Blood Moon

3: Being alive

Ash looked from Liam to me, trying to figure out what was happening, and finally, she said, "You two must know each other, otherwise I am going mad, or my reading skills have become a ball of chalk."

Liam looked at her and both he and Jarred chuckled. 

I gave a small smile and said, "Yeah, we do know each other well kinda we only ever spoke today but-"

I was cut off by Jarred, "Wait, what do you mean you only spoke today?" He said, looking at me as if I hoped off Mars.

I looked at him confused, and I said unsure, "Mmm... Exactly what I said we spoke only today and only for like a span of 1 to like 5 minutes?", it came across more as a question than an answer.

Jarred looked at Liam dumbfounded, "You, my dear friend need to explain and pronto I thought you guys knew each other I mean the way you go on about her.....wait did I get something wrong, or is there another Clare in your school that I have no clue about?"

I know it's weird, but out of that, the one that stuck the most in my head was that he said your school. I mean, there isn't another school for miles, and most of the wolf pups are in our school.

As if reading my mind, Ash whispered, "We are homeschooled by our parents, my granddad said that he wanted us to know more of our history due to us not being able to change and all. Jarred and I secretly shifted, of course...", she stopped talking suddenly and glanced towards me with a scared look on her face "wait I wasn't supposed to tell you that...please don't say anything...please...it's just... I... I..."

"Shhh, don't stress I won't say a thing I promise", giving her a warm smile, only then did I notice as our conversation ended how loud Jarred and Liam were getting.

"I told you to shut up about that! It isn't like that with us! Just shut it and I will explain later, okay?", Liam looked at Jarred with such annoyance and seemed to look like his nerves were on the verge of exploding.

Jarred put his hands up in defeat but pointed his finger and poked Liam in the chest threateningly, "You better, and don't you think you can just escape later on".

Jarred nodded but glanced over at me, just meeting me in the eyes for a brief moment  before he looked quickly away.

I cleared my throat after a few minutes of awkward silence and, "Well didn't this conversation die quickly", I said jokingly and in an instant, the awkwardness seemed to dissipate as we all laughed in relief.

Ash smiled and said nudging me, "So little miss alphas daughter have you found your mate yet hmm?"

I giggled slightly and sighed, "No, I only turn eighteen tomorrow and there is no guarantee for anything like that to happen in one day".

"Well, whoever gets to be your mate better watch out I can tell already that we are going to be friends and no one is ever going to hurt my friends", Ash said, looking determined. Her serious tone in the matter made me think twice before laughing, so choked back my giggles as much as I could fathom.

After that, we just stood there talking, and eventually Jarred said, "Hey, so I heard from my dad that we could shift again do you think we could go out into the woods and have a run?"

I looked unsure towards the forest across the road, and a million questions filled my head. Will I be able to shift? Would I still be able to run around and smell any scent that came my way?

 I mean I must have lost some of my skills due to me not being able to smell that Liam was a wolf which now made me question all my capabilities.

Liam seemed to notice my hesitation and said to Jarred and Ash, "You guys go ahead we will catch up, I've got something to ask Clare about some of the homework we got today." Seeing my chance to escape, I went along with it and nodded, smiling slightly to make it seem more convincing.

Ash and Jarred nodded, and they ran into the woods, shifting with ease. As they disappeared, Liam turned to me and as if on cue said, "What's going on, why did you hesitate? You should be excited to shift after all these years".

"Well, it's... no never mind, it is stupid", heaving a sad but frustrated sigh I turned back to the house.

Liam grabbed my hand, stopping me, electric shocks ran through me. I glanced at him, his eyes not leaving mine, he said "I promise I won't say anything and I won't laugh, I just want to help you, I know you don't know me all that well, but I want to help you but only if you let me."

I glanced at him and smiled nervously, "Okay well it's just ...after all these years I am scared that... that I won't be able to shift that she has disappeared...after all these years of being locked away... I ... I don't know what I would do if she didn't come back". I sobbed a little, and Liam pulled me into his arms, and I froze for a second. Eventually I relaxed, feeling a stranger sense of comfort flow over me.

He whispered into my ear, "It will be okay, I will help you if you let me?"

I nodded gently pulling away from his arms and said somehow gaining some confidence in myself, "Okay, let's do this"

He smiled warmly at me. And took my hand, and we walked into the forest.

"Okay, I want you to throw away any doubts you may have, the more you doubt yourself the easier it becomes to shift, the more you doubt, the more the chances are that something can go wrong."

I nodded and began to breathe in and out, not thinking about anything but his voice.

"Okay, now I need you to imagine who you are when you become a wolf, what it is like to feel the wind in your fur as you run."

I smiled, imagining the feeling.

"Now on the count of three ...one ... two... three!"

And I felt it the feeling that I haven't felted in a very long time and there is only one way to describe it, it is the feeling of being alive.

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