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•~Fiona~•
I stand in the middle of the pack, all eyes on me. My father stands inches away, his gaze reassuring and proud. It is finally the day—the day I will shift into the wolf I was born to be and take my position as Luna of the White fox tribe.
Others usually got their wolves at nineteen but when mine didn't come, father knew I was going to be a powerful wolf. It was all part of the prophecy.
The pack closes in on me in a tight circle, as the future Luna of the pack, everyone wanted to witness the ascension. It was my destiny. My heart races in my chest. I close my eyes, waiting for the transformation.
But as I stand in the clearing, the moonlight washing over me like liquid silver, a knot tightens in my chest. Something is wrong. Deeply, horribly wrong. The air buzzes with magic and energy, but it doesn’t feel right.
“Close your eyes and let it take over,” I mutter to myself.
I close my eyes again, steeling myself for the change. I feel the shift starting deep within me, the familiar pull of my wolf eager to break free. But something isn’t happening as it should. Shifting is supposed to be difficult and overwhelming—at least, that’s what I’ve heard. It’s never easy for a female to take her powerful Luna form, but it still happens.
My bones ache and twist. Pain rips through me, and I gasp, dropping to my knees. My fingers claw at the dirt as my body spasms violently.
I hear the crack of bones reshaping, the rending sound of tearing skin. I should feel the power of the White Fox coursing through me. Instead, there’s a strange, distant sensation that feels… wrong. My body jerks and spasms as I struggle to hold on to myself.
Gasps ripple through the crowd. I open my eyes and am met with horror. Red horns. Long fangs. Gigantic wings sprout from my back.
“No… no, no!” I scream, but the words come out as a low, guttural growl. My vision blurs as dark, coarse fur sprouts from my skin—not the sleek, golden coat of the White Fox, but something entirely different.
“Fiona…” My father’s voice cuts through the air, his eyes wide in disbelief.
“Father,” I growl, stepping toward him. He takes two steps back. The guards raise their swords, even my mate, Raphael—Alpha of the White Fox—among them.
“Get away, you foul beast.”
“No! It’s me!” I growl, but they don’t understand me.
A guard throws a pitchfork, and I stumble, losing my balance and falling to the ground.
I want to scream, to beg for it to stop. But the transformation isn’t over. My body thrashes as my bones contort, pulling me into a form that feels alien, foreign, and wrong.
Finally, my body begins to shift back to its human form. Weak and naked, I lie on the ground, trembling. My eyes flutter open, only to see Alpha Raphael standing over me, sword pointed directly at my chest.
“Take her now,” he orders the guards.
“Take me?” I whisper, my voice breaking. Tears stream down my face. “W-where?”
He doesn’t answer, turning his face away from me.
The elders whisper among themselves. The frantic murmurs carry across the clearing.
“It’s happening again, isn’t it? Just like the old stories,” one of the elders murmurs.
“The curse has returned,” another elder hisses
“A Vartex wolf…”
My blood runs cold. A Vartex wolf, I couldn’t be.
My heart sinks as the reality hits me. I have shifted into a form long considered a curse. A creature of a clan rejected centuries ago for being too wild, too uncontrollable. A race cast out by my pack and all other wolf tribes for the destruction they’d cause centuries ago almost wiping out our kind.
“She cannot be Luna,” one elder barks, his tone full of disdain. “We cannot allow this.”
My father’s eyes meet mine briefly before lowering in shame.
“Father, tell them! I can’t harm anyone. I’m the Luna of this pack!” I turn to Raphael, desperation clawing at my voice. “I-I’m your mate!”
Raphael’s eyes finally meet mine, his gaze cold and unrelenting.
“Under the watchful eyes of the Moon Goddess, I, Alpha of the White Fox tribe renounce you Fiona Moon as my destined mate and the Luna of this pack.”
His words slice through me like a blade. He turns and walks away, leaving me broken. My world collapses in on itself. Tears spill down my face as I reach out for him, but the guards raise their weapons again.
I look toward my father, now walking toward me.
“Fiona, you were supposed to be our hope,” he says, his voice trembling as he tries to sound strong. “You were supposed to bring honor back to our pack. But this… this isn’t what we trained you for.”
His words sting more than the transformation itself.
“You’ve disgraced the family. Your mother would be ashamed.” He turns and walks away.
His words cut deeper than any wound. My mother was everything I wanted to be. I was supposed to make her proud. I’d never seen her before, she died the moment I was born but father had told me I was exactly like her and she had said I was part of a perfect prophecy.
“Father, please…” I cry out.
“We cannot allow this stand. She cannot remain a part of this pack,” an elder announces, stopping my father in his tracks.
My father doesn’t meet my gaze.
“Take her to the dungeon. Bind her and lock her away until the Alpha passes final judgment.”
No.
My heart shatters as the finality in his words. In just one night, my entire future was destroyed. I was rejected by my people, my family and my mate.
- Writer
