Never something this fresh.
When they still didn’t move, I tilted my head in
confusion and nudged the cooked piece of
meat toward them with my stick.
“Do you want it cooked?”
“No,” the one–eyed wolf said, his voice rough
and complicated. “You are our Matriarch. You
made the kill. We must wait for you to finish
eating before we can have what you grant us.”
I shook my head. “We don’t do that here.”
“I’ll need your help to hunt from now on.
“”
“My name is Elara. If you need anything from
me, you can just ask.”
The three shifters stared at me, a strange light
flickering in their eyes.
<
“I’m Kael,” the one–eyed wolf said. “These two are Roc and Ash.”
“They can’t speak yet, so if you need anything, you can just tell me.”
I didn’t know if it was the hunt or just the strain
of a new body, but a wave of exhaustion
suddenly washed over me.
“I’m going to rest. If you’re hungry, eat. And
watch the fire, if you can.”
With that, I found a dry spot in the cave, curled
up, and fell into a deep sleep.
I never saw it.
The moment they were sure I was asleep, the
gazes of Roc and Ash turned chillingly cold.
They extended their claws, moving silently
toward my throat.
11:32
L
90
Just as their sharp claws were about to touch my fur, Kael threw himself in front of me,
blocking their path.
“Kael, what are you doing?” Roc hissed, his
voice no longer silent, but a low, angry growl. “Have you forgotten how she abandoned us in our last life?”
“Move,” Ash snarled. “I want to tear this woman to pieces.”
If I had been awake, I would have realized the
truth. They could speak perfectly fine.
The one good eye of the wolf, Kael, glinted in
the firelight, dark and dangerous.
“She isn’t her.”
<
Chapter 2
I woke to the fading light of dusk.
I stretched lazily, reaching my arms out before
- me.
To my shock, my sharp claws were gone. In their place were smooth, pale arms.
“Ah!” A scream tore from my throat. Was I
trapped in my past life’s tragedy all over again?
Hearing my cry, Kael burst in from outside. He
froze the moment he saw me.
“Elara… you’ve shifted?” His beastly face felt
strangely hot as he stared at me.
His voice was thick and husky, and it was only
then that I realized I was completely naked.
A blush crept across my face. With a flicker of
<
UTUཕUTT, ༔ ༔BIOCT དདy T Aད 19
zu JuUI、 དད ་་U ༔དདད
white wolf form.
“Elara, congratulations. You can take human
form now.”
A dark light glinted in Kael’s eye. He had seen
me clearly.
The woman before him was, without a doubt,
the Divine Maiden from his past life.
And she was far more beautiful than the new
one.
But to Kael’s surprise, I didn’t start living as a
human, the way Kiera had.
It was as if my brief transformation had been a
dream.
I told him not to tell anyone in the tribe that I
could shift.
11:22
I didn’t want any trouble.
Until you have absolute power, beauty is nothing but a weakness.
90
In the days that followed, I taught the wolves of our tribe new hunting techniques and showed them how to build sturdy wooden huts.
I even started a strict, military–style training regimen for the younger wolf–shifters.
Kael and the others were no exception. Roc and Ash seemed to realize that I was completely different from the woman in their past life.
One day, they “coincidentally” gained the ability to speak.
I didn’t think much of it. The only reason they couldn’t shift or speak before was a lack of
power.
<
With enough food and proper training, shifting
wasn’t difficult at all.
I took them hunting constantly, teaching them
skills that made them stronger and more
capable than ever before.
A shifter who could survive with such severe
disabilities was never going to be ordinary.
Sure enough, when the Primal God closes a
door, he opens a window.
Kael might have only one eye, but his hearing
was exceptionally sharp.
Roc couldn’t fly yet, but his claws were lethally
sharp.
And Ash wasn’t a mere cat. He was a lynx.
Far more deadly than any wolf.
<
11:33
Far more deadly than any wolf.
A smile touched my lips as I watched them.
It was better to teach them to be strong on their own. I was certain that this time, they wouldn’t meet such a tragic end.
