She had been mid stride on her morning jog when pain shot through her skull like lightning.
Her earbuds clattered to the pavement as she doubled over, a scream trapped in her throat. Fire tore through her spine. Something pushed violently from her tailbone, ripping through fabric and flesh.
Then the pain vanished.
Felicity lifted her head and realized she was no longer on her street.
Buildings lay half collapsed around her, concrete cracked and swallowed by creeping vines. The air smelled wrong, wild and heavy. Something brushed against her legs.
A bushy fox tail swished behind her.
Her breath hitched.
A broken car mirror reflected a stranger. Felicity stared at the pale woman staring back, ocean blue eyes wide with disbelief. She lifted trembling fingers to her face. Soft lips. Full and unfamiliar. She ran her hands through long blonde hair that spilled past her shoulders like honey.
Then she saw the ears.
Blonde fur tipped with white perched atop her head, twitching slightly, reacting to sounds she could barely hear.
"Hello?" she called, her voice cracking. "Anyone?"
Her words echoed through the ruins. Tears slid down her cheeks before she could stop them.
Movement caught her eye.
A woman crouched behind an overturned bus, pale face framed by a shock of white fur that blended into platinum blonde hair. Two rounded ears poked through the strands, twitching at every distant sound.
"What's happening to us?" the woman sobbed, staring at the sharp points that had replaced her fingernails.
Before Felicity could answer, guttural snarls rolled through the streets.
Jeers followed. Beastmen voices. Their eyes gleamed with hunger and cruelty as they spotted the two transformed women.
"Move your ass," the woman hissed, a tiger tail snapping behind her. "We're losing daylight."
"I'm coming," Felicity said shakily. "My name's Felicity. What's yours?"
"Rose," the woman replied, tearing her gaze from her reflection. "My name is Rose."
Felicity followed, her tail swaying uncertainly. Her body felt wrong. Gentle curves where none had been before. Soft fur where skin used to be. Beautiful and alien all at once.
The late sun slanted through ruined streets. Shadows stretched between piles of rubble as they pressed along broken shopfronts. The scent of rot mixed with something feral that made Felicity's senses quiver.
Rose paused beneath a shattered streetlamp, holding a roughly sketched map drawn on cardboard.
"No phones work," she said. "If there's water here, others will gather."
The city was barely a city anymore. Thirty percent concrete. The rest swallowed by forest.
"Which way?" Felicity whispered.
Rose pointed north. "That way. We have to hurry."
Distant snarls echoed again. Monsters. Mutants. Maybe worse.
"What the hell is going on?" Felicity murmured. A shape stepped from the gloom.
A lizard beastman blocked their path, dull scales catching the dying light. His head tilted with predatory curiosity.
"Well," he hissed. "What do we have here?"
Lust gleamed in his eyes.
Felicity pressed closer to Rose. "We don't want trouble," she said softly. "We changed too. We should be kind to each other."
The beastman chuckled wetly. "I don't think so."
Rose raised a rusted metal bar, claws scraping against it. Felicity grabbed a battered broom handle, holding it like a shield as her knees shook. "Let us pass," Felicity said, voice trembling. "We'll defend ourselves." Inside, panic spiraled. She could barely open pickle jars. How was she supposed to survive this world? The beastman stepped closer, licking his lips as his gaze dragged over them. "You're in no position to make demands."
They stood their ground anyway.
The beastman lunged. Felicity swung wildly, fear pouring into her arms. The impact rattled her bones but barely slowed him. Rose slashed with extended claws, drawing a hiss of pain. "I don't know how much longer I can do this," Rose panted.
The creature recoiled, then sprang again, jaws snapping inches from Felicity's face. Saliva sprayed. Then a roar split the air.
Silver and gray blurred through the courtyard. A massive figure slammed into the lizard beastman, knocking him aside. "Get back," a deep voice commanded.
A heavy club cracked against the lizard's knee. Bone snapped. The beastman staggered. Felicity's terror drained in a rush as she stared at the stranger standing between them and death. Thank the stars.
The newcomer towered in the fading light. Sharp blue eyes burned beneath a heavy brow. Muscles strained beneath a torn military jacket. Short black claws flexed as he squared his stance.
"Name's Finch."
The newcomer turned toward Rose, his eyes filled with admiration, determination, and something warmer. "I saw you two fighting. I couldn't just stand by and watch."
Rose's gaze snapped up, her amber eyes brightening for the first time. "Another pair of hands might just keep us alive," she whispered, as if afraid to jinx their sudden fortune.
As the polar bear beastman charged the lizard creature, desperation surged through Felicity. Her heart pounded. Without thinking, she raised her arms.
Warmth bloomed around her.
A soft glow wrapped her body, spreading from her chest to her fingertips. Energy flooded her veins, powerful and unfamiliar.
"Felicity, what are you doing?" Rose shouted, dodging a swipe from the lizard beastman as Finch closed in again.
"I don't know," Felicity cried, her voice trembling. But beneath the fear, something stirred. A connection. A presence. A slumbering power waking deep inside her.
A shimmering aura flared around Rose.
Rose gasped as strength surged through her limbs. Her movements sharpened. Her speed doubled.
"What am I doing?" Felicity whispered, staring at her glowing hands.
The lizard beastman faltered, confusion flashing across its predatory face as it realized the balance had shifted.
"Keep going," Felicity urged, confidence rising with every pulse of energy.
Rose lunged forward, claws gleaming as she tore into the creature's scaled shoulder. Felicity felt the magic surge again, feeding Rose's strikes. Finch moved in tandem, his claws ripping through the beastman's defenses with brutal precision.
They surrounded the lizard that had hunted them like prey.
The fight ended quickly.
The beastman collapsed onto the forest floor, its massive body still, its threat extinguished
Silence followed.
Then Felicity staggered away, her knees buckling. She barely made it a few steps before her stomach twisted violently. She dropped to the ground, retching as her body convulsed.
Each heave left her weaker, limbs trembling as she struggled to stay upright, the echo of magic still burning through her veins
I stayed close behind Rose as Finch pointed across the street. "Let's hit that drugstore next. Medical supplies are more precious than gold. Probably."
My heart thundered in my chest, each beat an anxious drum. Yet beneath the fear, a gentle warmth unfurled inside me, something new, something strange.
Haha. I'm a magical girl, Felicity thought, the absurdity almost grounding her.
Rose's tail twitched nervously as her gaze swept the abandoned block. "Stay behind me," she whispered, feline ears rotating to catch every sound. "Don't wander off, Felicity."
I clutched the broom tighter, sweat slicking my palms against the wooden handle, and gave a silent nod. Then I reached out and gripped Rose's arm.
"I'm staying right here with you and our new bear friend," Felicity said firmly. "We stick together now."
"Don't relax yet," Rose warned, her voice trembling.
From somewhere beyond the alley came guttural moans, an ominous chorus echoing through the ruins.
Something else was coming.
//A/N this is my first book ever, im some what illiterate, iv binged hundreds of beastworld books on several platforms oops lol ./