CHAPTER 08 - THE TRANSFORMATION

It didn't take long for nightfall to approach. The moon in the sky was nearly full, indicating that the transformation was nearing. I felt my breath grow heavy, my instincts sharpen, and I could hear an owl in the background of the forest. On the ground, I could feel a snake slithering its way towards a nearby burrow. I looked out of the open window, sniffing various scents that filled the forest, from the dew on a plant to the damp mist that enveloped the woods.

“I'm scared,” I confessed, squeezing my hands. The wolf sat there enigmatically, without uttering a single word.

The pains in my joints began with a twist in my stomach, and my ribs felt like they were expanding from within, making room for a lupine soul. “Aiii, it hurts,” I moaned, crouching down and wrapping my arms around my belly. “I don't want this,” I pleaded, teary-eyed, looking at the Alpha in front of me. “Please, help me avoid this!”

“Aiii, damn it, darn!” I yelled, surrendering to the pain. Cold sweat dripped down my forehead, and as I raised my hand to wipe it away, I noticed that fur had started to sprout. “Mother, Father, please help me!” I whispered, feeling tension in every part of my body. It felt like my entire being had been torn apart and remolded, and I swore a roar had escaped my lungs.

As warned, my limbs began to elongate, causing indescribable distress. I started to hallucinate, feeling my rational mind being pushed to the depths of my thoughts, as if something was trying to imprison me, trying to dominate me! I didn't know if it was a delusion or perhaps a dream...

In front of me, a river appeared, reflecting the illuminated moon, and I recognized my sister kneeling in some kind of prayer. I ran towards her, desperate for answers, in need of help, and wanting the pain to stop.

I halted my run when I came face-to-face with a majestic white she-wolf, whose eyes reflected the moonlight. Her posture exuded grace despite her imposing size, and the she-wolf shone with a welcoming aura. I stood frozen, watching my sister plead with the mystical entity, begging for a blessing.

“Grant me this blessing, Mother Luna, I implore you,” Agatha pleaded.

The mystical wolf's eyes attentively followed her desperate request.

“Agatha, get up and run. She's going to kill you!” I shouted, fearing for her.

Agatha gave me a gentle look and whispered, “Forgive me, my sister. I need Goddess Luna to make you strong to protect our most precious one.”

“Make me strong?” I inquired, bewildered.

The mystical goddess turned towards me, moving with celestial grace. Her eyes seemed to reflect the starry sky itself, and her fur radiated the moon's glow.

“My child,” she said enchantingly, “I shall heed your sister's prayers. Today, you will be reborn as my daughter, destined for the King, entrusted by me to bring peace, wisdom, and protection to my pups.”

“I don't understand...” My confusion was palpable, but I realized that the pain had disappeared, as if the powerful presence before me had alleviated my distress.

The Moon Goddess continued to advance towards me, passing through my body and filling me with a warm embrace.

“He will guide you when the time comes. Wake up, child, and fulfill your destiny.” In a final whisper, she disappeared as quickly as she had appeared.

I growled as I found myself face-to-face with the Alpha, who stood with his snout inches from mine. He examined me curiously, as if anticipating the worst, with palpable confusion in his eyes.

“You're a hybrid!” Finally, he inquired, perplexed, not in a questioning tone but in affirmation.

I reached for a bowl of water on the table, and as he looked at me, it became clear that I had become an unusual being. My eyes, once blue, had changed color, with green in the left eye and a deeper blue in the right. My face was now covered in fur, with a black snout replacing my old human nose.

“What am I?” I growled, my canines showing, advancing toward the wolf, who watched me with intrigue.

“A she-wolf!” He exclaimed, threatening to reach out and assess me.

Driven by the possibility of strength and self-defense, I turned, attacking him in search of answers about the whereabouts of my nephew. Perhaps, if I defeated the Alpha, his lackeys would fear me enough to leave us in peace.

“I'll kill you!” I snarled with ferocity, lunging at the king, who couldn't resist the attack. I managed to bite his shoulder, but to my surprise, my bite didn't have the expected impact. Furthermore, I tried to apply more force, attempting to open a wound in his flesh, but my jaw betrayed me with a contraction that forced me to let go.

I retreated, unable to face him.

“How do you intend to kill me if you can't even scratch me?” The Alpha's words held truth. I retreated further into a corner of the room, overwhelmed by deep despair and fearing his possible counterattack due to my audacity in attacking him.

The imposing Alpha calmly observed her with a strange sensation. Not only had the scent of the female before him changed, but her emotions were palpable. As if a connection had been established between them, he could now feel her pain, the heaviness in her heart, the agony in her lungs, and the desperation in her soul.

“Goddess, what are you trying to tell me?” Laycan whispered mentally. A breeze entered the room, passing by the newly-transformed she-wolf trembling before him. Whispers swept through her ear in response, “Destined.”

“But she was human...” He hesitated.

The breeze intensified into a gale, hurling him against the wall, and words were spread through the air in a gust, “Accept your destiny, cursed Alpha!”

Clarity in his mind returned, as irritating his goddess again would have unimaginable consequences.

“Moon, thank you for not forsaking me.” With a nod of his head, the Alpha expressed his gratitude for a response from his moon, which had not answered his prayers for a long time since his curse. He walked toward the albino she-wolf, who was growling and cornered.

“Stop, back away!” She snarled through her teeth. Her weakness was evident, her body was hunched, like a completely frightened cornered dog, to the point of being pathetic. But the King would not contest his deity's choice.

“Go away, leave me!” Sophie shouted at the approaching wolf, even in the face of her furious voice. Seeing that her rebellion didn't deter him, she waited for his approach and bit his paw. Calmly, as if her attacks didn't bother him, he lowered his head and rubbed his snout against her fur in an attempt to calm her.

Trying to resist, Sophie struggled to put more pressure on the bite, but her whole body ached, even her canines. Finally succumbing to the male's strength, she surrendered to despair as tears flowed freely through her fur.