I stared at the horned wolf girl in my bed, hardly able to believe what I was seeing. My mind was reeling with the implications – had the wolves I fought actually been demons?  …No, I was sure they weren’t. While there were varieties of demons who could transform, they always reverted to humanoid form after death. In fact, I was willing to bet that sleep was what undid Bailey’s transformation. But why hadn’t she transformed earlier? Why hadn’t she even tried to communicate her true nature? And what was a demon doing in the outside world, living among a pack of monsters? I had endless questions, and only one…

I stared at the bear before me. It was something like nine feet tall, standing on its hind legs. It had dark brown fur, with lighter brown spikes extending from its spine and elbows. They looked remarkably sharp, but I doubted they were that sturdy. Nothing I couldn’t snap off if things got really desperate. The creature didn’t move during my examination. I could almost imagine that it was looking me over, in turn, trying to decide whether I was worth feasting upon. Not an impossibility, actually, if it was anywhere near intelligent as the wolves. “You do not want to fight me,” I warned, letting some of the magic…