Hidden Royalty: The Wolves of Healy Lake

Chapter 15: Her Wolf

The rest of the day went by rather slow for Rayne, she was ready for school to be out so that she and the others could go down by the lake and she could start working on shifting back and forth. At first the idea of being a werewolf had terrified her, but now that she had some time to process everything a little, she found herself almost excited about it. Seriously, she thought, how many people could just turn into such a beautiful and powerful creature at will? Well, around here quite a few she supposed, but it still made her feel like she had finally found herself. She had spent her entire life being different, but never really knowing just how different she really was until now. She felt connected to her parents in a way she never had before, it had always been them against her and she never understood why, but now she realized it wasn’t them against her. No, it had been them hiding her, from the entire world in order to keep her safe. They loved her so much that even though they had not been her birth parents they gave up everything to raise her and keep her hidden from the witches, and even their own kind. She wanted to be mad at them for lying to her all her life, but knowing all they had given up, all they had done and lost just to protect her, well it made it pretty impossible to be very upset with them, in fact it just made her love them even more.

Rayne was still thinking about her parents and all they had done when the final bell finally rang letting her know the day was officially over. She jumped from her seat and nearly ran out of the classroom and down the hall, leaving Phoenix struggling to catch up with her.  She knew she should probably slow down and wait for him, but she was anxious to get out of the building and to get started on her training. She stopped at her locker to pull out her jacket and drop off her books, which gave Phoenix a moment to catch up to her. As she opened her locker a note fell out and onto the floor, she hurriedly picked it up and jammed it in her pocket as she slammed the door shut. “you ready” she asked Phoenix. “Yep, what’s that?” “I don’t know, we will check it out later, right now we have to get to the lake.” “You can slow down a little, they aren’t going to start without you, I promise” he laughed at her. “I know, I’m just anxious to learn how to control my wolf and how to shift back and forth freely.” “I know, but rushing off ahead of me when there could be danger around is not going to get us there any faster love.” “Okay, point taken. Now can we get going?” “Come on.”

Rayne called her parents on the way to the lake and let them know where she was going and that some of the pack was going to help her learn some wolf skills. Her mom had asked her if she wanted them to come as well, but she told her that for now she was fine with the pack members, she thought it would be a good way to start building relationships within the pack and show them that she was just like them and that she valued their opinions. Her mother agreed with her and even told her she was very wise in her decision. She told her the most important thing an alpha can do is earn the respect of their pack, and showing them that you value them and their input is a very good way to start gaining their respect and love.

When they got to the lake they were the first to arrive. “Do you think they forgot” she asked Phoenix. “No, I just think you were in such a hurry to get here that we probably beat them by several minutes. They’ll be here, don’t worry, I know you don’t know them very well but I do and they are all very reliable.” Phoenix no sooner finished saying that when River and Sable pulled up followed by Landon and Kiana. “You two got here quick, what did you do, skip last period or something” River asked them. “No, Rayne was just anxious to get started so we took off pretty fast.” “Well then I guess we shouldn’t keep the princess waiting any longer” River laughed.

Phoenix started the lesson by telling her “Ok, so the most important thing to remember when shifting is to relax and just see yourself as a wolf, and let the change happen. Don’t fight it, yes it is a little painful and weird feeling but let your body go with it, just keep picturing the wolf and focus on that and before you know it you have shifted. It is the same thing for shifting back to human form but picture yourself in your human form. So let’s start by trying to shift back and forth a couple of times first.” 

Rayne closed her eyes and imagined herself as a wolf, she saw her herself with a tail and fur and four legs and started to feel the pain of her joints beginning to dislodge as they prepared to reform from human to animal but as she felt it her natural instinct was to fight against the pain and she let out a scream as she fell to the ground in pain. Her body was stuck mid shift not moving forward or backwards and the pain was horrific, she let another scream escape just before she felt Phoenix’s arms wrap around her and heard his voice in her ear “breath baby, you have to let it happen. Remember the pain get’s better each time you shift, you just need to let go and let it happen, stop fighting it. Imagine your wolf and her beautiful black coat of fur, her sky blue eyes that sparkle like the stars, her full bushy tail, but stop fighting it and go with the change.” Within a minute she was standing before him in her wolf form wagging her tail in excitement. “You see it wasn’t as bad as the first time, and the next time will be even easier than this time, before you know it you will be shifting effortlessly without even thinking about it” Phoenix told her just before she leaned in and licked his face, which caused the others all to start laughing.

“Yeah, your welcome, now let’s get you to shift back to human form” he told her. Rayne focused and shifted back to her human self, Phoenix was right, it was getting easier each time. “So, my wolf’s eyes sparkle like the stars huh” she asked him. “Well I had to come up with some analogy to get you to imagine your wolf so that you would shift before you were to overcome by the pain to complete the shift.” “Okay, it’s your story, if that’s what you need to tell yourself” Rayne teased him as she kissed his cheek.

“Alright you two, we’re here to work not make out. Now Rayne, Phoenix isn’t always going to be there to help you through the shift so your going to have to learn how to get through it without him helping you. The next couple of shifts if you need help one of us will do it, but not Phoenix. Just keep your mind focused and trust your wolf and your pack. Actually why don’t the rest of you shift with her, then her wolf will want to shift as well, just to make the next couple of shifts a little easier until she starts to understand the feel of it.” “That’s a good idea Sable” Phoenix replied “let’s try it.”

Rayne watched as each of the others shifted, until only she and Sable were left in human form, Sable was staying that way in case Rayne needed help when she started shifting so that meant it was her turn. She closed her eyes and let her wolf take over, she felt her desire to be with her pack mates, she let it consume her as she tuned everything else out. She focused only on her wolf and pictured her in her mind just as Phoenix had described her. She wished now she had thought to have him take a picture of her so she would have a better idea of what to picture her as but for now she would just have to with his description. She knew the moment she started changing because she could feel the pain of her bones as they began to dislodge from their joints. This is where she gets stuck each time, the pain gets to be too much and she loses focus. She knew she had to keep going, the others all get through it and they do this at the age of thirteen. She’s supposed to be a leader, she’s supposed to be strong she reminded herself and tried to focus on that instead of the pain but it wasn’t working.

Rayne had another idea, she opened her eyes and looked at the others in their wolf forms, they were her pack mates, her friends, her mate. They would be counting on her very soon to be able to lead them to concur the witches, but she would first have to learn how to use her own powers and how to control her wolf. She knew the moment she and her wolf were in agreement because suddenly everything clicked and she felt herself land on four legs. She had done it, she shifted without Phoenix’s help, well sort of. He helped; they all had, in a way, just not the way he had been helping. She let out a celebratory howl and the others followed her lead.  

“Good job Rayne, now shift back “Sable told her. Shifting back to human form seemed to be the easy part each time. Maybe it was because she already knew what her human self-looked like, or because it was the form she was most familiar and most comfortable with. She wasn’t really sure the reason she just knew that shifting back to human was much easier than shifting from human to wolf. When she saw the others had shifted back as well she decided to ask about it.

“Is it always easier to shift back to human than it is to shift to wolf?” “For most of us it usually is in the beginning, but after a while it becomes just as easy to shift to wolf as it does to human. Once you and your wolf bond it will be a second skin and you will barely even think about it when you shift, and you will barely feel it as well. The problem most of us face in the beginning is that we haven’t yet accepted that our wolf is part of us, we view it as a separate entity and in doing so, we tend to hesitate letting it have the reigns, so to speak” Landon explained to her. “Yeah, I guess that makes sense. I thought maybe it was because it was easier for me to picture my human self than my wolf self, but I guess I could see it being a fear of letting my wolf loose to. I thought about having Phoenix take a picture of my wolf to make it easier for me to picture her in my mind when I shift, do you think that would help?” “Mmmmm maybe but you could just as easily look at your reflection in the lake. It is more than likely the idea of your wolf having control that is making it difficult, but you can try it, it can’t hurt anything. Are you ready to try again?” “Sure, let’s do it.”

This time Rayne decided to try and listen to her wolf, to let her take the lead and control the shift while she sat in the back seat so to speak. She called to her wolf and focused on her image and as soon as she felt her coming forward she let go and let her take over and it worked, she shifted instantly! Rayne took a moment to praise her wolf before heading to the edge of the lake to look at her reflection as Landon had suggested. She let out a short yelp at what she saw before her. Her wolf was magnificent, she had stunning blue eyes, even brighter than Rayne’s own human ones, her fur was jet black but was peppered with just enough white hairs throughout it to make it look as if it shimmered in the sun light. Her stance was one of power and authority, she was definitely an alpha, there was no question about that when you looked at her, you knew she was not to be toyed with. At the same time she was majestic and beautiful; a creature you could only imagine existed but never really would expect to see. Her wolf was a proud animal indeed, how could I turn into her, Rayne wondered. 

Silly human, I am simply you in wolf form, we are the same. Everything you see in me exists in you, because you are my mirror image, only a human version. “There is no way that I look as beautiful as you, not even by half.” Ask the others they will tell you, we are the same. Look at their wolf forms, can you not look at them and know who they are in that form? “Yeah, I guess I can tell who is who, but that’s easy only River would be chasing his own tail and I already knew who Phoenix was, plus I can scent them too.” Yes, but your eyes can see who is who, they are a picture of their human selves as well. You would know them even if their scent was masked.  

Rayne realized her wolf was right about the others, but she couldn’t believe that they looked at her and saw what she saw when she looked at her wolf, it just wasn’t possible, the animal was breath taking. You are as well, you just refuse to see it. Why do you think so many humans gawk at you? “Uhh, usually because I’m the new girl in school, we move so often I am always the new kid so I am used to the looks, I just quit paying attention to them I guess.” I may have been suppressed and unable to surface all these years, but I have still been here with you, observing, smelling their pheromones as they notice you and become attracted you, trying to get you to notice them. You are very unobservant by the way, some of these males all but throw themselves at you and you still don’t even notice. “Now I know your full of s**t, that does not happen! Guys were never lined up to ask me out, I had very few friends if I had any, so nice try… Uh by the way do you have a name, or what do I call you?”

 I am simply an extension of you, therefor my name is the same as yours. “Well that will get confusing real quick, and I really will sound like I’m losing my mind if I refer to you in conversations as Rayne, people will think I have a multiple personality disorder or something. How about we give you your own name? You have your own personality and your own opinions, it’s only right that you should have your own name to.” If you wish. “Great, so what do you want your name to be?” I really have never thought about it, I never had a desire to have my own name, I was content to share yours. Why don’t you just pick a name for me. “Okay, I will come up with some ideas and you can pick the one you like best, how does that sound?” I like that idea very much. Perhaps we should shift back to human form first so you can let the other’s know what you are doing, they seem to be getting a bit restless. “OH! I forgot all about them” Rayne laughed “I guess I was too focused on our conversation.” My point exactly, unobservant, laughed her wolf.

They shifted back to human form and Rayne explained to the others that she had been speaking with her wolf and apologized for forgetting they were there. “Happens to us all once in a while” Sable told her. “Yep, it’s very easy to get wrapped up in conversations with your wolf and forget that others are around” Phoenix replied. “Just wait till ya do it in human form and say something out loud and your around humans, they totally think your nuts” River laughed. “River would know about people thinking he’s nuts” Kiana stated.

“So do any of you have names for your wolves or do they all just share your name, because I was thinking my wolf should have her own name.” “I think most of us give our wolves their own name, though there are some that refuse to give their wolf that kind of respect. They feel their wolf is their servant, meant to do as it is told and not given free will or the respect that it deserves. They are also the ones that will struggle with their wolf and never have a bond with it based on love and respect. My wolf’s name is Bodolf, it is Norse for wolf leader” Phoenix told her. “My wolf’s name is Accalia, which is Latin, it just means she-wolf” Kiana said. “My wolf and I chose a name that simply means wolf in Old Breton, but sounds really cool when you say it, his name is Blaez” Landon explained. “My wolf and I chosethe name Tamaska, which means mighty wolf in Native American, because of her size ” Sable stated. “I was far less original that the others, my wolf pretty much still shares my name, just in a different form. His name is Guadalupe, it is the name of a town is Western Spain but it’s Arabic meaning is river of the wolf, so he sort of is still named River in a way” River told them.

“Those are all really great names; I have no idea how to come up with a name that will do her justice.” “Just take your time and think about it, and we can all help you to if you want. You don’t have to come up with her name right now, it might take a while for the perfect name to come to you. Give yourself time to get to know her and get her to help to” Phoenix suggested. “Yeah, I already asked her for ideas, she really didn’t have any but your right maybe it will come to me in time, and yes I would love it if you guys helped.”

“Okay, now that we have that settled, let’s shift and show Rayne some training drills. We can work those for another hour then we will call it a day, sound good” Sable asked. “Sure” Rayne replied, anxious to see the training drills.

She watched the first time they ran through each drill and then practiced with them after she saw what they were doing. They ended up training for another two hours before River shifted and told them he was starving and needed to go eat before his wolf decided to go hunting. They all agreed and shifted back and said their good byes before leaving and heading their own ways for the night. Rayne made sure to thank them all for their help with everything before they left. She wanted them to know how much she really did appreciate them taking time out of their day to help train her. She was beginning to see what they all meant by pack is family, because they were definitely becoming family to her already.

As her and Phoenix headed to her house she started thinking about names for her wolf, but they all seemed like silly pet names to her. Her wolf was not a pet, it was a part of her, a creature that deserved respect and needed a name that said that. This was going to be harder than she originally thought, she decided she would do some research online after dinner that night and start making a list of possibilities and her and her wolf could start narrowing them down from there. She wondered what her parents named their wolves, then she started thinking about her birth parents and wondered what they had named their wolves. She decided she would ask her mom and dad that night, and maybe they would even know her birth parents wolves names, it couldn’t hurt to ask.