Chapter 31: Claire: First Shift

*CLAIRE*

Between one heartbeat and the next, it feels like my entire body turns inside out. There’s a ripping and grinding sound as fur sprouts from my arms, my legs shortening as I tip over from my chair and onto the ground.

Nik’s eyes widen, his lips parting in surprise.

I stare up at him from the floor.

Holy crap. *Holy crap*.

I just *Shifted*.

I watch in a mixture of shock and horror as my skin ripples and then transforms into a coat of red fur. I land smoothly on four paws. Though I want to take a minute to stop and stare at myself, at my fur, I can’t do it. An itch wracks its way under my skin and fur. An itch to feel out my new form. To stretch and move and *run*.

The itch is too strong. Way too strong. And suddenly I can’t wait any more. I need to run.

I’m too overwhelmed— too overcome by the onslaught of new unfamiliar sensations—to get a good look at Nik’s face, so I have no hint as to what he thinks about what’s happening. But from my peripheral, I notice a flash of movement as his tall muscular frame crosses the length of the cabin. As if reading my mind, he makes quick work of the lock on the door with his long deft fingers and yanks it open wide enough for me to cross through.

With the wave of fresh air accompanied by a glimpse of the trees outside, the itch urges me outside. I don’t question it, following the instinct, and before I know it, my feet— paws I guess— touch down on the cool mountain soil.

Outside of the cabin, I'm greeted by a breathtaking vista that stretches out before me like a vast tapestry of green and gray. The forest, with its dense canopy of towering trees, appears as a lush sea of foliage that blankets the rugged terrain below. From this vantage point in the mountains, I can see the distant towering peaks rising falling captivatingly against the backdrop of the azure sky, their summits glistening in the sunlight.

The itch in my veins pushes me into a sprint, and I run faster than I ever have in my life. Trees fly past me at a speed they certainly never have in my human body and the tingle of magic rolls over my skin. My senses feel sharper. My eyesight is better in this form— my new vision tracking my surroundings easily. My hearing is better too, and it’s like an entirely new world is opening up before me.

Running out into the trees, the forest shows itself as a study in contrast, with patches of vibrant greenery interspersed with darker hues of emerald and olive. Shafts of golden sunlight filter through the thick branches, casting dappled shadows that dance across the forest floor like fleeting whispers of magic. The air is alive with the symphony of nature, the gentle rustle of leaves mingling with the melodic chirping of birds and the distant murmur of a rushing stream.

My claws make a grating noise as I shoot into the forest, barreling through an outcropping of trees and moving deeper into the peaks. My body feels so strange, but at the same time, so *right*. The paws feel like mine now, and every movement is a natural stretch and flex of muscle that is somehow, inexplicably my own.

I approach a stream, pausing to take a small drink of water, but momentarily freeze at the sight of my reflection staring back at me. A small russet wolf peers back at me in the water’s reflection. And while the wolf face looking up at me couldn’t look more different than my human one, I can’t help but focus on the parts that are inexplicably the same. The ones that I recognize even with the changes. The reddish hair and the deep green eyes, those are the same. My reflection flashes a wolfish, lopsided smile when I notice it.

I’m a shifter. I’m a *wolf*. And it feels like a piece of myself that I didn’t even know had been missing has suddenly reconnected.

The wind tugs at my thick fur and suddenly I’m running again. I run faster, throwing everything I have into a sprint to go as far and fast as I can. The further I go, stretching and feeling the tug of my new form, I slowly start getting used to the feel of it. And as I do, the itch that has been pushing at me begins to dissipate.

Distantly, a deep and reverberating howl pierces the quiet forest behind me. It sounds like it’s coming from the direction of the cabin. Growing up in my parent’s pack, I’d learned to recognize the subtle differences in individual wolf howls and determine which wolf was calling. The howl behind me is from a wolf I don’t recognize, but I don’t feel worried like I probably should. Instead, curiosity tugs at me.

It’s not long after that, that I make out the sound of paws pounding against the ground behind me. I don’t slow at all, but the wolf catches up to me easily. My new wolf-y instincts tell me that whoever is following me is *fast*. And my interest piques again, stronger now. My legs slow without conscious thought to get a better look at who’s following me.

I turn to find a massive white wolf prowling up to me.

A nervous voice in the back of my head wonders if I should be worried— he’s *huge* after all. But I don’t feel anxious. Not at all. Something about the wolf is…familiar somehow.

The wolf’s brown eyes flicker over me as if searching for injury, making sure I’m okay.

And suddenly I recognize where I’ve seen him before.

This massive white wolf is the one who has been watching me on my morning runs through the park trails back in the city. The one whose watchful presence accompanied me in the park every day and made me feel more secure somehow. By the wolf’s massive size alone, it’s easy to see that the Shifter has a shocking amount of power flowing through them.

The white wolf’s scent grows stronger as he approaches, his powerful steps measured and casual. His scent is one that I recognize easily after spending so much time with him in the cabin. It’s a scent that had calmed me and brought me to life over the past few days.

Nikolas. The insanely huge white wolf is Nikolas.