Flashback
The memories of that day were etched into Vara's mind with acid.
It was three days after Kael had gone feral. Three days after the White Tiger King had turned into a mindless engine of destruction, shattering the village and fleeing into the forest.
The dust had barely settled on the ruins of the nursery when the Clan turned on her.
"It is her fault!" a mother screamed, clutching a wounded cub. "She was the one feeding him those herbs! She poisoned his mind!"
Vara had tried to defend herself. She had tried to explain that she was only trying to make him love her, to make him forget the mammal witch. But the elders weren't listening. Elder Roa, his face twisted in grief for the fallen Elder Juro, pointed a trembling finger at the village gates.
"You are a curse, Vara!" he bellowed. "You have destroyed our King and our home. We cannot kill you, for you are a female and our laws forbid it, but you are no longer one of us."
