Chapter 14 #2
Knowing what to expect in no way mitigated the process, but I did my best to ride the tide of agony with as little resistance as possible.
By the time the last echoes of pain subsided, optimism dominated my dread.
I took a few moments to gather myself before attempting to stand.
The foresight proved worthwhile when my legs didn’t shake nearly as much as they had the last time.
I shook out my ruff and glanced over at Elijah to find him starting his transition.
Rather than watch the grueling process, I focused my attention on the surrounding forest to keep watch.
His heavy pants became almost completely obscured by the vibrant nightlife surrounding us.
My ears twitched at the distant sound of tiny claws scrabbling on tree bark.
Crickets singing their nightly tune drifted on the light breeze.
Far above, a raven cawed into the midnight sky speckled with stars.
In substantially less time than it had taken me, Elijah stepped up beside me.
He rubbed his body along mine and buried the side of his face in my ruff.
I leaned into the unusual embrace and let the overwhelming sensation of being loved and accepted wash through me to join the moonlight coursing through my veins.
It seemed almost cruelly unfair how few doubts I had in this form when my human one was plagued with them.
Together, we made our way slowly toward the designated clearing. When we arrived, Kale and Tommy were play-wrestling, tumbling in the grass and nipping at each other while Eric sat to the side and chuffed his amusement.
Elijah gave a short bark. The brothers fell apart in an ungainly tangle of limbs, and I huffed a laugh. Eric stood and made his way over, followed by the other two.
I caught Tommy’s eye and cocked my head ever so slightly to the side.
His tail gave a brief wag before falling still.
He bumped his brother, and Kale seemed on board.
Meanwhile, Elijah appeared to be holding court with Eric and debating what to do next.
I took the decision totally out of their paws when I took off heading due east towards the rising moon.
Tommy and Kale fell in step behind me as if they were one wolf, and all three of us slipped into the underbrush with barely a whisper.
A distant bark that sounded suspiciously like a curse reached my ears. I huffed another laugh and glanced over my shoulder to see humor dancing equally in the other two’s eyes. As one, we angled south and circled back around to flank our stragglers.
In hardly any time, the sound of Eric and Elijah crashing through the forest was in front of us.
Tommy and Kale peeled off in opposite directions with no guidance, and I pushed straight on, adding more speed with each step.
A hole in the foliage ahead revealed that Elijah had gone stock-still, his eyes scanning the treeline while his ears swiveled to catch the smallest sound.
He was staring at where I’d emerge when the crack of a twig on his left tore his gaze away.
I burst out of the foliage and barreled into him. He let out a sharp yip of surprise as the ground came up to meet us. We rolled together, and I danced away right as he lashed out. His teeth snapped on empty air, and I pranced in place, gloating over my victory.
The celebration proved premature, however, when he almost immediately found his footing and rushed me.
Air whooshed out of my lungs as we collided and went down.
In no universe ever would I be in the same weight class as Elijah.
We went down in a heap of fur and teeth.
For all my skill in hand-to-hand combat, it was absolutely useless here.
I’d been a Lycanthrope for five and a half months.
Elijah had been one his whole life. For the first time in a long time, I had to admit I was grossly outmatched.
When we finally came apart, it was only because Elijah relented.
While I regained my footing, the other three tussled and snickered accordingly.
Back on all fours, I cast a wary glance at Elijah, fully expecting him to give me the same treatment that I’d given him that first run.
Instead, he stared back at me, tail wagging, then tilted his head toward the east. My tail wagged at the promise in his eyes, and I let out a short bark to get the others' attention.
Then, as a unit, we slipped back into the trees, four gray blurs and one black gliding effortlessly over the forest floor.
We ran and ran until my lungs stopped burning, and a sense of peace washed over me.
The moon hovered fat and full overhead, teasing us with glimpses of white through heavy tree limbs.
We raced towards it as if we could catch it and pull the massive orb down from the sky.
Eventually, the trees gave way to open space, and the pure light fell unhindered around us.
I skidded to a halt and lifted my head. A note of pure elation rose from my chest to touch the stars.
As my voice carried through the sky, Elijah’s slightly lower timbre joined it.
Then Eric’s. And finally, Tommy and Kale’s.
I didn’t know how I knew whose voice belonged to whom, but the knowledge was there just the same, and it felt right.
Our song eventually faded, and I dropped my head to look at Elijah. The light shining back at me in his eyes was everything. I didn’t feel sick, or broken, or out of control. I felt loved. I felt myself.
Kale yipped in impatience, and the moment dissipated, to be replaced by humor.
I turned in time to see Tommy nip at his younger brother in rebuke.
Elijah and I both huffed a laugh while Eric did a fair imitation of dramatically rolling his eyes at the two’s antics.
I walked over and bumped Kale with my shoulder.
He looked mildly abashed at his outburst, but I was having none of it. He wasn’t the only one who was hungry.