The silence that followed my transformation didn't feel normal.
It wasn't the kind of silence that calms you.
It was heavy. Pressing. Suffocating.
Like the air itself was waiting for something
something that had been buried for years to finally come out.
I sat on the cold floor, my back against the wall, trying to steady my breathing. My body still felt strange… like it didn't fully belong to me anymore.
Every sound seemed louder. Every movement sharper. Even my heartbeat felt different ,stronger.
Alive in a way I had never felt before.
But also… dangerous.
Across the room, my mom stood by the window, her arms folded tightly as she stared into the darkness outside.
The faint glow of the moon outlined her figure, making her look less like the woman I knew… and more like something powerful.
Something I didn't fully understand.
Leona stood a few steps away from me, quiet as always.
Watching everything. Her expression unreadable, but her presence steady,
like she was ready for anything.
That alone made my chest tighten.
Because it meant this wasn't over.
"Okay," I finally said, my voice breaking the silence.
They both looked at me.
"No more secrets."
My words came out firmer than I expected.
"I just turned into… whatever that was. Creatures are hunting me. You both clearly know what's going on."
I swallowed hard.
"So start talking."
My mom didn't answer immediately.
She turned back to the window, her fingers tightening slightly as if she was holding onto something invisible.
For a moment, I thought she wouldn't say anything again.
Then
"It started long before you were born."
Her voice was quiet.
Too quiet.
I pushed myself up slowly, ignoring the slight ache in my body.
"What does that mean?"
She turned to face me.
And for the first time… I saw it.
Not just fear.
Not just worry.
Regret.
"I wasn't always like this," she said. "Hiding. Running."
Leona lowered her gaze slightly, like she already knew where this was going.
"I belonged to a witch colony," my mom continued. "A powerful one."
The word witch didn't even shock me anymore.
Not after everything I had seen tonight.
"What kind of colony?" I asked.
"One that values power… and control above everything else," she replied. "We had rules. Strict ones."
Her eyes met mine.
"And the most important rule…"
She hesitated.
"…was that we never formed bonds with werewolves."
Something inside me reacted instantly.
A strange pull in my chest.
"But you did," I said quietly.
Her lips pressed into a thin line.
"Yes."
The room felt colder.
Leona shifted slightly but didn't interrupt.
"I met him during a mission," my mom said. "We were sent to observe a pack that was becoming too powerful."
My heart skipped.
"A pack?"
She nodded.
"He was their leader."
My breath caught.
"The Alpha."
The word echoed in my head.
Loud.
Heavy.
Dangerous.
And for some reason… familiar.
"I should have stayed away," she continued. "That was the plan. Watch from a distance. Report back."
Her voice softened slightly.
"But he noticed me."
I frowned.
"Noticed you how?"
A faint, almost bitter smile appeared on her face.
"He wasn't like the others," she said. "He was… different. Calm. Calculated."
Her eyes darkened slightly.
"And very, very dangerous."
Something about the way she said it made my skin crawl.
"But you still got close to him," I said.
She nodded slowly.
"At first, it was just conversations. Then trust. Then…"
She looked away briefly.
"…something more."
The room went silent again.
And this time, it wasn't just heavy.
It was tense.
Because I already knew where this was going.
"You fell in love with him," didn't you.
She didn't deny it.