Red Room ₪ Breaking Dawn Fanfiction

𝐖𝐨𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠

Chapter Four — 𝐖𝐨𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠

We're all more than the person we show to everyone else. At least I hope so. Because I feel like there's more to me than that. I just haven't had the chance yet to show it.

—— Jessi Kirby, Golden

We stood in the clearing beneath a silver sky, the kind of twilight that made the pines hum with a quiet power. A crisp wind rustled through the trees, brushing against our skin like an invitation from the wild.

Leah had been pacing, barefoot and restless, her long limbs taut with tension. She didn't speak much, but I could feel the questions weighing on her chest, just waiting for me to pick them up and crack them open.

"Want to know the truth about imprinting?" I asked suddenly, breaking the silence.

Leah froze. Her head snapped in my direction, eyes narrowed.

"What?" she asked, her voice low but alert.

"Imprinting is about control," I said, stepping toward her. "It's a leash dressed up like destiny. It's a way of keeping us, shifters, protectors, warriors tethered to something. To someone. To a cause. We're not meant to live forever. We were created to protect the tribe when the cold ones are near. Imprinting was designed to make sure we fulfilled that purpose, kept us grounded, docile, just long enough to finish the job. Then? Return to normal."

Leah's eyes darkened, her jaw clenching. "But that's not going to happen, is it?" she muttered. "This area's practically vampire central now."

"Yeah," I said, exhaling. "I wouldn't hold my breath for normal. Not anytime soon."

She looked down at her hands, flexing them like she could feel something just beneath the skin, wild, rising, unformed. "So if I imprint, then I can get pregnant?" she asked, her voice quieter now, uncertain.

"Yes," I replied, "but honestly? You don't need imprinting to carry a child. The women in the skinwalker tribe I found, none of them ever imprinted. And they had children. Healthy ones. Strong."

She looked at me sideways. "What do you mean?"

"I mean it's a myth that imprinting is required for reproduction. That lie keeps us from realizing our full autonomy." I paused, gauging her reaction. "You could try with one of the boys who hasn't imprinted yet. It would work."

Her eyes widened. "You're not serious."

"What?" I shrugged. "I know it would work. We can test it. I'll convince one of the guys to sleep with me and we'll see if I get pregnant."

Leah blinked at me like I'd lost my mind, and then unexpectedly, she started to laugh. It was sharp and sudden, like the sound surprised even her.

"Let's try it," she said, grinning now, something reckless gleaming in her expression.

"Okay," I said, smiling back, though I was half-joking.

We both fell into silence again. This time, it was softer. The edge had dulled between us.

"Why did you come back?" Leah asked after a long beat.

I turned toward her, watching the shadows gather along the forest floor. "I had a dream. It told me to come back. I was needed here for you."

Her brows lifted. "For me?"

I nodded. "I've had dreams like that before. Dreams that feel like messages. From the ancestors. I think that's how I knew where to find the tribe of female shifters. I think that's why I'm here now."

Leah looked away, swallowing hard. "Are you upset? About being a shifter?"

"I was," I admitted. "I used to wake up angry every single day. At my body. At my life. But I've come to accept it. I understand now that my pain had a purpose. It shaped me into what I needed to become."

"I hope I can find that," Leah said. "That kind of peace. That clarity."

I looked at her, really looked. Her posture was stiff, her muscles trembling just beneath her skin. She was on the edge of something bigger than pain or anger. Something wild. Sacred.

"You will," I told her. "Do you want to try now?"

She hesitated. "Try what?"

"To shift into something else."

Her eyes flared. "You think I'm ready?"

"Your body does," I said. "I can feel it coming off of you like heat. Just close your eyes."

She obeyed. The forest seemed to hold its breath.

"Think of an animal," I whispered. "One you feel drawn to. One that calls to something primal in your chest."

Leah's breathing deepened. I watched her muscles twitch and contract, watched her face contort slightly, sweat breaking at her temples.

"Don't force it," I said gently. "Invite it in. Let your body share space. Let the transformation begin inside you."

And then it happened.

Her body began to shimmer, no, shudder in a way that defied physics. Bones groaned. Skin rippled. Hair spread in uneven patches down her arms, her back. She let out a half-sob, half-snarl.

Her eyes snapped open and they were no longer human.

A mountain lion stood where Leah had been.

Golden eyes. Lithe body. Long tail twitching like a metronome of instinct. She was magnificent.

For a moment, she stood still, blinking at her paws. Then she crouched low, her powerful shoulders shifting and she ran.

God, she was fast. She weaved through trees and boulders like she'd been born for it. The forest embraced her, and I could feel the earth beneath my feet vibrate with her joy.

A few minutes later, she returned, loping gracefully into the clearing before shifting back. It was slow and painful, but when she was standing there again, naked and gasping, she was laughing.

"I did it," she breathed.

"You did."

"I felt—" She struggled for the words. "I felt free. Like I wasn't just stuck in this one shape. Like I could choose."

"You can," I said. "That's what makes us different from the wolves. We aren't bound to one thing, one destiny. We're fluid. We're fire. We're women."

Leah fell to her knees, overcome. "Thank you," she whispered.

I knelt beside her. "You're stronger than you think, Leah. And you're not alone anymore."

She turned toward me, eyes still wild. "Do you think I'll ever find someonewithout imprinting?"

"I do," I said. "And if you don't? That's okay too. You already belong to yourself. That's more than most people ever get."

The wind picked up again, brushing through the clearing. This time, Leah didn't flinch. She stood tall. Proud.

We left the clearing together, side by side, two shapeshifters with ancient blood, writing our own legends.

And for the first time in a long time, I felt like we were walking toward something instead of running away.