Shifting Methods Novels & Stories

The rhythm of their movement. Then— “Shift elevation.” Tomas frowned. “We can’t go higher.” “We don’t need to.” I pointed along the ridge. “We change where we stand, not how high we stand. Break their calculations.” “Constant movement?” Mara asked. “No. Patterned movement.” That caught her attention. “Not random,” I continued. “Deliberate. Repeating sequences that mean nothing.” “So they learn the wrong pattern,” she finished. “Yes.” A slow smile tugged at her lips. “That’s cruel.”

In the end, they moved into Bianca's parents' rented two-bedroom. Seven people squeezed inside with barely room for luggage. Bianca and Lila started fighting almost immediately. Lila called Bianca useless; Bianca called Lila a freeloader. When Helen's migraines flared, Bianca's mother told her to wait at a public clinic. Without my doctors, Gregory's blood pressure sent him to the emergency room. Without my tuition payments, Lila was removed from private school. Ethan's company fired him too. Customs work runs on trust. No one wanted client accounts handled by a man whose wedding funding had been pulled at the altar while he owed his ex-fiancee a mountain of debt.

Her lessons also became a tad livelier. Stretching and warming up for the telematch, the three shifter children became serious. Their evening activity was at stake, and nobody wanted to lose. It was difficult to rotate decisions because nobody truly remembered who last decided on an activity. They often decided it using rock-paper-scissors, and it wasn’t the fairest method.

But they didn’t have an audience and when the pain hit her, the brother stopped shifting to check on her. Once he stopped shifting, her pain stopped. He didn’t shift enough to cause any damage to his sister the way Dylan did with Emma. They also didn’t know that him shifting first was what was causing it, so when he made sure his sister was ok, he started his shift again. Then the pain hit her again and he stopped, then her pain stopped. After that they realized him trying to shift was causing it. The next time, she did her shift first and was able to complete it without any pain to her brother.

Rebecca moved past us, stepping between Jessica’s trembling frame and the gathered Alphas. The convulsions wracked Jessica’s body over and over again, granting her only seconds of stillness before the next wave hit. “During my research in the family library,” Rebecca began, her voice calm despite the chaos, “I came across an ancient method. One that was used for cases that matched...Jessica’s.” She tilted her head toward her sister before shifting her piercing gaze back to us. “A method to force the shift.” Raymond’s face drained of color. “Wait—you don’t mean—”

" I said as I gently caressed his face. His eyes slowly closed as he leaned into my hand. Almost right away I heard the sound of his bones snapping and popping. He began to whimper and cry as his bones broke then realigned. "That's it, you're doing so good!" I said, running my hand through his hair then down his back, but staying away from the center, letting my hand run along the side of his back. It would only hurt him if I touched his spine as those bones broke and realigned. So I stayed away from them, but gently ran my hand along the side of his back where I knew it would feel good and soothe him. When you first shift, the bones break, and realign slower than they do for someone like me

But it seems her parents never taught her about shifting. “It’s your first shift,” I said softly through the mindlink. “It’s normal. Your body isn’t used to it yet.” “My bones still hurt,” she whimpered. “Lance… I don’t know how to make it stop.” First shifts were always like this, but it was less painful because we were always taught on how shifting works, but it seems was never taught which made hers seem painful. “It will pass,” I told her gently. “But you need to breathe… focus… picture yourself turning back to your human form.”

“Shift.” “What? No,” she pouts, “Did you forget I’m pregnant?” Every five minutes, she reminds the world she’s pregnant, so how could I forget? “Shifting is not advisable in the early stages of pregnancy, so do it,” I tell her, leaning against the tree. “That's the first step of getting you with my brother.” “I’m scared.” “We discussed this, Sera,” I sigh. “You have to get rid of that thing if you want any shot at starting over. You can’t go on a date smelling like another man’s pup.”

I answered, feeling ashamed that I had revealed such a vulnerable secret to him. “I can shift with you if you want,” he suggested. My breath hitched in my throat despite the casual tone his voice had. “No!” I gave a single reply. “Why not?” I didn’t have to spell it out to him, did I? Shifting was about either showing strength, showing vulnerability or showing brokenness. And I have never been in a place of strength before, so I shifted with vulnerability and that was why I kept emotions away as much as I could, especially the sad ones.

To have a full moon for your first shift means the Moon Goddess is looking out for you. While it was painful and not something I ever want to go through again, my first shift went faster than I thought. Your body is not used to shifting, and the first one is always the worst. Every bone in your body breaks; fur grows out of your skin, and it can take thirty minutes to an hour to shift. Once you’ve done it, shifting becomes easier. Not that it still not painful, but less. And Atlas shared that it will take seconds for me to shift with time.