Shifting Methods Novels & Stories

I winced, my heart kicking. Darius’ expression softened. He took a step forward before he stopped himself. "I know, baby. Shifting is painful. I won't lie and say the pain will stop the more you shift. It won't. But it'll get easier and you'll become used to it. Your first shift hurt like hell. Your second will also hurt like that but lessen just by a little. Third, fourth, fifth, and you won't feel like you'll want to die." I took a deep breath. "So… so this shift will be as painful as the first?"

"For now, just tell her you're busy with family stuff." I type a quick reply to Laura, promising details later and asking for her notes from Friday's classes that I missed. It feels so mundane compared to everything else happening, but that normalcy is like a lifeline I'm desperately clinging to. "So," I say, looking between my half-brothers and Clint, "what exactly does shift control training involve? Because I really don't want to accidentally wolf out in the middle of calculus tomorrow." "Breathing exercises, mainly," Eric explains. "Learning to recognise the triggers that initiate a shift and how to suppress them."

In the small back room we use for emergencies, I let the shift pull me back upright. People like to talk about the pain of shifting one way or the other as if there’s a difference. There isn’t. It costs both directions. Coming back to two feet means joints complain, muscle fiber rearranges, skin crawls for a fraction of a second as fur goes to sleep. Teeth slide into gums in a way that would make a human throw up if they watched. The worst part is hands—knuckles remaking themselves into smaller bones with more nuance. You feel clumsy until they remember what they can do.

Mystra explained with a frown. Another slide was put up which showed a diagram of a siren unshifted and one that was shifted. Unshifted looked human just like we did. Shifted, however, was a huge transformation. Their features sharpened and became even more vibrant, more alluring. Then there was the tail which looked like it was covered in scales of jewels.

I tipped my chin up to meet the piercing gaze of Valentin. “This method of shifting is particularly successful in young wolves,” he said softly. “It forces your body to get used to the shift quicker and it forces the body to accept it quicker. It’s harsh but it works.” My chest was still heaving. “How many times to get it to work?” “Usually, I can get a wolf to max out at about ten shifts per minutes,” he tilted his head. “You got to five.”

His smile turned to one of concern and his face became serious. “What do you mean? You said you never got the shifting gene, so you can’t be seventeen.” My eyes widened at his words. That wasn’t what we were told in school. My voice started to come out shaky as thoughts began racing through my mind. “What are you talking about? That’s basic shifting. We learn that as children when we start school. If a Shifter has not transformed by their sixteenth birthday, then it means the shifting gene is absent, and they were cursed to live as humans.

The roar of the wind, the slash of the leaves as he cut around bushes and smaller plants. It’s amazing, isn’t it? “Yes.” I yell back, and he chuffed out a laugh. This is what shifting opens up for you. The world comes alive. The trees speak to you; the wind calls to you; the moon watches over you. The world calls to us, and our animals answer. “When will I get to experience it?” I couldn’t wait until I could shift. Nix chuffed her agreement but stayed silent. We shift when our bodies can handle it. The bigger or stronger the animal, the later we shift. Your father wasn’t ready when he came of age. We shifted after he mastered his magic and his body. We were twenty when we finally shifted.

I said already tired of talking. "Hmm... This one is hard Nicole. Have you ever shifted?" "Shifted? No!" I knew what shifting was and I knew I have never ever shifted. "What does shifting have to do with this." "The trick to this Nicole is shifting. You have to go to a forest, shift, and run round the forest to let out the steam. That's just all. It isn't so hard, but hard for those that haven't ever shifted. It would also be satisfying if you injure the said girl he was cheating on you with. That's a trick, Nicole." Phils explained and I knew what he was saying was way way not for me. I haven't shifted and don't think I would ever shift.

Because of his wealth he can't always get away from the problems that he created. My eyes narrowed as I lazily took a step back. His claws were extending and there were small patches of fur near his neck but he didn't shift completely . No. He was using his middle shift technique. Lion shifters can easily convert their bodies in mid phase. Unlike other shifters can stay in this phase as long as they want but other shifters shift back either to complete animal form or human form during this kind of shift. This phase gives lion shifters more strength and speed than they have in their complete shift or in their human form.

Then you are pretty close to knowing how it feels to shift for the first time. After you do it a few times, it becomes quicker and you don’t feel the pain at all. Charlie will be shifting in the clearing. I will be guiding him through it with pops. Pops said if needs be, he can command Valour to shift, but he would only do that if his shift becomes dire. A normal shift takes fifteen minutes, but it feels like an eternity. So I know this is going to be harder for him because he was a siren first. So we are preparing and trying to keep his mind off of it. So far, it is working.