Chapter 20
Chapter 20
Clupter 20
Kla
My body feels like a bag of broken bones. The pain that slithers along my every nerve is excruciating. The sweat from dribbles down from everywhere on my body. As I look around, I have a slight dizzying sensation, like I might throw up or pass on—or both.
I don’t move, I stand still–again.
“You need to take a lap around the entire perimeter. “Elisha says to me.
As she says, the pain that cuts at me is slow to subside. This is normal as it took me some time to relax in my new form. I don’t think I’ve stayed in my wolf form for longer than five minutes ever
“Come on!” she cheers, clapping her hand.
I take a deep breath and start moving. My insides clench with pain with each movement I make. But I try not to stop and freeze. I’ve done this before, just yesterday I’ve mastered running–something I never thought would happen to me so fast. But I need to keep doing it again and again. Until I can do it without feeling immense pain, until I’m no longer terrified of my own form.
I look ahead at the distance and then start on the path. As soon as my paws hits the ground, the thudding vibration from each step, jolts upward and pangs all throughout my legs and body but I keep going. Slowly, and steadily. But going.
The other wolves, she–wolves, are so much faster. There are four of them here today, at this time of the day. The skies are still dark but the sun’s rising fast, pushing away the night shadows.
I quicken my pace and try not to think too much. It’s half the lap done, only one half to go. My breathing is rasped. My chest aches and burns with it. Everything aches. Fuck, everything.
I finish the lap and return to Elisha who’s instructing other girls for now. Once she is done, she comes to me.
“You should shift back.” Elisha’s voice speaks in my head. I glance up at her and blink away, closing my eyes to do that. Shifting back.
Everything’s fine again, now that I’m back in my own skin.
*Now, shift again”
“Again” My heart drops through the floor.
Elisha looks at me and nods, “You need to do it without any pain and quicker. Doing it repeatedly without pain is the goal here. The rest comes later.”
“Okay.”
I sigh and lay down, closing my eyes and going for another round of shifting. Back to being the wolf. I stay that way for a while, and then I shift again and I continue doing so for a while.
The pain doesn’t really disappear or stop from being. It’s like its permanently a part of me.
Like every step I take is painful and forever will be. As if I’m constantly stretching muscles and ligaments, exposing nerves and making them irritable.
But the more I do, the more it stops bothering me. The less I focus on the hurt, the better it becomes.
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23:02 Fri, 11 Apr OA ·
Chapter 20
Once I’ve finished. Tala
go back inside the pack house. Ir nine in the morning now and the
Kircher’s packed 1 head straight in there and ston with arranging the breakfast with Rachel
I tell her some of the things I’ve done in the training grinds and she’s excited to hear it
“I don’t know how you can pull it off: Rachel schispers. “Twonldn’t be able to expecially with all the work that I get to do. here. It’s impossible for me to train and do all of this Aren’t you exhmisted”
cat
I scratch the back of my neck and glaner back at the door before at her “Yeah, but I don’t mind. It feels good. It feels like something nice
“Yeah, because you’ve always dreamed of becoming a warrior.”
Yeah
“Though, you won’t ever be You know that, right?” She paises and gives me a concerned look, to see if Im just dreaming about all of this or not. She needn’t have batherrit
“Yes, of course, I know that Runts can’t be warriors”
She nods and turns her attention back to plating. I step back away from her and take the other door that leads into the back of the kitchen. When I’m there, 1 st for a moment to catch my breath which is still racing. I feel so drained, but I don’t want to complain about it. My goal is clear, I know what I’m trying to accomplish, at least I hope so. I don’t know where this dream, obsession, will end up going, but I hope I can go all the way and if not, that’s also fine.
Ding
A ring resounds out, calling all of the staff that’s in the kitchen today. I quickly stand up and head back in there. Everyone gathers around as Ethel stands before us. This usually happens when there’s a discussion to be had about any event–usually a gathering or something
“On the 18th of December there will be the first annual mating event for the pack. It will be held in the grand hall- preparations still need to be made. The head count isn’t exact but we intend on expecting nearly two thousand guests. Further information will come in tomorrow from the Alpha and I’ll pass it on then. But for now, this will be our main focus.”
15 December
It was a week and half away. It was too quick, too quick to arrange such an event.
I’ll need everyone to clear up their schedules this week and get on work with this event. It will be far bigger than the last one we had and it will be happening soon.”
Once she finishes, she’s out the door and everyone resume on their duties. We never had such a thing before.
What was an mating event anyway? It sounded horrible.
But I didn’t think of that now. I’d ask Ethel later what was it all about, once she was free and she wasn’t running around telling the entire staff of the pack house about this
Toward the afternoon I am completely gone. I take some painkillers to ease off the ache from the training. It mostly helps but all throughout the day the pain feels like my limbs are slowly coming alive, pulsating after a really long sleep, twitching and tingling. I don’t know how long I can take it all at once.
But I hope it gets easier.
Which it will.
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23:02 Fri, 11 Apr A.
Chapter 20
When I catch Ethel, I quickly question her about the event. “What’s an mating event?” I whisper.
Ethel’s appears a little frightened as I catch her. Her gaze moves away from the folder in her hands and turns to me. “It’s an event where eligible males and females gather and well–you know–choose. Our neighbouring packs are doing the same thing every year. I think the Alpha got inspired to do one his own for the first time ever
“So it’s just an gathering of sorts?”
“Yes” she nods. “But it’s only exclusive to ummated females and males. Think of it as a more elegant, polished and large–scale version of a dating mixer but only for the elite wolves in society, because not anyone’s invited. The rules are stricter and all, they have to be followed”
“To end mating scarcity amongst the elite. Right? 1 mitter muder my breath.
“Yeah. Which makes sense, doesn’t it Ethel sighs with relief and slips away. “I thinks it’s going to be something”
“So, would it be more around fated mates or just generally taking up with anyone?”
“I would say most. Like I said in the kitchen, the details haven’t been sent out yet. I’m waiting for more information from the Alpha This all is in planning”
“Oh okay
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