<h4>Chapter 300: Understanding</h4>


    <strong>Easter~</strong>


    "I don’t want to kill anyone. I just... I just want my life back. Please Jacob, please!"


    The words escaped me in a hoarse sob, hanging between us like smoke in the cold air. My paws—my actual paws—trembled as they dug into the forest floor. My breath came in short gasps. The wind carried the scent of pine and the distant murmur of running water, but none of it calmed me. My world was unraveling.


    I braced myself for the explosion.


    Any second now, Jacob would snap—just like Ruben used to whenever I got "too emotional," or as he liked to say, hysterical and too much. That was always the script, right? I feel too much, react too loud, and suddenly I’m the problem. Again.


    And maybe this time, I really was too much.


    I mean—how do you stay calm when you’ve just been turned into a literal animal?


    But the fury I expected... never came.


    No raised voice. No sharp words. No dramatic pacing or disappointed sighs.


    Instead, Jacob slowly knelt down, like he was trying not to scare a cornered creature. Me.


    The look in his eyes caught mepletely off guard—warm, unshaken, and impossibly gentle. It wasn’t pity. It wasn’t fear. It was like he saw me... the real me... and didn’t flinch.


    "Why did you say that?" he asked softly.


    His voice—it wrapped around me like a nket. Not smothering, but gently coaxing me back to earth.


    I choked on a breath, blinking through the tears that wouldn’t stop falling. "Because..." I swallowed hard. "The voice in my head—Kiki or whatever her name is—she keeps saying she’s going to die if I go back to being human again."


    Jacob’s eyes didn’t widen in surprise. If anything, they softened.


    I huped through a sob. "I don’t know who she is. I don’t know what’s happening to me. I don’t know how I’m talking right now or how you can understand me, I don’t know if I’m losing my mind or if I’ve already lost it. But I don’t want anybody to die. Not because of me. And I... I can’t live like this. I don’t want to be an animal for the rest of my life. I just want to be normal. I just want to raise my kids in peace."


    My voice cracked again. "I don’t even know what I am anymore."


    Jacob exhaled slowly, then moved closer, his movements slow and careful like he was trying not to startle me.


    "You’re a werewolf," he said gently.


    I blinked. My ears twitched. "I’m... what?"


    "You’re not stuck like this," he continued. "You’re not an animal. You’re something more. You can shift back into your human form whenever you want. And not just once—anytime. You’ll always have the ability to be the wolf again too. It’s a part of you now."


    I just stared at him, dumbfounded.


    What?


    I could go back?


    "I thought..." My voice came out small. "I thought I’d be like this forever."


    Jacob shook his head slowly. "No, Easter. You’re not cursed. You’re blessed. This is a gift."


    A bitterugh broke out of me. "A gift?"


    "I know it doesn’t feel like it now. But if you let me... I’ll show you everything. The strength, the senses, the freedom. You’ll never be defenseless again. You’ll never be hunted or powerless."


    I shivered.


    Then I whispered, "Why did you do this to me?"


    He hesitated, then met my gaze again. "Because your life—and your baby’s—was in danger. I didn’t have time to exin or ask permission. It was the only way I could save you both."


    I looked down at my trembling form, then at my daughter in Natalie’s arms across the clearing. Rose looked safe. Calm. But I wasn’t.


    Jacob leaned in closer. "And that voice in your head... it’s not your imagination."


    I stiffened.


    "She’s real," he said. "She’s your wolf. Her name is Kiki. She’s not just a voice—she’s a living consciousness. She’s your other half now. The part of you that gives you the ability to shift. Just like you let her be human when you shift back, she lets you be the wolf."


    I could hardly breathe.


    Jacob’s voice dropped, solemn. "But if you decide to go back to being fully human... Kiki will have to leave. And that means she’ll die."


    The words felt like an anvil mming into my chest.


    Die.


    I’d be killing her.


    I backed away, my body trembling. My heart was racing too fast—wild, panicked. "I didn’t... I didn’t know. I never meant to hurt her. I just— I thought I was going crazy. I thought she was some delusion or..."


    I copsed to the ground, unable to support my weight anymore. My belly—still round even after giving birth—rested in the soft grass, and I buried my snout in my paws, sobbing.


    A gentle hand touched my back.


    Natalie. The red haired woman was by my side.


    I hadn’t even noticed her approach.


    "Easter," she said softly. "I know it’s overwhelming. I’ve been there."


    I nced up at her through blurry vision. She looked so calm, so sure. So... normal. And yet not. Her presence radiated something strong—something unbreakable.


    "You... you’ve been through this?" I asked, my voice broken, like I was scared the answer might break me even more.


    Natalie’s smile was soft, but there was sadness tucked in the corners of it—like a memory she didn’t want to revisit but carried anyway.


    "Not exactly," she said quietly. "But I do know fear. I know what it’s like to feel like everything’s crashing down, like your whole world just... stopped making sense."


    Her eyes met mine—steady, honest. "I didn’t ask for what happened to me either. In my case, I wanted a wolf. I begged the moon for one. But I was born wolfless." She paused, and her voice dipped lower. "And that made my life a nightmare. I was mocked, assaulted, thrown away like I was nothing. Rejected. Banished. I lost everything I thought made me... me."


    She swallowed hard, her voice catching for a second before she went on, softer now, but glowing with something I couldn’t name.


    "But then—something changed. A miracle happened. I found him—Zane. My mate. My anchor. And then I found her. My wolf... Jasmine." She smiled again, a little stronger this time. "And I found this family. Your family now."


    She leaned in, her voice a whisper, but it hit me like thunder. "You belong here. Even if you can’t see it yet."


    "Family?" I echoed weakly.


    "These men you see here, they’re not just gods, Easter. They’re protectors. They’ve watched over the world for centuries. And they’ll watch over you now. And so will I. So, honey, there’s no need to be afraid anymore.


    I couldn’t speak. I could barely think. The world was too much, too fast.


    Then Natalie did something unexpected.


    She turned to Tiger—the huge, golden-haired man who’d been standing guard like a statue—and gently handed him my baby. My little angel’s eyes lit up at the sight of him, like she’d known him forever. I frowned. How could that be?


    Natalie smiled at me—then stepped away from them.


    "I want to show you something," she said, voice low and affectionate.


    And then—


    She exploded.


    Not violently. Not painfully.


    It was... graceful.


    Light shimmered around her body like moonlight woven through silk. Her skin rippled, glowed—and then fur burst through in streaks of pure white. Bones shifted. Limbs extended. Her clothes melted into light, and where Natalie once stood...


    A massive white wolf, bigger than mine, stood now. Strong. Majestic. Her silver eyes glowed like polished steel in the moonlight. She was breathtaking.


    I forgot to breathe.


    Her wolf stepped forward—slowly, like she didn’t want to frighten me. Her head lowered slightly, in greeting.


    Kiki whispered in my mind, "She’s beautiful."


    I couldn’t help it. I whispered back, "She really is."


    Then Natalie’s voice echoed—not aloud, but inside my mind. "This is me, Easter. And it can be you too. Kiki will be your best friend. Your protector. Your sister. She’ll never leave you."


    I couldn’t stop the sob that escaped me.


    "She’s already trying," I whispered back. "She’s scared too."


    Natalie padded closer, nudging my cheek with her warm nose. It felt likefort, like belonging. Like forgiveness.


    Then I heard Rose’s giggle.


    I turned.


    Bubble was gently holding her on his shoulders, hisrge hands keeping her steady as she reached up to pluck at the white strands of his hair.


    "She always loved magic," Jacob said beside me.


    I looked up at him. "Rose... she told me stories. About you. About all of you. She said you were magical. I didn’t believe her."


    Jacob smiled faintly, his eyes glowing just a little. "Children often see the truth before adults do."


    "And now?" I whispered.


    He extended his hand—not demanding, just offering. "Now... you get to decide. Be human, if that’s what you want. I’ll make it happen. But if you give us a chance... if you give her a chance... I promise, your life will never be the same—in the best way possible."


    I looked down at my trembling paws. Felt the weird presence inside me. Then I looked up at the white wolf before me, at Natalie’s soft eyes glowing with encouragement. At Tiger, gently bouncing my newborn on his shoulder. At Rose looking at me in Bubble’s arms. At Jacob, waiting—not forcing, just hoping.


    And then, finally, I looked inward.


    Kiki?


    Her voice came back like a quiet breath. <strong><i>"Yes?"</i></strong>


    You’re not going to harm me or leave me?


    <strong><i>"Never."</i></strong>


    I swallowed hard. Then reached out to Jacob with one paw.


    "Help me change back," I whispered. "I want to hold my daughter again. And then..." I nced at Natalie’s wolf. "Then I want to understand your world properly."


    Jacob’s smile was slow, proud, and warm as sunlight. "That’s all I needed to hear."