The Legend of The Gemini Wolves: Book 1 The Silver Wolf

Chapter 9: The First Shift- Stephanie

Andre took a deep breath and said “I, Alpha Andre Lancaster of the Crescent Moon pack…” Oh goddess, was he going to? After kissing me? Was he? He was staring at me when we heard a knock. We both stood up from the table, and he helped her clean herself up. “Steph? Is there someone else in there?” Ethan asked. “Steph!” Ethan repeated. We looked at each other a bit nervously. It was quiet, but Andre was looking around, they must be talking through the mind link. I then heard him take a big breath. I didn’t realize I was now standing further from him. He was now looking at me, I was worried. Oh goddess, was he going to reject me? He inched closer to me, but I was moving backwards. “Love?” he asked. His voice started to sound worried “Don’t come closer” I told him. He looked broken when I said it. I could feel his pain the moment I said that. I could hear both our wolves whimper at that pain. “What’s wrong with love? Did I hurt you?” he asked. He stood where I told him not to go any closer “were you going to…” I was struggling to even “to…” I don’t even want to know the answer “to what my love?” he was still calling me that. Was he playing with me? “Reject me?” I managed to get it out, and the whimper of our wolves grew louder in my mind. He fell back. It hurt him. “No, I… I…” he was struggling. What did I do? “Love, can you please listen to me?” he asked, “Can I come closer please?” he added. I nodded and he did. He hugged me tighter than he did before we were interrupted.

*** Andre ***

“Don’t come closer” she told me. I was shattered. It felt like I was a glass vase hit with a thousand knives. “What’s wrong love? Did I hurt you?” I asked. I stood where she told me not to go any closer “were you going to… to…” Goddess, where is she even going with this “to what my love?” I asked her. Pain was all over her eyes. What did I do? Did I say something? “Reject me?” she finally said and I fell back. Titan whimpered so loud my head hurt. How can she even think that. I made sure she felt my love in every way I wanted to show her “No, I… I…” I was struggling to even get words out, but I wanted to make it clear to her “Love, can you please listen to me? Can I come closer please?” I asked. She nodded, heavens, this girl was going to be the death of me. I hugged me tighter than I did before we were interrupted. “Love don’t even say that please?” I asked her. I was now staring into those brown scared eyes, thinking that I was just about to reject her. Goddess. The thought of it alone was just painful. “Please don’t ever say that.” I continued. “You are the only one I will ever want, and you are the only one who can ever make me happy. You get that right?” she nodded. “I want to make you feel everything, every in of my love for you and only you. So please my love. Never ever say that. Okay?” she was tearing up “No love, now is not the time for you to cry. You must shift soon; I will wipe this all away, okay?” I told her, wiping all her tears and then moving in for a kiss in the forehead then her lips. Her lips were still quivering. I never want to see those lips quiver unless they were quivers of satisfaction. “Can you… Can you…” she was starting to talk again, “Can I what my love?” I asked her “Can you finish that sentence from earlier?” that question put a smile on my face. With pleasure my love. I nodded. I got on one knee- I know unnecessary, but I am a romantic- and looked at her. She was confused when I got down on one knee. She inched back, oof, biggest mistake, I could grab you right now and pleasure you. I cleared my throat and went back to looking at her.

“I, Alpha Andre Lancaster of the Crescent Moon pack, accept you, Beta Stephanie Spencer of the Crescent moon pack” After I finished my sentence, I got to see that smile of hers again. She helped me up and dusted the sand on my pants, which honestly was not helping. Titan was becoming happier now after what happened a couple of minutes ago, and truth be told, it was better seeing him happy than hearing him whimper. We only had an hour left before her first shift, she hugged me then kissed me and was jumpy. This was the girl I fell in love with. This is the girl I want to spend my entire life with.

*** Stephanie***.

“I, Alpha Andre Lancaster of the Crescent Moon pack, accept you, Beta Stephanie Spencer of the Crescent moon pack” Oh mother of wolves, did he just? He did!

‘NEVER DO THAT AGAIN!’ I heard The scream inside my head ‘What?’ I replied ‘How in the name of the great goddess could you think the man was going to reject you when he’s practically smitten by you. He could eat you alive if he wasn’t restraining himself’ Thena scolded. I never thought I’d get an earful from a wolf. Dare I say it, I don’t enjoy it. If you’re wrong they make it known. And boy was I completely wrong ‘Darn right you are’ Thena replied huffing.

After that, I went in to hug him when my brother entered. Which truth be told made the situation weirder for the three of us. ‘Karma works quick’ Thena chortled “What in the goddesses name is going on here?” Ethan asked. Andre was as red as a cherry “What on earth are you doing?” Ethan continued “No way, no... There is something you two are not telling me” He was pacing back and forth. “How could you do this to me!” Andre flinched; I never thought an alpha could flinch, but he did “I thought we were a team! The three of us. There is something I do not know, and I want to know what it is!” he continued “Ethan…” I managed to get a word in, but he kept saying how we were sneaking and talking behind his back and all that. “Ethan!” I yelled “What?” he heard me and replied, “I found my mate.” I replied then held Andre’s hand which made him cherry red. He was my cherry. “You did, ohhh that’s wonderful, who is it?” he asked looking at me then looking at him then looked down at me holding Andre’s hand. “Oh no… no, you two” Ethan was speechless, which was a first. He pointed at me then at Andre repeating to you 6 times “Ethan use your words” I told him. Andre was quiet, which normally he isn’t. Andre kissed me on the forehead ‘See you later love, if I live’ he managed to link me right before running off. “That i***t! Andre, you come back here!” Ethan yelled going after Andre. I laughed at the whole scene. When I heard another knock, I opened the door to see both our parents standing outside looking shocked.

“Why are those two chasing one another like children?” Luna Elaine asked “Well, I, um…” I managed to get a word in. ‘Breath’ Thena coached. ‘Right’

“Have a seat, please, we still have time” I told them, and they did. “Louis is now with Kyle and Anthony; Izzy and Kaye are with him too. We were wondering why you were taking so long. Lou told us not to worry.” My mom stated “Right, so um, we have something we need to discuss” I told them and they looked at each other with understandable concern. Imagine being told by your daughter that you had something to discuss, wouldn’t that give you a heart attack. “I found my mate,” I told them. My parents were smiling, “Oh that’s wonderful dearest, who is he?” my mom asked. Luna Elaine and Alpha Charles were holding each other so tight that it was hard to know what they were thinking. “It's Andre.” I replied. All 4 of them breathed a huge sigh of relief that I thought it was going to be enough to fly an entire dome upwards.

“Well?” I asked. I don’t know what that sigh of relief meant though. “Well, we are all happy that you found one another dear. But how long have you known?” Luna Elaine asked, “Well, I got my wolf at the stroke of midnight, his room was near my window, but I never really thought it was him until I got back to the house and Thena became restless. Thena also mentioned Titan and Dre realized it first. “They did?” Alpha Charles asked “Well, he found out during the incident with David, Thena mentioned he was becoming restless, she was calming 4 wolves down.” I replied. Their look seemed to be a mix of shock and curiosity as if I said something that wasn’t normal “Can… can you repeat that again dearest? You and your wolf were calming down 4 other wolves?” my mom asked. “Yeah… and you’re saying that as if it was not normal. I have been doing it for quite some time now.” I told them. They all looked at each other seemingly understanding without conversing or using the link. “How?” I mentioned. They all looked at me in shock almost like I read their mind. My dad looked like he was about to faint from shock. “You haven’t noticed?” I asked. They were all staring at me with shock was very evident in their faces at this point. “There have been times that you’d be stressed about Louis, a couple of minutes later both of you would calm down. Thena has been with me for a while now.” I explained. “She was already here when I was fifteen. But she didn’t show herself to me until now. She told me about this just this morning.” I added.

- Flashback –

“This is nice '' I mumbled. “Yes, it is, '' Kaye agreed. “It’s time for us to relax and enjoy the rest of the day,” said Izzy. “I feel like I really need a nap after everything” I added, then laughed, the two of us followed. “Go catch those z’s Steph!” Izzy said. “Even I know David can be a handful” She added laughing along. One part of my mind was still listening in on their conversation which was mainly what they were going to wear to the presentation tonight. Thena on the other hand emerged from my mind.

‘Now that we're alone’ said Thena, ‘I have something to tell you’, she continued ‘What is it?’ I asked. ‘There has been something I have been meaning to tell you since this morning.’ She answered ‘Okay, what’s up?’ I answered, ‘Most wolves arrive at the age of 18, right?’ she asked ‘Yes, they do, and you did come right on time.’ I replied, ‘Well not exactly.’ She said, this was the first time she was vague since our conversations started. ‘And by that you mean?’ I asked. I was confused at this point. ‘I came to you at 15, which does not normally happen, but the goddess has granted you the special permission of getting your wolf at 15. You have been with a wolf since you were 15, but I have not shown myself to you until now. I have been helping you from the shadows all these years Steph.’ She explained ‘How?’ I asked, I wanted to know more. I was still very much confused. ‘We are not like most wolves Steph, you are special. So is Louis. Smoke came to him a year ago but had to hide in the shadows as well until both of you turned 18.’ She explained. ‘Is there anything else I need to know?’ I asked, ‘There are so many things I have to tell you Steph, but you will understand in time why I can’t tell you everything for now’ Thena explained. ‘Okay. I trust you, but please tell me if there’s something I must know. I told her ‘I will, wolf’s promise’ she said. She then retreated to the back of my mind and slept.

--- End of Flashback ---

“Smoke came to Lou last year, according to Thena. He has been able to heal better than before. I still don’t exactly know how and why Thena came when she did. All she told me was that she was given special permission by the goddess to come to me earlier than any other wolf” I continued. All of them were quiet but understood what was going on. “It’s for the best that you found your mate Stephy '' my dad said “Your father’s right, Andre will be able to keep you calm when in need. Your emotions have been heightened for a while now. He was the only one who could keep you calm since you turned 15. We never understood how and why, but it just made sense when you told us. We had our suspicions, but we didn’t want to intrude with the goddess’ plan.” Alpha Charles added. “Lou started showing visible signs at 15 that there were changes. We had to take him out of training as it made him visibly weaker” my mom continued “I know” I replied. “I know you do, dear. I sensed that you felt it. You have been lending him a fraction of your strength to help him heal, have you?” Luna Elaine asked “Yes'' I answered. “And you never felt weak yourself?” my dad asked, “No, I felt him grow stronger when I leant my strength. It helped both of us. I grew stronger the moment you pulled him out of training. He was no longer using most of his energy physically. It helped us both to be honest, '' I replied.

“How come you are telling us this now?” my mom asked “It’s Lou, you worry a lot about him. I understood he needed you more than I ever did. Andre helped a lot, so did Lou and Ethan. But I had to tell you. You were worried about me lately. Something's going on right?” I asked. Their shocked look became more evident. “I’m sorry dearest if it felt like…” my mom said “I know. I always knew I could approach you. I, just like Thena, thought it wasn’t time just yet.” I replied. “Time?” my dad asked. “Somethings coming, you know it, I know it. Lou knows it. You have been growing more concerned for him. Something is coming. The wolves are getting restless” I explained. All I heard next was deep sighs coming from my dad and the alpha, which meant something was indeed coming. “I don’t know, nor do I understand how I knew but it was just right there. I have been feeling it for a while now. It's been getting me agitated lately. Mate or no mate. There are wolves in the pack that are growing lost. I could no longer feel the connection to their humans. It’s as if they were separating from them.” I added “David was one of them. Thena was becoming restless. Ulmer is young. Unlike most wolves gifted to the pack, David was his first one. Thena managed to save the pup, but I don’t know if we could save the others.” I explained. “Others?” Luna Elaine asked “Yes, there are those, especially from the lower ranks who are disconnecting from their humans. I felt 10 during the presentation. At tonight’s shift I must know how much more.” I explained.

‘We must meet the elder’s soon’ my mom told dad ‘Agreed’ Alpha Charles joined in.

We heard a knock at the door. It was Ethan “It’s time” he said. We all stood up and then we all went out. “We’ll talk about this later” my parents told me while they held my hand. “Let’s go,” Luna Elaine added. We all walked to the farming grounds. In the middle you could see a platform in the shape of the moon. It was where a wolf would usually transform, but since there were two of us transforming that night, well, we had to do it on the ground.

“Let the first transformation commence” Alpha Charles announced. To those of you asking how on earth there were only two who were turning that night. Well, we were the only ones born that day, which was weird. Normally there were more than one, the presentation would happen at different points in the day. But we were the only ones born that faithful March 23, 2000, in the pack. There might have been others from other packs who were turning tonight, but in this pack, this is an extreme rarity.

‘Let it all go Steph, I’m right here for you’ Thena instructed, and so I did ‘It’s going to be painful love’ Andre linked in ‘Let go Steph, it will hurt at first, but it will all be over soon’ Ethan linked in as well. I took a deep breath and let Them take over, I looked to the side to see Lou struggle, I held back ‘Don’t think Steph, Louis and Smoke will be fine, both are strong’ Thena remained ‘I trust you’ I told Thena, the next thing I knew, I was changing, bones were breaking. I screamed. So did Louis. ‘I’m right here love’ Andre linked. ‘Don’t hold back, let it all go. It’s going to hurt less when you do,’ he added. I took a deep breath. ‘Thena, it’s your cue’ I told Thena.

It was my first shift. The entire pack went silent. We looked to the side to see smoke, a black wolf, he looked like the night, he was majestic. ‘You look heavenly love’ Andre linked. We let out a purr which made him laugh ‘Thena liked that didn’t she?’ he added. He pushed to the front and petted me, us? I am not a dog you know!

‘Dearest you wanna go for a run?’ my dad asked, both me and Thena nodded, so did Smoke ‘Race you Steph!’ Lou linked in ‘Oh you’re so on!’ I linked back. ‘The wolves are here’ Thena mentioned ‘Where?’ I asked, ‘3 warriors, 4 omegas, and 3 Kappa’s all ceasing’ Thena continued ‘Lou? Can you sense it?’ I managed to link in ‘Yeah, they’re going to lose their wolves tonight’ Lou answered ‘Tonight?’ I replied ‘Yes if we don’t do something’ Lou replied. The rest of the wolves were still shifting. The next sight we saw were the 10 who I felt before struggling to change. We both rushed to their aid, I went for the warriors, Louis went for the Kappa’s after aiding them we both took 2 omegas each.

‘Lou, you good?’ I asked. ‘Their wolves are taking over now. I don’t think their human forms will last longer, ' Lou replied, ‘You didn’t answer my question.’ I urged ‘I’m fine, but they are not.’ Lou replied. ‘Thena?’ I called ‘I know’ she replied then we both changed back, ‘The run will be a little later’ I linked to everyone else. I saw Andre shift back and put a cover on me. “What’s wrong love?” he asked “ceasing wolves' ' I replied. He was quiet. Five more wolves were having difficulty shifting. I rushed and felt their wolves. They were dying. I held out my hand and held all five of their hands as best as I could. I was channeling the wolves out and they separated from their human counterparts. ‘Thena?’ I asked ‘They… I… How…’ even Thena was shocked at what happened ‘Order those who have shifted to go back to the pack house’ I linked through to the Alpha Unit “I’ll help you here love'' Andre volunteered “No, the pack is your priority right now, these wolves are mine. We’ll be fine, '' I replied. “I know, but they need you more than I do right now” I replied. He nodded and shifted back. He ran back to help all the wolves evacuate from the field. Both me and Lou, who weren’t shifted, held each other tight. The more wolves were trying to escape, the more we had to tame them. ‘Steph, it’s David’ my heart dropped. Ethan linked me ‘What happened’ he’s dying ‘How? We managed to…’ I answered ‘His wolf ripped through him, he's bleeding’ Ethan explained ‘I can’t go to him right now, so can Lou’ I replied ‘I know, we’ll do our best on our end’ Ethan replied.

“Lou, what are you thinking?” I asked, “A merge” Louis replied, “A what now?” I asked. “We temporarily merge our strength. You call on the wolves, I heal the human counterparts.” He explained. “Gotcha” I replied. ‘Thena’ I called ‘On it’ She replied, “Goddess guide us.” Both me and Louis chanted together. We held each other’s hands and I managed to call every ceasing wolf. But what happened next, I nor did Louis expect, how? Almost a hundred wolves answered the call. A bright light resembling a beacon surrounded us. The wolves rushed in and were now in a bowing-like position. What was happening?

‘Love? What is going on?’ Andre asked, though I wanted to answer, I had to focus on lending my energy to Louis who was healing the human counterparts whose wolves ripped out of them. ‘I know you can hear me Steph, just answer please’ Ethan linked in as well. ‘Steph, your mom is talking to Louis, both of you are not answering, please answer, I know you can hear me’ my dad added ‘Steph listen, the guards have alerted us, there are wolves from the dungeon who are escaping. Their human counterparts are bleeding out’ Alpha Charles linked. How widespread is this? ‘The full moon’ Thena replied ‘It’s giving wolves more power than their human counterparts. Unlike normal wolves, the moon balances us out’ Thena added ‘I linked our families wolves. They are going to explain every detail to them.’ Thena explained ‘We must send the wolves back to the goddess’ Thena added ‘How?’ I asked, ‘Haven’t you seen a calendar lately?’ She asked ‘No, have you?’ I asked, ‘I have, you have a phone genius’ she replied, ‘We have to keep this up until 8:00 tonight.’ She added ‘How are we going to know it’s 8?’ I asked ‘It’s going to get dark’ she replied ‘an eclipse’ I answered ‘exactly’ she agreed ‘got it’ I answered.