The Rise of the Tribrid

Chapter One

Raven’s POV

The moon always made me feel like I'm being watched, even as a child I could never look at it the way the other wolves did, they looked at it with joy. The wolves saw the moon as our goddess and creator but to me, the moon is like an eye, always watching me. Tonight it seems more.

The blood moon was high in the sky, shining bright making the forest have a faint red glow, you could feel the anticipation through the wolves, the weight of the ritual we are all born into. The blood moon hunt. Everyone in the Nightshade pack gathered their howls were loud. Everyone seemed at home apart from me.

Everyone was excited and filled with pride, the warriors stretched their bodies, their bodies changing between wolf and human form trying to prove themselves to the king. Alaric, my father, stood on the platform, he commanded the attention of everyone with his presence. Even now I could feel the weight of his expectations pressing down on me. I was his heir, his daughter, the blood of the nightshade like and yet I've never felt so out of place.

When shifted his right hand, there was silence, the only sound you could hear was the sound of the fire cackling from torches and the hoot of an owl.

“Tonight, we run not as a beast but as a legacy, we honour the blood that built our kingdom. We remember who we are” he said, his voice commanding everyone.

The pack erupted in howls, I tried joining them but the sound that came out was cracked and hollow.

I saw my mom looking at me from across the circle, her expression was too soft for this savage ceremony, her magic hummed faintly around her, very powerful. She smiled worriedly at me, the same sorry that she has shown over the years when she thought I wasn't looking.

The drummers began drumming a slow and steady beat and the wolves started transforming, their bodies changing, their howls turned to growls, it was so beautiful and terrifying at the same time. They started running, one after the other. The colour of their eyes changing to gold and I just stood there.

The beat of the drums matched the beat of my heart, I could feel the pull, the urge to shift for that sweet release but when I tried to summon the shift, to let my wolf come forward, I could not, something in my chest resisted. It wasn't the usual discomfort i feel when I try to shift, this was pain and it was excruciating.

It started slowing and then it flared, I held my breath as the pain sent through my body, it felt like I was on fire, I fell to my knees, and my vision blurred.

I clenched my first, trying so hard to control my breathing to try to ease the pain, no one noticed, not with the start of the hunt. One by one, they all disappeared into the forest, I couldn't hear their howls anymore, the forest was silent and then the light of the moon touched my skin. It felt like fire.

My breath came out in pants, the burn I felt spread all over, from my neck, down my spine, across my arms until I felt it all over. This wasn't normal, it wasn't the ache from shifting, it was so much worse. My vision changed from white to red, I lost my balance holding the nearest tree.

“Whats happening to me?” I whispered, no one was here to answer me or hear me. I could only hear the steady beating of my heart and the wind.

I forces myself away from the clearing, deeper into the forest so no one could see me. I felt cold, every sound was magnified, the rustle of the leafs, the snapping of twigs, I could even hear the wind more. My senses went beyond what it has ever done, I could hear the beating heart of a rabbit, and I could smell the blood from a kill by the wolves. It was too loud and it was too much.

I tap on my head, trying to block it all out, the pain continued it seemed to be even worse than before. I could feel something moving inside me, that's not my wolf. There was a lake near by, I rushed towards it, I fell to my knees, the water glowed red, reflecting the colour of the moon and then I saw my reflection. I leaned closer and froze, my eyes weren't gold, they weren't even the bright amber of my wolf. They glowed scarlet.

I gasped, I closed my eyes hard and opened them, I blinked twice but it still remained the same, it was faint but I could still see it.

“No, no this isn't..” i whispered, shaking my head

The burning returned, so much worse this time until I screamed. I fell down to the ground, breathing heavily, I could taste iron on my tongue, my heart is beating so fast, I felt it might burst out of my chest. Then it all stopped.

Then the pain dulled and i was fully aware of everything, I could feel the world in a way I never had. Every heartbeat, every scent, my skin tingled, my fangs ached in my gums.

“ Wait fangs?” I said shocked, touching my lips feeling the sharp edge of teeth that hadn't been there.

“What's happening to me?” I whispered, my voice breaking, tears pooling in my eyes.

The moon dimmed and for moment, everywhere was quiet, there was no sound or movement. Then I heard a sound, at first I thought it was coming from the trees where the wolves are out hunting or some beast but the more I listened I realized it wasn't coming from the forest. It was coming from me.

A deep vibration went through my chest, my heart was beating so fast, matching my growl until I couldn't tell where it ended and where it began.

I started panicking, I pressed my hand against my chest trying to stop the sound but it continued.

“Stop, stop it” I whispered trying to stop the sound but it didn't stop.

I could feel a different kind of energy in the air, very powerful. In that moment I thought I saw something in the reflection of the lake. A figure, eyes glowing the same scarlet as mine but when I blinked it was gone, my reflection remained and the fading sound of the growl that came from me.