Chapter 21 Shifting for the first time
Rain's POV
Stone pressed against my back. My wrists burned as though the steel biting into them was alive, drinking me slowly.
"Why are you doing this, please untie me"
Sahra laughed, it was short and humorless. “You still don’t understand, do you?”
Before I could answer, she reached into her cloak and pulled out a blade.
It wasn’t ordinary.
The dagger glowed silver-red, like molten light trapped inside metal. The air around it shimmered faintly, vibrating. My chest tightened instinctively.
“What is that?” I whispered.
Her eyes flicked to my face. “Something that should’ve ended you a long time ago.”
She raised it.
“No, wait” I tried to pull back, but the chains dragged me forward instead, biting deeper into my wrists. Pain flared, sharp enough to make my vision blur.
The dagger came down and I closed my eyes, tears rolling down my cheeks.
A sudden whistle cut through the air.
Clang.
Something struck Sahra’s arm.
She cried out, the knife skidding from her grasp as she staggered back. The blade hit the ground and rolled, its glow dimming slightly.
Another weapon flew past her head, embedding itself into the stone wall behind her.
A dagger.
Sahra froze.
Slowly, she turned and I followed her gaze.
Rosee stood at the edge of the chamber, cloak draped over one shoulder, eyes dark, expression carved from ice. Torchlight danced over the sharp planes of his face, catching the gold of his cufflinks, the quiet arrogance in the way he stood.
Behind him, the shadows moved and Mykel stepped forward.
Sahra cursed under her breath. “Damn it.”
She didn’t look at me again. Instead, she yanked her hood fully over her face, muttering something I didn’t understand, then spread her cloak wide.
“We'll see later.” she snapped.
Then she leapt backward and vanished, wings snapping open as she shot upward.
“Rain.”
Rosee crossed the chamber in long strides. “Look at me.”
I did.
My throat closed. “You came.”
He crouched in front of me, eyes scanning my face, then my wrists. “Of course I did.”
"How did you find me?" I asked in a weak soft voice.
"No question, let's get you out of here first"
Mykel moved past Rosee, I barely saw him move.
One moment the robed men were standing near the pillars, startled, reaching for their weapons, the next, Mykel was there.
He sliced through the first man’s throat so cleanly the body stood for a second before collapsing. The second never even screamed—Mykel appeared behind him, the blade already pressed, and pulled.
Blood sprayed the stone. The third turned to run but Mykel caught him mid-step, hand clamping over his mouth as the blade slid across his neck.
It all happened in seconds. Too fast, not surprised because he is a vampire.
By the time my mind caught up, the ground was littered with bodies.
My stomach lurched.
Rosee didn’t look back. His attention stayed on the steel binding my wrists.
“This isn’t normal iron,” he muttered. He gripped it and pulled it.
Pain ripped through me.
I gasped. “Stop please, it's draining me.”
He released it instantly.
“Yes,” I whispered. “It burns.”
His jaw tightened. “Damn it.”
He tried again, this time striking it with his fist.
The impact echoed but nothing happened.
Instead, a wave of dizziness slammed into me. My vision swam and my knees buckled harder.
“Rosee,” I whispered. “I can’t,”
He swore under his breath. “The more force applied, the more it feeds.”
“Then stop,” I begged. “Please.”
He stilled.
Then I saw it.
That flicker in his eyes.
Calculation. Curiosity. Fear.
I immediately knew a terrible idea forming in his mind.
“No,” I said weakly. “Don’t—whatever you’re thinking, just don't.”
He met my gaze. “I need to know.”
“Know what?”
“If the rumors are true.”
Cold spread through my chest. “Rosee, what rumors?.”
He pulled a dagger from his belt.
“What are you doing?” My heart stuttered.
“Stay still.”
“Rosee, stop!”
The blade pressed lightly against my arm, then he cut.
“Are you insane?!” I cried out.
“Hold on,” he said, voice tight.
Before I could react, he turned the blade on himself and sliced his palm.
Blood welled.
He pressed his hand against mine, smearing our blood together over the steel.
For a heartbeat nothing happened but then the steel began to glow violently.
The light flared, blinding, pulsing like a living thing. The chains rattled, screaming against the stone as power surged through them.
I screamed and The steel cracked,then shattered.
Fragments exploded outward, clattering across the floor.
I collapsed forward but Rosee's strong arms caught me. I saw a shadow coming behind him with a blade. Before I could speak,
“No!”
Ryan's voice tore through the wood as he pierced Rosee flesh.
Rosee gasped.
“RYAN, NO!” I screamed.
He had stabbed Rosee from behind, blade buried deep.
“You hurt her! She is my sister!” Ryan screamed, eyes wild.
“He was helping me!” I cried. “Ryan, stop!”
But it was too late. Rosee staggered forward, blood staining his shirt as he dropped to one knee.
He pressed a hand to his head, groaning. “What, what is happening?”
Mykel swore sharply, grabbing Ryan. “Enough!”
But I wasn’t listening anymore. Something strange was happening inside me.
My scream ripped out of me, raw and piercing. The torches exploded and fell to the ground.
Stones cracked, strong wind blew. Purple light burst from my eyes.
My hair turned white—pure, blinding white and grew longer, cascading down my back, lifting as though caught in a storm.
My bones cracked.
Agony ripped through me as claws tore from my fingers, fur spreading over my skin.
I wasn’t falling, I was levitating.
The wind howled.
Mykel and Ryan stumbled back, staring at me in horror.
Rosee looked up, blood on his lips, eyes wide.
“Rain…” he whispered.
I howled.
The sound shook the wood.
My body shifted fully into a wolf.
For the first time, the moon pulled me upward, lifting me until I hovered before it, half-moon glowing silver in the sky beyond the broken ceiling.
Then, everything stopped. Gravity returned and I dropped hard on the ground.
The world went black.