Stolen Soul

Chapter 3: The change

Lexi

I thought this creative writing class was going to be easy, apparently, I don’t have an imagination or a point of view.  This first assignment sounded fun, the teacher had a bunch of random topics thrown in a hat, we each came up and picked one for our short story topics.  I was hoping for something relatable, you know like teenage rom-com, or maybe even a story where I can work in an orphaned heroine.  Nope, I got a fantasy topic.  Can be any fantasy creature overcoming a struggle.  Everything I have tried to come up with is completely unoriginal, basically it either feels like a fan fiction for Harry Potter or Twilight, and I can’t decide if witches are fantasy creatures.  Maybe I should write a story about fairies?  What struggle would a f*****g fairy have?  I have stared at the screen on my computer for no less than 2 hours, my head is throbbing, my frustration level has been rising, and I am getting absolutely nowhere. 

I honestly thought this fall semester was going to be so much better. I don’t live with Tinsley anymore, thank God. I got to move into the Athletic dorms with one of the girls on my cross-country teams, Becca.  She is from upstate Washington.  We have so much in common, we both have been running since we were teens, we eat the same pizza toppings, meat lovers supreme, watch the same drama filled television shows, even our work out play lists are similar.  Besides having different majors, we are kindred spirits.  For the first time I actually feel like I belong somewhere, but right now I feel like I need to break s**t.  I need to get out for a run, and find some peace.

I haven’t been back to the woods and my calming stream in a few weeks.  Settling into my new dorm with Becca and starting up cross country practice again has kept me super busy, and has rested a lot of the unease I had been feeling, but right now I need a little peace, and a run around campus isn’t going to cut it. As I drive further away from the city and into the mountains and forest, I can feel the anxiety and stress leave my shoulders. The air feels cleaner here, and for the first time all day I feel like I can breathe again. I know my family wasn’t happy that I wanted to go across the country, but I felt drawn to this place, and its times like these that I know I made the right choice. I always said when I when I moved for college, I would go somewhere green, with mountains, and seasons.  My dad was hoping that meant no further than Tennessee.

Honestly, I am not sure if the anxiety I am feeling is because of the paper or because the closer I get to my 18th birthday, the surer I get that I should try to find my birth parents.  I actually did the DNA test last month, and it came back that the sample was contaminated.  They sent me another kit at half price, I haven’t done it yet, just too busy, or scared. 

I parked my car in the same hidden path I always do, the sun is starting to set.  The orange hues of the setting sun blend perfectly with the changing color of the leaves.  The scent of fall lulls me into a serene state as I walk towards the stream.  The moon has begun to rise high in the air, and is shining on the lake.

The restfulness that has washed over me is gone in an instant as a sudden sharp pain begins to radiate from my stomach, stretching throughout my limbs.  Screaming out in pain, I dig my fingers into the soft dirt, as I fall to my knees, only to see claws stretching from hands as they turn into, oh my, what the hell is happening to me, I have fur, paws. The pain almost takes me, until it suddenly vanishes.

 I think to myself, What the f*** is going on, what am I?

I suddenly hear a different voice in my head, “Hi Lexi, you’re a wolf.  Well, more specifically a werewolf.”

A werewolf? Those are not real. Also, I am hearing voices now. I have to be dreaming.  That’s right, I am dreaming; this cannot possibly be real.

You aren’t hearing voices; I am your wolf, Ela. Haven’t you ever noticed that you’re faster than the other humans.  You can smell better than them, you’re more agile.  Haven’t you always felt different?

Of course, I felt different, I’m adopted.  I could just be more athletic because of my parents.  It’s just genetics, I mean I never met my birth parents, that is the most obvious explanation, and now I am answering the voice in my head, which means I am crazy.

It is genetics, your birth parents are werewolves too.  Plus, you aren’t dreaming, and you can see our paws, right?  If you want to see what we look like, I can show you in the stream.

Uhh, umm I guess, show me, but I still think this is a dream.

Slowly we move forward pushing towards the stream.  With each step I slowly become more in tune with my wolf shape.  My sense of smell is keener, the scent of autumn thick in the air, the sweet scent of musky earth and crisp air.  When I look in the water, I see a beautiful gold shimmering wolf. My fur looks like spun gold, and the center between my eyes looks like a white crescent moon.  The wolf looking back at me has bright jade green eyes, I have never seen a wolf with green eyes, let alone gold fur.

We are beautiful, aren’t we? Ela states in my mind.

We are.

As a stretch my limbs, I feel the urge to run and explore in this new form.  Ela says we are built for speed, and we take off into the trees.  Zigging and zagging, until we catch the most hypnotizing sent.  The musky smell of the earth is mixed with a hint of sandalwood, the desire to follow the smell overtakes me.  I change directions and head back towards the stream.

Mate, mate, mate.  Xander is here, he has come back to me.

What? What is a mate, and who is Xander?

Before Ela can respond I see a large black wolf barreling towards me.  On instinct, I turn and run. Further into the woods than I have ever gone. While every cell in my body tells me to go back, every human thought I have ever had says get the hell away from that gigantic beast.

Ela screams at me, “TURN AROUND LEXI!”

“HELL NO!” I scream back

The loud sounds of growling snap me back to where I am.  2 large brown wolves and 1 very large charcoal-colored wolf have circled around me.  All wearing the same crescent marks on their wolves, as my wolf.  I cower to the ground, terrified of what they are going to do to me, when the men shift forms into 3 of the most gorgeous men I have ever seen.  Each of them with broad shoulders and rippling muscles.

They look like they could be brothers, all with similar body shapes. The 2 youngest have long brown loose curled hair, full lips, and bright blue eyes.  But the charcoal wolf has the broadest shoulders and medium-length dark brown hair.  His brown eyes are lighter than I would expect, his wolf had very dark almost black eyes, but his eyes are lighter with streaks of amber.  I trail my eyes down his perfectly sculpted body, and my breath catches when I catch a glimpse of his package.  He clears his throat, and turns to put shorts on, his ass is perfectly sculpted, just like the rest of his body, and I am certain he caught me staring.  He turns around and begins to approach his deep voice booms out one command, “Shift, now.”

My senses come back to me, and I begin to panic. I have no idea how to shift, or what to do.  Ela how do I shift, and does that mean to turn human again?

She quips back, “I’m not talking to you; you left our mate.”

Pleading with her I respond hesitantly, “Umm you have to help me; these scary guys look like they are getting really mad.”

One of the younger-looking men is staring at me very closely.

“Matt, she doesn’t look like a rogue and… look she bears the mark of the crescent.”

The perfect specimen of a man I was gawking at moments ago leans in closer to me as I let out a growl.

“We need to bring her to the Alpha now. You need to shift now wolf.”

Ela finally responds with a hint of annoyance, “Lexi, you need to picture yourself as a human.”

Questioningly I ask, “Ela that is all I have to do and I will be a myself again?”

I picture my human body and fall to the ground in a pile as a human.  I feel the breeze hit every part of my completely naked body.  I instantly fold myself into the fetal position trying to cover as much of myself as I can, when a large shirt is thrown over me.

“Put this on.”

I quickly get the shirt on, and turn around.  All three men are staring at me have fallen silent, their eyes appear lifeless and glazed over.  We stay like that for a few moments, when all of the sudden they come back to attention the oldest one, Matt, starts moving closer to me.

“Hi, I am Matt.  What is your name, and why are you here?”

“Umm, my name is Lexi. And I go to the University of Vermont in Burlington.  I like to walk these trails to clear my head.  I had a paper due, and was struggling with getting it done.”

“Your pretty far from the University, what pack do you belong to.  Your Alpha should have alerted us to you being near our territory.”

“I don’t have a pack.  I didn’t know I was a werewolf until tonight.”