Reading Between the Lines

Chapter 33: Method

Present time...

Sarvani's POV-

Look, I honestly thought my shifting would come at some life-or-death moment. Like, someone stabs me and then I randomly grow claws and slash their face. Or, I'm about to fall on a knife, and then wings pop out and then I fly away.

I accidentally get slashed in the arm by another lycan? Didn't write that one down.

"SHIFTING?! I mean, so soon? Like that? How did it even begin?"

"I don't know, maybe your heat cycle? Maybe it was a trigger? I have no idea!" Tushi frets as she tries putting the medical stuff away.

"I forgot that most of them went to go watch that element match," Prashanth groans in frustration while he puts that phone. What are we gonna do now that Naish isn't here? He's the one that knows anything about everything in this world.

"Weren't you just complaining that nothing was happening before?" Prashanth reminds me as I whine at him.

"Okay, fine. But I didn't think that meant right now!"

What exactly triggered this? If it was the bite in November, this should've happened way before. With the spell being disabled, and my anemia being cured, my body would've been in the right condition to shift. This delay is just so random. And so is this transformation.

I look in the mirror. Is my face getting longer? Are my organs bleeding? Wait... are my TEETH GROWING!!

Nope, I'm still the same person. Thank God.

"Savi, you can't just shift in 30 seconds. It takes time," Prashanth says as he comes next to me in the mirror, trying to study me. "Shifting comes in phases. Your body will start doing some subtle changes, and then you go full-out wolf. It doesn't happen just like that."

"You call enhanced healing a SUBTLE CHANGE?! Sir, you can't just get a bone-deep cut and have it become a simple scar and call that "subtle". HUMANS CAN'T DO THAT IN MERE HOURS!"

"Well, Sarvani, you're not a full-blooded human anymore! I don't know what to tell you," he tells me exasperatedly as Tusharika laughs simply. "Shanthi, come on. She's just scared. Remember how you were when you shifted?"

He turns to her and gives her a pointed look. "Please, no. Not this again." And for the first time, since I met him, his cheeks and ears get flushed as he groans and turns away. Tushi sneers as she looks back at me.

"What? Tell me! Is it embarrassing?" I tease while looking at him, making him stick his tongue out at me.

Tushi smirks. "Yes, very," but she looks at his slightly paranoid face and shakes her head instead. "I'm kidding, he was just really scared too. But anyway, Prashanth, she has a right to be a little concerned. She's only been here for two months. Give her a break."

But then, she subtly mindlinks me.

"Remind me at some point, and I'll definitely tell you that story," she laughs evilly and then gives me a discreet wink. With how dark and sharp her eyes are, she has one sexy wink.

"I know how we shift, but not hybrids. Especially a hybrid like her. Werewolves and griffins are not similar at all, there's no telling what will happen to her," he says warily to which I clench my teeth. Great, that's reassuring.

"Wait, what about Vinnie's boss Dr. Jeong? Isn't she a griffin hybrid too?" Tushi suggests but he shakes his head. "Yeah, she is. But she's half samjok-o, which is in the same family. The effects are pretty similar. We need someone who's a hybrid of two completely different things. Like, werewolf-vampire, werewolf-mermaid, werewolf..." he trails off randomly. And then, he clicks his tongue as his eyes widen.