Large, thick paws flexed against the stone dais. My paws. Long silver claws caught the sunlight and refracted it into tiny rainbows. My arms—forelegs—were covered in snowy white fur that continued across the rest of me. Above the ankles, faint streaks of pale blue ran like veins of ice through the fur. I lifted a foreleg and wobbled slightly.

  My body isn’t humanoid anymore.

  I put my foot down and stood on four sturdy legs, lean and muscular but covered in enough thick fur to look invitingly plush. A great bushy tail arced behind me, flicking, mirroring my irritation. It was huge—almost as long as the rest of my body—and tipped with a swirl of frosty blue at the end.

  This is not what I meant when I said closest to the body of my last life. He took me literally and made me similar to my demon wolf form. “Other monsters” makes sense now.

  I turned in a slow circle. As I shifted my weight, the muscles along my shoulder rolled outward in a way that felt oddly loose, as if the joint could open wider than I expected. Every breath I took was visible, little puffs of white vapor leaking from my very lupine snout. My torso was compact and muscular, with a slight narrowness at the waist that hinted at my old beastkin frame. I was still pretty big, probably seventy-six inches tall at the shoulder.

  I caught sight of several reflective icy pillars. I got a good look at myself through the closest one.

  My neck was a thick column of muscle, crowned by a sharp-edged, angular, wolfish face with keen, glacial-blue eyes. Tufts of icy-blue fur radiated like a mane from my shoulders, giving me the hint of a vaguely leonine silhouette. On top of my head, my ears twitched automatically.

  I flicked my head back and smirked. At least I look good.

  Heavy stone slabs, hand-chiseled and uneven, stood around me. The dais where I stood was the centerpiece. The five pillars circled it, and above them, an open sky stared back with dull grey, overcast with clouds that were rolling in, prepared to block the sun. As I looked around, I was standing in a clearing of trees that encircled the shrine.

  Jagged coatings of ice waves looked like they exploded from where I was standing. It was starting to melt and drip to the ground.

  A sound caught my attention, and I instantly snapped my head in the direction. A tiny figure skidded into view, almost tripping over a chunk of fallen masonry.

  A kid?

  He was no older than twelve or thirteen, by the looks of it. Skinny, with a mop of messy brown hair held down by a hat that was almost too large for his head and cheeks flushed pink. He wore a heavily patched wool coat and scuffed boots tied with different colored laces. A worn satchel bounced against his hip with every excited step.

  Notably, his ears were pointed. Clearly the boy was an elf. But more importantly, he has thumbs!

  He froze when he saw me.

  I froze when I saw him.

  There was a heartbeat of tense silence, broken only by the wind sighing through the leaves. Then, with a breathless squeak, the boy yanked a small, battered book from his satchel, fumbled it open, and started flipping pages so fast the paper crinkled.

  His eyes, wide and shining green, darted between me and the book. “Whoa,” His voice cracked in the middle of the word, making him sound even younger. “You’re not in the beginner section…”

  Beginner section? I blinked slowly as my tail twitched in confusion.

  The boy dropped the book back into the bag and took a cautious step forward. His breath plumed white in the chill air.

  “Um. Hi,” he said, waving both hands above his head. “I’m Keagan. Uh, Keagan Bramble.” He paused, shifting awkwardly from foot to foot. “I—uh, I guess I’m your new partner? I think? I put the disk on the pedestal and said the words and everything just like the book said.”

  What disk? My mind churned sluggishly, still grappling with the sensory overload of being alive again. Then it clicked. The stone disk; it’s just like the one Fraxxas shoved me into. “Partner?”

  Keagan nearly jumped at my word. “Oh, right. Uh, let’s see here.” He scooped up and flipped through his book again. “Step one: your monster first needs a…”

  “Lucia,” I growled. “Call me Lucia, not ‘monster.’ What are you talking about when you say you’re my partner?”

  The boy let out another squeak. His hands shook as he closed the book. “There’s a lot to explain, and I need to get you registered so we can get started. It says that I should do that first so that you don’t get flagged as wild.”

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  I sat down, grimacing at how easy it was to just squat on my hind legs and sit like an actual wolf. Also I noticed that either the boy was short, or I was larger than I thought. I'm still smaller than the wolves of my last world, but those were gigantic. “You can start explaining now, and I’ll go where I want when I’m satisfied.”

  He raised an eyebrow, clearly taken aback by my defiance. “Alright, but you might want to listen closely, because the rules are very important.”

  Keagan tugged the book's leather strap off his wrist and stuffed the whole thing into his satchel, looking nervous but determined.

  “Okay.” He planted his feet like he was about to give a speech at school. “Um. So first thing—monsters like you aren't wild if you get registered with a trainer. Like me! See, if you're wild, then like, hunters and other trainers can come after you, and they’re allowed to kill you.” He grimaced. “So it's way better to be registered, ’cause then you get protection, and you can live in towns and cities and get jobs and everything. Well, not real people jobs. Monster jobs.”

  He paused, as if to check if I was following. His cheeks were red from more than just the cold now.

  I remained perfectly still. So if I want a normal life, don’t be a renegade monster. My goal is to get stronger, and killing wild monsters sounds like it could be fun.

  “Most places got Monster Offices. They’re buildings with the brass signs out front, usually—I think. That's where you register. We just gotta go there, and they'll scan your, uh…” He looked down at his book again. “Your mana signature! It's kinda like a thumbprint but for monsters. I’ll get to see your stats for when we start training together.”

  I tilted my head, my ears flicking. He still thinks I’m his “monster.” There’s got to be someone better for this kid. He needs to try again in another six or seven years. I don’t want a partner, but it sounds like I’ve got to have one, even if in name only.

  Keagan nodded eagerly. “Once you're registered, you're, uh… legal? They give you an official card and everything. And then I can, you know, take you to battles and get you ranked up! Then you get paid, and people treat you way better, and you can even buy stuff from shops.”

  He bounced slightly on his toes, caught up in the excitement.

  “Battles are, uh, everywhere. Big arenas and little pop-up ones too. There's leagues you can join, from Rookie all the way up to Champion. If we win enough matches, we can get into Regionals. And if we win enough regional tournaments, we can get into the Great Cup! And if we win that, we get invited to the World Cup!” His voice cracked again, and he hurriedly cleared his throat, trying to sound serious. “That's my dream. I wanna be a Champion Trainer. I will do it too. No matter what.”

  Keagan's hands balled into white-knuckled fists at his sides.

  I regarded him in silence for a moment. The sky had dimmed slightly, the sun vanishing behind thick clouds that bruised the horizon. The clearing seemed smaller, more closed in now.

  “You’re a kid,” I stated flatly. “Grow up a few more years and try again. Besides, it sounds like you get everything. What do I get out of this arrangement?”

  Keagan scuffed a boot against the ground.

  “That’s a fair question,” he said hurriedly. “Well… trainers don't just own monsters. That's illegal. You’re your own... your own monster. Monsters got rights too.” He said it like he was quoting something he’d had to memorize. “And—and you get stronger. Way stronger. Trainers help you learn new moves, skills, and techniques. Stuff you couldn’t get just wandering around. Plus you get gear. Armor, equipment, tools, power stones…”

  He fumbled with the satchel again and yanked out a frayed pamphlet. Colorful illustrations of smiling, ferocious monsters adorned the cover, holding trophies bigger than their heads. “Be the Best You!” the title proclaimed.

  Keagan thrust it at me like a peace offering.

  “It's not bad,” he said, his voice suddenly small. “I mean, it’s not easy, and sometimes it gets rough, but… it's better than being wild. Or stuck. Or dead.”

  He bit his lower lip, looking me over like he was terrified I’d just laugh at him—or worse, bite his head off.

  I sat there, massive and silent, with my breath curling in soft ribbons around my snout.

  After a long pause, I rumbled, “And you think you’re ready for this?”

  Keagan’s head snapped up, a fierce glint in his brown eyes.

  “I have to be,” he said, almost whispering. “There's nothing else left.”

  Another gust of wind rattled the pillars around us, stirring up little snow devils across the clearing.

  I mulled it over. “Nothing left? Are your parents okay with this?”

  His face darkened and he folded his hands in front of him. “My parents died. There’s no family left for me.”

  I swallowed hard. An orphan, I know how that feels. My mother adopted me. “No orphanages around?”

  He shook his head. His voice quivered as he said, “Our town is too small and I’m not leaving to go to some other city.”

  Now I feel bad for asking. I exhaled a long, slow, misted breath. I can’t leave this kid alone now.

  Keagan wiped his nose on his sleeve and tried to stand taller. “So, um,” he said. “If you're good with that... we should go. Before someone else finds you out here. Hunters patrol this route and sometimes they don’t always wait to ask questions.”

  After a long moment, I gave a slow, deliberate nod. “You’re lucky I’m a nice person.” And I have a weak spot for orphans.

  Keagan’s whole face lit up. “Yes!” he shouted, punching the air. Then he flinched, glancing around like he just realized how loud he was. He ducked his head, grinning sheepishly. “Okay. Okay. Uh... follow me. It’s not too far to the village. We can get you signed up real quick!”

  A twig snapped at the edge of the clearing. Keagan turned and started off through the clearing. He was headed straight towards the source of the sound. I hopped down and sprinted to stand in front of the boy. He slammed into me and landed on his butt.

  I let out a deep growl as my fur rose and my ears flattened. Out walked a two headed monkey with yellow fur and claws. It yowled and howled something incomprehensible. Its eyes were following Keagan.

  Let’s see if I can remember how to do this. Sure, I may be officially a monster now, but I’m not about to let this kid get eaten.

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