Witch, Wolf, Woods

CHAPTER 18: THE SHAPESHIFTER

Katja was glad she had applied a silencing spell to her chamber, because at the sudden appearance of a boy in her room, she couldn't keep from shouting in surprise. She quickly clamped one hand over her mouth while using the other to push herself backwards until her shoulder blades bumped against her bed.

How was this happening? How was it even possible?

There, where the black and silver wolf had been not moments before, sat a boy with unkempt brown hair and even darker brown eyes. High cheek bones, a pointed chin, and narrow lips replaced the tapered snout, triangular ears, and thick fur that had characterized the groBe böse Wolf.

While she didn't know how to explain it, at least the boy was clothed, something Katja was immensely grateful for.

"What are you?" she eventually managed to choke out.

Did that mean this boy was the Witch Killer of the Schwarzwald? She tried to envision such a thing, but it was difficult, given that he wasn't the slightest bit imposing as a human.

The boy stared at the ground and scratched the side of his head, clearly debating what to say.

"I was born a human," he finally said. "Through a very bad decision on my part, I became a shapeshifter, able to transform into a wolf. After circumstances changed my life forever, I lost myself, until eventually, I was trapped in the necklace."

He glanced down at his hands, wiggling his fingers gently as if surprised to see them instead of paws. "It seems I'm still a shapeshifter. I'd hoped, after all this time..." his voice trailed off, and he was silent for a moment before adding, "Well, let's just say I'd hoped that particular spell might have worn off."

For some reason, Katja had found it easier to consider trusting Wolf when he'd been in wolf-form. It was one thing for a wild animal to kill with abandon, but discovering he was actually human sparked a deep-seated anger within her.

"Is that why you became a shapeshifter?" she asked. "Because you hated witches and wanted to kill them?"

"No," Wolf shook his head but didn't elaborate further, which did nothing to soothe Katja's agitation.

"I ought to tell someone," she said, glancing at the door and wondering if she was fast enough to make it to the hallway without being caught, locking Wolf inside her bedroom until the Hexen decided what to do with him. "You've done terrible things to my kind. And you're not even really a wolf! You had to have known better."

"I did know better," agreed Wolf.

His eyes locked onto Katja's, and while his gaze was remorseful, it held no self-pity. "What I did was inexcusable, and if you truly feel the best way for me to pay for my actions is to be punished by your coven, I won't stop you. I will, however, ask you to consider that I've been alone, locked in an unbreakable prison of enforced solitary confinement, with nothing to do but reflect upon my life, for over two hundred years."

He shook his head. "Even being put to death would be preferable to spending eternity in such a manner."

Katja's chest tightened, recalling all the times she, too, had thought death would be better than being alone for the rest of her life. It had been her loneliness, after all, that had driven her to use the necklace to create an enchanted pet. Wolf hadn't done anything to escape his prison—she'd let him out, and even though it had been an accident, Katja felt as if she bore the bulk of the responsibility for him being back in the world.

And perhaps his time alone had been beneficial...it sounded as if he'd recognized his mistakes and decided to change his ways, which had to mean something.