Why Am I Not Shifting Novels & Stories

This time it was placed in a far flung corner of the library. It must’ve been fate because I managed to find it. However, it doesn’t seem to be doing much. I’ve been sitting here for an hour and nothing has changed. The book details the nature of shifting. A complex history and how it translates into modern times now that we coexist with humans. The later chapters detail the biology behind it and how someone can shift properly. There have been cases of teens not being able to shift. It’s nothing new. Some hormonal imbalance that sorts itself out. Unfortunately, I’m old enough for my body to figure it all out but it hasn’t.

They both watch me probably wondering why I didn't need to pick up speed. They've been teaching me how to control myself. How to hold back. What they don't know is that I've been holding back from the moment I first shifted. I have trouble with it all, not because I'm new but because there is so much of it. Jayk told me to be patient with them. That they don't know. Having been activated and stealing power before shifting gives us an advantage.

“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.

Seconds dragged by, thin and tense. Nothing happened. When he finally moved again, air rushed out of my lungs in a shaky sigh. “Put me down,” I said quietly. “I’ll shift. Walking like this makes us easy targets, and you know it.” “You won’t try to run?” he asked, cautious. “Out here?” I said. “On this miserable stretch of the High Wilds? I wouldn’t last a mile. Just give me time. Shifting takes longer for me.” “I’ve noticed,” he said as he lowered me to the ground. “Why is that?”

I clutch it with both hands, digging my fingers into my hair as I bend forward, teeth bared, breath coming out in harsh, broken pulls. The growl won’t stop. It keeps rumbling in my chest, deep and ugly, pushing harder, clawing its way toward the surface. This isn’t right. This is not supposed to be happening. “I can’t shift here,” I grind out, half to myself. “Not in Italy. That’s not possible. There’s no way.” My vision flickers again, darker this time and spots burst behind my eyes. For a terrifying second, everything dims like someone is slowly turning off the lights.

With wide eyes, she looks up at me and rapidly shakes her head from side to side as she claws at her throat, leaving deep, bloody furrows behind. I grab her hands in mine. “Stop. You’ll be fine. I’m right here. I can control her if she gets out of hand.” It takes me a moment to realise that it’s not fear of her wolf that’s holding her back, but rather the fact that she can’t shift properly. After purposefully suppressing her wolf for too long, she is too weak to complete the shift. “You need to shift back to human,” I say. “You are not strong enough to complete the transformation.”

"Okay, if my parents were shifters. What I want to know is why I can't shift." "Where is this coming from?" "My daily experience. It's limiting me. I stood in that competition today and fought shifters bare handed because my ability has never once surfaced. I am a polar bear shifter by blood. Both parents were. There is no natural reason for this. So I'm asking you directly. Is there something you haven't told me?" The silence that followed was a fraction too long. "You shouldn't worry about it," she said softly. The tightness in my chest sharpened.

I had never seen or heard him scold her like he did, “Don’t you realize that you could have cost us everything today? She could have shifted from the amount of emotion she was in. If I hadn’t seen what was going on and shot her with a dart then she would have.” I was instantly confused. I thought back to the balcony and how Amelia was writhing in pain on the floor. Looking back I realize that her posture and her moans of pain did remind me of when I was shifting for the first time and if that is true then why would they want to stop her and why would her father have hit her with a dart to prevent her from shifting? If anything, they should be excited that she was finally about to shift. Her

“Last time-” “It will be easier this time. Faster. You’ll see.” I gripped her shoulders. “You can’t stop it, little rabbit. It will happen no matter what.” “Then why haven’t I shifted yet? Others have. I can hear them.” “You are newer, younger, it will take you a little longer to shift.” She shook her head, giving me an uncertain look. “I can’t feel Salome. I don’t think I’ll shift.” “You will. She’ll wake up soon.”

He hadn’t pushed. “I don’t know how to do this,” I admitted. The words scraped coming out. “I know how to do twelve‑hour shifts and three cups of coffee and one‑night stands that don’t leave scars. I don’t know how to do… staying." What if I screw it up? What if I hate it? What if you wake up one day and realize you tied yourself to a human who can’t shift, can’t heal like you, can’t—”