Chapter 20 Pain

Sara felt nervous as she walked with the Luna to the ATV garage. The other woman kept up a soft, easy going conversation. She explained where they were going, everything that would happen and what would be expected of Sarah.

"What if I don't - shift?" Sarah asked stumbling over the word.

The Luna smiled over at Sarah. "I don't believe that will be an issue. Evodine seems anxious to put her paws to the earth.  However, if you don't shift then it will simply be another night." Her reassurance calmed Sarah.

She felt better without pressure to shift. Her life was changing so quickly, she felt dizzy.

The Beta and Gamma, Gabriel and Valerie Jarrett waited with the Alpha outside the ATV garage. There were five four–wheelers already sitting in front of the open garage.

Alpha Alexander smiled at Luna Barbara. She returned the smile with one of her own. The smiles let it be known that they were thrilled to be back together. The others watched as the Alpha moved forward and took his mate in his arms. The contact was simple and short but filled with unsaid emotion.

They reluctantly pulled apart but kept touching, holding hands.

"Nights not far off, Alpha. Should we be going?" Valerie asked as she glanced at the impending sunset.

"Sarah, are you ready?" Alpha Alexander asked her. His tone gentle and kind.

Unable to find her voice Sarah nodded.

It took them ten minutes to arrive at the lake. They had traveled a well-worn trail wide enough for a large sized truck to pass. The sun had sunk and the moon cast an iron gray glow over the foliage.

Sarah's mouth fell open when the other started undressing in the circle of four–wheelers. Logically she had known that they would strip down almost to their skin to shift. But somehow she thought they would do so behind a tree or shrub or something.

"Sarah?" Luna Barbara asked as she placed her shirt on the four–wheeler she had ridden to the lake. The Luna only wore a thin yellow camisole and matching panties. "You'll have to strip off all man made materials. You can only shift in natural materials, cotton, hemp, silk, and animal skin are best."

"My clothes are polyester, I think." Sara told her. They were so old that most of the tags had worn away. Only her panties had been purchased new and she was sure they were polyester and cotton mix.

"Nudity isn't a big deal with us, Sara. You'll get used to it eventually. For now we'll give you as much privacy as safely possible. Valerie," the Luna called the gamma over. "Sara clothing isn't suitable for a shift. She's not yet comfortable with nudity."

Valerie looked at Sara then around the clearing. "We can stand between you and the men, but I'm afraid we will have to keep our eyes on you." Valerie said. Sara blushed. Valerie lifted an eyebrow. Sara nodded her agreement.

Luna Barbara mind linked the others explaining the situation. Both men shifted into wolf form and padded over to the women.

The Luna caressed the right ear of the large russet colored wolf. The smaller gray wolf rubbed against Valerie's leg. She smiled and stroked a hand down his back. Both wolves turned and faced towards the other side of the clearing.

Still blushing Sara started undressing. She turned around and faced away from them. It did very little to easy her embarrassment. She removed all of her clothing leaving her shirt for last. She unbuttoned her bra and pulled it out the arm hole. Next she removed her pants. Stalling she folded them and placed then on the ground. She piled the bra on top of them. Luna Barbara and Gamma Valerie waited patiently behind her. Next she discarded her pink panties on the pile. Last she pulled off the shirt. This she was most reluctant to do. She turned around facing them, holding the shirt in front of her body like a small cloth shield.

"Try to start only wearing cotton underwear. You can get a lot of styles at Intimate Secrets in town. It's a Lycan owned shop." Valerie said.

"Valerie owns it." The Luna said with a smile. "Okay. Are you ready?" She said changing the topic to what they were there for. Sara nodded.

Sara clutched the shirt to her chest and thought about her body. She thought about the tiny hairs over her skin, her fingers, her teeth, her nose, her eyes, her feet, her bones, her ears. She imagined it all changing. She felt Evodin's excitement.

Thanks to Luna Barbara she was prepared for the tingling sensation that started in her chest and spread out over the rest of her body. By the time it reached her finger tips the tingle had turned into a burn.

When the burn spread to her feet she felt the pain of her first bone breaking. The first break was a rib, it was followed by another. Soon multiple bones were breaking at ones. The breaking was only slightly worse than the healing.

She didn't gracefully slide to the ground, she fell as both of her femers broke at once.

She would have screamed if she had been capable. Unfortunately the bones in her face broke at the same time. Fire seared her as her bones realigned and fused into her new form.

In her mind she was screaming. She was begging. Evodin howled. If she hadn't been in such pain she would have been shocked at the sound. The sound bounced in her brain, full of the pain that Sara felt.

Her skin tingled then burned. The fine almost invisible hairs all over her body grew. Pores opened and sprouted new hair follicles.

She heard a voice in her head that wasn't hers or Evodin.

I know it hurts, Sara, but it's almost over. This is the only time it  will hurt.

Sara wanted to scream out the pain. She had no words to describe what her body and mind were feeling.

She felt a rush of cold air. Her lungs inhaled with out any command. The sensation revealed that her chest no longer hurt. The unscented air had a cooling effect over other parts of her body. Slowly she became aware of the absents of pain in others areas of her body.

Before the pain was completely gone Evodine yipped in excitement. The sound fell from Sara's new muzzle. Sara jumped. The body moved.

Wow. She thought as she looked around. The moonlight revealed the world as clearly as the sun. Everything looked like it was covered in a transparent blue/gray film. But the blue/gray film only tightened the clarity of her surroundings.

She became aware of her feet, paws, the thick pads transmitted the feel of earth, grass, twigs, leaves and tiny rocks to her brain. 

The wind blew across her nose. She closed her eyes and just enjoyed it as she took another deep sniff. It was almost like tasting the air or breathing for the first time. Water, earth, musk, moss, leaves, bugs, flowers, there were so many smells. For a moment her head spun.

Her eyes popped open as a scent caught Evodine's attention.

Sara, you share this body with your wolf. If you don't control it she will. You have to anticipate what she wants.

But Evodine was already in motion.