Chapter 1 Chapter One

LILA'S POV

What was I? What had I become? Who was I? 

I jolted up from the bed, panting with my hand to my chest. The door slammed open and a maid walked in, rushing to my side.

“Are you okay, miss?” She asked, worried.

I nodded and tried to steady my breathing. I couldn't remember the dream. All I knew was that I was being chased by some animal. 

“Get me some tea,” I ordered and she got up, rushing to do the task I had ordered her. 

I finally got hold of my emotions and just sat on the bed staring at nothing in particular. “Why was a wolf chasing me?”

The ballroom glittered with gold lights and crystal chandeliers. Soft music floated through the air while people laughed and clinked glasses together.

“Make sure there's more wine for the guests down the hall,” I instructed the servants and they nodded, walking towards that end. 

I looked around and I was glad that all my weeks of planning finally came together. 

I stood beside one of the long tables, holding a glass of juice and trying not to look as uncomfortable as I felt.

These events were never my thing but my father loved them and this time, he had asked me to organise one of them. 

I was taken aback when he did but at the same time, I was glad he was involving me in something he cherished. “Smile more, Lila,” he had told me earlier. “These are important people.”

Important people. I nodded and did as he said, smiling more at every new face till my cheeks hurt. 

I glanced across the room and spotted my father standing with a group of men. He was smiling effortlessly and making mine seem like a joke.

He caught me staring at him and I froze up. His hand moved slightly and I noticed the thumbs-up that he gave me. 

Warmth filled my heart and I felt happy. 

A woman approached me with a bright smile. “You must be Lila,” she said. I nodded politely. “It’s lovely to finally meet you,” she continued. “Your father talks about you all the time.”

I forced a small smile. “I only hope for good things.”

She laughed lightly. “I also heard that you were the one that organized today's event. What a lucky man your father is to have a daughter like you.” 

I smiled and she grasped my hand, brightly talking about the latest dresses and shoes in the market which I really didn't care for. 

She asked me a question and I didn't quite catch what she said so I parted my lips to ask her to repeat herself but before I could, a dull ache struck my stomach. 

I hunched over and held on to it with both my hands.

“Are you okay dear?” The woman asked, taking steps back from me. 

I groaned out in pain and the music stopped. I knew everyone was looking at me now. The dull ache intensified into a sharp sting and it shot through my entire body that I crumpled to the floor. 

Before I could respond again, a strange feeling twisted in my stomach. It felt like my body was trying to twist itself inside out.

It was tremendous pain and I was a writhing mess with no one to help me. Tears fell from my eyes and a circle formed around me. 

A cracking sound filled the room and everyone gasped. Did that sound just come from me?

Another crack followed, louder this time.

A cry tore from my throat as my spine bent sharply. “What’s happening?”

“Is she okay?”

“A ringing sound filled my ears, tuning them out and when I tried to open my eyes, I couldn't make out any of the people in front of me. 

I raised my hand in front of my face and my nails…they started to grow unnaturally long and curved into claws. 

My breath came out in a panicked gasp. “What—”

My words broke off as another terrible crack ran through my back. I struggled to keep awake but it only got worse as my skin burned and it felt like something was tearing its way out of me.

Dark fur pushed through the skin of my arms and I stared in horror as it spread quickly across my wrists.

Someone screamed. The ringing sound stopped and I could make out the noise in the room again. 

“What the hell is that?”

“Oh my Gosh!”

“Someone help her!”

Chairs scraped across the floor as people stumbled away from me. I tried to stand straight but my body wouldn’t listen.

For a second, my vision cleared and I saw my father. He stood across the ballroom, staring at me.

But the reaction on his face was pure terror, like he was looking at a beast and not his daughter. “What is this?” he said quietly and I could hear the panic in his voice. 

The head of the security looked at me with pure horror in his eyes and immediately signalled the other guards. 

“Hold her. Don't let her get away. She's…she's a monster.” He said, his eyes never leaving me. 

The other security guards rushed toward me, trying to hold me but my father's voice echoed through the room. “Stop! Don't go close to her. Don't you dare hurt her.” 

The men looked like they wanted to argue but shut their mouths. They held their guns up, ready to shoot if I did something crazy.

My father tried to move close to me but I growled back, scared that I would hurt him. 

I needed to leave before I did something stupid. 

The door was unlocked. And when they looked distracted, I took the opportunity and bolted. I could hear my father calling out to me but I didn't turn back. I couldn't. 

The full moon illuminated my path and suddenly, I could see so many things that normal humans missed. 

The building was in the middle of nowhere and miles away from civilization but I didn't stop, I continued to run through the woods in such a ghastly form. 

My dress caught on so many branches and tore in many places but I was more focused on getting away from my father and his guests. 

I finally reached a clearing and paused to catch my breath but I was exhausted. I fell to my knees and the pain tore through my body again, more than before.

I looked to the sky and screamed my lungs out and then slumped to the earth, letting the darkness take me.