CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED ONE - THE MATRIARCH’S WRATH

The world snapped back into focus, but the lightness of the moment had vanished. Lady Becky's booming voice echoed, a thundercloud displacing the clear autumn sky. Disbelief battled with a burgeoning fear in Karina's eyes as she watched the color drain from John's face. With a resigned sigh, John dropped his wolf form. Fur receded, replaced by ragged training clothes, his body wracked with exhaustion. Zaya, agile even in her panther form, leaped down from the branch and transformed back with a flick of her tail. Both scrambled for the discarded robes they'd brought, hastily covering their barely decent forms. Lady Becky marched forward, her regal bearing laced with an icy anger. Her gaze, first landing on Zaya, burned like a brand. "Zaya! Did you disobey me directly? I specifically instructed you to keep that human girl away from the training sessions!" Zaya, usually vibrant and confident, stared at the ground, a mixture of shame and defiance flickering in her eyes. "I thought... I