Banned from Exile

Chapter 13

Now that I have broken through the block I am so much closer to my howl... there's just one more thing. It's a fog. Some unresolved mystery, a secret. I see a face, my mother's, no mine; no wait... the face fades within the fog. Very interesting...

A string of high pitched wails come flooding in my ears. My head starts spinning and it feels like it's going to blow up. I clutch my ears tightly in attempt to stop the sound from entering my head. Like that helps...

It starts hurting my entire body like crazy... it almost feels worse than the pain I felt when I changed. I start making strange, incomprehensible sounds. I'm struggling to breathe and suddenly feel two icy cold hands on my shoulders. No, the hands are not cold, they're WARM. It's MY skin that's cold. Despite being in excruciating pain, I recognise them as Daniel's hands.

"Becca, I know you're in there. Just don't lose yourself. It's dangerous," the sound of his voice only worsens my pain more. "You are almost there, just concentrate," Daniel assures me as his grip intensifies. I barely understand what he said. It's like English has left my head and I only understand one thing; the wails that echo inside me now; sadness, hatred, anger, betrayal, mortification, nostalgia, melancholy, triumph, euphoria and so much more. They surge in spirals in every cell in my body. I feel intense heat overcome me, like fires inside a blazing inferno. Then I feel a splitting headache shoot within in my mind. I know this headache all too well. I had this headache when my wolf blood activated within me. I sway forward a bit and put my hands out then extend my arms so I don't fall off the sofa. Wait, I am not on the sofa anymore. Daniel's hands aren't on my shoulders anymore. I am not... I am in my wolf form, amazing!

I feel the wails move into my heart, my lungs, my throat, my vocal cords and then return to my head... I don't know how or what they did, but they did do something because suddenly I feel the urge to...

(Daniel)

Of course I want Becca to be in control of her transformations. A wolf's parents are the only ones who can teach a young wolf to transform at will because each wolf family has a different way of doing so. By teaching Becca how to tap into her howl, might enable her to be more in control. It is the basis of our wolf heritage.

I see her going through some kind of pain. I place my hands on her shoulders.

"Becca, I know you're in there. Just don't lose yourself. It is dangerous," I say. I know what she is going through. In order for us to access our howl, we need to clear out any impediments, any obstacles that are in the way. If we get too caught up in a memory for instance, we may forget ourselves or lose ourselves to our own minds, without even knowing it. "You are almost there, just concentrate," I assure her and hold onto her shoulders even tighter. She did not respond, which is a good thing, at least.

A few minutes later she is on the floor. I see her change before my eyes. I am relieved that getting her to find her howl, has worked. Her mesmerising white coat is just so beautiful.

Then I see her sit in an all too familiar position; the howl position.

She sits upright, her head tilted upward and her nose tipped a little back. I see the colours in the room change rapidly as her howl blows out of her mouth. It rings in my ears and I feel an urge to howl too. But I can't howl whilst I am in human form. Wait what the hell!? Impossible! It's simply impossible. How on earth can I BE in wolf form? I didn't change on purpose. It's as if her howl... no it...it just can't be. I howl with her. There is no way I can prevent myself from howling along. The colours in the room are still rapidly changing, or are they?

I close my eyes for a brief second, and then open them again. I see Victoria sitting on an opposing sofa.

"Surprised?" she asks with a satisfactory grin.