Chapter 3 The Wolf Awakens

Calla's pov

I didn’t even have time to scream before the rogue slammed me into the dirt.

Rogues were rejects of packs. They are rotten to the core and their wolf form is terrible, almost like a zombie.

My back hit the ground so hard the air flew out of my lungs. A blinding pain slid across my shoulder as very sharp claws tore my hoodie and skin.

Blood ran down my arm and a sound tore out of my throat. I shoved at the rogue who was in full werewolf form. That's not good. I thought fearfully.

I shoved at the deformed wolf but it was like trying to move a car. He growled at me, and it made my bones shake. His breath stunk too.

“Get off me!” I screamed, thrashing under it, my clawed at the dirt. “Somebody…please help!”

But nobody came. I could hear the music from Eclipse still pounding in the distance, but in the woods it was just me and this rogue.

“Fuck…” I said aloud as I rolled out of the wolf's way. I thought of running but it was useless. I'd be turned to pieces before I even took a step.

The pain of Lucas' rejection was almost paralyzing and it felt like I was being stabbed over and over again. I thought I was dying.

But there was something else besides the pain.

The wolf lunged at me again, but I stuck to rolling out of the way. It was more effective.

“Stay in one place!” The wolf growled. The sound was like iron grating against iron.

The wolf slammed his paw on the floor just missing my head by an inch, then something strange happened.

One second I was on the ground, human and helpless and the next my bones began to break.

My hands bent backwards, stretching, and my spine arched until it felt like it would snap in half. My body was hot and fur appeared through my pores.

The wolf stopped, observing me. I was finally shifting. But it was damn painful.

“Hello…Calla..” my wolf greeted inside me

I couldn't respond because the overall pain in my body was too much to bear. I saw a bright light and thought I was finally going to die from the pain.

But then the light faded and the forest didn’t look the same anymore. I looked at myself and noticed that I no longer had hands, just paws and black and silver fur covered my body, and the first glowed. I caught my reflection in a puddle. I had silver eyes, not green like the wolves in my pack. That wasn't normal.

The rogue wolf launched itself at me, but now I wasn't afraid. I moved so fast, time blurred. One moment, I was in front of him and the next he was behind me, the pursued became the pursuer.

I slashed my claws at the wolf's back and it howled in pain. Black liquid dripped from my claws like poison, and where I cut him, his skin burned and sizzled.

He tried to retaliate, but the rogue wolf started foaming at the mouth. I took the opportunity to sink my claws into its neck. The wolf's body jerked, then he went completely still. I stepped back, my chest rising and falling with blood on my claws.

I found my way to a nearby stream and stared back at my reflection in the water. My eyes were silver, and my fur was a mixture of black and silver. In my pack, we were all silver wolves.

Just then someone called my name. “Calla.”

It was Darius. He stepped out of the woods, his face was pale under the moonlight, and with the way he was looking at me, I knew he'd seen everything.

He looked at the dead rogue on my feet, and the silver of my eyes and I expected him to either be afraid or disgusted but he seemed….concerned.

He came closer, his hands raised. “I followed you after you left and I lost you for a moment, then I heard you screaming,” he said quietly.

I forced a shaky growl past my wolf’s throat.

“Easy Calla,” Darius murmured. “I’m not here to hurt you.”

I growled in response, realizing that I had no idea how to change back.

He must have sensed my panic because his voice dropped and he stepped even closer. “Just take deep breaths and imagine yourself human again. It's okay…”

I did as I was told. At first nothing happened and then my body concussed and my wolf twisted. I felt that pain again, the pain of my bones breaking as I turned back. When I took in another deep breath, it was with human lungs.

Darius yanked off his jacket and threw it over to me, looking away. “Here, wear this.”

I clutched it around me, fingers trembling. My teeth wouldn’t stop chattering. “W‑what just happened?”

“You shifted,” he said, then he shook his head like he was impressed. “Yoi didn't just shift, you killed a rogue on your first night. And your eyes—”

“I know,” I whispered. “It’s different.” I finished.

We fell silent. I couldn’t look at the dead wolf. I just stared at Darius thinking about how much I've wanted to shift for the past four years and now, I was different. Why always me, moon goddess?

“You can look now.” I called out when I noticed he was still looking away.

When he looked at me, he paused for a moment, his eyes swept my face and he blinked.

“You…” His voice dropped an octave lower. “You look different.”

My hand shot to my cheek. The scar was gone and my skin was smooth. I swallowed. “Different how?”

“You’re the wolf they’ve been whispering about. “Calla, listen, if Lucas finds out what you are—” He stopped, and shook his head from side to side. “They won’t just reject you again, they’ll kill you.”

“Kill me?”My throat went dry. “That’s not…they won't do that, I'm part of the pack."

He gave a humorless laugh. “Look at yourself, Calla. They’ve never treated you like you were part of the pack, do you think they would now? And if Lucas finds out—” He stopped.

I leaned in eagerly. "If Lucas finds out what?”