Presentation is a process all shifters, or at least alphas and omegas, go through once in their life. It is equivalent to puberty for betas. During this process, pups develop their scents, which is the apex of their identities. This stage helps them identify their sub-gender, their rank and standing in the pack, and of course, their duties.
Unfortunately, as much as this process is natural, it is also quite painful, inevitably so, since this is when their bodies change to accommodate their also growing wolves. Some shifters fall sick before their presentation, which is quite a common symptom. Their senses become sensitive as they mature, their joints would hurt, and sometimes, they would even sleep longer to catch on with the changes. It’s a slow process, but eventually, the final stage of presentation would end by shifting, showing their now more matured wolf and fully developed identity and of course—their scent.
The following days were not fun, to say the least. Gavin had spent them literally just on the bed, writhing and groaning in pain, breaking into tears when it gets more unbearable and fighting off the dizziness and nausea that came with it. He almost wished he would have just passed out for maybe six more days just so he could escape the pain. He had never really felt such pain before. It kept him awake during the night, just occasionally blissfully passing out when his body could not handle it any longer. All this pain is making him second-guess if he really wanted a wolf, but at the same time, he can’t help but feel a different kind of relief knowing that he wasn’t a freak anymore, disregarding his still obvious different appearance. He has a wolf now, and it effectively shuts out the voices calling him an embarrassment for not having one before.He found that Beta Leticia was serious when she said that no one was allowed to visit him
As soon as Alpha Lucy walked away to open the door, Gavin’s head whipped so fast to face Ainar. There was a terrified expression on his face, and his scent had gone haywire in his distress. “It’s about the coronation, isn’t it?” he frantically asked in a whisper. His hand holding Ainar’s is squeezing tightly, but the alpha let him, squeezing back just as tight in a quiet assurance. “In a way, it is. But you do not have to worry—” “Why not?” Gavin is borderline hysterical now. His heart is pounding so hard in his chest, his scent has almost gone bitter, making their earlier scenting useless as it almost completely overpowered Ainar’s scent on him; his body is slightly shaking in anxiety.“I ruined the coronation! They must have had been waiting for this for such a long time now and I just ruined it!” “Gavin—” Gavin let go of the alpha’s hand to bring his hands up to grab at his hair, pulling lightly as if to ground himself. His eyes are focused somewhere on the floor. Even the pain
The room is silent save from the occasional sniffling of Pack Luna Alice, and some more quiet ones from Gavin. They have calmed down, well, Gavin would like to think at least they did, as he himself is still quite practically panicking inside. He’s sitting at the foot of the bed, while the two leaders sat on a chair Ainar got from them somewhere. The revelation had left him confused. That feeling of believing something for so long, your whole life, and then someone just comes to say that what you believe in is not the truth—that’s how Gavin feels.There was a light squeeze on his hand from where it is held inside Ainar’s. Gavin turned his head to look at the alpha and received a small smile. He hasn’t said anything for a while, no one dared to speak. They just sat around each other, waiting for anyone to break the silence.The Pack Luna Alice decided to do it herself.
The rise and fall of Ainar’s chest pressed against his back is a soothing feeling. They’re lying on the bed—his bed, he had come to know that now. Turns out, the room where he woke up in was supposed to be his room if he hadn’t disappeared before. His parents told him so. With that new knowledge, Gavin had come to notice the details more. The empty shelves that he had only bypassed before now looked different to him, the table beside the bed, the furs—how everything is white because it screams of him. He sees everything in new perspectives. He wonders if his parents go to this room every time they think of him, trying to grasp a semblance of him in the things they thought would fit him the best if only he was there.His parents.Huh. Saying it still feels strange. And it makes sense, it has only been hours since everything was revealed to him.And it
Gavin stepped out of the bathing room feeling refreshed. He has his towel draped on his shoulder to get his tunic from getting wet from his still dripping hair when he closed the door behind him. He was greeted by Ainar’s hunched figure on the floor, the alpha sitting and seeming to be tracing patterns on the cold floor before he arrived. “You’re done?” Ainar asked, peering up at him. Gavin smiled at the sight before nodding. The little light casted by the torches illuminating the long hallway are painting orange and yellow glows on Ainar’s honey skin, making the alpha look almost glowing in the badly lit place, and Gavin thinks he has never seen anything more beautiful. “Hmm,” Gavin hummed. The alpha stood up from his place on the floor, arms reaching out to the towel on Gavin’s shoulders.“What are you doing?” the omega asked confusedly, though not stepping away from the alpha. “I’ll help you dry your hair,” Ainar answered, sounding almost too innocent, as if that was the only obv
“E-escape?” the Pack Luna stuttered out in question. She looked at him confusedly, brows furrowed as she tried to make sense of the word.Gavin glanced at Ainar again and found the alpha supporting a warm expression on his face, a small assurance that he was there for Gavin. The omega sighed. It’s his first meal with his mother and brother, why did he have to mention that? But at the same time, he thinks it’s just right to tell them.“Life at my old pack wasn’t really pretty, Mother,” he ended up replying with a grimace. Alpha Jared is looking at him blankly, something hard in his eyes.“They weren’t fine with me, a shifter who looked too different from them, in the pack. Plus, the fact that I did not have a wolf to shift into. The difference was so big and they weren’t really that much accepting.”The mood had quickly turned somber, and Gavin can’t help but think that it was his fault. They were just having such a nice meal; it should have remained just as that. The Pack Luna looked
Gavin inhaled a lungful of air, letting the crisp smell of snow settle in his lungs and calm himself, before slowly letting it out. His eyes are closed, and he’s sitting cross legged on the snowy ground, not bothered by the cold since he actually took time to wear thicker clothes today, along with a cloak draped on his shoulders just in case. His hands are clasped in front of him in an attempt to look peaceful. He inhaled yet another lungful of air, shoulders coming up as he held it longer in his lungs this time, before once again slowly breathing out.Peace.“Focus.”“I am focused,” Gavin replied, brows furrowing for a second of distraction.“No, you’re not.”“I am. Thank you very much.”“If you were, you won’t be talking back to me.”“Shut up. I’m focused,” the omega snarked, closing his eyes tighter as he tried to breathe in and out slowly again.Peace.“You’re so bad at this.”And now it’s broken.Gavin opened his eyes and quickly turned to glare at his brother, standing not far a
The table is filled with chatter as they ate. Pack Luna Alice looks especially happy as she urged everyone to try every food they prepared. It was adorable. Her excitement for the whole ordeal was almost childlike, eyes twinkling and crinkling on the corners with her big excited smile as she looked at everyone on the table. Gavin feels for her. Because as he, too, roamed his eyes around the table, the obvious difference in the two packs where the others looked completely fine while the others are bundled up in thick clothing, was a contrast that still goes undeniably well, they look harmonious—complete. Even the Pack Alpha Henry, who looked almost passive most of the time, has a small smile playing on his lips as he silently ate, sitting at the head of the table, occasionally engaging on a conversation with Pack Alpha Fredrick.“Gavin,” his mother called from across him. He looked up and gave her a small smile, swallowing his food