Chapter 13 Mated to Another - Part l

• There is a form of waiting that seems like salty stones kissed by soft onshore winds. It isn't very warm, but there is a sense of tranquilly, of nature, of things to come. Then there's the sort that feels like the head of a mediaeval mace is loose in my stomach and my skull has been pummelling with a large plank of wood. And it was the latter as I waited to feel her, my wolf's presence with in me.
• After days, months and years of waiting, she finally made her presence known. Taking over my body and mind and shifting her way into the world. It was supposed to be a joyous moment for me and my family. However, this is not the case. Because of my deeds.
• My body was motionless and in pain as I lay in my bed. Slowly recovering from my first shift at the age of twenty-four. I'm not sure how I got from the healers' chamber to my house, and I'm not sure how long I slept. But when I awoke from my slumber, my mother was nowhere to be seen. And it has been three days, and I still haven't seen her. Anxiety progressively fills me up as time passes and reality sets in. There is life growing inside me. My own blood and flesh. Where there should have been joy and celebration, and where my mother should have cried tears, there is just melancholy. For my mother did cry, but not with joy. Because this life within me is impure and the product of sin. Which I had committed just to quench the thirst of my vile desire. Whereas I lay awake at night worrying about mine and my child's future and fate, my wolf is calm and composed. Hiding beneath the surface and yet sleeping peacefully with in me. I feel like an ordinary human like before, for I am yet to feel her presence again.