Shifted

A bright light seeping through the window woke me from my restless sleep. Where was I? Scanning my surroundings let me know that I was definitely in a hospital. Everything was white and clean looking. Also, I seemed to be hooked up to 2 monitors. One connected to an IV that I traced from my arm. The other had a cuff on my opposite arm that squeezed me occasionally. I could only assume that someone was monitoring me for good reason but I wasn't sure what that reason was. Why was I in the hospital and how had I gotten there? I attempted to sit up but a searing pain in my stopped me immediately. What had happened to me? I heard a whimper from very close, almost as if it were my own. 'Don't move so fast! That hurts!' A whining voice said. This time, unlike with the whimper, I knew this voice had been in my head. Hearing voices could not be a good sign. Thinking about it was slightly overwhelming. I was in an unknown hospital, for unknown reasons, with a splitting headache, pain throughout my body, and a voice in my head. This was just fantastic. 'I'm not just a voice. I am your wolf!' The voice seemed hurt by my not knowing was a wolf. How great, this voice of mine was a wolf with a complex. Just as I laid my head back on my pillow, the door opened allowing a large man in a white lab coat to enter. His stature was huge! Prominent muscles could be seen easily through his coat and they nicely complimented his handsome appearance. Could this really be my doctor? "How are you feeling today?" His voice was full of concern. "My head hurts a lot," I admitted then added, "and my ribs." I paused thinking about the pain I was feeling. "Doctor, what happened to me?" Now, he was more concerned, "What exactly do you remember?" He was watching me carefully. I took a deep breath as I tried to think back to before being injured. I couldn't remember anything. The only memory I had, was waking up here. This was not good. My response was hushed but I knew that he had heard it. "I can't remember anything." He had a serious look on his face as he scribbled something on his clipboard. "That's alright," he told me as began taking my vitals, "amnesia is not uncommon for those who have been through traumatic experiences. Your memories should come back with time. You don't remember anything at all?" "Just this morning, waking up here." He wrote something else on his clipboard and looked toward the door where a loud conversation was taking place from the other side. I couldn't make out what was being said, but someone was very upset about something. "How would you like a little something for your pain?" The doctor's focus was on me once again. After giving him a nod I ventured to ask, "Can you tell me what happened to me?" He let out a sympathetic sigh. "You were attacked by wolves and left here barely breathing 2 days ago." His eyes never looked away from me as he seemed to be measuring my reaction. Wolves? I had been almost killed by wolves. I didn't notice when the doctor put the medicine in my IV but I did notice the relief I felt as it took effect and I drifted into a restful slumber. The next time I woke up, I could feel eyes on me. When I opened my eyes, my gaze landed on a tall, very muscular man. He was even bigger than the doctor! He was staring at me and I was immediately captivated by his amber, almost sparkling eyes. His shaggy black hair looked tussled as if he had been running his hands through it. His whole demeanor radiated power and authority. The voice, or wolf as she had previously claimed, was talking to me again but between the throbbing of my head and the haziness from the drugs wearing off, I couldn't make out what she was saying. She did seem rather anxious about whatever it was. "How are you feeling?" His velvet voice was mesmerizing. I tried to sit up only to be met with a piercing pain down my left side. "I'm sore," I hardly managed to choke out the words. He instantly ordered the doctor, who I only noticed now, to give me something I couldn't pronounce. I watched the medicine go through the tube of my IV and the pain dulled quickly. "Thank you," I whispered as my gaze returned to the mysterious man beside me. He grasped my hand causing an eruption of tingles up my arm and through my body. "Can you tell me something?" When he looked into my eyes, I was sure he was seeing right to my soul. "I'll try," whatever information this magnificent man wanted, I wanted to give it to him. Why was he affecting me like this? "What's your name?" he asked. I thought for a moment. What was my name? Then it came to me, "Layla," he seemed immensely satisfied with my ordinary name. "Layla," he repeated with his velvet voice and I couldn't help the smile that crept to my lips as I drifted off to sleep again. When I woke up again, the mesmerizing man was there again. He didn't notice me at first with his focus on his laptop. He looked tired and distressed; it made my heart hurt to see him that way. "How are you feeling Layla?" I looked toward the voice of the doctor as he entered the room. This time I was able to sit up without so much pain. "Better, but thirsty," he seemed to be deep in thought for just a moment before he began checking my vitals. It wasn't long before a nurse walked in with a glass of water. It was like she knew I needed it even without anyone having told her. When she handed the glass to the man next to me, I noticed that he was no longer paying attention to the work he had been doing. He looked at me with eyes full of compassion as he guided the straw to my lips. I gratefully sipped until my mouth no longer felt dry and my stomach felt full. "Thank you," my gaze never his the whole time. It was as if he had me under his spell. 'I hope you're ready,' the voice in my head whimpered excitedly. Ready for what? This wolf voice thing was going to get old real quick if nothing she said ever made any sense. Suddenly, my body got fiercely hot. Monitors started beeping, and the doctor seemed in a rush to remove my IV. It felt as if all the bones in my body were on fire! What was happening to me? I let out a scream I could no longer contain as the pain got too intense. Too many people rushed into the room trying to be of aid. They were all making a fuss about what had happened. I did not understand what they were talking about. They said that I had shifted, but what did they mean by that? At that point, all I knew was that I was very uncomfortable and even more confused. "Layla, can you hear me?" My eyes landed on the amber ones belonging to that mesmerizing man and I answered him with a nod. "Do you know what's happening?" he continued. I shook my head no. This was all too much and I felt so heavy. I wanted to ask him what was going on, but all I managed to get out was a whimper. Something behind him caught my eye. There was a wall in this room made entirely of glass. At first, I thought I had seen something on the other side, but it didn't take long to realize that I saw a reflection. It wasn't my reflection I was seeing where I should have been seeing it. Instead of myself in the glass, I saw a golden brown wolf staring at me. When I shook my head, the reflection mimicked my movement. What was going on? How was this even possible? Everyone's voices around me were a blur as my panic took over and everything went black once again. This time when I woke up, I was wearing white silky pajamas. My hair was damp and I felt clean. I was not in the hospital anymore and I was alone. Slowly, I sat myself up on the large bed. This had to be someone's bedroom, or maybe a guest bedroom. The pain I had been feeling up to this point seemed to be gone, and the pajamas felt good against my skin. There were two doors along one wall and a third on a different wall. The first door I tried led to a huge bathroom. I tried another and this door led to a hallway with doors every couple of yards down on both sides. At the end, I noticed a set of stairs. As I walked down the stairs, I spotted a woman about my age sitting at the bottom with her face buried in a book. I lightly tapped her shoulder and she turned to look at me with a warm smile. "I'm sorry but could you tell me where I am?" I asked once I had her attention. "Hey!" She held out her hand for me to shake, which I took politely, "My name is Jenna. You're Layla, right?" Although I was surprised she knew who I was, I nodded. This made her smile even bigger, "Great! Come on, I'll bring you to Alpha! I'm sure he will be so happy to see you awake and walking around." Before I could respond or ask who Alpha was, she was pulling me down another long hallway. She didn't stop until we reached a set of regal-looking double doors. "Come in," a powerful voice boomed before she even had the chance to knock. He must have heard us coming. Jenna opened the door and pulled me in alongside her. She bowed in front of the man that I recognized from the hospital. "Alpha, Layla woke up so I brought her straight to you." She spoke so formally with him. He must be very important if he demanded this amount of respect. I wondered if I should bow as well. Why did he want to see me? Don't get me wrong, I was rather glad that he did but it was still strange to me. "Thank you, Jenna," He gave her a look that she understood as a dismissal, and she left after giving me one more smile. Alpha then turned his attention toward me and spoke more gently, "How are you feeling today?" "I'm feeling good, much better than before, but... I'm confused. What exactly happened at the hospital? And where am I?" I needed some answers. "I'll explain everything, Layla. Please have a seat," he gestured toward the sofa, "You must be hungry." His face got serious as if he was concentrating on something that only he could see for a few seconds, then returned his attention to me. "Now, first of all, we are in the pack house. We are a pack and this is where most of the wolves in our pack live. We are all werewolves." He watched my face intently as I absorbed this information. The couch dipped slightly as he sat beside me. I figured I had to be dreaming at this point. Not knowing how to respond, I just looked away from him trying to process what was happening. Although I was externally quiet, the voice in my head was saying plenty. I tried to block her out, as she never made any sense anyway. Of course, I was starting to get the feeling that she and this Alpha guy were about on the same wavelength. "Werewolves?" I had to be sure I had heard him right. He nodded. The door opened and a girl walked in carrying a tray. She placed the tray that was full of food on the coffee table in front of me and flashed me a friendly smile before leaving. I ignored my growling stomach as I attempted to process what I had been told. Werewolves? This had to be some sort of joke. 'Not a joke! You are a werewolf and I am your wolf' the voice in my head made her presence known. This was frustrating! She was unwelcome and caused my head to ache again. "Stupid voice," I barely mumbled, but the breathtaking smirk on his face told me he had heard. Now that I was focused on him, I could feel the authority radiating from him. He held some kind of power and he was extremely handsome. Alpha was a little bit of a weird name, but he seemed to make it work for him. "Layla, when you were attacked by those wolves," he seemed to be holding back a lot of anger as he said it, "they were not regular wolves. They were werewolves." He took a breath regaining his composure, "they left bites on you. Bites that turned you into one of us." "Hold on," I held up one of my hands for him to stop talking. "Werewolves? You're saying that everyone here is a werewolf? That all the people here were attacked like me?" Could werewolf attacks really be that common? "No Layla," he chuckled slightly, "that's just you. Most of us, everyone here, are born into it. We don't normally turn humans as a rule." He placed a heavy hand on my knee and my body filled with warmth, a happy warmth. "Here, eat something and I'll have someone fetch you a change of clothes. Oh, and please call me Dexter." Fetch? How ironic. Fitting though, given the whole dog thing. 'We are not dogs! We are wolves!' my wolf voice snarled. "Dexter," saying his name felt nice. It sort of rolled off my tongue. His eyes lit up, never looking away from me. I seemed to be held in place staring into them, not that I minded at all. Why did he have this effect on me? Why was I so drawn to him? 'Cause he's our mate dummy!' Mate? What in the world was that supposed to mean? I had so many questions and very few answers. "You need to eat," Dexter's deep voice pulled me from my thoughts. He looked pained, "I have a few things I need to take care of." He stood up making me feel oddly lonely, "You are welcome to stay here until I return or you can explore the house and grounds. I'll be back as soon as I can." I could tell he wanted to say more, but he left without another word. I let my attention drift to the feast laid before me. They seriously must have sent the entire kitchen to me. There were waffles, pancakes, bacon, grits, eggs, hash browns, cinnamon rolls, toast, ham, sausage, biscuits and gravy, and even oatmeal. There was no way I'd be able to eat all of this food but it sure was mouth-watering. It wasn't long before all the food was gone. I couldn't believe I had really eaten all of that food. Leaning back on the couch with my eyes closed, I tried to process everything. I was a werewolf, in a house full of werewolves. They were born this way, but I was born human. I didn't know anything about myself apart from my name. A sigh passed through my lips and I whispered to myself, "Layla the werewolf."