Stolen Fates - Anna

Transitions

Charlie sat up in the bed suddenly, gasping for breath and running a hand over his bare chest. It took a minute or two for him to reassure himself that the dream had been nothing more than that...just a dream. He scrubbed his hand over his face, finding his brow covered in sweat and his breathing uneven. He turned his eyes to the blonde sleeping peacefully beside him, rolled away from him and her knees curled into her chest.

With a heavy, uneven sigh, he pushed his legs over the side of the bed and placed his feet on the floor, bracing his hands against the mattress as he hung his head and closed his eyes. The dream had felt so real. He could still remember how the snow had crunched beneath his paws and how the fire had licked over his fur-covered skin. He gave a slight shiver at the memory and pushed both of his hands through his hair.

He looked over his shoulder when Anna rolled over in the bed and felt the corner of his mouth pull up just slightly as she reached out for him in her sleep. Turning his body, he shuffled his legs back under the sheets and lifted her arm gently, laying it across his abdomen as he laid back in the bed beside her. He pushed her hair back from her face and pressed a soft kiss to her forehead, breathing in her lavender scent deeply and felt his anxiety from the dream dissipate further.

"Are you ready," Charlie asked a bit skeptically with a slight raise to one of his brows. He could see the hesitation in Anna's eyes as they stood in the clearing, deep in the woods of the pack lands. "We don't have to do this today," he reassured her but couldn't contain the small chuckle that left his lungs when she planted her fists on her hips and stared at him. He closed the distance between them and covered her fists with his hands. He placed a small kiss on her forehead and felt her nod her head before he pulled away. "You're sure," he asked as he moved his hands from her hips to hold her face and look into her eyes.

Anna nodded her head again, a bit more convincingly and Charlie removed his hands from her as he took several steps beck from her. Reaching for the hem of his t-shirt he saw Anna's smirk and laughed, shaking his head. He lifted the shirt over his head and flipped the fabric right side out before folding it and sitting it on a tree stump beside him. He moved next to his jeans and once folded, he added them to the tree stump. He left in boxers in place and looked back to Anna. "Last chance," he offered one final time.

"Charlie," Anna shouted and pressed her fists to her temples.

"Okay...okay. I...just want you to be sure," he said and held his hands up in defeat. He sighed heavily, second guessing his thought to do this in the first place but only let the thought linger for a few seconds. He was positive that this would happen at some point, probably in the very near future, and hoped that the controlled environment would help Anna feel more comfortable.

Taking a deep breath and closing his eyes, he dropped the barriers in his mind and felt his wolf pacing impatiently. He opened his eyes and looked at Anna through the piercing emerald gaze of the wolf. He winced at the pain twisting in his stomach and dropped to his knees, gritting his teeth.

"Don't," he growled through his teeth when he saw Anna begin to move toward him, concern coloring her face. "Just...stay there," he continued in the same deep growl and braced his hands on the ground, digging his fingers into the earth as the bones of his arms and legs lengthened and the joints twisted. Thick sandy colored fur covered his tanned skin and the shout that echoed through the forest became a high pitched howl as the bones of his skull shifted.

His tail thumped once on the ground as he panted heavily, the pain subsiding and he lifted his head from the ground. The wolf lifted his haunches from the ground and steadied his paws on the ground before shaking out his fur all the way down to his tail. He shook his head a time or two more and refocused his eyes on the girl standing across the clearing.

Anna looked to be close to having a panic attack, gasping for breath and holding her hands over her mouth. The wolf took a few tentative steps toward her and kept his pace slow, truly afraid of frightening her further. As he neared her, he lowered his large body to the ground and laid his head down between his front paws. He flattened his ears and whimpered softly, using his legs to inch forward slowly.

He watched as Anna's legs trembled and then gave out from beneath her, her ass falling to the ground with a soft thump. He lifted his head from the ground and tilted his head at her, his eyes scanning her for distress or pain. Clearly, there was distress but it seemed to be more emotional than physical.

He lifted himself back to his paws and slowly closed the distance between them, lowering his haunches to the ground and sitting patiently each time her panic started to rise before moving forward once more. When he was finally no more than a few feet away from her, he lowered his belly to the ground and whined softly as he let his large canine head rest on her lap.

He felt her body jerk and lifted then tilted his head, watching as she clutched a hand to her stomach, her face twisting in pain. The wolf jumped to his feet quickly, taking a step back from her and lowered his head, whimpering helplessly as he watched her roll from her back to her stomach. Her forehead was pressed into the ground and the wolf pressed his nose against her neck, nudging her gently. He licked the side of her face and jumped back when her scream filled the air of the clearing.

He could do little but pace the area around her as she writhed on the ground in pain, a whimper or a whine always threatening to escape his throat. He wanted to take her pain away but he couldn't. He was forced to simply watch as the transition took hold of her and twisted her muscles and bones. The white fur grew from her pale skin and when he caught a glimpse of her eyes, he saw the bright sapphire hue of her wolf.

He inched his way closer to her when she lay on the ground panting, her energy clearly drained from the ordeal. He nudged the side of her head with his nose and saw her tired eyes open briefly before closing once more. He lowered his larger frame to the ground beside her and laid his head atop hers and waited patiently for her energy to return, his eyes and ears constantly scanning the area for any sign of danger.