18

‘Good morning, Emma.’ I turned towards the door to greet my brother, but nobody was standing there. I am alone. But whose voice was that? ‘It is me, silly. Your wolf.’ I flinched. Of course, it is my birthday. I got my wolf today. It is weird, though, to hear a voice inside my head. ‘You will get used to it.’ A voice said. ‘It will take some time.’ I responded. ‘We have all the time in the world.’ My wolf said. ‘What is 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 can’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 is so excited to finally meet his sister.” “She can’t wait to meet him too.” I said and gave him a big smile. I adore Asher. He is the best wolf there is. “Come on, let’s eat.” he said and pulled 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 Avenger series. Humans did a great job on those movies. At around 1 pm, Andrew and I went to the kitchen to start making lunch. On my birthday we have my favorite meal, lasagna. On his birthday, we have his favorite meal, pizza. I started making the lasagna while Andrew sat down at the kitchen table. “Maybe you will find your mate soon.” he said. “Maybe.” I said, not looking up at him. I don’t like talking to him about this. He is my brother, and talking about mating is weird. And I don’t want to leave him, ever. It will 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 and shrugged. “He is one of our best warriors, so I know you would be safe with him. And I know you like him already. 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 are my family. I don’t want to leave you.” “I know, Em.” he said and smiled. “I don’t want you to leave. But if you find your mate you will. And we will be okay.” “Maybe I won’t find him.” I said and got 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 will 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 pm, 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 is a small clearing in the middle of the forest where all wolves go for their first shift. It is special because it is the only place in the forest where the moon can shine on you completely. Our forest is so thick that moon can barely shine through the trees. The clearing is the only place it shines freely. I put on my white dress, chosen especially for this night. It is 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 will be there for you.” “Thank you.” I said. “I love you.” “I love you too, little one.” he said and gave 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 is excited to meet you too.” I said with a big smile. Amy and Jacob came towards me with big smiles on their faces. “Happy birthday, Emmy.” Amy said and gave me a tight hug. “Happy birthday, Emma.” Jake said and kissed my cheek. “Now, let’s meet your wolf. It is cold and I don’t want you to get sick.” He is right. It is December and the only thing I am wearing is a dress. I do have a jacket, but it is not keeping me warm. The only reason I am not shivering is excitement. “He is 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 up at the moon. ‘Are you ready, Emma?’ My wolf said. ‘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 down on 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 your bones at the same time. I fought the urge to throw up and focused on letting go of my control.