Chapter 11 GRANT
GRANT
I give Leena's door three soft knocks. Her footsteps fill my ears immediately as she walks to the door. She opens it with a frown, almost like she knows what we're about to discuss.
“Hi,” I say, giving a small smile. This doesn't change her expression, though.
“Hey,” she returns. Her voice is lower than normal.
Leena moves out of the way, letting me enter the room. She walks back to the bed and lies down on it. Any normal person would think she's falling sick, but just from looking at her, I can tell what's wrong.
“How're you feeling?” I ask.
She sighs. “I feel so restless. Is it always like this?”
I stroll to the shelf and take a look at some of the books there. My fingers trace the spines of a couple of leather-bound books. The sound of my nail on them is pretty soothing.
“It's a mix of emotions before the full moon,” I explain. “With two days left before the transformation, everyone feels either on edge or their anticipation just keeps building.”
“Ugh,” she groans, picking a pillow and pressing it across her face.
“There are less painful ways to take yourself out, you know,” I chuckle.
“Then give me some,” she states, her voice still muffled by the pillow. “I don't want to transform.”
“Do you know one thing I've always found fascinating? Is children's ability to adapt.”
Leena slides the pillow out of the way, revealing a raised eyebrow. “I didn't think we'd have the kids talk until at least a few more months.”
I laugh out loud, shaking my head. “Most of the pups that end up having their first painful transformation sort of look forward to the next one because they can't wait for the pain to stop.”
“Well, children aren't really known for being the brightest.” She sits up in bed, rolling her neck from side to side.
I walk over to sit beside Leena on the bed, choosing to stay at the edge. I can barely control myself around her.
Getting into her personal space won't help either of us. As the full moon gets even closer, it's less likely we'll be able to control these urges.
“Adults aren't flexible. There are broad concepts like how pain is bad and should be avoided.”
“Which only makes sense,” Leena insists.
“Yes, but you're still looking at this with the eyes of a human. You're a wolf now and that means that there are certain things you have to break through. This is just one of them.”
Leena pushes air out of her nose. I know this isn't stuff she wants to hear, but if I'm going to help her, then it has to be this way.
I stand up from the bed. “How about this? Why don't you try changing today?”
She frowns. “Yeah, no way.”
“Come on,” I say, offering a hand to her. “The full moon is in two days. You can practice a few changes and maybe your transformation won't be so bad.”
She looks at my hand and then her gaze drifts up to my face. “I know a trap when I hear it.” Leena shakes her head.
“It's not a trap,” I chuckle. “If anything, I'm helping you. You're about to have your third transformation. Chances are, it'll be just as painful as the last one. I know you didn't enjoy that.”
Leena shudders. “I think my body is still sore from it.”
“For these lessons to work, you're going to have to trust me. Come with me.”
There's a bit more grit behind the instruction. Leena gets up and starts following right behind me. We travel down the stairs, saying hi to the twins when we reach the bottom. Both of them greet us with warm smiles.
“How's work coming?” I ask them.
“Real good,” Ramona says. “The house will be ready for our guests.”
“Great. We're having a few more early travelers than normal.”
“You can trust us,” Raph states.
“Good, good.”
Raph turns to Leena, who's still standing behind me. “You must be so excited.”
She gives him an uneasy smile. “Yeah…”
The twins are too lost in their own heads to notice that Leena isn't in the best mood. “It's always the best having so many shifters over,” Ramona gushes. “I wonder if I'll see Lance again.”
“Like you're going to be brave enough to talk to him this time,” Raph scoffs. This earns him a swift punch from his sister.
“Alright, you two,” I say. “Take the brawling somewhere else.”
They leave us alone, and we exit the house through the main door. A heavy wind blows through the trees around us, carrying the sweet, earthy scent on its back.
The sun is barely in the sky at this point, but there aren't all the usual colors of sunset present. Thick clouds form a blanket of varying shades of gray above us.
“Do you think it'll rain?” she asks.
“I doubt it. Do you know why we're outside?”
“Yes, but I'm afraid I'm going to disappoint you.”
I place both hands on my hips, gazing into the woods. The trees and grass are already calling my name. I know Leena can hear it too. I turn to her, keeping my eyes on hers.
For a second, it feels like I'm stuck in a daze. Her gray eyes almost suck in me, reminding of all the time that I've stared into them in the heat of our passion.
Leena rubs her arm before looking away. I know she feels this pull, too. It's so much stronger now.
“You'll be in pain once the full moon hits and that worries me. I promise that changing now will help.”
It's important she does this of her own will, or it'll just be worse.
Leena sighs. “I'm sorry, Grant. I can't.” She slowly walks back into the house.
“It's time!” I growl.
There's a chorus of excited cheers as the moon reaches its peak. All around me, shifters are shouting, sending their voices into the night. The woods are ready to welcome us as a new home for as long as we want.
However, among the crowd, there's a beautiful face that isn't quite as happy. Leena looks on nervously.
I can tell that she's envious of how excited everyone else is. Once she's a wolf, she will forget all the pain, but getting to that point is the problem.
I feel the moon touching me with its light, and it's absolutely amazing. I release a soft, deep breath, feeling my body perform a task it has done many times before. In no time, I'm already in my wolf form.
All the others follow my lead, filling the air with the sound of cracking bones. Leena settles in the back of the pack, seemingly fighting the urge to transform.
I let a howl loose, and the shifters take this as their cue to run into the forest, starting the hunt. This is when Leena's transformation begins.
She falls to the floor, howling in pain. Her dark hair covers the contortions on her face. She claws at the ground, whining loudly as her bones shift.
I move toward her, keeping a small distance so I don't interfere. Every single fiber of my being wants to run in and help. If I could take all her pain on myself, I would, but that's not possible.
“Grant…” Leena's voice is so weak, I probably wouldn't be able to hear it without my wolf senses. “Please…” The begging is like a knife in my heart.
There's nothing I can do. There's nothing I can do.
“I'm sorry.”
She continues to painfully transform for a few more minutes until eventually, it stops. There's silence as Leena lies there on the ground, not moving. Her thick black coat shines in the light of the moon.
She's beautiful…
I stare in awe as Leena rises from the ground in her wolf form. There's no pain anymore, it's clear from her eyes. She looks up at the sky, as the corners of her lips form a smile. Her piercing gray eyes turn to me, and I'm lost again.
Leena struts looking toward me, moving further and wagging her tail in anticipation. I can tell she's ready to go. I howl, and she does the same thing before running off.
Leena sprints through the woods, trying to pick up the scent of the animals around us.
I run after her, catching up pretty easily. She may be younger, but my bones are stronger. I run alongside her, and she moves closer, bumping affectionately into me.
We continue to move side by side until we spot the bushy tail of a rabbit. Leena locks in on the small animal and goes after it. I snicker a little before following her, giving some space so she can have the kill to herself.
Leena launches into the air and just manages to latch onto one of the rabbit’s legs. Her grip breaks the animal, letting her feast. She eats and howls loudly.
We hear other wolves around us and begin to chase after them. I spot Nate and Madeline further away, playing affectionately with each other. A pang hits my heart when I see this, realizing that's the most fun a shifter can have.
Leena bumps into me, though, and her presence takes away any bad feelings I'm experiencing. The other wolves steer clear of us, giving us our space, and we remain together for the rest of the night.
By morning, Leena is one of the only wolves who still has a lot of energy. Most of the others had passed out and are now starting to turn back to their normal forms.
As the moon leaves us, I waste no time transforming back into my human form. Leena, on the other hand, doesn't begin her transformation.
“What's wrong?” I ask. Leena responds only by jumping around. “Leena, you have to turn back eventually. I know it's painful to turn, but it's still going to be painful to keep up this form.”
Eventually, I decided to just let her be, knowing she'll turn back when she's ready. The other shifters and I return to the pack house and clean ourselves up.
My shower this morning is a really long and refreshing one. By the time I'm out of my room, half of the pack is already preparing to leave.
Nate finds me opening the kitchen fridge for a bottle of water. “Heck of a night, huh?” he says, smiling.
“I'm sure it was for you,” I state, placing the bottle against my lips and taking a sip. “Where's Madeline?”
“She's upstairs.” The voice belongs to Graham, who's just joined us. “She's talking to Rose.”
“Hmm,” I note.
“We saw you with Leena last night,” Nate adds. His tone is normal, showing he may not think anything is out of the ordinary. I feel like Leena and I are the only ones who can sense that something is drawing us to each other.
“She didn't have the best transformation,” I comment. I place the bottle on the kitchen island and shake my head. “It was so bad.”
“That's awful,” Graham says with genuine empathy.
“She's been avoiding transforming,” I explain, looking from one man to the other. They focus on every word I say like I'm telling them a secret. “Leena is still in the woods, and I guess she'll be there for a bit.”
“I wouldn't be in a hurry to turn back either,” Nate sympathizes. “How long do you think she'll be like that?”
“I'm sure she'll tire herself out. I would've stayed with her some more, but there's work to do.”
“Shouldn't she be working with you?” The larger of the two asks.
“She's earned a couple of days to herself,” I reply, before picking up the bottle of water and emptying the rest of its contents. “How long are you two going to stay?”
Nate shrugs. “Maybe an extra day or two. We're not exactly in a hurry right now.”
“That's fair.”
It takes three full days for all the wolves that don't live in the townhouse to clear out. I do my best to spend time with Leena, despite being swamped with work. She stays in the part of the land that’s not too close to the house.
As the last cars drive off, I begin my stroll into the woods to find Leena. I'm used to the path she takes by now, plus her scent is still in the air. It leads me further into the forest before I finally locate her.
Every time I see Leena's wolf form, I'm in awe. I'm not sure I've ever seen anything as beautiful. She moves around with grace that's stunning to watch. However, there's something wrong today.
The morning breeze seems to make her sway more than usual. I can tell that she's weak, since the full moon is becoming a memory.
She sees me and stumbles in my direction, falling when she just reaches my feet. Leena breathes heavily, trying her best to fight the transformation. I sit on the ground next to her, stroking her fur gently.
“You have to turn back,” I tell her, running my fingers through her soft fur. “You can't stay like this forever. It'll only get worse.”
Leena doesn't even have the strength to respond to me. She keeps taking measured breaths, blinking slowly. I lean in closer to her, trying to soothe her pain, but she's not going to feel better until she turns back.
After continuously fighting the urge to transform, I hear the first crack.