Chapter 49: First Shift

Cyrus

I held Harlow while she fell asleep. The sun had come up, and she’d be unconscious for a while after being bitten.

“I love you, baby,” I whispered in her ear and kissed her mating mark. It was bruised, and the heat from the bite was quickly spreading to the rest of her body.

Soon she’d have a fever. Then would come the pain of her human body being overtaken by the bite—a pain no one who was born a werewolf had to endure. Sure, the first few shifts were uncomfortable for born wolves, but what Harlow would be going through was an entire transformation; her DNA was rewriting itself.

Hours went by before she finally began to stir. By that time, she was feverish, and it would continue to climb. Werewolves run hot.

“Hey,” I said, helping her sit up. “How’re you feeling?” I took the cap off a bottle of water and gave it to her with a straw.

“Ok so far,” she said before drinking, then motioned for me to get into the bed with her, which I did. I wrapped my arms around her and kissed her forehead.

“Are you ok?” she asked.

I forced a laugh despite my worries. Here she was, probably feeling a lot worse than she was letting on, and asking me how I was.

“I’m fine,” I said, caressing her hair. But the truth was that I was scared. The next several hours would decide the rest of her life. And mine.

Bonnie

“What if it’s a girl?” Blayze asked as we walked hand in hand from my trailer to the bar. We’d gotten some sleep in my bed, and it was now late afternoon. The sun was already low in the autumn sky.

“What if it is?” I asked.

“You’ll have to teach me how to do girly stuff. Braid hair and sh*t.”

The thought of big, tough Blayze braiding hair made me smile.

When we reached the bar, a lot of the Blood Dogs and Howlers were inside. Several confused faces watched us walk in holding hands. I was suddenly uncomfortable and loosened my grip, but Blayze held on tighter.

“Anyone got a problem?” Blayze asked the room. Everyone looked away and went back to their drinks and conversations as we stepped over to the bar and took a seat.

Red began pouring me my usual tequila shot. “Just water,” I said.

“You only drank water last night, too,” Red said suspiciously. “Come to think of it, I haven’t seen you drink in a while. Something you wanna tell your Beta?”

“We’ll have to start telling people soon enough,” Blayze said to me with a shrug.

I leaned in to whisper the news to Red.

“I f*ckin’ knew somethin’ was up!” Red exclaimed loudly, and once again, the whole bar’s attention was on us.

“Mind your business, people!” Blayze barked.

“Just keep it on the down-low for a little while, ok?” I said to Red. “We’ve still got a lot to figure out.”

“What’s there to figure out?” Blayze asked.

“Uh, hello. Two different packs.”

“This is a perfect opportunity to reunite,” Blayze said. “Get things back to how they used to be.”

I scoffed. It wasn’t going to be that simple.

“What about leadership?” I asked. “We’ve got two Alphas and two Betas. Do we reunite the MCs, too? And what are the elders gonna say? There’s a lot to hash out before—”

“Can you just shut up and be happy for a day?” Blayze said, caressing the back of my hand.

“Awe, I forgot how much I like you two together,” Red piped in, resting his elbows on the bar. “You give each other so much sh*t no one else has to. Keeps you both humble.”

Blayze brought my hand up and kissed my knuckles. I’d almost forgotten how much I liked us together, too. Despite all of Blayze’s faults, he was a loving partner. And he was gonna be a great dad.

I conceded and decided to focus on the present for a little while instead of the future.

“Any word on Harlow?” I asked Red.

Harlow

I was over twelve hours into the shift. I’d never been in so much pain in my life. I was covered in sweat. Every muscle burned, and I felt like my bones were about to give out. Suddenly, I felt a snap in my ribs, and I screamed out in pain.

“It’s happening,” Cyrus said. “You’re doing great. It’s going really fast.”

“Fast?!” I held the stabbing pain in my rib. It felt like an eternity.

Another horrible snap came in one shoulder, then the other. Soon, my whole body was crunching and contorting. All I could do was cry and try to keep breathing, but even that hurt. All I wanted was for the pain to stop.

After several more minutes, I tasted blood, and I let out a painful cough. Cyrus wiped my mouth. There was worry in his eyes.

I was now quickly becoming drowsy.

“I can’t…” I barely managed to get out.

“Yes, you can,” Cyrus insisted.

The drowsiness offered a sanctuary from the pain, and I wanted to give into it. My eyes grew heavy.

“Harlow,” Cyrus said, “Stay with me. You can do this.”

“I can’t,” I repeated.

“Listen to me.” Cyrus took my face in his hands. “You still have to mark me. I want that more than anything. And as soon as you get through this, we’ll go on a run, just like you’ve wanted. Baby, you’re my mate. We’ve got so much more to do. You’re gonna see your dad again. We’re gonna have pups, and we’re gonna grow old together. It’s you and me. You’re so strong, Harlow. You’ve just gotta get through the next little bit. Just focus for me. Think about becoming the wolf, and it’ll happen.”

I forced my eyes to focus on Cyrus. Newly invigorated, I filled my mind with thoughts of speed, strength, and power of the werewolves. I pictured fur, claws, and teeth.

And as if by magic, I saw it begin to happen. I let out a final painful scream as my hands and feet contorted and brown fur began to grow from my skin. I felt my jaw extend and my teeth elongate while my back and hips curved. Soon the sound coming out of my mouth was no longer the scream of a woman, but the howl of a wolf.

Panting, I looked at Cyrus. He was smiling. “You did it,” he whispered.

I couldn’t believe how clearly I saw everything. It was dark, and the lights were off, yet I could see better than I ever had as a human. I looked down at my hands and saw paws. I was fully in wolf form. Shakily, I stood up on all fours and moved around the house. Eventually, I made my way toward the front door and jumped up to it excitedly.

Cyrus laughed when I shook my tail. “Ok,” he said, opening the door. “Let’s take it easy, though.”

I bolted right out into the yard. Then I stopped and turned to Cyrus, watching as he took off his clothes and shifted, too.

He came up beside me, and soon we were running together through the desert. I couldn’t believe how fast I was. Driving a speedy car or motorcycle didn’t compare to this. I’d never felt so free.

I couldn’t wait to get back to Gnaw Bone and show everyone that I’d made it. With Cyrus by my side, I cut back toward the highway, and we began to run toward the bar.

I let out a howl as I ran, and Cyrus followed up with his own howls, echoing in the night. It was almost unbelievable that I was on a run with him. And this was just the beginning.

When we finally reached Gnaw Bone, I spotted Red and Gunner, who stood outside the bar smoking. When they saw us, smiles spread across their faces.

“Harlow?” Red said.

I concentrated on my human form and slowly shifted back. Red and Gunner both gave me congratulatory hugs while Cyrus shifted and went to the garage to get a couple of pairs of coveralls for us to clothe ourselves. Soon, several others made their way out from the bar and offered congratulations.

“I knew you’d do great,” Bonnie said, hugging me.

I saw that Blayze was right by Bonnie’s side, and, to my surprise, he hugged me, too.

But a moment later, my attention was redirected when a form walking up the road caught my eye.

I rubbed my eyes, sure I was seeing things. But when I looked back, the form had gotten considerably closer.

“Good evening, everyone,” said his familiar voice.

I almost couldn’t speak out of disbelief, but I managed to choke out his name.

“Madoc?”