The change ( his mate)

Chapter 12: First change

Lara

I felt like I’d woken from a train wreck, my body ached, even my bones ached, I was so hot I wanted to jump into an ice bath, my lips felt dry and my throat felt like sandpaper.

My damp hair was plastered against my face and I could barely focus, I felt woozy and light headed, my head pounded painfully like the worst migraine ever. I was sick and Grayson was sitting here wasting my time talking nonsense about werewolves?

“Lara?”

My head snapped to him, and he said, “did you hear me?”

“Yeah, something about werewolves.”

“You were bitten by one.”

My eyes focused on him then. “What?”

“Werewolves exist and one bit you tonight.”

“I don’t think now is the time to make jokes, I think I have rabies.”

“No, I’m not joking, you were bitten by a werewolf, I’m a werewolf.”

I looked into his blue eyes, but they looked completely calm and sincere, he believed what he was saying.

“Did you bite me?”

“No, I would never do that to you, it’s why I broke up with you, I was trying to protect you.”

My mind was racing and I was too sick to care about being sceptic. “Wait, there were two wolves, there was a white wolf, its eyes, they were blue.” I focused trying to recall the night.

Then I looked up into his eyes. “Your eyes, it had your eyes.”

“I—” he tried to touch me, but I flinched away from him and he stopped.

“You bit me!” I screamed.

“No, the mutt—”

“What! What are you talking about, what the f***k is a mutt! Unchain me!”

“I can’t, just hear me out, please,” he begged.

I wanted to know what had happened, so I swallowed the seething rage of hurt and betrayal just enough to listen.

“You were bitten by a mutt, that’s a werewolf who doesn’t belong to a pack. I found you and it was too late, he’d already infected you.”

“You bit me too, I remember!”

“I had to—”

“Why!”

“It’s complicated to explain.”

“Try,” I gritted out.

He looked at me with worry in his eyes and pain, how dare he be the one to feel upset!

He tried to take my hand, but I s.lapped his away.

“He didn’t mix enough of his saliva into your wound, it would have spiked a fever high enough to kill you, but not turn you. I bit you to give you more, to give you a chance to survive this.”

I looked at him and saw nothing but the truth in his eyes. Taking a breath I nodded. “Ok, now what?”

“You’re through most of it, but the hardest part comes next, the change itself.”

“What will happen?”

He looked down, closing his eyes, and then looked back up me. “I won’t lie, it will be brutal and violent, the change will tear its way through your body, every one of your bones will feel like they are breaking, your skin will itch and burn and then it will feel like it’s peeling away and splitting. It’s going to be the worst pain imaginable, but don’t fight it, no matter what, no matter how much you feel like dying or giving up, don’t, keep fighting to survive and remember it won’t last forever.”

Fear engulfed me and I almost passed out. Trembling, I whispered, “how am I supposed to survive something like that?”

“You can, it’s possible, the trick is to work with the pain and not against it, let it in, let it flow through you, the more you fight against it the worse it will be and the harder it will be, if you can work with it your chances of survival will be higher. I’ll be with you every step of the way, I promise.”

I nodded and grabbed his hand squeezing it tightly.

He leaned in and kissed my forehead. “I’ve got you, darling, I’ve always got you.”

“I’m so scared,” I whispered, and started to cry.

He held me close and stroked my back soothingly. “It will be ok, you can do this, I know you can. Remember everything you said to me about how much you love wolves, use that, you’ll be able to be a wolf yourself after this, me and you can run and hunt together. Try to use that to see a positive light at the end of it.”

I nodded, and felt a surge of new found strength for moment, I could do this, I just had to listen to everything he’d told me.

Colours swam before my eyes, they had been the whole time, but now my eyes began to itch and burn. I rubbed them, but it didn’t help and then I fell back against the bed and everything grew black again.

When I next woke up it was to pain, searing hot and unbearable pain. My bones didn’t just ache anymore, it felt like they were moving under my skin, sliding against one another. A scream tore from my throat, my fingers twisted, the bones underneath shrinking and changing, the skin growing loose and then taut.

I heard a voice yell, “she’s changing!”

Felt cold metal being removed from my wrists and ankles. Another bout of searing white hot pain tore through my abdomen, my insides felt like they were on fire, my organs seemed to writhe and move. I thought I’d die when I felt my ribs c.rack, I wanted to die, begged for it.

That voice yelled at me to fight, not to give up, told me to work with the pain. Were they mad? I writhed in agony, felt my legs and arms stretching, shortening, changing and realigning. Was I being t.ortured? No, a moment of clarity, I remembered nothing except that I had to work with the pain, work with it don’t fight against it and I would survive. Wouldn’t last forever.

Pain so crushing I almost passed out and then I did, came back to and took a shaky breath. Let the pain in, remember something, something about an animal, I should be on all fours. Force myself to get on all fours, almost pass out again to the pain of my feet stretching, tendons tearing.

Let out a shaky breath forcing myself not to fight this. Easier, still blinding pain, but able to stay awake and not pass out from it. Feel tickling across my skin, look down and see fur covering my hands, no not hands, they look misshapen, no, not misshapen, paws, paws slowly being covered in fur, dark brown fur. My face no longer feels like it’s being bashed in with a hammer, the pain shoots through me one last time and then it’s gone, it’s over and I collapse to the floor panting in exhaustion.

I look at my surroundings, everything seems more sharp and focused, some things look almost black and white, but otherwise my vision still has colour.

I’m in a cage, I look up to see two humans standing outside looking at me, no not human, I sniff the air, wolf, like me, why do they look like that? Confusion clouds my mind and panic sets in. I’m trapped. I want out.

I throw myself against the cage, but only end up hurting myself, so I stop. One of the strange looking wolves tries talking to me, but he isn’t making any sense, his making noises, but I can’t understand them, what do they mean? Wait, I do understand, I know I do. I focus and now they make sense. The male with blonde fur on his head talks. “Lara, you did it, you survived the change, you f.ucking did it.”

He grins at me and I remember this wolf, I’ve seen him before, Grayson, yes that’s his name. He has a wolf shape too, a white wolf. Slowly my memories come back and I grow angry, he bit me, he put me through this t.orture.