The Dragon Sea

Chapter2. The Waterfall

My fox…

Regardless of how many years went by, I still struggled to accept her. From the time I was a little girl, I longed for the day I would shift into a wolf. Shape-shifters experience their first transformation at puberty, and as the child of a lycan and a werewolf, both of whom serve as Betas to our King and Queen, I anticipated the same.

Unfortunately, it wasn’t in the cards for me.

Raised almost like royalty, I was always surrounded by many people. Everyone wanted to be my friend. Even Rafael, the Lycan Prince, regarded me as kin, and we often referred to one another as cousins since our fathers considered themselves brothers.

The mirror image of my playful red-haired father and my formidable dark-skinned warrior mother, I had inherited the best of their appearances.

It seemed only natural to expect the same in terms of strength.

My life was supposed to be a fairytale, andnd it was, right up until the day Lisa arrived.

I had been sensing my shift was close and had headed into the forest just like everyone my age did, according to our customs. The first shift was supposed to be an intimate process and was mainly done alone, until a new wolf was ready to meet other pack members.

I was bursting with excitement... Ready to show off my undeniably powerful wolf to the pack and watch everyone marvel at her. What a fool…

My first clue should have been how easy it all went. I barely felt any pain and shifted within an hour, while most of the people I knew took at least a full day to complete the process.

My second indication should have been my crimson paws.

Naively, I thought it meant I had a unique red wolf. My ego was disproportionately inflated and I ignored my instincts telling me that something wasn’t quite right.

After all, my skin was honey bronze and my hair was mesmerisingly red. It made sense for my wolf to match my appearance. I also believed that just like many wolves around me, I would be blessed by the gods with a special gift.

What a joke…

Now I wished I could go back to that day and stay in the forest until I shifted back. Maybe then my life could have stayed the same.

With pride, I emerged from the forest to find a welcoming party awaiting me. My parents were there, along with the King and Queen, who were like family to me, and of course, Rafael was eagerly waiting too. My school friends held a large banner with my name on it and everyone was filled with excitement and anticipation. It was supposed to be the biggest celebration of my life.

Up until I stepped into the light.

I still remember the smiles fading from their faces… Someone even dropped a glass they were holding, and stupidly once more I thought it was because I was ‘special’.

The banner fell to the ground and the first thing I heard with my new shifter hearing were whispers about how unlucky I was and that I looked just like her.

I wasn’t sure who that ‘her’ was, but I could tell she wasn’t anyone's favourite.

I couldn't grasp what was going on, but I noticed a few people slipping away one by one. The remaining crowd glanced at my parents and the royal couple, awaiting their reactions. Fortunately, Rafael didn't want to wait for any of it and approached me first.

"Dany, congrats!" He brushed his fingers through my fur and I leaned into his hand, relieved that my interpretation of the events was likely wrong. "Your first shift was awesome and so fast?"

Others followed him, but the whole time something felt off.

When I was finally able to step away and shift back into my human form, I began searching for my parents only to realise they were missing.

"Here." Danica brought me the dress, we had chosen specifically for the event, behind the tent where I could finally have some privacy.

"Thanks," I muttered. "Have you seen my old folks?"

She was around twelve back then. Or at least so we thought. After all, my parents found her when she was just a baby and it was hard to tell her exact age. Nica's cheeks flushed red, a signal that she was worried.

"I saw your mother running towards the old part of town," she confessed.

"Isn't my party in the pack house?" I furrowed my brows because that was in the completely opposite direction.

"It is—" Nica lowered her gaze, puzzling me more.

"Probably something work related," I shrugged. "I'll go find them first and join you guys later."

I went searching for Mum and Dad, unsure what happened and shocked by how everyone I met was avoiding my gaze. Barely a teen, I could sense that something was off.

They need time, my beast whispered as I heard her for the first time, too worried to pay her any attention. Something terrible must have happened to prevent my parents from attending my first shift celebration.

I looked around as my gaze settled on the window of an old bar. Behind the glass, my mother was bawling her eyes out while my father held her in his arms.

I had never seen Mum cry. Not once. She was the epitome of a strong warrior woman and that day, when she saw me entering that bar, she burst out crying again, unable to utter a coherent word.

“Mom?” I stumbled, shocked by what I saw. “What is going on? Are you okay?”

"Tears of happiness, pup," Dad winked at me. "We love you, but you’re growing up too fast."

I didn’t buy a word of it. They couldn't wait to have family runs in the woods. This was all we we talked about for weeks. I may have been twelve, but I wasn't stupid.

"Don't cry." I smiled at Mum. "I will always be your girl. Just— don't say it in front of my friends. I have a reputation to keep."

"Of course—" Mum gave me a hug but as she did, a wave of grief and guilt washed over me. Not mine, hers.

“Honey, I'll take your Mum back home, okay?” Dad asked, his eyes begging for me to agree. "It's been a long day, but you go ahead and have fun with your friends. Everything has been arranged for you."

"Sure—" I couldn't help but feel disappointed.

Normally, everyone would celebrate their family member's first shift by partying all night, honoring the Moon Goddess and her gifts of life, but I knew my party was over. The mood was completely gone as I watched my parents leave.

I lingered outside of the pack house, not sure how to feel or what to think. I was both in shocked and upset when Danica found me.

"Are you alright?" she inquired directly, as Rafael also emerged from the shadows. Both of them seemed concerned, but I remained completely clueless as to the reason.

“What happened?” I asked, rubbing my temples. How could everything go so wrong?

“You don’t know?” Raf and Nica exchanged concerned glances and I felt like the biggest i***t out here. Did they all know something that I didn't?

“All I know is that everyone is acting weird!” I growled and my friends took a step back. None of them had their wolves yet and this was new.

“Danny, you shifted into a fox,” Rafael told me and I was sure that he was joking.

“Seriously?” I rolled my eyes at them both. “It’s just red fur you guys, I am not—“

I stopped talking when I saw how guilty and worried they looked and although I tried to say something else, no words were coming out of my mouth.

Surely, it couldn’t be. My father was a lycan and my mother was a werewolf. How on Earth could I have become a fox?

Foxes had been our mortal enemies for decades. Although it has been years since the last confrontation, we were far from being on peaceful terms with them.

“There is no way I am a fox shifter! Absolutely no way!” I almost screamed at my friends, tears stinging my eyes.

“Well, actually—“ Raf averted his gaze, placing his hands into his pockets.

I felt the beast inside me stir, but I wasn’t ready to talk to her. Now there were more important matters.

“Raf, if you know something, tell me now!” I demanded, my eyes travelling from my royal almost-cousin to my best friend.

“Dany, you know you are like a sister to me,” he started, carefully choosing his words. “But have you ever heard the rumours about the fox that tried to kill my mother?”

“Everyone knows about the Red b***h Roxanne!” I rolled my eyes, folding my hands over my chest and froze, realising where he was going with this. “Why are we talking about her?” I narrowed my eyes, fear twisting my stomach into knots.

Roxanne was infamous in our pack and the entire Kingdom for all the wrong reasons. Years ago, she pretended to be the mate of Queen Rhiannon’s first husband, trying to destroy the whole Kingdom from the inside. She betrayed the pack and murdered the poor guy, selling valuable information to the foxes, which led to the deaths of numerous others. Among those lost was my uncle Dean, my mother's little brother, whom she still mourned to this day. Dean was young and gullible. He fell head over heels for Roxy and she only manipulated him to harm Queen Riannon. Which, if I was honest, was a testament to her talents, given that my Mom and Uncle were like siblings to the Queen. I knew for certain that my mother despised Roxanne, and the name was forbidden from being mentioned in our home. So many lives were lost because of that vile woman that when she died, people actually celebrated. No one even dared to call their daughters anything similar to Roxanne or Roxy anymore. It was like an insult to us.

“You see—“ Raf muttered under his breath, his golden locks shining in the moonlight even now. “They say that— she was your real mother.”

They both fell silent, watching my reaction and I burst out laughing into their faces.

“Are you crazy?” I scolded them. “I am having the worst day of my life and you are not helping! That woman cannot be my mother! Not when I look exactly like my parents! And remember that accident I had in childhood? Mum gave her blood to me in the hospital because she was a match! That’s such nonsense!”

“Danny,” Nica spoke softly, “they say that she had a baby with your uncle. That— your parents adopted you after they both died. Your Mum is your Aunt and you have red hair, not because of your Dad, but because Roxanne was a ginger too.”

“What?” I felt my lips trembling uncomfortably. “This is— impossible! And stupid!”

I glared at them both, expecting them to burst out laughing and tell me it was all a bad joke, but the more I stared, the more pity I saw on their faces.

“I am so sorry, Dany,” Raf stretched his hand towards me but I flinched away.

“It changes nothing for us,” Danica assured. “We still love you and so does everyone else!”

Yet by my next birthday, everything was different. My shifting confirmed what everyone suspected and the way people saw me changed. I knew it was all over for me when most of my birthday party invitations returned with lame excuses and when no one wanted to sit with me during class. No one but Danica. Even being the Betas’ daughter did not help me when I was related to an infamous murderer. After all, nearly every family in our pack had someone who had been harmed by Roxanne. While the adults kept a respectful distance out of regard for Mom and Dad, the kids exploited that vulnerability of mine. Then upon entering Moonrise Academy, where it was every person for themselves, I discovered the true meaning of hell.

In a way, I was still lucky to have Nica and Raf looking out for me even when I was considered public enemy number one. How many truly knew that their friends were so loyal?

Rafael even offered me a place to be his Gamma in the future, meaning that I had something to look forward too. A position like that would allow me to hire Nica as my personal assistant and give her employment and a place in the pack despite being a wolfless Omega. So, all we had to do now was survive the final year at Moonrise academy and wait for Rafael to ascend to the Alpha position in his mother’s pack.

***

"What are you thinking about?" Nica asked me as she touched the last crystal on our patrol to send a signal to the academy that the territory was safe. "You've been so quiet today."

"The usual," I admitted, offering her a little smile, but her own faded. Between us, she was still the one with the shorter end of the stick.

"Nica, you know you will always have a place in the pack as long as I am alive," I told her, patting her shoulder.

"I know," she admitted. "It's just that— sometimes I think it's not enough."

"Ouch!" I let out a little snort. "Don't mind my feelings!"

"You know what I mean." She threw me her reproachful look. "At least you can still prove yourself with your fox, if you ever accept it."

"Which will never happen." I rolled my eyes. I only let Lisa out when we were in danger and tried to talk to her as little as possible. Foxes were tricksters by nature and I couldn't trust her. I knew that much. Deep inside I still hoped that maybe, just maybe the Moon Goddess would notice my struggle and grant me a wolf. After all, I had my father's werewolf blood in me as well.

"If I had a creature inside me," Nica turned away, "any creature, for that matter, I'd treasure it."

I sighed. "I wish I could give you mine."

The fox inside me stirred and a wave of pain washed over me, but I shoved it as deep into my mind as possible.

"Maybe you should give her a chance instead." Danica pursed her lips. I knew how she felt and that to her my struggle was nothing. After all, her first shift never happened.

My parents found her in a slaughtered werewolf village years ago, merely a baby. Her parents were found dead next to her and she was all covered in their blood. The Queen took her in and although no one had officially adopted her, she grew up with Rafael and me. But every year her hopes faded because she still did not sense her wolf or shift. With each passing day, the chances of that happening were slipping away.

"I can't give that beast a chance," I confessed. "I can feel what it wants. It won't be good. You know that I don't want to turn into… her."

My biological mother.

I did my research. I knew who she was and where she came from. I did my research on foxes too. They were selfish creatures, thriving on tricking others. There was nothing good or noble about them, unlike the wolves.

I'd rather die than become one of them.

"You are wasting the years you could have trained her," Nica accused her softly and I felt a pang in my heart. Was that how she really felt about me?

"I am taming her." I gritted my teeth. "That's more important."

"You are punishing yourself for the crimes someone else committed and that’s stupid!" She glared at me and something clicked inside, I called it the fox essence.

"You know what's stupid?" I smirked. "Still hoping that Rafael will be your fated mate!"

I regretted it the moment I said it. It was a low blow, even for me, and I hated how the colour drained from Danica's face.

"Well, I guess we are both stupid in our own way." She balled her fists. "We are done here and I am going back."

"But—" I wanted to stop her but she was already walking away.

Just give her time to cool down, Lisa whispered and I hated that she witnessed all that.

Shut up! I seethed, shoving her away just like I did with everyone else who got too close. Anger rippled through me, making my hands shake and my vision blur.

Nica was already far away and I knew better than to catch up with her now. We did quarrel sometimes, I would fix it later.

Now, I needed to relax and blow off some steam. There were no rogues around so that left me with just one option.

My feet moved quickly as I navigated the familiar path through the dense woods, branches scraping against my skin as I pushed through. The sound of rushing water grew louder, drowning out the rustling of leaves and the chirping of insects.

Finally, I emerged at my favorite spot, the waterfall. The cascade poured relentlessly into the river below, creating a misty veil that glistened in the moonlight. It was my sanctuary, a place where no one would ever bother me. The roar of water called my name, and I quickly stripped, eager to do what I loved best.

I stepped closer to the edge, mesmerised by the water force. My fingers brushed through my long red curls as I inhaled deeply, savouring the fresh scent of moss, wet stone and the salty sea on the horizon. This was where the river was flowing.

Exhaling sharply, I prepared to jump, when I heard an unfamiliar voice.

"Stop!"

I froze in place because no one should have been here. We had just sent a signal that the coast was clear so no one else would bother to check. Whoever was behind me was not part of our school and he definitely was not supposed to be here.

It could only be a rogue. There could be no other explanation.

I wanted to spin around and pounce on him, catching him off guard, but as I attempted to do so, my feet slipped on the slick moss-covered stone, and I found myself plummeting towards the unforgiving river below. Completely unprepared and without aiming for a safe spot, this could turn out very badly for me... However, the next moment, I felt someone grabbing hold of my body and pressing it firmly against something warm and solid.

It took me a moment to understand what was happening. He smelled like leather and smoke...

The next instant we both plunged into the icy, relentless water, a myriad of needles piercing my skin. The powerful currents mixed together, dragging us swiftly to the very bottom, making it nearly impossible to fight against their force.

AUTHOR'S NOTE: Hi Circle, I will upload a few more chapters of this book soon, but remember that all updates are happening on Ink.itt. app :) More info could be found in Marissa Gilbert's Reading Circle group on Fa.ce.book :)