➳

The full moon gleamed brightly in the sky, despite the baleful clouds billowing the horizon. In the air wafted the fresh, earthy aroma of petrichor. A storm was brewing up, Matthew could smell it. He longed for the safety of his home, yet he could not go back.

There was a deep ache in his bones. Each step came with a blaze of pain as the ten-year-old boy hiked up the mountain. His head grew dizzier with each minute, but he did not stop.

If he wanted to live, he had to keep going.

Matthew scolded himself for leaving his house. "If you just stayed home, everything would've been fine." But it was too late now. They had smelled his scent. If he were to return home, he would only lead the direwolf hunters to his family. His only option was to hide and pray they would not find him.

A loud clap of thunder made the young boy jump, his foot slipping off the rock. "No!" He tried to grab onto an offshoot on a tree, but it was futile. Pain wracked him as he fell down the mountainside, hitting rocks and tree roots along the way.

Matthew landed in a soft puddle of mud, grunting at the throbbing ache in his head.

"Get up," He willed himself. His body refused to cooperate. "Get up, or they will kill you."

His ears twitched as they caught the vague snap of a twig. The blood in his veins ran cold; the hunters were nearby.

With great effort, he lifted his head to look up at the mountain. "It's no use. You will not reach the top and hide in time. You can't even stand up."

Laying on his back, the boy gazed at the moon. Despite his grim situation, the soft white-gold light of the graceful celestial body comforted him. He could smell the hunters getting closer, and the agony in his bones grew worse by the second. Black spots clouded his vision.

Was this the end?

"No. I won't let you die, kid."

Matthew's eyes widened at the intrusive voice in his head. "Who-"

"I'm your wolf, Maxim. You were not supposed to meet me this early, but you're going to have to shift if you want to make it out of here alive. Lay back, and let me take control of your body."

A series of cracks and pops filled his ears as the shifting began. He felt his limbs being elongated, his mouth stretching into a snout, and a tail sprouting out while he mutated into a wolf.

The pain was almost unbearable. Matthew rarely cried, but in that moment, he could not stop the tears from falling. He bit his tongue in an attempt to stifle any sound that he might make. Thankfully, the transformation did not take long. He weakly lifted his hands to look at them, seeing two black paws instead of his pale fingers.

"Here's the little direwolf! I was wondering when you'd get tired of running." A hunter emerged from the trees, his rifle pointed towards the black-furred creature.

"Do not worry, child. I'll take care of it."

His consciousness gradually faded as Maxim took over.

——————————

Matthew blinked as the flashback of his first shift ended. Looking around, he tried to remind himself of his surroundings. He was standing in the forest, carrying a recently-transformed direwolf. His arms subconsciously gripped her body tighter, silently vowing to never let the hunters get anywhere near his mate.

"Are you going to put me down so I can shift into a wolf?"

"... Oh. Right." He placed the girl back on her feet, shaking the thoughts out of his head. "Do you know how to shift?"

"Yeah, I've possessed many werewolves in the past. This is a piece of cake, I bet it won't even hurt."

Astor was wrong.

A shrill scream echoed through the forest, sending birds flying away from the trees and smaller creatures running off. Tears formed in her eyes as the girl felt her bones crack and shift for the first time. She fell to her knees and curled up, unable to suppress her cries as the pain surged throughout her body like a wildfire.

Hearing his mate's screams tugged at Matthew's heart, but he reminded himself that it was not her who was feeling this pain; it was the familiar possessing her.

Her clothes ripped as fur sprouted from her skin, making her mate's breath hitch. She was a white wolf; quite a rare occurrence.

The wolf dropped to the ground, panting from exhaustion.

Matthew reached down to pick her up in his arms. Madeline's wolf resembled her human self in many ways; she was rather small in size, and the color of her fur matched her personality quite well, symbolizing her purity and innocence. Her eyes were the same sapphire blue color he could get lost in for hours. "Even in your wolf form, you look like an angel." He ran his fingers through her soft fur, remembering how she had pet him the same way when she first met his wolf.

His eyes widened as he suddenly took notice of the ripped fabric on the ground. She would have no clothes to wear when she shifted back, and he did not know if Maxim would be able to handle that sight just yet.

Setting the little wolf back on the ground, he took off his shirt in one swift motion. "Shift back and put this on," He ordered, looking away while trying to ignore the wolf in his head begging him to take a peek.

The girl did not cry this time as she shifted. The pain a was lot worse during the first shift; her body was no longer foreign to the feeling of her bones displacing and her limbs mutating. She grabbed the shirt and slipped it on. Seeing that Madeline was much smaller than her mate, it was quite large on her, almost reaching down to her knees.

"Alright, I'll take you to the werewolf now, and you'll leave her body." Turning around, Matthew began walking away, but stopped as he felt her grabbing his wrist.

"Can you carry me again? It's much more fun than walking." He rolled his eyes, reluctantly accepting Astor's request.

——————————

Shortly afterwards, they found themselves at the Pack prison. The captives consisted of mostly rogues or suspected spies from enemy Packs who had been caught sneaking into their territory.

"You have an actual prison now instead of just keeping them in your basement, huh? That's an upgrade," Astor quipped.

Matthew ignored the remark. "Pick whoever you want to possess and just get it over with."

"You know I can't possess someone just like that, I have to gain their trust first. Thankfully, as a pretty girl, it's easy to do that to men."

His eyebrows furrowed when he realized what Astor had meant. "You will not use my mate's body to seduce them."

"It's not seducing, just a little flirting. You want me to get out of here as soon as possible, right?"

As much as he hated the idea, the familiar had a point.

With an exasperated sigh, he stepped away, glaring at them from afar while the girl talked to one of the prisoners. Occasionally, she would giggle or place her hand on his biceps. It took Matthew a great amount of self-control to not lunge at them when he saw her kiss the rogue's cheek, making him blush slightly. "Just a little longer and Madeline will return to her body. You'll be able to kiss her all you want then," He reassured himself.

It did not take long for Astor to gain the werewolf's trust, and the familiar was rather excited to get into this new body. Despite being turned into a direwolf, Madeline was still physically weaker than most werewolves; she would have to train herself to reach her full abilities. This rogue, however, must've been lifting weights for years, judging by the size of his arms. Astor could not wait to test out his strength.

The bright light emerged once more as the possession began. Matthew closed his eyes, not wanting to be blinded like the previous time.

When he opened them again, the werewolf stood in front of him, carrying an unconscious girl.

"Here's your mate, thank you for letting me use her body- Oh, that sounded weird. Thank you for letting me get inside of her? That was probably worse-"

Matthew took her in his arms, narrowing his eyes at the familiar. "Leave. And I better not see you again."

"How rude, I went through all that pain for her first shift and this is how you treat me?" He huffed dramatically. The direwolf only rolled his eyes.

"Enjoy your life as a werewolf, or whatever you possess next." He turned to walk away.

"Wait, before we part ways..." Astor stepped in front of him to block his path. "Are you sure this isn't the part where we kiss?"

"... If you don't get lost right now, I will lock you back up in this prison."

——————————

While walking back home, Matthew could hardly calm his excitement; his mate was now a wolf. She would feel the bond between them, the sparks that ignited whenever they would touch, and so much more. His mind was racing with thoughts, wondering how she would react to her new life.

However, his mood instantly fell when he entered his house. His eyes scanned the entrance in disbelief. The curtains were ripped, the flower vases were smashed, and pieces of shredded toilet paper were scattered all around the floor. "What the hell happened in here?"

He turned his attention to the coffee table, grumbling at the sight of the creature sitting on top, casually grooming himself.

That damn cat.