Crow

Chapter 18

It's weird how fast time flies when something significant happens but when you just sit and do nothing, time doesn't go by fast enough.

Katie stared at the window as she counted her heart beats. Her heart pounded so fast like if she had just ran a marathon. Everything that had happened in the past couple of days had gone by so quickly. It was a whirlwind of emotions and Katie felt so tired.

She just needed a break.

"Look, I'm sorry about this. I really am, but this is what is best." Stephie's voice broke any silence in the car. Her voice filled with nothing but honesty. Who would know Kaiden's feelings better than his own sister?

Katie didn't reply as she sniffled. Any moment, she feared that she would burst into tears. The last thing she wanted Stephie to do is look at her with pity.

"I mean, when you think of it. It really is just your fault, my brother doesn't keep girls. Even if you are Luna-"

"Stop!"

The cry broke from Katie's lips which made Stephie stomp on the breaks. The car lurched to a stop and the two girls fell forward slightly.

Stephie turned around with wide eyes, "What the hell!"

She turned in her seat to glare at Katie, but instead, she sat taken back as the small human wolf girl climbed out of the car and slammed the door shut behind her.

Katie's entire frame was shaking. Her heart pounded and tears poured down her face clouding her vision. She stumbled along the road, not caring when she bumped into people. They turned to look at her but all Katie could do is cry. She had to get away. Her mate didn't want her.

Her heart hurt and her lungs felt like they were filled with water. She couldn't breathe, she was drowning. No one ever tries to know what heartbreak feels like unless they have gone through it. The pain was excruciating.

The noises grew around her and a ringing in her ears made Katie go mad. She wanted everything to stop.

She pushed past one last person before running behind a building into an alleyway. She had just made it into the small area secluded to the world when her legs gave out. Katie fell to the ground in a jumbled mess.

Her heart hammered even more and Katie's fingers clenched the ground under her.

Suddenly, pain shot up her back. Katie gasped, hands giving out. She fell forward as pain shot through her limbs. When she heard the break of bones, realization took her.

She was shifting.

Finally, No one told her it would feel as though her body was being fried alive. As Katie's limbs began to rearrange themselves, she screamed and cried.

When her body was done reforming, Katie stood up tall and proud. She felt different. She felt more powerful on four strong legs.

A tail between her legs, Katie yapped, it finally happened. She was a wolf.

She was no longer a she-human. She was a she-wolf.

Maybe Kaiden would accept her more if she was a wolf.

The thought struck her and her body seemed to follow a general agreement. She lifted her head and let out a howl. She didn't care who heard. Katie had found a new purpose. She was a wolf now, and she wasn't so weak anymore.

Taking light steps, Katie padded to the edge of the alleyway. She peaked her nose out to find several people walking up and down the streets. Across from her, a few trees lead to the slightly brown forest. She just needed to get across.

A sudden adrenaline rush courses through Katie's veins and she bounced across the street. Everywhere, humans gasped and Katie even heard a few clicks of a camera.

When Katie entered the forest, she sighed. For years she had walked on that ground on two feet. Now she was finally on four.

The air seemed more clear and sharp. The sounds around her were loud and bellowing. Every movement flickered through her eyes becoming blues as she sped past people.

But why did her chest still hurt? Katie slowed to a trot through the forest, no one in sight. She was alone. The forest was silent except for the wind in her ears. But even the sound couldn't drown out the aching in her heart. With water filled lungs, Katie realized that she was drowning.

Her mind was silent of Triton pack members. The link that tied all wolves together was absent.

She was alone.

No one was there to save her.

Not before and not now even though she was shifted.

She was alone.

***

Being around so many wolves, Katie learned many things. Wolves were proud, they were territorial yet loving. They were driven by honour and justice and didn't take shit from people. Katie learned many things watching her pack interact. However, she still didn't know what to expect.

Her lupine eyes were yellow balls of fire as her keen senses scanned the forest. Her jaw is barring a beautiful coat of red. Yes, bunny was surely one of her favourite snacks.

A tranquilizing sweet smell drafted through the air making her grin, another snack.

Katie's wolf bounded after the smell, her jaws ripping into anything that was in her way.

When the sight of a tall brown haired deer caught her view, her wolf salivated in anticipation. The thing she knew, her strong jaws held the deer like a chew toy. The metallic taste made Katie's body rush with adrenaline and want.

Whatever she originally thought being a wolf was about was wrong. This was much much better.

In the forest, her wolf had control and used it to fight everything. In her time in the wilderness, Katie had learned the prowess of a queen. She was silent as an owl but as deadly as a fox. Her claws were sharpened until the point could strike anyone dead with one touch. Her mouth salivated for blood.

She and her wolf unified a beast. As days passed by, Katie saw one thing, prey and food. Sometimes, her wolf liked to play with the animals, test their agility. Katie didn't care. She was submissive to the control of her wolf. Her mind was a landfill of emotions too chaotic to handle.

Her wolf simplified everything into one category: enemy. And their enemy's blood tasted amazing. The flesh between her teeth, the smell of fresh iron and warm muscle between her teeth was a delicacy.

Sometimes, Katie wondered if this is what her mother and father meant about being a monster. However, Katie also knew their opinions didn't matter in the forest. Here, she was free and her wolf was the Queen.

One day, when she grew stronger and more stable, Katie promised to bring her wolf back to the packs. She would prove to them that she was not a weakling. She was a beast and she was proud of it.