Cornelia's POV
"Shifting?" I glanced between the two brothers, my tears beginning to subside. "What does that mean?"
"When we reach a specific age," Colter explained, his palm still cupping my cheek, "we experience something called the shift. It's a vicious awakening of our true nature, where our human form shatters, contorts, and rebuilds itself to accommodate the creature within."
"David was delayed," Caleb added, his tone heavy with sorrow. "He shifted at twelve, while we were supposed to transform at eight."
"Is that the reason he's like this?" I whispered.
Colter shook his head slowly. "He's this way because he lacks a tether."
