"Giddyup." The voice from outside the cage, followed by the snap of the reins, belonged to a young male, Tate. At his command, the carriage jolted into motion.

»Finally,« neighed one of the scalehoofs, sounding relieved.

»I'd rather lie down.«

»Better to pull than stand all night.«

»Depends where you stand.«

»True. Not this place.«

»This place bad. Reaks of blood.«

»Like the beast.«

»Dangerous beast.«

»Caged now, though.«

"What's up with them?" grumbled my so-called master, no doubt sitting on the driver's bench with the young human. "Shut your beaks, stupid animals."

»Stupid human.«

"It's not the animals' fault, Arlo," said the flower-scented male, Ward. To my surprise, instead of scolding them, he seemed to pat them. Though, I could have been wrong. My domain couldn’t pierce the tarp draped over the cage. All I could see was the inside of the cage, now plunged into darkness.

"However, it would do no harm, young man, to hurry the scalehoofs. We are in a bit of a hurry and have no reason to be cautious any longer."

"Yes, Mr. Ward."

»Stupid to rush at night.«

»Humans stupid,« remarked one of the scalehoofs, and they both quickened their pace when the young human slammed the reins again.

»Stupid like beast.«

»Should have killed them, not get caught.«

What followed could only be described as scalehoof laughter. It was bizarre, humiliating - terrifying. A chill ran through me at their cruel joke. It wasn’t hard to imagine the shoelace bitch, or her daughter, sending me to tear someone apart like their attack dog.

»Grrrr!«

"Grey?" Elira's voice, sharp with fear and thick with caution, snapped me back to the dark interior of the cage and the two human females trapped inside with me. They huddled in the farthest corner, as far away from me as they could get—which, given the size of the cage, was barely a meter. Their eyes flickered with the primal fear that every creature feels when cornered—something I knew all too well.

"It's... it's still you, right?" With their hands and feet free of the ropes, thanks to my claws, they had managed to remove their gags as well.

»Yeah, don't worry...«

'Shit - I forgot.' Instead of words, only a deep, guttural growl escaped my throat.

"I’ll take that as a yes?"

I nodded.

"Sorry, but I have to ask - you're not going to attack us, are you?"

Hearing Elira - blue-eyed and one of my own pack - think that hurt as much as it tickled my pride. She, both of them, were afraid of me. Of my strength.

If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.

»Never.« I shook my head, though part of me wondered if I was lying to myself. The beast had its own hunger.

"Damn," Vara hissed, her voice strained. "I was about to piss my knickers. The way you took down those bastards... you seemed to... lose it. Went feral, y'know? Then you came charging at us and..." She winced, breaking into a coughing fit. "I won't die, El, don’t worry."

"You don’t know that. You need a healer, not just a potion."

"Not going to argue that, but..." Another cough, harsher this time.

"Yeah, I know," Elira said, her voice somber. "When we stop, I'll try to convince Ward. He’s bound to have a healer among his people."

"That son of a bitch..."

"Save your breath, Vara," Elira said as the other female coughed again, wheezing in pain. "He's not worth it."

"Sure he is. How can he... does he really work for... you know, mind mages, Korra?"

»Yeah. I mean...«

'Shit. This inability to speak is really annoying.'

"A-Are you sure you’re okay? Can’t you shift back?"

A good question from Elira. Could I? Every time I’d shifted into the beast, I didn’t remember coming back. The first time, I was killed by the Fae. The second, a guardsman pierced my heart. The third time, I let the beast loose and a fire-wielding mage pummeled me unconscious.

"Of course, if there's a reason you can't or won't, you don't have to," the blue-eyed human female, Elira, added quickly. "There aren't many shifters, but I've heard that in the beast form their regeneration can be quite... well, better. Your burns... and the wing - I don't think it should bend that way."

»Grrr… thanks for reminding me,« I growled, now keenly more aware of the broken wing than before. Every twitch of it sent spikes of agony through me. Keeping it still helped, not so much the nerve-rattling jostle of the wagon on the cobblestone streets of Castiana.

'Could it be true, though?' Looking down at my bloodied paws, a wave of disgust - and fear - washed over me. I couldn't help but think back to the moment when I first shifted. Only thanks to my regeneration and the magic in my body did I not lose my paws. 'Would it be possible to do the same...?'

The idea was ridiculous. I wasn't a mage or a healer. Being aware of the mana in my body was all I could do, let alone be able to control it.

'Beast could, though.'

"Grey?" The confusion in Elira's voice was justified. After all, with no way to give them an explanation, I moved to the furthest corner from them, just in case, settling down cross-legged, Sage in my lap. If I was going to face that mind-bitch again, I needed to be at full strength.

'One try. Just one try.'

I reminded myself, as I couldn't afford to sit here on my ass for hours.

"I think we're on Main Street," the auburn-haired female, Vara, stated, probably based on a change in the rhythm of the rattling of the car, confirming what I thought. Just a few minutes and we would be out of the city.

'Come on, you've helped so many times. Do it again.' Ever since I got my first mutation, I had never thought I would ever be okay with my beast side, let alone ask for help from it. But that was life. You never knew what it might throw at you. So, closing my eyes, I focused on what I wanted the beast to do. Heal me.

'Please, I need your help.'

"W-What happened?" Elira asked when she saw my ears droop.

'Nothing.' At least that's what I was about to growl when I felt the mana in my body stir. It was like a storm awakening, a beast pacing inside me, clawing for release. Then, along with the bestial roar ripping from my throat, my body exploded. Not literally. But the runes on my chest glowed and then the mana stored in my body, especially my core, burst loose, wild and uncontrollable, surging to my burns, bruises, and broken wing. There was so much of the mana bursting from the core I could feel my body burning hotter than when jumping through the firewall. I was burning. The beast howled within, primal and fierce, as though it relished the pain. I did not.

However, the pain was a fair price to pay. The wing bones snapped back into place, and through my domain, I watched getting my eye back and injuries heal in moments. All the while the notifications I had so far ignored, fervently tickled the inner side of my skull.

* 9th glyph engraved on Never-Dying (⦿)

* 10th glyph engraved on Never-Dying (⦿)

* 11th glyph engraved on Never-Dying (⦿)

Of course, the miracle didn’t go unnoticed.

No sooner my mana-boosted regeneration had done its job than the tarp draped over the cage rustled as the fire-wielding man pulled it back. "The fuck was that?!" he barked, demanding an answer. However, seeing the two guardian females staring wide-eyed at me, his gaze bored into me. "What did YOU do?"

'Wish I knew.'

»Like I’d tell you, spineless human.« I growled, barely able to catch my breath after losing almost all of my mana.