Taming the Beast

16- Don't Go Changing For Me

(Keegan's POV)

"She might survive it. You know it's a 50/50 chance. The people who survive the change are completely up to fate, you know that, but you're right; the council won't let you become Alpha until you have a Luna. Are you willing to risk her life and your Alpha title for your human mate?" the Elder asked. I looked at the floor as I thought about it. I was willing to give up my title. It would go to Gregg if I refused and I knew he would do a good job, but Caroline's life? I wasn't willing to risk that.

"I'm aware of the danger and I'm ready," Caroline said, interrupting my thoughts. My eyes snapped to her determined face. My wolf was whimpering. We didn't want to lose her.

"Caroline," I begged quietly. It was two weeks since Aiden joined our pack. I thoroughly informed Caroline on everything we had to do to change her. Also, we found out that humans don't go into heat.

"We're doing that, Keegan," she cut me off sternly as she looked at me. When she saw my face, hers softened. "We're doing this for us," she added quieter. I sighed and nodded. It was what she wanted. It was what was going to guarantee if she could survive it, and it was what was going to be deciding factor of the council making her Luna. I sighed and shook my head. She wanted to do this today before the council could make a ruling on making Caroline Luna. Maybe if they saw that she was strong, maybe if she was a wolf, they would be more inclined to say yes. Natasha's dad did go to the council after all. They weren't pleased that I mated with her at first, but most thought it was okay mostly because they wanted to see what would happen. After a while, they accepted it. We were meeting with an Elder to do the shifting ceremony. It was 7 pm. There was a family cabin near a lake that I reserved for this alone. My mother reluctantly handed me the keys. She was scared for Caroline too. Caroline was a little weary about the lake but it was a part of the process.

"So what do we do now?" Caroline asked.

"When is the last time you mated?" the Elder asked her. She looked at me sheepishly. We spent the night in the cabin and ended up making love as soon as we woke up early this morning. We repeated our blissful morning for a long time and ended up having a late lunch and taking a long shower together.

"This afternoon, before you got here," Caroline answered shyly. I couldn't help but smile at her. She was really timid when she wanted to be. The elder nodded and stood. We followed suit.

"Good, face each other," the Elder instructed. He agreed to lead us through the Change just to be sure everything went right. I couldn't bear to lose Caroline. My wolf whimpered in the back of head in agreement. Following the Elder's instructions, I sunk my teeth into Caroline's neck deeply. She let out a small yell as her face scrunched in discomfort. I had to re-mark her because the placement was off. The Elder took my hand and made a deep slash across my palm before doing the same to Caroline. She winced but stayed quiet. She knew this would hurt. I told her that from the beginning. We pressed our bloody palms together and held it there for a few minutes. The Elder led us outside and ordered my to shift into my wolf. I did so easily. The elder took a small bowl and knife as he walked loser to me. I stayed still as he cut my shoulder and let the blood drip into the small bowl. I watched Caroline carefully, looking for any signs of reluctance or regret. Sadly, I saw none. She was calm and her expression was blank, almost as if she knew I was waiting on her to change her mind. The Elder handed the bowl to Caroline and she drank quickly. This would be the hard part for her. We both had to strip naked and get in the lake. We stripped and Caroline hesitated at the water's edge. She shook lightly and looked at the water with a scared expression on her face. I laced my fingers with hers as I stood beside her. I gave her hand a reassuring squeeze which made her wild eyes go to me.

"I'm right here. I'm not going to let anything happen to you," I said gently, leaning over and kissing her head. Her eyes just went wide as she stared at the water, tears threatening to spill over.