Chapter Nine

Ember turned around as Lyra walked up to her. "Hey Ember.." She said while stopping a few feet away from her. "May I come sit next to you?" She questioned. She glanced at Lyra and nodded. Lyra moved closer to her and plopped down on the grass, placing her hands in her lap. Silence filled the air once again. The two sat there for a bit, listening to the sounds of the crickets.

Lyra broke the silence first. "I'm sorry about all this.." She said quietly. "I never meant to get you in trouble. I tried explaining to him that it wasn't your fault but he said you needed to learn either way." She said sadly. Ember looked away as she remembered how pissed Ryan had gotten about her disobedience. "I should have listened.. I shouldn't have done something that stupid." Ember mumbled. "Don't worry about it.. I know that you were scared." Lyra said with a small laugh. Ember nodded slowly while looking at her.

"Why are you being kind to me?" Ember finally asked, looking over to Lyra. "Because you're not like us. I hate how people are treating werewolves just because they're different from us. People are scared of y'all and I find it dumb. Yeah you're different but you're still part human. You don't deserve this crap." Lyra explained, shaking her head at the injustice of the situation. Ember stared at her for a few moments before she responded. 

"Thank you." Ember muttered. Lyra smiled and placed a hand on Ember's back. "Anytime." She replied. Ember smiled back at her. A comfortable silence settled upon them and they just sat there staring out at the forest. The sky grew lighter by the second with the sun finally starting to rise. 

They both remained quiet as the sun slowly rose higher in the sky, illuminating the trees and bushes. The forest started to fill with birdsong as the sunlight slowly began to shine through the gaps between the tree branches, creating a golden hue. "Well, I better go inside. They're going to be making breakfast soon and I have to freshen up. I'll come back out later to check up on you." Lyra said while getting up.

"I'll try and sneak you some food from breakfast." Lyra whispered before walking away. Ember watched her leave before turning her focus to the sunrise, which seemed so peaceful and beautiful despite the circumstances. She spent several minutes admiring the view in silence and letting her mind wander.

She wondered how Wyna was doing, if Travis and Piper were still alive, she wondered what her mothers warning meant and so many other things. Her mind was swimming with questions that she desperately wanted answers to. But she couldn't afford to dwell too much on that right now. So instead, she focused on enjoying the morning. Even though she knew it wouldn't last long; she would make sure that she would enjoy every minute of the peaceful morning breeze and rising sunshine.

~ Time skip brought to you by my lack of imagination and motivation for detail at the moment. ~ (An hour and a half later) 

Ember turned around as she heard someone approaching. It was Lyra. She walked up to Ember and held out her hand, revealing a few pieces of cold bacon. "I know it's not much but it's all I could grab without them noticing." She apologized as she handed the scraps to her. Ember took the bacon and started eating, trying her best not to show how hungry she truly was. She took a few bites and swallowed before speaking. "Thank you." She said with a slight smile.

Lyra smiled back to her before looking back to the house. "I have to get back, they're going to notice." Ember nodded her head in understanding. "I'll see you later." She added before heading back the way that she came, leaving Ember alone in the yard. She turned back to the remaining pieces of bacon and sighed before finishing them. 

*Timeskip a day because I can.*

"Get up." Ryan said while kicking Ember in the side. With a groan, she slowly opened her eyes to see Ryan and his 𝘧𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘥 standing in front of her. "Your punishment is over." He said while reaching down to unchain her. "There's a bowl of food and water waiting for you in your room. I hope you've learned your lesson, 𝘮𝘶𝘵𝘵. " He spat out with disgust clear in his voice. Ember nodded and got up from the ground, following Ryan into the house. When she arrived at her bedroom, Ryan left her alone in the room.

Ember slowly walked towards her food dishes where she found her usual 𝘥𝘰𝘨 𝘬𝘪𝘣𝘣𝘭𝘦. God she hated being treated like a dog. After gobbling down her food and water, she made her way to the living room where she found Lyra and the man whom she's never learned the name of. "Hi Ember!" Lyra shouted, making her flatten her ears against her head.

She glanced around the room in search of Ryan but he wasn't there. '𝘏𝘦 𝘮𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘣𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘰𝘧𝘧𝘪𝘤𝘦' She said to herself. "I wouldn't bother him if I were you." The man spat out. Ember tilted her head in confusion. "How did you.." She trailed off. The man scoffed in response. "I can read your thoughts." She frowned in confusion before glancing at Lyra who had gone quiet at the interaction.

The man noticed Ember's confused expression and gave her a sinister smirk. Ember gulped nervously and averted her gaze from him. She could tell that he was trying to intimidate her. "Matthew was born with this special ability.. Very few humans are born with such powers." Lyra said hesitantly after a few minutes of silence. Ember looked back at Matthew who was sitting there watching them intently.

Just as Lyra was going to continue, Ryan walked into the room with Shiloh still clinging to his arm. She glared at Ember as they passed by. "Tomorrow we'll be attending a gala and I want you to be on your very best behavior." He said, talking to Ember. "If you make a fool of me.. " He continued. "You will not get another chance, no more punishments, I'll have you put down."  He finished, glaring daggers at her. Ember felt her heart begin to race as her stomach flipped nervously. '𝘏𝘦 𝘮𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘫𝘰𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨, 𝘳𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵? 𝘚𝘶𝘳𝘭𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘰𝘯𝘭𝘺 𝘢 𝘫𝘰𝘬𝘦..'

The rest of the day went by uneventfully. The only thing that was different were the looks that people kept giving her and the occasional glare from Matthew. The whole day was just plain boring as hell and she was glad when it was over and time for bed. Lyra had walked Ember to her room, they've been getting pretty close and Ember was just glad to finally have a friend.

As they entered her room, Ryan was already in there waiting for her. "Come here Ember." He said. Once she was standing in front of him, he continued speaking. "Werewolves are not allowed to be in their wolf forms at the gala so you will need to shift. " He started. "I am aware you may have not shifted in a while so you will be shifting now, the night before the gala. That way, Lyra and a few assigned servants will help you get used to walking on two legs and whatever else you need help with." He explained.

She looked down at her paws before nodding. "Okay." She whispered. "Now shift." Ryan demanded. Ember blinked twice before closing her eyes and taking deep breaths. As she began to change, she tried to ignore everything around her but her surroundings. Everything was muffled and distorted. She let out a scream as she felt her bones began to snap and rearrange themselves.

The pain was indescribable, it hurt worse than anything ever has before. Tears rolled down her face as she bit back an animalistic growl. Her body twisted and contorted as her spine moved into place, her fur and tail began to disappear and her paws began to shape into hands. She looked up to Ryan and Lyra with tears falling down her face. Both of them were staring at her with wide eyes. 

Lyra's eyes held remorse and pity while Ryan's was unreadable. Ember's head started pounding and her vision began to blur as she looked at her now human-like hands. She felt the cold air blow against her bare skin before the world faded to black.