Chapter 140 The Wolf inside 2

Chapter 140: Chapter 140 The Wolf inside 2

Talia’s POV

We walked for a long time, deeper than I had ever gone before.

The sounds of the pack house faded behind us, replaced by the rustle of leaves and the call of distant birds.

Finally, Kaelen stopped.

He pushed aside a curtain of vines, and I saw it. There was a clearing that was hidden and properly covered, and surrounded by thick trees. The grass was soft and green, and a shaft of sunlight broke through the canopy, illuminating the center of the space.

No one could see us here, and no one would find us.

"This is the place," he said.

I stepped into the clearing and looked around. The grass was soft beneath my boots, and the sunlight felt warm on my face. I could hear water somewhere in the distance, like a stream or a small waterfall, and the sound made my chest feel less tight.

This place felt sacred. Like it had been waiting for me, and like it had always been meant for this moment.

The trees formed a wall around us, with their branches interlocking like fingers. The ground was soft beneath my feet, and the air was warm and still.

I reached up and removed the necklace from its hook. My hands were shaking again, and I could feel the magic pulsing against my skin, warm and reluctant, like the charm did not want to let go. But I had made my decision, and I was not going to hide anymore. Not from Kaelen, and not from myself.

The clasp opened, and the chain slipped through my fingers. I walked to a fallen log at the edge of the clearing and set the charm down carefully, where it would be safe.

The magic fell away from my skin.

I turned to face Kaelen, as my true face was revealed again. He stared at me for a moment, with his gray eyes soft and wondering.

Then he nodded. "Are you ready?" he asked.

I took a breath. Lyra stirred in my chest, warm and eager, because she had been waiting for this moment. Actually, we both had.

"Yes," I said. Then I closed my eyes.

I reached inside myself, searching for the warmth I had felt before. It was there, waiting. Lyra was pressing against the walls of my chest, pushing nonstop now, and eager to be free.

"Let go," she said. Her voice was soft but firm. "Trust me."

"I trust you," I whispered, even though I did not fully understand what I was doing.

I stopped fighting, and I stopped holding back. For a moment, nothing happened. I stood there with my eyes closed and my heart pounding, waiting for something to change.

And then I felt a crack, or a break. Like a wall inside me was finally crumbling. Lyra surged forward, and I stopped being afraid. Then with a deep breath, I let go.

The change began.

It started in my chest, with a warmth that spread through my veins like fire. It was not painful, and it was not frightening. It was like coming home after a long time away.

My bones shifted, my muscles stretched, and my skin rippled.

I fell to my hands and knees as my body transformed, with pain and pleasure mixed together. My bones were breaking and reforming, and my skin was stretching and changing. But it did not hurt the way I expected. It felt like stretching after a long sleep, like waking up, and like finally becoming who I was always meant to be.

The world spun around me, and I heard Kaelen’s voice from far away, but I could not understand the words.

Lyra was taking over, but I was still there. I could still feel, still think, and still see. And then, it was done.

I opened my eyes.

The world looked different from down here. The grass was closer, the trees were taller, and the scents were sharper. I could smell the earth beneath my paws, the moss on the trees, and Kaelen’s scent, of pine and warm air, and it smelled strong and felt nearer.

I looked down at my body. My fur was silver, streaked with hints of gold that caught the sunlight. My paws were larger than any wolf I had ever seen, and my muscles were coiled and ready.

I was powerful, I was beautiful, and I was Lyra.

I lifted my head and breathed in the forest. The scents flooded my nose, sharper than they had ever been. I could smell the flowers blooming at the edge of the clearing, I could smell the stream I had heard earlier, and I could smell Kaelen. His scent was stronger now, and richer, and it made my wolf want to run to him.

Kaelen stood frozen at the edge of the clearing. His gray eyes were wide, and his lips were parted, as he stared at me like he had never seen anything like me before.

I looked at my paw, and at the silver streaks that ran through my fur. I realized that my wolf was also a Silvertongue wolf.

"Talia," Kaelen whispered, as his voice cut through my thought.

I lifted my head and looked at him, and my wolf eyes met his human ones.

He took a step forward, then another.

"You are..." He stopped, searching for words. "You are magnificent."

Lyra glowed and stood taller under his gaze. I felt her satisfaction, her pride, and her joy.

I took a step toward him. My paws sank into the soft grass, and I felt the earth beneath them, solid and real.

I was a wolf.

For the first time in my life, I was truly a wolf.