Bound To Be Mates

Prologue

When I was little I lived in an orphanage. I was six, maybe seven when I ran out into the forest that surrounds the small town I lived in. The foster mother had hit me with the T.V remote again. No one likes her there; she’s always so awful to everyone.

I wasn’t even sure if she liked children. She probably shouldn’t run an orphanage.

When I ran out into the forest, it was dark and it was about to rain. I could smell it in the air, a fresh heaviness that coated everything that surrounded me.

It was then that I had been hit over the head by something, though I’m not sure what. Something had triggered in me, when I felt that fierce panic overtake my system, accompanied by a flood of hormones. Everything had turned black as an unbearable pain bloomed across my body.

When I woke up, it was like my body was lit with flames. I was further in the forest that I was before, and the track I had been walking on was gone. I writhed and wriggled on the hard, dirty ground, whimpering, crying, screaming in pain. I couldn’t stop. It hurt so much.

It was like acid had been poured all over me, and was eating away at my flesh. It was like something inside of me was being ripped out and was taking over. It was something gnawing at my mind, refusing to let go until whatever it was had taken charge.

Before I knew it, the sharpest pain of them all rippled through my body like a wave of water, and I screamed as loud as I could. I didn’t know how long I was screaming, whimpering, crying, but it must have been hours because the sun was rising. I wondered why no one had heard me. Surely someone would have! But no, no one came.

Looking back on that know, I realise I was too far out in the forest for anyone to hear. I was miles and miles and more miles away from civilisation, which had seemed so far at the time.

Eventually the pain disappeared into a numbing sensation, making my fingers tingle. That was only for a moment, before I couldn’t feel my fingers anymore.

When I could open my eyes and see through my tears once more, the first thing I noticed was that everything was brighter. Colours were more vibrant, and so much more vivacious. Everything smelt bigger and everything was just… so different. It was hard to process.

Not only my sight seemed to have been improved. I could hear everything – from the rustling of the tree leaves, to the nervous flicker of a hare’s ear in the shrubbery. It was all too much, and gave me a headache. It didn’t help that I could smell things I’ve never smelt before, like the scent of the dirt and the smell of the leaves.

I’d never even realised they had a scent.

After that I had tried to stand up, but I found that I couldn’t. It was like my limbs weren’t working, and that thought terrified me. I’ve never felt such a blinding sensation of fear.

Eventually when I managed to put myself upright, I found that my hands were no longer hands and my legs were no legs. I found that I could see my nose, and that it was all black. My lower back was aching, and something was moving off the end of my spine.

It was then that I realised I had shifted into a wolf.