The Rogue Alpha’s Claim

The pack has been bursting with excitement as the new moon gets closer. The air was alive with a palpable buzz that was nearly impossible to ignore, and everyone had been preparing in their own little way.

Ariel wasn’t left out either.

Laura had explained to her that the first shift was going to be the most painful thing she had ever experienced, and not even a horrible cramp could compare.

Although Ariel had no idea how she knew about cramp pain since werewolves don’t experience such pain.

For the days that followed, all she would hear was the full moon, and apparently this was special because it was a winter full moon, and everyone was anticipating it.

But it was the question on everyone’s lips that was bothering her.

“Are you ready for the shift? Are you ready to shift?” It was literally being ingrained in her. Anyone she came across would ask her this question before asking her if she was ready.

“You would be fine.” Judith had reassured her several times, but she was finding it difficult to stay calm.

And so it started.

Ariel stumbled into the dining hall like a ravenous beast, her stomach growling with a ferocity that could wake the dead. She had devoured five fluffy pancakes in rapid-fire succession, washing them down with a cup of coffee.

But instead of sating her hunger, each bite only seemed to fuel the fire. The more she ate, the emptier she felt, her hunger growing with a voracious intensity that defied logic. It was as if her stomach had become a bottomless pit, and she was powerless to stop its insatiable demands.

“What is happening to me?” Ariel had sought out Judith’s wisdom as she tried to understand her body.

“It is nothing serious, sweetie; it is just your body’s metabolism getting ready to accommodate a new one.” Judith had explained it to her in a calm voice that was easing her nerves. “It is nothing to be worried about; we all went through it.”

“I hope so.” Ariel sighed as she took another bite of the toast. Hopefully, her body will be able to burn off all the excess fat she gains.

But that wasn’t even the worst of it.

Ariel had woken up one morning to an intense heat. Her pillow was drenched with sweat, the dampness seeping into her hair as she lay there, and her forehead was slick with perspiration.

She pressed her palm to her head, feeling her temperature, and she was burning up.

Yet, despite the furnace-like heat coursing through her veins, she didn’t feel ill.

Ariel reached for the control of the air conditioner, and she lowered the temperature, yet it did nothing to alleviate the furnace inside of her. Her clothes had clung to her skin like a second skin, soaking up her sweat.

She lay there, paralyzed, as the heat wave ravaged her mind and body, leaving her a limp, helpless mess. She couldn’t even bring herself to take a shower to cool off.

“Is this how I am going to end?” Ariel thought as she lay on the bed.

She tried to call the guards outside, but her inaudible mumbles would be barely heard, and she was holding on for her dear life.

She managed to close her eyes, her mouth opening slightly as she breathed, and she resigned herself to fate.

But all of that was shattered when the door burst open and frantic footsteps thundered towards her. A face materialized in her peripheral vision, and despite how blurry her vision was, she could tell.

“J-Judith?” Ariel’s voice was barely above a whisper. But before she could say anything else, Judith’s hands were on her neck, assessing her condition. And almost immediately, her hands recoiled, as if scorched by Ariel’s fiery skin.

“Shit!” Judith exclaimed, her voice laced with alarm, “You are burning up!”

“H-how, h-how.”

“Shhhh, don’t talk too much; just save your breath.” The door opened again, and this time the bodyguards that had been staying at her door marched inside, and Ariel groaned as she felt hands on her. “It is alright,” she thought she heard Judith say, the elder woman stroking her hair gently. “They are only taking you to my room.”

Ariel sagged as she heard her words, and she surrendered to them.Published by Nôv'elD/rama.Org.

***

“What the…” Ariel spluttered as she came about. “What happened to me?” Her gaze flitted about, and she found herself submerged in a bathtub, with fragments of ice floating like tiny islands.

Panic set in as she scrambled to recall how she got there, and it was practically radio silence from Laura. She turned and saw the smiling face of Judith peeping down at her, and her body sagged in relief.

“You were burning up, sweetie; I had to draw a cold bath for you.” Judith explained, calming her nerves. “How do you feel now?”

“I think I am better now.” Ariel whispered, although she was still struggling to pierce everything together. She allowed Judith to feel her temperature before her mind could be put at ease.

“Does it have to do with my shift?”

“Yes honey.”

Ariel released a deep sigh, already knowing it was it. “The truth is, I am scared. I have been hearing people tell their stories, and it is plain scary. I don’t know if I can do this.”

“Of course you can do it, and we will be with you every step of the way. The alpha has alerted the pack, and they will do everything they can to help you.”

“Thank you so much, Judith. I don’t know how all this would have been possible without you.”

“It is fine, and it may not be as painful as it sounds.”

“What do you mean?” Ariel shifted towards her, her response piquing her curiosity.

“I mean, you have already shifted, so it is not a foreign sensation. Your body would have gotten used to the change.

“Really?” Ariel’s eyes shone like stars in a midnight sky, radiant with hope as she gazed up at Judith.

“Of course, so just focus on shifting and ignore the pain.”

Alas, it was all a big lie.

****

“AHHHHHH!” Ariel’s scream tore through the air as her bone snapped, a blood-curdling wail that had all the birds of the air flying away. The pain crashed down on her with unrelenting fury, leaving her breathless and shattered. It was as if she were being ripped apart and her bones were being shattered with a blunt knife.

She had once broken a bone in her finger during training, and she knew how painful it was, but it couldn’t be compared to what she was feeling now.

Another bone snapped, and she screamed. An ear-piercing wail tore from her throat like a wounded animal’s cry, and she crumpled to the forest floor.

“Just breathe through it; it will be fine.” She was sure she heard what Judith said.

“Liar!!!” Ariel would have screamed to her face if she wasn’t so delirious in pain.

The pain was blinding, robbing her of any rational thoughts, and no matter what she did, it only seemed to be increasing.

Her resolve was slowly crumbling, her strength fading away with each passing second, and she yearned for peaceful bliss.

“Don’t you dare faint!” Judith yelled at her as if she would read her thoughts, and the comeback was at the tip of her tongue, but it was disrupted when another flash of pain went through her.

And this time, it was her hand.

The sickening crunch echoed throughout the forest as the bones of her arms broke, and all that was left was a mangled mess.

Bones snapped and reformed, muscles tore and reattached, and tendons stretched and recoiled like tortured rubber bands. Her body was on fire, and the pain grasped her with icy fingers, squeezing the breath from her lungs.

Her mouth opened in a wordless scream, too spent to use her voice even as sweat poured out of every pore of her body, and Ariel wasn’t sure she would be able to survive it.

Yet she knew she couldn’t give up.

With every fiber of strength left in her, she screamed at the source of her misery.

“Kanneeeee!”