Call me Different *ON HOLD*

Chapter 13

I know this is terribly late, and I don't really have any excuse other than life getting in the way. If you've waited and you're still willing to continue with this story and this journey - thank you so much for your patience, and I hope it ends up being worth it. 

RECAP

Ella is at the summer camp, spending time with her best friend (and incredibly attractive) Jay. The child of an alpha and a human, Ella is 17 and still hasn't shifted. Things were going great at camp - she met great friends, especially Tyler who she can't help but feel drawn to - until (a few chapters ago), Ella heard the pack mind link, which is something that doesn't happen until after shifting. 

CHAPTER 13. 

"So what's your deal?" Izzy asked, biting into a stick of celery. I looked up from my plate of lunch, looking at her, confused.

"What do you mean?" 

She rolled her eyes. "Why do you look like you just found out you have a terminal disease or something?" 

I choked on the bite of sandwich I had just taken. "I do not look like that!" 

Maddie shot Izzy a look. "Don't be mean Izzy. She just means you look kinda worried... Is everything okay?" She asked me kindly. 

I chewed for a moment, considering how the girls would react if I told them what was worrying me. I'd never confided in a girl friend, only ever Jay and my parents. Would they be shocked? Would they even want to hang out with me? 

I shook my head. "Just a bit of a headache from the other day. I'm fine, honestly!" I smiled wide, hoping them to drop it. 

They looked at me suspiciously, then launched into a new conversation about how a girl found her mate at breakfast the morning before. 

I sighed, pushing my fears down, and joined in. 

Later that afternoon, most of the teenagers migrated down to the lake, watching the sun set, listening to a few people play music and just having a good time. I was standing with Bianca and Maddie, laughing at some of the guys trying to capsize a kayak when it hit me.

Searing hot pain coursed through me, starting at my spine and firing outwards, through every vein of my body. I couldn't see or breathe, I couldn't even scream. I was faintly aware of falling to my knees, wrapping my arms around myself, trying to claw out the pain. Fire coursed through me, moving to the end of my every limb like a thousand bullets. 

Hands were on me. Cold hands. Soothing hands. I clawed at my throat, my stomach, my head. Too much. Unbearable. I thrashed, unable to handle it, unable to stay still. 

And then, as suddenly as it had started, it stopped. 

Whimpering, the world returned to me, fading back into existence. I was panting, on my hands and knees in the loose sand. 

I looked up, and stared into the eyes of a hundred shocked teenagers. Then there was Jay. He stared at me, eyes wide with concern, and cupped my face. 

"Has it stopped?" 

I nodded weakly, letting him help me up. 

Everyone kept staring, whispering to each other. 

"What are you all looking at?" Jay yelled harshly, jolting them back to what they were doing. He wrapped an arm around my waist, leading me through the crowd until we came to his cabin. 

I sat on his bed, and burst into tears. "What was that?" I cried.

He knelt in front of me, wiping my tears off my cheeks, and looking at me in concern. "Explain what it felt like?" 

I sniffed. "It...It was nothing I've ever experienced. Burning yet like bullets, like every vein in my body was on fire. Like...Like hundreds of bullets were piercing every bone." 

"I'm calling your father." He stood up, pulling out his phone.

"Jay! No, Jayden please!" I begged, standing up shakily.

He looked at me, pity in his eyes. "This isn't normal Ella." 

"Don't tell my dad. He'll make me leave. Please, we can sort it out." 

Sighing, he put his phone back in his pocket, and shook his head. "It doesn't make sense." 

I nodded, exhaling shakily, exhausted. Jay had this look on his face, and I knew he was holding something back. "Tell me what you're thinking." 

"I... That's what it felt like to shift the first time. What you just told me... There's no way you could have described it that well without experiencing it."

My heart almost stopped. "So... wait, I didn't shift, did I?" Maybe I blacked out? Hope built up in me for a split second. 

He shook his head. "No. I saw you drop, convulse and begin clawing at yourself, and I honestly thought that was it. But you just kept shaking, clutching your head... I could feel something, when you feel, in the mind link. But it disappeared as soon as it started." 

I dropped my head, disappointed. 

"Ella it would make me feel so much better if we could talk to someone about this. Someone who knows more than we do." 

I closed my eyes. "Tomorrow. Can I sleep now?" 

Barely conscious, I left Jay lift me, put me in the bed, and curl up protectively next to me. In his arms, I felt safe.