RISE OF THE SILVER LYCAN GODDESS

Episode 7: The Silver Beast

Rhaenyra's POV

The scream that tore from my throat no longer sounded human.

It came out as a deep, guttural roar that shook the trees around me and sent birds scattering from their nests. My fingers dug into the earth as another wave of pain ripped through my body, but this time I did not collapse. Something inside me had finally snapped into place.

My bones continued to c***k.

My spine arched violently as something powerful forced its way through every part of me. I could feel my muscles stretching beneath my skin, growing stronger with every painful second. My fingers curled into claws, the nails extending until they tore through the tips of my fingers. Blood dripped onto the ground, but I barely noticed it anymore.

The witches had stopped chanting, their voices fading into complete silence. I slowly lifted my head, expecting to see the same amusement and contempt that had been on their faces moments ago, but what I saw made my stomach tighten. Their expressions had changed. The confidence was gone, replaced by something I had never expected to see in them, fear. Somehow, that frightened me more than the pain tearing through my body.

One of the witches took a slow, uncertain step backward, her eyes fixed on me as though she had seen something she could not explain. “No,” she whispered, but before she could move any farther, another woman quickly reached out and grabbed her arm.

“What have we awakened?”

I heard them clearly despite the pounding inside my skull.

I wanted to ask what they meant, but my mouth opened, and another roar escaped instead. My jaw stretched painfully, my teeth sharpening into long fangs as silver fur erupted across my skin. The moonlight touched me.

For one brief moment, everything became still.

Then I transformed.

My body slammed against the ground as my final bones shifted into place. My limbs elongated, my shoulders widened, and my hands became enormous paws with curved claws capable of tearing through flesh. My chest heaved as I dragged air into lungs that suddenly felt too large for the body I had possessed only moments before.

When I opened my eyes, the world around me seemed different. Everything appeared sharper, brighter, as though my senses had suddenly awakened to details I had never noticed before.

I could see every leaf trembling on the trees. I could hear the frantic beating of the witches' hearts. I could smell their fear from where I stood, mixed with sweat, blood, herbs and something darker that clung to their bodies.

I could smell their souls, and a strange hunger stirred deep inside me. One of the witches raised her hands and shouted, “Hold her!” The others immediately resumed their chanting, but the sound grated against my senses, irritating me more with every word. I tilted my head and listened for only a moment before a low growl rolled from deep within my chest. The chanting stopped abruptly, but before any of them could react, I moved.

I crossed the distance between us so quickly even though I didn't understand what had happened. My claws struck the first witch before she could react, throwing her against a tree with enough force to c***k the trunk.

She screamed.

The others scattered.

“Run!”

That word awakened something savage inside me.

Run.

Why were they running from me?

Why did I suddenly want to chase them?

I lowered myself. Then I pounced.

The second witch barely had time to turn before my jaws closed around her shoulder. Her scream pierced through my ears, but instead of releasing her, I dragged her across the ground.

Blood filled my mouth, warm and rich, carrying a taste that was disturbingly delicious. I froze as something deep inside me seemed to purr with satisfaction, awakening a hunger that demanded more. The witch clawed desperately at my face, her fear breaking through as she pleaded, “Please!” Her voice reached something inside me, cutting through the hunger for just a moment. For that brief second, I no longer saw her as prey. I saw her as a woman, frightened and desperate, and then I realized she was a mother.

I saw children waiting for her somewhere in the forest. I saw a small house, a man sitting beside a fire, and a little girl sleeping beneath a blanket.

My grip slowly loosened, and the woman stared up at me in horror. Before I could understand what I was doing, another voice entered my head, cold and commanding.

Don't let her live.

My eyes burned silver. The hunger surged through me again, and I tightened my jaws.

The vision disappeared.

The woman's body went limp in my grasp, and I dropped her to the ground. The remaining witches screamed and scattered in different directions, stumbling over roots and branches as they desperately tried to escape the creature they had created.

But they had made one mistake.

They had awakened something that knew how to hunt.

I chased them.

The forest became a blur around me as I tore through the trees. One woman tried to hide behind a thick trunk, but I could hear her heart pounding against her ribs. Her fear filled the air around her, making it impossible for her to disappear from my senses.

I reached her before she could move.

She spun around and raised both hands in surrender. “Please, Rayna!”

I stopped.

The name struck me like lightning.

Rayna.

My head throbbed violently, and a memory flashed before my eyes. I saw a garden filled with plum trees, their branches swaying gently in the breeze. A man's arms were wrapped around my waist, and his laughter sounded warm and familiar.

Then I saw his eyes.

His voice reached me through the memory.

“Rayna.”

I shook my head violently, trying to force the image away. Within seconds, the garden, the man, and the sound of his voice disappeared.

When I looked at the witch again, she was staring at me with something that looked almost like disbelief.

“You remember,” she whispered.

I snarled at her, but instead of showing fear, she smiled despite the terror covering her face.

“You really are back.”

I lunged.

She vanished in a burst of black smoke, leaving my claws to slam into the tree behind her. The impact split the trunk, sending pieces of bark crashing to the ground.

I stared down at my claws.

Something inside me was changing again.

The silver fur covering my body shimmered beneath the moonlight, but beneath that unnatural strength, I could feel another presence. Something ancient. Something that was watching me.

Something that was waiting.

Another scream tore through the forest.

I turned toward the sound and saw three witches standing together. They had formed a circle, their hands joined as they desperately tried to summon enough power to stop me.

“Chazra l'maanenu!” they shouted.

Their voices rose together, and the ground beneath my paws began to tremble. Thick roots suddenly burst through the earth, twisting around my legs and locking me in place.

I snarled and pulled against them.

The roots tightened.

For the first time since I had transformed, I felt resistance.

The witches screamed louder, pouring more of their magic into the spell.

“Bind her!”

The roots climbed higher, wrapping around my body as heat spread through my veins. My entire body burned beneath their magic, and I could feel their power pressing against mine.

Then something inside me laughed.

It wasn't my laughter.

A woman's voice whispered through my mind.

You think they can bind us?

My eyes flashed silver.

The roots exploded.

The force threw the witches backward, sending their bodies crashing into the earth. Before they could recover, I charged toward them.

One tried to crawl away. Another screamed for mercy, while the third simply stared at me as tears streamed down her face.

“Goddess Rayna,” she whispered.

I stopped.

My claws hovered above her chest.

“Please.”

I didn't know why, but suddenly I could hear another heartbeat inside my own. It was slower and calmer than the wild rhythm pounding through my body.

The beast inside me wanted blood, but the girl I had always been wanted answers.

My vision was blurred.

The witch's face began to change before my eyes. For a moment, I wasn't looking at her anymore.

I was looking at myself.

A woman stood before me wearing a long white dress stained with blood. Her hair was tangled around her face, and tears streaked her cheeks. Her eyes were silver, just like mine.

She looked directly at me.

You are not ready.

I couldn't move.

If you kill them all now, you will never learn why they feared you.

“Who are you?” I asked.

My voice came out as a strange mixture of a growl and a whisper.

The woman smiled sadly.

You already know.

The vision vanished.

The witch beneath me began crawling away, dragging herself through the dirt as quickly as she could.

Something snapped inside me.

I lifted my paw.

Then I stopped.

My breathing grew heavier as the hunger inside me screamed for blood.

Kill her.

The command echoed through my mind.

Kill her.

My claws trembled.

Kill her.

“No.”

The word escaped my mouth.

The witch froze and looked up at me.

For a moment, I wasn't sure whether I had spoken or whether the beast inside me had.

I stumbled backward.

My head felt as though it were splitting apart. Blood suddenly rushed from my nose, and the forest began spinning around me.

Every heartbeat became painfully clear. I could hear every insect moving through the grass, every leaf shifting in the wind, and every frightened breath coming from the surrounding witches.

It was too much. I threw my head back and screamed.

The sound shook the entire forest, then my body collapsed. The silver fur began disappearing from my skin. My claws shortened, and my bones cracked as my body began changing again.

Pain swallowed everything.

The last thing I heard before darkness consumed me was the voice inside my head.

Wake up, Rayna.

Then silence followed. For a moment, there was nothing.

No forest.

No pain.

No voices.

Then, somewhere far away, another voice broke through the darkness.

“She’s alive.”