Silver Touched Soul

Chapter 8

The mood in the dining room was tense that night. I took my usual position beside the table next to where Grace sat as she went to the buffet to get us both food. This had become a daily routine for Grace and I. The upside for me being that my food was literally hand delivered to me by a Princess.

I'd learnt a few days ago that the evening of a full moon was always this tense. A young werewolf would always shift for the first time on a full moon. But the age for their first shift differed greatly for each werewolf. Some had their first shift at 12 years old and some at 18 years old.

The only exception to this rule is if a werewolf shifts and finds their mate, the mate is guaranteed to shift on the next full moon. Which was the case for Lydia. The poor girl was now sitting with her friends and family nervously as they tried to comfort her about the painful night ahead.

Of course the full moon was always a nervous time for every first time shifting werewolf above 12 years old. I could only imagine the terror that was going through Lydia's mind because she knew what was coming.

At least the only people that were allowed to be present at a first shift was the werewolf's mate if they had one, immediate family as well as the Alpha and Luna. The Alpha and Luna played a big role in guiding a new wolf through their first shift. Derrick and Saffron would also be present at Lydia's first shift to learn from the current Alpha and Luna. Grace being a Princess would also be there for support.

"Will you be alright by yourself tonight?" Grace asked me once dinner was over and most of the pack was departing the dining room. She'd been quite for most of dinner but I could hardly blame her when she had to deal with such a stressful night every month.

"I will be fine." I promised Grace with a small smile on my face in an attempt to help cheer her up. "When you finally get to bed don't worry about waking me up. Just go have a shower and crawl into bed, I'll be sure to warm your toes for you."

Grace laughed. "Thanks Eva. The world needs souls like you."

"Good luck tonight Grace." I said as she got up and fixed her eyes on the doors. I knew I wouldn't see her for a while once she walked out of them as she would go straight to the area designed to help with shifting for new wolves and it made me sad to know she'd be gone. Even if it was only for a night.

"It will be fine as long as we don't have more than two new shifters. It gets hectic with three or more." Grace reassured me before patting my head for comfort and turning around to disappear through the doors.

I saw Derrick and Saffron follow Alpha Leyton and Luna May as they headed in the same direction as Grace. So I sought out Thomas and Daniel to spend some time with before I retired for the night. However my search for the mated pair turned up empty after an hour and I'd run out of places I could think of to look. So even though it was only 8 pm I caught the elevator to the top floor and went to our bedroom.

The bedroom seemed cold and empty without Grace there, even though the heating kept the room at a constant temperature. So I just curled up in my usual spot on the end of the massive bed and closed my eyes as I waited for sleep to lure me to it's sweet depths.

...

I awoke to the feeling of intense pain. It only took me a few moments to determine that the pain was not mine.

I looked at the clock, thankful that Grace had spent the time to teach me how to read it as well as tell the time. I discovered that it was 2 am in the morning and Grace was not back yet.

I quickly got up and left the room, trying to determine where the phantom pain was coming from. All I could tell currently is that it was coming from far below me.