A shifter child

I stood there, hidden by the thick trunk of the oak tree, my breath catching in my throat. Around the corner, in a small, open patch of sunlit grass, Elias was playing. But he wasn't alone. He was with a group of little wolves.

He was down on his knees, rolling on the grass as they piled onto him. They were no older than six or seven, their cheer growl echoing in the quiet courtyard.

Some of them would suddenly change, from their human form for a second, then popping back into wolves, tumbling over Elias. 

He moved with them easily, making soft, rumbling sounds in his chest, sounds that were nothing like the harsh, cold words he used for me. 

He gently pushed one child away who got too rough, then pulled another close. It was a side of him I had never, ever imagined. 

The fearsome Alpha, the man who had stared at me with such icy hatred, was being gentle, letting these small, lively creatures climb all over him. He even ruffled one child's fur softly when they tumbled. 

The scene was so unexpected, so completely different from everything I knew about him, that it stopped me dead in my tracks. My heart, which had just begun to beat normally again after the confrontation in the dining hall, now pounded a new rhythm of surprise and confusion.

I stayed still, hidden by the tree, watching this strange sight. It felt wrong, like seeing something I wasn't meant to see. This wasn't the Elias I knew. This wasn't the monster. 

My mind struggled to put the two images together, the cruel Alpha who kept me prisoner, and this soft, playful man who seemed to genuinely care for these children. 

The contradiction was startling, a jarring crack in the simple, clear hate I had felt for him. For a moment, all my carefully built walls of anger and defiance wavered, just for a moment, as I tried to understand this new piece of information. 

How could someone be so gentle with these creatures, yet so cold to me?

As I watched, one of the smaller children, a curious little girl with bright, dark eyes, stopped playing with Elias. Her tiny nose twitched, sniffing the air, and then her head turned. 

She saw me. Her small face lit up with an excited smile, and without a second thought, she started to trot, then bound playfully towards me, her little legs a blur. 

Just before she reached me, she quickly shimmered, her body briefly taking on a small, furry wolf.

My heart slammed against my ribs. A cold dread, far worse than any I had felt before, washed over me. This was a shifter. Its innocent approach felt like a direct threat, a creeping darkness reaching out for me.

All my life, every single day, I had been taught to fear them, to despise them. My body froze, but my mind began to scream.

Father's voice echoed in my head, cold and unforgiving. I remember how he locked me away for days, in the underground storeroom, with no food or water and continuous whipping from him. Why? Because I had simply come too close to one tiny, harmless shifter child, just like this one. 

The memory of the chilling loneliness, the aching hunger, and the pure terror of his raging face filled me completely. My chest felt tight, as if an invisible hand was squeezing the air from my lungs.

The little wolf was closer now, its small paws reaching out, its face full of curiosity. It let out a soft growl, its big, dark eyes looking up at me. 

But all I saw was the monster, the primal, deep fear that had been hammered into me since I was a small child. 

"GET AWAY!" I screamed, my voice raw and broken, a sound I didn't know I could make. It tore from my throat, sharp and desperate. 

My body began to shake uncontrollably, my knees felt weak, and cold sweat broke out on my forehead. I stumbled backwards, desperate to put as much space as possible between myself and the terrifying, wolf child. 

I felt dizzy, like the world was spinning too fast. The air felt thick, impossible to breathe. I clutched at my chest, my lungs burning, feeling as though the walls of the courtyard were closing in, trapping me with this monster. 

My vision blurred around the edges, everything narrowing to the small wolf that was too close.

The little wolf, which had only wanted to play, froze. Its eyes widened with confusion. It looked utterly confused, tilting its head, as if unsure why the strange woman was making such loud, frightening noises. Its happy growl died in its throat.

A split second later, a much larger shadow fell over me. Elias. He had heard my scream. In an instant, he was no longer playing. His expression was a mixture of intense surprise and immediate alarm. 

His eyes, usually so cold and hard, were wide with something I couldn't quite place. It could have been shock, maybe even concern, mixed with a hint of confusion at my extreme reaction.

He moved incredibly fast. In an instant, he was between me and the confused little wolf. He didn't say anything to her, but his hand reached out to me, gently, almost hesitantly, and took my arm. 

His touch was firm, steady, but it lacked the usual harshness. His gaze searched my face, seeing the pure, raw terror, the wide, unseeing eyes of a woman truly gripped by panic. My body was still shaking uncontrollably, every muscle screaming.

"Easy," he said, his voice lower than I'd ever heard it, almost a soft rumble, clearly meant to calm me. "It's just a child. It won't hurt you."

"Get it away from me!" I shrieked, my voice barely human, pushing weakly against his hand. 

The words tumbled out, raw and uncontrolled, fueled by the overwhelming fear that now consumed me. The world began to spin faster, and my legs, already trembling, finally gave out beneath me. I felt myself falling.

Elias reacted quickly. Before I could hit the ground, his strong arms were around me. He swept me up, lifting me effortlessly into his hold. 

My head swam, and the panic tightened its grip, squeezing my chest. My vision narrowed, focusing only on the distant, confused child, then on Elias's broad chest, which felt surprisingly solid and warm. 

I could hear his heartbeat, a steady thump against my ear, a stark contrast to the frantic, wild rhythm of my own heart threatening to beat out of my chest.

"I'm sorry, Father, please don't lock me up!" I mumbled frantically, the words repeating themselves, a desperate plea from my childhood terror. "Please, I didn't touch it! Don't lock me up! I'm sorry! Don't lock me up! I didn't mean to, Father! It came to me! Please!" The words spilled out like a broken dam, a torrent of old fear and shame, blurring the present moment with the crushing memories of my past punishments. 

I squeezed my eyes shut, trying to think of something else, anything to make the terrifying image of the shifter child disappear.

He carried me through the quiet halls, his gaze fixed straight ahead, an unreadable expression on his face. The little child, abandoned and still confused, was left behind in the courtyard, watching us go.

Elias didn't stop, didn't slow his pace, didn't ask a single question. He just carried me, his powerful arms holding me securely, all the way back to the relative safety of my chambers.