The first slice of morning cuts across the room, pale and merciless. Cold air moves through the cracked window, tousling papers and lifting the edges of my hair. I stand at the threshold of change, feeling the gentle roar of harmony where there was once chaos. The wolf lives within me; the woman breathes within me. They regard each other as equals for the first time. I exhale, tasting the wilderness and the city in equal measure. My claws retract with a shiver of pleasure, a decision not a battle, a choice not a defeat. I smile at my reflection—whole and human.
The amber light of my eyes fades to a deep brown that holds its own fire, not so tame as before. I watch my hands with wonder as the fingernails curl back into precise half-moons, the marks of transformation melting away. There is
