The shift came easier this time.
Selena felt it the moment it began, not as pain or resistance, but as something natural, something that moved through her like a quiet, steady current.
Her body did not fight it. It welcomed it.
Bone and muscle realigned with a fluid grace she had never known before, and when her paws touched the forest floor, there was no disorientation, no weakness, only strength.
She stood still for a moment, breathing it in.
The night wrapped around her, alive in a way she had never fully sensed before. Every sound carried meaning. Every movement in the trees spoke to her. The earth beneath her felt steady, familiar, as though it had always known her.
She felt… whole.
A low sound drew her attention, and she turned.
Her mates had already shifted.
Three of them stood not far from her, their presence commanding, their forms strong and unmistakable. But they were not moving toward her. They were watching.
The way they looked at her made her pause.
