Chapter 3

Chapter 3

I ran.

My lungs were on fire, and my feet tripped over each other in an effort to dash through the forest. Thin branches hit my skin and face. But I couldn't stop running. I wouldn't stop. Behind me, I could hear the muffled sounds of the pack stirring-it was only a matter of time before they realized I was gone.

As I was running, Jaxon flashed through my mind. His voice was cold and bitter, the brutal things he'd yell, pushing me beyond the limits of any wolf: “Useless omega,” he'd snarl. “Can't you do anything right? I, Jaxon Blackthorn, Alpha of the Shadowmoon Pack, hereby reject Aria Ravenshadow as my mate. No true Alpha could be mated to such weakness.”

I shook my head, trying to clear my thoughts. I couldn't be haunted by Jaxon now.

It was then that my foot caught on a root and I fell. As I hit the hard ground, pain shot through my ankle.

“Dammit!” I hissed, grasping at my throbbing ankle. Jaxon's voice echoed in my head: “So weak.”

No. I couldn't let him be right. I gnashed my teeth and dragged myself to my feet. The ankle hurt, but it would hold. It had to.

A terrifying chorus of howls cut through the night, making my blood feel like it was freezing. They were coming. The pack knew I was gone.

Panic lent me new energy, and I was off again, trying to block out the pain now shooting through my leg with every step. I had to put more distance between us. I just had to.

The sound of rushing water filled my ears. A river! If I could get across it, maybe I could get them off my scent.

I burst through the treeline, and moonlight reflected off the swift-running water. It was wider than I'd hoped, the current looking dangerously strong. But I didn't have a choice.

Taking a deep breath, I stepped in. The ice-cold water took my breath away, but I moved ahead.

That's when I felt it.

Pain. White-hot, all-consuming pain that dropped me to my knees in the shallows.

“What's happening?” I panted, my arms wrapping around my self-seizing body.

And then I felt the shift. I felt my bones cracking and transforming, fur sprouting down my arms, and my face elongated into a muzzle.

Oh, Goddess. I was shifting. For the first time in my life, I was becoming my wolf.

But something was wrong. The pain didn't go away, like it should have, like I had always been taught my entire life. Instead, it plateaued, and I found myself caught between forms.

I dragged myself out of the water, falling onto the bank. I felt my vision blur as I looked down at myself. Fur was over most of my body, yet I still had opposable thumbs. The shape of my legs had changed, somewhere between human and wolf.

“Nyx?” I said mentally to my wolf. “What's going on?”

I felt her, stronger than she had ever been, yet as baffled as I was.

Using my energy, I dragged myself over to the other side. I fell onto the shore, my body still contorting and shifting.

I have no idea how long I lay there, lost in that fog of hurt and confusion. Finally managing to pry my eyes open, the world seemed. Different, Sharper, and Brighter.

I lifted my hand-my paw?-up before my face. Sleek black fur covered it, right to the sharp claw tips. Yet all the same, it wasn't all wolf's paw, either. It was stuck in that in-between place, just like the rest of me.

I struggled to my feet, swaying as I got my balance, trying on this new body. My clothes were in tatters, clinging only imperfectly to the transformed shape beneath.

A whine escaped my throat as I took in my reflection in the river. I was a monster. Not human, not wolf, but some bizarre combination of both. I couldn't think like that. I wouldn't.

“Focus,” I told myself. “You can do this. WE can do this.”

I opened my eyes slowly. This time, instead of fighting the sensations, I tried embracing them. I let scents wash over me, filtering through them one by one: pine, earth, water, and something else, something that started to make the hairs rise at the back of my neck.

I was unfamiliar with the terrain.

A wave of fear shot through me, quickly replaced by a surge of determination. I'd made it this far. I wasn't going to give up now.

I took a tentative step forward-marveling at how fluid the movement felt. Then another. And another.

Before I realized, I was running really fast, dodging trees, and leaping over logs. For the first time ever, I felt strong.

I couldn't help the yelp of joy that slipped out as I jumped over a big log. Take that, Jaxon! Who's weak now?

But the euphoria in me was short-lived, as when I landed, another smell reached my nostrils-one that screamed danger to each instinct.

I froze, the realization of how still the forest was suddenly sinking in. No chirping birds, no rustling of small animals through the bushes. Just silence.

We were being watched. I didn't know how, but I knew it. Nyx's instincts entwined with mine, a silent urging for stillness, for quiet.

I crouched low trying to blend into the bush. My heart was pounding so loud I was sure whatever was out there could hear it.

“Calm,” I told myself. “Be calm. Be…”

A twig snapped nearby.

Whirling, I growled low in my throat. And then I saw them.

Two giant wolves, with amber eyes fixed intently upon my bizarre form. They were twice my size, their muscled bodies screaming power and danger.