The Ghost That Returned to Avenge Her Death

Chapter 3: Emily Emerges

The full moon peaked and I shivered as though an electric charge were running under my skin. Though I always had been a werewolf, tonight was different. The moon seemed to be pulling me into another, weird fate, almost as though it were dragging. Driven into the clearing from a great need for solace in the embrace of the earth. Usually, the transformation has started; but this time something was different.

The first shock of suffering tore across my muscles and bones, much as a tidal wave. My body whirled and twisted in ways it never had; then I sank on the grass and grabbed at the earth. I groaned; the sound of my work echoed over the forest. Not simply the usual bone-shifting misery, but this was deeper, more intrusive, and extremely perplexing.

Around me, the ground whirled into a black night cloud. Once sharp and intentional, my senses became a symphony of personal experience. Though it was different—more delicate—I could sense the cool night air on my skin. The familiar sense of my wolfish form began to disappear as the transition became more drastic. My voice came out as a trembling squeak when I tried to yell. My limbs stretched and moved in odd directions.

I began to have panic attacks. My heart pounded in a way it never had before, a sharp rhythm too quick to be normal. My skin felt every change—a fine cloth rather than fur now. Every strand of my hair, every breath, every pulse felt unique to me. My senses were intensified to an appalling degree; under me, I could almost smell the fresh, earthy scent of the ground almost uncomfortably.

My vision cleared and the world took a different perspective. Originally so far-off and cold, the moonlight now softly, silvery light surrounded the area, giving everything an unusual look. I forced myself to sit up; before I had paws; now I saw my delicate, human hands. My quivering strange fingers appeared to belong somewhere else.

" What.... what is happening to me?" Though on my tongue the words were alien, I managed to whisper. My voice made a strange, high-pitched sound. Not what has past come across. I gasped, trying to center myself as panic cut at my throat.

Under low moonlight, my mirror in a nearby body of water seemed back at me like the face of a stranger. I wore soft features and puzzled large eyes. I saw just a mystery when I tried to identify myself in that meditation.

Seeking answers, I staggered. My legs gave up as I nearly staggered in trying to move. Every move is unusual, and every step is a learning curve. I had to find out what had happened to me and why I had developed into this somewhat different form from my own. My ideas spun among a deluge of questions and concerns. Where had the lousy change gone? Was this always constant?

A weird sound tore across my consciousness—rustling in the trees. Still learning to cope with this other human being, I whirled about the sound of rustling grew louder, and from the shadows someone I knew all too well surfaced. Marissa, the Beta for my pack, stared wide with shock at my changed appearance.

Liam: Does this fairly capture your situation? Her gaze went from me to the clearing all around us; her voice combined incredulity with compassion.

But the words stopped dead in my throat as I got ready to speak. Marissa's companionship consoled me as well as brought up memories of how utterly alone I felt in my new shape. Now so far apart, the familiar faces of my group seemed to mock my lack of authority.

Marissa, I—my discourse drew to a close. I do know what is happening to me. Difficult.

She came closer, staring at my face with eyes sparkling with both sympathy and confusion. You have to come back into the pack. They will act properly. Not unusual, Liam. This is hardly at all normal.

Her supposed consoling words just made me more terrified. One was nervous returning to the group under another disguise not knowing what they would say or how they would react. I was vulnerable, frail, and lost. Facing them this way seemed almost as horrible as the change itself.

Marissa lightly tapped my shoulder with her brush. Come on; we have to leave fast.

I tried deep breathing to help me to regulate my shivering limbs. " Alright. Establish the benchmark.

Emotions tore across my head as we passed the trees. Every action brought back memories of my new life, every scent and sound cue directing my altered perceptions. The ambiguity hurt, but I focused especially on Marissa's direction. Inner to the pack was what? Would they see me as I was now or as a threat or burden?

The trees seemed to be drawing in on us, shadows dancing in the moonlight as if parodying my uncertainty. My questions and fears in my new life blinded me from where I was headed. As we neared the edge of the forest, I could see the great distance of the pack fire. The flickering flames felt to me like a beacon amid my sea of uncertainty.

"Marissa," I said, my voice hardly audible at all. "What if they have no understanding at all? Say they consider me a threat?

She corrected me; her face revealed both relief and anxiety. They will grab. They really must.

Still, the feeling that something far more lethal than my metamorphosis waited for us grew stronger. As we arrived at the light, I couldn't help but worry whether the worst still had to wait. The black hole-like uncertainty yawned before me.

The remaining traces of moonlight caused an uncomfortable brightness as we approached. The pack was waiting; the firelight lighted their faces; their eyes gazed at us with a mix of awe and terror. I inhaled lengthy breaths to help me to regain equilibrium for what lay ahead.

And I understood, like Emily and Liam, that our trip was only beginning as the first whispers of thanks began to float about the room.

The gang paused as we emerged from the black forest into the pack fire. As the firelight swung across their faces and produced lengthy shadows, their features seemed melancholic and sensual. Though till now they looked at me with skeptical eyes and unbelieve, they were my family, my flock.

Marissa came up at my side; among the sea of hopeful smiles, her presence gave some comfort. I could hear whispers rippling over the group, like the far-off collision of waves on a rocky coast. Everywhere there was a battle, in my new mood every sound appeared to be enhanced. My heart pulsed in wild force in a discordant, unequal rhythm.

Stressing in her voice her Beta position, Marissa pushed, "Everyone, gather around." Liam has changed.

The pack mates glanced warily not away from me. Their warning came just on target. Neither the unsettling change I went through nor a wolf turning into a human had they seen anything like that. As my new human form crawled with pain, the typical wood smoke fragrance appeared to encircle me.

I watched other pack members looking for some sort of thanks or understanding. Rather I discovered only uncertainty and caution. Among them, several whisper tensely to one another. With years of expertise etched on their faces, the older wolves stared at me austerely. More than everyone, they understood, how important things were.

Standing there, more and more exposed, the warmth of the fire did not help me to drive away the cold building inside my bones. In my own life, I went through an alien inside the familiar body. Every breath I took exposed both hope and fear and brought back the terrible situation I was in.

Leading pack member Alpha Marcus left the audience circle. He was under control, his face austere as he approached. His black eyes, which had earlier radiated might and intelligence, suddenly seemed to search me for a response. One could hardly have underlined the seriousness of his attitude. He led, but I also considered him as a father figure and realized his point of view would be quite important.

Marcus remarked, Liam, his voice strong and deep, this is unlike anything else. This planet.

"I also find it confusing," I answered, trying to be hip but my voice cracked even then. "I know nothing about whatever is happening to me."

Marcus nodded slowly as the firelight moved over his view. "We have to figure out from where this originated, for the pack's as well as your protection.

Knowing creeping like a shiver down my spine, one could regard my existence as a threat to the pack's defense. Their horror struck me like a physical force hurrying back at me. The group had always been successful in discipline and habit; here I was, an oddity testing both.

The fire seemed to be marching the calm of the audience, with more force. Phantom beasts moved across the limits of my vision from the twisted and writhed shadows the flames generated. The heat of the fire seemed directly opposite the cold knot of concern in my stomach. Besides shaking, I felt anxious and expectant.

Then, a sudden scream pierced the silence. It reverberated across the nighttime as a horrible, barren howl. Solace from loneliness, their features ranged from wonder to horror; the pack leaders turned to hear. Not a simple cry, the howl was a warning, a call to hazard.

Marcus let out a moan. His voice cut past the mounting hostility, "Everyone stays alert." "We have to look at this."

Marissa's pale face matched her forceful hold on my arm. Liam, you must keep close by. Nobody among us knows what lives there.

I nodded, but pictures cause terrible pain. The lament had recommended everything outside the peril connected with my present transformation. It was a clue working far beyond human reach, a hint of disturbance. As though the ground itself were holding its breath, the air appeared humming with expectation.

As the pack members began to form a defensive circle around the campfire, their eyes peered into the surrounding darkness and I could feel their weight of mistrust and fear hanging on me. Not only was my life here, in this form an anomaly; it was a catalyst for even darker, deeper events under progress.

Perched there, I felt as though I was a part of an unclear game. The fire produced almost horrible long, flickering patterns, and the wooded shadows seemed to extend more broadly. The far-off lament caught in my awareness as a dreadful reminder of how profoundly my surroundings had changed.

And I could not let go of the conviction that the real test started as the gang prepared for whatever was ahead. Emphasizing my unusual appearance, the light of the fire let me feel the weight of their examination and the unknown bearing down on me with a tangible force.