Hybrid

Shifty Eyes

"No," I whispered.

I wasn't ready to become a wolf. I wanted to wait. I knew it was dangerous to push Maria, but I did it anyway. I felt pain rush through my body, and I already knew what was coming next.

"Dylan, it's going to be okay," Isaac tried to reassure me.

My body started getting hotter, until it was impossibly hot, and then it kept going. It felt like I was on fire, and I was struggling to breathe through the pain. I panicked, worried I was going to suffocate. I clutched at my chest, the pain washing through me in waves.

Isaac grabbed me and held me to the floor while Maria grabbed a bucket of ice and dumped it over me. She put the ice against my face and held it to me, unable to do much else. I thought I wouldn't be able to breathe, but as the claws ripped through my fingers, I was able to scream.

I grabbed hold of Isaac's arms pinning me to the floor, and pushed him off of me, turning onto my side. The teeth pushed through next, the pain growing so intense I could've thrown up if I had any control over my body. The pain continued its ascent, moving torturously slow.

I could suddenly hear three heartbeats, with my heartbeat the fastest of them all. I clutched my ears between my hands, trying to shut it all out. The heartbeats continued, growing louder every second. The sound was almost deafening to my ears.

Then, I was able to smell fear. It was coming off me in waves and it was easy to identify. The next smell felt like guilt, which I imagined was from Maria. Isaac smelled panicked. The last smell I noticed was pain, my own. The smell persisted, and the pain inside my body grew.

I rolled onto my hands and knees, feeling my bones breaking and changing. I could feel my spine ripple, the bones cracking and scraping against each other. My femur was next, knocking me back onto the floor. I was too tense to hold the spots with the most pain, with my only option being to let it fade with time.

My muscles moved, each of my cells changing under my skin. They felt like they were ripping apart, tearing like paper. I prayed for this to end, but I knew I wasn't even close to done. When it didn't end, I prayed to die.

I screamed, but the noise came out sounding like an animal. I could feel the area where I was bitten pulsing like that was the area the pain was getting energy from. I started clawing at the spot before being stopped by Isaac. The area healed from all the claw marks.

The claws were mine. I made those marks. My brain felt like jelly, and I was ready to rip my hair out. When I opened my eyes, Isaac said they turned yellow and then red flooded in from my pupils.

The transition was over, and I felt exhausted. I wanted to lay in ice water and slip into a coma. My breathing returned to me, and I greedily took breaths like I wouldn't have another opportunity to do so. I sat up, putting my back against the wall to hold me.

"I'm so sorry," Isaac said.

I looked at my hands, not seeing any claws. Putting my fingers in my mouth, I didn't feel any fangs either.

"You don't look like a wolf," Maria whispered.

I looked at her, but she looked away. I could see each individual hair on her head, and I stuck my hand out, but they were feet away from my fingers. She looked at my hand and back to the floor.

"Does this mean you're a wolf again?" I asked.

My voice sounded like gravel, and I felt some pain still residing in my body.

"I don't know," Maria said.

"Dude, you're an alpha," Isaac whispered.

"How?" I asked.