Chapter 3 Shift process

My eyes flashed open, looking at her like a magnet. Her eyelashes flutters, indicating that she saw something and suddenly disappeared. Whilst my heart was thumping, I was overthinking what it is. She mentioned the color of my eyes, the change in it, it made me wonder if my shift process was starting. But the signs are weird, these are not the ones I saw in other wolves' first shifts.

I just heard myself ask, "Color what?" I force myself to face her, watching her avert her gaze whilst she rubbing her chest. I shocked her, I scared her without realizing it. She rose to her feet, breathing out through her lips, shaking her head saying, "Nothing." She looked away until she brought herself to her seat.

Her silence made my stomach crunch. I know her, what she notices in others, she tells me. There is a high possibility that what she noticed about me now, she will also tell others even if she is my friend.

When that happens, the information will connect, what the last secretary of Alpha discovered and what she saw in me today, they will jump into conclusions about our race and that is definitely against us. I couldn't let that happen so I called, "Bella..."

The sound of her fingers fiddling on her computer keyboard dominated. I know she's just pretending to be busy the way she pretends to force herself to look at me, along with swaying the end of her straight short black brown shiny hair on her chin, and feigning a respons polite smile at me as if nothing happened. "Yes?" But I didn't miss the fear that filled her eyes, the squaring of her shoulders. I can also hear her heartbeat, it's pounding faster than the normal beat.

She's squivering deep inside...

"Tell me what you saw." I can't stop myself from pinching the papers on my desk and the possibility of tearing them off completely, faded in my head, even though I know they are important to the king above. I want her to tell me the truth. I want to know, for me to think the best thing to do to stop her from jumping to the possible conclusion that she will think about me.

I didn't take my eyes off of her, enough to make her feel my demand that I needed an answer. Though, I'm in a position of right, whether I'm a werewolf or not. She heaved a sigh and spun her chair to face me. Crosses her arms across her chest, shaking her head, she says, "I'm not sure but, I saw your eyes suddenly change color..." She raised her palm, whilst my heart skips a beat. She went on, "Yellow-orange?" She shrugged. "Not sure, maybe because..." She placed her palm on her desk. "I'm facing the computer, all day, you know... maybe it's just light reflection in my eyes, that's why. Since the color of yours has become normal and... nothing to worry about."

I should be able to breathe easy with her search for a reason, as if she is ignoring that curious thing in my eyes, but what I feel is worry. Worry that maybe the conclusion of being my werewolf still on her mind.

I wanted to ask more, I wasn't satisfied with her answer to be complacent, but I also didn't want to put doubt in her mind so I just put on a feigning smile and said, "I thought there was something in my eyes possibly scaring me. You said earlier, I barely sleep." I feigned shrugging. "Maybe we just don't know, I'm already not healthy."

"That means you need enough rest. You're like a wilting flower that hasn't been watered, Sophia. Do you have a sideline I don't know about? Don't tell me you work in a bar at night. Don't say yes, that's yuck!"

My eyes bugged out that I couldn't stop myself from kicking his leg but I made sure that I only hit the air. I'll be rude when I really kick her and get hurt. I just glared at her. "Do I look like a slut?"

Her laughter bubbled up but it's gradually faded along with the change in her reaction. She became serious, looking at me. "But what did you say earlier that you can't see well?"

I controlled my facial expression for her not to see the shock she created in me. I feigned taking a deep breath to express my worry- worry that means something different; maybe she doubted me, but the worry I showed her meant my unhealthy states.

I told her, "Yeah, maybe because I was focusing too much on work and trying to fight my sleepiness. But I can see clearly now, I-" Closing my eyes tightly, I clenched my fist as the pain drew in my back, shot to my head.

"Are you sure?" I know she notices my reaction.

Yes, I'm in pain, but I can still pretend, so I nodded. "Y-Yes, I'm fine...I'm good." I affirmed the subsidence of the pain and luckily, it retreated, so I breathed a sigh of relief. But when I looked at her while smiling, I saw the worry in her eyes.

"You're not okay, Sophia."

She was about to stand up, but I raised my hand, signaling her to stop and said, "I appreciate your helpfulness, Bella. But look, it's almost night, you know, it's just hunger. I'll eat later, after my duty."

She pouted as a sign of defeat. "Alright, let's eat together after this then."

That's complicated...

Maybe the shift process will attack me later, and I won't be able to handle it. I reasoned, "I have overtime."

"I'll wait for you."

I closed my eyes tightly and said, "Don't. You oblige too much, I'm full of that. You need some rest too, so..." I looked at my phone, which lit up because of the text message received. It was getting night base on the time on the screen. "It's time for you to take a time out."

Luckily... she didn't protest.

At eight o'clock in the evening, the entire work place is quiet, some computer desks are empty. There are those workers left doing overtime too, but after a while, they will also reduce.

Before the six hour grace period given to me by Alpha was up, I was already taking care of the papers. Luckily, I only felt numb in my body. Sometimes it calms down, sometimes it shocks me. Not sure if it's really like this. It seems like I'm being tortured before my wolf releases. But it's not yet twelve o'clock, which means it's not yet the new day for my birthday. I will not shift to this place and I trust it.

Placing those bundles or papers on my arm, a moan automatically escaped my mouth. The previous pain in my back drew again in the same process-shot in my head and there was something deafening sound in my ears.

My wolf seems eagerly to be in charge. It makes me excited yet scared, especially with what Alpha told me. When it calmed down, I just swallowed, and acted nonchalant. Heaveing ​​a sigh, I pushed my chair under the desk and made my way to the office. It seemed that only two lights were on which caused the light to dim in the whole place. I saw heads of other employees on their working place, obviously rushing to finish their tasks.

Walking down the hallway, the numbness of my body reacted again whilst my blurry vision dominated for a nth time-indicating that the shift process was attacking me. But, what's happening now is worse. Numbness was gradually replaced by pain. It felt like my bones were being squeezed, like constantly being rotated as if at any moment, they would break. Pressing my right hand on the wall, I depended on my ability to stand and walk on it. My knee seemed to get tired, numb and I could barely walk my legs.

I can't shift here...

I know, I have to wait a few more hours for my shift but in my current situation, I'm having doubts. What if this is really my time? In order not to cause trouble for the pack, I tried to bring myself to the front of sir Eros' office faster. There is no issue if I writhe in pain in front of him, the important thing is that it is safe. Even if I scream, others will just think that he is doing something bad to me.

I feel like a victory when I finally hold the doorknob of the office. Alpha Eros doesn't care what I'm going through right now, so I can't just open the door right away. I know he smelled my scent, but out of respect, I raised my fist to create a faint knock. But before I could do that, his husky voice came from inside. "Get in."

I mentally thanked. Holding the door knob, pain shot through my back and it spread throughout my body. My knees buckled, but I held on to the doorknob and made it my support to gain strength. When I regained the strength of my legs, I twisted it and pushed the door inside. I let myself fall to the floor as pain shot through me entirely.

The sound of my cracking bones hit every corner of the cold office, luckily the door closed on its own. His footsteps came closer to me until his two pairs of shoes stopped right in my face. My situation was an insulting way of dealing with him during work hours. So even though it was hard, I apologized, "I-I'm sorry, Alpha. I-I can't take the pain, i-it's killing me."

Holding my hips, my eyes fell on the scattered papers on the floor. My heart thumping inside my chest, I tried to propped my hand on the floor to get up and look up at him. His eyes are dark, see the burning furious as if he is being swallowed by anger and anytime his claws are sure to dig into my chest. A gasp escaped my lips. Along with my sweat dripping down from my forehead. Body pain and fear mixed in my whole being. My whole body was also losing strength, I didn't know how to stand, but I tried.

"I-I can't apologize enough..." I picked up the papers on the floor one by one, luckily the alarm of my shift process calmed down. But to my fear, there is no hope for it to calm down especially since I feel that he has zero eyes on me and is trying to control his anger. I feel it is disrespectful not to speak and only apologize. I had to say something so even though I didn't know what word to say, I opened my mouth and start to utter the words, "I-I..."

"Leave those papers and get out," he demanded, clearly pissed off.

But, who will pick up the papers? He can't...

"B-But w-what about-"

"Out!"

I don't want to get hurt. I am so grateful, for the calmness of the shift process so that I can move quickly and headed for the door. He said nothing, but his presence, his aura of silence, indicated that I would pay for being disrespectful to him this time. I took myself out of the office. I'm sweating at the thought, I'll be screwed when I return to the pack. He will punish me for what happened here for sure.