Chapter 78
Stay back!” the Goddess commanded, her arm outstretched. ‘She must complete this alone
The agony intensified. I fell to my knees, clutching my stomach tightly. My baby. Please don’t hurt. my baby.
“The child is safe,” the Goddess assured, reading my thoughts. “This is for you.”
Energy surged through my veins like liquid fire. Somehow, impossibly, I sensed Phantom–Jace’s wolf
-watching me. The energy pulsed stronger.
My fingernails hardened and lengthened. Not quite claws, but no longer simply human. Silver light poured from beneath my skin, illuminating the clearing around me. My muscles tightened, growing stronger with each heartbeat.
One final surge of power washed over me, and the pain vanished as suddenly as it had appeared.
I gasped for breath, suddenly aware of how different I felt. Stronger. More alert. Every sound in the forest was clearer–the rustle of leaves, the distant call of an owl, Gabriel’s sharp intake of breath from where he stood watching.
I stood slowly, testing my new body. I was taller by at least two inches. My arms and legs felt powerful, each movement more precise than before. I was still me, still human in form, but…
enhanced.
Then I felt her–a presence stirring deep within my consciousness.
Aria, I am Sage. I am your wolf. I have been waiting for this moment. The voice was feminine, strong, and undeniably mine yet not mine.
The connection hit me like a wave. Suddenly I wasn’t alone in my own mind. Sage’s presence felt warm, protective, and ancient–as if she’d been sleeping within me my entire life.
We need to shift, she urged. Let me show you who we truly are.
I closed my eyes and reached for that connection, letting Sage guide me. The transformation began
slowly–my bones elongating, muscles reshaping. Silver–white fur sprouted across my skin,
shimmering like moonlight on water. My hands became powerful paws, my face extended into a
muzzle filled with sharp teeth.
nlight. I
When the shift completed, I stood on four legs, feeling more complete than I ever had in my human form. I looked down at myself–my fur was pure silver–white, almost luminescent in the was larger than I’d expected, nearly the size of an Alpha.
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Chapter 78
We are beautiful, Sage whispered in my mind, her voice filled with pride. We are stron
I walked to the edge of the lake and looked down at my reflection. My wolf form was magn silver fur that seemed to glow with its own inner light, and eyes that held an otherworldly
Try shifting back, Sage suggested. But this time, take the Primal form.
1 concentrated, feeling the change begin again. But instead of returning fully to human form, 1 stopped halfway. My body elongated, standing upright on powerful hind legs. My hands reformed but kept their claws. Silver–white fur covered my muscular frame, and I stood nearly seven feet tall.
“Incredible,” I whispered, my voice deeper and more resonant in this form.
Gabriel’s face had gone completely pale, his mouth hanging open in shock. “That’s… that’s impossible,” he stammered. “Humans can’t… they don’t…”
“Not impossible,” the Moon Goddess corrected, her voice filled with wonder. “Unprecedented. You carry the bloodline of the first Luna–one who was born human but became something far greater.
She approached me, placing a cool hand on my silver–furred arm. “Long ago, I bestowed this blessing upon a Luna who lost her mate to silver–wielding hunters. Despite her grief, she led her Pack through the darkest times of the Silver Blade Hunters‘ war.”
The Goddess’s eyes gleamed. “To her, I gave immunity to silver–the hunters‘ greatest weapon. Now I pass this gift to you, Aria Silverbrook. Silver will not harm you. You may touch it, wear it, even be wounded by it without effect.”
We are the bridge between worlds, Sage whispered in my mind. Human and wolf, silver and moon.