The Monthly Ceremony

With a monthly ceremony being a regular occurrence, it wasn't a significant event for the entire pack, but it held a special importance for the families of those who had recently undergone their first shift. In the human world, I had heard stories of extravagant parties thrown for significant milestones like birthdays or graduations.

However, in our world, we did things differently. When we completed high school, we simply received our diplomas at the end of the school day on the last day of classes. No ceremony, no celebrations—just a casual "see you in the fall." The pack's sole focus was on one's ability to shift, making it the defining moment of our lives.

Imagine being a wolf who couldn't do the one thing that mattered most in our society. That was my reality, and no one in our tight-knit community let me forget it. My mother and I were the sole members of our pack who couldn't shift, a cursed existence that made growing up a living nightmare. In middle school, I had spent countl