“Reiya, I can help you with your shift. Like how Chasen helped Hunter. The first shift can be painful. Let your wolf guide you, and I can help alleviate the pain as well.” Brody could use his gift as a guardian to draw the pain into himself when she shifted, just like how he had taken the pain away from her earlier.
“You can help guide me, but I don’t want you taking the pain, Brody. This is mine. And it will get better after the first shift. Lumi is pretty ready, so I don’t think my first shift will be too hard.” Reiya smiled as she felt Lumi bouncing around her head in excitement.
The group stood under a canopy of shaded trees, all excited to be part of Reiya’s first shift.
“Okay, Reiya. Connect with your wolf. Feel for her and let yourself drift back as she comes forward.” Brody watched Reiya nod.
Okay, Lumi. Are you ready?
Is that a joke? Just relax, Reiya, and let our energy flow together. Let it flow freely and don’t fight it. Fighting it is what causes the pain, which is why the more wolves shift, the less it hurts, because they learn how to shift properly. We can do this together. We can do this painlessly. Just let go and hand the reins over to me.
Chapter 79 First Shift
Reiya closed her eyes and felt herself drift back. As she did, she felt a surge ripple through her body. Within a moment, she had shifted. She opened her eyes and looked down at her large paws. Her beautiful white fur shone slightly in the sun. She stood toher full height and looked over everyone. The shift was seamless … it was painless. She was born to shift into Lumi.
She looked out through her new wolf sight and shuffled her feet, feeling the earth beneath her. Her ears twitched as she picked up the various noises around her. She lifted her head up, feeling very happy with herself. The wind tickled her fur as it greeted her, and she lifted her nose up to it, sniffing lightly.
“Wow, Reiya, you’re just as big as Mira,” Brody said in shock as he gazed at the beautiful wolf. Lumi wagged her tail happily and turned to look at her mate.
Lee reached his hand out and Lumi ran and jumped up onto him. He chuckled as she licked his face. Her tail wagged as he petted her softness. “You’re beautiful, baby.” He held her head between his hands and leaned his forehead into her fur. His body recognized her, no matter what form she was in. He only saw her as his mate. He was feeling a bit selfish and didn’t want to share this moment with anyone else. He wanted to savor touching her, to relish her accomplishment of an easy shift. But everyone else was excited, too. He kissed his mate’s head tenderly and reluctantly let her go, smiling down at her as her fur tickled his nose.
She lowered herself down and Chelsie reached out to touch her fur. “So soft and fluffy.”Still too good for these dragons,Chelsie thought to herself as Brody and Xander joined her, touching Reiya’s fur. “Don’t get her pretty fur all dirty,” Chelsie snorted at Xander, who only chuckled in reply.
“I never had a puppy. A grown wolf is a great replacement, though. We’ll go on walks together. Play fetch together.” Xander grinned as Lumi snorted and shook herself. She wasn’t a pet replacement, but she let Xander have his joke. She was just glad to finally be out and was enjoying the attention.
Lee stood there, proudly looking at his mate. Her wolf was beautiful, and he just wanted to keep her all to himself. He didn’twant to share her today, or ever. Finally, all the extra attention had his beast getting gradually aggravated. “Okay, okay … that’s enough petting.”
Lumi turned her head and looked at Lee, her tongue lolling out and panting happily.So possessive,Reiya thought as she giggled.
Mmmm, he’s perfect. We have the perfect mate.Lumi was quite proud of who they’d been matched up with. She walked over to his side and leaned against his legs, relaxing into his touch and rubbing her head into his hand. Reiya agreed with her wolf. She could never have asked for a better mate than Lee. He was everything she’d ever wanted. Hell, he was everything she’d dreamed about. And he was hers, completely.
“Whoa, Xander, you need to get an exterminator. You have a wolf up here.” Weston jogged up to them, followed by Dex. “Thanks for inviting us to come along,” he complained, his voice dripping with annoyance.
“Reiya, is that you? Wow! You finally got your wolf. You must be very happy,” Dex said as he marveled at the white beauty. She was larger than he’d imagined. Of course, he really hadn’t seen many werewolves in their animal form up close. But she looked to be bigger than what he’d seen.
You have no idea how happy I am,Reiya thought to herself.
Quite the eventful night, huh?Lumi jested, and had Reiya been in human form, she would have been blushing.
Does everything with you lead back to only sexual things?Reiya asked in mild annoyance.
Reiya, we’re animals. It’s only natural. We search for our mate, we find our mate, we mate with them, and we have pups with them,Lumi replied tersely. It was just a fact of life.
Time out, Lumi. Let’s put babies on the back burner, okay? I don’t need to be pregnant and out there fighting a demon war.Reiya smiled in the recesses of her mind. Not that the idea of children didn’t excite her. It just wasn’t time for that yet.
Lumi scoffed.I’m not worried about the demon war. We have the numbers on our side. Plus, we are one of the Gemini twins. And you keep forgetting something important—Hunter. You don’t think you were the only one born with special gifts, do you?
Reiya quietly reflected on what Lumi was saying. Her brother was an alpha, which was already a powerful position. What other powers did he have hidden? She knew of one of his skills, but she was sure he had others. Grandpa Sage mentioned he would also play a key role in the demon war. What a destiny her family had. They were destined to fight against the demons and, with a future like that, of course they should have some pretty amazing and unique skills.
The more she thought about it, she realized how much others had their hands in her family’s affairs. Her grandmother, the fairy princess at the time, found out her mate was an alpha of a werewolf pack. From them came her mother, Lita. Her mother, who was half werewolf and half fairy, and a fairy princess at that, found her mate in the alpha of the Black Ice Pack. She was the first luna who was also a fairy princess. And her father was an alpha who was also the fairy king. This was already a powerful combination. Additionally, there was Reiya and Hunter, who were both from alpha bloodlines and fairy royalty. Reiya was mated to a deity, and she was one of the Gemini twins. She wondered who her brother would end up mated with and what else would make him unique.
“I know you probably want to go for a run, but it really isn’t the best time for that. I will try to make some arrangements later to make sure everything is secure. Gramps fixed the barrier, so we won’t have any more demon entries.” Xanders’ voice snapped Reiya out of her inner thoughts.
How was a demon able to get through the barrier?Reiya thought outwardly to those connected in her mind.
Xander’s eyes widened. “Okay, how in the heck can I hear your thoughts?! Is this part of our connection?”
“Wait, what connection? You can hear her thoughts? What am I missing?” Dex asked, furrowing his brow in confusion.
