Make it stop! Kate wanted to scream at Swagger. Stop this senseless stupidity now! But she knew from the maniacal glint in his eyes that nothing she could say would make the slightest difference to him –and it might seal her own fate. She buried her face in her hands as the fighting between the two teams grew even more savage; as the screams got louder and crimson stains bloomed on the cracked concrete floor.

Swagger started to whoop and catcall. Against her better judgement Kate found herself morbidly drawn to see why. Someone was trying to limp away from the struggle, one of the muscle-bound types – he looked the part of a modern-day gladiator but clearly had no stomach to play any longer. The tattooed blonde was sprawled on the ground, roaring at him to come back and fight. Her body was shaking, twitching. With horrified fascination, Kate saw that a thick, pale pelt was bristling out from her darkening skin.

‘It’s ’wolf time,’ cackled Swagger, wiping the mirth from his eyes.

Maybe it was the anger, the fear, the desperation that was palpable in the arena –but the woman wasn’t the only one turning ’wolf. Like a yawn being passed on to someone watching, the other fighters began to change too, shucking off their humanity with their bloodied clothes, crouching and yowling. Flesh furred over as lupine cells coursed through their bodies. Bones and ligaments crunched and snapped as they reformed. Lupine eyes shone the same dull, glassy gold as the lights that slow-burned up above.

Only Eric stayed standing on two legs, arms still folded, an impassive, detached observer.

The blonde woman’s lupine form was a ragged, scrawny-looking creature. Kate could see welts in the beast’s back from the fighting, and one of her legs was damaged, but she could still run at a frightening speed. The muscle man didn’t stand a chance. He let out a scream, then went down, his body hidden from view by the ’wolf’s bulk. The grunts as she fed on her prey were amplified by the distorting acoustics in the arena.

Kate couldn’t keep silent any longer. ‘This isn’t a contest,’ she stormed, ‘it’s a slaughter. Murder!’

‘It’s survival of the fittest,’ said Swagger, looking at her oddly. ‘These punks soon learn: they’re stronger if they fight as a team. That’s what all this is about. That’s what we gotta make them see.’

With a chill, Kate saw he was right. The human skirmishes had been scrappy, frantic affairs, but the pack instinct was more dominant in the lupine state. The ’wolves were working together in their factions. Two of the beasts had brought down a third, their great paws pressing down on the creature’s neck. Another was methodically herding its wounded opponent towards the slavering jaws of its waiting ally, blocking any attempt to pass, forcing it back.