I woke to hear talking in my room. I opened my eyes and peeked around the room. “Hello,” I called out. No one response. I repeat myself one more time and I am met with complete silence.
‘Hello, Kataleya’ I hear a dull echo in my head.
'Whose there,’ I hesitantly responded.
‘I am your wolf. My name is Skye, and I am so happy to finally get to meet you.’
Skye. My Wolf’s name is Skye. I am happy that I finally have my wolf, but I am scared about what this means. Am I ready to shift? I have not had the chance to finish the mandatory training that everyone partakes in before receiving their wolf.
‘Kataleya, I know this is scary and do not feel prepared, but I have to shift. I need you to get outside. It will be easier if you shift under the guidance of the moon. I promise you I will help you through the pain and I will take as much of the pain as you allow’
I stumbled out of my bed and stumbled to the floor. One of the warriors rushes into the room, followed by the nurse. I felt the first crack of one of my bones and I screamed in agony.
“Hurry, let’s get her outside. She is beginning the shift. Call the Alpha, he is going to need to be here for her. Family can help make the shift easier.” The other warrior rushes into the room and picks me up and carries me through the hospital. Once we get outside, she gently lays me on the ground underneath the moon.
I let out another gut-wrenching scream as I felt several more of my bones break. When my father and mother arrive, they each grab one of my hands and start whispering words of reassurance to me. They repeatedly told me I was doing a good job, they were proud of me, and that my wolf was going to be so pretty.
I laid on the ground, yelling in agony, for three hours. Once it hit the third hour, I let out another gut-wrenching cry that ended in a loud growl. I looked around and realized that I had finally shifted and that my pain was over.
“She’s gorgeous,” my mother whispers.
I walked over to the nearby stream and looked at my reflection. I am completely white, with some grey undertones. As I continue to look at my reflection, I stare into the eyes of my wolf. She has bright blue eyes, with flecks of green. Besides the flecks of green, her eyes looked just like mine. Typically, when we shift, the eyes of our wolves are black or grey and it is considered a rare occasion for our wolves to have the eyes of our human counterparts.
‘I am proud of your daughter’. I heard my father’s voice through the mind link that I now have. ‘Would you like to go on your first run as your wolf?’ I eagerly nodded my head and my father laughed. My mother and father both strip out of nightwear and shift into their wolves. My father’s wolf is slightly taller than mine and he is pure black. My mother’s wolf is much smaller in size, compared to my father and me, and she is completely grey with black eyes. Once they both shift, we bound into the surrounding woods. I feel Skye trying to push herself forward, so I allow her to move back into the far recesses of my mind and allow her the time to run and feel the wind through her fur. I have always heard how freeing it is running like your wolf and I thought those people were just exaggerating. Usually it was the new shifters that would say that, but now I understand what they mean. I feel free, like there is nothing holding me back. Like I can do anything and do anything while I am in this form.
We packed to head back to the packed hospital, where my parents left their clothes. They shift back and they look at me expectantly. Shit…how do I shift back? My father notices me hesitating and tells me that it is simple, to just think of my human form and to let my wolf take over from there. I clear my mind and picture what my human form looks like. I hear an audible crack and then I am kneeling on all fours, huffing, looking up at my father. One of the nurses appears and she brings me a gown to adorn.
“Kataleya, would you like to come back to the house with us or do you want to stay the rest of the night in the hospital?” My mother questioned.
“If it is alright, I would like to go see Oliver…this is just a lot to take in and I want to process everything before the entire pack finds out.” My mom nodded to her, stating that would be fine. She told me that Oliver ended up staying in the packhouse, instead of at his parent’s house, so I should be able to find him without disturbing anyone else. I headed over to the packhouse and headed up to where the Beta’s suite was. Ollie usually stayed in the same room whenever he slept in the packhouse, so I automatically knew which suite to go to.
I knock on the door, and I don’t have to wait long before the door opens to reveal my best friend. “Kataleya, what are you doing here? Is everything alright?’ Ollie asked me. I motioned at the door, and he let me in. When he shuts the door, the tears start to flow down my face.
“Ollie, I got my wolf today…I feel like such a freak. How can I get my wolf this early? This wasn’t meant to happen. We were meant to shift together…we do everything together.” I cried out.
Ollie walks over to me and pulls me to his bed and sits down next to me. “There is nothing wrong with you, Kataleya. You will get through this, and I will be here every step of the way.” I nodded my head and lay my head down on his bed. I sniffled a few times and he wrapped his arms around me. I lay there in his arms, happy and content, until I drifted into sleep.