Changed
I never asked for this. To bechanged.To be on the brink of death, waiting for release from the pain, only to wakeand find out I was a monster, an impossible thing, an animal. The thought wasfunny, really. As I lay there going in and out of consciousness, I laughed. Iwas a vegetarian. I couldn’t be a werewolf, I just couldn’t. But there was nodenying what I was becoming. I could feel my inner wolf lingering inside me,waiting to break the surface.
That’s when a steely voice brokethrough my thoughts. His voice, my savior and my maker. ‘You are a werewolfand you’re mine.’My insides turned over at the mental invasion. Yet, itfelt like he was a part of me. ‘Pack.’Something inside me whispered. Thesearing pain that burned on my abdomen threatened to make me go unconsciousagain.
“Stay with me. Please survive,” hisvoice said aloud this time, and I felt a hand cup my face. The last thing Ithought of before losing consciousness again was the memory of my body lying inthe winding road that led to Mt. Hood. Of the tall dark man that changed into awerewolf and ripped me to shreds with his teeth.
I awoke sometime later and sat up,fully expecting to be sore or to have stitches all over my body; bandages, acast, something. I looked down and saw my pale skin. I had a t-shirt on and itsmelled likehim. I pulled it up and traced my fingers along the whitejagged scar that marked my belly. That’s where he bit me first. Other than thatbite mark, my skin was flawless. I looked around. I was in a simple room. Therewere hardwood floors, a small bed and a dresser.
My mind flashed back to the scene, tolast night. The dark-skinned man that turned into a… a wolf, and attacked me.Well, that wasn’t quite right. I had been in an accident. Oh god, it was bad. Igrabbed my head remembering the pain I had felt. My leg had been twisted at anodd angle. Blood had poured freely from my abdomen. I was waiting to die. If Ihadn’t tried to swerve and miss that deer, I wouldn’t have crashed my Jetta.What do they tell you? Swerve into the mountain? Away from the mountain? Don’tswerve? Hit the deer? I couldn’t remember, and I was a vegetarian, so I went oninstinct. My instinct saidDon’t hit the cute baby deer, and it got mekilled. Well… I would have died but thenHeattacked me. Hechangedme.I knew it. I could feel it. I was like him. I was….. a shapeshifter?
‘You’re awerewolf.’The man spoke intomy mind, and I jumped startled and looked around. My heart was racing. I lookeddown at my body once more. No marks other than the bite mark on my stomach. Ihealed, like in the movies. Like Hollywood werewolves do. A soft knock came atthe door and I covered my legs, which were bare.
“Come in?” I said, unsure. It’s notlike it was my room. A girl who looked to be about twenty years old poked herhead in. She had bright red hair that was cut in a short pixie style and spikedup all over with long bangs in front. She had a heart-shaped face and greeneyes. ‘Pack,’I thought, and shivered at the new feelings. The voice.
“Hi,” she said tentatively as shecame in and softly closed the door behind her. In her hand was a bag.
“Hi,” I croaked back, unsure of whatto say.
She tossed the bag onto the bed. “Weseem to be the same size, so I hope they fit.” She gestured with her hands, asI opened the bag and saw clean clothes and a pair of flip-flops.
“Thanks.”
“Kai sent me to check on you. To helpyou get accustomed. I can’t believe you survived.” Emma sat at the edge of thebed.
“Kai?” Somehow the name resonateddeep inside me.
“The guy who saved your life. OurAlpha.” She seemed unsure of what to say next.
‘Our Alpha.’My stomach dropped. Everything I hadever heard or read about Alphas was not good.
“Does he own us?” I shuttered at thethought. I worked very hard to get my college degree and become an independentwoman. The last thing I needed, on top of becoming a flesh-eating monster, wasto have some psycho hopped on steroids bossing me around.
The girl barked out a laugh. “Well, that’sfunny. I hadn’t thought of it that way. He protects us, keeps us safe fromrival packs and others. Keeps us fed, happy, and takes care of all of ourneeds. He keeps peace within the pack. He’s a good Alpha; the strongest man inthe pack. We’re lucky to have him. My name is Emma.”
She held out her hand to me; I shookit. I noticed she didn’t exactly answer my question. “I’m Aurora.”
“How old are you?” she inquired.
“Twenty-two, how old are you?”
“Nineteen.” She sat there in silencefor a few minutes biting her lip. “Look, I’m sorry about your accident. Thismust be really overwhelming. I can take you out to meet the others but first weshould go over some things. Kind of like werewolf 101.”
My accident…so she knew. “Werewolf101?” I queried.
“Yeah, let’s start with the rules.When you’re around Kai, you don’t look him directly in the eyes for more than afew seconds. You actually wouldn’t be able to hold a staring contest with him;it’s physically impossible for less dominant wolves. You don’t want him tothink you are challenging his strength to lead us. How’re you doing, you okay?”
I picked this odd moment to think ofmy roommate and my mother. How worried they must be that they hadn’t heard fromme. “When can I go home?” I asked shakily.
Emma’s face fell. “Aurora, you’repack now.” She rested her hand on my knee and it felt oddly comforting.
‘Pack,’ a small voice inside me said.
“You can’t leave. Kai wouldn’t letyou. If he cut ties with you, then you wouldn’t last a week as a lone wolfbefore another pack found you. Female werewolves are rare. Most of them don’tsurvive thechangeand only a handful are born to werewolf couples. Ifanother pack claimed you, they might not treat you properly. Kai’s pack isrespectful of females, they cherish us, protect us. Not all packs are likethat.” Something dark crossed her face but before I could figure it out, it wasgone.
“I can’t go home. I can’t stare theAlpha in the eye. Okay, keep going.” I took a deep breath. Werewolves existed.I was one of them. I would have been dead if Kai hadn’tchangedme. Icouldn’t go home. Okay. Just breathe.
Emma nodded. “That small voice youare probably hearing, that’s letting you know that I’m pack, or that you’re indanger. That’s your wolf, your instinct. She will barely speak to you now butas you get to know her better and trust her more, you and her will become one.”
