Guardian of Evanacliffs

The first shift

Life went well for my parents and they were happy to have me. I grew up to be a strong woman with long red hair and pale skin. I wasn’t that short but tall wasn’t in my vocabulary either. I went to school just like human beings and sometimes it even felt like I was normal, but I wasn’t. I could never be normal as I also bear the mark of the guardian. I was to follow in my mother’s footsteps once she passes. In that time I hoped it would have taken a while but how wrong could I have been. I trusted the wrong people and that’s what killed them all. When I turned sixteen, I was able to shift into a wolf form for the first time. It was the same age as my mother shifted for the first time but at that time, my grandfather and she were nobodies. Nobody knew them and nobody came even close to their house. Everybody at school knew my love for wolves and they thought it was stupid. School even thought us for years to be afraid of wolves and we were trained once a week for a year to fight them. Soon it became obvious that I was faster and stronger than most kids at school. Not that it mattered. It just made me popular. I also got a scholarship offer for a big international school close to our village. One day, I wanted to take a run in the forest right before school. I ran for what felt like a mile when it happened. A weird feeling just crept up on me as the thought of freedom crossed my mind. I wanted to be as free as the wolves in this forest. Even though it was impossible. I ran back into the direction of our house on the edge of the forest. It was the same house my mother grew up in. She always said she felt safer there than in the real world and my father accepted it so they never moved. A tingling started in my hand which made me stop on the spot. I looked intrigued by how my nails grew out longer and shaper. My hand also became slightly hairy and the tingling was only getting worse. I felt some muscles relax and stretch as my bones started to change its shape. My bones never cracked as some of you might think but I did feel them change size. It was like my body sped up the growing process of the bones people normally have. Like more bone cells were created to change the form. Within two minutes I was on all fours, wiggling my tail as I continued my journey back to my house. I focussed on my hearing and my eyesight. Both were never that bad but everything seemed heightened. My happy face disappeared the moment I heard a twig c***k on my left. There was my best friend Logan with a photo camera in his hand. Did he saw me turn? I took a step in his direction in the hope to speak to him before he could jump to any conclusions but all he did was take another picture before running away. I ran after him in the hope my secret and my family wouldn’t come out if I was able to stop him. Unfortunately, I had to stop at the edge of the forest. My lungs were burning as my body was not used to this shape. I thought that I could have trusted him as he was my best friend. Apparently not. I looked around to see the small puddle of water close to my feet. I stared into the water and admired my reddish-brown fur and realized I did not know how to change back on my own. I charged back to my parent's house as I knew my mother would be able to help me. My mother was thrilled when she saw me enter in a wolf form. She was talking about celebrating it and baking a carrot cake. Even my father seemed happy and all the happy vibes almost made me forget the betrayal of my friend. Unfortunately, that didn’t last long.