so changed

so changed
For a long moment, I just stood there, gripping the rough bark of the oak tree, trying to steady myself against the overwhelming sensations flooding my body. My skin burned, my muscles ached, and my senses sharpened painfully, picking up every tiny sound, the whisper of leaves, the scuttle of a mouse and the distant call of an owl.

I clutched my chest, feeling the erratic hammering of my heart. Fear warred with something else, something wilder, deeper, and achingly raw.

A low, almost inaudible whine escaped my throat, shocking me. My fingers dug into the bark until they ached. My Wolf... Was it really happening?

For years, I had waited. Hoped. Prayed.

And now, here, alone in the woods, it was coming.

Another wave of heat swept over me, stronger this time, and I dropped to my knees, gasping. My bones ached, my muscles spasmed, and it felt like something inside of me was struggling to break free, clawing against my skin, demanding to be born.

Tears blurred my vision as pain lanced down my spine.

It hurt. Moon Goddess, it hurt so much. And my mother was still doing the pack chores.

I squeezed my eyes shut, trembling, biting down on my lip hard enough to taste blood. I didn’t want to scream. I wouldn’t. No one could hear me anyway, and even if they could, no one would come.

My fingernails clawed at the dirt as I struggled to hold on, to breathe, to survive whatever this was.

Images flashed behind my closed lids, memories of watching other pups shift for the first time, their families cheering, welcoming them into the pack properly. My mother, always avoiding my gaze, always praying I wouldn’t notice the disappointment in her eyes when another year passed and I remained human.

I wasn’t supposed to be late. I wasn’t supposed to be broken.

Yet here I was.

A sudden rush of energy surged through me, wild and uncontrollable, and I gasped, falling onto my side as my body seized up. My fingers twisted into claws, and for a terrifying moment, I thought my bones would snap from the strain.

Then, just as suddenly, the pain crested and broke.

I lay there, panting hard, every nerve on fire, but somewhere beneath the agony, something shifted. Something powerful.

A presence.

Soft, tentative, but undeniably there.

Hello?

The voice was faint barely a whisper in the back of my mind but it was there. Not my thoughts. Not my voice.

Someone else.

My Wolf.

Tears slid down my cheeks as a broken, choked sob escaped me.

You’re real, I thought, clinging to the fragile thread of connection. You’re really real.

The presence pressed back against me, warm and comforting, though still faint and unsteady, like a newborn learning how to move for the first time.

It wasn’t a full shift. I could feel that. I wasn’t ready yet, too weak, too inexperienced. But it was the beginning. The start of everything I had dreamed of.

I curled up on the cold forest floor, hugging myself tightly as the pain began to ebb away, leaving only a deep, trembling exhaustion.

The stars wheeled overhead, bright and sharp through the thin canopy of trees, and for the first time in my life, I didn’t feel completely alone.

I have a Wolf, I thought fiercely, my heart swelling in my chest. I’m not broken. I’m not less. I’m not worthless.

The new bond hummed weakly between us, full of promise and possibility.

Somewhere, deep within me, my Wolf stirred again, a faint, sleepy nuzzle against my soul.

I smiled through the tears and closed my eyes, letting the darkness take me.
The last thing I remembered was the feel of my Wolf’s sleepy nudge against my soul and the soft lull of the stars overhead.

I must have passed out there, curled against the roots of the old oak.

Because when the sharp sting of a kick landed against my ribs, I jerked awake with a startled gasp.

"Get up, you lazy brat!" a shrill voice snapped above me.

Blinking against the blinding morning light, I squinted up to see Mrs. Hale, one of the elder pack women, standing over me with a scowl etched deep into her wrinkled face. A battered kitchen towel was clenched in her fist.

"What are you doing lying out here like some useless rogue?" she demanded, her voice full of disgust. "Get up! The sink’s piled high with dishes, and you’re already behind!"

Still disoriented, body aching from last night's ordeal, I struggled to sit up. Every muscle screamed in protest. My chest still felt raw, and somewhere deep inside, my Wolf whimpered softly, confused and weak.

"Move it!" Mrs. Hale barked, giving the tree trunk a loud slap for good measure, making me flinch. "You’re not special, girl. The world doesn’t stop just because you decided to sleep in the woods like a mutt."

I staggered to my feet, swaying slightly, my fingers brushing the rough bark as I steadied myself.

No one asked if I was okay.

No one even noticed that something had changed inside me.

Swallowing the lump in my throat, I lowered my head and mumbled a quick, hoarse, "Yes, ma’am."

Mrs. Hale turned with a huff and stalked away, muttering under her breath about "good-for-nothing strays."

I didn’t answer her. I just headed straight to the way that led to the pack house.
The pack house loomed ahead, its gray stone walls as cold and unwelcoming as ever.

Inside, the kitchen was chaos. Piles of dishes teetered in the sink, food scraps littered the counters, and the sour smell of old grease clung to the air. I slipped inside quietly, keeping my head down, moving to the sink without being told.

I was kinda fine with this. It only meant, I won't clean the Alpha’s suite.