Everything was different.
Selene stood on four legs, panting. Her wolf body felt foreign and perfect at the same time.
She was smaller than Mira. Still young. Still growing into her wolf.
Her fur was dark gray. Almost black in the shadows. When she moved, it rippled like water.
But it was her senses that overwhelmed her.
Smells exploded into her awareness. She could separate individual scents from the general forest smell. Pine sap. Rotting leaves. A deer that had passed through hours ago. A fox den underground fifty feet away.
Sounds were sharper. Clearer. She heard Mira's heartbeat. Heard insects moving in the bark of trees. Heard water running in a stream she couldn't see.
And her eyes. The moonlight wasn't dim anymore. The forest was painted in silver and shadow. She could see details that should have been invisible.
Everything was more. More alive. More real.
Her wolf instincts whispered underneath her human thoughts. Different language. Different logic.
Hunt. Run. Protect. Kill.
Mira padded closer. Touched noses again. Then started running.
Selene's wolf body responded before her human mind could decide.
She ran.
Four legs moved in rhythm she didn't have to think about. Her body knew how. The wolf knew how.
She was fast. Faster than she'd ever been as human.
The forest blurred past. Trees. Undergrowth. Moonlight flashing between branches.
Joy surged through her. Pure. Uncomplicated.
This was freedom.
Mira led her through the forest. Teaching without words. How to leap over logs. How to navigate dense undergrowth. How to use her nose to track.
They ran for what felt like hours.
Then Mira stopped. Lowered into a crouch.
Prey.
Selene could smell it. A rabbit. Close. Hiding in the bushes ahead.
Her wolf surged forward. Hungry. Eager.
Hunt. Kill. Eat.
Selene's human mind tried to hold back. They weren't here to hunt. This was just training.
But the wolf didn't care about training.
The wolf wanted blood.
Before Selene could stop herself, she was moving. Stalking. Every muscle coiled and ready.
The rabbit bolted.
Selene's wolf gave chase.
Nothing existed except the prey. The running. The need to catch and kill.
Her human thoughts faded. Became distant. Unimportant.
The wolf was in control now.
Chase. Catch. Kill.
The rabbit was fast. But Selene was faster.
She was closing the distance. Almost there. Almost...
A sharp bark cut through the bloodlust.
Mira. Commanding. Urgent.
Stop.
Selene's wolf hesitated. The human mind surged back. Confused. Disoriented.
What was she doing?
The rabbit escaped into a burrow. Gone.
Selene stood panting. Her wolf body trembling with unfulfilled need.
Mira padded over. Nudged Selene hard with her shoulder. A reprimand.
Through the wolf bond, Selene felt Mira's meaning. Control. You must maintain control.
Selene whimpered. Ashamed. Scared.
She'd lost herself. Let the wolf take over completely. Forgotten she was human.
Forgotten everything except the hunt.
Mira's presence was steady. Calm. Reassuring.
Again. We try again.
They found another rabbit. This time, Selene held back. Fought the urge to chase.
Her wolf snarled inside her, frustrated. Wanting to hunt.
But Selene's human mind stayed present. Aware.
She didn't chase.
Mira's approval flowed through the bond. Good. Better.
They practiced for hours.
Selene learning to balance. To let the wolf's instincts guide her body while keeping her human mind aware.
To be both at once. Wolf and human. Beast and person.
It was exhausting. Terrifying. And somehow exhilarating.
By midnight, Selene was starting to understand. Starting to find the balance.
Her wolf body. Her human mind. Working together instead of fighting.
Mira led her back to the clearing. Shifted to human form with practiced ease.
She stood naked in the moonlight, completely unselfconscious.
"Now you try," she said. "Shift back."
Selene's wolf whined. Didn't want to go back to the weak human form.
But Selene's human mind pushed. Demanded.
Nothing happened.
She tried again. Focused. Pushed.
Her body refused to change.
Panic crept in. Was she stuck like this? Would she stay wolf forever?
"Easy," Mira's voice was calm. "It's harder the first time. Your wolf doesn't want to give up control. You have to make her."
Selene tried again. And again.
Hours passed.
The moon moved across the sky. Dawn approached.
Selene was exhausted. Desperate. Frustrated.
"You're fighting her," Mira said. "Stop fighting. Ask. Your wolf is part of you. She's not your enemy."
Selene stopped struggling. Stopped forcing.
Instead, she spoke to her wolf. Not with words. With feeling.
Please. I need to be human again. Just for a little while.
Her wolf resisted. Reluctant. The human form was weak. Vulnerable.
I know. But I can't stay wolf forever. Please.
Slowly, reluctantly, her wolf relented.
The shift began.
It hurt less this time. Maybe because she was tired. Maybe because her body was learning.
Bones cracked and reshaped. Fur receded. Her form changed.
When it was done, Selene collapsed on the ground.
Human again.
She lay there gasping. Naked. Shaking. Every muscle aching.
Dawn light filtered through the trees. The night was over.
She'd spent her entire first shift in wolf form. Hours and hours.
Mira draped a cloak over her. Helped her sit up.
"You did well for a first shift," she said. Pride clear in her voice.
Selene looked at her hands. Human hands. Fingers instead of claws. Skin instead of fur.
But she could still feel the echo. The ghost of her wolf form.
"I felt... angry," she whispered. "My wolf wanted to hunt. To kill."
The memory of chasing the rabbit. The bloodlust. The need to kill.
It had felt good. That was the terrifying part.
Mira nodded. "That's the predator in you. Every wolf has it. The instinct to hunt. To kill."
"It scared me. I lost control."
"Everyone loses control the first time. The important thing is you found it again."
Mira wrapped the cloak tighter around Selene's shoulders.
"The key is controlling it, not suppressing it. Your wolf's rage, her need to hunt, her killer instinct... those aren't bad things. They're tools."
She met Selene's eyes.
"Because when the time comes to face your enemies, you'll need that killer inside you. You'll need her rage."
Selene thought about Alpha King Damian. About the soldiers who'd murdered her family. About the masked wolves who'd taken Isolde.
Her wolf stirred inside her. Still tired. But ready.
Always ready to hunt. To kill.
Maybe that was good. Maybe she'd need that rage.
To survive. To get strong. To get revenge.
"How long until I can shift at will?" Selene asked.
"Weeks. Maybe months. Your body needs to learn. Your wolf needs to trust you."
Mira helped her stand. Led her back toward the cabin.
"But you've taken the first step. You're wolf now. Fully. Nothing can take that away."
Selene walked on unsteady human legs. But inside, her wolf paced. Content. Powerful.
She wasn't just a broken child anymore.
She was predator.
And one day, Alpha King Damian would learn what that meant.