Rory’s POV

A painful howl stirred me from my sleep. My eyes blink a few times as I listen to the wolf's painful declaration. After a minute of being groggy, it clicks in my head that I know that howl. I look around the seemingly dark cave as my wolf abilities kick in allowing me to see easily. I find an unconscious and injured Emalynn beside me. Gently, I cover Emalynn with the cloak as shivered next to me.

A breeze blows into the cave and I feel my body shiver. I look down to myself almost naked with only my chest wrap and loin cloth. "What the…" Emalynn took my clothes! Shit. Shit. Shit. I look around, but even night vision isn't helping find my clothes or boots. What do I do now?

Another painful howl echoes in the cave.

I rush myself up and stumble to the cave entrance where I see a brown wolf go head first into the cliff side. The smell of burnt fur filled my nose, and a low growl escaped my chest. The brown wolf lay still on the ground, and I realized that the wolf was Uncle Elias.

"Elias," I cry softly as I run towards him. The rise and fall of his chest lets me know that he is still alive. My tears soak his brown fur as I fall to my knees beside him. "This can't be happening. Not again. I won't lose you too." I mumbled. When I touch his fur, I am shocked by the leftover charge in his body. Was he struck by lightning? His fur is crisp and full of static. I pull my hand back, watching my uncle lay unconscious.

Zzzzz….boom!

I barely dodged the lightning bolt headed straight for me. The enemy has spotted me. I need to move, so Elias isn't struck again. I get up and study my surroundings.

Aunt Leah is nowhere to be seen, and my body begins to shake from the pain, anger and sorrow filling me. What the hell is happening? I sniff the air and find a sweaty human standing next to what seems to a dark elf based on the pigment of the skin. My breath hitched and my heartbeat quickened at the sight. Bandits and a magic user have done this to Aunt Leah, Uncle Elias, and Emalynn.

The pain pulsed in my body, feeling like it was going to explode. My hands pressed against my head to ease the pressure, instead, my hands found globs of blood in my hair. I can feel myself losing control of my emotions. I want to scream, but I can't let the enemy know where I have hidden. Next, my mouth and fingers tingle like when I shift although this is much more painful. My jaw is on fire as my entire skull aches from movement. I curl up in a ball quietly whimpering. A wolf snout begins to appear in my vision. No amount of tears or silent screams reduced the pain.

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"Uhhh!" A groan from above breaks me out of my agony.

Another cry from the woman.

Crap, is that… My grip on reality is slipping like last time.

More groans..

It is...Aunt Leah!

She screams in pain.

All the pain and anger is boiling in me.

Then the stupid human laughs and the dark elf spells another burst of lightning toward the cliff.

Whatever last bit of sanity I had snapped. The final stage of my shift completes, and I know I am now just a passenger in my own body. My body forces itself up, and I see claws where my nails were and feel fangs where my teeth once stood. My hearing is crisp and my sense of smell sharp. My body moves on its own toward the groaning woman above me. I can't control my body as it rushes up the cliff. My eyes looked down to see my feet were more like paws with long claws. I am not human, nor am I a wolf. It's not exactly my base form either. It's more wild than that. Almost like my base form in a frenzy...

Shit.

I try to stop myself, but I am unable. I am only allowed to watch what happens. All I feel is anger and sorrow imploding. These bandits are going to pay.

My body reaches the top of the cliff where I see a bloody version of my aunt defending herself against two orcs. I sped toward the battle with my claws elongated. One blink and I watch my claws tear through an orc's throat. The stench makes me want to gag, but my body has other plans as I tackle the second orc.

This orc stabs his blade in me as we fall to the ground. I don't feel the pain at all. I know blood is pouring out of me, but that's the only reaction my body has to the stab wound. The orc lets go of the blade letting it sit in my side and tries to grab my wrists.

This poor bastard doesn’t know what he's in for. I swipe his face causing the orc shout. A proud grin fills my face because the sound is satisfying my rage. I grab his exposed throat and crush it. The orc becomes lifeless under me as I pull the blade from my side. The bleeding slows as I get up and turn back toward a worried and injured Aunt Leah.

"Rory?" She asks weakly as I pick her in my arms. I give her no response. I am not sure I could if I wanted to. She stays still in my arms as I walk to the edge of the cliff. My grip tightens as I jump off the ledge and she squeaks out small yelps until we land on the ground causing a depression beneath us. I put her down next to the brown wolf and darted away.

Time to make the elf and human pay. They notice me as I head towards them. I can smell fear from the human already. The elf seems unfazed by my approach.

"Do something Talan! That beast is headed right for us!" The human panicked.

"Fear not, Markis. I have a plan." The elf known as Talan chuckled.

It was only seconds before I appeared beside them. The elf threw the human at me to give him time to escape. The human tried to stab my stomach as I pinned him to the tree.

I did something that I didn't know was possible in this form. "Human," I growled at him. "Know that all these deaths are your fault. I will show no mercy."

"Just kill me, beast." The human, Markis, grumbled.

"Gladly." I grinned. My hand plunged into his chest, crushing his heart. Part of me is happy to rid the world of this scum, but my body continues on its quest to kill. I am not sure whether to be grateful for this state I am in or if I should be scared like last time. Last time was more brutal with three times more bodies. That time I don't remember as clearly as I am experiencing this time.