The gasps that filled the grand hall rose like a tide and broke into stunned silence.
For a heartbeat, no one moved. The moonlight pooled over Auburn as her body convulsed, reshaping and trembling under the spell of the first shift.
Her cries, half human and half beast, echoed through the ballroom.
Then it happened.
Fur burst through skin, not the dull brown or silver many had expected, but the deep, burnished glow of red.
A collective murmur rippled through the crowd, disbelief spreading like fire.
The Queen clasped her hands together, her eyes brimming with pride and tears.
"A red wolf," she whispered, loud enough for those nearest to hear. "Just like her Scarlett would have been."
Jasmine stood still. Her breath caught in her throat as she stared at the scene unfolding beneath the pale shafts of moonlight.
