In The Shadows - Fan Fiction Version by Katydids

Comfort

Mr. Taylor walks with me until we reach my grandparent's driveway. He stays there and watches until I'm safely in the house. We didn't talk the entire way. I think he understood I just needed the quiet.

I successfully get back in my room without being detected and change and crawl into my bed. I hid the book in my closet under a blanket. Looking at it right now would be too much, I'll open it tomorrow.

My eyes burn as tears form.

My dad was a shifter. He was three hundred and forty-three years old! He kept it secret from us. He must have known that, that I'm.......one too. Was he ever going to tell me? Have me go through my awakening? Or was he going to let me go crazy?

He wouldn't have done that. But why was he waiting so long? I have so many questions for him and it's too late to ask them. He's dead. He can't help me. I'm so lost and confused and can't even talk to my mother about it. What will she think of me? Of my dad? Will she be repulsed or still love me? Will she hate dad for never telling her?

A strangled sob escapes. I sit up and cover my mouth, not wanting my mother to hear. Tears stream down my face. I hear my window slide open and electricity fills the room. I'm too overcome to even care about it. It's too dark to see but someone sinks down on my bed next to me. Strong arms wrap around me and I'm pulled to a hard body. Part of me feels like kicking and screaming at the shifter, wanting to take my emotions out on someone. The other part yearns for the comfort and support he's offering. My mind and body give in to that and I slump into him. Letting him hold me. The electricity heightens into a consoling and warm feeling. I grip the front of his shirt as my body is wracked with quiet sobs, releasing the built up emotions. His hand circles my back.

"I promise you Sang, it's going to be okay," Kota whispers.

Kota

I rub circles on her back and hold her close to me. The feel of her in my arms is heaven. I just wish it was under different circumstances. I feel possessive of her. I know we all do and will have to figure that out eventually, but at this moment, I can pretend she's mine.

I can't believe I growled at Owen earlier, my alpha. He took it well though, he understands her affect on us. On me. He feels it too. I didn't tell him I was coming here, but he knows. I'm grateful he didn't try to stop me. I honestly don't know if I would have listened.

I can't imagine what she's feeling right now. The thoughts in her head. I don't know of any other shifter that didn't know what they were, thought differently about themselves and the world we all live in. It must be shocking to find out at seventeen.

Her sobbing turns to hiccups and she takes deep breaths, her head still cradled to my chest. I can feel where her tears have soaked through my shirt and to my skin. Eventually she pulls away to look at my shadowed face. I brush her hair from her face. I can see her in the dark, but she can't see me. Her eyes are puffy and her nose is probably red.

She's beautiful.

"Kota," her sweet voice is a shaky whisper, her breath gently touching my neck. "I don't know what to do."

I smile. Even though she can't see it, she'll hear it in my voice. "You do what you have been Sang. You're still the same person you were before you knew, with a little extra thrown in."

She huffs and a tiny smile appears. "I'm a shifter."

"Yes you are."

"There aren't any girl shifters for me to talk to."

"No, but you have us to help you get through this. You're not alone in it Sang."

"When do I have to go through my awakening?"

I comb her hair behind her ear. "We have time."

She swallows and nods, "Good."

"Right now you should try to sleep."

"I don't know if I can."

"Do you want me to stay with you?"

"My mom...."

"I'll leave before she wakes."

"Okay then."

Sang

"Okay then," I tell him.

It may be wrong, but I don't want to be alone. Not tonight. I trust them and know he won't do anything bad to me. I'm still nervous though, sharing my bed with him. I've never even hugged a guy besides my dad and Grandpa, until just now. Did that even count as a hug though?

He gets up and I hear him take his shoes off, then he gets under the covers with me. The comforting electricity pulses from him again. I think he's soothing me. He's also pulling me to him with it. I lie on my side and back up to him. He turns on his side and softly wraps an arm around my waist. Butterflies fill my stomach. It's better than how I felt earlier, though.

I bring my hands up to my pillow and try to relax, but I'm as stiff as a board. Kota chuckles behind me. "Relax a little, Sang, I'm not going to maul you."

I can't help it and grin at his words. "I thought you all were going to earlier."

His arm tightens around my waist and he pulls me completely against him. "I would never let my wolf do that and neither would the others."

"Why did you all react that way then?"

He's silent for a moment and I wonder if he heard me.

"Our wolves are possessive of yours and want to see her."

I soak that in for a moment. "You could detect my....wolf?"

"Yes."

"What.......what is she like?"

"She's like you. Our wolves have similar personalities to us since they are a part of us. In areas where we would hold back though, they're more open. More free."

"Do you like it? When you shift?"

I can hear the smile in his voice again. "Yes, it feels good to shift, like stretching your muscles. It's kind of an out of body experience too. The human-like part of you is there, but your wolf is the driver. Sometimes mine surprises me with the things it does."

"Like what?"

"I'm a bit more of a reserved person, my wolf though likes to play around at times."

I try to imagine what it will be like. To shift. I can't though.

At least I have time before I have to worry about it.