Chapter 5 First Shift

• The forest pulsed around Bobby with otherworldly energy. Moonlight filtered through ancient branches, casting dancing shadows that seemed to whisper encouragement. Her chest heaved with desperate breaths while her heart hammered against her ribs like a caged bird.
• "Please," she whispered to the darkness, pressing her palm against the rough bark of an oak tree. "I need this to work."
• Deep within her consciousness, something stirred. The sensation felt like awakening after a long sleep, warm and familiar yet entirely foreign. Silver warmth flooded her system, and instead of the expected pain, Bobby felt a profound sense of rightness.
• "There you are," a familiar voice whispered in her mind.
• Bobby's eyes widened. The voice carried feminine strength and ancient wisdom, speaking with the cadence of someone who had waited lifetimes for this moment.
• 'Who—'
• "I am Bria," the voice murmured with gentle amusement. "Your wolf. Your other half. We have much to discuss, little one, though perhaps not in this form."
• The shift began without warning. Bone-breaking, muscle-tearing agony that she'd heard described but never experienced crashed over her in waves. Her spine arched involuntarily, vertebrae popping and reshaping with audible cracks. Fire raced through her veins while her bones elongated and reformed. Her jaw extended with sickening pops, teeth sharpening to deadly points.
• "Fighting it will only make the pain worse," Bria coached her through the transformation. "Embrace what we are becoming."
• Bobby's scream morphed into something primal and wild. Fur erupted across her skin in silver cascades, each follicle emerging with electric intensity. Her human consciousness battled against the overwhelming sensory assault—sounds amplifying until she could hear heartbeats from the distant ceremony, scents layering into complex tapestries of information.
• Her body contorted as muscles expanded and redistributed. Hands became paws, fingernails extending into razor-sharp claws. The mark on her wrist blazed with supernatural fire, its glow visible even through the newly formed fur.
• A howl tore from her throat, wild and primal. The sound echoed through the forest with haunting beauty, carrying notes of freedom and unleashed power. The world spun; colors sharpened into brilliant clarity; scents intensified until she could taste emotions on the wind.
• When the transformation completed, silence fell like a curtain. Bobby staggered upright on four legs, disbelief warring with exhilaration. Her reflection in a nearby stream revealed a wolf larger than typical for a female, with unusual silver markings around her eyes that resembled an intricate mask. Energy crackled from her fur, silver-blue and electric.
• 'I shifted!' The thought burst through her mind with explosive joy. 'I actually shifted!'
• "We are magnificent," Bria purred with satisfaction. "Feel our strength, little one. Feel what we were always meant to be."
• Power coursed through Bobby's transformed body like liquid lightning. Every muscle felt coiled with supernatural energy, every sense heightened beyond human comprehension. The forest revealed its secrets—she could smell the path of rabbits from hours ago, hear the rustle of field mice thirty yards away, and see heat signatures through the darkness.
• Something unexpected happened as her transformation solidified. Power exploded outward from her body in a visible wave of silver light, rippling through the forest like a shockwave. Trees swayed despite the absence of wind, leaves shimmering with residual energy. The wave continued its relentless journey, racing back toward Silvercrest territory with unstoppable force.
• 'What was that?' Bobby wondered, turning to watch the light disappear between distant trees.
• "A calling card," Bria replied cryptically. "Though unintentional. We possess more power than either of us realized."
• Bobby's ears flattened against her head. The implications sent ice through her veins. Every werewolf for miles would have felt that surge, including Chad and his enforcers. They would come looking, and when they found her missing from the ceremony...
• 'We need to move. Now.'
• With newfound strength and speed, she raced through the forest. Her paws found purchase on surfaces that would have been treacherous for human feet. Branches that might have caught her clothing parted effortlessly around her streamlined form. The wolf's instincts guided her around obstacles with fluid grace, navigating the familiar terrain with supernatural efficiency.
• "This feels incredible," Bobby breathed into the mental connection she shared with Bria. "I never imagined it would be like this."
• "Freedom tastes sweet after years of captivity," Bria agreed. "Though we must not let exhilaration cloud our judgment. Danger follows close behind."
• Bobby's pace slowed as a question that had burned within her for years finally found voice. "Why now?" she asked aloud, her wolf form coming to a halt beside a massive pine. "Why not when I first sensed you? When I needed you most?"
• The forest seemed to hold its breath as Bria considered her answer. When she spoke, her mental voice carried the weight of years and painful wisdom.
• "I couldn't reveal myself before. The pack members were already wary of you, with your strange silver eyes and hair. Had Alpha Matthew sensed another alpha wolf within the pack—one not his son—he would have felt challenged. Threatened. He would have eliminated that threat before it grew strong enough to question his authority."
• Bobby's wolf ears flattened against her skull. The implications hit her like physical blows. "So, you hid yourself... to protect me?" She whispered, understanding dawning.
• "To protect us both," Bria corrected gently. "Until we were strong enough to survive on our own. Which is exactly what we're doing now."
• Bobby digested this information, her enhanced senses picking up the subtle changes in night sounds around them. An owl hooted in the distance, while small creatures rustled through the underbrush, unaware of the profound conversation taking place.
• "All those years of feeling broken," Bobby murmured, pain threading through her mental voice. "All those whispered comments about being defective, unable to shift like everyone else..."
• "Each cruel word was a shield," Bria replied with fierce protectiveness. "Better they think us weak and ignore us than recognize our true nature and destroy us before we could escape."
• "Alpha wolf," Bobby repeated slowly, testing the concept. "That's what I am? What we are?"
• "Among other things," Bria confirmed with mysterious undertones. "Though your heritage runs deeper than simple pack hierarchy. The power that surged from us tonight—that was no ordinary alpha awakening."
• Bobby resumed her steady lope through the forest, processing revelations that reshaped everything she thought she knew about herself. "The mark on my wrist. It's connected to this power, isn't it?"
• "Connected, yes. The source of it, no." Bria's presence in her mind shifted, taking on notes of ancient memory. "That mark appeared when you were born, little one. Your mother told me how it blazed with silver fire in those first moments of life, then faded to the subtle glow it carries now."
• "Mother knew?" The question emerged as barely a whisper.
• Bria hesitated, a pause that carried layers of unspoken complexity. "She suspected you were special from the beginning. She spent years researching bloodlines, trying to understand what you might become."
• Bobby caught something in Bria's tone—a careful distance, as if her wolf was choosing words with deliberate precision. The mention of Madeleine felt somehow separate from the earlier reference, though Bobby couldn't quite grasp why.
• "Madeleine's relationship with Alpha Matthew was partly motivated by a desire to protect you, to ensure you had a place in the pack until you came of age," Bria continued, her mental voice returning to its usual warmth when speaking of the woman who had raised Bobby.
• Bobby's heart clenched at this revelation. Her mother's actions, which had seemed like betrayal to the pack's structure, had actually been motivated by maternal protection. "She died because of me."
• "She died because Luna Diana couldn't control her jealousy," Bria corrected firmly. "Madeleine's choices were her own, made out of love for you. Don't diminish that sacrifice by taking responsibility for another's violence."
• The border appeared ahead—a narrow stream marking the edge of Silvercrest territory. Moonlight danced across the water's surface, creating patterns that seemed almost hypnotic. Once across, she would officially be a rogue wolf, cut off from pack protection forever. No longer just an outcast omega, but something far more dangerous in the eyes of werewolf society.
• Bobby hesitated at the water's edge. Crossing this stream meant abandoning everything she'd ever known; however painful those memories might be. Her mother's face flashed through her mind—not as she'd been in life, but as Bobby had found her weeks ago, lifeless and broken after Luna Diana's jealous rage. The memory of Madeleine's still form haunted her, a constant reminder of what happened to those who crossed the pack's leadership.
• "Second thoughts?" Bria inquired gently.
• 'Just... saying goodbye, I suppose.'
• "To pain and rejection? To a life spent hiding who we truly are?" Bria's mental voice carried layers of ancient hurt. "They never deserved us, little one. We were pearls cast before swine."
• Bobby's resolve hardened. Bria spoke truth—the pack had never shown her kindness, never offered acceptance. Even her mother had seemed relieved when Bobby kept to herself, avoiding the complications her presence created.
• She took the step, leaping leaped across the stream in a single bound, landing gracefully on the opposite bank. The moment her paws touched rogue territory, something shifted in the air around them. The connection to Silvercrest—tenuous though it had always been—severed completely.
• Her pendant glowed briefly. Somewhere in the distance, a figure watched from the shadows, eyes gleaming with something between hope and fear.
• "The Moon's Shadow has risen," the mysterious woman whispered. "May the Goddess help us all."
• "Free," she whispered, tasting the word on her tongue.
• "Free," Bria echoed with fierce satisfaction.
• They ran deeper into the wilderness, leaving the only home Bobby had ever known far behind unaware that the power she'd released had done more than announce her freedom. It had awakened something ancient—something that slumbered in the blood of wolves long forgotten.
• The forest grew wilder with each mile, ancient trees towering overhead like cathedral spires. This was old-growth territory, untouched by human development and largely avoided by established packs.
• "Where are we going?" Bobby asked as they navigated around a fallen log the size of a small house.
• "Away from those who would cage us," Bria replied. "Toward those who might understand what we truly are."
• 'And what are we, exactly?'
• Bria's presence in her mind shifted, taking on notes of mystery and ancient knowledge. "That remains to be discovered, little one. Tonight, we learned we possess power beyond normal wolves. Tomorrow we will learn what that power means."
• Miles passed beneath their tireless paws. Bobby's human side marveled at their endurance—she could run like this for hours without fatigue. Her wolf body seemed designed for this kind of sustained travel, muscles working in perfect harmony.
• Dawn approached with fingers of gold reaching through the canopy. They would need shelter soon, somewhere to rest and plan their next move. Bobby's human consciousness began asserting itself more strongly as adrenaline faded, bringing with it practical concerns.
• 'Food. Water. Shelter. We'll need all three.'
• "Survival instincts," Bria approved. "Good. The wild will test us, but we are strong enough to meet its challenges."
• They crested a hill and found themselves overlooking a valley Bobby didn't recognize. A small cabin sat nestled among the trees below, smoke rising from its chimney despite the early hour. Someone was awake, someone who chose to live far from civilization.
• "Interesting," Bria murmured. "Do you sense what I sense?"
• Bobby focused her enhanced senses on the cabin. Through the walls, she detected a single heartbeat—steady, calm, unafraid. The scent that reached them carried notes of herbs and something else, something that made her newly awakened wolf instincts tingle with recognition.
• 'Another werewolf?'
• "More than that," Bria whispered with growing excitement. "Much more than that."
• The cabin door opened, and a figure emerged onto the small porch. Even from this distance, Bobby could see the person looking directly at them, as if their approach had been expected. The stranger raised one hand in greeting, the gesture somehow both welcoming and warning.
• "Our real journey," Bria murmured as the figure began walking up the hill toward them, "is about to begin."