First Shift

Ch. 10

I heard voices murmuring somewhere above me. But my eyes wouldn't open and everything was dulled through my ears. I could feel the soft ground of the forest beneath me and sharp sticks that jabbed into my back. Suddenly the world snapped into focus and my eyes opened. I was laying on the forest floor surrounded by a loose semi-circle of pack.

Raiza wasn't here yet but I could feel her getting closer through the bond, which was searing through me. Ember stood close by as did Carson and I could see the absolutely pained look on her face through her tears. No one seemed to notice that I was awake and I couldn't move from my spot on the ground or speak.

Raiza broke through the trees and into the group that surrounded me. She rested her hand on my forehead as though taking my temperature. When she touched me a feeling of comfort flooded through the bond and I feel into a light sleep.

When I woke from the artificial sleep Raiza put me under I was on a bed in the infirmary. I couldn't see anyone but I could feel people in the room with me, through the bond. My pack bond seemed to have been hypersensitive since I woke up on the forest floor. There were seven wolves in the room with me and the one closest to me I could tell was Raiza. Her presence was a powerful gust of wind that could flatten cities in its wake. At the moment though it seemed a gentle breeze that caressed me calmingly.

Raiza sensing that I was awake moved forward into my line of sight. "Kye, don't worry everything is alright. This is a perfectly normal part of the first change." She told me. She brushed the hair of my face and continued petting me soothingly. 'Why didn't you tell me about this if it is normal? Why can't I move or speak? What is this my change isn't for another whole day?' I wanted to ask her but I couldn't say anything. "I would have told you about this but it happened much sooner than I expected. For each wolf the timing is different. Before a wolf goes through their first shift their wolf soul and their human soul attack each other. Each one trying to assume dominance." She began to explain. "If the fight for dominance happened at birth then the wolf soul being stronger would win out but since the human soul had time to grow and strengthen than it now has a chance. It is very rare that a wolf dies because of their first shift but it does happen every now and then because either their human soul or wolf soul defeats the other. As werewolves we can not have purely a wolf soul in a human body or a human soul in a wolf body. Our two souls must be balanced." Raiza explained quietly.

Panic shot through me and I wanted to scream. Why? Why didn't someone tell me sooner? They should prepare you ahead of time shouldn't they? "Calm down Kye, what is done is done and being upset won't change it," she said. When I calmed down she nodded to me and continued her lecture. "For some reason when our two souls battle we are rendered helpless and when we are able to move again it is as a wolf and normally we are confused which is why pack mates are always present as is the alpha." That explained the other wolves in the room, if I remembered right there were six adolescent wolves, or wolves under 21, currently. "Your shift began sooner than most wolves so until it gets closer to the actual change let me put you back into a light sleep," Raiza stood from the bed and began to reach out to me. I went cold with dread I didn't want to spend hours asleep especially if I didn't make it through the change. I wanted to be awake for this not dead to the world around me.

"No" I softly croaked out. I almost passed out from the effort of speaking but managed it. Raiza's hand froze a few centimeters from my face. Through the bond I could feel the others emotions as clearly as my own, everyone was shocked. Raiza meet my eyes and I held them as long as I could unable to look away. Finally she nodded and pulled her hand back as she stepped away from my bed.

***

The hours I spent just staring at the ceiling of the infirmary seemed to go on forever the other wolves all held a silent vigil as time went by. I don't know why they didn't talk or do something it would have made the time pass faster for them and me as well because then I would have something to listen to.

The first noise I heard after Raiza had stopped talking was the scuff of feet against wood. It was the first sound in hours and they approached my bed. Muscled arms slipped beneath me and lifted me up from the bed. I could see Ryan's face and was settled lightly against his chest. "It is almost time for the shift and there is not room for a wolf in here," he explained as he carried me from the room. I could hear and sense the others following us and before us I could see Raiza leading the way through the halls.

We passed through the doorway into wood paneled room. I was placed on the floor in the center of the room, at least I think it was the center. The others made a wide circle around me and I could feel energy buzzing from them through the bond. The energy coming of them made me lightheaded and reminded of the one horrendous time I got drunk.

Soon my bond started to vibrate and energy welled up inside of me. My bones began to convulse and soon I was yelling...growling? in agony. The colors around me changed, sounds exploded in my ears, and I could smell and taste everything. The clearest scent was the smell of my own panic and confusion. I wasn't even half-way through the change when I passed out, not from the pain but from the overwhelming influence of a foreign presence.