The Shifters: Katrina

Rage built up in an instant, my vision swimming as my exhausted mind didn't fight the transformation. While crouched over Victoria protectively, I shifted cleanly into a dragon. It took under a few seconds, the easiest transformation I had. The bruised woman was underneath my scaly stomach as I balanced on my four legs, tail flicking from side to side. My mouth parted, saliva dripping from razor-sharp teeth as I glared down the remaining three hunters.

"Katrina, wait!"

I ignored Tyree as I leapt clean over Molly and her protectors, placing my large reptilian body between them and the hunters. I sneered, flames building up in my throat.

"Holy cow," one of the hunters gasped, "they never mentioned mystical creatures too."

That's because they never knew I could exist, I thought, not realizing telepathy worked with regular people as well. The three hunters screamed, shakily pointing their weapons at me. One grabbed a phone from their pocket, pressing it to the side of their face.

"We're going to need that backup. I repeat; we need backup!"

I snarled, a spew of flames aimed toward the hunters leaving my throat. They screamed again, one of them completely scorched while the other two managed to avoid the worst of it.

"Katrina, don't kill them!" Kami yelled.

Oops, I thought to myself. I lifted one taloned, scaly foot, swinging it toward the scorched person. The shifters behind me screamed, the other hunters unable to save their comrade. They watched as I batted the hunter from side to side, dust covering the person's clothing. I then snapped at the other two, catching their jackets in my teeth. I threw them upward, slamming my large paw into their flying bodies. The two of them joined the third on the ground, groaning in pain. Something must've been broken, for each hunter had blood splotched along their shirts. I tried to laugh, sparks flying from my mouth as I lifted one foot and leaned forward, planning to squish them in half.

The idea of killing three people didn't make me hesitate one bit.

Only one person's cry did.

"Stop! Katrina, no!" A desperate voice screamed. It was Molly, looking up at me from the dirt. She was bloody and bruised, but managed to seem imposing all at once. "Don't kill them out of rage. It makes you into a monster, Katrina."

But I thought I was a monster. They certainly think so.

"Don't let them be right," she pleaded. I gradually returned my foot to the ground, fixing a deadly glare on the three hunters. The guards behind me sagged forward with relief, the three hunters falling to their knees after ice suddenly appeared below them. They slid around and were unable to get back up.

"We have to take them to Coraline," Koren decided. "Katrina, how long can you hold that form?"

I shrugged, which was surprisingly difficult when I was on all fours. It doesn't seem to be wearing off.

The wolf shifter nodded. "Grab those three, fly over to Coraline's. Can you do that?"

I tested my wings, giving an experimental flap. Once everything seemed to be working naturally, I hovered over the hunters and grabbed one in either of my front feet, the last screaming as I gently picked them up with my teeth, holding them in between my jaws. I could've held them by their clothing, but it was more fun hearing them panic. The elites worked on helping the injured back to Coraline's, Molly's weight shared between most of the team as they carried her as gently as they could. Victoria had help from Tyree, the parrot shifter limping and grimacing in pain. My friend sent me worried glances, but I assured her with a telepathic smile that I was fine.

When we got to Coraline's, the leader was pressed up against the glass wall of her office, staring out blankly. She gaped at me as I flew into her line of sight, wings flapping at an even pace as I tilted my head from side to side, exposing my three captives. The cheetah promptly ran down the stairs and outside, eyes as large as saucers as she took in the injured guards, the two of us teenage students, and the three hunter hostages. As I landed, I sat back on my butt with careful balance, keeping a tight grasp on the three regular people.

"You can put them down, Katrina," the leader said, looking much tinier when I was in this form. I bent forward, slowly spitting the one in my mouth onto the ground. It was a woman, her face covered by a cloth. The other two remained in my grip.

"Well, one's enough to interrogate," Coraline shrugged. "Take Molly and Victoria to the emergency ward, then everyone else better come back. I'll need your reports. Tyree, that includes you. Katrina and I will wait."

The guards and my friend nodded, rushing off to the ward Coraline mentioned. Turns out, it was one of the buildings beside hers, and the rest of them were back in no time.

"Alright," the cheetah said, stretching upward and cracking her back. "Let's see who this woman is."

I thought nothing of it when she reached forward and grabbed the edge of the woman's hood.

Nothing of it when the huntress scrambled to get away, suddenly panicked.

Nothing of it when Coraline pinned her with incredible strength, tearing off the hood with one foul swoop.

Then, I thought a hell of a lot of things.

Most of all, I thought; holy shit.

The dark hair and bright green eyes. The wrinkles around her mouth from years of laughing. A silver chain around her neck, probably holding a silver and gold infinity charm, though it was covered by her shirt. The same scar along her hand that I hadn't focused on before, one from when she tripped down the stairs while I was in fourth grade.

The huntress was one person. One person I knew extremely well.

Mom?!