The Hidden Luna

Chapter 15: The Transition

"Annabel, love, I need you to sit up for me. I have some medicine to give you." Thomas' low voice beckoned me from my slumber.

I slowly open my eyes and see his handsome face hovering over mine, wait his handsome face what has gotten into me? I glare at him and try to sit up in the bed, the heavy red blanket swallowing my body whole. My body is covered in a thin layer of sweat from laying in the warm bed for so long, and I shiver as the air touches my skin. My left arm is heavy, yet my cast is missing, and the numbing medicine has already begun wear off, causing my arm and legs to scream out at me while I push back the blanket. Looking around the now familiar room I notice the woman from the cabin standing to my left, behind Thomas, with a small table covered with different herbs and a clear glass filled with a disgusting green liquid.

"Get her away from me, whatever is in that cup I refuse to drink it," I start as I try to move away from her on the bed.

"Annabel you need to drink this. It will help force you to shift. Don't be nervous, I will stay right by your side the whole time, okay love?" Thomas grabs the glass from off the small wooden table and sits next to me on the bed, holding out the cup to me.

"Shift? What the hell are you talking about?!" I snap at him, glaring between him and the glass of poison.

"Annabel. Look at me. Drink this and you can shift into your wolf. After you've shifted your bones will heal much faster, just don't fight the transition." He pushes the glass closer to my face, urging me to drink it.

I continue to glare, only at him now, "I am not drinking that. I don't want to turn into a wolf I want to go back to my home. My mother can take me to a real hospital and I will heal like a normal human."

Thomas sighs, clearly annoyed, "Annabel I need you to trust me on this. If you wait until the next full moon and you go back home you could die. Most wolves survive their first shift but, I don't know what will happen to you because you're well past the normal time to have shifted. If you shift without me there is a real possibility you will die."

I weigh my options in my head and my wolf chimes into the scheme, Annabel we should do this. I want to meet my mate in my true form and him in his. This would mean a lot to me, please don't fight this.

I sigh and take the horrifying mixture from my mate's hand and give it a sniff. I scrunch up my face in disgust and he nods at me to encourage its ingestion, "drink the whole thing, dear" the woman urges from behind Thomas.

"This is really going to hurt isn't it?" I ask wincing as I begin to chug the slimy concoction.

My mate looks at me with sympathy before nodding his head, "it'll be the worst pain you've ever felt. Every bone in your body is going to break and your entire body will feel as though it is on fire. The first shift usually takes the longest too, because you don't have much control over it. Annabel I need you to fully submit to your wolf for this, do not fight this process of your already broken bones may make this worse. We don't really know what will happen but I will stay with you for the whole time."

I glare at him after handing him the empty glass and wiping my face, "I don't need you. I will do this alone just like when I decided to jump from your window because you've left me alone in everything else I've been through since I got here."

Hurt etched itself across his face as he clenches his hands in his lap, "Annabel you cannot shift alone. You will die. I'm sorry you have been alone lately but that is no reason to commit suicide trying to shift alone this late in the game. Let me be there to help you, please."

I glare at him as my feet begin to ache like my arm and legs have since the numbing medicine wore off and I wince from the pain, "leave me alone Thomas. Where am I shifting? I don't mind staying here but I'm pretty sure I'll tear up your pretty sheets the moment I'm a wolf."

My mate sighs in defeat and offers his arms out to me after rising from the bed, "your legs are still broken, love. Let me carry you outside, you're about to be in a lot of pain."

I glare at him and try to get out of the bed on my own accord, he can only take so much of my free will from me. I wince again as my legs scream in pain while I try to apply my weight to them. I clench the sheets in my fists and grit my teeth in pain as I stand next to the bed. Thomas begins a parade of disapproving comments as I begin to walk towards the door. Suddenly my left leg snaps from under me and I let out a scream as I fall to the ground. My right leg follows with a snap when I hit the ground.

"Why are her legs snapping like that? They're already broken; this isn't right. Go get the doctor, now!" Thomas shrieks as he picks me up from the floor and the herbalist opens the door for him.

My mate walks down the stairs and runs out a big glass door leading to the forest behind the house. I shriek as my shoulder dislocates and my arm twists back behind my body; fire erupts all over my body as if my muscles have turned into lava and are beginning to melt my bones. Sweat beads on my forehead and down my spine as my wrist breaks with a crack and another scream erupts from my chest.

Thomas sets me down on the ground in the forest and the cool night air turns my sweat to ice cold pools on my body. He whispers sweet encouragement in my ear as my left shoulder dislocates as my right had and I try to curl up to stop the disassembly of my body. I pant trying to get as much of the cold air into my lungs as possible as the fire in my muscles intensifies and I grit my teeth to contain another gasp in pain.

"Annabel, love, please stop fighting the transition. It's going to hurt worse than it has to, don't curl up like that. I need you to lay on your stomach and close your eyes. Let your wolf handle the transition, I need you to just ignore the pain and focus on my voice." Thomas lays his hand on my back and suddenly the pain in my spine is alleviated a little.

I do as he instructed and I sprawl out on my stomach as best I can. I close my eyes and focus on his hand on my back and try to think of my mother back home. If she could see me now, turning into a wolf maybe she would a joke to make me feel better. She used to do that when I was sick throwing up and she would make me laugh to forget the sick feeling in my stomach. I try to think of a joke about turning into a wolf and I come up blank just as my arms snap in awkward positions and I scream out in pain.

"Tell me a joke" I grit out to my mate.

"A what" he asks, clearly very confused.

"Tell me a damn joke you asshole" I shriek as my legs break a second time, leaving me out of breath and dizzy.

"Um, okay? The chicken crossed the road, why? To get to the other side." He says as a cold wind blows over my body, cooling my aching body.

"That's not even how it goes!"I shriek and my jaw pops out of place and breaks.

If I die during this transition and that was the last thing I heard I will definitely be haunting this jerk.