Chapter 4. 18

Emma’s POV

‘Good morning, Emma.’

I turned toward the door to greet my brother, but nobody was standing there. I was alone. But whose voice was that?

‘It’s me, silly. Your wolf.’

I flinched. Of course, it was my birthday. I got my wolf today. It was weird, though, to hear a voice inside my head.

‘You’ll get used to it,’ the voice said.

‘It will take some time,’ I responded.

‘We have all the time in the world,’ my wolf said.

‘What’s your name?’ I asked her.

‘Eliza.’

‘I like it,’ I told her.

‘I know you do, Emma. Now, get up and go spend the day with your brother. Asher has already sensed my presence, and he can’t wait to meet me,’ she said.

I got up, excited and full of energy. I couldn’t wait to see Eliza.

I brushed my teeth, showered, and put on sweats and a hoodie—perfect for a lazy birthday day with my brother.

When I came downstairs, Andrew had already made pancakes. It was our traditional birthday breakfast.

“Happy birthday, Emma!” he yelled and gave me a big hug. “Asher sensed Eliza. He’s so excited to finally meet his sister.”

“She can’t wait to meet him, too,” I said, giving him a big smile.

I adored Asher. He was the best wolf there was.

“Come on, let’s eat,” he said, pulling me to the table.

After we were full, we went to the living room to start our first movie of the day. We always watched the Avengers series. Humans did a great job on those movies.

At around 1 p.m., Andrew and I went to the kitchen to start making lunch. On my birthday, we always had my favorite meal—lasagna. On his birthday, we had his favorite meal—pizza.

I started making the lasagna while Andrew sat at the kitchen table.

“Maybe you’ll find your mate soon,” he said.

“Maybe,” I said, not looking up at him.

I didn’t like talking to him about this. He was my brother, and talking about mating was weird. And I didn’t want to leave him. Ever. It would be really hard for me to leave with my mate.

“Maybe it will be Jacob,” he said.

I looked up at him. “Would you be okay with that?”

“Yes,” he said with a shrug. “He’s one of our best warriors, so I know you’d be safe with him. And I know you already like him. It would be easier for you to go with him.”

I walked over and sat beside him. “It won’t be easy for me to leave, no matter who my mate is. You’re my family. I don’t want to leave you.”

“I know, Em,” he said, smiling. “I don’t want you to leave either. But if you find your mate, you will. And we’ll be okay.”

“Maybe I won’t find him,” I said, getting back up. “You never did.”

“Yes,” he nodded. “But I have a pretty good feeling you will. And it will be Jacob.”

I smiled and rolled my eyes. “We’ll see.”

He got up and helped me finish our lunch. After we ate, we went back to the living room to watch another movie.

At around 7 p.m., Andrew told me to go and get ready. We had to walk for about 20 minutes to reach the shifting site in the forest.

It was a small clearing in the middle of the forest where all wolves went for their first shift. It was special because it was the only place in the forest where the moon could shine on you completely. Our forest was so thick that the moon barely shone through the trees. The clearing was the only place it shone freely.

I put on my white dress, chosen especially for this night. It was tradition to wear white on the night of our first shift. I put on my shoes and went back downstairs.

Andrew was waiting for me at the door. He handed me my jacket, and we left the house.

My heart was pounding in my chest. Andrew probably heard it because he grabbed my hand and pulled me closer to him.

“Don’t be scared, Emma,” he said quietly. “It will be amazing. And I’ll be there for you.”

“Thank you,” I said. “I love you.”

“I love you too, little one,” he said, giving me a side hug.

After about 20 minutes, we arrived at the clearing. My friends and Luna Gloria were already there, waiting for us.

Luna approached me first. “Happy birthday, sweetie. I can’t wait to meet your wolf.”

“Thank you, Aunt Gloria. She’s excited to meet you, too,” I said with a big smile.

Amy and Jacob came toward me with big smiles on their faces.

“Happy birthday, Emmy,” Amy said, giving me a tight hug.

“Happy birthday, Emma,” Jake said and kissed my cheek. “Now, let’s meet your wolf. It’s cold, and I don’t want you to get sick.”

He was right. It was December, and the only thing I was wearing was a dress. I did have a jacket, but it wasn’t keeping me warm. The only reason I wasn’t shivering was excitement.

“He’s right, Emma,” Andrew said. “Give me your jacket and stand in the middle of the clearing.”

I did what he said and stood in the middle of the clearing. They all gave me an encouraging smile and turned around to give me some privacy to remove my clothes.

I carefully removed my dress, underwear, and shoes and folded them neatly into a pile. I stood back up and looked at the moon.

‘Are you ready, Emma?’ my wolf asked.

‘I am,’ I responded. ‘How do I do this?’

‘Just let go. It will hurt but don’t fight it. It will be over soon. Let go and give me control,’ she said.

I did what she said. I took a deep breath and let her take control of our mind and body. I started to feel my bones break. I let out a little scream and fell to my knees.

“That’s right, Em,” I heard my brother’s voice. “It will be okay. Just let go.”

The pain was unbearable. It was like breaking all of my bones at the same time.

I fought the urge to throw up and focused on letting go of my control.