Ella awoke to the soft light of dawn peeking through her window. Her muscles ached, her mind still clouded from the night before, but her heart? It burned — with purpose.
Today would be different. Today she would train harder, push farther. She would prove them wrong.
As she stepped into the training ground, something unexpected happened — Mira approached her… smiling.
"Hey, Ella," she said, her tone unusually sweet. "I'm sorry. For everything."
Ella blinked, caught off guard. Behind Mira, the others nodded in agreement, their smiles soft, almost welcoming. "We've been hard on you," Mira continued. "But tonight, we want to make it right. Meet us in the forest clearing at dusk. Just you."
The offer left Ella stunned.
Could this be real? A fresh start? A chance to belong?
That day, she trained with a renewed fire. Hope bloomed quietly in her chest. Maybe, just maybe, things were finally changing.
---
Night came fast.
Ella arrived at the forest clearing, breath visible in the cold air. But something felt… off. The silence was thick. The wind held no scent of welcome.
Suddenly, shadows shifted around her. Mira and the others stepped from the trees, no longer smiling. Their eyes glinted — not with friendship, but cruelty.
"You really thought we wanted you?" Mira sneered, voice dripping venom. "You're pathetic."
Before Ella could speak, strong hands grabbed her. She struggled, but it was useless. They shoved her into a small iron cage, locking it with a silver clasp that sizzled against her skin.
"Stop!" she cried, tears burning her eyes. "Why are you doing this?"
Mira knelt by the bars, face blank and cold. "You're not one of us. You never were. This is where you belong — caged."
With a laugh, they shifted into their wolf forms and vanished into the forest, leaving Ella alone in the dark.
---
Hours passed.
The pain from the silver lock throbbed with every movement. The betrayal echoed louder than her heartbeat. She wasn't just abandoned — she was discarded like nothing.
Her spirit began to crack.
Then — a rustle in the trees.
Glowing golden eyes appeared in the shadows, followed by a towering black wolf. Its presence was both terrifying and… calming.
The wolf approached, growling low. In one swift motion, it swiped its massive paw through the lock. The silver shattered.
Ella gasped as the cage door creaked open. She looked up, her voice barely a whisper: "Who… who are you?"
The wolf didn't answer. Instead, it nudged her gently, as if to say get up, then turned and disappeared into the woods like smoke.
---
Ella staggered back home, body bruised and soul shaken. Questions tore through her mind:
Who was that wolf? Why did it save her? And what did it mean?
One thing became painfully clear —
She couldn't trust anyone anymore.