The Shifters: Katrina

I was stuck in a trance, watching my adopted mother thrash underneath Coraline's strength. My head was cloudy, nothing comprehensible coming to mind. It was just a loop of; oh my god, it's my mother and she knows, she knows, she knows. If it weren't for the guards yelling my name, I probably would've squeezed the hunters in my grip to death. The two were as white as paper, suffering as I unconciously tightened my hold on them to the point where they were begging for mercy. I nearly dropped them, releasing my grip so quickly they almost flipped out of my hands. Kami and Koren ran over, feeling my distress through telepathy.

"Katrina, what happened? What's wrong?" Koren asked, worry clear on his face. I swallowed, my wings quivering as I met their gazes, pulling my eyes from my mother.

That woman is one of my adopted parents, I told them, my telepathic voice only a whisper. Kami paled, Koren rubbing his hands over his eyes.

"She couldn't be," Kami said frantically, "what huntress would be the mother of a shapeshifter? It's just too ridiculous."

From where Coraline pinned my mother to the ground, those green eyes slid my way.

"Katrina," she croaked, "you've got it all wrong."

Everyone looked my way at that point. I growled, warmth building up in the back of my throat. The taste of fire was a strange one, but not one I minded. Gently placing the two hunters, who probably had crushed ribcages, on the ground, I pushed myself forward onto all fours and stalked over to my mother, glaring daggers at her.

You're a huntress.

She nodded. "I am."

Did you know who I was?

"We know of the original monsters," Marie Roberts said weakly. "We have their records and their prophecies. We knew you would come some day, Katrina."

Hunters having shapeshifter history books? I thought. Well damn. That makes so much sense and so little sense.

"How do you know about that?!" Coraline demanded, one foot on my mother's stomach. When Marie was silent, she grinded her heel into her guts. My mother cried out in pain before holding up a hand, trying to catch her breath.

"Ever since," she sucked in a breath, "your kind started growing in numbers, humans have been tracking down your creators. For a while, there was a fake alliance between the two. The first hunters wrote books about it, and that it where we have our records from. Some were even written by shapeshifter scholars who didn't know they were the enemy."

Around me, the elites looked amazed. All of their history was with their enemies, and they hadn't even known it. The stories of their elusive four originals; Elegance, Ferocity, Loyalty and Pride. The swan, the tigress, the wolf and the bear. Speaking of which, I'd never gotten the rest of the story from Rachel.

"Why did you adopt Katrina?" Coraline asked next. My attention shifted back to them, my ears peeled for the answer.

Marie glanced at me as she said it. "Because I knew she was one of you. I wanted to protect such an innocent child. I prayed that she was weak, that she could fly under the radar."

Tears built up in my eyes, which I didn't know was possible as a dragon. One slid down my dark scales, and I huffed, smoke trailing from my nostrils.

"Clearly," she croaked, "that's not possible."

I almost felt guilty.

Almost.

I did look away, however, my mind filled with happy memories that were now tainted and gloomy. A question arose in my mind, one that I needed to know the answer to.

Does the rest of our family know? I asked my mother. That I'm a shapeshifter, and you hunt my kind?

She shook her head. "I didn't tell them that you were a monster, sweetie. I didn't want them to hate you, especially after these people took you from us."

I grimaced. My mind was slow and stuck on negativity, my wings folded at my sides as I sulked, head down. Eventually, I was upset enough to shift back, the transition happening just as smoothly as before. Running a hand through my hair, I tried to tame the brown curls, my eyes locking with my mother's.

"Who knew such a pretty body hid such a large monster," my mother said sadly. There were even tears in her eyes. "If I could, I'd put you down like a rabid pet, sweetheart. I love you enough to do that."

A rabid pet.

Bile rose in my throat, and I doubled over, hand pressed over my mouth. Tears streamed down my cheeks, and I nearly fell forward. I was sick to my stomach hearing those words. Fighting back the urge to scream, vomit, or attack her, all I had left was the saddest reaction. Sob my heart out.

"You can't just say that," I cried. "I'm still a person, Mom, how could you even say that with a straight face? I'm your daughter."

She shrugged. "My daughter was the troublesome little girl who was human. The second you turned into that dragon, you changed. Katrina, sweetie, you can't be my daughter," my mother said gently, "I'm human."

"I'm human too!"

I was screaming. "We all are! We're human, even if we have a little extra. This isn't our fault, why don't you guys get that? Damn it, we barely even leave this place!"

The elites were stunned into silence, and even Coraline backed off. She stepped away, motioning for everyone on the streets to give us some space. She and the guards stood around the other two hunters, mouths glued shut as my mother hobbled to her feet.

"I adopted you to try protecting a little angel of a girl who may or may not be a part of a race of predators," my mother explained slowly. "I accepted that girl as my daughter. You, however, are one of the most dangerous of them all, Katrina. You're a threat to everyone, even Raymond, Mia and Felix. What control do you even have over yourself?"

None, was the answer, but I wasn't going to tell her that.

"Do you want to know something, Mom? I gave in and left with these people because I thought that if I didn't, hunters would be storming our doorstep to get to me and the rest of our family."

I paused, taking a step toward her. She tensed.

"I left because I thought I was weak, and a liability. That staying with you back home would get us all killed," I continued softly, taking another step. "I vowed to train and become stronger than any other shifter out there, so I could go back home without worrying that I'd get you killed."

"Surprisingly noble of you," Marie scoffed.

You're my mother, I wanted to scream, why are you against me? Why did you do this?!

Instead, I growled. "I've had so many classes, so much extra training, so many arguments with myself. Everyone here thinks I'm out of control. They think I'm different because, well, for fuck's sake, I guess I am."

"They don't praise you, tell you you're the key to taking over?" She asked, her voice filled with scorn.

My hands balled into fists. "No, they don't! But you want to know what they do?

"They accept me anyway. I have friends here. Allies and teachers. And they all like me for who I am, Mom. You wanted a shifter that was weak and suppressed. But guess what, these guys took one look at me as a freaking dragon and said, calm down, we can help you. Not, you're a monster, you're not what I wanted."

A tear slid down my cheek, and I knew my face was red from anger and frustration. My breath was heavier, my chest deflating as I stared at her. Her face was expresionless, her chin held high as if she saw me as a simple pest.

I blinked, and there was a fireball hovering on one side of me. I saw the reflection in her eyes, saw her fear. In a split second, there was a spike of pure, densely packed ice on my other side.

"I'm disappointed," Marie scoffed.

I snorted.

"That's good for you. Want to know what I am?"

Before she could insult me, I laughed, the fire and ice on either side growing larger as I held up my hands, the two floating above either palm.

"I'm a freaking shapeshifter. I'm also an orphan, which you know. However, I'm also someone who can use fire and water, like a little special snowflake. I'm someone who annoys Coraline with my pranks and smashed a bully into a wall. The same girl who got dragged through town by Kami, by the ear in fact. I have talented, loyal friends, but only in this compound! I was thrown in the air by a snake, and guess what, I've been here for an entire month. I'm the person that people spread rumours about, that slides down the staircase banister everyone morning, that secretly joined a duel, and that finally found a place where people don't hate my guts.

"I'm a shapeshifter from Iluita.

"And I will kill you if I have to, mother."