The bonfire hissed. *Crack.*
Orange light smeared across the stone tiles of the plaza.
Hundreds of bodies crowded the circle. Smelling of sweat and nervousness.
The Blood Moon.
First shift for the new litter.
Sarah's turn to be a Queen.
Ella stayed at the back. Pressed against the cold stone of a pillar. Hood up.
She shouldn't be here. The broken girl. The spectator.
The scroll in her pocket felt like a hot coal. Heavy. Pulse-syncing.
*"I wish for Sarah to become exactly what she called me."*
Ella's throat burned. A mix of guilt and dark, thrilling hope twisted inside her. Maybe it wouldn't work. Maybe she had just hallucinated that witch in the woods.
"Behold!" Sarah's father stood on the platform. He signaled the crowd. "My daughter! The future of our bloodline!"
Sarah stepped forward.
The moonlight hit her. It made her skin look like curdled milk. She wore the white robe, preening. She waved at the crowd.
"It's time," Sarah said into the mic. "I'm taking it."
She looked toward the back. At the pillars. "Watch this," she mouthed.
The full moon crested the mountain peaks, bathing the plaza in a silver-red light.
Sarah threw her head back and screamed.
The shifting had begun.
The crowd cheered, expecting the sickening crunch of bones reshaping into a magnificent wolf.
The sound came. *SNAP.*
Sarah dropped. Her body jerked. The white cloth ripped.
*CRACK. POP.*
"Yes!" her father roared. "Let the beast out!"
But Sarah's skin... just stretched.
Clammy. Translucent.
It slapped against her ribs. No fur. Just grey flesh and oily discharge.
*SNAP.*
Ears grew. Long. Bat-like. Flopping wetly against her skull.
The whisper rippled through the front row.
Sarah howled. It was a wet, choking sound. Her skin was loose. Grey.
The crowd sat back.
Ella watched. It wasn't a wolf.
She looked down at her own paws. Twisted. Clawless.
A confused whine. She looked up at her father.
Marcus looked at her. The bald skin. The sores.
He looked at the Council.
He turned away.
People backed away.
Two guards grabbed Sarah.
She bit them.
They dragged her out. Her voice died down the hall.
Ella leaned against the pillar.
Hollow. Numb.
She did this.
She felt the scroll in her pocket. It was pulsing.
Sarah was on the ground. Twitching.
She deserved it.
It was right.
Ella looked at the balcony.
Roman sat with his glass. Still.
He looked at Sarah. No emotion.
Then he looked at the shadows where Ella stood.
He saw her. He smiled.
It was the smile of a partner. *I delivered.*
Ella shivered. She pulled her cloak tighter. She turned and ran into the night, the sound of Sarah's pathetic howling chasing her all the way home.