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
thought, I instantly transformed back into my
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.
I didn’t want any trouble.
Until you have absolute power, beauty is
nothing but a weakness.
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.
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.
