The Unmarked Mate

Awakened Wolf

Candace POV

"Candace..."

My eyes went wide. I held my breath. Did that come from where I thought it came from?

"It's okay Candace." It was a gentle voice, not booming.

They warned me this may happen but I wasn't old enough. It was still six months till my birthday.

"Candace, you are going through something you shouldn't go through on your own. Sometimes this happens when a trauma is great enough. We come early. Don't be afraid. I would never hurt us."

I shook my head. This is not happening right now.

And this is not how Cam described it.

"Will you let me explain? I know you are scared. I know you don't know what is happening. That's exactly why I am here."

"Okay, explain." I say in my head timidly.

"My name is Elena. I am your wolf. I know Cam got his wolf when he came of age after he turned. Some wolves do that. Others come other ways. Sometimes when a wolf or others around them is in great danger, wolves will come early. This is why I am here." Elena explained in a very calm rational tone.

"But why can I hear you before I shifted? Don't most wolves shift and then hear the link." I was not an expert but I had heard what Dad and Cam told me. And I had read books about it in our library. It wasn't typically for a wolf and their human to talk prior to their 18th birthday and not before they shifted. This seemed very backwards.

"Well we aren't like most wolves."

I could tell Elena was smiling. Great, she is calm and elusive like my Mom. Always letting me figure out the riddle by myself.

"Would you be willing to elaborate?" I was not in the mood the play the riddle game.

"Well for one, you could shift now if you choose. You don't need to wait." Elena said bluntly.

"How is that possible?"

Elena just smiled. "Because we are special."

I was losing patience with her, just like I did with my Mom. That made me miss my Mom more. "Okay but what does that mean?"

Elena paused to think, "It means that we are special in a way that we have yet to learn and grow our abilities. As we grow and learn them, we will not be like other wolves or witches."

Okay that is a bit alarming. I just figured when I came of age. I would be a witch or a wolf. It seemed pretty black and white. There was nothing in any of the books about anyone that was both.

On the other hand, Mom was one. But that is because she was Dad's mate and a witch first. He marked her and transitioned. But she was able to keep her powers. That is way different than Cam and I.

The books also say Mom shouldn't exist. The books I read said my Dad should have killed my Mom when he marked her. Wolves and witches are supposed to mix. Maybe that's why they were taken? I don't know but it says Dad's venom should have killed my Mom because witch blood doesn't mix with wolf venom. It works for human some of the time but never witches.

"So are you saying we aren't just a wolf?"

"That depends on you and what you choose to do. We are strong and stronger if we channel it the right way. It depends on where you want to put your energy." Elena calmly explained.

"So I, no we, can be like Mom?"

Elena shook her head in the affirmative.

I paused, shocked. "What can we do now?"

"Well if you would like we shift now," Elena replied.

Cam had to wait till a full moon to shift the first time successfully. This didn't sound right either. The full moon helped a new moon shift and bonded human to beast. Now after that, wolves could shift at any point, but the first shift was always during a full moon at their 18th birthday with few exceptions. I had heard for wolves shifting early due to necessity like a rogue attack or war. Or even late, their wolf wasn't strong enough quite yet and they came later. This didn't make sense to me. How could I shift in the early morning without the moon?

Also wasn't a first shift incredibly painful potentially? Most people shift in front of the Alpha or Luna or with family. They helped them coach them throughout it. That is what happened with Cam. I was told it can be very painful and anxiety provoking. It is helpful to not fight the wolf...Not sure what the means. But it sounds like if you do that it hurts more. I am not sure exactly. I was never allowed to go to Cam's first shift and I have never been to anyone else's.

I don't know if I can imagine shifting without anyone. Well anyone besides Elena.

"Will it be painful?"

"If you fight it, it may. It takes time the first time but as time goes on it gets easier. It's like putting on a pair of comfy jeans eventually. At first they need to be worn in but eventually they become your favorite pair." Elena stated calmly.

Elena really already seemed a lot like my mom. She seemed level and direct. She also seemed very intuitive and compassionate. I was so surprised she knew so much more than me.

I felt like the best alternative was to shift now. I was still cloaked by my wards so it would be safer than trying it at a different time. And I knew there must be a reason Elena came early. I didn't want to be alone and shifting may help protect me if I needed to protect myself. Being in my wolf form even young and inexperienced would be safer than my human form. The enchantments could only protect me from so much. If I ran into another witch or witches, I had no hope of protecting myself like this.

This is one of the things I was worried about when I saw all the tracks. That was a lot of human tracks without animals. To be able to take away my whole family, there had to be something that was stronger than them and some humans weren't going to be strong enough for all of them. They had to have some kind of magic with them.

I sighed loudly, "Okay I will do it...But you need to tell me what to do."

Elena seemed pleased, "I was hoping you would say that. First you need to get rid of your clothes. If you leave them on, they will rip right off of you. Then we will work on clearing your mind."

I went ahead and followed her instructions. I placed my very dirty clothes in a pile by my sleeping bag. At this point they may be dirty but they are the only ones I have.

"Okay, I want you to center yourself just like Mom taught us. Focus on your breath and ground yourself. That's it. Notice your feet touching the ground. notice the air surrounding your body. Perfect. Now, the next part is important, you will feel me closer to you. Also like we are in a race and I am pulling right up next to you. I want you to let me take control. I need you to let me pass you in the race. It may be uncomfortable but just remember to ground yourself. Are you ready?"

I took a deep breath and exhaled out as I felt Elena come up to me. I opened my eyes to Elena with me in a new way. My bones popped and snapped. They were adjusting to a new shape. My face was elongating and I could see my nose..No my snout. Instead of standing on my two legs, I was now standing on four. My arms had become two legs. My spine had lengthened to now have a tail. Golden brown fur covered most of my body with exception to my paws, which were a deep black. If we had other markings, I couldn't see them without a mirror.

"How do you feel?" Elena smiled.

"This is different...But I almost feel stronger." I smiled too.

"That's because we are." Elena was still smiling.