The Lucid Dream

I lunged at the nearest wolf and sent it tumbling into the undergrowth. Before it could recover, another crashed into me from behind. I twisted sharply and sank my teeth into its neck. It yelped and staggered away, but more wolves were already circling me from all sides.

There were too many.

One attacked again and I struck it aside, but another replaced it immediately. Claws raked across my shoulder. I hit back hard, but a third went for my throat. I ducked, yet something slammed into my side and pain exploded through me, and I fell.

Blood soaked into my fur as I tried to push myself up again. The largest wolf stepped forward and lunged at me. I reacted too late. Its claws tore into me and threw me back to the ground.

The impact stole my breath completely.

My body began to break apart as the shift took over. Bones snapped, muscles twisted, and fur receded beneath my skin as I was forced back into human form.

I screamed as the transformation finished.

Then I was on the ground, in my human form, bleeding, and exposed.

The wolves advanced slowly.

I dragged myself backward across the forest floor, but my hands kept slipping on the wet earth. One of them lowered its head, teeth bared as it prepared to strike.

Then everything changed.

Something entered the forest.

The wolves reacted instantly, shifting their attention away from me as if whatever had arrived outweighed even their hunger.

Footsteps came through the trees, and a figure stepped into view.

Even through the pain and fading vision, I recognized him immediately.

“Liam,” I whispered.

I reached out for him as the wolves closed in on me, but before he could get to me, the nearest one turned and leapt.

Its body hit the air—

And I couldn’t tell where the shadows were coming from.

Something pierced my heart, and I gasped.

---

I woke up too fast, like something had pulled me out of darkness by force.

For a few seconds I did not move. I lay still in the attic bed, staring at the wooden ceiling. My chest rose and fell unevenly, as if I had been running for a long time.

The dream was still very clear to me.

I pressed my hand to my forehead and forced myself to sit up. My skin was cold, but there was heat beneath it that made me sick to my stomach. It moved in slow waves under my ribs, as if searching for something.

“I’m fine,” I said quietly, but that was a lie.

Outside the attic window, the Croft property looked normal. Morning light, open yard, distant movement near the barn. Nothing suggested danger. Nothing except the feeling inside me that refused to settle.

I swung my legs off the bed, trying to stand, and the moment my feet touched the floor, something inside my chest reacted.

I froze.

The air in the room felt heavier suddenly, like it had changed density without warning. My heartbeat slowed for half a second, then picked up again too strongly.

A voice came from below.

Liam.

My body responded before my thoughts did. I stepped back from the window instinctively, like something had just been alerted inside me.

It spread under my skin in a way that made my fingers curl without permission. I looked down at them and saw a faint tremor. Not fear exactly. Something older than that.

The same instinct from the night I couldn't remember.

The memory flashed without warning. The dark trees, and a body hitting the ground.

My own voice breaking into something I did not recognize.

I staggered back until my shoulder hit the wall.

“No,” I whispered, but it did not sound like refusal anymore. It sounded like a warning.

From downstairs, footsteps were heard.

Then Liam’s voice again, sharper this time, as if he had noticed something wrong in the house.

My pulse jumped violently.

And that was when I let out a painful scream.

It started beneath my ribs first, like something tightening from the inside. A slow pressure that spread outward through my chest and spine. I inhaled sharply, but the air felt dry in my lungs.I grabbed the edge of the bed.

The wood creaked under my grip.

My fingers dug in harder than they should have.

“Stop,” I said, trying to control myself, but my voice sounded strained.

The heat spread faster.

My skin felt too tight, like it was no longer the right shape for what was inside it. The ringing in my ears felt horrible. It was as if someone was calling me.

But how could I answer something I could not see?

My vision blurred for a second, and when it cleared, I realized I was breathing too fast.

Then pain ripped through me.

I doubled over as heat exploded beneath my skin.

And suddenly, I wasn't entirely human anymore..

Pain tore through my spine without warning.

I gasped and dropped to my knees as something inside me pulled tight, like bone remembering a shape it was never meant to forget. My breath broke halfway out of my throat.

“No—” I tried to say, but it collapsed into something else.

My hands hit the floor.

And I felt my skin turn to fur. My skin no longer felt like it belonged to me.

The room tilted slightly as my senses sharpened in ways that made no sense. I could hear everything now. The house below. The movement outside. The wind against the walls.

The attic door creaked open, and Liam stepped inside.

His eyes widened, and neither of us moved.

I could smell his fear. I could hear his heartbeat.

And for the first time since the night my family died, the wolf inside me became completely still.

"Kaela...?"

The growl that answered him wasn't entirely mine.