Shudder

37

Roman

We stood below the full, ripe moon, covered in it's pale light. It was like milk, washing over us and coating us in a white sheen of ivory. We were all bare, only in our human skins, yet none of appeared hesitant. Not even Rori, who had at one point worried over this a little, being so bare next to people she didn't know. She stood next to me, almost as jittery as the rest of the packs in nothing, but the skin she was born in. She was beautiful and the sight of her nakedness had my stomach clenching in a lustful fit to have her, claim her and bond with her. Yet we weren't alone, not by far with all the packs grouped around us and the supernaturals that lingered behind us to see our gruesome transformations and send us off into the winding, welcoming forest ahead.

I reached out a careful hand to grasp Rori's and her fingers didn't even stall in intertwining with my own. A little zip of happiness slipped through our connected skin and I could almost see her excitement grow. This was what I wanted, to live and thrive with Rori as my own for years to come. To go to the Annual Gathering so many times that we almost couldn't participate in the run, like Sarah and Holden, but we would endure it anyways because it was tradition and it was joyful. I wanted this sort of giddiness and happiness for us, it was more than rewarding for me; I cherished it.

I hadn't realized, lost in my thoughts about Rori and a future, that I'd been staring at her the entire time while I thought until she squeezed my hand and laughed slightly. I shook my head, blinking, but my lips stretched into a wide grin, liking that I'd made her happy without knowing it until a few seconds ago.

"Are you okay?" she murmured softly while a leader from one of the packs took to the front of the large group and began speaking about the run, Tidus, and how it had been a sacred ritual for many years.

"I'm just admiring the view," I responded, a playful grin tugging upon my face.

I watched her own face respond to my teasing and happiness and the love I'd gained for her over the years blossomed. She slapped my chest and I caught her wrist, pulling her naked body flush against my own. She looked shocked, but when I dipped my lips to capture her own, she responded eagerly. The feeling of our skin ignited a fire me in and found myself almost fighting to push away the erection that was building, but before it could even grow, a not-so-discreet cough behind us had the both of us jumping apart.

We looked back, to see Chloe scowling at us, tucking a giggling Lilith into her side away from us and had an amused looking Garrett beside her. I wasn't surprised to see their little one with us at the gathering, in Lupus society children were exposed to our nakedness from the minute they were born and Lilith had her first shift a few months back from her turning five. I wasn't entirely sure why Rori hadn't turned when she was five, but then again her parents hadn't been in a pack. They'd been alone, choosing to live more humane and I could only guess that they were waiting until Rori was a bit older for her first shift....unless they were planning to soon and before they could they...

I shook my head, swallowing thickly. A howl went up and I looked to see the leader who'd been speaking to the whole of us shiver and fall to the ground. His skin shuddered and you could see clear as if it were day below the light of the moon his bones shifting beneath that thick layer of skin. I knew it was time, we all knew it was as the zing of excitement increased. I glanced to Rori and she flashed me a crooked grin just as her own skin shivered, fur sprouting through her pores. With her safetly shifting and enjoying the shift, I let my own wolfish side spring to life.

My bones began to ache first, the tell tale sign that the shift was beginning. My heart rate skyrocketed and I felt every sense I had come alive with fervor. Fur poked through my skin like needles and suddenly my bones snapped as they began to reposition themselves inside for a different frame. My organs worked inside me to accommodate a creature that wasn't human and blood began to pour. My body jerked and lurched with the agonizing pain and suddenly it was over. The pain ebbed rapidly and I was on four paws, staring over at an ashy white wolf known as Rori.

Another howl hit the night air and suddenly we were surging, flowing, becoming one giant mass of wolf. Flickering images and splashes of color known as emotions waved through each and every one of us as we joined as one. The sounds of our paws thudding against the ground was louder than the usual softness and resembled that of a drum beat. Excited yips, yaps and yelps filled the forest which had once been silent and now creatures fled, fearing our wolven voices. The run was always exhilarating and I wasn't surprised to find it just the same as the last. We wove through trees, I could feel Rori's emotions pass to me and knew she was more than pleased as we churned dirt and stirred the needles and leaves of the forest. We splashed through rivers, soaking our dense coats, the moonlight was the only thing that lit our way.

Before I knew it, the packs were looping back and then we were in the clearing we'd started in. Where Lupus had been energized once before, now they were more relaxed and almost borderline tired. The other supernaturals in the clearing clapped and cheered, thoroughly enjoying the change and the traditional run we'd been on.

My mind was buzzing from the run, the packs around my own were alive with happiness and it felt as though the moment couldn't have been brighter so I doubted any of us were paying attention. At least we weren't until a few fearful, pained yelps rang out before any of us had even begun the shift back into human form. The mass of us moved towards the sound and many Lupus snarled at the figures making themselves known as they came from the shadowy trees.

As the figures were revealed, a mass of chaos erupted and in it, I lost Rori only to find her standing, in human form, in front of one of the Jaecars newest member. A sneering Jason Williams wielding a dangerous, glittering gun.