Head Wolf

Chapter 14

Arthur POV

Omar’s gaze lingered on the unseen in a silent valediction between body and soul. Pain exploded in every part of my being. Like the agony of my first shift that broke every bone in my body, this pain chattered my soul. I sat there, hands over his non-beating heart, refusing to let go.

He’s dead. The thought was lost on me. Omar had never been still, or cold, or absent, or…dead.

He’s dead. The ruthless realization knocked the air out of me.

How?

I sank on my heels, clutching my chest like the little child I once was before I met him, before he found me in a crippling tangle of confusion, loneliness, and despair that was my first shift. I wouldn’t have survived without him.

I was an early shifter at twelve years old. When the pain struck, I distanced myself from the pack, like a dying wolf, and went into the forest. This was my fight not only with the change, but also to prove my worth to my demanding father. I had to go though it alone as per the way of the West Claw pack.

By the time I reached the lake, I was crawling. My ligaments had long since snapped, rendering my feet useless. The sharp pain left me breathless and disoriented.

A new wave of torture started to build. As it grew, my fear soared, spreading its stench around me like a vulture waiting for my demise.

Omar, a visitor Alpha from far away, had found me stuck mid shift. Oblivious to the rules of my pack, he approached me.
Pain painted my vision with a million colors, turning the world around me into an abstract canvas.

“Breathe, son. Embrace the pain. Don’t resist it.” He rested a large hand on my head. Its warmth seeped through my skin, slowing my heart and allowing me to wheeze through my compressed lungs which my fear had had emptied of all air.
The pain came back like an inevitable fate, causing chaos to erupt in my mind.
It was too soon. No one had ever prepared me for the madness that accompanied the torment. When the pressure dug at my temples, rendering my senses useless, a small door of deceiving light opened, inviting me to lose myself, promising a salvation from my never ending agony. It was easy to let go, too tempting even.

In my whirlpool of affliction, I reached for the light. Losing the fight to a blissful madness seemed like a victory to me, but Omar didn’t let me.

“Fight it, boy. Fight it.” He growled, shaking my wrecked body, urging a scream to expel from my chest and join the sky as a resounding howl.

I fell into darkness and woke up a wolf.

“You did it, pup.” I heard it in my head. Spinning around on my shaking paws, I didn’t find the source.

Omar chuckled. “It’s me, pup. Look at you. Strong and healthy. Your father will be proud of you.”

I puffed my chest and stamped my paws as if I didn’t know better.

“Talk to me, boy. What’s your name?”
My wolf was drawn to him like the bond I shared with my father, minus the constant disappointment.

“Why am I hearing you?” I asked, watching my wolf rub itself on him.

“What do you mean?” He scratched my ear. “Why were you shifting alone? You trapped me with you, boy. Where’s your mentor?”