Shift Ideas Novels & Stories

Behind closed doors, even Uriah and her other allies would have no right to interfere. A woman like Sharon, holding something as vital as original shares, was nothing more than a child clutching a golden mountain. She could never protect it for long. When the schemes began, she would learn soon enough that those shares were nothing but a burning coal in her hands. With that comforting thought, Rick's expression softened. "Alright." Sharon's gaze shifted between them. "Then, will you cooperate with the procedures for my identity change?" "I'll have my assistant handle it immediately," Richard promised with a benevolent smile.

I never even imagine I one day would. I don't know if I can be. I hope I can. I want to be. I want to learn from him. I want to learn from them. I want to lead. Shane stands and lifts a glass of wine. He raises it high. The pack grows quiet. "My brothers and sisters," he says."I know you are wary of change. But it is time for the pack to move on. It is time for us to heal from our losses and to embrace what is to come."

That's why every time they shift, they go through a painful process like it is the first time. Late shifters and their wolves can communicate, as in they communicate to each other as different entities in one mind, since the wolf lives in a werewolf mind. They have different thoughts and their beliefs can sometimes contrast each other. But early shifters are different. They are the same as their wolf, so whatever they say, do, or believe is the same as their wolf because two entities have merged to become one; they have the same thoughts.

(Her POV; His POV briefly at the end) Change rarely announces itself. When it’s real, it arrives without drama—almost apologetically—after enough time has passed that no one remembers exactly when things started to shift. I don’t notice it all at once. I notice it in fragments. A meeting that begins with a pause where there used to be rush. A decision document that names risks explicitly instead of burying them. A colleague who says, “Let’s think this through,” without looking in my direction—without signaling that the language came from me.

Athena said. "That's the point. No one is understood. No one knows the reason why anyone shape shifts at a particular time. There are late and early bloomers and for each one of them, there were factors that contributed to their hastening or slowing down. Don't get too worked up over what you think people would say," "I don't," Athena said defensively but Alex laughed. "You are the one who does," "No, I don't, Athena. I only avoid complications." "Of course, you do."

Peaceful. Then my wolf spoke up. *We need to shift today. Can't keep putting it off.* I groaned internally. *Good morning to you too.* *Morning, afternoon, night—doesn't matter. We need to shift. You're getting weaker the longer you resist.* *I'm not resisting,* I thought back, irritation flaring. *I literally can't shift. Remember? It's not like I'm choosing not to.* *You are choosing,* he insisted. *Every time you tense up, every time you panic, every time you overthink. You're choosing fear over trust.*

“If there’s an angle I’m not considering that makes you opposed to the idea, feel free to share. That’s why I called this meeting after all.” I can imagine their complaints. Tradition and comfort would probably be the biggest issues. Elder wolves in general aren’t particularly fond of change. But especially here, when this ground has seen so much of their blood, this would be a hard thing for those who are more superstitious. Many shifters think it’s bad luck to move from a territory that saw any significant battles, more so if they’d lost a powerful leader there. But Shawn doesn’t show any hint of doubt in his decision. It makes me proud to watch him come into his own and learn to trust his

Uncle Alban covers a snort at the foot of the table with his napkin. I plow ahead with talking point number four. “Shifters are cooperative by nature, so we’re able to implement change quickly. We pivot quickly, too.” “Pivoting” is high value in the current marketplace according to my Human Business Jargon instructor. Alban exhales gustily, blowing out his jowly cheeks. Mr. Shah glances his way. I grit my back teeth. I guess we’re going to have the usual family debate in front of our human guests.

“Before you decide fate is against you, try shifting without fear.” The idea sank into me, cool and unfamiliar. Shift without fear. The thought alone made my stomach twist. Shifting had always been tied to pain, to something foreign and uncontrollable. But what if it didn’t have to be? I looked around. Callum, Asher, Malcolm—they were all occupied, too focused on the war ahead to see the war raging inside me. It would be selfish to pull them away, to ask them to hold my hand through something I should face alone.

I started to panic. ‘This is why a lot of confidence is bad.’ I thought I could recruit a Sigma to my team but it didn’t work. ‘Also, it’s bad. I feel it. Do you feel it?’ Feel what? ‘The pain. I thought we wouldn’t shift this soon, because of the Adagoril. But I think grandpa’s remedy is too effective that it messed up my calculations. We need to find a place where we can hide.’ We’re what? ‘Shifting. I feel it. We have an hour before it starts. Unfortunately, the first shift is mandatory. I can’t delay it. We can’t stop it.’