Transformation

Marie Pov

In a matter of seconds, everything changed. The brother I grew up with was no more...

Everyone watched speechless as Seb disappeared right before their eyes. The sound he was making was anything but human. Marie thought it reminded her of a lion but deeper. So deep in fact that she could feel it in her own chest.

"What do you mean roar of the wolf?" She questioned Helia

"I mean that your brother is very special. Just watch" The crone replied.

Marie turned her attention back to Seb and her heart dropped. Seb wasn't howling anymore but growling. His eyes were beaming a bright yellow and had doubled in size. His fingernails had changed into claws and he began using them to rip off large chucks of skin off his chest. Beneath the skin was black thick fur like hair. It was the color of the night sky and so shiny it looked wet. Seb dropped to his knees withering in pain when his bones began to snap and pop at unnatural angles.

"Oh my goodness! Help him! Please!" Marie begged. She ran towards her fallen half changed brother but Helia's arms wrapped around her, holding her in place.

"Let me go! I need to help him!" Marie cried.

"I'm sorry honey. The first change is always the hardest. You must not interfere" Helia replied gently

"Change? What's he changing into?" Simon asked

"Holy crap! He's a werewolf right? Oh I so called that" Lily exclaimed

"Vampires, witches and werewolves, man this group gets crazier by the minute" Bobby said speaking for the first time

"Grandmother how is this even possible? And we should move Ana away from him if that's the case, she still needs help" Jace interrupted moving closer to Ana. Seb's half deformed body roared viciously at the movement.

"NO!" Helia shouted "Don't go near either of them unless you want to die. His wolf will protect her" She added.

All of Sebs skin had been ripped off and was lying on the ground around him like a bloody murder scene. He was completely coated in black fur. In between the growls of the beast you could hear the screams of a man. It was excruciating to listen to. Marie cried and cried in Helia's arms. She didn't understand what was happening to her brother or why. All she knew was she couldn't help him. That was the worst part.

On top of everything Ana was still dying. Her shaking had stopped and she was as pale as the moon lighting the sky. The silver tendrils all over her body with her dark hair made her look like a twisted porcelain doll. But Seb was changing in front of her blocking them from getting near Ana.

"Did you do this?! He can't just change into a wolf! It's not possible!" Marie shouted getting hysterical. Helia tried to soothe the distraught girl but it wasn't working.

By this point Seb had tripled in size. His body was huge. His face was unrecognizable. The snout of the wolf was growing in, pushing his human nose off his face. Marie had to bite her lips to keep from screaming. Seb roared again showing off his mouth full of sharp deadly teeth. He then flipped over on all fours and his arms and legs transformed into huge beastly ones. His spine hunched up and cracked as it too made its final adjustment. The last part of the change was a tail smoothly rolling out from his behind. Unlike the rest of his body, his tail was completely silver and glistening. The grand black wolf with the silver tail howled to the moon.

"Incredible! He has the silver tail of an Alpha." Helia stated in awe

"Does that mean what I think it means?" Jace asked looking timid

"Yes. Seb is a descendent from the great Lycus. Seb is an alpha" she ended watching the enormous animal stretch out its legs.

In the end it was a magnificent sight; one that hadn't been witness in over a thousand years.

The wolf then went to Ana's body and softly nudged her head with its nose. Ana didn't respond. Wolf Seb huffed before sniffing all around her wound.

"What's he doing now?" Lily asked intrigued. Seb started licking the bullet hole clearing it of blood. His saliva was unusually thick and shiny.

"He's doing what no one else can. He's saving her" Helia explained. The wolf opens its mouth wide, shocking everyone when it's two long canine teeth changed color to a transparent clear white. It then sank them through her shoulder right above the wound. The teeth were so sharp they cut through her skin as easy as cutting through soft butter.

"Stop him! He's biting her!" Simon shouted. Helia held up her palm to silence him. Marie knew her brother would never hurt Ana. But now that he was a wolf she didn't know what to expect. The wolves were a supernatural creature she knew nothing about.

When the wolf removed its canines something amazing began to happen. Where he had bitten her, a glow began to spread under her skin. It was a soft beautiful glow; the color of a setting sun, the color of life. The hue made her skin transparent and you could actually see the veins and muscles beneath the surface. The light then glided down surrounding the gunshot wound in her chest where it remained for several minutes.

Everyone was watching so intently not a sound was made. Crickets weren't even chirping. Then slowly the tiny bullet emerged from her chest and rolled to the ground. Collectively they all gasped at what just happened. Something in Seb's saliva just forced the bullet out of Ana's heart. The glow died down and the silver tendrils coating Ana began to fade.

"That was badass! Can someone make me a wolf instead of a vampire?" Bobby said breaking the silence. Lily punched him in the gut in response.

Ana gasped in a breath, scaring them all, but no other movements were made. She lay perfectly still even after her complexion returned to his normal creamy color. The wolf nudged and rolled her with its nose practically burying his head under her. When it was directly beneath her, it popped its head up and flipped Ana onto its massive back. The wolf glanced at each one of them. It only held its golden eyes on Marie. The siblings shared a brief moment before Seb took off sprinting away with Ana on his back.

"Where's he taking her?! We have to go after him!" Jace demanded angrily.

"Don't worry, she's safe now" Helia reassured.

Marie had all she could take right now. Tearing away from Helia, she ran off down the beach in the opposite direction.

In a matter of seconds, everything changed. The brother I grew up with was no more... she thought. The fear of the unknown was suffocating her.

Run .

That was all she wanted to do right now. Just run.

She heard Simon calling her name while trying to catch up but that only made her run faster.

Marie would keep running until she couldn't run anymore...

...Run until she was able to accept what the hell just happened...

Cassius Pov

A hard slap across the face woke Cassius from his drug induced unconsciousness. The prince hissed angrily at the person responsible mildly surprised to see Gwen standing in front of him. Quickly glancing around he knew Ana was gone. He couldn't smell her and the room was destroyed. Guards helped him to his feet while servants went to work cleaning.

"I see you handled this situation greatly" Gwen said sarcastically. Cassius was in no mood to deal with her. He needed to find Ana and kill those bastards that took her from him.

"Where did they go?!" he demanded. A guard pointed to his broken window and Cassius rushed to it. Down below the dark ocean was still. No sign of them anywhere.

"The sharks have probably killed them by now. They were spelled after all by Raven to attack anything non vampire in the water near the castle." Gwen stated coldly. Cassius spun around. Something about the way Gwen was acting seemed harsher, even for her. But that's not something he cares to deal with.

"Get together a group of men and meet me by the gates in twenty minutes" he ordered the guards. They nodded and followed his instructions. Cassius completely ignored Gwen and brushed by her on his way out of his disastrous room.

Find Ana . He thought.

"Your father wants to meet with you now" Gwen informed him before he crossed the threshold of his room. The thought of his father and what he'd just done to his mother made Cassius furious. Seeing Ferox was the last thing he wanted to do right now. He knew he would lose control and try to kill the horrid king himself.

"What does he want?" Cassius bit out without turning to face Gwen.

"Something that involves you mate" she replied saying the word mate as if it disgusted her. In a blink of an eye Cassius was on her with a hand wrapped around her throat.

"I don't care what your problem is but remember I am your prince. You will above all show me and my mate respect or else I'll rip your pretty little head off" Cassius spoke in dangerously low tones leaving no room for arguing. Gwen eagerly nodded her agreement and the prince released her. He tried to leave the room again but Gwen still wasn't done.

"Did you know?" she asked. Slowly the prince turned and faced the council leader. Gwen held her perfect face frozen still, trying desperately not to let any emotion leak out. Too bad Cassius could already see the cracks.

"Know what?" he questioned. Cassius had a nagging suspicion about where this was going.

"About..." Gwen trailed off looking away. More cracks of emotion broke through. Cassius stepped closer to the beautifully cold vampire. At one point a long time ago he considered her somewhat of a friend. Until her true colors came out proving she was just as power hungry as the rest of them.

"About you and my sister?" he offered already knowing the answer. It was something he began to suspect weeks ago but never cared to dig into it further. Gwen's head snapped up at him swiftly. Her speechlessness spoke louder than any words could. "Did she get to you?" he asked taking a piece of her blonde hair in between his fingers. Gwen remained still but the slight gloss to her eyes was all the answer he needed.

"All these years you've kept yourself cascaded in ice so no one could get near. You clawed your way to the top beating out male and female vampires twice more qualified than you. And now what? Now you stand here before me fighting back tears over Catalina the snake. My sister used to hate when I would call her a snake as children but it describes her perfectly. And you, with all your coldness and relentlessness just allowed her to slither her way into your heart while you stood there with the gates open smiling like a buffoon. What do you expect me to do? Pity you? Confront my sister on your behalf? No. What I will do is nothing because the way I see it you deserve this heartbreak, this pain for being so foolish. If you're going to lie in bed with snakes Gwen, don't cry when you get bitten. The question now is do you wither and die or bite back?" Cassius ended letting go of her hair and walking out of the room not waiting on her response.

He never loved Gwen but he respected her determination. It was admirable. But now she's acting pathetic over Catalina of all people. He was disappointed in her fall but if he knew Gwen she wouldn't stay down long. He had planted the seed in Gwen's head, now it was time to watch it grow. And Catalina better be prepared for when her ex-lover strikes back. It is sure to be eventful.

Five minutes later he stood in the last place he wanted to be with three vampires and a witch he was beginning to hate. Catalina sat on the edge of their father's desk tightening her gloves while Ferox finished a phone call. Raven stood behind him like her usual shadow like self and Gwen was the furthest away choosing to stand next to the door while Cassius stood in the middle of the office.

"Number of deaths?" Cassius asked when Ferox ended his call.

"Our side only a few guards, the other side Marcos, Maximus and Acacia" Ferox informed him. Cassius didn't know Maximus died but he wasn't surprised. Bet lord Henry is pleased.

"All justified deaths if you ask me" Catalina added. That angered Cassius.

"She was your mother! She gave you life!" Cassius shouted letting some of his built up rage slip out.

Catalina jumped off the desk storming into Cassius face "I have no heartbeat! Therefore she gave me nothing" she spat back

"You're part of the five first families that makes you royal. And royals my little sister are born not made" Cassius shot back

"They were all parasites Cassius. Don't be mad I had the strength you didn't to exterminate them" Catalina replied maliciously.

Her statement made him so furious he knew his eyes are like lava right now. Cassius couldn't control the vicious hiss and flash of fangs he released in his sisters face. How he longed to sink them in her neck and rip out a chuck or two.

"Enough!" Ferox boomed silencing the room. The siblings still stared each other down but neither said another word.

"Gwen where is the girl? I told you to bring them both" Ferox stated rising from his seat. Gwen stepped up and glanced at Cassius briefly before returning her attention to the king. Cassius was mildly impressed that her composure was back to its normal impeccable state.

"My apologies my king but the girl is gone. She escaped during the chaos" Gwen spoke in deliberate professional tones.

"Hmm and who should be blamed for that?" the king asked as if he really wanted her to answer.

Instead Cassius did "Maybe it's your witches fault, it is her job to spell this place to keep prisoners in" he snipped against Raven "What is your interest in Ana anyway my king" he added with a bit more hostility than intended. Catalina winked at Gwen before taking her seat back at the edge of their father's desk. Gwen remained unmoved.

"Let's just say son if our blood to awakening Erebus is the key, then your mate is the map" Ferox stated triumphantly.

"How is that possible? You've only been searching for him for a thousand years with no leads. If you ask me the map to finding him died with Celeste"

"That's not true young prince" Raven spoke up. The witch made her way around Ferox slowly until she was inches away from Cassius. "I've been inside her head. I know things about her she doesn't even know. Secrets and memories placed in her by her mother and Hildegarde both before and after she was born" Raven informed him.

Cassius huffed annoyed. He never liked the witch. In his experience dark witches couldn't be trusted. They are power leeches, hopping from vampire to vampire in search of more power to feed off.

"And..." the prince pushed

"And Celeste didn't die with the crystal within her. She gave it to her daughter. That's how they were able to spell it so they could hide Ana in the ground for a thousand years. It's also how she was able to live as a human for so long without being found. But now that she's a vampire her crystal heart is like a beacon tracking device. I can find her whenever I want because of it and we can use it to find Erebus too." Raven told him in her raspy voice. Cassius stared at the veil hiding her face. For years he wondered if the stories of dark witches were true but never found out. Today she may just push him to reveal her hideous face to world and find out once and for all if the rumors were true.

"What if she doesn't comply?" Cassius questioned. There was more to this than the witch was letting on.

"The beauty of this whole thing is your mate doesn't need to be alive for us to use her heart" Raven added and Cassius had the feeling she was smiling under that veil. In that instant he lost control. His arm struck out and he backhanded her across the face. The witch flew back crashing into his father's large desk. The next second a group of guards swarmed in restraining the unstable prince.

"I WILL NOT LET YOU KILL HER" Cassius roared throwing guards off him left and right.

"You will not choose her over your family!" Ferox yelled banging his fist against the desk so hard he dented it.

"YOU KILLED MY MOTHER! THIS IS NO FAMILY!" Cassius ranted. More guards latched onto him trying to keep him from attacking.

"Take him to the prisoner cells until he regains his senses" Ferox ordered

"I'll make sure he gets there properly my king" Raven added.

It was something about the way she spoke that didn't settle well with Cassius...

He had a feeling Raven planned to do more than just make sure he's tucked away nice and quietly in a cell...

Ana Pov

Dying once in a lifetime is horrible. Dying twice is just a bitch.

I fought against the cold heat coursing through me but it was too strong...

I could hear a mixture of screaming voices around me but I tuned it out...

The noise only made it harder to control my body, which by the way was shaking uncontrollably.

The others are surely worried and that's something I wish I could stop.

My chest constricted tighter and I felt like my heart would explode inside me...

And then it was over.....

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Dying has to be a nightmare from which I cannot awaken. What kind of luck does someone need to have in order to die twice? Bad luck? Or no luck at all? Either way I have it. My second death was horrible probably more so because all my friends were around witnessing it. I wish I could have comforted them in some way but I couldn't.

Now it's over.

I no longer feel any pain only peaceful. It's a strange peaceful; one that makes me feel like I'm not alone, even in death.

You know to be dead I sure do feel comfortable. Relaxed and warm. I nuzzle deeper into the feeling. That's when I realize whatever's happening to me isn't what it seems.

For one, how can I be dead and still feel so good and strong?

Not only that but I can hear everything; a mouse scurrying away, the wind rustling some leaves, deep breathing and a steady heartbeat.

Wait, a heartbeat?

Startled by the revelation I spring up from the comfortable bed. I look around noticing I'm in some sort of old barn house. But that's not the shocking part...

The part that has me nearly swallow my tongue is what I see when I glance behind me.

The soft bed wasn't a bed at all. It was the largest animal I've ever seen. This is coming from the girl who just fought a freaking shark.

My jumping away woke up the large creature. It stood on its huge four legs easily reaching six or seven feet tall. The black fur shone and glossed the way a brand new penny does. It was all black with the exception of its silver tail and yellow glowing eyes. My mind screamed for me attack it but I simply could not.

The creature watched me intently. It surprised me by slowing backing away from me as if to give me space. Interesting.

The large animal then lowered itself back on its belly and flattened its floppy ears. If I didn't know any better I would say it was trying to show me it wouldn't harm me. Not like I've had any real experience with unnaturally large animals but something about it made me feel at ease.

I cautiously step forward, led by my instincts. The animal, that as I get closer to, begins to resemble a wolf more and more. Actually I think it is a wolf just somehow much larger than any wolf I've ever seen. Once I'm close enough my hand reaches out to it. Surprisingly the wolf licks it sloppily with its big pink tongue and I couldn't help but giggle.

"You're not going to hurt me" I say smiling as I continue to let the wolf lick my hand. I gaze back into its golden eyes drifting deeper into them....

And then I scream...

No matter what color they are I know those eyes.

For the last two years I stared into them losing myself in their depths

The wolfs eyes are not just the eyes of an animal

But also a man...

A man I know very well...

" Seb?..."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

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#TO

........#BE

.............#CONTINUED