The moon rose like a blade through the night sky — sharp, full, and merciless.
I stood at the center of the clearing, the pendant Kael gave me cool against my skin. My fingers clenched it like a lifeline, though I knew nothing could protect me now. Not really.
Kael stood nearby, silent and watchful, his eyes reflecting silver in the moonlight. He was in his wolf form already — massive, dark, and still. A sentinel in the shadows. He had shifted hours earlier to be ready in case I lost control.
I felt it.
That heat, deep in my spine. That tremor under my skin, like something alive trying to claw its way out.
The wolf.
My wolf.
The first crack sounded like lightning in my ears. Pain tore through me like wildfire. My knees gave out, my hands sinking into the dirt as I gasped.
"Don't fight it," Kael's voice echoed in my mind — not from his mouth, but from the bond between us. Let it come.
But my instincts screamed run.
My body convulsed. I felt my bones stretch, twist, break, and rebuild themselves. Fire licked every nerve ending. I couldn't tell if I was screaming or sobbing — maybe both. My vision blurred. My skin rippled as fur erupted along my arms, legs, back.
I wasn't just transforming.
I was being undone.
The pain blurred into something else — fury, hunger, confusion. My mind fractured. I couldn't hold on. Couldn't remember who I was.
Just the moon.
Just the hunt.
Just the beast.
I hit the ground hard. And then—
Silence.
When I opened my eyes, everything was different.
Colors bloomed where there used to be darkness. The wind carried thousands of scents — moss, blood, pine, the burn of moonlight. I could hear every rustle, every heartbeat in the forest.
And my body… wasn't my own.
I was four-legged, lean and strong. My paws pressed into the soil. I was massive — nearly Kael's size — my fur pitch black with streaks of silver running along my spine.
This is you now, a voice whispered from inside. Not Kael. Not human. This is what you were born to become.
I staggered forward, trembling with power and fear.
Then I saw him — Kael, fully wolf, stepping from the shadows. He bowed his head slightly, a deep sound echoing in his chest. Approval.
But it wasn't over.
Because I smelled something else.
Them.
A blur of movement behind the trees. Another wolf. Then two. Then more. Five shapes emerging from the darkness, all bigger than normal, glowing eyes fixed on me like prey.
"Ronan," Kael growled in my mind, his tone protective and sharp. "He brought his pack."
The largest wolf stepped forward — taller than Kael, his fur silver with streaks of blood-red. Ronan.
She lives, his voice coiled around my thoughts like smoke. The girl survived. The Alpha's mistake lives.
I bared my teeth, not because I wanted to — but because she did. The wolf inside me knew this was a threat. A challenge.
And something in me welcomed it.
She's not yours to touch, Kael snarled, stepping beside me.
She's not yours to mark, Ronan shot back. She's unclaimed. Untamed. Unbroken. But I can change that.
My snarl tore from my throat like a war cry.
I didn't know what I was doing — not with my human brain — but the beast did. She surged forward, claws digging in the earth, my body charging before I even thought about it.
I collided with Ronan mid-lunge. He was strong. Brutal. But I was angry.
I fought with everything I had — tooth, claw, instinct. I didn't fight like someone who had never shifted before. I fought like someone who had been waiting her whole life to be free.
Ronan pinned me for a moment, snarling in my ear. "You think he'll protect you forever? You don't even know who you are."
But I did.
I was mine.
And I let the wolf loose.
I howled, driving him back, sinking my teeth into his shoulder. He yelped — not from pain, but surprise. I hurt him. I could win this.
But then, just as quickly, he backed off.
Ronan turned to Kael, blood dripping from his side. "This isn't over. You've made your choice."
Then he disappeared into the woods, his pack following.
I stood there, panting, blood on my tongue, heart pounding like a war drum.
Kael shifted back into human form, wrapping a blanket around himself as he ran toward me. "You did it," he whispered, awestruck.
I looked at him.
And for the first time, I wasn't afraid of the monster I had become.
I was powerful.
I was beastborne.