His Funny Little Wolf Girl

Ch. 6: Shift

(Aaron’s POV)

I sat there, Blake laughing as he spilled water over the she-wolf and talking about how she looked like a drowned rat, a comment that caused Onyx to growl at him, while I stared into her eyes trying to figure out how this could be. What the h*ll did I ever do to deserve this sort of f*cked up twist of fate?

Sure, there was no denying that as the mud and grime washed away, this she-wolf was breathtakingly beautiful. Her light grey coat seemed to shimmer in the water the way a diamond would if it were resting at the bottom of a river-bed. Any other wolf would be proud to say she was his.

I kept wondering if I was just imagining things. But the more her fur clung to her, the cleaner it became, the more I began to feel the sparks. And then her scent, like fresh spring rain, began to fill my senses and I realized with a jolt that this wasn’t something I was imagining. This is my mate.

Except, I already have a mate. One I have no intention of giving up!

“Oh good. You started without me.” My Mother said as she walked into the room and my eyes went straight to her. I don’t know what she saw in my gaze, but she hesitated, towel in hand, as she asked, “Is everything alright?”

“Yeah, everything’s fine. We’re just finishing up.” Blake responded, not even noticing.

When we were done, I released my hold on the she-wolf, and she sprang from the tub sending water gushing across the floor in waves. I got a face full of the sudsy water and d*mn near choked to death which, for some strange reason, made Blake fall into a fit of laughter.

My Mother had caught the she-wolf and was toweling her off as she said, “There are more towels in the tote, dear. A change of clothes too.” I don’t think I’ve ever been so grateful that my Mom thinks of everything before in my life. I didn’t even hesitate. I just stripped down, dried off, and got dressed again.

What I did not do was let on that everything had just become a h*ll of a lot more complicated. Not because I don’t trust them, I do. I just don’t want this to become an issue and I sure as h*ll don’t want Britney to find out. I love her dearly. But if she finds out this she-wolf is my fated mate, she’ll go scorched earth on the poor girl. I don’t need that, no one does. Especially not this poor she-wolf who has enough on her plate at the moment.

“She’s not a ‘poor she-wolf’! She’s our mate! And she’s awesome!”

Yeah, then there’s that. Onyx was already on cloud nine. The minute we realized who the she-wolf is to us, he began singing, actually singing, the word ‘mate’ over and over again, as though that made everything better. And let me tell you, Onyx is a lot of things, but a singer isn't one of them.

“You have to let me out now. I’ll be able to communicate with her better than anyone.”

“That may be but I think we should try for ourselves first. Besides, we don’t wanna scare her, and you’re in no shape to control your urges right now.” All of which was true. I could feel he wanted to mate with her already. And that was a complication none of us needed. Besides, I can sense that she’s untouched. I wouldn’t wanna ruin her for the next mate to come along.

“There will be no ‘next mate’. She’s ours! It’s our job to protect her, keep her safe, and love her unconditionally.”

Wonderful! Just wonderful!

He's known she’s our mate for five seconds, and he’s already in love with her. “And what about Britney? I love her! I’m not letting her go because the fates decided to play some sort of sick joke on me. We need to figure this all out. And we’re not telling a soul about any of this until we do.”

Fully chastised, he shrunk into the back of my mind with a quiet huff. I know he’s not happy with me right now, but I need time to think.

“Alright. Let’s get her back on the bed so we can see that wound.” My Mother said, and I motioned Blake forward to get the she-wolf.

As he was lifting her onto the bed, Blake said, “She’s actually kind of pretty now that she’s clean. I’ve never seen this color combination before, though. It’s like a swirl of various, light colored, greys. Any lighter and she’d be a white wolf.”

I shrugged at his comments, agreeing with him but also saying, “There are no white wolves. Hasn’t been since the Royals died out a millennia ago.”

“Some people say they’re back. Though she is definitely not a white wolf.” My Mom said as she leaned in to examine the wound on the she-wolf’s leg.

I looked at her with surprise when she talked about the white wolves being back. I was shocked enough that I asked, “What do you, they’re back? That’s not possible.”

“Rumore has it that one of the royals escaped the m******e somehow, then made his way to the States. He joined a pack somewhere in Pennsylvania and the line has been hiding there ever since. I guess their secret got out, though, because they’re the most popular topic in the rumor mill.” My Mother shrugged as if it were unimportant, but I didn’t feel that way.

If the royals were back they’d likely want to control all the packs again. And I wasn’t about to let that happen.

“I wouldn’t worry about it too much, Aaron. They’re only rumors at the moment, and we have bigger concerns right now.” Of course, my Mother was right. It didn’t really stop me from worrying about it. But I was able to put it aside and focus on the task at hand.

“So how do we get her to shift?” I looked at Blake, then at my Mom, hoping they would have some ideas. “Well, your Father said she doesn’t respond to the command to shift. Maybe that’s because she doesn’t know the word?”

She spoke hesitantly, unsure. So, I looked at my Mother and arched my brow as I asked, “Does that mean you have some idea on how to teach her the word?” She gave me an apologetic look as she said, “I have one. But it requires the two of you to strip.”

Now both my brow shot way up as I looked at her, though Blake was the first of us to speak. “Umm, not that I have any issue with being naked, but is this really the place for that?”

My Mother rolled her eyes, openly annoyed by the comment, before explaining, “It’s simple, really. I’ll point to you and tell you to shift, and you’ll do it. Hopefully, seeing you shift back and forth on command will get her to do the same thing.”

“Her shifting would be good for that wound, too.” The doctor interjected from behind me. He’d come in to replace the bandaging now that the she-wolf was clean. We waited for him to finish before continuing.

“Do you really think this could work?” I asked as I began to get undressed, yet again. “I think it’s worth a try, at least. Let’s just hope she’s fairly well versed with mimicking other animals.”

*****

Two hours later…

My Mom was pointing from me to Blake and saying “Shift” for the billionth time. I was getting so tired of changing forms and every muscle in my body was on fire from the effort.

“Mom, this isn’t working.” I reached for my pants as I spoke. We’d been at this for so long now, I just couldn’t take it anymore. And every time I shifted, Onyx would beg to get closer to her. For the past thirty minutes or so he’s begun to fight me on shifting back.

“Yeah, I think if I shift one more time I might just forget which form I’m in and get stuck like that.” Blake yawned and stretched some of the k*nks from his own tired muscles. When he did that, the she-wolf lifted her head and watched him carefully, which triggered a sharp pang of jealousy in me.

I didn’t like the way she was looking at another male wolf. Until she diverted her gaze to me and tilted her head curiously. I mimicked Blake's actions, then smiled when she yawned and stretched as well.

Purely on instinct, I pointed a finger at her, and gently said, “Shift”, and what followed nearly broke me.

Her body began to shift, but in the slow way it normally does when we shift for the first time into our wolves. The pain she obviously felt made her howl, her body convulsing as her bones restructured themselves into something more human.

I rushed forward, climbing onto the bed and holding her, hoping my embrace would ease some of the pain. In my head, Onyx was going absolutely cr*zy, howling and trying to get out.

But I wouldn’t let him out, and I wouldn’t let her go. I simply held her, brushing my hand along her fur-covered body in a soothing way for as long as I could. It felt like hours had passed with her writhing in pain in my arms. And then, suddenly, she kicked out of my embrace and fell to the floor.

I heard a sickening crack of bones and thought she’d hurt herself, but as I scrambled to the other side of the bed, my Mother grabbed for the blanket, tugging it free, then placing it over the she-wolf. When I was finally able to look down at the floor, expecting to see a grey wolf under the blanket, I found a slender form that was completely covered in the yellow hospital blanket.

I looked at my Mother, and she looked up at me, neither of us daring to move just yet. As I continued to look, I noticed a tiny foot poking out from under the blanket and smiled. It looked so soft, so fragile. My eyes continued to wander over the blanket until they fell on something else. Something that looked like warm honey and silk.

And then it moved.