?Two wolves stood at the base of the towering mountain—massive, and clearly not native to this part of the world. A jaguar growled low from the brush, testing the territory. The enormous brown male turned, lips peeling back in a rumble that shook the stone. The cat thought better of it and melted into the shadows.

  ?The red wolf nosed the ground. Black, viscous death clung to the rock—old magic, thick and rotten. The brown wolf gave a single, acknowledging growl.

  ?Mary’s shift was almost graceful. Bone and fur rearranged into the timeless Amazonian woman, red hair matching the coat she’d just worn. Daniel stayed wolf. He would change if she asked. She wouldn’t tonight.

  ?They followed the hidden trail into the mountain. The cavern was dark, damp—nothing they feared. Ahead, candlelight flickered on stone walls—dim, ancient, profane.

  ?Mary’s body rippled again. This time she didn’t become fully wolf. Her head lengthened into a lupine skull, jaws wide and white. Muscle knotted under burgundy fur. The form wasn’t beautiful. It was meant to terrify.

  ?Annie stood at the altar, young again, confident. “You dare come here? Even Fenrir wasn’t so arrogant.”

  ?No answer. No banter.

  ?Mary lunged.

  ?A wall of shimmering force slammed up—she hit it hard, rebounding. Daniel crashed through like the wall was paper.

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  ?Annie’s eyes flared—glowing orbs burst outward, blinding white. Daniel didn’t need sight. He pivoted on scent alone, jaws snapping where the woman’s heartbeat thundered loudest.

  ?She twisted away—just barely—and found Mary waiting.

  ?Teeth tore. No words. No threats. Just clean, efficient, brutal work. Annie’s scream cut short as limbs parted from torso, ribs cracked open, blood sprayed across ancient stone.

  ?The temple was older than empires—treasures of Xochiquetzal, gold and jade and carved obsidian. The wolves didn’t care. Mary smashed the altar to splinters. Daniel reared and drove his shoulder into a pillar. Stone groaned. Another pillar cracked. The mountain trembled.

  ?They left before the ceiling came down.

  ?Annie felt herself scattered under rubble—bone, blood, sinew crushed beneath tons of fallen rock. Far away, in another secret cave, her pieces began to seep upward through the earth.

  ?Skeleton first. Then muscle, blood, tendon. Skin crawled over the raw form like wet parchment. Hair sprouted. Finally, the eyes opened—wide, furious, in agony.

  ?She collapsed to her knees by the fire. Jill sat on one side. Sam sat on the other.

  ?“Is everyone’s part complete?” Annie rasped, her voice raw.

  ?Jill spoke first. “They see me as an ally. Maybe even a friend.”

  ?Sam’s features shifted—skin rippling back to her own stolen shape from Cindi's. “I couldn’t secure all her friends. But this one has the knowledge we need. And I have other agents in place”

  ?Annie turned to Jill, contempt flickering through the pain. “And the wolves?”

  ?“Mary and Daniel are heading this way. They believe they’ve destroyed me—and the Temple of Xochiquetzal, where Inanna’s mummified remains waited.” A thin, bloody smile crossed Annie's face. “Of course they don't know I absorbed those remains.”

  ?Jill’s face hardened. “On the next full moon, Inanna rises. Daniel falls. And the gods return.”

  Jill nodded once, slowly, as the firelight danced across Annie's newly formed skin.