I needed air.

  The moment I stepped out of the cafeteria, the noise dulled behind me, swallowed by the sterile silence of the hallway. My heartbeat didn’t get the memo. It thudded in my chest like I was still mid-fight—or mid-hunt. I didn’t know which bothered me more.

  What the hell just happened?

  I leaned against the wall, palms braced against the cool surface, breathing hard. My claws tapped restlessly against the tiles. I hadn’t meant to get so close. I hadn’t meant to lean in like that. My nose twitched at the memory. Her scent had hooked itself into my brain—sweet, light, wrong.

  No. Not wrong. Different. Like prey.

  I swallowed hard. My throat burned.

  “Don’t,” I snapped. “I’m fine.”

  I let out a low growl in the back of my throat. “What’s happening to me, ARIS? I wasn’t like this before. I— I don’t want to be like this.”

  “Emotional override? You mean the part where I nearly bit someone?”

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  “Safe margins?” I barked a bitter laugh. “She flinched. I scared her.”

  There was a pause. Maybe ARIS was searching for the right words, or maybe it just didn’t care.

  I slid down the wall and let my head fall into my hands. My ears twitched with every tiny sound around me, like they were still locked onto her. On Kit too, now that I thought about it. His scent had been different—familiar, but edged with something earthy and alert.

  I knew them. They were my friends. But something in me didn’t care.

  Something deep down just wanted to chase.

  “Is this what I am now?” I whispered.

  That didn’t help.

  I curled my fingers into my scalp, claws brushing too close to skin. For a moment, all I could do was sit there, shaking and silent, while my pulse tried to crawl out of my throat.

  I stayed there for a long time.

  Eventually, the tremble in my hands faded. The sharp edge of instinct dulled—not gone, just buried beneath something heavier. Guilt. Shame. Fear. I pressed my palms to my face, dragging them down slowly like it might scrape the animal off.

  It didn’t.

  Of course it did.

  I stood slowly, my tail brushing against the floor like it was reminding me it existed. I rolled my shoulders back and forced a few deep breaths, trying to ground myself. The hallway was quiet. My ears picked up the distant clatter of trays, the murmur of voices.

  Dinner.

  I didn’t feel hungry, but I walked anyway.

  Not because I wanted to eat.

  Because I didn’t want to be alone with this feeling.

  The mess hall was already buzzing when I stepped inside—chatter, footsteps, chairs scraping across the floor. Students filled the space in clusters, some more mutated than others. It was easier now to pick out predator from prey, enhanced from barely changed. Movements, scents, posture. I hated that I noticed. Hated how natural it was.

  I scanned the room.

  There they were.

  Kit had already grabbed a table near the back. Cal was beside him, gesturing wildly with a breadstick like it was a sword. And Sam—

  My throat tightened.

  She was seated beside them, wings tucked close to her sides, laughing at something Cal said again.

  I froze for just a second. Then forced my legs to move.

  One foot in front of the other.

  Just act normal.

  Whatever that means now.