Chapter 66 The First Shift pt 2
Seren
We walked back to the pack house, Tristan joining us. Lucian met us at the side door.
"Good morning, Luna, Alpha," he greeted us. "Alpha King Cian, Prince Gideon, Julian, Louise."
"Tristan, this is Gamma Lucian. Lucian, this is Tristan, a warrior from Blood Moon Pack. He has sworn a blood oath of loyalty to Princess Seren, facilitated by Alpha King Cian, and will be part of Seren's personal guard once he's initiated into Crescent Moon Pack. We will take care of that after tomorrow's attack, so that we can utilize his connection to Blood Moon to our benefit. Please show him around the pack house, dining hall, and get him settled in the warrior's barracks. He'll join your team tomorrow, so you can introduce them," Duncan said.
Lucian's brows drew together. "I'm obviously missing something."
"Tristan was helping the omegas escape Blood Moon Pack. He helped me several times over the years." I looked over at Tristan and smiled slightly. "I believe he'll be a wonderful addition to our pack, Lucian. Especially if you take him under your wing a bit."
"Of course, Luna. I'll get him settled in."
"And be ready. We'll be going on a run once Seren shifts, and we want you to join us. I'll link you when it's time," Duncan told him. Lucian nodded and then turned to Tristan.
"Come with me. I'll take you through the dining hall first. I imagine you'd like some food."
Tristan nodded. "I'd appreciate that, thank you, Gamma Lucian." The two men walked off. While Lucian wasn't quite as sure about the situation as the rest of us were, I had faith that he'd get Tristan squared away with no issue. The two men had more in common than they realized.
'Come on already. They'll be fine. Let's run, sweet girl!' Kara was prancing around in my head.
'We're going, we're going. You'll be able to stretch your legs soon, Kara.' I giggled. Duncan looked down at me, a soft smile on his face, eyebrow quirked in question.
"Kara. I'd say she's ready to go."
"Then let's not keep her waiting. Julian, Louise, if you could please let everyone who is going to run with us know that we'll be ready shortly, we'll take Seren to the training field to shift. It should be fairly empty at this time of day."
"Of course, Duncan." They headed off towards the pack house.
"Your mother is on her way out, Seren. She's brought a robe for you to change into so that you don't rip your clothes." Dad laid a hand on my shoulder. "This first shift is always the hardest, but we'll be here to help you through it. Kara will know what to do, so just give yourself over to her instincts."
Mom joined us, and we headed towards the open field. We stopped near a copse of trees on the way so that I could change into the robe my mom brought. "This is nice and loose, so you won't have to worry about being restricted as you're shifting. Most shifters run through clothes like they're candy, ripping them apart when they're in a hurry to shift, but it can make the first shift even more uncomfortable if you're fighting clothes as well as the shift. And this way, you'll have your clothes intact when you're ready to shift back." She ran a hand over my hair, then pulled me into a hug. "I never thought I'd get to see this day with you." Her voice broke. "Thank you for letting us share this with you."
I sniffled. "I always thought I'd be doing this alone, Mom. To have my actual family here with me—I can't tell you how much it means to me." I squeezed her back. "Now let's get this done before Kara gives me a headache."
We met the rest of the group in the field. My stomach was filled with butterflies, my palms clammy. I knew this was a rite of passage for all wolves, but I was still a bit worried. What if something went wrong? What if all the beatings I'd taken had caused something to be irrevocably damaged, impacting my ability to shift? My thoughts spun out, my breath coming in short pants.