The First Shift
1029 Words
The night was still, and the moon hung high in the sky, casting a soft glow over the Snowpost Pack lands. Inside her small, modest room, Jade tossed and turned in her sleep. Her mind was restless, the familiar warmth of her bed no longer comforting her. She couldn't shake the feeling that something was wrong, like a strange pull deep within her was trying to tell her something.
Beads of sweat clung to her forehead as she shifted uneasily beneath the blankets. It wasn’t just a dream this time—it was something more intense. A pressure built inside her chest, like something was trying to escape, struggling to break free.
Suddenly, the pain hit her like a wave. It surged through her body, sharp and fierce, jolting her awake with a gasp. Her vision blurred, and she clutched at her chest, the pain unbearable.
“What… what’s happening to me?” Jade whispered, her voice trembling as she tried to catch her breath.
Before she could even make sense of it, everything around her faded, the world slipping away into darkness. The next thing she knew, she was no longer in her room. Cold air filled her lungs as her eyes fluttered open, revealing a vast stretch of trees. The forest loomed around her, the familiar scent of pine and earth filling her senses.
She was in the forest, lying on the cold ground, her body weak and trembling. Confusion flooded her mind. She didn't know how she had gotten there. All she remembered was the searing pain—and then nothing.
Struggling to sit up, her whole body felt different, like it wasn’t her own. Her limbs ached, and her bones seemed to be on fire. As she tried to get her bearings, the pain came rushing back, more intense than before. It was as if her very being was splitting apart from the inside out.
Her scream echoed through the quiet forest as her body convulsed violently. Her bones cracked and realigned, her muscles tore and reformed. It was agonizing, unlike anything she had ever felt before.
Just when she thought she couldn’t take any more, the pain began to subside. Her vision shifted, becoming sharper, clearer. Her senses heightened. She could hear the smallest sounds—leaves rustling, the soft thud of a rabbit's heartbeat, even the wind brushing against the grass.
Jade looked down at her hands—or what were once her hands. In their place were paws, covered in soft white fur. She gasped, stepping back instinctively as she realized what had happened. She had shifted.
A pure white wolf stood in her place, its coat glowing under the moonlight. Jade's blue eyes, still the same, now gleamed with a new intensity. For a moment, she was stunned, unable to fully comprehend what had just occurred.
"This… this is me?" she thought, her mind racing.
Before she could process anything further, a gentle voice echoed in her head.
“Yes, Jade, this is who you truly are.”
Jade turned to see her mother standing beside her, a look of quiet pride in her eyes. Only now, there was something different about her. She didn’t look like the humble, quiet omega she had always known. Her aura was powerful, glowing with an energy that seemed to hum with the essence of the moon itself.
“Mom?” Jade's thoughts reached out, but the words felt different, like she was speaking from a place deep within herself. Her wolf… was communicating.
Her mother smiled gently. “I brought you here, to the place where your wolf could awaken. You are no ordinary wolf, Jade. Your time has come to realize the power within you.”
Jade’s heart raced. She had waited for this moment her entire life—wondering when her wolf would awaken and what she would look like, when she would finally shift like the others in her pack. But nothing could have prepared her for this moment.
Her mother knelt beside her and ran her hand over Jade’s white fur. “You were always meant to be special, Jade. That’s why I had to hide you, to protect you. But now, you’ve taken your first step toward your destiny.”
Jade blinked, her wolf senses tingling as she felt the power coursing through her. "This is incredible," she thought. "I can feel everything… I can hear… I can smell... Everything is so clear."
Her wolf responded eagerly within her, and for the first time, she felt a sense of completeness, like a part of her soul that had been missing had finally returned.
“You can take your first run,” her mother said, stepping back to give her space.
Jade didn’t hesitate. She bolted into the forest, her paws sinking into the soft earth with each stride. The wind rushed through her fur as she ran, her heart beating in sync with the rhythm of the night. It was exhilarating, unlike anything she had ever experienced before.
The moonlight guided her through the trees, and she felt free, powerful, alive. Her wolf reveled in the sensation, enjoying the way the world seemed to open up before them. No more bullying, no more feeling less than what she was. She had her wolf now, and everything was different.
After a long run, Jade finally stopped by the river, panting softly. She gazed at her reflection in the water, stunned by the sight of her wolf form. The pure white fur, the striking blue eyes—it was almost too beautiful, too surreal to be real.
Her mother approached her quietly, standing beside her. “This is only the beginning, Jade. There’s more to you than you know. But for now, rest. We will talk more when the time is right.”
Jade shifted back into her human form, collapsing into her mother's arms, exhausted but exhilarated. The pain of the transformation was gone, leaving only a sense of peace.
As her mother held her, she whispered, “I’m so proud of you, my darling. You’ve taken your first step into a world much bigger than you’ve ever imagined.”
- Writer
