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Chimes, beeps, digital songs as well as fully recorded music all blend in an absolute cacophony that instantly gives me a splitting headache.
Why the fuck do they all have their alarms going off at once? Why don’t they shut them off, now that they’ve sounded? The noise muddles my head, and I squeeze my eyes shut to keep them from bugging out of their sockets.
Then the first sharp pain lances across my back, forcing me down to all fours in agony, and I realize with shock that the ceremony has already started.
ChapterNineteen
Layla
* * *
All the sounds in my ears have become one massive, howling scream of noise. I can’t distinguish anything. I’m too busy being torn apart from the inside.
Now, all the individual snaps, pops, and breaks as my bones shift and reform, my body rapidly expanding and changing—all of those I hear, Ifeel, in perfect, agonizing clarity.
Every one of my fingers, the knuckles popping, doubling under and shrinking.
Every one of my ribs wrenching from my spine and growing, widening, then pushing back into place.
Especially the bones in my legs, shortening and breaking and bending backwards to accommodate an all-fours canine shape instead of an upright human shape.
I even feel my pelvis snap, twisting and tilting to change form.
I want to scream. I want to release a litany of curses and perhaps unload some of this agony by pouring it from my mouth.
But I can’t make a sound. All I can do is hold on, try to keep my body in one place as it continues breaking and expanding.
Suddenly the pain subsides, and I can lift my head. But when I can finally unleash the screams I’ve been holding in, they don’t come out as human noises of suffering. A high, mournful howl pours from my lips, and when I open my eyes, I’m looking down a long white muzzle to the full moon directly overhead.
Behind me, two more voices form a chorus, and I howl again to commiserate in our shared agony.
Jared was right; the pain is gone now. My new body feels slightly foreign, but I’m able to stand and trot in a tight circle. I whip around, catching sight of something that stays tantalizingly on the edge of my vision as I circle. It takes me several attempts before I realize I am literally chasing my tail.
I promise to never call a dog dumb again.
“The manifestation ceremony was successful! You have all witnessed these three become members of our pack. Now, let us all change and enjoy our pack run.” My uncle’s voice cuts through my distraction and I cast my eyes in his direction. All around me, people are stripping off their clothes, and I can see it in exquisite detail.
Too much detail. My wolf eyes are sharp, lightening the shadows and revealing each individual spread out through the trees as clear as day. I can feel them, every person in the pack, and I allow my senses to steer me toward the guys.
Landon, Jared, and Milo are already mid-shift, and it doesn’t take them long to complete it. Once furry, they bound over to me and we set about nuzzling and bumping into each other in a familial way. A thrum of contentment rumbles in my throat, and we continue the furry affection until a sharp, commanding bark draws our attention immediately.
All around us, every wolf has turned their furry heads and is pointed directly at a large white wolf with a single black ear.
I know without thinking that is my uncle, and I know he is compelling me to stand with him. The push is gentle but impossible to ignore. I trot up to his side, and he gives me a nudge toward the path that leads further into the forest.
Once again the crowd parts, and I start forward hesitantly, my uncle by my side. We begin with a slow trot, and then he speeds up a little, and I accept the challenge, growing accustomed to my new body. I can feel the pack behind us, following at a distance, but my eyes are only forward.
Faster and faster my uncle presses me to run, and we follow a natural curve in the path as we race, our nails digging into the soft soil.
Now that I’m settling into this body, I notice more and more. I can smell so many things, from the subtle rot scent of decaying wood to sweet berries ripening on the bush. Pulling in deep breaths through my nose, I try to categorize more of the scents. It’s instinct. Once I separate them from the others, I know what they are. Earthy mushrooms, sharp pine, salamanders and moss and a thousand little creatures in the forest.
We continue racing. My tongue lolls from the side of my mouth now, and I push forward exuberantly, the breeze on my face like no kind of freedom I’ve ever experienced.
This is home.
This is right.
This isgood.
