Cursed (4 page)

As
much as I wanted to close my eyes and rest I couldn’t. My mind was racing and I
couldn’t shut it off. I got tired of lying in bed, and looking at the ceiling,
so I got up and started to pace. Waiting was driving me insane. I didn’t want
to wait anymore.

The
door opened catching my attention. “I can hear you pacing. You have been at it
for a while. I thought I told you to rest,” Drake said amused as he walked in
the room.

I
sighed and sat down on the bed. “I just want this over with so I can get
Cornelius better.”

“Well
it is almost sundown. Soon we will walk to the pack meeting place. Hopefully
shifting will go easy for you. Once the transition is complete you should be as
strong as you hoped,” he said watching me. His tone went from light and amused
to somber.

I
could tell something was bothering him. “You don’t sound very enthusiastic,” I
said softly as I stood and walked over to him.

He
looked at me for a minute. His expression was dark, and hard to read. It wasn’t
unusual for Drake to hide his feelings. Most of the time it was impossible for
me to tell what he was thinking. “Normally accepting a new wolf into the pack
is reason for celebration. Unfortunately you are not doing this because you
want to be one of us; it is just a means to an end for you.”

I
looked at him a little startled. I wasn’t sure what to say. He didn’t sound
angry, but he didn’t sound happy either. I was pretty sure he was angry with
me; he just wasn’t showing it. I didn’t really understand why. I didn’t think
anyone wanted to be a werewolf, but I could see how it might still be a
celebrated event. “Drake, I never meant to hurt you, or your people. If I had
another way then I would have done it. I can’t be forced to stay with Victoria
and Oliver while Cornelius suffers.”

“They
only want to protect you. What if Cornelius is too far gone to save? Everything
you have done, and will do will all be for nothing,” he said quietly.

“I
have to try. I did everything I could to save you when you were hurt. I can’t
just walk away from him,” I said softly. I didn’t want to fight with him, but I
wanted to make it clear he wouldn’t change my mind. I loved Cornelius, and I
needed him back to his old self.

He
sighed like he knew there was no point in arguing. “Just remember you almost
started a war when I got hurt. It was because of Cornelius’s guidance that you
didn’t.”

I
rolled my eyes. “I would have figured it out on my own, besides you are only
presenting more of an argument as to why I need to get Cornelius back. He keeps
me from making stupid decisions.”

Drake
smiled slightly. “I guess you’re right. Dress in something easy to remove, and
come downstairs,” he said then walked out before I could reply.

I
wasn’t exactly excited about being naked in front of him, but I didn’t really
have a choice. I couldn’t shift with my clothes on. I took a breath trying to
calm my nerves. I was a lot more nervous about this whole thing then I thought
I would be. There was no going back now. I made my choice when I let Tommy bite
me.

I
descended the stairs trying to slow my heartbeat. I noticed my heart was
beating much faster once the sun set. I wasn’t sure if it was my nerves, or if
my body was preparing for the shift.

Drake
and Tommy stood near the bottom of the stairs. They watched me as I came down.
“Nice dress,” Tommy said and winked. Drake shot him a look, and Tommy reddened.
“I’m going to the meeting ground,” Tommy muttered and hurried out.

“What’s
wrong with him?” I asked as I watched Tommy retreat.

“He
knows I am not happy with him,” Drake said as he looked me over.

“Don’t
blame him. He was only trying to help. If you want to be angry with someone, be
angry with me,” I said softly as I looked up at him.

“I
am angry with you too. Now let’s go before you start to shift,” he growled and
started walking toward the door.

I
sighed and followed. I had a feeling it was going to be a long, hard night.
Obviously Drake had more time to brood because he was angrier now than he was
when he was in my room, less than an hour earlier.

I
knew the way to the meeting ground. I trailed a few feet behind Drake. He
didn’t seem to mind. He obviously wasn’t interested in talking. There wasn’t
really anything to talk about. Neither of us was going to change our mind.

The
meeting grounds came into view. There were several people there, and more
people were arriving as the full moon started to rise. I knew we would all be
forced to shift once the moon reached its highest point. I could feel the
excitement in the air. My body started to hum in response to the energy of the
other wolves. My heart was still beating fast and hard. I flexed my hands
nervously as I looked around. I had no clue what I was supposed to do. Drake
had disappeared somewhere into the crowd. Tommy was nowhere in sight even
though he claimed to be headed for the meeting ground. I knew a couple of the
other wolves from my previous stay here, but we weren’t close.

Someone
came up behind me and rested their hands on my hips. I jumped, a little
startled by their touch. “Try to relax, it will make things easier,” Drakes
soothing voice whispered in my ear.

“I
feel like I am going to burst,” I said as I attempted to take his advice and
relax.

“It
is a normal feeling. Come with me,” he said smoothly as he offered his hand.

I
swallowed my nervousness, and took his hand. He led me through the meeting
ground to the opposite side. He stepped into the woods pulling me along with
him. He stopped in a small clearing. He turned and looked down at me. “I
thought you would be more comfortable if we were alone.”

I
nodded. “I appreciate that. I am not sure how well I would do with all those
people.”

“No
one in the pack would judge you. We are all family,” he said as he began to
undo his pants.

I
moved nervously as I looked around. This was the part I was dreading more than
the actual change. I wasn’t completely comfortable being naked around him. I
knew he would never do anything inappropriate, but I was still nervous.

He
smiled slightly when he looked at me. He knew I was uncomfortable. Being naked
to him was a part of life. For me it was something new. I didn’t just get naked
for anyone. “You have to undress. You won’t have anything to wear back to the
house if you shift and tear your dress.”

I
nodded and slipped the dress off. I didn’t wear a bra or underwear. I didn’t
really see the point. I had to keep reminding myself that I wanted this. I
wanted to help Cornelius, and that was why I was here in the middle of nowhere
preparing to go through the worst pain of my life, as Drake put it.

Drake
settled down onto the ground. I took a breath, and settled down in front of
him. “How long does this take?” I asked nervously.

“Hopefully
not long. Everyone is different. The change can trigger at different times
during the full moon,” he said watching me intently. He knew I was nervous. It
made me more nervous that he was so at ease.

“Am
I supposed to feel anything in particular?” I asked after a few minutes of silence.
The only thing I could hear were the others at the campsite howling and
laughing. They all seemed to be having a good time. Most of them seemed to be
looking forward to the full moon. Most of them could change without the full
moon, but there was supposedly something about the full moon that excited them.

He
smiled slightly. I could tell by the sparkle in his eyes he was laughing at me.
“No, believe me when I say you will know when it happens.”

“Are
you going to shift?” I asked curious about what his plans were once I started
to shift.

“After
you do,” he said softly, then he stretched out in the grass, and looked up at
the sky.

“You
have that much control?” I asked watching him.

He
nodded. “I don’t have to shift, but I do.”

I
felt my body start to tingle. It felt almost like a small amount of electricity
was running through my veins. My heart started to pound as I attempted to
relax. I felt my body start to heat up. I knew something was starting to
happen. “Drake,” I said nervously.

He
moved behind me, and put his arms around me for support. “Relax, and just give
in to it,” he whispered.

I
relaxed slightly when he touched me. The feeling eased when he was close to me.
Suddenly pain shot through me, and I doubled over. It felt like someone was
twisting my insides. I cried out in agony, and my hands went to my belly.

“Breathe,
Lillian,” he whispered holding me tighter.

I
realized I was holding my breath. I attempted to take a couple breaths.
Breathing eased the pain slightly, but not for long. Pain shot through me
again. This time the pain was in my legs. I felt my bones crack, and break as
my body shifted. I tried not to scream, but it was all I could do. Drake was
right, I never felt pain like this in my life. I had been stabbed, and it still
didn’t compare to this. When I was stabbed the pain eventually ended when I
passed out. The pain wasn’t ending, and I wasn’t passing out. “Drake, I can’t
do this!” I cried out after a few minutes.

“You
can Lillian, you don’t have a choice. It is almost over,” he said trying to
encourage me.

I
cried out one last time as my body completely changed, into the body of a wolf.
I collapsed on the ground trying to breathe. I felt overwhelmed and tired. I
closed my eyes, and everything slowly went black. I could hear Drake’s soothing
voice, but I was already out.

I
woke up and looked around. My vision was weird. It was like I could see, but
everything looked different. A noise to my left caught my attention. I looked,
and a huge wolf came sauntering out of the trees. It was Drake. I saw him in
wolf form before, so I recognized him. I climbed to my feet, and I was wobbly.
Drake came over and nuzzled me. He started walking like he wanted me to follow
him. It took me a few minutes to get a hang of walking on four legs. I felt like
I was trapped in someone else’s body.

Drake
stopped and looked back at me. I could see the glint of amusement in his eyes
even when he was in wolf form. I hurried after him stumbling a little bit as I
went. I was going to get the hang of it if it killed me. Drake hurried back
over to me and nudged me. He nudged me hard enough to knock me over, then he
took off running through the woods. I scrambled to my feet, and looked around.
I didn’t want to be alone. I didn’t know what to do. I hurried in the direction
he ran, but I couldn’t find him. I hesitated and looked around trying to decide
what to do next. I couldn’t see him, or hear him. I was starting to get angry.
I knew he was nearby, I just didn’t know how to find him. I had to think like a
wolf would. Suddenly I remembered that I had more than just my sight and
hearing. I could attempt to smell him. I closed my eyes and focused. I caught a
whiff of his scent. I focused on his scent and started walking in the direction
the scent was coming from. I was suddenly knocked to the ground. I tried to
scramble to my feet, but Drake had me pinned. He was looking down at me. He was
having fun torturing me. I was so focused on one sense that I didn’t use the
others, and because of that he was able to sneak up on me. He finally let me up,
and he went running off again. I was back to trying to track him. This time I
was also paying attention so he couldn’t pin me again. I was going to get good
at being a werewolf no matter how hard it was going to be.

After
several hours of unsuccessful attempts hunting Drake, I gave up. He ran off
again, and instead of chasing after him I just sat down. I wasn’t going to play
his game anymore. He was making me feel like an idiot. I couldn’t do anything in
wolf form. I was stumbling, and uncoordinated. I couldn’t focus enough to find
him before he pounced me. It was much easier transitioning into a vampire, then
a werewolf.

Drake
came out of the woods after a few minutes. He knew I was getting annoyed with
him. He still had that playful, amused look. I did my best to scowl, but it was
impossible for me to tell what I was doing. It was going to take a long time
for me to get used to being a werewolf. I was hoping I had better luck in human
form.

Drake
nuzzled me with his nose and sat down next to me. I was officially in a bad
mood, but he was trying to make me feel better. I could see the first light of
dawn on the horizon. I knew I could change back into a human when I wanted to,
I just wasn’t sure how to do it.

Drake
changed back into his human form. “All you have to do is think about being a
human. You just have to want it, and you will turn back.”

I
thought about being a human again. I felt my bones start to shift back into
their original place. It was painful, but it wasn’t as painful as the original
shift was. I laid in the soft grass panting. I felt weak and tired after
shifting, and running around all night.

“That
wasn’t so bad was it?” Drake asked as he laid next to me.

I
scowled. “I am terrible at it.”

He
laughed. “Did you expected to be good at it so quickly? You are supposed to be
terrible. It is all new to you. I would think there was something wrong if you
weren’t terrible at it,” he said amused.

I
sighed as I sat up. “I want to be good at it.”

“Then
practice,” he whispered then stood. He walked back toward the trees. “You
coming? I figured we would go get our clothes, and go back to the house.”

I
nodded and climbed to my feet. I followed him through the trees to the first
clearing we had been in. I slipped my dress back on while he put his pants on.

“I
suppose you are going to go try to find who cursed Cornelius now,” he said
dryly.

I
nodded. “The sooner I find out the better he will be. You haven’t seen how much
he has changed,” I said softly.

“Come
on, let’s go eat,” he said and started walking back toward the house.