Chapter 2 Learning how to wolf

Looking back, I don't know why I was so excited for my 18th birthday.

"Hurry up and get ready" my wolf Adira tells me. "It's almost midnight and I want to be far from here for our first shift." She tells me. "I'm going, I'm going," I tell her. Tomorrow is my 18th birthday, when I shift for the first time, get my gift, and find my mate. But, since I'm unwelcome in my pack, no one will be around to celebrate. Only curse me if my wolf isn't strong or my gift too simple. But I'm still excited, because Adira is proud of me no matter what we become. I think she knows more than she's letting on though.

We sneak off to the middle of the forest and watch as the moon drifts across the sky. "Adira, what will happen if I shift and have no gift?" I whisper to myself. "Don't worry," she says comfortingly "Your gift will be amazing, just like me," she says with a wolfish grin. "It's time," she says confidently. I feel an electric zing through my body, followed by a sharp pain as my bones start to crack and stretch. "Don't panic just relax, Adira tells me. "The first shift is always hard and painful, but that's just because you don't know how big you'll be until it's over. Your future shifts will be much easier," she tell me. Adira has never lied to me before so I listen to her. I can't relax but I do try to not tense up through the pain. "That's it my girl, you're doing great," Adira tells me. After what felt like hours but was probably less than minute, the pain is gone.

"Adira, is it over?" I ask her. "I've heard first shifts take a long time, but the moon hasn't moved." I start to panic when Adira doesn't respond right away. "Adira, Adira are you there? What's happening I can't hear you." I start to panic. "Don't worry my girl, the first shift takes a lot energy, and this happened so quickly I think I may have passed out for a second or two," Adira weakly responds. "Are you alright now?" I ask her quietly, for fear I hurt her somehow.

I'm okay. Just need to gather my strength before we take this body out for a spin," she jokingly answers. "Take your time," I tell her, "it's not like we have anywhere important to be right now." We lay silent under the moon as Adira recovers her strength. "What happens now?" I ask Adira. "When do we find out what our gift is?" Adira hums for a minute. "According to the Moon Goddess our gift will show up gradually over the next few weeks. Since I don't know what it will be, we have to be alert for changes in our thoughts, " she answers. "Okay, I'm ready to go, " Adira tells me. We lift our head and give it a shake. We look around and test out the smells of the forest. "Wow, I thought my nose was sensitive before, but now I can separate the smell and tell what it is," I say. "Yes, you're now smelling and hearing everything the way I do, " Adira responds. "Ready to give our legs a go?" she asks. "Let's do it," I answer in excitement.

We shakily stand up on four legs and test out a couple steps. "Just like a newborn," Adira chuckles. We look around to verify our location. "Ok let's test this puppy out, pun intended ," I say happily. "I think the lake is to the east if I'm smelling correctly," Adira says. "let's take a run and get a look at ourselves to see what kind of wolf we are," she challenges. We start at a trot then push ourselves into full speed. I can hear the wind racing us and realize we're going faster than we ever did as a human, and that was pretty fast since we were always trying to run from the pack. "The lake is just ahead," Adira tells me. We slow to a walk then stop just before the tree line ends. "Now we test out our hearing and smelling abilities. Look for other wolves or people around. I don't want to be seen before we see what we've become," I say to Adira. Adira takes her role as my protector seriously, so she she cocks our ears and swivels them slowly filtering out the sounds of the forest. I can hear the wind rubbing against the leaves. It's almost soothing to listen to. But, I don't have time to relax. I can hear some kind of rodent squeaking in it's sleep. "Sounds like someone has a cold," Adira snickers.

Next we test our nose. Adira slowly sniffs the air looking for the scent of anything out of place in the forest. "Smells like the sick one is a squirrel. It's hiding in the tree next," I'm in awe at how well we can pinpoint where and what the animal is. "Yes, we seem to have a powerful set of senses on us. I wonder if it's our gift and will get even stronger as we grow together," Adira replies. We continue to sniff the area, looking for specific scents, such as humans or other shifters. After a few minutes we believe there's no one else around.

"We're clear," she says and we cautiously approach the lake. I get more nervous the closer we get. "Take it easy, babes. You're shaking us so much I might trip over our own feet," Adira tried to lighten the mood. "I can't help it,Adira. I'm so scared! What if we're not like either of my parents? They've told me my whole life I don't belong. If we're different from the Artic wolves, the pack will never let us go," I say sadly.