The deeper I pushed into the Forbidden Woods, the less the moon could reach me.
Branches tangled overhead until the canopy became a solid mass of shadow, swallowing what little light filtered down from the sky. The path if it had ever truly been a path was barely visible now, broken by twisted roots that clawed up from the earth like skeletal fingers.
I stumbled more than once, catching myself against tree trunks whose bark scraped my palms raw as though the forest itself resented my presence.
I didn't know where I was going.
I only knew I needed to be somewhere that wasn't Silvermere.
My bag dragged at my shoulder with every step, though it held almost nothing some clothes, the small amount of money I'd managed to hide away over the years, and my mother's silver locket.
Everything I owned.
Everything I was taking with me from the life I'd just abandoned.
Something snapped to my left.
I froze instantly, breath catching in my throat as I strained to listen.
The sound came again.
Soft.
Deliberate.
My exhale fogged faintly in the cold air as I turned slowly toward the darkness between the trees.
Then I heard it.
A growl.
Low enough that it was felt more than heard vibrating through my chest and setting every instinct I had screaming at once.
Eyes appeared first.
Yellow.
Glowing faintly in the dark.
Too wild.
Too hungry.
Not the molten amber of a werewolf.
Real wolves.
They stepped into view one by one, emerging from the shadows with silent precision until five stood before me, each built from muscle and scarred hide.
There was something wrong with them.
Something feral beyond simple savagery.
As though the same corruption whispered to live within these woods had sunk its claws into their flesh.
The largest among them moved forward.
Their alpha.
Its lips curled back, revealing teeth darkened with old blood.
I didn't think.
I ran.
Branches lashed at my face and arms as I tore through the undergrowth, my boots pounding against damp earth and dead leaves.
Behind me, the forest erupted with movement.
Paws thundered against the ground.
Breath rasped in pursuit.
They were gaining.
Without my wolf, I was nothing out here.
Just prey.
My foot snagged on an exposed root and I went down hard, pain exploding through my palms and knee as my bag slipped from my shoulder.
I barely had time to roll onto my back before the alpha was on me.
Its weight slammed into my chest, forcing the air from my lungs in a sharp, strangled gasp. Its breath was hot and foul against my face as saliva dripped from its open jaws onto my cheek.
I stared into its eyes and saw my death waiting there.
"No," I rasped, shoving uselessly against its shoulders. "Get off"
It didn't move. Its jaws opened wider.
And something inside me broke loose.
Not shattered.
Snapped tight like a chain stretched too far like a dam finally giving way after years of pressure.
Heat surged through my veins.
Not the slow warmth of a natural shift.
This was fire searing, violent racing through me like lightning.
My vision flooded white.
Then red.
Then Silver.
Everything turned silver.
The world slowed until I could see every detail with impossible clarity the scars along its muzzle, the way its pupils expanded as instinct registered that something had changed.
My hand moved before I could think.
Faster than it should have been able to.
I caught its throat.
Its pulse hammered wildly beneath my palm.
Fear.
It was afraid.
Of me.
I threw it.
The massive body flew backward as though it weighed nothing at all, crashing into a tree with a crack that might have been bone.
I was already standing when the others lunged.
All four at once.
A coordinated strike meant to overwhelm.
It should have worked.
Should have.
But I could see them now every movement, every shift of muscle, every trajectory of their attack as clearly as though it had been mapped out in advance.
Time hadn't changed.
I had.
I moved.
Effortless.
Fluid.
Like shadow given shape.
I slipped beneath the first wolf's leap, my hand brushing its underside as it passed. Barely a touch.
It collapsed mid-howl, legs folding beneath it.
The second came from my blind side or what should have been my blind side.
I turned and drove my fist into its skull.
It dropped instantly.
The impact should have shattered my hand.
I felt nothing.
Only certainty.
This is what I was meant to be, some distant voice whispered in the back of my mind.
This is what they took from you.
The remaining wolves tried to circle.
I laughed actually laughed as I watched the attack form before they even committed to it.
I darted between them, too fast for their jaws to catch anything but air. My hands struck out with precise accuracy, finding pressure points I had no right to know existed.
They crumpled, whining.
The alpha had recovered.
It approached slowly now, hackles raised, a deep growl rumbling in its chest.
Caution had replaced aggression.
Fear.
Good.
"Come on," I heard myself say.
My voice sounded wrong.
Layered.
As though more than one voice spoke at once.
"Let's finish this."
It lunged.
I met it head-on.
Claws tore across my arm, pain registering only distantly as my hands closed around its throat once more.
This time, I didn't throw it.
I held its gaze and felt something pass between us—not physical strength, but something older.
Commanding.
Absolute.
"Submit."
The word seemed to ripple through the air itself.
The alpha's struggles faltered.
Its eyes widened
Then it lowered its head with a soft whine.
I released it and stepped back.
It scrambled away, tail tucked tight.
The others followed, limping after their leader until the forest swallowed them once more.
Silence returned.
Leaving me alone.
Alone and changed.