Slaved By The Moon God

15

Evanora joined the chanting, and then all I knew was pain. I’d never felt such agony, not in any beating I’d endured, or any fall I’d taken. I’d broken my arm once, and that was the worst pain I’d felt up until now. This was ten times worse than that. My vision went red from the intensity of it. Every single bone was breaking simultaneously, all of my joints popping out of their sockets, before reforming into those of an animal. Even my hair hurt as it retracted back into my skull.

How could anyone breathe through this? That was the only thought that crossed my mind as I fought not to scream. I probably couldn’t, not with the changes happening in my body. I’d never heard a wolf scream, but I was about to test that theory.

It probably only took a couple of minutes, but in my mind, each moment of agony stretched into an eternity. It lifted as quickly as it had come upon me, and then I looked at the world through new eyes. I stood on all fours, lower to the ground, and everything was sharper than it had been mere moments ago. I could make out the distant tree line as if it was lit by daylight, but my sight wasn’t anything compared to smell or sound. Each was enhanced to such an insane level that I swayed. I could smell everything. The incense had seemed bad before, but now it almost overwhelmed me. I sneezed. Underneath that was the smell of the fire, of the wolves surrounding me. I could even smell Mira next to me. Sounds were enhanced, too, and I realized that I’d been spending the last twenty-two years speaking much too loudly. I could hear everyone in the crowd talking, the hushed whispers carrying like Evanora’s voice had earlier.

I looked down, trying to come to terms with everything I was sensing. It was almost too much. What I saw was enough to distract me though. My paws were pure white, and with my enhanced sight, it was almost as if they were glowing. Wait, what? I turned and looked at my body. White. I was pure white. Well, that’s a surprise. I’d thought that with my red hair, I’d be one of the russet-colored wolves. I swished my tail experimentally, and it felt like just another limb, not weird in the slightest.

Something nudged me, and I turned to look at the wolf beside me. Mira had kept her coloring, a comforting dark brown, with eyes that still looked like her own. She smelled of the sea, salt and sand, along with something uniquely her, and I knew how wolves scented each other so easily now.

Mira rammed her head into my side, just hard enough to get my attention. I opened my mouth to laugh, before remembering that I couldn’t do that as a wolf. I nuzzled her head, trying to convey the overwhelming affection I felt toward her. She’d stuck with me this whole time, and now that we both had our wolves, we’d be set. It didn’t matter what life threw at us, we’d be better, and stronger.

Mira growled playfully and bowled me over. I let her, reveling in my ability to respond so easily to the play attacks. My wolf body was stronger than my human body could ever hope to be, and for once I felt like I could keep up with the full-blooded wolves.

We tussled for a few moments before settling, and I took the time to look around at the rest of the shifters. The glee was palpable, and I couldn’t help but get caught up in it. I felt as if some part of me had been asleep for my whole life, and it’d just been woken up. Of course, I’d heard that from everyone who had gone through the Convergence, but I’d figured they were romanticizing it.

Now I knew they hadn’t been. This was the best I’d ever felt, the most like me. With my half-human blood, I wasn’t sure what it would be like when I shifted, but there was no difference between me and the other wolves. I was even tempted to howl at the moon.

The witches began chanting again, and I felt the shift coming in my bones. It was an odd sensation, like being yanked by a cord right behind my naval. I scrambled to hold onto my wolf form with a soft whimper. I wanted to stay for a bit longer in this sense of belonging.

It didn’t make a difference. No matter how much I wanted it, I couldn’t hold my wolf when the spell was cast by the Sun Witches. It was just as painful turning back human as it had been to shift. Everything burned—my muscles, my bones, my skin. I knew each shift would get easier, but as I settled back into my human form, I almost vomited from the sheer amount of pain running through every inch of me.

“Apologies,” Evanora said. “We would have more time for you to explore your wolf bodies, but the night grows long, and we must move onto the mating ritual.”

I took a few deep breaths, trying to reconcile my human form. It was strange, how foreign it seemed now. I’d spent maybe ten minutes in my wolf body, but now my human body didn’t really feel like mine. I reached down for the blanket that had fallen off me sometime when I’d been shifting and wrapped it back around my naked shoulders.

“You can return to your packs and dress,” Evanora said, spreading her arms wide. She had a serene look on her face, and I let out a breath. I’d gotten through half of the night. Now at least I knew I could shift, and that my wolf form was just as strong as a full-blooded shifter. There was nothing marking me as half-human when I was a wolf. Thank the gods.