The First Shift

Quinn

This was too soon. It wasn’t meant to happen yet.

My mind was a whirlwind. I couldn’t focus on anything around me.

I felt hands lifting me, carrying me up the stairs to my bedroom.

Jaxon was saying something, but his words were drowned out by my own screams. All I could focus on was the searing pain coursing through me.

It was unbearable, the worst thing I’d ever felt. It was as if everything inside me had come alive and was tearing me apart.

My heart was hammering in my chest.

My blood felt like it was boiling. My entire body was burning from the inside out.

Every muscle, every bone was screaming in agony.

A touch on my bare skin made the pain in that spot double.

“Open the window!” someone shouted as my hearing started to come back. “She needs the moonlight!”

The pain started to ebb, only to be replaced by another wave of fire that made me double over as my limbs jerked uncontrollably.

I squeezed my eyes shut, gritting my teeth to keep from crying out.

This was pure torture, and it was only the beginning. Next, all two hundred and six bones in my body would break, which could happen any second. And finally, I would fully transform into a werewolf.

~I can’t do this!~

~I’m not ready!~

As my vision cleared, I saw Sky, Harper, Raphael, and the doctor all gathered around my bed. I couldn’t make out what they were saying, but it seemed like they were trying to encourage me.

I winced as the doctor shone a light in my eye, blinding me again.

“Well?” Jaxon asked.

“She’s strong, but this is happening much sooner than we expected,” the doctor replied.

“What are you saying?”

“I’m saying there’s nothing more I can do. It’s up to her now.”

“That’s not good enough!” Jaxon snapped. “This is the twenty-first century! There has to be something you can do!”

The two men were standing toe-to-toe. From their serious expressions, it looked like they’d been arguing for a while.

The doctor sighed. “I understand your frustration, Alpha,” he said. “I was just as worried when my mate shifted. But right now, your presence will do more good than anything I can do. She needs your support to get through this. Apart from adrenaline shots, we have to let nature take its course.”

Jaxon looked at me, worry clear in his eyes. He was breathing almost as hard as I was.

He tried to burn off his nervous energy by pacing the room.

He looked helpless, like he wanted to help but didn’t know how.

Another wave of pain made me flip onto my stomach. I grabbed the comforter and screamed into the pillow.

I thought I knew what I was getting into, but this pain was nothing like I’d imagined. Before this, the worst pain I’d ever felt was passing a kidney stone. This was a thousand times worse.

~This is impossible!~

~I’m not strong enough!~

~It’s going to kill me!~

I flipped onto my back.

For a few moments, everyone was silent. The pack members were looking at me in fear. Harper was comforting Sky, who was on the verge of tears, while Raphael was trying to calm Jaxon. My moans and sobs were the only sounds.

I sat up and started to rock back and forth.

Then I felt someone gently rubbing my lower back in soothing circles. Unlike the burning pain I’d felt from being touched before, these hands were cool and comforting.

“Quinn, you’re shifting. Your instinct is to fight it, but you have to accept the pain,” Jaxon said, trying to reassure me and himself. “Resisting it will only make it worse.”

~Accept the pain? Is he serious?~

I wished someone would just end my suffering.

“Lupus Paulo,” Jaxon whispered, gripping my hand tightly, “I’m so sorry for everything that’s happened between us. I had no right to treat you the way I did. You’re not just my equal, you’re my soulmate.”

He cradled me in his arms and started to brush strands of hair from my sweaty forehead.

“I can’t do this… I just can’t,” I mumbled.

“Yes, you can. You’re not allowed to give up. We’re going to spend the rest of our lives together. We’re still getting to know each other.”

He gestured toward the others.

“See those people over there? I didn’t ask them to be here. They came because of you. They’re your family. And they love you just as much as I do. No one here wants to lose you.”

When I looked at everyone around me, I started to forget about the pain.

~Are these people really here for me?~

I was touched by their love and support. Could I have really earned such devotion in the short time I’d been with the pack?

Their faces told me I had.

Tears started to stream down my face, but not from the pain—I hardly felt it anymore—but from the realization that I’d found a place I could call home.

Jaxon was right.

They were my family.

I realized then that I didn’t want to leave them. I didn’t want to die, not when I’d just started to find my place in this world.

I had a responsibility to not just myself, but to the people in this room—to my pack. They needed me just as much as I needed them.

Jaxon leaned in and kissed me, sending a wave of coolness through me that dampened the fire inside.

I didn’t want it to stop.

I started to reach out to touch him, but then my body jerked violently.

CRACK.

I gasped as I felt my femur snap. The sound echoed in my ears. The pain was unbearable.

This was a whole new level of agony.

I’d never experienced a broken bone before. My mom had always been there to make sure I didn’t get into any accidents. So, I had no clue what to expect.

I wanted to scream, but the feeling of my other leg breaking took my breath away.

Jaxon moved back, giving me some space.

Then my shin bones...my arms...my pelvis.

Each bone in my hands and fingers broke, one after the other.

My body twisted in ways it shouldn’t. I barely registered the tears streaming down my face.

I wished for death.

“Make it stop,” I begged.

But no one could, even if they wanted to.

I started to feel numb.

My eyelids grew heavy and my mind started to wander. Sleep was becoming more and more tempting.

Suddenly, a surge of energy exploded within me, jolting me awake.

It felt like I’d been hit by a train as the pain came rushing back.

I wasn’t getting off that easy.

Jaxon

“This is it,” the doctor announced, pulling the needle out of Quinn’s arm. “She’s entering the final stage.”

I wanted to hold her, but I had to let the transformation take its course.

I felt helpless.

I’d seen people die during this process before, but never someone I cared about this much. This was the second time I was watching a loved one inch towards death... I wasn’t sure I could handle it if she didn’t make it.

But I had to keep reminding myself that she'd come so far already. She just had to hang on a little longer.

~Please, don’t give up.~

~I don’t know what I’d do without you.~

Suddenly, a scream echoed through the room. But it wasn’t from Quinn. It came from the hallway.

~What the hell?~

Everyone in the room looked just as puzzled as I felt, especially when more screams followed.

Alex burst into the room, blood streaming down his face. He had three deep cuts on his cheeks. He collapsed to his knees.

Gasps filled the room.

“Alex!” Sky cried, rushing to her brother. I joined her.

“Alex! What happened?” I asked.

“It’s Carl!” he panted. “He’s escaped! Killed two of the guards! I tried to stop him, but…” He continued to gasp for air. “I’m sorry!”

I was in disbelief. We had him locked up in our most secure cell. It should have been impossible for him to escape.

But there was no time to figure out how. He needed to be stopped.

I started for the door, but Raphael held me back. “No! You need to be here with her. I’ll go.”

But as Raphael reached the entrance, he was suddenly thrown to the floor as the door was ripped off its hinges. He didn’t move.

When I looked up, I saw a massive wolf snarling in the doorway. Its eyes were glowing red and its teeth were bared at me. A familiar scar ran down its face…

It was him.