature of my sorcery. I wanted him to feel what it was like to be burned.
  Suddenly, in the same second, the ice on my shoulder thawed into mist, and fire sparked down my arm. To my surprise, it burned blue and felt cold to my touch as it spiraled off my claws in streaks that hissed when they met the air.
  That was new, but I didn't have time to marvel.
  Higan continued to circle around my silhouette, baring his fangs with a low growl that skittered over the stones. I circled with him, crouching low with my calf ready to lunge faster than he could bite me. I couldn't underestimate him. After all, he was still a purebred Alpha.
  He leapt once more and, as he did, I slammed my palm flat to the ground, leaving ice to fracture the dirt into shards that ripped up into him like glass teeth. Finally, his howl rang out to cry in pain.
  He wiggled himself out of the glass shards, but before he could catch a breath, I swung around to kick him right at the jaw, leaving him to tumble and flail.
  The sound of paws dashing through the streets reached my ears, and with one push of my consciousness, I caught sight of the Moonstones and Crescents coming our way.
  I heard Higan growl again, and I spun my head just in time to see him dashing low from my right, aiming his open jaw to swallow my belly.
  I shuffled to the side of his large head and, with a blazing cold flame on my feet, I kicked him under the jaw. His skull cracked sideways, teeth skidding sparks off the stone. “You should really stop underestimating me!” I barked at him.
  He staggered with his towering frame. He was obviously being too stubborn to bow out early. He moved again with pointed claws, and I met him with mine and hot-blue fire mingling at my knuckles. Every strike that touched him hissed, and his frustration tore through his angry gaze.
  I cracked a mocking grin to taunt him, and just as I expected, he reacted. Higan roared before throwing his full weight at me, but I hadn't expected that entirely.
  With pained groans, we tumbled through the grit, ripping at each other, till I tasted blood. His or mine, I didn’t care.
  I forced him back using one knee jammed into his ribs. “Look at you! You still can’t stand me!”
  He snapped at my throat, and in response, I slammed my burning palm into his muzzle, searing the wet leather of his nose. He yowled annoyingly.
  My sorceress crooned inside me with a haunting, sweet, silky voice: “Kill him now. End it. Burn him down to the marrow.” My wolf pressed its claws deeper into his ribs to obey.
  But I didn’t let the final blow fall yet. Because through the haze of frost and blood, I saw a glint of fear in his yellow eyes. Fear for himself. It was fear that somehow felt like a confession that he was right to come at me.
  I didn't want to prove him right. Despite desiring moments ago, somehow having his life dangle on my claws didn't feel good.
  Suddenly, I sensed Ethan somewhere through the streets moving toward me like he was afraid I could die at any moment. Knowing he was coming felt right. I wouldn't let him worry about me  any longer or what I'd do in his absence.
  I'd already crossed that line once without my control, but now I had a choice to make.
  Higan’s wolf form writhed under me, but I could hear the human boy in him begging for his life as he ate his pride whole.
  With a sigh that shook my bones, I slowly withdrew my claws. Then, like the coward he was, he took the bait.