SHIFTING AT LAST

VALERIE Growl after growl emanate from my chest, each more vicious than the previous. For the first time in my fifteen and a half years of life, I feel her and she wants to be let out. She wants to be free and I'm beyond ready to oblige. A shot of pain runs through my body, starting from my spine and extending out. My chest starts hurting and it only increases the suffering I feel. It feels like my ribcage is about to explode out into pieces. The agony pulls me to my knees and I slouch in on myself. It is unbearable. I feel like I am being torn apart from the inside. I close my eyes, wanting the pain to go away but instead it just seems to increase. I hear the sounds of ripping and quickly realise it is my own clothes. My skin begins to burn. It grows so hot such that I feel like I will be burnt alive by it. My heart is pounding brutally in my chest, almost like it wants to break through it. The growls aren't stopping either. I open my eyes, searching for someone who can help me. Everyone is staring at me in shock and horror and it only makes me more worried. Suddenly, I feel my muscles tear apart and I see pieces of denim and white cotton fly out in all directions from me. They look like what used to be my jeans and shirt. The blood in my veins grow hot and fast, gushing through my body. I've fallen onto all fours and I look to see my palms growing into paws...large paws. I close my eyes again and grit my teeth from the pain still growing inside me. I can feel that my teeth have elongated and sharpened, and my throat feels dry. I can't even scream through the pain since it's too much. My breathing is too heavy and sharp. Every breath I take is followed by a malicious growl. I know I am finally shifting, but I just want all the pain to go away. It is all too much for me to bear because I feel like I am dying! Suddenly the pain decreases and fur sprouts over my skin. I take in a huge gulp of breath and try to stand up, but I fall onto all fours again. Gasps fill the room and I quickly open my eyes. I understand that my vision is now clearer than it has ever been. I realise that I am finally in my wolf form! I shake my head, trying to clear away the memory of the pain and howl loudly in joy, looking up. The pain has completely disappeared and I now feel extremely strong. I scan the area, looking for one person in particular, and I notice that all the wolves near me are backing away slowly. They all seem scared of me and I don't understand it. When my gaze finds whoever that I'm looking for, I let out a thunderous growl and it rumbles powerfully in my chest. He looks at me in shock, but does nothing. I lunge at him with full force, taking him unprepared, and throw him to his back with my paws pinning his chest. I let another growl escape my chest and narrow my eyes at him. Archie is too shocked to react. He stays under me without moving or trying to get free, just looking up at me with that same shocked expression. I dig my claws into his chest and he cries out loudly in pain, snapping out of his shock. He pushes me powerfully away from him and I fall onto my side a few feet back. I quickly get back onto my paws, but he has already shifted into his brown wolf while was down. I look around the room and notice that many of the rogues have shifted into their wolves as well, and Oscar shifts quickly into his brown wolf. I leap for Archie yet again, aiming for his neck with my sharp teeth for the killing blow. He tries to push my wolf away, but Oscar's brown wolf shoves him over backwards. Oscar nods his large wolf head at me then he's caught off guard as a grey wolf suddenly jumps on his back, trying to claw at it. I know Oscar can handle the wolf, so I turn back to Archie. Looking at him, I feel the strong urge to see every drop of his blood spill pulse through my very being. I want to crush and kill him. I look around the room to find that Evie has shifted and she's already fighting another wolf. Archie growls loudly and I look quickly back at him. He looks hurt, but I don't care, I want him dead! I bash my head into his body and throw him onto the wall behind him, where I'm sure he's cornered. I sink my teeth into his stomach and he lets out a loud yelp of pain. The metallic taste of his blood slips past my sharp teeth and runs along my tongue. I spit the blood and flesh from my mouth, and then go for his leg with a snarl. He kicks me in the eyes before I can bite him again, distracting me and quickly sink his teeth into my neck. Before Archie can bite any deeper and do much damage, I quickly whirl around with him beneath me. I sink my teeth as deep as possible into his front leg, and he lets out a loud howl of agony. A wolf tries to come to Archie's rescue, but Oscar's brown wolf blocks him and keeps him from getting to Archie and me. Archie tries to stand but his legs shake under him and he falls to the floor again. He is already weak. I look at him with emotionless eyes and feel no pity for him. A deep growl erupts from my chest. I want him to get up and keep fighting me. He is weak now and there is fear in his eyes. I don't want to see fear. His fear isn't making the fight as exhilarating as I want it to be. It isn't making the fight worth it! I keep him pinned to the floor with my front paws on his stomach. I bite deep into the flesh of his neck and begin chewing on it. The blood tastes of fear and I like it. I spit the flesh from my mouth and look down at Archie. His body is lifeless and he has returned to his human form. His eyes gaze ahead at nothing and they're glazed over. He's already dead, but my wolf isn't satisfied. I let out a loud howl before biting and clawing his body apart, spreading blood and flesh everywhere. I can feel that my wolf is in complete control now. She rips and tears into his body with vengeance. My wolf looks around her, looking at all the blood that covers the floor and walls and lets out a loud howl of satisfaction before going back to tearing Archie's body apart. My wolf looks away when nothing remains of Archie and she turns to look at everyone in the room. Everyone but Zelia has now shifted into their wolf form. Her lifeless body lies on the floor still in human form. I look quickly at Oscar as the wolf under him lets out a howl of pain. He sinks his teeth deep into the other wolf's neck and tears its throat out. It falls to the floor lifeless and shifts back to human form a moment later, showing he's dead. I hear another wolf cry out in pain and I turn to see Evie's black wolf with a grey wolf biting deep into her hind legs. I leap at the grey wolf and chomp down on its tail so hard such that it breaks into half, and it releases its hold on Evie. It turns to face me and I go for its neck next, quickly tearing its throat out and killing it instantly! I spin around at the sound of barks and growls and look through the open window to outside. A large group of wolves is running into the woods away from the house in fear, and the 'dangerous man' is riding on the back of one of the wolves in human form. I want to kill them all therefore I start running after them, but I come to a sudden halt when I see my reflection in the glass of a window I've passed past. All my life I've wanted to be like them, a wolf, but when I am finally a wolf, I'm still different! 'White wolf,' I can hear Zelia telling me that in my subconscious. I study my reflection carefully in the window. My wolf eyes are red and my nose is a deep black. There is blood all over my fur that isn't mine. It is the only other color on my entire body. The rest of my body is snow white. I am completely white! I am a white wolf, the only one; created by the Moon Goddess herself! 'Why me?' That is the first question that enters my mind. I can't look at my reflection any longer. I jump through the window and race after the cowards that are now running away. As I begin to chase after them, the 'dangerous man' turns and looks back at me with a startled expression. I am really close now. Suddenly, one of the wolves come to a halt, then turn and lunge at me. I realise he is sent back as a distraction so I can't keep following the others. That really ticks me off and my wolf is completely pissed. I want that 'dangerous man' and this wolf is getting in the way. He stands not far from me, just staring at me as the other wolf blocks my path. Oscar had blamed him too. He is one of the bad wolves, most definitely a ruthless rogue! The look he gives me is full of pure disgust. It is a look I know I'll never forget. My wolf and I want to kill him now more than ever, and I don't know why. The wolf in front of me lunges at me. He is asking for my attention, and I give it to him, with interest. After I'm done ripping the interrupting wolf into pieces, I can still feel the anger pulsing through my whole body. I want the ones that have gotten away so I take a few steps towards the direction they headed to, seeing that they completely disappeared when was being distracted by one of them. I sniff the ground and search for any hints to where they have gone, but I can't get any trace. I let out a growl of anger and slam my head onto the trunk of the tree beside me. The tree falls to the ground with a thunderous bang, but I am still angry. I want them dead...I want all of them dead. I want to crush every single wolf that was in that room laughing and howling into pieces. My anger won't be satisfied until I accomplish that mission!