Chapter 42
Lily POV
My entire body felt like it was engulfed in flames.
The heat pulsed through my veins causing every nerve in my body to scream out in protest. My skin was sensitive and sore. I tossed and turned in my bed, the sheets tangling around my legs, every inch of my body covered with sweat.
Earlier, when Celeste’s grandfather had come in to check on me – I barely remembered coming to my bed too. Although I had seen his face hovering over me etched with concern as he placed his cool hand on my forehead. I couldn’t recall all that he said but I remembered him saying words like ‘shift’ and late bloomer’ in his conversation as I drifted in and out of consciousness.
In my fever-muddled mind, I couldn’t help but wonder if I was going to shift. Was it even possible after all this time?
For years, I had thought the Moon Goddess had forsaken me – that she hated me so much and didn’t care whether I had my wolf or remained human. I remembered watching all my friend getting their wolves, bonding with them and living their best lives while I slowly became an object of ridicule.
The idea of having my wolf seemed like an impossible dream and slowly, I learnt how to handle being excluded from any pack activity. Now as my body was heating up, I wondered if a miracle was finally going to happen.
As my fever intensified again and I drifted in and out of consciousness, I heard Celeste’s voice floating to me again. She was speaking to someone who seemed to be in the room with her.
“We need to notify Kai of what is happening,” Celeste said. “He’s going to be mad if I don’t tell him. But he’s in a meeting and I don’t know if I can interrupt him. Fuck!” Celeste swore, “This is driving me crazy p>
I wanted to say something but my body felt heavy. My tongue felt frozen, even my eyelids didn’t want to open. Unable to fight it anymore, I finally slipped into a fevered sleep, cutting off from the world and the chaos that came with it.
As I drifted off to dreamland, which was my constant companion since I fell sick, I heard a voice, clear and strong as it came from my mind.
“Hello!” the voice came as a faint whisper, making it impossible for me to almost hear it.
“Hello!” the voice came again, this time it was clearer and sounded as though someone was there with me. “Hello, Lily,” it said again for the third time, its voice was warm and welcoming “It’s so good to finally meet you, my friend p>
I looked around, trying to find out where the voice was coming from but it was just me.
“W-Who are you?” I asked with a stutter still looking around.
“I know this must be so confusing for you and I’m sorry about that. But please, do not be afraid. It’s me, your wolf. I’ve been waiting so long for this moment. I’ve been here all along, waiting to emerge. I am sorry, it took so long p>
A thousand questions popped into my mind as my heart skipped a bit. I had a wolf. How was this possible? Why now? What had kept it from coming to me all this while? The realization hit me like a hurricane, overwhelming me with the thousands of emotions that followed.
“I thought… I thought I didn’t have a wolf,” I mustered after a few minutes. “That I was incapable of having one. I thought the Moon Goddess abandoned me, thought she hated my guts so much p>
My wolf let out a soft, almost sad chuckle. “No, Lily. You were never abandoned. We should indeed have met much earlier but something… someone…sealed me away. It was as if it was trying to block me from reaching you p>
“Sealed away?” surprise crept into my voice at the revelation. “By who? By what? Who would do that to me?” I asked.
“I don’t know, Lily,” she sighed “It was by an outer force and very strong too p>
“Oh! I’m so sorry about that,” I thought, unsure of why I was apologizing. “Maybe if I had protected myself more, perhaps, you wouldn’t have been exposed to this outer force p>
“You don’t have to apologize,” a warm wave of warmth coursed through me, filling me with reassurance. “We’re finally tighter now and that’s what counts. I’m sorry, it took so long but now that we have finally united, you’ll soon be able to shift p>
“Shift?” I echoed, unsure of how to react to the words. From all the stories, I’ve heard, first-time shifting was not always as pleasant but even then, I had desired it and often wondered if one day, I’d be able to.
“Yes,” my wolf confirmed. “It’s going to be painful at first and might hurt, but I’ll be with you every step of the way. We’re going to be stronger, stronger than you’ve ever imagined p>
Despite the comfort and assurance in my wolf’s voice, I felt a flicker of fear in my heart. I have been weak all my life… the idea of suddenly getting power not only terrified me but it made me uncomfortable.
“I don’t know if I’m ready,” I finally admitted. “Am I not too old to be shifting and I trailed off as I felt a fever pain piercing into my subconscious, cutting off my train of thought as I began to grow heavy again.
“You are,” she reassured me. Her voice was sounding from afar now. I struggled to keep my mind on the words she was saying. “You are always ready and together, we’ll face whatever comes next. But… there’s something else I’ve sensed since we connected p>
Every part of my body was growing numb… I wanted to tell her to tell me that I was listening but I was too tired for that too.
My wolf paused as if she was gathering her thoughts as I managed to whisper. “What is it p>
“I can sense our mate!” she finally said.
Before I could respond, the world around me blurred and shifted again, pulling me into deeper unconsciousness but as the exhaustion took over, I couldn’t help but wonder who my mate was.