(Logan)
I take Jaime for a stroll into the forest surrounding my house after lunch, careful not to wander too close to the packhouse and other pack residences, but enough to get some fresh air along a well-beaten track.
She was still kind of dumbstruck about our age difference, but I explained to her that it was not abnormal in our society. I know of at least two couples who have an almost 200-year age gap, one of them where the female was the oldest.
There were nearly more wolves who never got to meet their mates than ones who were lucky enough to do so. And sometimes, after the 100-year mark have come and gone, wolves will choose a mate to be with, willing to risk a breakup should they happen to find their fated mate in later years. But that was rare, and I was thankful that mine showed up before I had to take that leap of faith.
Iâm also a bit in awe of how amazing she is. She must be incredibly strong to have survived as a lone wolf for so long. Not just survive but thrive. She was an educated, self-made success story in the eyes of the world, and given she had no pack or family to support her, she would most definitely be deemed as strong and successful in my world too.
And then thereâs surviving what had happened to her here just mere days ago. She basically died, and was traumatized, sure, but she wasnât cowering in a corner hiding from life or any of the surreal realities she has had to deal with since that happened. Her mind must be reeling from having everything sheâs ever known and believed being turned upside down, amidst all of that personal trauma. Yet she shows no sign of it.
Instead, sheâs curious to learn about her new reality. Sheâs learning as much as she can absorb. And sheâs accepted our bond.
I hold a low hanging branch away for her to pass by unscratched.
âWhy didnât I self-heal after the attack? If Iâm a werewolf I should have accelerated healing, but that didnât kick in,â she asks.
This was easy to answer.
âYou will have that now. In fact, once I marked you, you started to heal rapidly - even quicker than doc Fairfield or I thought you would. What stopped you from healing before was twofold: one, your wolf was not present and able to lend you that ability because it has never been part of your life, for whatever reason; and two, you were poisoned with wolfsbane. When that happens, a personâs wolf retreats at it makes it go to sleep and unable to give you any special abilities,â I explain.
She asks a few more questions about what could keep a wolf away and itâs not hard to follow the reason behind her questions. She wants to know why sheâs never had a wolf before.
I turn to her and place a comforting hand on her shoulder.
âJaime, both doc Fairfield and I are looking into reasons why you have never had an inkling before about your werewolf heritage. There must be a reason, and weâll find it, Iâm sure. Meanwhile, I have a feeling that your learning is going to accelerate rapidly with not only knowledge about werewolves, but actually living it.â
She nods. âI think so too. I can already feel a difference in me that I either never noticed before or has only become part of me very recently. I hope itâs my wolf waking up. Iâd like to ask her a few questions!â she giggles.
We keep taking it easy for the rest of the afternoon and evening. Thereâs no panic attack or random traumatic memory to disturb her peace. I learn more about her life before arriving at Claw Ridge, and I tell her about different pack members and random memories that will paint a picture for her about what pack life looks like day-to-day.
But nighttime was a different matter. I wake up to another panicked scream in the dead of night and make a beeline for her room, not bothering to knock before I charge in.
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It wasnât a nightmare this time though. Jaime was flickering through a shift in a way Iâve never seen before. It was as if all the signs of shifting that happens here and there throughout puberty decided to happen all at once, and it must be scaring the shit out of her.
I watch in amazement as one arm twists and bends and breaks into a hairless front leg just to return seconds later to a human arm. Then her ears turned pointed and large before flickering back into their human, shell-shaped version. Canines elongated and broke through her gums, causing it to bleed, and retracting again in the blink of an eye.
I rush over to the bed and scoop her body into my arms, her back to my front as I hold on to let her know sheâs not alone. My touch calms her a bit but sheâs still thrashing in pain, her eyes clouded over in confusion.
âJaime, youâre starting to shift,â I say calmly. âItâs going to hurt but its natural, itâs what your body needs to do and itâs what you wanted, remember? Just let it happen. Donât fight it. Iâm right here to make sure youâre okay.â
She whimpers a bit but nods in understanding before another spasm wreaks havoc on her body and I feel her ribs expanding as if she was being blown up from the inside, only to retract again shortly after. Was this normal? Iâve never seen anything like this before.
I decide to mind link doc Fairfield and the old man, bless his socks, arrives less than 20 minutes later, just in time to view Jaimeâs odd transformation for himself.
âDear Goddess, what else will this poor girl be put through,â the doc sighs. He takes her vitals while sheâs gone limp in my arms between spasms. âIâm not sure sheâll be able to take much more right now. Sheâs beyond exhausted and given the trauma her body has been through just a day or so ago, Iâm skeptical.â
His words worry me. Iâve had the same thought but hearing him voice it out loud and confirming my suspicion made me extra anxious.
âAnything you can do for her doc?â I ask and the doctor clocks the anxiety in my voice. He starts ruffling through the medical bag he brought along.
âThis is a tranquilizer. Itâs not strong enough to take down a wolf, but it will knock a human out instantly. Sheâs a bit of both right now. At best, sheâll be unconscious while her body keeps going through this. At worst it will drug her enough to deal with the pain. Letâs see.â
He injects her with the transparent liquid, and we wait a full five minutes. While her breathing and heart rate stays stable, she doesnât move. I decide to tuck her back in under the covers and make her comfortable.
âStay with her. We donât really know how sheâs going to react to either the drug or the changes. Your mate bond should help you figure out how to handle her,â the doc orders and I donât mind listening and doing exactly as he says.
It takes another ten minutes or so before thereâs another spasm and a loud crack. Jaimeâs spine elongates and the bones realign as a tail form, only to disappear again a minute later. And so the night continues, but at least she is unconscious and presumably pain-free while it is happening.
By dawn she still hasnât fully shifted but by her breathing I gather that she is now asleep rather than unconscious. My wolf is less anxious too, obviously feeling more comfortable with the situation. I fall into a deep sleep with Jaime spooned in my arms.
It took six hours of uninterrupted sleep before Jaimeâs body, clearly revived from its former exhaustion, started up its attempts at shifting. For three whole days and nights the agonizingly slow and painful process wreaks havoc on her body. I feel helpless. All I can do is hold her, try to get some water into her, and let her sleep when the exhaustion takes over again.
On the fourth night I feel the pull of the full moon to shift, and I pray to the Moon Goddess that this would be it; that Jaime would fully shift and stop suffering. Three hours after sunset, another three hours where Jaime goes through hell, the moon is fully up and glowing brightly in the night sky.
âCome on baby, you can do this. This has to be it now. Donât fight it, just let it happen,â I whisper while I smooth the hair back from her face and wipe her brow with a cool damp cloth. She whimpers as I place her down on the floor rather than the bed, but the exhausted look in her eyes told me sheâs done. No more.
And then it happens. As if by magic a soft shimmer wraps around her body like a halo. Soundlessly she shifts as if sheâs done it thousands of times before. Her thin pajama top and pants rips loudly with her body expanding, morphing into a stunning, golden wolf.
I suck in a breath as I take her in, her shimmering coat like spun gold glistening in the moonlight streaming in from the transparent wall. Iâve never seen anyone like her.
âHey there, look at you! You did it, and youâre a beautiful wolf Jaime.â
I reach out my hand and smooth my fingers through her thick golden coat. She lifts her head tiredly, those blue eye looking at me with gratitude, and I want nothing more than to mind link her right now and hear her thoughts.
âIâll shift too, and then we can go outside. Are you up for that?â
She nods and lifts herself up to stand on her four legs, testing them out. The tiredness seems to leave her limbs. I shift too and nudge the side of her neck, sniffing in her unique scent and rubbing my coat against hers. She does the same, then I lead her out of the room, down the stairs and through the open back door into the forest.