Jayden knelt in the snow like a fallen war god.
Arms frozen.
Legs frozen.
One eye destroyed.
The Hybrid Lupine form collapsed, his fur receding, his claws dulling, muscles shrinking with a sickening wet crack as the strain overtook him.
He was human again.. barely.
Chest heaving. Mouth open. Blood freezing on his lips.
He was too exhausted to yell. Too broken to move. Even his telekinesis couldn't function because his mind couldn't hold focus.
This was it.
The end of the battle.
The end of him.
The Winter Wolf stood before him.
A queen, victorious.
She towered over him, paws silent in the snow.
Jayden looked up. "Come on, what are you waiting for?" he whispered.
But the Winter wolf didn't do anything. She didn't move. She didn't strike.
She could end Jayden right there on the spot with just a single claw swipe to the head... but she didn't.
She just stared.
Not with pity.
Not with rage.
