The clearing lay high above the village, ringed with pine and stone. The air was sharp with sap and the distant roar of the river below. Morning light filtered through the branches, laying long silver bars across the ground.
It was here that Riven called them together.
Wolves and survivors gathered in a rough circle. The new shifters—Clint, Kara, Elise, Jonah—stood awkwardly near Torvee and the elder. Wolves sparred nearby, circling and snapping, strength made into rhythm. The fae leaned at the edges, quiet, watchful, their auras muted like lamp flame in daylight.
"This," the shifter elder said, voice carrying like gravel dragged across wood, "is not play. To wear the skin of your spirit is to open yourself to it. Some of you will stumble. Some of you will bleed. All of you will learn."
Clint grinned, shoulders squared. "I already know mine. Honey badger." He puffed out his chest. "Meaner than a bear, harder to kill than a stone, and gods help anything in my way."
Amber muttered, "Spoken like a man who hasn't shifted once."
The elder ignored Clint's swagger. "We begin."
Kara was called first. She stepped forward, fox-slim and nervous, her hair braided back. She knelt, palms on the earth, breathing hard. For a moment her aura flickered green-orange, sly and sharp. Her hands trembled as claws edged from her fingers—then vanished again. She bit her lip, frustrated.
"Patience," the elder said. "Foxes do not come when shouted for. They come when coaxed."
Kara swallowed and stepped back, embarrassed, but Torvee brushed her shoulder as she passed.
Elise followed. The girl folded her arms at first, reluctant, as if shifting was beneath her dignity. But when the elder pressed, she gave a slow exhale and let the aura flare. Cat's eyes glowed amber, her nails curved sharp, her movements sleek. The change came smoothly—almost too smoothly—and Elise smirked, refusing to look impressed. "So?" she said. "Not difficult."
"Your pride will trip you," Amber warned. Elise only shrugged.
Then Clint strutted forward. He cracked his neck, flexed his arms, and gave a roar that was more enthusiasm than menace. His aura flared dark and earthy. For a moment, his back hunched, shoulders broadening, claws jutting from his hands. His teeth lengthened into vicious hooks. The shift was messy—half man, half beast—but unmistakably badger.
He staggered, panting, then threw back his head and laughed. "Told you! Honey badger! Unstoppable!"
"Looks like you stopped halfway," Luke called dryly, to the chuckles of several wolves.
Clint flipped him a clawed hand and grinned wider.
Finally Jonah was brought forward. Torvee knelt beside him, her voice steady. "You don't have to, not if you're scared."
"I want to," Jonah whispered, eyes wide.
He pressed his palms to the earth. At once his aura shifted—fluid, quicksilver. The change came like water poured from a cup. In the blink of an eye, Jonah was gone, and in his place coiled a sleek, scaled snake, its eyes bright as emeralds. It flicked its tongue, hissed softly, then twined around Torvee's arm.
Gasps rippled through the circle. Even the wolves leaned closer.
Torvee's eyes shone with pride as she stroked the boy's smooth scales. "Perfect," she murmured. "See? Some of us are born to it."
The elder nodded gravely. "Children adapt easiest. Their souls are unbound. Well done, Jonah."
When he shifted back, the boy grinned from ear to ear, flushed with triumph.
Riven turned then to the wolves. "Luke."
The young delta stepped forward, shedding his shirt, his frame lean but growing with strength. Garrett, older and broader, joined him. They circled, shifted in a flash of bone and fur, and clashed with snarls. Dust rose around them, claws scraping earth.
The fight was swift, brutal, but measured. Garrett pressed with weight; Luke countered with speed. Each snap of jaws rang sharp.
Elara watched, tense. She could feel the silver stirring again, humming like a bowstring pulled taut. Her chest tightened.
"Stop," she said quietly.
The word fell like stone in a pond. The ripples went everywhere.
Both wolves froze mid-motion—Garrett's jaws open above Luke's throat, Luke's claws raised. Even the fae went still, breath caught. For a heartbeat, the entire circle was locked.
Then, slowly, Garrett stepped back. Luke lowered his claws. Around the ring, wolves bowed their heads. Even Riven's golden eyes flared—then dipped, ever so slightly.
A shiver ran through Elara. She hadn't shouted. She hadn't meant it. Yet her voice had bent them all.
Whispers passed through the survivors. "Lunara," someone breathed.
Riven stepped into the circle, gaze fixed on her. "It is not enough to command. You must learn to wear it as well. Shift."
"I—I can't," Elara stammered. Her hands trembled. "I don't know how."
"Then learn," he said simply.
The elder came to her side, Torvee too. "Breathe," the elder instructed. "Call what's already in you. Let it out."
Elara closed her eyes. The silver inside her flared, searing, a storm rising under her skin. Her bones ached, her lungs burned. She gasped, certain she would tear apart—
And then she did.
Light burst from her form, silver-bright. Her body shifted, limbs reshaping, spine arching. She fell forward, hands striking the ground—no, paws, glowing white. Fur rippled over her, shining like molten moonlight.
Where Elara had stood now crouched a wolf—but not like the others. Larger, brighter, luminous, as though carved of moonlight itself. Every line of her shimmered silver, every breath glowing mist.
Gasps echoed around the clearing. Wolves dropped to their knees. Even Garrett, even Amber, even Riven. Survivors bowed their heads, awe-struck.
"Lunara," someone whispered again.
Elara trembled. The form felt wild, too much, impossible to hold. The silver threatened to tear her apart. She staggered, light flickering—then collapsed back into herself, gasping in human skin, sweat soaking her.
The circle was silent.
Riven stepped forward, crouching to meet her eyes. His voice was low but firm. "Now they have seen you. You cannot hide it anymore. You are not just of the pack. You are above it. You are the bridge."
Elara shivered, every nerve raw. "Then I need to learn control… before it destroys me."
Riven's golden gaze burned steady. "Then that is what we will teach you."
The circle slowly rose, murmurs spreading like wind through grass. Clint grinned, Jonah's eyes shone, Kara and Elise looked both fearful and proud. The wolves had bent their heads. The fae watched in silence, unreadable.
Elara sat there, heart hammering, her skin still glowing faintly with silver veins. She had shifted. She had commanded. And nothing would ever be the same again.