Chapter 4

I hadn’t seen Damian all week with my studying and finalizing of all projects. I was in all advanced classes, and I had a feeling I would not want to go to school next week, so I busted my butt with Holly to get it all done.

“Are you excited about our birthdays tomorrow?” Holly squealed.

Rolling over in bed, I said, “Hell yes! I am so excited about meeting my wolf! I wonder how big she will be, what color, and what her name is.”

“Me, too! I am so glad your parents let me stay over tonight. I am glad we get to share this together.”

“Well, we have been busting our asses all week, so we don’t have to go to school today and next week!”

Holly suddenly got a serious look on her face. “What will you do if Damian is not your mate?” Holly knew my thoughts and fears. I tell her everything.

Sighing, I responded, “I honestly don’t know. Let’s go to sleep. I have a feeling tomorrow will be a long day.”

“Wake up, sleepyhead!” I suddenly heard yelling in my head. Maybe I was still dreaming. “I am not a dream girl! WAKE UP!” I snapped my eyes open and realized I had my wolf!

“Oh my god, what is your name, what color are you? I love you already!” I yelled. I tried to lay still so I didn’t wake Holly up, but I was so excited!

I heard her giggling. “My name is Raven, and you will see what color I am when we shift!”

“Damn, can I shift now?”

“So impatient, but yes, you can. It will hurt badly but I will help you through it,” Raven said.

Very quietly, I got out of bed, tiptoed down the stairs and went outside. “Okay, now what?”

“Go into the woods, you might want to get naked and get comfortable. This will take a while.”

Thirty minutes later, there was a fire burning through my body. I bit my tongue to keep from yelling out and making my presence known. Suddenly, I heard my bones start to snap. “RAVEN, what is happening?”

“Imagine your hands are paws and you are a wolf,” Raven instructed. “I know this is going to hurt, but it will only last a short time. You can do this!” I was lying in a fetal position hearing my bones breaking, and the next thing I knew I was looking at the earth. I smelled the wet earth and more scents. I didn’t know what they were. Looking down, I saw dark brown and reddish paws. Looking around, everything was clearer, brighter, louder, and had more scents than before.

“Wow.” That was all I could say right now.

Laughing, Raven said, “Let’s run!” And we did. We went up to a stream and I looked down. Raven was beautiful. She had my emerald green eyes and dark brown fur with almost a red tint to it. We ended up running for a few hours before we found ourselves back at my parents’ house.

“You should probably shift and get some sleep. You will need it for today!”

“Um, exactly how, Raven?”

“Imagine yourself as a human again.” Raven rolled her eyes at me.

I did as she requested, and suddenly I felt cold. Looking down, I saw I was naked and put my clothes back on. I slipped back into bed and felt drained.

“You will be tired for the rest of the day, but also, Happy Birthday!”

“Thank you, Raven! Goodnight!”

“OH GOD OH GOD!” I heard screaming, and I sat straight up in my bed. Wiping the hair from my face, I looked around to see Holly jumping up and down screaming. I clutched my heart and tried to get my bearings, but just as I was about to ask Holly what the hell, my parents busted through the door, almost taking it off its hinges.

“What happened? What is wrong?” My mom asked us.

“I got my wolf! OMG, she is so sarcastic and funny! She is just like me and can’t wait to find our mate!” Holly sang while twirling around and around like a kid after they got ice cream.

“What is her name?” I asked. I couldn’t wait to tell my parents about Raven. “Is she always this loud?” Raven asked, her tone was of annoyance and amusement. “Yeah, that is just Holly. A very large personality in a little body.”

“Indy! I can’t wait to shift and see what she looks like!”

“After breakfast, Holly! You need your energy for it!” Mom scolded lightly, but there was a smile on her face, so we knew she wasn’t upset anymore. “This calls for chocolate chip pancakes!”

I heard Dad grumbling about how he never gets waffles anymore, and my mother’s laugh as she scolded him for trying to be difficult. As rough and stern as he was, there would always be a soft spot for me and my mom.

“My wolf’s name is Raven! She is just like me also and has brown hair with a red tint to it!”

“You already shifted?” Holly asked with a crestfallen look on her face. “I thought we would shift together.” Sighing, she sat down on the bed. I wiggled my way over to her and gave her a hug.

“I didn’t mean to hurt your feelings. Raven woke me up last night and I just couldn’t wait. I don’t have much energy, but I would love to shift again with you and go for a short run!”

“Oh, yes please! Maybe my mate is out there. I could use some sexy time with a mate.”

Raven sang as she twirled in my head, “Girl please, control your thoughts.” I rolled my eyes. If her thoughts are as bad as my own…

“Okay, yeah, that would be okay. I am not mad, really, just bummed. I totally get it though. I probably would have done the same,” Holly said, as she came to terms with the situation. She figured we would do everything at the same time as one another. Find our mates, get pregnant and everything at the same time. I never felt like that was going to happen, but I never put down her dreams. Honestly, I didn’t want to. I would like for us to experience it all together, but it never felt right.

“Girls! Breakfast!” Mom yelled from the kitchen. Holly shoved me on the bed and darted for the door. Unfortunately, I had always been quicker and was able to trip her foot and send her flying into the wall. She landed with a thud. I didn’t stop because we had done this so many times, and now that she had her wolf, she would heal faster. I made it to the kitchen just seconds before she did.

“Honestly, girls. Aren’t you a little old for that childish stuff?” Dad scolded us. I gave him a peck on the cheek while Mom told him to leave us alone. It was our birthday and we just wanted to eat. We hid our smirks and shoved our mouths full. Mom loved to cook. I got my skills from her.

“What are your plans today, girls?” Mom asked.

“After breakfast, we are going to shift and go for a run, but then probably just lie around all day, eat junk food, and watch movies. I hear shifting for the first time takes it out of you, so we are doing that today, so we have energy to dance tomorrow!” Holly said.

“I know the boys are busy with pack stuff today, so it would just be you two,” Dad said. They were trying to get everything ready so Dad and the alpha could retire, and so Damian and Trevor could take over. Zach had border patrol today. He switched so he could have tomorrow off. So, it was a girls day!

“That’s fine. They won’t want to watch our movies anyway!” I said, slightly disappointed. I knew Damian said he wouldn’t see me today, but I was holding out hope.