Free Trust: A Twisted Wolf Tale by Rene Folsom

had done so many times before, demanding I leave her room and keep my mouth shut. But, much to my surprise, she gave a weary sigh and stood.
    “It’s… a difficult tale,” she said, walking over to the bed and sitting down on the opposite end of it from me, her words a slight stutter as she contemplated how to word it properly. I swung my legs over, letting my book rest on the pillow as I addressed all of my attention to her.
    “You don’t have to tell me,” I said softly, reaching out to take her hand. Instead of jerking away like I expected, she held on to me, her fingers curling around mine. “If you’re not ready to talk about it…”
    “No,” she said, interrupting me as she shook her head, tears glistening in her eyes. I felt horrible for having caused her to cry. Someone so beautiful should never be so sad… “You deserve to know. I’ve kept so many secrets from you. It’s only fair I share with you my biggest one.”
    “I—”
    “Please.” She squeezed my hand, silencing me with a pleading smile. “Do not talk. Just listen.  I haven’t told anyone about this before, so just give me time to get it out.”
    Pressing my lips together, I sat still, waiting patiently for her to push the fear aside and let the words flow.
    “I was not born like this. As hard as this will be to believe, I was cursed… by a witch. A witch that was jealous of me.”
    “She was jealous of you?”
    Karoline gave me a look, and I zipped my trap shut.
    “Before I was… transformed, I used to be beautiful. My family moved to America when I was very young, so I spent nearly my whole life in a little town called Robin Valley. When I got older, I became the most beautiful girl around, and I knew it. I was the foreign girl with a dimpled smile, and everyone loved me. I grew up listening to the praises of all the boys in school, and it went straight to my head. I became cruel to the other girls, treating them as if they were my enemies. Not only that, but I treated boys like they were objects I could toy with, and I did just that—never loving, only using. I was a bully, and I didn’t care. My family had money, influence, and everyone wanted some of it from me. I was the most popular girl around, and because of that, I thought I was invincible. That is, until I met the witch…
    “She was somewhat of a pretty girl in her own right, but not very liked by my circle of friends—although friends is a bad word to use for the people I used to associate with. Her family didn’t have as much money as I did, and she didn’t quite blossom as quickly as I did when we were teens, so I had taken that as an invitation to antagonize her. Her and her twin sister seemed to be opposite in everything but their looks, but that didn’t keep me from being a beast to both of them. I bullied them, particularly the one girl, for a long time, thinking of it all as nothing more than a game—a sick, fucked-up game.
    “She came to me one night, in my bedroom. I was shocked and confused, because she didn’t seem the same. She seemed… radiant, glowing with power. She told me that it was time I was punished for the things I had done, and she cast a spell on me. I was turned into what you see before you, this hideous beast that resembled what I looked like on the inside. I will never forget what she said to me that night after I was changed… ‘What lied within is now shown on the outside. You are forever cursed to walk this earth as you are now. A beast is all you ever were, Karoline Webber, and now you will know what it’s like to wear your personality on your skin.’ ”
    She remained quiet for a moment after that, staring down at our interlocked fingers as moisture continued to rest at the corners of her eyes. She sniffed, shaking her head slightly and turning back to me. “I’m cursed like this forever, and it’s all because of how I used to be. I was cruel, manipulative, and a downright bitch. I deserve this, and I always