The first thing that came to my senses was hushed voices.

"She's stirring."

Next came my feeling. The itchiness of the ground irritated my skin.

Grass. It was grass.

My brain felt fuzzy, but I could smell the flowers and the trees surrounding me. Next came the smell of sweat and the metallic hint of blood. My nose twitched in disgust, but soon the most delicious smell overwhelmed me and the fog lifted.

What was that?

It smelt musky, yet ...peppery almost.

Something whimpered in my mind that had me freeze from trying to stir my body. Ok...Now, what was that?

'Hello, Nova.' It whispered.

What...who... I couldn't think straight. There was a feminine voice in my brain again, and it wasn't mine. This time, it articulated.

'I'll start with the basics.' It cooed. 'You have shifted, and I am your wolf.'

I gasped. Sh-shifted? I thought I couldn't-

'That is for another time. I have been awakened because we have found our mate.'

Mate?

'Yes, the Alpha.'

Alpha Pheonix?

'Yes, he is your mate.'

A hand on my side had me jolting upright. I wobbly landed on four paws with a growl. A growl?! Wait- FOUR LEGS? WHA-

Oh, wait, wolf. Right, got it.

I shook my body, my wolf joining me in mind to help me get my bearings. So I was on four legs, and I was smaller than normal. My usual 5'3 height had dropped to only 4 feet tall. Glancing down at my fe-paws, I saw black fur coating my ankles. Flexing my toes, I found sharp claws covered by fluffy, soft fur.

My eyes widened, and I looked up to find worried glances from a group of people. I landed on Steven first, who had his arms crossed with a smile on his face.

"Nova, you've shifted." He stated.

I almost snorted at his comment but shook my wolf's head instead.

'Can you hear me, Nova?' His voice came from inside my head.

I panicked, realising I did not know how to block people out. My heart raced and I stepped backwards in alarm. This wasn't right, this was a dream... I was a non-shifter...

I was becoming overwhelmed and felt the panic settle in.

'Build a wall Nova, wrap your mind in comfort and only you have the key.' He spoke.

I calmed my mind for a moment and closed my eyes with a deep inhale. I envisioned a warm, fluffy blanket securing me, keeping me snug and safe. Hearing my wolf snort, I threw in a chain and padlock too, just to spite her.

Her attention, however, was demanding me to look elsewhere. My eyes opened and immediately fell upon a six-foot-something towering shadow with glimmering hazel eyes. My world seemed to fade away, and all I heard was the rapid beating of my heart and the blood rushing through my ears. I felt like I was looking at him for the first time.

I watched as his pupils dilated until they were nothing but an abyss. I felt myself falling into it, his smell pulling me into the deep end, unforgiving yet gentle in its caress. It closed around me and filled my head with mush. My heart raced, and my mouth was as dry as a scorching desert.

All too soon I blinked away the feeling, and the worry settled in. It was too much, so too much. I've shifted because I've found my mate, who is a King's Alpha. I nearly got killed this morning for dropping a goddamn coffee, but now I understand why I was so startled, why it didn't settle in. The brush of his fingers ignited something feral and until I shifted, I could not see it; that he was mine.

My wolf purred.

No. No. I couldn't do this.

I had to get away; I had to run.

With a yelp, I bolted, stumbling slightly as I learnt to move on four legs. I heard them all gasp and shout behind me, but I didn't care. I soon gained my balance and made myself pick up speed. I ran and ran, not knowing where I was going. All I knew was I just had to go.

I eventually stumbled to a stop by a lake. I knew I was still in pack land as I could sense the borders pull.

I collapsed by the small lake's edge, tongue lapping at the water in desperation. Deciding it wasn't good enough, I slowly slid myself in, trying to calm the aching of my muscles.

Shifting was horrendous, and the thought of it did not make me want to change back in fear of the same fate. Every piece of me was aching, and the distance I had instinctively run did not help the situation.

I sloshed around for a few more minutes before deciding to climb back out. Exhausted. Standing on the edge, I shook out my fur and glanced down at my reflection. I immediately was startled by what I saw. My enormous wolf's head stared back at me, her eyes also green like mine.

But not only was the shock of being a wolf overwhelming. The fact I was pure black made me question my heritage. Only high-rank wolves had the pleasure of being pure black. Even Steven was not pure black; he was a deep brown. But every fur on my body appeared black.

Where had I come from?

Why did I shift so late?

And why was it Phoenix's fault that I did?

So many questions.

'We will find out answers eventually, Nova. I can feel it.'

I hope so. I sighed.

I let out a wolfy sigh as I rested my head on my paws, allowing my mind to empty of all thoughts. I concentrated on the birds in the trees and the animals scurrying across the forest floor. It was serene.

The new senses had overwhelmed me at first, but now I felt in control of myself. The tail was something new, but it would come to me.

A huff of breath and snapping twigs caused my ear to twitch behind me. The sound of paws trotting across the earth had me slowly stand to a crouch, hackles raised.

A low grumble left my lips just before the wolf entered the clearing. It was him; as a large black furry wolf like me, only a couple of heads higher. My wolf immediately pulled forwards out of my control, dropping her stance and begging me to approach. Unsure of whether I should, I allowed her to lead me. Trusting her instinct.

The closer we got, the giddier my wolf felt. I could feel my tail wagging slowly as we approached him. She tipped her nose up and flattened her ears as we approached his muzzle. He even smelt great as a wolf, which was totally unfair.

Licking under his snout, he let out a low grumble, keeping his eyes on me. He rubbed his jaw down my neck before stepping away. I watched him warily, but he merely jerked his head in the direction he came from. I huffed in defeat, but nodded my wolf's head and trailed behind him.

I tired as we got closer to the training grounds and slacked behind him. The energy I gained from seeing him had long gone, and I felt like I had not slept for days. He turned around in wonder as I slowed to a walk, dragging my paws as I went.

Before my eyes, he transformed into his normal self, and I quickly averted my eyes. "Come, you can't rest here."

I huffed and continued to drag myself towards the open air nearly on my belly. I just wanted to lie right here.

He growled and ran away from me, which caused me to falter my snail's pace and tilt my head in confusion. Before I could react, he reappeared and a t-shirt was placed on my snout.

I looked up to see him standing in nothing but cotton shorts, arms folded as he studied me. "Change and I can carry you."

I didn't want to get so close, not knowing this man's intention or capabilities had me questioning my moves. Mate or not. Mates seemed so suffocating, even if he smelled and look like a god...

However, I was dog tired and agreed, gesturing for him to turn around. He stayed put, and I growled at him, not wanting him to see the tattered skin I so belonged to. He growled back just as harshly, a warning to hurry, but turned around, anyway.

Whining I willed my shift forwards, it didn't hurt as much as the first time but sharp pains still shot through my spine and ribs. I gasped for breath on my knees and reached out for the t-shirt as pins and needles took over. My skin was damp and muddy and I felt brittle. My hair was matted and tangled and stuck to my skin. I clasped the shirt in my hand as I fought back the urge to vomit.

As I was about to sit up, a growl startled me. "What is this?"

My eyes widened as he approached and I quickly fumbled to pull on the large white t-shirt but the pain restricted me. "W-w-wha-"

"Don't." His nostrils flared as he stood mere inches away from me, the shirt grasped in his hand, too.

My wolf almost drooled, but I held my ground in panic. I used my arms to cover myself and stood as bare and grimy as the day I was born.

"Alph-"

"I told you to call me Phoenix." He grumbled, closing his eyes for a moment. "Now, what are these?"

I yelped when he grabbed my arm, my other hand flying to cover what dignity I had left down below. Which was none. My breasts were the only thing I couldn't cover, but my long-length hair helped there.

However, he didn't seem to care about my nudity. His eyes never focused on any body part. They didn't cloud over like other men did when I used to run and get sweaty. How they hounded me and taunted me with their words and eyes.

No, his eyes were focused on the discolouration and cuts that adorned my skin. More directly at the fresher ones from yesterday.

"Nova..."

I whimpered as my name left his lips. "Y-yes?"

"Who?" He whispered.

I dropped my head in defeat. "Too many."

He growled and dropped my arm, his hard eyes locking onto my face next. I flinched when his fingers pushed my hair away, his other hand tilting up my chin. I watched him study my face, clearly displeased with what he saw. His finger touched the tender bruise on my eye, which caused me to wince, and a small whisper of pain left my lips. I forgot my make-up would've completely washed away in the lake.

I was hideous. I could tell by the look he gave me.

I whimpered. "P-please-"

I didn't get to finish as he pulled the top over my head. In the sudden movement, I struggled to get my arms through and only just managed before he swiftly scooped me up bridal style. He walked the last few hundred yards to the packhouse without another word. We walked straight past the training grounds where people no longer stood and it was then I realised the sun was setting. How long had I been running?

As he marched into the packhouse, I couldn't help but stare at his skin. It was tanned and smooth with little scars. Broad shoulders held me easily and the Alpha mark stood proudly on his upper chest, placed upon the left like every Alpha. Except he held the royal crest. I was about to request to go to my room, but he was already on his way down the corridor.

I did not know how the Alpha knew where my room was, but once we were inside, I came to realise it was my scent. My stronger senses had made me realise that. I also noted that when inside, he took up most of the open space with how broad he was. And finally, I realised that someone had trashed my room. Annihilated in fact.

I dropped myself from Phoenix's arms immediately and looked around in shock as my body shook. They threw my bed to the side; its sheets and the mattress were torn with claw marks. The metal frame thankfully survived its torment, but nothing else did. My desk was next, the wood smashed on one side and my stationery had been snapped and discarded across my room. All my paper was everywhere, which upset me the most because my art corner was everything; it was me.

Tears pooled in my eyes as I wandered over to pick up one of my drawings from the remains of the desk. It was the last wolf picture in the forest, crumpled and torn. I then noticed that it was sitting on top of something bumpy and dirty on the desk, so I brushed sawdust away to see the word USELESS carved into the wood.

Why...Why me?

'You are not useless.' My wolf was a comfort.

I sniffled and fought myself not to sob. I knew who had done this since with my new wolf's senses; it wasn't hard to misplace her scent of vanilla. It was uncanny.

Clutching the remains of my art folder to my chest, I turned and sadly glanced at my bed. Blinking through the silent tears, I put down my folder and grabbed the side of my bed. Attempting to flip it over was hard, but soon a tanned arm came past my head and effortlessly tipped it back onto its legs. I had jumped at his proximity, which earned me a low grumble from him.

The creaking of metal had me wince, my new hearing not quite adjusting to its surroundings. I let out a sad sigh before grabbing my mattress and pulling it onto my bed.

I just wanted to sit and mope, to be honest. So I did just that, staring at my artwork lying around my room in pieces. I wasn't sitting for long before I noticed his presence still in my room.

Phoenix cleared his throat, and I looked up at him, wiping tears from my face. "Alph-"

"Why would they do this?" His fists were clenched and shaking by his sides.

I dropped my gaze and shrugged, not finding the energy in my voice.

"There have been three females in here. Are they the ones that hurt you?" He asked, his voice cool and collected.

I wiped my cheek and nodded my head reluctantly. "S-some."

He snarled, which made me jump in fear and my heart rate skyrocket. If my so-called mate was this temperamental, I was pretty sure I was going to go into cardiac arrest by the time I left the house.

"You are coming with me." He snapped.

Before I could protest, I was quickly scooped up in his arms again. "H-hey!"

His black wolf's eyes glowered down at me and made me shudder and bare my neck to him. He grumbled again but looked away, so I relaxed as much as I could. I fought against the urge to press my face against his warm bare chest. In the end, I crossed my arms over myself to keep my dignity and just allowed his wolf to do whatever his wolf was feeling right now. But it secretly terrified me.

***********

wc:2593

© ALL RIGHTS RESERVED 2021 © XDeafening_SilenceX