CHAPTER 5: THE INNER VOICE

Max’s POV

There is no way I’m dead, because if I am, I want a fucking refund. Everything hurts. In fact, I don’t know what hurts most: my legs, shoulders, arms, or head. Although if I can just get something for the headache, then that’s one less body part that hurts.

I go to get up, but that’s when I realized: I’m in deep shit.

What the hell is going on? Why can’t I move?

I have been through a lot, but not being able to see what is coming is my worst nightmare. I can’t even tell if it’s day or night. For all I know, I could be trapped in a dungeon or on a lab table waiting for Dr. Frankenstein to dissect me. Or worse, I’ve been sent to a trafficking ring, and I’m in my new master’s sex dungeon. Am I seriously about to die by the fuckers I am trying to destroy?

“It’s going to be okay, Maxann. Just calm down. No sense in worrying about what you can’t control. Think about what you can,” says a soft, soothing voice.

Good idea. Focus on what I can control. I can do that.

Taking a deep breath to calm myself, I thought, while sounding like the Grinch, good thing I didn’t lose my cool there. I chuckled to myself, thanks for the perfect line, Grinch.

I quickly started surveying my surroundings, the best I could with the senses I still had. I don’t hear anything except a very muffled sound further away in the hallway. Other than that, it is pretty quiet. I’m lying on a bed. A very soft and comfy bed. I’m not in a hospital because it doesn’t smell like one; it smells like…

I freeze, preparing for the worst as I hear voices right outside the door. Then the door opens, and three sets of footsteps walk into the room and go in different directions.

“Anna, would you fill this bowl up with water. We will use it to clean her up. Carl, you can put those towels down on the chair beside her bed. Then shut the door on your way out, please. Thank you,” says a beautifully soft voice. I wonder what she looks like. Her voice is commanding but soft, not at all harsh. It reminds me of my foster mom.

I hear someone walking towards me, then the sound of fabric ruffling, probably the towels that are being set down beside me.

While in another room, there was water running.

Ah, so there is an attached bathroom. I made a mental note.

“Do you need anything else, Luna?” says a man’s voice beside me. I’m guessing he is Carl.

Luna, that’s a pretty name.

“No, you may go,” she replied. The footsteps get further away before I hear a light click as the door is shut, and I breathe a sigh of relief.

“Luna Amelia, I have a bowl of water here for you. Would you like me to start wiping away the dirt and blood so we can see the extent of her injuries?” asked a female voice. I’m guessing, again, that it's Anna.

So, Luna is either a title or Anna used her first and last name, which would be weird. Who uses Luna as a title?

“Yes, Anna. I think that is a good place to start. We will patch her up the best we can, but the worst of it will have to wait until Doc gets back into town,” she says.

I felt a gentle cloth being wiped across my body, which is a little uncomfortable, as someone I had never seen or met is washing me. Even though she is gentle, she keeps brushing over injuries, and I can’t even tell her it hurts very badly.

At least she is trying to be gentle. I can appreciate that, I thought. It is strange having someone wash me, but I guess on the bright side, it is better than lying in bed dirty and stinky.

“Anna is an Omega. She has a gentle soul, and it shows in her movements and words. The others won’t hurt us either,” said a very soft and soothing voice.

What the fuck?!

If I could move, I would have jumped out of bed and hit the ceiling with scared surprise.

That’s it, I’m going crazy.

I thought I heard a voice earlier, but I thought it was just my own conscience. There is no denying that I’m hearing voices in my head now. As if my own voice wasn’t enough.

“You are not going crazy, I am Cece, your inner animal,” said the soft voice again with a giggle.

My, who do what? I asked in confusion. That was one of my daughters favorite phrases.

She chuckled again, “Your inner animal. You are what we call a dormant shifter. Over the years, shifters in your family have mated with humans. It has happened enough that the shifter gene is almost non-existent. Due to that, it takes a life-threatening event for your animal, me, to come forward. One more generation, and you would be 100% human.”

Ok, I’ll bite, what else do I have to do? Shifters as in wolf, lion, tigers, and bears, oh my. I laugh at my little Wizard of Oz reference.

“Your missing dragon shifters, but yes, they all exist,” replied Cece.

Wait, tiger and dragon shifters exist. That is so cool. I love tigers, and dragons are badass. Or at least in my mind, they are. So, in werewolf books I used to read, they are strong, fast, and have super healing powers. Can we do that?

“They prefer to be called wolf shifters as opposed to werewolves, but yes, we are stronger, faster, and heal faster than a human. However, whatever we were shot with had poison in it. I am not sure what exactly was in it or when it will wear off, just that it will take a while for the poison to leave our system. Since the poison affects me too, we will have to heal at a human pace until I can overcome it,” Cece explained.

Well, that’s just great.

So, Cece, you said you are my inner animal. So… what animal are you?

“You will find out when we shift.” Before I could ask more questions, I felt her retreat into the back of my mind.

I don’t know what to think or believe. I mean, the shifter world is just supposed to be a fictional world, right? It’s not supposed to be real.

At the same time, there is a person other than me talking to me in my head. So, either I have gone crazy, or all of this is real.

Or… I’m just hallucinating because of the tranquilizer dart. Yeah, that’s more like it. It’s a side effect of the poison in the dart. That makes more sense than a fictional world being real.

I can accept the fact that I have been poisoned because I have all my senses, but I just can’t move, so that kind of makes sense.

However, I refuse to acknowledge that the voice in my head is an inner animal.

But why does denying Cece feel weird? Shifters don’t exist, right?

Although I do feel like there is an animal inside of me, a wolf shifter doesn’t quite feel right; it’s close. When I think about it, it brings me a sense of belonging and calm, almost like… home.

Shutting those feelings down, I think, nope, just a hallucination. That’s my story, and I’m sticking to it.