The Dance of Wolves

That was three and-a-half years ago. Alma and I may have had a rough start but over these last four years, we came to understand each other. I must admit, even though I was born a shifter, I had my own biases about what my wolf would be like. I thought I would be in a struggle to constantly suppress my wolf because it would be driven by instincts. I thought the internal conflicts would only ease up for those times I needed to rely on it for survival or was moved by some intense emotion where I needed wolf strength to back me up. Alma was way more sophisticated than a beast worrying over survival and reproduction. She had just as much capacity for emotions as I did--joy, empathy, compassion. She was also smart as hell. More than a few times I found myself dozing off during lectures while Alma took notes and spoke up when the teacher singled me out to answer questions in class.

Today, I'm nervous because I am the last person in my class who hasn’t shifted. Is it because I have a late birthday? I was born in September; when I finally graduate from high school I’ll be 17 when everyone else will be 18.

Is it because I’m an Omega? I am the only male Omega in my class. It's just one more thing that set me apart and I hated that. I just want to blend in with the crowd. Why couldn’t I be a chameleon shifter? Do they even exist or was Mother Nature like, ‘Nah, that’s too extra’? I wipe the sweat off my forehead and feel I’ve left a smudge of dirt. I always had time for self-reflection and mind wanderings when I worked the compound.

It is my job to maintain the garden around the packhouse and the greenhouse on weekdays. Our pack is pretty self-sufficient. We raise our own cattle, have fish farms in the big lake and land dedicated to community farming. Planting, weeding, cutting and shaping, and harvesting the plants in the maze put me in my own little zone where my hands do the work and my mind works out my problems, or tries to.

“Aksal, I keep telling you the only thing preventing us from shifting is you!” Alma thought-shouted for the umpteenth time.

She’s probably right, after dropping that bombshell back then, I am probably too traumatized to even think about shifting.

“Hey, you act like you are ashamed of me,” she pouted.

What the hell? Wolves can freakin’ pout? Guess I’m still learning. I could feel her pacing restlessly, her stomps in tune with the throbbing of my temples. She wanted to get out and run free. She wanted to connect with the pack as a mature wolf, but I was the one holding her back and being selfish.

“I’m sorry, Alma. Let’s try again tonight. I promise not to be half-hearted about this.”

It was a perfect evening for shifting. The sun hasn’t set and I could already see a full moon rising in the twilight. I did my usual run out to the forest and down by a lake a few miles from the packhouse. Once I get there, I remove my clothes and stuff them into my backpack.

I take a deep breath, I can do this. We can do this. I crouch down on all fours.

“Alma, I’m ready,” I say and let my consciousness stand aside.

My nose stretches into a snout and bones shift and crack throughout my body while my skin itches as pores open to let the fur grow out. Those changes I can handle and I take the pain like a champ, but as I feel my dick shrinking down to a freakin’ nub and my balls assimilating into my body, I feel as though I’ll never stop screaming even though this change doesn’t physically hurt.

Alma jumps in the freezing lake and the cold snaps me out of my hysterics.

She shakes herself off and just like that we’re running. I’m bombarded with all the scents of the forest-fresh pine, bark, earth, and animals. My sight is so clear I feel like I could see tomorrow if I focused. I wonder how fast Alma can run when she really lets loose.

Alma does not disappoint, I barely felt the ground tap the pads of our paws when she let herself go, gravity has nothing on her. We are flying without wings, completely free. Alma howls out her joy. I can’t believe I was afraid of this. If I were Alma, I’d have hit me over the head with an invisible bat and taken over long ago.

We are already at the border of our territory and it’s time to go back when we feel a grumbling in our abdomen. All that running burned up a lot of energy and now we are hungry. We catch the scent of a hare off to our right and follow it. Alma grabs it before it can dive into its burrow. A nice, fat rabbit; we finish off in three gulps and that’s all folks. I wonder vaguely if I’ll cough up hairballs later and I can feel Alma rolling her eyes at me.

Finally, we are back beside the lake an hour or two before sunrise. Alma is ready for a nap and she retreats while simultaneously nudging me forward. I take a look at our reflection in the lake. A golden wolf with a tawny brown underbelly and violet eyes winks back at me. “You really are beautiful, Alma,” I thought-link to her and I feel her smirk smugly in response.

I shift, and thank goddess, my penis is back along with my balls. I’d kiss them if I could contort myself. I smile at the reflection of my human self in the lake and rub my thumb over the mark above my collarbone--two, small, interlaced circles, proof of my first shift. If I ever find my mate this is the mark I will leave on their nape. I get dressed and head back home where my parents are waiting for me.

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A/N Well that sounded both traumatizing and funny as hell. Sorry x not sorry, Aksal. Also, Alma is my spirit animal. How are you enjoying the story so far? Leave a comment and let me know. Meanwhile...Please like! My books have more than 2000 reads but I need those likes for the contest! T