CHAPTER 5: SHE IS THE FIRST WARE-WOLF OF HER KIND...

The doors opened.

A hush swept across the hall. Everyone was eagerly waiting for the golden boy.Two guards stepped in, escorting Adrian, now dressed only in a white undergarment cloth wrapped around his waist. His upper body was bare and a nice piece to watch.

His skin glowed faintly under the moon light. His eyes shone brighter than before. He breathed in sharply as if sensing the world for the first time. He couldn't wait to meet his inner most person. The only thing that made one a true Bolivian.

Lady Elizabeth gasped and tightly held queen Eleanor’s arm. “My boy…”

Reginald whispered, “Walk tall, boy.”

Adrian stepped forward. Slow and Steady. Aware of himself. He climbed the podium steps, entered the cage and he watched it being shut behind him. He watched everyone cheering him on. He loved the feeling. He so much wanted to be a wolf. A brave strong and untouchable wolf, just like his cousin Rudieloff, the alpha of his pack and the future king of Bolivia. He could not wait to finally meet the other version of himself.

He turned once, meeting his mother’s eyes. She smiled proudly at him and he returned the smile. He couldn't help but laugh when he caught his sister, Princess Julianna and Theodore making fun of him. He loved it when family came together.

Then he lifted his head towards the celestial tear and then, the glass was removed. The moonlight poured from above. And the moon answered in the language that he could not understand....

The moment the celestial tear was opened,...the moon light poured through and directly touched him, igniting every ripple of pain and power in Adrian’s body.

Adrian grabbed the bars, gasping as heat shot through his body.

His mother whispered fiercely, “Push through it, my son. Let your wolf come out”

The first shiver of transformation rolled through him like a dark tide. His bones cracked audibly under the strain, the hall echoing with the faint cracks of shifting ligaments and stretching muscles. His skin stretched, muscles twisting and contorting. His nails thickened and turned to claws before the gasps of the nobles could even fully register.

"Adrian!” Lady Elizabeth cried, her hand pressed to her mouth. “My son, my baby!”

His spine curved violently, vertebrae popping, elongating, reshaping. The sound was harsh, almost primal, a warning to every ear in the hall.

The hall shivered with surprise and terror. Guards held their weapons tighter. If he was to escape, he would be so dangerous. But could he? Nobles hid behind fans, only their eyes betraying their fascination.

And then, as suddenly as it began, it ended. Adrian stood, in his new form. Every sense amplified, every instinct screaming predator. The hall seemed to inhale collectively.

He rose finally, knees trembling, claws scraping against stone, a predator born. The Celestial Tear poured moonlight over him, bathing him in almost unreal radiance. His howl cut through the hall, sharp and pure, echoing like a bell of doom.

The cage trembled with his breaths. They were deep, heavy and animalistic. His fur was grey tipped with black. His eyes glowed bright, unnatural violet like Rudieloff's. His frame was massive, larger than many wolves, even larger than some trained warriors.

Queen Eleanor’s hands trembled over her lips.

Lady Elizabeth sobbed openly. “My boy… my brave boy…”

King Reginald straightened, pride shining in his eyes.

Rudieloff watched the wolf silently, his jaw clenched. Adrian turned his head and stared directly at Rudieloff. The two princes locked eyes. One wolf and other human in form. Something passed between them but before anyone could process it, Adrian threw his head back and unleashed a howl that shook the entire hall.

He slammed against the cage once, testing his new limbs, then steadied.

It had been agonizing. Yet, in that torment, there was grace. Beneath the brutality of the initial shifting, there was an unmistakable beauty. It was feral, untamed and perfect.

However, if Adrian’s shift was brutal… what happened in the slave cage was worse. Much worse. Because there was no honor in it. No ceremony. No moon hall. No velvet seats. No royal healers on standby. Only cold dirt. Only terror. Only chaos.

The moon, large, red as spilled wine had risen slowly above the treetops hours earlier. The moment its light draped over the field and the bells rang signaling the transformation hour, several youths inside the cage gasped as if punched.The moment the moonlight touched the center of the cage at 12:00;

The first wave of slaves in the cage screamed. Their bodies twisted violently, limbs bending at impossible angles. Flesh tore and reformed. Bones cracked and elongated. Faces contorted. Eyes glowed violet and amber in the moonlight.

Parents outside feared and some grabbed the mesh in despair watching the scene unfold before them.

Vivienne watched all of it, right in front of her. She knew it that in a minute or more, she was to meet the same fate. She squeezed herself against the wire mesh wishing she could escape this cage. The agony was too much to watch. Oliver crouched near her, careful not to breach the mesh.

"Viv, You need to be strong. Don't forget,am here, Cecilia and your mother… Just breathe Vivienne." When she didn't respond, he added "Look at me, just one hour, I will get you out of there myself” he murmured, his voice high, laced with anger.

"Okay." She nodded vigorously

Her face burned with embarrassment. Naked before him, trembling like a leaf caught in a storm, she looked away as soon as she had looked at him.

Time passed and Minutes ticked. An hour was the limit. However, Vivienne did not move. No tremor passed though her bones. She experienced no growth of fangs.There was no sign at all. Some people were beginning to shift their attention to her. It was a rare thing that one failed to turn wolf on their eighteenth birthday. Much as there were a few cases, it was always once in a blue moon.

Bodies hit the ground hard, limbs twisting, bones snapping in crunches that echoed across the field. Vivienne, covered her ears with her hands, trying not to hear the screams of her fellow slaves.

One girl’s arm bent backward, bone ripping right through the skin like a jagged white blade.

A boy’s ribs cracked outward, skin was cut open in a line of blood as his torso reshaped

Ten slaves began shifting at once. Their screams were immediate

Vivienne clutched the mesh, watching her friends convulse in grotesque beauty. Some wolves bigger and some stronger hit the cage walls, snarling, foam spitting from mouths, eyes wild with fear and bloodlust.

She breathed out, voice trembling. “I feel like my bones are already breaking.”

Oliver shouted, “You’ll survive it, Viv! Just hold on. We’re here.”

S Monera shook her head gently. “It’s just tonight. Just… a moment. And I’m here. That’s what matters.”

Vivienne tried to smile, but it felt thin and broken.Her lips quivered. Her heart hammered. God! She wanted to believe what they said. She wanted to believe them, wanted to lean into the warmth they radiated, but fear held her like chains.

“You can,” said Monera firmly, voice cracking under her own fear." It’s just one hour. Just survive it dear.”

Meanwhile Rudieloff shifted impatiently in his seat in the hall. He had tried to stay calm, to watch Adrian’s transformation, but an unbearable pull tugged at him.

Vivienne Her name repeated in his mind.

Therefore, He slipped away quietly, leaving the hall behind, sneaking until he found a good spot above the slave grounds. Hidden from sight, he could observe Vivienne. She was trembling, curled into herself, afraid of the storm to come. Thanks to his extra ordinary sight that he received on transformation day.

He could not tear his gaze away from her. Something strange and inexplicable stirred in him. She was unique and he needed to witness her power firsthand. His stomach churned with anticipation and something darker, something almost possessive

His fingers itched. His boots scraped silently against the ground where he was standing when he saw Oliver. He hated the man.

The cage became a center of chaos. predatory howls erupted. Some Wolves struggled to remain upright. Others immediately attacked instinctively, gnashing teeth and jumping at anything near. Guards pulled back knowing their weapons were unnecessary unless if a wolf tried to escape.

S.Monera's trembling grew as minutes past. Her hand pressed against the mesh, heart pounding rapidly in her chest. The crowd’s whispers turned into murmurs of dread.

The clock struck one. The hour limit passed.

Vivienne had not turned.

She was a junk.

All those that failed to turn were named junks. Those that failed to turn, it meant that the moon god had rejected them. It meant that you were not a true Bolivian. Undermined. They were the lowest of all, even lower than the slaves. But she was a slave, now a junk too.

Oliver stood with a smile across his lips. This was not supposed to excite him but it did. Rudieloff saw it. What a hypocrite. Rudieloff had known that there was something fishy about Oliver. He was unnaturally mysterious. He was too handsome, too loved, too knowledgeable, too wise, too confident, he was something more than they had thought. He was a junk but his good works had covered this and now he was treated as a true Bolivian. Why was he excited by Vivienne's failure?

Monera and Cecilia held each other unsure of what to feel. However, monera's lips bent into a small smile. He turned towards Oliver and the two exchanged a knowing look.

Vivienne just sat in fear. When the bells rang signaling the end of the hour limit. She didn't know what to make of it. She just sat there, frozen in confusion.

However, She was inside the cage. Even the guards could not save her now from the bloodthirsty wolves. She was at the mercy of the moon god and the ferocious wolves.

Cecilia’s hands shook violently. “Viv… please…”

Rudieloff’s heart thudded against his ribs. He watched and got horrified. Her stillness created an unsettling feeling in him more than the chaos around her. She needed someone to step in for her because she seemed lost forever. So scared to even move.

The transformed wolves, now fully feral, walked around in the cage. Teeth bared and bodies trembling with predatory instincts. They snapped at the air. Eyes looking here and there seeking for prey.

Monera’s hands pressed harder to the mesh. Oliver’s golden-hazel eyes narrowed, brows furrowed in concentration and worry. They could attack. Cecilia’s tears glimmered in the moonlight.

Monera prayed aloud, hands pressed against the wires. “Oh gods, let her be safe. Let her be safe. Please.”

wolves inside began to circle violently, biting at the air and each other. The smell of bloodlust filled the cage. Their growls echoed in the ground, echoed in the bones of every onlooker.

The most ferocious wolves started to sense Vivienne. They all turned towards her at once. Something in her presence restrained them but their hunger made them twitch.

Monera’s arms shook. “Do not… do not touch her, gods, please…”

Without warning, they all lunged at her.....

Suddenly, Rudieloff leapt from where he was, running faster than humanly possible toward Vivienne. He had to save her. No, she was not dying tonight.

Vivienne’s chest heaved. Her hands clutched at her knees. She began to cry softly, the first tears of despair.

Then it happened......

Vivienne lifted her head toward the sky, toward the full red blood moon that stared back at her like a merciless god, as if being summoned by some irresistible force. And, the moment her eyes met the moon, it began

She suddenly stood still, too still. And then, everything inside her went wrong all at once. Her breath cut off. Her vision blurred. She grabbed the mesh and her knuckles turned white.

She felt a burn in her spine and a pressure in her chest. It felt like someone was twisting the spine with bare hands and then, it bent like she’d been struck by lightning. Her back bent at an angle no human body should ever survive. Her arms jerked violently and veins thickened beneath her skin like moving snakes.

 A ringing in her ears drowned out the world. Her fingers curled involuntarily and her knees buckled. A loud crack tore through the chaos. Followed by another and another.

Cecilia covered her eyes. “Oh gods, what is this?.”

Vivienne opened her mouth to scream but what came out wasn’t a scream. It was a wet strangled noise, like someone was trying to drag a scream out of her throat not made for it.

Her jawbone split in two. Not metaphorically but Literally. A split began at her chin and tore upward, widening as her skull began to push outward from inside.

“Dear gods…” Cecilia gasped, gripping the mesh in front of her until her knuckles turned white.

Her nails tore off. Blood splashed allover. Her hands shook violently, bones elongating beneath skin that was thin like wet paper.

White fur burst through the tearing flesh around her arms, spreading fast.

 Then, she collapsed sideways, trembling violently as her thigh bones lengthened, twisted, and reattached in a new shape.

Her feet cracked and reshaped until claws replaced her toenails and pads replaced her soles.

A tail came out last, bursting free with a sickening pop. Vivienne finally managed to breathe but it was choked and agonized beyond comprehension.

And then. She stood on all fours, claws scratching at the muddy ground as if testing the soil.

"How…? Why..” whispered Oliver to himself after everything.

The slaves and guards alike watched with horror and wander. Some clutched their mouths. Some leaned forward, fascinated.

And Rudieloff… Rudieloff didn’t blink. His face was stone as his jaw clenched. His eyes held a flicker of strange amusement. He remembered his own first shift.

He remembered every scream. Every breaking bone. Every second of helpless agony. His hands bent into fists. But that wasn't the strangest thing here. She had transformed after the limit. It was not meant to be, after twelve o'clock, the rest would be junks. She had transformed after one.

Word had travelled, some people from the moon hall had come to witness the historical shift. General commander Edward had seen it. So did King Reginald. But neither said a word.

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