Free Web NovelChapter 156: Watching Princess Shift (2)
I moved away a few steps, giving her space, and crouched down on the log as I watched Princess begin her transformation. The silence of the woods was gone, replaced by the heavy, rhythmic sound of her bones cracking one after another. With every sharp snap, she let out a low, guttural groan that vibrated in the air between us.
"So this is the pain you wanted me to feel, huh? Ahhh..." she gasped out. Her body jerked as another crack echoed through the clearing.
I watched her, leaning back slightly and taking a slow sip of my Sprite. I tried to look relaxed, though seeing her like that wasn’t easy. "It’s nothing. I’m used to the pain by now. Back home, I just let my body morph into my wolf freely. I don’t fight it. If you and the rest hadn’t been taking those drugs to numb the process for years, you all would have gotten used to it too."
"I told you I don’t take Leo’s drugs," she grunted, her voice straining as she fell to her knees and then to the ground. She was gripping the grass so hard her knuckles were white. "Alphas like us... we can’t take it. It’s different."
"Why?" I asked, tilting my head. "I see everyone in Oakland take it. They use it for a boost or whatever fancy name you guys call it." ƒгeewebnovёl.com
"Leo said it’s not meant for us," she managed to say through gritted teeth. "Ahhh..."
I watched her skin ripple as the change pushed harder. "So how do you usually shift without feeling all this? Because right now, you’re screaming like this is your very first time ever shifting."
"When I don’t take my regular meds a week to the full moon, I usually don’t feel anything at all. My emotions just... they shut off. I go cold. That’s how I’ve been getting through every full moon since I was 10," she explained, her voice breaking into a pained grunt.
I frowned, thinking back. "But that other day... the time you didn’t come to school for three days. I visited you at the club because I was worried. Your ashtray was piled high with cigarettes and you were just..... You were still smoking, but you were completely numb. You didn’t even notice I was there at first..."
I remembered that Friday night so clearly. She had looked like a ghost of herself. I had to wrap my arms around her, hugging her as tight as I could just to bring her back to reality.
"Oh, that..." she whispered, her eyes beginning to glaze over. "I went into that state on my own, and the medicine I usually take wasn’t working. I was trying so hard not to feel anything. My best friend... said things that really hurt me that.... so I..."
She couldn’t say anything more. Her eyes suddenly flared, glowing with a bright, predatory light, and she began to scream nonstop. The sound was raw and pierced through the quiet forest.
Despite myself, I couldn’t help but pity her. Seeing her twisted in pain, her body fighting itself to change form, made my heart ache. I wished there was something I could do to help her, to take the edge off, but I knew the truth. Shifting was a solo journey. No one could help you through it.
I stayed silent as the final transformation took hold. I watched as Princess morphed completely into her Alpha wolf form. In front of me, the human girl was gone, replaced by a massive black wolf. She was about 5 feet in length, powerful and sleek. She was significantly bigger than my wolf form could ever be. They always say that the stronger the wolf gets, the bigger and more imposing the physical form becomes.
Their Alpha forms were always designed to be intimidating, meant to lead and to strike fear into enemies. But as she stood there, huffing in the moonlight, Princess didn’t look like a monster to me. All she did was trot over and lick my face with her big, rough wolf tongue. Her intense blue eyes weren’t scary or cold; they were warm and full of love.
She spent the next few hours running in wide, fast circles around the clearing, burning off the excess energy of the shift. Every few minutes, she would come back to check on me, nudging me with her wet nose. Eventually, the exhaustion of the night caught up to me. I ended up lying down against her thick, warm fur, using her side as a pillow. I closed my eyes, waiting for the moon to set so we could finally go to that restaurant she had promised me.
The sound of morning birds chirping in the trees above us slowly woke me up. The air was misty and damp with dew. When I opened my eyes, I realized I was still lying on Princess. The wolf was gone. She was back in her human form, lying on the grass and sound asleep.
I stayed still for a moment, just watching her sleep peacefully. The harshness of the night was gone, and her face looked soft and calm. I’m not going to lie; she was really beautiful. In the early morning light, she looked like someone who had never known a day of worry in her life.
I leaned in and kissed her lips softly, then rested my head back down on her chest, listening to the steady beat of her heart. I had every intention of letting her sleep a bit longer, but then my stomach growled. I remembered the promise. She had promised to take me out to eat, and my cravings were already starting to kick in.
I began to poke her cheeks. I did it repeatedly, again and again, my finger sinking into her soft skin until she finally reached up and caught my hand in mid-air.
Her eyes were still closed, her lashes casting long shadows on her cheeks.
"Do you want something, Cotton?" she asked in a thick, sleepy voice.
"Restaurant. Food. Get up," I whispered right into her ear.
"Should we just order it and have them bring it to us?" she suggested, her grip on my hand tightening slightly as she tried to pull me back down to sleep.
"We’re in the middle of nowhere, Pancake. We’re in the deep woods. How exactly are they going to find us?" I said, unimpressed.
"GPS... location... they’ll figure it out. Don’t you just want to sleep a little more?"
"No. I’m hungry right now. Let’s go," I said. I started shaking her shoulder slightly, giving her a bit of a tantrum to show I was serious.
"Okay, okay... just give me 2 more minutes..." she groaned, burying her face in her arm.
When Princess finally opened her eyes for real, she saw me sitting stiffly beside the campfire. The logs had long since burned out, leaving nothing but grey ash. I didn’t say a word. I was genuinely annoyed with her. Why did she think it was okay to make me wait more than sixty seconds when I said I was hungry?
She didn’t need me to speak. My face already told her everything she needed to know. She sighed, sat up, and reached for her pile of clothes. She started putting them on with a resigned look.
"Okay, fine. Let’s go to the restaurant," she said, standing up and brushing the grass off her legs.
"I’m not hungry anymore," I snapped, crossing my arms.
She stopped mid-motion, looking at me like I was crazy. "What? You just spent five minutes poking me because you said you were hungry."
"I was waking you up, and you just kept sleeping. What if it was a life-or-death situation? What if bandits were coming? Would you still be sleeping then?"
"Come on, Cotton. I spent almost all night awake watching you sleep while I was in wolf form. I only fell asleep not long ago, and then you started poking my face," she said, her voice sounding a bit hurt.
And just like that, I felt a wave of guilt wash over me. She was right. She had stayed up to protect me while I rested. I stood up, feeling my heart soften.
"You should have said that earlier," I muttered. "But also, you still have to give me what I want today. I told you I don’t want to hear the word no anymore."
"Well, that’s a completely different thing," she said, a small smirk returning to her lips.
"Whatever. From now on, when I need something, you get it for me. No questions asked. That’s the rule."
"Okay, Roger that. I’ll do whatever my girlfriend tells me to do. Even if I’m sleeping, even if I’m sick, or even if it’s a life-and-death situation, I’ll always say yes to Faye Grande," she said. It sounded like a cute, solemn oath.
My face brightened instantly hearing her say that. I couldn’t stay mad at her when she was being this dramatic.
"Okay then," I said, a mischievous idea popping into my head. "Now remove your clothes."
She froze, looking down at herself. "But I just put them on... Ohhh... yes, ma’am..." she sighed, reaching for her top with a laugh.
