Rory stormed over and, with a loud bang, kicked open the doors to Xarion's palace.
At the center of the grand hall stood an enormous cloud-bed—and sprawled across it was a massive snow-white wolf.
The wolf lay in a posture that looked dangerously close to giving up on life altogether. Limbs splayed, belly pressed down, he had flattened himself into what could only be described as a giant, fluffy wolf pancake.
His two soft, furry ears drooped listlessly, and his long tail swept lazily across the bed behind him, slow and absent-minded.
Rory's eyes lit up instantly.
The noise at the door made the wolf's drooping ears snap upright.
Seeing Rory stride toward him with an unmistakable aura of menace, Xarion's heart jolted. Still unaware of what he had done wrong, his first instinct was to shift back into human form.
"Don't move!"
Rory's voice cut through the air, sharp and commanding as she fixed her gaze on the wolf.
