The First Shift

“Lyra?”

Beta Ronan's voice stopped her from retreating.

She stood in the doorway, clutching her empty basket. Behind him, Alpha Garrick watched her with narrowed eyes.

“How long have you been standing there?” Garrick asked.

“Long enough to hear you.”

“And what did you hear?”

“That you might send me away if my wolf doesn't manifest.”

His expression hardened. “You were listening to a private conversation.”

“I heard my name.”

“That doesn't give you permission to eavesdrop.”

Lyra lowered her gaze, but she couldn't leave without asking.

“Would you really send me away?”

“If you cannot contribute to this pack, I must consider what is best for everyone.”

“I do contribute.”

“You carry supplies and help the healers. Those things are useful, but they won't protect you when danger comes.”

“What was I supposed to do yesterday? Leave Kyle there?”

“You should have called for a guard.”

“And if the wolf had attacked before anyone arrived?”

“Enough.”

Garrick turned away.

“You may go.”

Lyra left without another word. She had hoped she had misunderstood his conversation. Now she knew she hadn't.

The following morning, the packhouse was already busy when the warning horn sounded.

“Rogues at the western boundary!”

Warriors rushed toward the trees, some shifting before they reached the path. Lyra set down the bundle of cloth she had been carrying and moved aside.

Then a child screamed.

Near a wooden cart, a little girl struggled beneath a fallen piece of timber. A dark wolf emerged between the trees, its fur bristling and its mouth stained with blood.

Lyra ran toward the child.

“Get away from her!” someone shouted.

She ignored the warning and grabbed the timber.

“Pull your leg back,” she told the girl.

The wolf lowered its head and charged.

Lyra threw herself over the child.

Pain exploded through her body.

She gasped as her bones twisted beneath her skin. A growl tore from her throat, deeper than any sound she had made before. Her fingers struck the earth, and fur spread across her changing limbs.

For one terrifying moment, she couldn't understand what was happening.

Then the world sharpened.

She could smell the damp soil, the blood on the ground, and the child's fear behind her.

Her wolf had finally come.

The rogue lunged.

Lyra moved on instinct, meeting it halfway. Her teeth caught its shoulder, and they rolled across the dirt. The animal snapped at her face, but she dodged and struck back.

She had never fought like this before. Her new body felt powerful, yet unfamiliar. She could hear warriors shouting, but their voices seemed distant.

“Lyra, move!”

A warrior approached, his dark coat marked by a white patch across the chest.

“It's me! You're safe!”

Lyra bared her teeth. Everything around her felt like a threat.

The rogue seized the opportunity and fled toward the trees. Two warriors pursued it while the other remained where he was.

“Easy,” he said, keeping his distance.

Lyra crouched, ready to attack.

Then the little girl whimpered.

Lyra turned.

A woman had freed the child from the timber and was checking her injured ankle. Seeing that she was safe, Lyra's breathing gradually slowed.

She looked down at her paws.

Pale grey fur covered her body. Her claws pressed into the earth, and her senses were sharper than she had ever imagined.

She had spent years waiting for this moment.

Now she didn't know what to do with it.

By the time Lyra returned to human form, Mara had arrived with a blanket. Lyra sank to her knees, trembling as the healer covered her shoulders.

“I shifted,” Lyra whispered.

Mara smiled gently. “Yes, you did.”

Lyra looked at her hands, still struggling to believe it.

A crowd had gathered around the clearing. Some wolves stared in surprise; others whispered among themselves.

Then Alpha Garrick pushed through them.

“What happened here?”

“A rogue crossed the boundary,” a warrior reported. “It went for the child. Lyra intervened.”

“And she shifted?”

“Yes, Alpha.”

Garrick turned to Lyra.

“Can you control your wolf?”

She clutched the blanket. “I've never shifted before.”

“That wasn't my question.”

“No,” she admitted. “Not yet.”

Mara stepped forward. “She has only just shifted. Give her time to learn.”

Garrick's gaze remained fixed on Lyra.

“We cannot afford to wait until she hurts someone.”

Lyra looked up at him. “I can learn. I'll train every day if I have to.”

For a moment, no one spoke.

Garrick's expression gave nothing away.

“Then you should have been ready for this possibility.”

“How could I prepare for something I've never experienced?”

“Enough, Lyra.”

She fell silent.

Her wolf had finally come, but as she looked around at the wary faces surrounding her, she realised that nothing had changed the way they saw her.