The only thought in her mind:
Her heart raced as the cold lashed against her skin, her eyes blurred with tears while she ran deeper into the forest’s embrace.
“Selvia!” her father’s commanding voice echoed through the trees.
The sound of her own name shocked her. His voice sounded too near.
Fear caught her foot on a root, sending her tumbling hard to the ground. Frozen, her pounding heart remained the only part of her still running.
“No,” she managed to whisper through clenched teeth.
She gathered what strength remained and tried to push herself from the earth, but her limbs, paralyzed by fear, refused to obey.
Her father continued calling her name.
She could not let him touch her.
Not again.
Something inside her began to warm from deep within her core, radiating through her body. A violent pulse moved through her muscles as heat spread beneath her skin. It tightened and prickled as though she were burning alive.
What began as warmth twisted into something unbearable, and she could no longer control the sounds tearing from her throat. Inhuman cries bellowed from deep within her chest as claws ripped through the flesh of her fingers and toes. Bones stretched violently, tearing muscle apart only to reform into something new.
A rough, growling roar erupted from her chest.
Her fingers cracked and widened into enormous paws, dark fur bursting through torn skin.
Fear faded into something distant.
Her heart no longer raced. Â It thundered.
The warmth inside her radiated outward in waves. Once curled helplessly against the ground, she now stood on all fours. Her vision sharpened, revealing shades of gray she had never noticed before. The cold no longer touched her.
Once hunted, she became the hunter.
She barreled through the trees with crushing force, branches snapping beneath her weight. Rising onto massive hind legs, she towered above him. A guttural roar ripped from her chest as instinct overtook her.
Her claws lashed out, tearing through flesh with terrifying ease. His cheek split open as he collapsed to the forest floor. She swiped again. And again.
Until the smell of fear vanished.
The scent of iron consumed the air.
She left him there, bloodied among the roots and fallen leaves, as something ancient called her deeper into the woods.
The forest opened before her, and she answered.
Explore Night Notes for a collection of thoughts, short stories, and rituals designed for haunted souls.
tangentwithtanner
germansingergirl
kaledo-art
ellievsbear
titsay
areudirty
blakekathryn
snowghoul
dailybridgerton
