Chapter 39

Marcus had tucked her neatly into bed, after wrapping her forearm and apologizing profusely. Why was he apologizing? She had consented to the action, and knew what was going to happen. They had talked about this.

“Stop with the sorries,” Amelia grumbled. “I knew what was going to happen, and I still signed up for it.”

“I know, I know.” He let out a sigh. He looked tired, with dark marks beginning to appear under his eyes. “I just don’t like the fact that I had to cause you pain to do this,” Marcus admitted as he continued to fuss over her, fluffing her pillow for the third time.

Amelia reached up and grabbed his wrist, giving it a small tug. Delicately, he moved himself to lie beside her. Once settled, she snuggled in close to him.“No matter what happens tomorrow, remember this was my choice.” Her sleepy voice was slightly muffled as she pressed into his side. Marcus turned towards her, wrapping his arms around her. All he wanted to do was protect her from the pain he knew was coming, but he was powerless.

As he held her close, Marcus reflected back over the past few months, thankful that Amelia had given him the second chance he really did not deserve. How they had started back over from scratch, going on dates and outings as much as possible. She explained this was common practice with human couples. They went to the movies a couple of times, and stayed in and watched shows with pizza and beer other times. No matter what they were doing, he was glad to be beside Amelia the whole time. She made both him and his wolf happy. She balanced his over-stoic presence, and helped him pull back when he began to overthink everything. Amelia made him a better Alpha, by showing him how to open up to his pack members. He was her protector and her supporter, there to help her when her emotions got the best of her, or when she attempted to pull back into her shell and hide from the world. He did not want her to hide, he wanted her to shine and for everyone to see the beautiful person she was both inside and out.

Hearing her breathing even out, Marcus pulled her a little closer. He knew his emotional attachment to her was sped along by the mate bond, but he was realizing that he had fallen hard for Amelia.

“I love you,” he whispered against her hair as he kissed the top of her head. Then he drifted off, lulled to sleep by the sounds of nature outside and the rhythmic breathing of his mate next to him.

***

Amelia sat bolt upright in bed, her head pounding and heart racing. The bite wound on her arm pulsed along with her head. Sweat had completely soaked through her pajamas. Even removing the blankets as she moved to sit on the edge of the bed, she was still hot. She glanced at the clock and groaned when it showed that it was 3:19 a.m. Marcus stirred next to her.

“Amelia? What’s wrong?” his groggy voice called out to her as he slowly sat up. When his hand made contact with her, he snatched it back. “You’re burning up.” His voice was clearer now, and he moved to place himself beside her as he took in her appearance.

“I-I don’t know,” she answered through heavy breaths. “I woke up like this.” Amelia attempted to slow her heart rate down by taking deep breaths.

“It's the venom,” Marcus replied soberly, as he ran his hand along her face. “We need to regulate your temperature.” In a swift, easy motion he scooped her up and headed out the door towards the bathroom down the hall. After placing her on the counter next to the sink, he turned the water on, adjusting the temperature to be lukewarm as to not shock her system. Amelia felt like she was on fire, and the drum that was being beaten in her head caused her to wince at each little noise.

The next thing she knew, she was being placed underneath the stream of water coming from the shower head, clothes and all. It was cool and soothing to her burning body. She closed her eyes and leaned against the tiled wall, enjoying the feeling. Marcus stepped in behind her and began working his fingers through her hair, his touch caused tingles to run along her scalp.

“Mmm, you should pamper me like this more often.” She gave a small smirk.

Marcus returned the grin and shook his head. “I thought I did pamper you. Guess I’ll have to try harder then.” He wrapped his arms around her waist and helped to support her. Minutes went by slowly under the cold water. Marcus only pulled away when he felt like her temperature was back to a normal level. “Feel a little cooler?” he asked, running his hands across her forehead and down her neck.

“Much cooler,” Amelia mumbled as she leaned into his touch. Pulling his hand away, Marcus turned the shower off, stepped out, and gathered fluffy towels for each of them. Now shivering, Amelia stepped out and eagerly walked into the towel he was holding up for her. Before he finished patting her dry, a knock sounded on the door, causing Amelia to squeeze her eyes shut at the ache that beat against her brain.

“Everything ok in there?” Birdie’s voice came from the other side of the door. Marcus had called to his mom as he was stepping into the shower, through the mental connection they shared, asking for help in getting Amelia comfortable.

“Yes, Mom. Be out in a minute,” Marcus answered.

“I’ve got tea and some pain meds for her when you guys are ready,” Birdie called again.

Marcus ushered Amelia back into their bedroom, changed into dry clothes, then made their way to the kitchen. He helped her into one of the chairs at the table before seating himself beside her, while Birdie seemed to appear with mugs of tea and a pill packet for Amelia.

“Thank you, Ms. Birdie.” Amelia spoke softly as she went focused on taking the pain meds.

“No problem, dear. This is just the beginning though. I’m afraid you’ll be fighting that headache all day,” Birdie stated as she sat down across from them. Amelia groaned as she clutched her head.

“Is there anything else we can do for her?” Marcus piped up.

“No. All that can be done is monitor her temp and help with pain meds, then wait for the transformation to start when the moon rises,” Birdie informed her son as she watched Amelia.

The trio managed to go back to sleep, but Amelia and Marcus woke back up again as the sun rose. Birdie had been right; the headache was a persistent pest throughout the day. Amelia felt weak and achy, like the worst case of the flu she had ever had. Marcus was dutifully by her side almost every minute, refusing to leave her alone.

The afternoon dragged on, and the pain in her head began to get worse. No amount of pain meds seemed to help.

“It’s time, Amelia,” Marcus whispered as he kissed her temple. She glanced out the window to the fading light of day. Dusk was upon them. Marcus helped her to stand, and took her back to their room to change out of her clothes and into a robe. Marcus had explained it was better to go out like this so she did not shred any of her clothes.

Bare feet padded across the boards of the porch, and the chill air nipped at the exposed skin. Maybe she should have waited till spring to do this. At least she would not have minded going out with practically nothing on if it had been sixty degrees outside, instead of thirty. But it was too late now.

The same crowd milled about the gathering area. The bonfire had been lit and the flames rose to about five feet high, giving a little bit of warmth to the area immediately surrounding the pit. Marcus led her to stand close enough to feel it, but far enough away to not become crispy.

“Remember, no matter what, I’m right here.” Marcus stood in front of her, holding their hands together between them. Amelia gave a weak smile before her stomach clenched, causing her to bend over and clutch at the pained area. “Amelia?”

“It's starting, Marcus. Give her some space.” Birdie strolled up beside him, grabbing his arm and pulling him back a few steps. All he could do now was watch, but that did not make it any easier. His wolf whined and scratched at the surface, aching to help his mate.

Amelia fell to her knees, grasping her head as pain shot through her— far worse than the ache she had had all day. The burning sensation from earlier this morning was back with a vengeance; her skin felt as if it would peel right off. A pained moan escaped her, as she leaned her forehead against the ground ,welcoming the coolness of the soil.

Her vision began to darken around the edges as her heart began to race. A snap resounded through her head as pain ripped through her. Amelia could not hold back the scream. She clamped her eyes shut in a feeble attempt to block out the pain. Another snap echoed through her as her bones began to reshape themselves. She fell down, lying fully on the ground, writhing in the agony the transition was causing. Time seemed to slow down as each bone took its time to move and twist. Her skin felt like it was boiling as it fell away to reveal fur.

Amelia thought that this was it, this was the moment she died. This pain was not something she would be able to survive. She writhed, squirmed, and yelled out, but all she could hear was the beating of her own heart in her ears.

Then it all went quiet.

Slowly she was able to hear voices, but they were not around her— no, these voices were in her mind. They muttered and mumbled different things that she couldn’t pinpoint. It was chaos.

“Amelia,” a familiar voice called through the noise. “Amelia, focus on my voice.” The soothing baritone she had grown to love called out again. “Amelia?” Marcus called into her mind again.

“Marcus?” She tried to speak out, but instead she could hear a whine. Amelia struggled to open her eyes. When she was able to pry them open, Marcus was lying there nose to nose with her. She tried to speak again, but it only came out as a whimper.

“Hey, beautiful,” Marcus’ voice came again as he moved forward and nuzzled against her muzzle. Her muzzle!? Amelia attempted to glance around at herself, but only managed to catch glimpses of tan and white fur. Relief washed over her at the realization that she survived the transformation. Slowly, she attempted to gather her paws beneath her, trying to stand. Marcus’ black and gray wolf was by her side, nudging her and holding himself still to support her wobbly legs. A full standing position was not possible, so she settled for sitting on her haunches.

The darkened landscape around them appeared sharper and more in focus with her new senses. Her sensitive ears also picked up on the forest animals scurrying across branches of trees. Multiple scents hit her nose. It was overwhelming, so she tried to calm herself by taking in a few deep breaths.

If wolves could smile, Amelia would have sworn that Marcus was doing just that as he beamed down at her. Then he threw his head back and howled. A force within her willed Amelia to do the same, her vocals flowing into his. Then more howls began to join in, as the other members in attendance had shifted.

When Marcus’ howl died down, he looked back at her. “Welcome to the pack, Amelia,” she heard in her head once again.