Shifting Hearts

Chapter 12 -Downhill

I woke up with a pounding headache and a blinding light in my eye. I struggled to open them and as I did, I could see that I slept outside last night.

As a horse.

With a loud groan, I rolled over and got my hooves underneath me. It wasn't good for a horse to be lying down for so long. Once I was standing, I shook out my coat and blearily looked around me. Rose and Skipper were both grazing by me, and they trotted over once they saw me standing.

"Are you okay?" Rosie asked, her voice low with concern.

"You gave us a scare coming in like that last night," Skipper added, his tail flickering nervously.

I was so confused right now. All I could remember from last night was the witch, and then coming home and passing out as soon as we hit the pack's territory.

"What happened? I was human last night."

Rose gave me a sad look, and Skipper looked confused.

"You... you don't remember?" Skipper asked, "You went totally crazy. The Alpha carried you out of the truck, and you looked dead, but then suddenly you were flailing, and the wolf was struggling not to drop you. You were screaming and eventually kicked out of his arms and onto the ground."

Rosie nodded solemnly, her red mane bouncing, "Yeah, and then you froze and were flickering between human and horse. It was terrifying. You didn't stop screaming even while you were shifting. When it was done, Cooper tried to get close to you, but you kicked at him and ran, jumping the fence and running to us. You wouldn't let anyone else near without trying to kick their head off, not even Dylan. Other than us, you only let Orion come over. Cooper ran off a little while ago in wolf form. I don't think he could stand being around you like that and not being able to help you."

My head was pounding, and my body ached, most likely from flickering between shifts like they said. Shifting once was bad enough, but I could just imagine how a bunch of times would feel and I shuddered at the thought.

Then I remembered the reason I had the panic attack. That witch or warlock or whatever the hell that guy was doing something and somehow triggered some of my memories. My full name was Elizabeth Aria Parrish. I was the only child of Andrew and Maria Parrish. Both of my parents were murdered.

My breathing sped up again, and I had to focus all of my energy on calming down.

My eyes were all blurry, and my ears rang, and I heard the other two horses freaking out beside me, but their cries and pleas were muffled in my ears. Huffing, I shook my head and stumbled forward as I tried to clear my head.

After a little while, my vision and hearing cleared, and I took a deep breath as everything began to return to normal.

"Eli? Wha... what's wrong? What's happening to you?" Rosie asked nervously, shifting on her hooves and tail flicking back and forth.

"A witch dude I saw yesterday messed with my head, and some of my memories came back."

"But that's good, right? You've been trying for months to find out what happened before you ran into me, so the fact that they're coming back is a good thing," Skipper whinnied happily.

"But it's not a good thing at all. My entire family was killed. I don't know how. That and my name are the only things that came back to me! How is that helpful?"

Rosie trotted up to me and gave me a hug. "It's ok. You'll be fine. You have us now and Cooper. Maybe it's for the best that your memories stay forgotten. "

"Yeah, maybe," I neighed quietly, but I wasn't convinced. I didn't think that 'Max' just triggered my memories on his own with magic. I thought he had something to do with them. But he and Brigid were probably miles away by now, safely out of the pack's reach.