Chapter 15: Chapter Fifteen

Cassidy had been waiting for this moment in her life since she could remember. She had been sure when the years had come and gone that she truly had no wolf. There had never been a connection or dreams of her wolf. Nothing. Every sign that should of been there had never made an appearance other than the false heat. Now, however, she could feel her wolf trying to push through. The process was normally very straight forward and simple. Most teenagers would start with dreams that allowed them to see their wolf and feel their wolfs emotions. It gave the pups a chance to come to terms with sharing their mind with the animal side of themselves. To be able to learn over time how to control their wolf and not be lost in a struggle of dominance of the mind. There was never any verbal communications with the wolf soul that would come to merge with them, just emotions, instinct and the automatic knowing of what each other wanted as if they were two sides of one mirror.

The merge of the two souls was not complete until the first shift took place. The first shift was always the most difficult. There was the pain of feeling every bone in your body breaking and reshaping itself to fit the mold of the wolf that had been given by the gods. It could take hours and for some wolves, it took days. Jett had told her at one point when he was explaining the process to her that he had been one of the unfortunate ones where the shift took almost a full thirty six hours. Her older brother had only taken an hour to join with his wolf.

The first wave of pain through her body and the first crack of a bone brought Cassidy wide awake from the fire fueled dreams. The fire in her dreams was through her body, in every fiber of tendon and muscle. She let out a yelp of pain and grabbed her shoulder when the bone broke, sucking in a sharp breath as she lifted her head and focused her eyes on Jett. He was blurry to her, a mass of a body that was moving slow, crawling to the ends of his chain as close as he could get to her. “Cassidy. Listen to me. Just lay still okay? The more you move around, the worse it will be. The longer it will take. Just try to breath.” He advised her from his side of the room.

Breathing was easier said than done as she felt her shattered bone reshaping within her skin and then another bone breaking that had her crying out and beads of sweat dotting her brow. It was just the two of them in the cell, the doctor and guards having left after she had fallen asleep. Cassidy did not have the strength or energy to move from where she lay and there was no other choice but to just give in and accept the shift. Had she been healthy and stronger, not starved for weeks on end, she would have probably fought the process. Bone after bone began to snap, fracture and shatter. The agonizing pain so great that she was writhing on the floor one moment and then curling up into the fetal position the next while her body began to very very slowly take on the grotesque shape of something between woman and beast.

Hours went by of her body re-shaping itself. Jett had tried to coax her through the pain and the beginning of the shifting but Cassidy was so out of her mind with the pain not a word he was saying was getting through so he just lay as close as he could get to her, a silent support for when she could focus.

Halfway through her first shift, it was when Cass first felt her wolf within her mind. It was a strange, curious feeling. Like a pack link being opened up but so much bigger and so much stronger. Her wolf, despite her body's weakness, was strong and confident. The presence was almost comforting in a way as her wolfs emotions began to bleed through, the second half of her soul connecting and taking on some of the pain of the shift from her. Her wolf was a reflection of her yet a counterpart to all her weaknesses. The soul that was coming through was pure alpha in every way. Cassidy marveled at the link in her mind to her wolf, how it was separate but a part of her. They were both a little wary of each other, the souls perfectly balancing each other out for several minutes while her wolf got settled in. Yet once they were comfortable that was when the battle truly started.

Only one could be in control of the mind at one time. Each half could be easily influenced by the other and share each others thoughts, needs and wants in any form they were in. Right now, after being dormant for so many long years, the wolf wanted the freedom she was much overdue for. Cassidy had no warning and did not see it coming when her wolf took control of the mind. There was no fight left in her when the wolf filled her head, desperate to have control and Cassidy quickly felt herself being taken over. It was an easy transition. One second Cassi was in control of herself, bearing the pain of the slow shift and the next, she felt as if she was being quickly pulled through jello and removed from everything that was real. She could only watch as if she was a spectator of her own life.

When her wolf came forward, the rest of the shift was easy and almost instant. Cassidy went silent as she curled up on the ground and fur rippled over her skin. It was white as snow and began short and soft. Her transformation completed easily, the last of the bones morphing and being put in place. She lay on the floor of the cell breathing hard and panting with soft whimpers coming with each breath until the pain and fire in her body eased up.

Jett watched Cassidy closely when her shift began to turn in the favor of the wolf finally and the entire process sped up as Cassidy accepted her wolf. He watched as she transformed while curled up on the ground. Even as a wolf she was small as an alpha and when she slowly tried to stand up her smaller stature was confirmed. What had Jett's full and complete attention and curiosity however, was the silky white fur that had lengthened into a long thick pelt. Wolves did not come in that color. At least not that he had ever seen. Your wolf was a part of you and when you shifted, you shifted into your natural hair color. Cassidy was a deep chestnut haired woman through and through. He stared at her, jaw slack in amazement until Cassidy slowly lifted her head and her honey gold eyes found him and was immediately followed by a low, assertive and annoyed sounding growl that made the hair on his body stand on end.

Cassidy spotted her guardian and her wolf was instantly annoyed with Jett and this entire situation they were in right now. She was slow to get up off the floor the lack of food over the weeks making the she-wolf as sickly thin as her human form was. It did not stop her from going to the man that had been her supposed beta for all of these years since her family had been taken from her. She moved awkwardly, slowly, making sure that every step was sure footed as the new form of the wolf was tested out. Jett did nothing but sit and stare at her as if he had never seen a transformation before and his staring got under her skin enough that she pulled back her lips, baring her lengthy canines at the man and snapping her teeth towards him.

The message was clear. She may have been a small wolf but the complete power behind her growl was a clear answer to any doubt or question that the man had about Cassidy being unfit to be an alpha. Jett hung his head and leaned to the side a little, showing the untethered wolf his submission to her and making himself vulnerable. Cassidy was appeased for the moment, watching the show of her beta lowering himself before her with a little snort of air before she padded on silent paws around the room to the door.

Nose to the ground, Cassidy took in every last scent she could decipher that was lingering on the concrete floor. The doctors aloe and sanitizer scent, each of the guards and their individual scents. There was one scent in particular that she was searching for. The one scent that had drawn the dormant wolf out in Cassidy. It was the lightest scent after weeks of body's coming and going and after a few minutes, Cassidy froze when her nose finally caught it. Her hackles rose and a soft but deadly growl rumbled from her chest. His scent had been so strong and lingered so long on her human skin after she had been chained and at his mercy. The rich wood, clove and pine scent of the male drove the wolf almost crazy until she could surface enough to trigger the change in her human form. The Alpha. The wolf that was trying to kill her.

The link that the male had formed with her all those weeks ago had faded into nothing without an actual bond of pack or blood to keep it open. All that was left in her mind was a dark link and the memory of his possessive voice as he claimed her to be his. She gave a little snort of breath as she walked back to her side of the room and laid down, already exhausted. She would be no ones. No matter how good the mans scent was.