4 Werewolf system activated

Chapter 4

The world was a void. A vast, empty darkness where pain and cold had long since faded. Amelia floated in it, weightless, drifting between life and death. She wasn't sure if she was breathing anymore. She wasn't sure if she was even alive.

But then, something shifted.

A sound—sharp, metallic, unnatural—cut through the silence.

[Werewolf System Activated.]

The voice was cold. Robotic. It echoed inside her skull, sending a shiver down her spine. It was emotionless, empty, yet powerful.

[Initiating body scan...]

A sudden wave of heat surged through her, like wildfire spreading beneath her skin. Amelia gasped, her body jerking violently. Pain—sharp and excruciating—exploded in every inch of her being. Her veins burned, her muscles spasmed, and for a moment, she thought she was dying all over again.

Then, just as quickly as it came, the pain was gone. Replaced by... nothing.

She wasn't cold anymore. She wasn't shaking. The numbness had vanished. Instead, she felt...

Stronger.

Her eyelids fluttered open, and the world around her came into focus. The night sky stretched above her, stars twinkling like distant diamonds. The wind howled, rustling the trees, whispering secrets to the earth.

She inhaled deeply. The scent of damp soil, rotting leaves, and the faintest trace of blood filled her lungs. It was sharper, more defined than ever before. Every sound—the distant hoot of an owl, the scurrying of a rodent in the underbrush—rang crystal clear in her ears.

She pushed herself up. Her hands dug into the earth, but she barely noticed the sensation. Her body moved with an ease she had never felt before. The weakness, the exhaustion, the unbearable pain—it was gone.

[Body scan complete.]

[All injuries healed.]

[Physical attributes enhanced: Strength, Speed, Endurance, Reflexes.]

[New abilities unlocked.]

Amelia swallowed hard, her heart pounding. "What... what is this?" Her own voice startled her. It was stronger. Clearer. Not the weak, trembling whisper she was used to.

[You have been chosen.]

"Chosen?" she echoed, confusion twisting inside her.

[You are no longer the same. You have evolved. You are now the host of the Werewolf System.]

A sharp breath left her lips. "A werewolf?" The very idea was ridiculous. She was Amelia Monroe—the fragile girl, the victim, the punching bag of Crestwood Academy. She wasn't powerful. She wasn't special.

She was nothing.

[Correction: You were nothing. Now, you are something more. Something stronger.]

A shiver ran through her. This couldn't be real. It had to be a dream. A hallucination from the trauma.

But it felt real. Too real.

She slowly pushed herself onto her feet. The moment she stood, she realized it.

She was different.

Her legs didn't wobble. Her arms didn't shake. There was no pain, no dizziness, no weakness. She felt... stable. Grounded. Powerful.

Her eyes darted around. Everything looked sharper, brighter—even in the darkness. She could see every detail in the shadows, every groove in the bark of the trees, every ripple in the dirt beneath her feet.

Her heartbeat was steady. Calm.

Her breathing—controlled.

She clenched her fists, expecting the usual sting of bruises and broken skin. There was none. Her fingers dug into her palms, but the pain never came. Instead, a deep warmth pulsed beneath her skin, like energy thrumming just beneath the surface, waiting to be unleashed.

The memory of what had happened came crashing down on her.

The beating. The blood. The agony.

She should be dead.

Victoria and her friends had left her to die. They had laughed while she bled, had mocked her cries, had called her useless, pathetic, weak.

But she wasn't weak anymore.

A growl built in her chest, low and dangerous, shocking her. It wasn't human. It was raw, primal, animalistic. Her hands trembled, but not from fear.

From rage.

A burning fury surged through her, consuming her whole. It was unlike anything she had ever felt before. It wasn't the quiet, suffocating pain of helplessness. It wasn't the silent tears she had cried every night in her dorm room.

It was something new.

Power.

[Your body has fully adapted. Your transformation is complete.]

[You are no longer prey.]

The words sent a shiver down her spine.

She had spent years being nothing more than a victim. Years of being laughed at, beaten, discarded. But now, as she stood there in the darkness, with strength surging through her veins, she knew one thing for certain.

She was done being weak.

She was done being their toy.

A slow, cruel smile curled her lips.

It was their turn to suffer.