Shifting Moons

15

    "And once you shift you'll be able to hear the rest of the pack when we're all wolves and the bonds will be completed. You'll be okay," Cyrus said, giving me a weak nod.

I returned it slightly, my eyes not leaving him. He was still worried but he was trying to hide it. I continued to look at him until he looked up at me again. I raised an eyebrow at him. He gave me a smirk before speaking again.

    "Over the next few days you'll start to get uncomfortable because of the shift. I don't want to rush you into anything but it's better you shift sooner rather than later," he said pointing a finger at me and smiling.

    "Yes sir," I laughed.

He cringed. "Never call me that again," he laughed. I laughed again and watched him walk back towards the door. "So are we doing this or not?" He said, turning around to look at me again.

    "What?" I asked, my head snapping up.

Cyrus shrugged. "Unless you don't want to try today," he said, raising an eyebrow.

I blinked a few times trying to think through whether or not I wanted to do this now and if I wanted Isaac to be the one to help me through it. "Shouldn't I have Isaac help me?"

He crossed his arms. "I mean you can if you want. But he's out hunting now and he won't have the amount of influence over you as I do." He trailed off when he saw my wide eyed expression. "Meaning if you get stuck or need help I can force it to get you through it. I try not to do that to anyone but I have to every now and again."

I nodded slowly. Maybe it was a better idea to have Cyrus help with this, besides, I was a little upset with Isaac for storming out and then leaving on a hunt.

    "Totally up to you Zoey," Cyrus said standing in the doorway.

I hesitated. "Uh-yeah sure," I said, pulling the blankets off of my lap. It was now that I noticed how sore I was still.

    "Are you sure?" Cyrus asked, stepping forward and helping me out of the bed.

He quickly offered his hand for me to take as I tried to steady myself on my feet. I felt unstable but at the same time I didn't. For once I felt safe in my own skin, almost like my instincts would keep me from getting hurt now. I could finally trust myself. Cyrus slowly let go of my hands once he noticed me catching my balance again.

I looked up at him and smiled. "Let's do this."

Cyrus Laskaris

I let out a loud laugh as I heard Zoey groan behind me.

    "You know when I agreed to this I thought we were going to be further in the woods not right out where everyone can see me struggle," she shouted at me.

    "Ya'know Zo, whether or not we're in the open or not, the pack is still gonna know you're shifting," I laughed, turning around to look at her. She shot me a nervous glance. "You'll be fine," I added, walking back to her and wrapping my arm around her shoulders.

She let out a sigh as I pushed her over to the clearing near the tree line. I released her from my arm and turned so I was facing her. She looked at me with wide eyes.

    "Just let your wolf take over," I said, giving her a weak nod.

    "How the hell do I do that?" I could tell her wolf was making her frustrated, she must have been trying to help.

    "Think of Isaac. Think of how he makes you feel, she'll do the rest." I said, my eyes not leaving her.

She nodded and closed her eyes. I heard her breathing slow for a moment before it sped up again and she let out a growl.

    "It's not working," she said looking at me.

I could see the amber cloud of her wolf's eyes flow into hers as she looked at me. Normally thinking of your mate is strong enough to urge the shift but for some reason it wasn't for Zoey. It started to work until it didn't, this was weird.

    "Uh- okay, umm. Think about your life here," I said walking up to her.

I could tell she was starting to panic. I'm not sure why, maybe it was about what we told her about Ethan.

    "Zoey, listen to me," I said, placing my hands on her shoulders.

    "Cyrus, I can't do this-"

    "Yes, Zoey, you can. I can help if you want me to but only if you want me to," I said calmly.

She looked at me with worried eyes before nodding slightly. I let out a quiet sigh before allowing my wolf to front. I placed my hand on her cheek causing her to look up at me. Almost instantly I saw the smoke of her wolf return to her eyes and heard the crack of her bones shifting. She let out a loud wince and fell to her knees as her bones continued to shift from human to wolf. I cringed and looked away as she let out a scream. Then suddenly there was silence. I looked back at Zoey and felt a smile appear on my face. Standing in front of me in Zoey's place was a pure white wolf. I took a step towards her, careful not to startle her.

    "Zoey? Can you hear me?" I asked holding my hand out to her.

Her wolf was bigger than what I was expecting from her. Zoey is a rather petite person but her wolf was almost eye level with my chest, around the same size as Isaac. I stayed completely still watching her amber eyes focus on my face.

    "Cyrus? Did it work?" I heard her say.

I laughed and nodded in response. "I would say so," I said as she touched her nose to my hand. I stepped back slightly and watched her get used to the feeling of being a wolf.

    "Weird feeling isn't it?" I said, watching her still. Her head popped up to look at me. "Want to go for a run?" I asked, raising an eyebrow.

Another smile grew on my face as her eyes narrowed and her ears stood up.

    "I'll take that as a yes."

She huffed in response again and I shook my head.

    "Alright, alright," I laughed, taking my shirt off so that I too could shift and take Zoey on her first run on four paws.