Heir To The Iron Crown ✓

37 - þrjátíu og Sjó

It was raining heavily tonight. The stars were hidden behind thick black clouds that sent down thunderstorms towards the raging plains.

I stood calm and collected, my eyes closed, all I could do was feel. Everything felt like it was in ruins, the wind threatening to throw me off my feet, the deluge soaking me cold to my bones, and the stiff grass felt like knives against my bare feet.

Yet when I finally opened my eyes, I saw the cottage steaming underneath the cold water and the tiny door wide open. The walls painted a bright red and a soft yellow light pouring into the dark night from the windows.

At first, my feet felt slow, and every step I took towards the cottage made my destination move further away ten steps. And then I started running, and I had arrived at the door all too quickly.

I watched Imadis sitting upright, her face seemingly oblivious to the raging storm.

I couldn't cry, I couldn't laugh, I couldn't move or speak a word. Seeing her again, her eyes open, alive and well, and very much still a part of me, it was too much to take in.

I had nothing to say to her.

Good thing too, because Imadis didn't give me a second longer to stand and stare. She was immediately on her feet, rushing towards me and jumped halfway with her paws extended towards my chest.

Just before she reached me, I expected the pain of a large wolf attacking you with all their strength, but instead I woke up panting heavily, gasping for air on the cold, wet, and muddy forest floor. Sven was sitting beside me, a frantic expression on his face.

"Rayne! Rayne are you okay? Keep your eyes open, tell me what's wrong?" he said, or at least that's the most of what I could make out of what he was saying.

And that's when the pain hit. Right in the chest, so bad it felt like my ribs were breaking. And then, a crack.

This time, my scream reverberated across the trees around us.

Another crack. Another scream.

My bones really were breaking.

Sven understood what was happening the same time I did, and he quickly backed away as I went through my transformation, as if for the first time, yet again.

But knowing I had Ima back made the pain feel good. Every crack that resounded in my ears was good, and every scream came out louder than the last, accentuated by the frustration I felt.

I was writhing in pain, slowly turning to lie on my stomach, lifting myself up on my hands and knees as best as I could manage. I watched as my nails elongated into claws, the feeling of the dirt underneath, insane.

More people surrounded me, I could smell them now, my senses heightened.

And then came my pelt, an ash-like grey, that looked black in the dark, and shone silver in the light.

After I finally transformed and let Imadis out, I felt powerful, invincible even. I stretched my legs and realized I was towering over the rest of them in their human forms.

"Were you always this tall?" I asked her in my head. We watched as everyone stood and stared at me, I couldn't tell if they found my wolf beautiful, intimidating, or both.

"I've been growing too you know," she said. "You're not mad at me?"

"I was. At first," I told her, now running without warning. "But I realized soon enough that you're not a drama queen. You couldn't cope. And that's okay."