Lost Heir

Chapter 7

We had only been walking for about a mile when I started to feel the change. My blood started to feel like it was boiling. I could feel the sweat pouring out of me and my nose began to run with blood. "Felix!" I shouted. "What's happening to me?"

He rushed to my side and said "Harlow grab a cloth from the backpacks! I don't know what's going on but it is all going to be okay" he tried to assure me.

I let out a loud scream as I felt my legs begin to buckle. My legs felt like they were breaking out of my skin! "Nooo! Goddess, Felix! I am dying. I made it out of that hell hole only to die here" I was cut off from my loud complaints as my back began to arch. I started crying harder than I ever had before. My emotional pain was being matched by physical pain. No matter what soothing words Felix tried to mumble at me, nothing helped.

This was far worse than any other pain I had felt. In some ways it felt relieving. It was like the turmoil I felt inside was running rampid in my body. It had nowhere else to go so it pushed its way out.

"Goddess," Felix gasped. "Thena don't freak out but I think you are transitioning!"

"What?!" I screeched. "There is no way that could be happening! I'm not of age! I still have four more years before I shift! This can't be happening! No, it has to be something else."

"No, Athena! Your bones are breaking! I watched my cousin Rafe transition this fall. What's happening to you is what looked like was happening to him! I heard one time that an extreme trauma to an inner wolf can trigger an early transition to protect itself! If the wolf feels like it is in enough danger it can force itself to transition in hopes to help you heal!"

No! I thought to myself. I still had years before I ever even had to think about this moment. I hadn't been prepared for anything like this. Usually when wolves reach the age of sixteen they take classes to learn how to deal with their wolf. Those classes continue until someone reaches full maturity and has a handle on their wolf. I hadn't had any of that! I wasn't ready for any of this to happen to me! I had heard people say that it hurt, but I never expected anything like this!

For what felt like hours I sat writhing in agony. Any movement that my body made made my body scream in contempt. Every single bone in my body was breaking. It happened in slow phases without breaks in between. The phases only got worse. First it was in my legs. Then it went to my chest. When it hit my chest I felt like all of the air had been knocked out of me and I was unable to regain my breath. I felt as if I was suffocating. Like all of the air in the world had mysteriously gone away and I was left to suck wind with no relief.

Then it spread to my arms. Every single nerve felt like it was bing lit on fire. My fingers felt like they were being ripped out of me by a dull blade. The worse to come was the head. My head felt like all the pressure in my body had only escalated and went straight to my brain. My head was pounding and no matter how much Felix rubbed the cloth against my forehead, it only made me want to scream louder.

As suddenly as the pain came, it was gone. I lay on the ground with my eyes closed in relief.

"Thena?" Harlow whispered.

I meant to respond 'what?' but all that came out was a bark. With a start I jumped to my feet and looked at Harlow and Felix. They both looked at me in awe.

Felix stepped closer to me and reached out to touch me. "Thena, you are beautiful. The Moon Goddess really blessed you." I stood heads taller than Felix and mountains higher than Harlow. I tilted my head back and felt all of my sense heighten. I could smell the lingering blood in the air, but I could also hear a deer somewhere close by. I felt like a new woman.

For the first time in hours I felt happy. My wolf inside of me gave me an invincible amount of security. Somehow I knew that with her by my side, I would never truly be alone no matter what happened and no matter who I lost. We would always have each other and there was nothing that anybody could do to take her away from me.