Chapter 1

Elixir’s Point Of View

The moon hung heavy in the velvet sky, a silent spectator to my misery. Its silvery light streamed through the cracks in my attic window, illuminating the meager space I called a room. The scent of damp wood and dust filled the air, clinging to my skin as I sat on the creaking mattress. My body ached from the day’s work, scrubbing floors, hauling firewood, and preparing meals for people who barely acknowledged my existence. I was exhausted, but not just physically. My soul felt tired, like an overworked thread fraying at the edges.

Ever since my father’s death, my life had become a cruel caricature of the promises he made me believe in. “Elixir, my love,” he used to say, “you’re destined for greatness. You’re special.” Those words were now a distant memory, buried under the weight of his widow’s cruelty.

*Flashback begins*

His breathing was labored, every exhale sounding like it would be his last. I sat by his bedside, clutching his frail hand in mine. My stepmother, the ever dutiful actress, dabbed at her eyes with a silk handkerchief. Beside her, my stepsister Amaya sat stiffly, her face devoid of emotion.

“I don’t have much time,” my father rasped, his voice barely audible. “Promise me one thing, my love.”

“What is it, darling?” my stepmother asked, her tone syrupy sweet.

“Take care of Elixir,” he whispered, his gaze fixed on me with an intensity that made my chest ache. “She is special. One day, she’ll lift this family’s name to heights we can’t even imagine.”

My stepmother placed a trembling hand on her chest, her voice thick with false sincerity. “I promise, my love. She will be as my own child.”

I wanted to believe her. For a fleeting moment, hope flickered in my heart. But that hope died the moment my father’s eyes closed for the final time.

The memory dissolved, leaving a bitter taste in my mouth. The promise she made had been nothing but a lie. Days after his death, my stepmother shed her façade and revealed her true self, a cruel tyrant who saw me as nothing more than free labor.

“Wolfless and worthless,” she’d sneered one day, her sharp voice cutting through me like a blade. “You’ll never amount to anything. You’re just a burden, I wish I could sell you off.”

Her words echoed in my mind as I stared at the full moon. I was twenty years old and still hadn’t shifted. Most wolves experienced their first shift at eighteen. But not me. Not the freak who didn’t belong.

“Moon Goddess,” I whispered, my voice trembling. “Please, if you’re listening, grant me a wolf. Let me prove them wrong. Let me be something… anything.”

As if in answer, a sudden, sharp pain shot through my spine. It was so intense that it stole the breath from my lungs. I doubled over, clutching my sides as my bones seemed to burn from the inside out.

“What the…” I gasped, but the words died in my throat as the pain came again, this time stronger.

My body convulsed, muscles tearing and twisting in ways they weren’t meant to. A guttural scream tore from my lips as I collapsed to the floor, my nails digging into the wooden boards.

“Mother’s asking for you!” Amaya’s shrill voice cut through the agony.

I barely managed to lift my head. She stood in the doorway, her arms crossed and her face twisted in disdain.

“It’s late,” I choked out. “Can’t it wait until morning?”

Her lips curled into a cruel smile. “You must have a death wish, you cursed bitch. Get your ass downstairs before I drag you there myself.”

She stormed off, slamming the door behind her. I clenched my jaw, trying to ignore the wave of rage that surged through me. But before I could get up, another jolt of pain wracked my body, this time more violent than before.

My skin felt like it was on fire, every nerve ending alight with excruciating heat. I screamed as my spine arched unnaturally, the snapping of bones filling the air like the crack of thunder. My hands, no, claws dug into the floor, splintering the wood beneath them.

“What’s happening to me?” I sobbed, tears streaming down my face.

My vision blurred, the world around me shifting into a monochrome palette of black, white, and shades of gray. My teeth elongated, sharp and predatory, while my limbs contorted into something not entirely human.

I felt my body split, as though I existed in two forms at once, wolf and human, yet neither fully. The transformation was both agonizing and intoxicating, a primal force awakening inside me that I couldn’t control.

And just as suddenly as it began, it stopped. I lay on the floor, gasping for air, my body drenched in sweat.

“What the hell…” I whispered, but my voice sounded strange, deeper, raw, almost feral.

A sharp gasp pulled my attention to the doorway. My stepmother and Amaya stood frozen, their faces pale with terror.

“Monster!” my stepmother shrieked, her voice breaking.

I tried to speak, to explain, but the words wouldn’t come. Instead, a low growl rumbled in my chest, one I couldn’t suppress.

They turned and bolted, their screams echoing through the house. I was left alone, trembling and confused, my senses overwhelmed by the strange new world I was experiencing.

The room felt too small, the air too thin. My heightened senses picked up every creak in the floorboards, every gust of wind rattling the windows.

“What the hell is happening to me?” I whispered, my voice shaking. “Who am I?”