"What was his name again? Ashley?" he teased.
I grew angry and wanted to smack him. He knew how difficult this was for me and it wasn't funny.
"Don't talk about Asher like that. And being a shifter is not awesome." I cringed, watching him eat. "Can you not eat like you're an animal?" I pleaded.
"Why? I am an animal," Maddox said. He stood and howled into the air.
I rolled my eyes, getting increasingly annoyed by his act. "You are disgusting," I stated with a frown. "Besides, now I don't have a date for the dance. I'll just have to go with Laura or Melanie, that is, if they don't find dates or I'll be the third wheel."
"You could always go with me," Maddox joked.
I smiled and offered a slight laugh. "Yeah, thanks, but I'd hate to upset the entire cheerleading squad." My smile faded and a few minutes of silence passed between us.
Maddox narrowed his eyes at me, sat back down, and wiped his greasy hands on his jeans. "Elle, I hate seeing you so upset, but you know dumping Asher was for the best."
"Yeah, I know," I said, through gritted teeth.
It didn't feel like the best thing. I'd been tempted so many times to return his texts or pick up the phone and answer when he'd called, but I just couldn't. It sickened me to ignore him, but like Maddox had said, it was probably for the best. I just felt like I needed some kind of sign to let me know everything was going to be alright.
I left Maddox and went back home. Exhausted from my misery, I fell asleep before dinner. Maybe I should've seen it as a sign.
Later that night, I awoke from a deep sleep, my body writhing in pain. Aches stung my legs and arms, and I was sweating profusely. I screamed, my voice piercing the silence of the night. My parents rushed to my side as my body began convulsing uncontrollably.
I knew this was it.
I was shifting.
"Elle, can you hear me?" my dad asked. He brushed wet hair away from my forehead.
All I could do was scream, cry, and beg for mercy as the throbbing, stabbing pains continued their assault on my body.
"She's shifting," my mother cried out.
My dad lifted me in his arms and gently carried me out of my room, my mom trailing behind him. I didn't need to open my eyes to know where they were taking me.
They were taking me to the underground room below our shed.
I was about to experience the most painful and frightening moment of my life, and nothing I could do or say could stop it from happening.
A cool wind swept across my body when we got outside. Voices seemed to rush around me as my dad called out commands that my mom answered. I felt a hand grasp mine as thrashed about in my dad's arms.
Maddox.
"Elle, I'm here with you," he called out to me. 'I’m not going anywhere."
My dad lay me down on a soft blanket inside the room before he closed the door behind him.
I heard a scuffle, and someone pulled Maddox away from me. "You can't be in there with her," my dad called.
"Son, she has to be alone. It's dangerous to be near someone shifting. They can't control their hunger or actions," another voice said; it was Maddox's dad.
"No, she needs me," Maddox called, banging against the metal fence that separated us.
I opened my eyes in time to see tears streaking down Maddox’s face. As much pain as I was experiencing, I knew, in my heart, he was in pain, too. Watching me experience something so terrible and knowing he couldn't help me devastated him.
"Just stay next to me," I whispered, lacing my fingers through the metal bars. Maddox held onto my hand.
Then everything around me began to turn.
My body started to convulse; my skin tightened around my muscles. A thick, purple fog seemed to erupt around me as my senses went into overdrive. It was like some type of other-worldly experience that I was watching from a distance, even though I was still experiencing agonizing pain. I let out a sharp scream and fell onto the cold, cement floor as I clawed at the ground. My bones began to shift, feeling as if they were breaking and remolding inside of my body. Fire and ice shot through my veins, and the surge of instant pain almost became too much for me to handle.
Cracking.
Tearing.
Searing pain.
I must've passed out from the agony at some point because when my eyes regained focus, everything was quiet and still. I found myself lying on the cold, cement ground. My eyes raked over my body, and I saw fur instead of skin and flesh, a dark, honey-colored fur that matched my hair color. Paws had replaced my hands, and muscular wolf's legs had replaced my human ones.
"You're awake," Maddox whispered, as he slowly unlocked the door and stepped inside. He was still in his human form, and I felt scared.
"What happened?" I asked. “How can I still talk if I'm an animal?" "You're still human, Elle," Maddox began. "You just have another power that makes you more... special than most people."
"What do I do now?" I asked, as I got up to stand on all fours. The movement should have been strange or foreign to me, but it wasn't. I felt like I'd made that same move a million times before.
"We need to run. We both need to feed. I promised our families I'd show you," Maddox said.
I looked around the empty room and almost felt a pain of sadness at the loneliness I suddenly felt. "We?" I asked.
"Yes. I'm going with you," Maddox stated.
Maddox took a step back. There was a loud, cracking sound and a series of moans slipped past Maddox's lips. He turned, his back now facing me, and his agonizing cries grew louder. There was a vibrant flash of colors that almost blinded me, and then Maddox crumpled to the ground.
When the fog had left and I was finally able to see again, I was looking at the same wolf as the night I'd been scratched in the woods; it was Maddox.
He looked at me, pawing at me as he waited for my reaction. Shock. Disbelief. I was stunned. I wasn't sure how watching Maddox's metamorphosis had caused such an array of emotions in me after I'd just done the same, but it was oddly fascinating watching my lifelong best friend turn into a wild beast before my very eyes.
"Wow," I said, through my shock.
"It's crazy, right?" Maddox asked. He turned and wagged his long, fluffy tail my way and then ran out of the room. Not sure what else to do, I followed closely behind him. We exited the underground room and were met with by a black sky and a glowing full moon above us. The cool night air swept through my fur, and it felt refreshing. Around me, I expected to see my family and Asher, but instead, I was met by silence.
"Where is everyone?" I asked, pausing beside Maddox.
He was standing just under the glow of the garage's exterior light, his brown fur illuminated by a yellow tint. He looked beautiful in the light, and I couldn't help but stare.
"Look around," Maddox said, turning his head left and right.
Just as I began to eye my surroundings, a black crow flew from a branch above us down toward the grass below. A black panther slowly crept up from the bushes beside my house and a sandy-colored wildcat with bold, white whiskers pounced upon the scene.
I was afraid at first, and I bent down on my front legs and snarled. It wasn't until I truly looked into their eyes-their -familiar eyes-that I put my sharp canines away and stood erect.
It was my family.
"Elle, don't be afraid," my dad's voice came from the crow inches in front of me.
Bewilderment came over me once I'd realized my dad had been with me every run I'd made. I'd seen that same black crow the day I'd tripped in the woods. He'd been there for me all along, and I'd never known it.
“I’m not afraid," I lied. I’m just upset that the more I accept the change, the more lies and secrets I uncover," I said, hanging my head.
"Elle, we never meant for this to hurt you. Please understand, this is difficult for us, too," my mom said as the wildcat stepped before me. She was majestic and serene, and I could see her feminine qualities, even though the shape of the animal she had taken on.
<
br /> "Mom," I said, looking her over again.
"Yes," she said. "We love you. This was hard for us, too, when it was our first time shifting. Just know that we're here for you."
"I want to know everything," I demanded, stomping my paw in the dirt. "Everything."
"Elle, your family and I will tell you everything you need to know," Maddox said as he moved closer to me. His voice sounded like it had run from the mouth of a teenage boy, but his fierceness was that of a black panther, a majestic animal with a killer, sleek look, and deadly eyes. How I'd never noticed the resemblance before baffled me.
My parents came over and stood around me. They were in awe of my transformation, and though I was still in searing pain and scared, I was intrigued, too.
Maddox cut between us and looked at me. "It's time for you to run. I'll show you how to hunt. We only hunt animals and fish, no humans ever." Maddox grimaced.
A wild instinct had come over me, and I felt like if I didn’t run and race toward the forest, my heart might explode. It was a nervous, anxious feeling that I couldn't control.
"I need to run," I admitted, and I began to move around.
"That's the shifter in you, Elle," my dad said. "You've always been a shifter, you just had to wait until the time was right before you could finally transform into the animal you would become." He flapped his wings, flew with ease into the night air, and began to circle our group. Following his lead, my mom leaped over the ground with grace as she made her way toward the forest. Asher began to race forward, too, while Maddox and I remained side-by-side.
We ran for hours, my paws leaping and pouncing over rocks and sticks with ease and agility. The wind raced through my fur with a wild fury that caused my heart to beat faster. Never in my life had I ever felt so alive. My family had been right: I was meant to run. I was meant to become a shifter. In that moment, I decided to stop being such a pain and embrace the new phase in my life.
I was a shifter.
Chapter 13
I returned home, my stomach full, my legs dead tired. Maddox taught me how to hunt for rabbit, and we feasted on two large rabbits we caught. I watched their techniques, unsure if I'd have the strength in me to kill something so furry and cute. I might have to stick to fishing or let the others hunt the game for me.
Mom and Dad were sitting on the sofa, and I was lying across from them on the couch. I could tell by their silence that they wanted to talk. I knew I needed to hear everything and that the lies and surprises needed to stop. I needed to know where I came from.
"Elle, are you ready to hear the rest of my story?" my dad asked. I sat up, nodded my head, and folded my hands in my lap.
"I was twelve when I first learned that I was a shifter. My body had begun to grow at a rapid speed, and my muscles and joints ached. I'd complain to my parents, but they wouldn't take me to a doctor. Finally, one day, I had a terrible headache, and my body hurt so badly, I crumpled to the ground. Your grandfather found me and instead of rushing me to a hospital like I'd begged him to do, he took me into a dark cellar behind their farm I hadn't known existed. I was scared."
My dad gulped and looked away for a moment before continuing. My mom took his hand for encouragement.
"My father tried to explain to me that I was a shifter, but his words didn't make any sense. I was in so much pain, I was sure I was going to die. Suddenly, he shifted right in front of me, becoming a large wolf, much like you and Maddox do. Before I could react, my body finalized the last stage in shifting, and I became a black crow. I was scared and didn't know what to do, but my instincts took over, and everything just came to me." He sighed and gave me a gentle smile.
"Wow, Dad, I didn't know that," I said.
"My experience was much the same as your dad's," my mom chimed in. "I was sixteen, like you, and my parents took me into the woods and shifted before me so that I wouldn't be as afraid." She smiled at me, and I smiled back. I hadn't known either set of my grandparents. They'd died in car accidents before I was born. I wished I'd had the chance to know them, to ask them questions, too.
"There's more," my dad said, dipping his head. His eyes seemed to glaze over, and my mom wiped a lone tear from her eye. I didn't like the way they looked.
"We told you that both sets of your grandparents were killed in car accidents," my dad began. He shifted uncomfortably in his seat. "That's not entirely true. My father and mother were hunted down by the SAVHs, an angry and truly evil group, and killed. They hunt and kill shifters, vampires, and other creatures they don't understand. They've been searching the country for centuries, following packs, watching their movement. When families leave their packs, they become easy targets.
"My parents wanted to leave their pack and start over somewhere else, but they could feel the hunters gaining on them. I'd just started taking classes at a local college and came home one morning to find them murdered." He shuddered, and my mom consoled him while he re-lived that awful moment.
My tears fell freely. What I was hearing was awful. Hiding my emotions would only be dishonest to my parents and disrespectful to my deceased grandparents.
"My parents were friends with your father's parents," my mom said, taking the lead on the conversation. "They'd been in the same pack and agreed to leave West Virginia with the hope of finding a new home and pack in Kentucky. After the murders, my parents packed up the car, sent me to my Aunt Elizabeth's house, and made a plan to lead the pack north. They'd just crossed the border from West Virginia to Ohio when a group of hunters rammed their car off the road and into a river. That was when your dad and I knew we had to escape together.
"We got married shortly after, and then we had you. We have a strong pack here, and family. After the other packs had learned about the murders, they set off on a hunt to fight and kill the hunters for good.
There was a lot of bloodshed and families were ripped apart. A truce was called but a time limit was never placed on it. This is our home, now and the hunters haven't been seen in years, but ..." Her voice trailed off, and she paused for a moment. "They will return."
I sucked in a deep breath and took a moment for their stories to settle in my heart.
My grandparents had been killed.
The hunters were out there somewhere, ready and willing to regroup and rise up at any given moment.
I shuddered at the thought. I couldn't imagine what I would do if something happened to my parents. More importantly, I finally understood why they'd kept all of this from me for so long. They were right: I hadn't been ready until my nature took over and my body began to shift. I still wasn't sure I was prepared for everything that might come along with being a shifter, but I knew I had my family on my side.
Chapter 14
I bit my lip and internally cringed as I glanced at my phone and scrolled through social media, looking for any sign that Asher was okay. A part of me wanted him to be happy, move on, and forget about me. Another part of me wanted him to be alone forever, never to have fun again with another girl. Selfish, I know, but I just couldn't help myself
Relief washed over me when I noticed Asher hadn't posted any new updates to his accounts. He hadn't been tagged in anyone else's posts, either, which made me smile.
"Elle, your phone's still ringing," my mom said, walking into my room. I'd been so caught up in my digital detective work that I'd muted all outside noises. The ringing of my phone was a sound I'd been trying to avoid.
"I can't face him," I said. I didn't need to answer the house phone to know that it had been Asher that had called. He'd been calling around the same time each day. If it had been Maddox or Melanie, they'd have texted me first. Only Asher would be desperate enough to have used a landline phone.
"Maybe you just need to go for a run or a walk," my mom suggested.
The idea of getting out and for a breath of fresh air sounded appealing. "Sure, that sounds great," I said.
As I walked through the forest, I felt calm for the first time in a while, though I didn't shift-I ne
eded to be human, at least, for now. I enjoyed staring up at the blue sky, watching the puffy, white clouds float by. The air was cold, almost frigid, and I wrapped my arms tightly around my body. A group of fallen leaves seemed to dance around my feet as I walked, their reds and yellows brightening the gray fall afternoon. I was so lost in the calmness of it all that I didn't see another figure standing only a few feet away from me.
"Elle?" Asher's voice cut through me like a knife.
I stopped walking and stood there, frozen like a statue. "Asher," I said, my voice barely above a whisper. I blinked several times, expecting to find him gone each time my eyes opened, sure he was nothing more than a figment of my imagination. He couldn't be standing here in front of me. No, he had to be an illusion, a trick played on me by my overly taxed brain.
Asher moved slowly forward, careful to watch me as he approached. His cold, blue eyes seemed to drink me in. He acted as if I were some wild animal about to attack. I almost laughed at the irony of the thought.
"Elle, I've been trying to call you, text you, find you after or before class and practice-why are you avoiding me? Why won't you talk to me?" he asked, pain dripping from his voice.
"Asher...! I don't know what to say," I said. I dropped my arms to me
sides and felt like giving up. I honestly couldn't think of anything I might be able to say to him that would make this any easier.
"Just tell me what happened, Elle. We were doing so good, and then you were scratched by that wolf. I know it scared you; it terrified me, too. But that doesn't mean you should hide from everyone," Asher said, standing only inches from me at the time.
"I want to tell you what's going on," I said, refusing to look him in the eye. "I wish I could explain everything to you, but I can't."
"Don't do that," Asher demanded. "Don't hide from me." He put his hand under my chin and forced me to look up at him. Sparks of electricity shot through me when his skin touched mine. I knew from the way he'd lifted his eyes that he, too, had felt the energy. "I won't run away. Just...tell me what's wrong."
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