Page 73 of Fated for Dawn

Rafe had walked towards me and extended a hand to help me up. “Come on, Evelyn. Whatever happens, it’ll be fine. No snakes, no chickens. Just…you.”

His words, so gentle and reassuring, made me sigh. “Fine,” I mumbled, grabbing his hand and letting him pull me up. “But if Idoturn out to be a killer chicken, don’t say I didn’t warn you.”

Chad bounced on his heels, grinning. “Time to unleash your inner beast! Trust me, it’s gonna be awesome.”

I took a deep breath. “Easy for you to say. You’ve done this a million times.”

“True.” Chad nodded. “But remember, we all start somewhere. Even us hellhounds.”

I bobbed my head, trying to psych myself up. “Okay, Chad. Talk me through this. What should I expect?”

Chad’s usual playful demeanor softened. “It’s different for everyone, but it felt like a dam breaking inside for me. Scary at first, yeah, but then? Pure adrenaline rush.”

“Great,” I muttered. “Just what I need. More excitement in my life.”

Chad chuckled. “Hey, at least it’s the fun kind of excitement. Not the ‘oh no, an angry mob of corpses wants to kill us’ type.”

I giggled.He has a point.

I took a deep breath. “Okay, how did it feel for you the first time?”

Chad leaned back on his heels, thinking. “Like being stuffed into a meat grinder, then getting shot out of a cannon. It’s painful but also amazing. You come out the other side, and you’re more.”

“More,” I echoed, unconvinced.

“It gets easier,” he added. “Now I can shift in my sleep.”

I looked at Rafe, then Chad. They believed in me, which was more than I could say for myself at the moment. Still, their confidence was infectious.

“Alright,” I said. “Let’s do this.”

“Close your eyes,” Chad instructed. “Try to feel that part of you that’s different. The beast within you.”

I did as he said, shutting out the world around me and reaching for that particular branch of my lineage. I tried to shut out the thousand thoughts clamoring for attention.

What if I get stuck in my monster form?

What if I hurt them?

What if the creature inside me is something so terrible that I can’t live with myself?

My heart pounded like a jackhammer, and my hands trembled at my sides. The sun filtered through the trees,dappling the grass with golden light. It should have been peaceful, but my insides were in chaos.

“You’ve got this, Evelyn,” Chad said, his voice warm and encouraging. “Just focus on your inner beast. Let it come to the surface.”

I squeezed my eyes shut, trying to concentrate. But all I could picture was a grotesque monster bursting from my skin, all fangs and claws and mindless rage. My breath came faster and faster.

“Breathe, Evelyn,” Rafe murmured, his gentle tone starkly contrasting the panic swirling in my head. “Nice and slow.”

I tried to follow his instructions, but it felt like my lungs were shrinking. My eyes flew open as I gasped for air.

“I can’t,” I choked out. “What if I can’t control it?”

Chad’s brow furrowed with concern. “Hey, it’s okay. You’re not gonna turn into anything horrible.”

But his words barely registered. My vision was tunneling, darkness creeping in at the edges. I sank to my knees, gulping in the air that didn’t seem to reach my lungs.

“Some champion I am,” I wheezed. “Can’t even shift without having a panic attack. How am I supposed to defeat Eris like this?”

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