☽ Chapter 12: A Shift in Life ☾

?Chapter 12 – A Shift in Life?

Morning comes quicker than I thought as light streams in from the large window and into my eyes. After Ira’s last words to us, Alex and I concluded that no matter what, we would create our own pack. I will accept my birth father when I meet him and build a relationship with him and any family from either side of my true mother and father. But the thought of joining another pack over being able to create my own brought a sense of unease. I know this unease comes from never wanting to be under someone else’s power again. Looking at Alex, who is still fast asleep beside me, I smile and silently creep out of bed before I tiptoe to the door and make my way out into the hallway. My goal is to shift for the first time consciously and figure out how to move in my wolf form. The halls of the Temple of the Goddess twist and turn, making it hard for me to find any exit to the outside where I can shift without worry of accidentally destroying something. Every time I try a new hallway after retracing my steps from a dead end, I find myself at another dead end. Whoever built this temple is a genius at creating security features with the maze-like halls, but also an asshole since it’s too easy to get lost in here. Finally, a member of the Temple Acolyte notices my lost and confused self, taking the time to talk with me and guiding me to the nearest exit much to my relief. Fresh air surrounds me quickly as I take in the view of a clearing full of wildflowers mixed with moonflowers. Large trees surround the clearing, their fall colours indicating winter will be coming faster than expected, adding to the beauty surrounding the Temple. Old Canadian maples, large birch, many species of straight pines and many sturdy oak trees in the forest before me that I could not wait to run through capture my attention the most. The scent of pure nature brings a comfort to me that no place other than the Hidden Valley has brought. “If you need anything else, Miss Geminie, let a member of the Temple know.” The she-wolf brings my attention back to her and away from the beauty of the forest. After thanking her, the Temple Acolyte walks back inside, leaving me alone to bask in the peaceful nature. With a smile, I make my way closer to the forest, the sun warm against my skin and the cool soft grass tickling my feet. The carefree feeling I have never felt until now feels so liberating. I take a moment to sit in the clearing, the scent of wildflowers mixed with the scent of maple and pine surrounding me. I understand why the temple was set up here after the first Moon Goddess ascended her position, and why wolves use it as a sanctuary to escape a horrible pack. It brings a sense of security and calmness to one’s mind and soul, a place to be closer to the Moon Goddess, to my mother. This also makes the perfect setting to consciously shift for the first time. I jump to my feet and stretch, a grin of excitement on my face thinking about finally being able to run in wolf form and what my wolf may look like. I take a deep breath, letting the calming scent of my surroundings wash over me as my mind is cleared of everything but the shift. My body will change from human to beast, paws hitting the forest floor and running past the trees, wind flowing through fur. And then the pain comes. Falling onto my hands and knees, I feel my spine contort and bones snap as the pain causes me to open my mouth in a silent scream. Tears flow from my eyes, and fearing for my life, I fight against the shift. But fighting only makes the pain worse. My heart begins to beat faster as if my body is fighting death itself. “Let it happen.” A deep husky voice calls out, causing me to turn and face the owner of it. Leaning against the nearest oak tree is a tall male dressed in a navy V-neck shirt and dusty jeans. A pair of black hiking boots on his feet. His body screams of a powerful male, with sun-tanned skin that I know, even if he were to hide inside for a month, would never change in colour and long black hair pulled back into a bun on his head. Traces of tattoos peek from the collar of his shirt, and an easygoing grin graces his lips. “If you keep fighting the shift, you’ll kill yourself. You don’t seem like the type to give up your life, so accept the shift. Accept the pain and take a deep breath.” He continues, pushing off from the tree and slowly walking towards me. I feel no malice or threat in him towards me, only amusement and concern. I whimper from the pain but nod in understanding and close my eyes. I think about the shift, accepting it as the speed of my bones breaking moves from a slow torture that has me wishing for death to a breakneck speed, a speed that, although painful, is gone in a split second. My body realigns itself with each break and shift in bones, my face elongates into that of a muzzle, and my hair retreats into my scalp while fur sprouts from my skin. Soon, I find myself panting, laying in the clearing with remnants of the nightgown I was wearing now, nothing but torn rags around me. “Better, Little Wolf?” The mysterious man asks with a chuckle. I nod in response, letting out a sigh and rolling around on the grass happily. It felt liberating in fur form, more natural to me. The man chuckles at my pup-like actions, his dark, forest- green eyes never leaving my form even as I lay back quietly, my tail thumping against the earth. “Why don’t you try standing and testing out your legs?” He suggests, getting a yip of approval from me in response and another chuckle from him. A small pang shoots through my heart with his constant chuckling, thinking about the mate bond I had lost days ago due to the rejection. Although the mystery man is attractive and definitely the definition of a true man, my heart still yearned for the bond of my soulmate, even if my brain knows it will never happen. I guess my emotions must have shown on my wolfish face as I soon find fingers running through my fur in a comforting manner. “What or whoever made you sad and seek sanctuary here, Little Wolf, they aren’t worth it. You have a beautiful wolf form and a bright future ahead of you. I can feel it.” His compliment and gentle words settle the pain in my heart. This stranger is right; Mika did not deserve me after the years of pain he put me through. I will do better than Hidden Claws. “Now, about that standing thing.” The subject changes, causing me to roll my eyes at this friendly stranger as he slowly backs away from me, giving me enough space to move but close enough that I feel like he will catch me if something happens. I knew from my rolling around earlier that I can move in some form, but standing would be another challenge to me. Assessing each limb gingerly, stretching, and moving to see the strength I have, I slowly push my body off the ground. Some attempts leave me tumbling back to the soft grass, happy to be close to the ground already, until finally, on shaky, unsteady legs, I finally stand. Throughout my attempts to stand, which I assume took about thirty minutes, give or take, the man before me laughed every time I fell or my paw slipped out from under me, causing me to growl in frustration at his “moral support.” “I’m going to take a guess and say you are new at this, Little Wolf.” He states with a deep chuckle. I roll my eyes at him and respond silently, Thank you for pointing that out, Captain Obvious. I think wishing I could link him this sarcastic retort but sadly cannot. The eye roll seems to elicit another chuckle from this friendly jerk, and I let out a small growl at him. “Okay, okay. I get it, not amusing.” He surrenders, hands up as he backs away with a grin. “Why don’t you try walking towards me now? See how your legs feel and if you can get used to the new coordination you’ll have to perform in wolf form.” Now, this was helpful, and I nod at his words. I slowly move my front left leg, testing my balance first while lifting it into the air and slowly putting it back down, repeating the same movement with each leg in turn. I’d be an idiot to start confidently walking right away, knowing I would fall flat on my snout and cause this man to burst into a laughing fit at my expense. Of course, every now and then, I had to shake my head to move the long tuft of fur from my eyes so as not to impede my progress. That’s when the stranger steps in and uses an extra hair tie to keep the hair out of my eyes and lets me resume testing my balance once more. Once confident enough with my balance, I take my first step. Then another, and another. At first, I am wobbling like a newborn dear, feeling like at any moment, my legs will give out. But once muscle memory kicks in, my walking speed slowly increases, and I find myself less cautious of each step. Within another five steps, it feels like I’ve been walking in wolf form since the day I was born. As natural as breathing, I confidently trot towards the man, my tongue lolling out the left side of my mouth as happiness fills me. I watch as he slowly backs away from me, close enough to catch me if necessary, but always moving and making me move towards him until he stops, and I find myself standing in front of him, feeling triumphant at this accomplishment. His hands ruffle my fur, removing the hair tie from it as the long tuft falls in place once again. "Good job, Little Wolf! Now smile." His word of praise fills my ears, and they quickly perk up, my tail thumping on the ground happily. A sudden flash and sound of a shutter follow quickly, making me jump and growl in surprise. "Sorry, Little Wolf. I didn’t mean to scare you, but I thought you would like to see what you look like." He apologizes while turning the latest Samsung screen towards me. My eyes widen as I take a look at the live photo, a pure white wolf clearly depicted. Her silver grey eyes hold a look of confidence and triumph in their depth. Her white fur is full and healthy, the gentle breeze flowing through it and causing the sun to reflect off of it like a prism. Hues of different colours constantly change direction in the live photo, where each ray of sun hits the wildflowers dancing around her. A tuft of long fur, almost like bangs, covers the left side of her face. The final touches are the small patches of silver fur with swirls and stars climbing up part of her paws. She is beautiful! No, I am beautiful. “Have you had enough staring?” The man asks, and I nod, moving my eyes from the screen to him and watching as he puts his phone away and takes off his shirt and pants. Happy for the fur covering my face, I blush and turn to look away, hearing another of his deep chuckle at my reaction. “How about we play, Little Wolf!” He exclaims playfully, the sounds of his own shift making me whip my head in his direction, where I now see a pure black wolf with a tuft of fur in the shape of a diamond in the center of his forehead. His forest-green eyes hold a hint of playfulness, and his teeth nip at my “bangs” before he takes off, me hot on his trail as the chase ensues.