49

Claire’s POV

The burning pains in my core and the terrible muscle spasms seemed to go on for eternity. At one point, I couldn't hear anything anymore and mercifully, the darkness embraced me.

When I opened my eyes again, I realized that I was in the woods. But that information had barely sunk in before I was gripped by a blinding pain that left me breathless.

Inspite of finding it difficult to breathe, I couldn't help the screams that fell from my mouth.

Never would I have imagined that shifting a second time was going to be so painful that I was going to beg death to take me.

It wasn't supposed to be painful, was it?

Eventually, the shifting process ended and the pains disappeared.

It was then that I realized that I was being watched. Of course, I remembered that the Nurse, Ms.Lora and the Alpha had all been with me when the pains mercilessly dealt with me.

They were the ones who must have brought me into the woods.

Shit! I was in so much trouble. Slaves were not allowed to shift at will. What punishment was I going to be served with? The whole castle must have heard about it by now.

I heard Ms. Lora’s gasp and immediately turned to look at her.

The mixture of awe and surprise in her eyes bothered me. It wasn't as though she hadn't seen me shift before.

“You need to see how magnificent you look,” Zoe, my wolf said.

What the hell was she talking about? Omegas looked anything but magnificent in their wolf forms.

My mate’s presence behind me was the one thing that I could sense the most but I was too scared to look at him. I imagined the look of dissatisfaction that would be on his face at how ordinary my wolf form was compared to his.

Not for the first time, I admitted to myself that he was justified for not wanting to claim a mere Omega as his mate. Especially one that was a slave.

“You are no Omega!” Zoe practically yelled at me. “Just take a look at your fucking paws.”

I blinked in surprise. I didn't know that my wolf was capable of uttering curse words.

The minute I did as I was told, shock froze me in place.

White!!!

This was impossible. I couldn't be. What the hell was going on?

In confusion and fear, I turned to look at my mate and saw that his eyes mirrored my exact feelings.

The next second, I realized with a start that I could sense emotions that were not mine and they were certainly coming from my mate.

“She’s an Alpha?”

For the first time, I heard Kelvin’s thoughts, loud and clear, in my mind. I was certain of it. It was his voice and his lips had not moved.

“You need to leave, for now, Claire. This is too much for him to process right now.”

This time, it was Ms.Lora’s voice I heard in my mind.

Was that a mindlink or had I just heard her thoughts without the link being turned on?

Just then, everything started to become so overwhelming. It was as though my senses had suddenly gone into overdrive.

I could hear, see, smell and sense every single thing without putting in any effort.

The sounds became too loud for comfort and the feelings that were not mine threatened to suffocate me with their intensity.

“Leave!” I heard Ms.Lora’s voice again and this time, I needed no further encouragement.

I ran so deep into the woods that I came across another lake.

It was there I was able to see my full reflection. Gone was the medium-sized wolf with the black fur.

“How is this possible?” I wondered for what seemed like the hundredth time, wishing Zoe could explain things to me.

“Just the time to enjoy this moment,” she said. “Can’t you feel it? The insane power surging through your veins. You should relish it. Revel in it.”

It was difficult to do just that with the myriad of questions running through my mind. I was so confused and scared that it was hard to focus on anything except that.

Just when I was thinking about shifting back into my human form, I heard footsteps and judging by the smell, I could tell that it was Ms Lora.

After a couple of minutes, she came into view and I immediately shifted into my human form. I needed to talk to someone other than Zoe or I was going to go crazy.

In my human form, my senses dulled a bit and I was grateful for the reduced intensity.

“How do you feel?” Ms.Lora queried. “You gave everyone quite a fright back there.”

I moved closer to her and grabbed her arms rather roughly.

“What is happening to me? I don't understand any of this. I feel so terrified right now.”

“Relax Claire,” she said in a patient tone. She seemed too calm given the situation and I wondered if she knew more than I suspected.

Heaving a deep sigh, I released her and plopped down on the grass.

Within seconds, she lowered herself beside me and then gently took one of my hands in hers.

“You are an Alpha, Claire, and you’ve always been one. I need you to accept and fully embrace that fact first. You have nothing to fear.”

Slowly, I raised my gaze to meet hers, my brows furrowing in puzzlement.

“Why does it seem like you know a lot about me?”

Her lips curled into a sad smile. “I watched my sister carry you in her womb for months and I was right there when you were eventually born.”

The information hit me like a brick and I shook my head in disbelief as I retrieved my hand from her grasp.

“That’s not true. I can't believe any of this,” I whispered.

“You have to,” Ms.Lora said, her tone betraying her concern and sympathy. “I know this is a lot to take in and I'm going to give you all the time that you need to process this. Whenever you are ready, I can get you the proof that would clear all your doubts.”

My heart beat faster at the thought of having a family aside from my stepfather.

Now that I think about it, was he even really my stepfather?

“If what you are saying is true, then why are you just telling me about this and how come the first time I would be meeting you is at this Pack?”

Her eyes suddenly filled with tears and she made to reach for my hand again but stopped.

“I hate myself every day for it, but leaving you at that couple’s doorstep was the only thing I could do to protect you.”

Great. Just wonderful.

“I promised your parents before they were killed that I was going to make sure nothing happened to you. I would have loved nothing more than to raise you as my own but I knew those people were going to come after me next to kill you. I had to make sure nothing like that happened.”

The intense pain that blasted through my skull was the last thing I felt before the darkness came again to claim me.