The walk to the village was shorter than I expected. The road stretched ahead of us, rutted from wagons, but it disappeared fast beneath the stampede of eager feet. Everyone buzzed with anticipation for the First Shift, like it was the only thing that mattered. And maybe for most of them, it was.
This was the night we became adults, officially. A line drawn between being told who we were and choosing it for ourselves. For prey shifters, it meant freedom. Finally earning the right to leave their nests and become something more than just a servant. Chores, errands, scrub work. That was all behind us now. If the Shift was kind.
Deals would be made tonight. Apprenticeships offered. Entire futures negotiated beneath lantern light and the gaze of the Moon Goddess. It was a time of change. Of hope. I understood the urgency everyone carried in their steps.
But my steps felt heavier.
There hadn't been anyone like me in the village for generations. Maybe ever. A predator father. A prey mother. An impossible pairing. A mistake, if you asked anyone outside the castle walls.
Sure, there had to be others like me out there, scattered in far-off places. But I'd never met them. Never heard of them. The villagers kept their distance, their eyes sharp with suspicion. Even now, even tonight, I felt it.
I wasn't invited to the castle's Feast. Of course not. I didn't belong there. The predator nobles whispered about my "tainted" blood like it was a stain. They couldn't decide if I was a curiosity or an insult. Something exotic or something broken.
But I wasn't either. I was more.
And I was going to prove it.
Not because I was ashamed of my mother. Never that. She was more wolf-hearted than most of the snarlers strutting around in the mansion.
But I didn't want to serve their wine or scrape their boots anymore. I wanted something of my own. A future that wasn't handed to me with scraps and restrictions.
The sound of the village, alive with celebration, snapped me out of my spiral. I tightened my grip on Indra's hand. Crowds always rattled me. Too loud, too many bodies pressing close, brushing against my cloak, stealing my breath. Indra moved closer, shielding me with her quiet strength.
Vendors called out over the din. Music danced above the chaos, woven into the scent of spice and baking pastry. My stomach growled on cue.
I leaned into Indra, nodding toward a nearby stall where a massive man laid out hand pies that glowed with buttery promise. "My treat?"
She grinned and dragged me through the mess of people like a ship slicing water. We got two pies each. I paid full price without blinking. Indra raised a brow, but I just shrugged. I didn't feel like haggling. I had the coin, and they smelled too damn good.
We found a spot along the low stone wall near the village square, settling in with our treasure. Across from us, the temple loomed. Stark white, glowing silver under the moon.
I bit into the pie, and flavor exploded across my tongue. Meat, potatoes, perfect seasoning with a hint of burn that warmed me from the inside out. Gods, maybe if I did Shift Prey, I could apprentice at the bakery. I'd never own my own shop, not officially, but I could learn. Maybe that could be enough.
The thought didn't sit quite right. It felt like a second-place prize.
The pies disappeared too fast, and I sat fidgeting with my hands, folding them into my lap. Waiting. Always waiting. The temple doors remained closed. Time dragged like molasses, thick with the not-knowing.
Indra noticed. She launched into a dramatic retelling of the castle gossip—who spilled wine on a noble's lap, which young lord was caught sneaking out of a servant's bed. I clung to her words like a lifeline, letting her stories calm the buzz in my chest.
Night deepened around us. The air pulsed with expectation. Electric and alive. A rhythm thrummed through me, slow at first. A heartbeat beneath my skin. I began to sway, not even realizing. Indra was swaying too, eyes reflecting the moonlight like glass.
The hum rose. Louder and deeper, until it drowned out the rest of the village. A hush fell like a blanket.
The temple doors flew open.
White-robed priestesses flowed out in a line like moonlight turned to flesh. One stopped before us, pale and silent, and gestured for Indra and me to rise. I threw her a nervous glance, heart thudding, and followed.
The temple courtyard was washed in silver, bathed in the Moon Goddess's gaze. Reverent. Holy. My breath caught, and without thinking, I kicked off my boots. It didn't feel right to wear them here. The stone was cool beneath my feet, grounding me.
We joined the others, predator and prey alike, gathered around a raised dais where the High Priestess stood. Ageless. Radiant. Terrifying.
"My Children." She intoned, voice like a bell. "Welcome to your First Shift!"
Cheers erupted, raw and joyful. I didn't join in. I couldn't. Not with my throat this tight.
"The Moon Goddess invites you into her earthly home tonight. Be welcome, be blessed, and go forth as who you are meant to be!"
The crowd surged toward an archway where two priestesses waited, holding vials of violet potion. Vox berries. The catalyst for the Shift. One by one, First Shifters took a vial and disappeared into the temple's heart.
It was slow. Agonizingly slow.
Each moment dragged out, time stretching thin as silk. Every now and then, we heard the village erupt in cheers. Another Shifter emerging. Another life transformed.
Finally, it was our turn.
A priestess handed me my vial with a wink. I tried to smile back, but my face felt stiff. I stepped into the antechamber, pulse pounding in my throat.
The High Priestess turned toward me. "Ah, Cassidy of No-Clan."
Her voice struck something deep in me. She tilted her head, as if peering through my skin and bone, straight into the truth of me.
"I have waited for you for so long." Her words were soft but ringing in the silence. "The Moon Goddess and I have long discussed you. Child, you have a hard path ahead, but the end will be worth the journey. Drink, and be born anew."
I swallowed the potion. Sweet. Sickly. Too much.
The room shifted. Warped. Air grew thick, and I couldn't breathe. My skin crawled, bones cracking beneath it. I screamed, but no sound came. Fire bloomed in my core. My body unraveled.
When it stopped, I was small. Light.
Everything around me shimmered with unnatural clarity. I blinked, breath panting. I caught a glimpse of myself in a mirrored surface ears, snout, sleek auburn fur. Tiny paws.
No. No, no, no.
The High Priestess approached, murmuring something as she grabbed me by the scruff and lifted me from the pile of dress I now drowned in. "Forgive me, child. It is necessary. Soon, you'll know the right of it."
I panicked. Kicked. Thrashed. But her grip was iron.
She walked me toward the archway, out into the village. I dangled like a caught rabbit. Helpless.
This wasn't right. This wasn't how it was supposed to go.
She raised me high before the crowd. "Behold!" Her voice rang out. "The Fox!"
The village froze. Silence carved through the celebration like a blade.
And I yipped in horror.
Not wolf. Not rabbit.
Fox.
Something other.
Something unknown.
Something dangerous.
Every eye in the village turned toward me.