Chapter 11 - The First Fading
Ivy's fingers trembled as she pressed them against the cool glass of her bedroom window.
Three days had passed since she'd last slept, and the fatigue was starting to show in ways she couldn't hide.
The woman in the mirror wasn't her.
Not entirely.
"She's getting stronger," Ivy whispered to her reflection. "I can feel her pushing against my mind."
The golden eyes stared back at her, ancient and knowing.
"You cannot fight what is already part of you," the reflection replied. "We are one now. Accept it."
"I will never accept this," Ivy snarled, punching the mirror.
Shards of glass rained down around her, cutting her hands and arms.
But the pain barely registered.
Because something else was happening.
The cuts on her palms were healing—but not normally.
Black threads of energy wove themselves through her wounds, knitting flesh and bone with unnatural speed.
"What have you done to me?" Ivy demanded.
"Saved you," the wolf in the mirror whispered. "I've given you power beyond your wildest dreams. The power to destroy anyone who threatens you. Isn't that what you wanted?"
"I wanted revenge," Ivy admitted. "Not this."
"Vengeance is a hunger that can never be sated," the wolf said. "It consumes everything it touches—including the one who wields it. I've merely given you the means to feed that hunger."
Ivy sank to the floor, her body shaking with exhaustion and fear.
May you like
She'd lost control of herself.
And if she didn't find a way to regain it soon, she would lose everything else.
