Chapter 12
Olivia
It’d been a few days since Caleb saved me from stray wolves on the road and told me everything. Since then, the Ashwood estate has felt different. Everyone seemed lighter.
Now that I knew everything, it was easier for others to move around me. Maureen didn't have to choose her words before she spoke anymore. Tomas nodded at me on his perimeter walks like I was supposed to be there, because now I belonged.
The only problem now was Jake’s shift. Caleb believed it would happen tonight.
“It happens on a full moon,” Caleb explained, two days ago. “Given Jake’s progression, it will only be a matter of days.”
Leading up to the event, Caleb and I discussed the emergency preparations Jake would need. Things that would stabilize his vitals if they became critical in his human form, space during the transformation, we covered everything.
It was now the day of the shift.
From the window, I could see people preparing a medical tent outside.
“I’m not about to let a wolf thrash our furniture,” Maureen said, as she cleaned up in the kitchen. “It’s for your safety.”
Just a moment later, Donovan cornered me before I even finished my coffee. He leaned over the counter.
He looked down at what I was reading: Jake’s charts and a few books Caleb had given me from the more clandestine book collection.
“Most of our older research is in there,” Caleb explained at the time.
Donovan pushed himself off the counter once he knew what I was reading.
"You'll want to stay inside once it starts," Donovan finally said.
He hadn’t changed. I looked at him over the rim of my mug. "That's not going to happen."
Donovan set both hands on the counter across from me and said, flatly, "Caleb may have given you the details of a wolf shift. But it's not the same as being in the room when it happens. Especially the first time. They're not themselves."
"Jake’s my patient," I said, equally flat. "He's been my patient for weeks. I'm not watching from a window."
Donovan studied me the way he always did. He opened his mouth, no doubt about to argue.
I stared at him hard. At this point, nothing was going to hold me back.
Donovan's eyes swept over me. Maybe he recalled all our past arguments about Jake’s care. Maybe he thought I was too stubborn to back down because I chose to stay in a place with literal werewolves. Maybe he just felt bad for me and wanted to be nice.
Donovan raised a finger. "Stick to Caleb,” he said. “The moment Jake shifts, you keep your distance. And if I tell you to move, you move."
I kept my face neutral. "I’m glad we could come to an agreement.”
Donovan left without another word. I finished my coffee and took that as his version of a yes.
Jake was already awake when I got to his room.
He sat up in bed, the blanket pooled at his waist. He stared at the window, as he had many times before, but this time I noticed his knuckles white around the book he was reading.
"You're not supposed to be conscious yet," I said, half-jokingly. "The pre-shift protocol clearly states that you need to rest during the day.”
"Pre-shift protocol," he repeated, amused at the term. Then, slower: "Is that the medical term for ‘before you go crazy and feral’?”
“You’re not going to go crazy.”
Jake laughed shakily. “You never know.”
I pulled up his chart. "How's the pain?"
"Six."
"Don't lie to me."
Jake was now tapping the side of the bed. "Seven. Maybe seven and a half." He looked at the ceiling. "It feels like my bones broke and didn’t set right, and then smashed against one another even more.”
“You’re usually eight,” I said, jotting it down. “Got it.”
The room went quiet as I went over the rest of his assessment. I looked at Jake. He was still staring hard at his lap.
"Are you scared?" he asked.
I glanced up. "Of tonight?"
"Of any of it, all of it,” he murmured. “I know it's a lot to take in. Even now, after everything."
I set the tablet down. I knew better than to lie to Jake.
"A little," I said. "But not the way you mean. I'm not scared of wolves or packs or any of that. I'm scared of not being useful when it matters."
"You're already useful,” he said. “And even better, you’re fun to be around.”
I grinned.
"I mean it," he said. "I was worried when they said you found out the truth. But when you stayed… and then when you greeted me like nothing bothered you…”
His voice trailed off.
“I was really happy.”
Jake's hand trembled against the blanket. He still struggled to tell people what he was really feeling.
I gently touched his arm.
“I’m happy, too,” I said. “And it’s going to take a lot more than Donovan being snippy to get rid of me.”
“Not the other wolf stuff?” Jake said with a laugh.
“Oh, Donovan’s way scarier.”
Sunset drew closer.
Jake was starting to lose his composure. Between the pain and his bigger fever spikes, his gaze kept drifting toward the window, fingers twisting the edge of his blanket. Once his medications calmed him down, I decided to stay next to him just to be sure.
Outside, the medical tent was fully set up.
I could see Tomas setting up a generator for proper lighting. Maureen arranged a table with sandwiches and thermoses, in case the night was long.
"What if I wake up different?" Jake suddenly asked.
“Different how?"
Jake shrugged. "I don't know,” he said. “Just different, I guess. Caleb told me that after you shift, you hear more of your ‘wolf’. What if I don't like that side of me?”
It was the first time Jake said something without trying to cover it up with a joke. He didn’t even smile.
I scooted closer to his bed. I lowered my voice and smiled.
“Jake,” I said. “I may have only known you for a short time, but I can say with certainty that you’ll be fine.”
“What makes you so sure?”
I didn’t know a lot about wolves. My knowledge about shifts was surface level at most. But the next part, I said with unwavering confidence.
“If your wolf is anything like you,” I said. “Even just the tiniest bit… I know everyone’s going to love him.”
Jake's mouth pressed into a tight line. He nodded and reached out for my hand.
I squeezed it tightly.
“I’m glad it’s you,” Jake said.
“I’m glad, too.”
An hour before sunset, Donovan appeared at the edge of the east trail.
I was in the middle of my own slow perimeter walk, keeping in mind the points of exit that Donovan and the others showed me.
I wore a jacket over some comfortable clothes and running shoes. It would be easier for me to go back and forth in case the tent needed more supplies.
The rest of the pack hurried back and forth. Despite everyone’s meticulous preparations, the tension was growing.
Donovan, in the distance, pointed in one direction.
"The north trail cuts too close to the boundary line," he said. "Don't use it after dark."
"Okay."
"The path behind the woodstore loops back to the kitchen door. If you need to move fast, that's the fastest route."
“Got it.”
He continued. I kept note of everything while keeping an eye on whatever else was happening.
I'd gotten a look at the medical tent earlier. A medical bed was in there, though it was made of old metal rather than the thicker plastic models more common in hospitals. No doubt to not easily get destroyed.
I didn’t know where they got the crash cart, but it was most likely from some of the Ashwoods' other contacts. Maureen let me take a quick inventory check just in case.
To my surprise, I couldn’t find Caleb. I realized the last time I'd seen him was very early in the morning. I didn’t even see him for coffee.
“He’s on patrol,” a voice said from behind.
I turned around. It was Stella.
“Stella!” I exclaimed.
Stella hugged me before I could hug her.
“Before you say anything,” she said. She spoke fast. “Yes, I did meet you because the Ashwoods assigned me. Yes, I felt super, super bad that I couldn’t tell you the truth. No, I don’t regret it because you’re an amazing person and if it meant being friends with you, I would happily do it again.”
I laughed and hugged Stella back. “I know,” I said. “I don’t regret meeting you either.”
Stella let go and let out a sigh of relief. “Good.”
“So, are you here for Jake’s shift?”
Stella nodded. “Have to show my pack support,” she said. “Even if it means being around certain people.”
I smiled. I knew exactly who she meant.
Stella produced a bottle from under her arm. "For after," she said, holding it up. "Assuming we're all upright."
"Comforting."
She grinned and set it on the outdoor table.
"After tonight," she said into my shoulder, "We are going to The Blackwater Tap again. And this time, I’m making you the most aggressive drink possible."
"I want something with an umbrella."
"Done."
Everyone moved closer to the clearing near the edge of the estate as the moon rose.
The fog sat low over the grass, rolling over itself and the foundations of the estate.
In the darkness, I could see the medical tent. Its emergency lights glared at us from a distance. If Jake collapsed after the shift, we needed to make sure he could get there as soon as possible.
Jake stood at the center of the clearing, looking younger than I'd ever seen him. I'd adjusted his pain protocol twice in the last hour. It wasn’t enough.
Someone moved next to me.
“Caleb,” I said.
Caleb was out of breath, but he managed a smile. “Sorry I’m late. Patrols and all.”
“It’s fine.” I hugged myself tightly.
“Everything’s going to be okay,” Caleb reminded me.
I nodded.
“Don’t be startled,” he said. “I won’t let anything hurt you.”
“Will Jake be alright?”
Caleb smiled. “Always thinking about your patients.”
The clouds in the sky passed at an alarming pace. They made way for the moon, now fully round and shining down on the clearing.
A sharp, guttural scream came from the center. The hair on my arms stood on end.
I grabbed Caleb’s arm. Caleb didn’t move away.
Jake’s shift took approximately thirty seconds, but it felt longer. Even though I was yards away, I could hear his body crack and snap.
It was like Caleb’s. Only worse.