The moon was no longer a distant light in the sky.
It was a countdown.
Three nights. That's all I had before my body shattered, reformed, and became something I didn't recognize.
I barely slept.
Kael led me deeper into the woods, far from where anyone could find us. There was a cabin hidden between the ridges, half-swallowed by vines and moss. It had no electricity, no plumbing, just a fireplace, a bedroll, and shelves of old books and herbs.
It smelled like pine and smoke and something else—Kael.
I didn't ask if it was his place. I already knew.
"This is where I turned the first time," he said quietly, setting down his pack. "I was sixteen."
"You were alone?"
He nodded. "My father believed pain made a wolf stronger. I nearly died."
I sat on the floor, hugging my knees. "And if I do die?"
He looked at me like I'd punched him in the gut. "You won't."
"You keep saying that."
"Because it's true."
"How do you know?"
He didn't answer right away.
Instead, he knelt in front of me, his fingers brushing a strand of hair from my face. "Because I've seen you. You're stronger than you think. Even before the bite."
A part of me wanted to believe him.
Another part screamed that I should run.
"I don't feel strong," I whispered.
"You don't have to. You just have to be willing."
We trained.
Every day, every hour, until my muscles ached and my body shook. He taught me how to listen—to the wind, the ground, the subtle shifts in the forest.
"The wolf is already inside you," he said, pacing in a wide circle as I stood barefoot on the cold earth. "You just have to stop fighting her."
"She?" I echoed.
"You'll know."
I didn't.
Not yet.
But I was starting to hear something—whispers beneath the noise, like a heartbeat echoing from the ground. Sometimes it was just a hum. Sometimes, it felt like a shadow brushing against my skin.
Once, I caught my reflection in the stream and didn't recognize my eyes.
They were glowing silver.
That night, I couldn't sleep.
The cabin was dark except for the dying glow of the fire. I sat by the window, staring at the sky. The moon was growing. I could feel it in my bones, in the way my blood ran hotter than usual.
Kael stirred behind me. "You okay?"
I didn't turn. "I'm scared."
"I know."
"Do you remember it? Your first shift?"
He sat beside me, his voice low. "Every second. The breaking. The heat. The hunger. But also… the clarity. Like opening your eyes for the first time."
"Does it hurt?"
"Yes."
I turned to him. "But you still think I can survive it?"
"I know you can."
Silence fell again. Comfortable, this time.
Until I asked, "Why did you really mark me?"
His breath caught. I didn't look at him, but I felt the stillness in his body.
"You could've left me in the woods. You didn't even know me."
"I didn't," he said slowly. "But my wolf did."
I turned then, surprised.
"What?"
"There's a bond," he said. "Deeper than instinct. Rarer than blood. My kind calls it the pull. When you feel it… you just know. It's like gravity. I felt it the moment I saw you."
"And you just… bit me?"
"I wasn't supposed to." His voice broke. "I lost control. You smelled like the forest. Like lightning. Like… home."
Something swelled in my chest. Not love. Not yet. But the seed of something wild and ancient.
"What if I don't feel it back?" I asked quietly.
"Then I'll let you go."
I didn't answer.
Because a part of me already knew I was changing. Not just physically. Something inside me was shifting—my thoughts, my senses, my fear.
I wasn't the same girl who wandered into the woods on her birthday.
I was something becoming.
---
The next day, I woke to the sound of Kael sharpening a blade outside the cabin. It wasn't meant for me. It was for protection. Still, the sight of it made my stomach twist.
"You'll need to be ready for more than the shift," he said as I stepped outside. "Ronan might come back. Or worse, the Elders."
I rubbed my arms. "What do they want from me?"
"To control you. Or kill you. They don't like unpredictability."
I scoffed. "Well, I'm definitely that."
Kael smiled faintly. "Good."
The sun dipped low again. Another night passed.
Now, only one remained.
As darkness settled, Kael placed something in my hand. A small silver pendant shaped like a crescent moon.
"What's this?"
"My mother gave it to me," he said. "Said it was for protection. I don't know if that's true. But I want you to have it."
I closed my fingers around it.
"Tomorrow," he said softly, "you face the fire. But you won't face it alone."
For the first time since this began, I believed him.
And for the first time, I didn't feel afraid.
I felt ready.