Shapeshifter *ON HOLD*

Prologue

Hey peeps! This is my first book on wattpad and I hope you like it. I'm also currently working on Stranded with IDKqueens. AAAAAANYWAYS, I hope you ENJOY MY BOOK!!!!!

This is a work of fiction. Any names, characters, and places are either a part of the author's imagination, or are used fictiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, are completely coincidental.

No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any way without permission from the author.

I do not own the cover picture. (Picture is from AliExpress.)

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Agnes hid behind a hazel tree, watching a chipmunk with its puffy cheeks.

"...9...10! Ready or not, here I come!" the sound of a child taking off, tromping on fallen leaves reached her ears.

She inhaled deeply, taking in the smell of the woods. The pungent aroma of cedar, saccharine fragrance of berries, with the minty edge of resin wafted up to her nose. Shafts of sunlight tumbled out from between the exuberant treetop leaves, becoming luminous pools on the ground. The wind combed through her light brown hair, ruffled her clothes. The warbling of birds and the incessant chirps of crickets composed an enchanting song.

Then she heard footfalls.

The irking crunch of friable undergrowth sounded as two sinister green eyes peeked out from behind a tree. A coyote gamboled towards Agnes, pausing a few steps before her.

Agnes, being only four at the time, had never seen a coyote. She thought it kind of had the appearance of Gray, her neighbour's husky. She giggled, her arm elongating to pet it.

She didn't know this feeling bursting in her chest. It was heartwarming and comforting, and she couldn't help but smile. She fought the urge to wrap her arms around it for eternity. 

As she gazed at it in wonder, she felt her arms and legs tingle. A blanket of ginger crawled over her, leaving no signs of her delicate white skin. Her senses sharpened, and she whiffed the scent of musk as a breeze raced past. She, disoriented, dropped to all fours. Immediately, strength surged through her, and she gasped in wonder.

She opened her jaws to call her parents, but all that came out was a low growl. She tried to stand up, but her legs buckled underneath her.

Terror snatched her lungs, ice enclosed her limbs. Her mind was in the thrall of disarray. Panicked, she glanced down at her hands.

But they were no longer there.

Instead, serrated claws glinted in the light. Perturbed, she dashed to where her mom and dad were, wailing and howling.

Halfway there, her body started shuddering violently. Her face twisted with pain, she screamed for help.

This time, she found her voice.

"MOM! DAD!"

Then she realized she was sprawled on the ground, her hands over her head. Struggling to her feet, she sighted her mom slashing apart shrubs to get to her.

Her mom knelt down beside her, putting her hands on Agnes's shoulders. Her eyes were full or worry.

"Agnes, what happed? You're so pale. Oh sweetie, I heard you screeching and I came as fast as possible."

"I was a husky thing. I couldn't stand up and I couldn't talk and I was so scared mommy!" Agnes explained.

Her mom shook her head, a laugh escaping her lips. "Don't be silly. It's not worth being afraid of these little games."

Agnes knew, her mom would never understand. No matter how many times she explained, her mom remained unbelieving.

From that day on, she knew that this would just have to be kept a secret. She hoped that this was only a dream, yet she knew too well it wasn't. She shoved it aside, forgetting it for merely a while---since as she grew, she had experienced it more and more. She had shifted into a trout at the cottage. She had turned into a horse at her horseback riding camp. She had nearly murdered her parents when she shifted into a sea snake at Cuba. The thing was, she couldn't control it. No matter how hard she tried to suppress her emotions, she would just shift. Worst was, as she was in a different form, she behaved like it too.

After reading about shapeshifting and knowing it was a forbidden and long-lost power, she thought that no one would ever understand her, and that everyone would hate her.

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