Chapter Seventeen: Shifting

"Are you ready?" Jack asks. We got back to the pack house a few hours ago and I've been trying to mentally prepare for my first shift. I'm mostly trying to prepare myself for the pain.

"I don't know if I can do this," I tell him honestly, he gives him a sympathetic smile.

"Megan, you are stronger then you think," He says.

"What if I hurt someone?" I ask

"You won't, remember when you are a wolf you're still in control," He assures me

"How much is it going to hurt, be honest?" I ask him.

"It'll hurt a lot, but we're not going to leave you alone I promise." I take a deep breath, I can do this right? If I survived being attacked by a werewolf and then kill that werewolf, I can become one. "It'll be okay," He says gently Jack tells me to go change into some old clothes that I won't mind getting ripped up. I put on an old red shirt and some old jeans. I put up my hair in a messy bun.

"Okay I'm ready," I say to Jack when I come back out.

"Okay, I'm going to get Adam alright," He replies and then goes into the living room. My immortal heart is beating like crazy, I'm so nervous.

"Hey love, I heard your ready," He says giving me a kiss on the forehead.

"I'm nervous," I admit, he wraps his hand in mine.

"I know you're nervous but you are the strongest person I've ever met and I'm over 250 years old," He says with a smile.

"You won't leave right?" I ask

"Of course not, I'll be here the whole time," He assures. Mom comes up to me when she notices that we're going to the woods soon.

"Are you sure you don't want me to come with you?" She asks creasing my cheek with her hand.

"No, you don't need to hear my screams of pain,"

She nods and then turns to Adam and Jack.

"Take care of her,"

"We will Kate, I give you my word," Adam promises her.With that we go to leave. Adam holds my hand as we take the walk to the meadow. Every now and then he'll give it a squeeze to try and reassure me and calm my nerves. We get to the meadow and I take a deep breath. You can do this Megan. I say to myself.

"Okay, do you want me to explain what it's going to feel like so you can be prepared?" Jack asks me, I nod. "So I was talking to Mya, and she said that you have to think about becoming a wolf since you're not controlled by the moon," "The shifting process is pretty painful but don't try and fight the pain, it'll be quicker that way," "Your mind might be a little fuzzy at first but it will clear, once your shifted you can run free,"Knowing what to expect makes me feel a little better.

"Okay, lets do this," I say pushing back my fear. I move to the middle of the meadow and lock eyes with Adam. He gives me a small smile. I close my eyes and start to picture myself turning into a wolf. I take a couple of deep breaths, and then the pain starts. It starts at my ankles. I hear a sharp crack of my ankles breaking at searing pain shoots through them. I scream as I feel my lower legs breaking along with my shoulders dislocating."It hurts!" I scream out involuntarily. I hear one of them walk in front of me.

"Megan sweetheart, open your eyes," I hear Adam say to me. I open my eyes as I feel my femurs breaking."Look at me alright, it's almost over trust me," He says gently stroking my cheek.With that I feel my spine break. It's the worst pain anyone could imagine. It feels like someone is pulling your bones apart while setting them on fire. I feel sharp teeth pierce through my gums as I let out one final scream. The pain suddenly stops and my mind is fuzzy. When my mind finally clears I look up and see Adam and Jack looking at me. Adam has this huge grin on his face.

"You're a true Alpha Megan," Jack says. I try to communicate with them but all that comes out is small growling noises. Jack lets out a small laugh."You have wolf telepathy Meg, just think of what you want to say we'll hear you," He explains.

"What do I look like?" I think at when Adam lights up I know that he heard me.

"You have a beautiful white fur coat that's is as white as the snow, your eyes are yellow with small amounts of purple around the irises, you're a big wolf a true alpha," He explains with a smile.

"What do I do now?" I ask

"You can go for a run," Jack suggests I look around, everything is even more sharp now that I'm a wolf. I smell an animal somewhere down the trail. For some reason I want to go find it. I start running, following the smell. It feels amazing but different at the same time. Running on four legs instead of two, having paws instead of feet. The smell that I've been following is a deer. It looks so good. I follow my instincts and jump on the deer. I bite their throat quickly putting it out of its misery. "A deer, good choice," I hear Jack say as I start eating my way through the meat. It's just as satisfying as blood. Once I finish the deer I leave the rest of the deer for the animals. I then run back to the meadow and lay down as the sun sets.

"Does it hurt to shift back?" I ask Jack

"It does a little but not as bad as turning into a wolf,"

"Okay," I get up and run some laps around the meadow. I hear Adam and Jack talking amongst themselves."How do I shift back?" I ask as I walk over to them.

"Think of yourself as a human or vampire in your case and you'll shift back," He explains

"You're not going to have clothes on, so you should shift at the house," Adam says and I nod my head. We head back to the house and I immediately go to my room to shift. Jack was right the pain wasn't that bad, it was more of a sharp ache instead of a burning pain. Once I shift back I throw on my pyjamas. Suddenly I get this wave of fatigue."Megan are you dressed?" I hear Adam ask after he knocks on the door.

"Yeah," I say tiredly, He comes in and I immediately go into his arms. "I'm so tired," I tell him and he lets out a small laugh.

"I bet, you did amazing today," He replies

"I thought vampires couldn't sleep?" I ask

"We can but we don't need to," He tells me. My parents come in after I get myself settled in bed.

"We're going now okay sweetie," My mom says and I nod.

"I'll see you soon," I say and she nods

"I love you," She says

"I love you too," I reply. They leave and Adam comes at sits on the bed.

"You should get some rest," He tells me.

"Can you stay with me?" I ask patting a spot on the bed.

"Of course," He says getting under the covers. He wraps his arms around me and I lay my head on his chest. "I'm so proud of you," He says as he starts playing with my hair. I smile and close my eyes. He continues playing with my hair and before I know it, I've fallen into deep slumber.