Chapter 92
Zenovia
“I…I felt something,” I muttered, and subconsciously pulled Callahan toward me. He let me as I almost bumped into his
chest.
“That is great,” He said and added, “Close your eyes and keep trying. Focus on that feeling”
I nodded excitedly and closed my eyes again. I tried to sense it again, my mind searching for that tug I had felt in the back of my stomach as if something was pulling at me.
But there was nothing.
I focused hard, but again I felt emptiness. Feeling nervous, my eyes flew open, and I blurted out worriedly,
“It… it is gone. I can’t feel anything. I…can’t”
“Shh,” Callahan responded, placing a finger on my lips to silence me.
The gesture was so intimate that I shuddered involuntarily. He didn’t seem to notice it.
“It will come to you. Believe in it. Believe in yourself. Keep trying. I am right here”
Callahan said in a soothing voice, and I let myself calm down. This was a new side of Callahan to me.
I had never seen him speak so gently to anyone, and I had never imagined him doing that to me.
His voice was soft like a caress, bathing me in a warm feeling.
I closed my eyes as my fingers held onto him tightly and tried searching for that pull. I had begun praying to the moon goddess again. I had definitely not imagined it.
“Please, please, let it happen” My mind was chanting and suddenly out of nowhere I felt a bolt of current pass through me.
It seemed to emerge from the base of my stomach and travel up, shooting straight towards my spine and traveling upwards.
“Aah,” I winced and grabbed onto Callahan’s hand tightly.
The next few moments were something I would never forget.
Pain, blinding and visceral, tore through me. It was as if a beast that had been in a deep slumber was awakening from its slumber, shaking the cave it had been resting in for so long.
“Aah,” I cried again and felt my knees wobble. My entire body was shaking and I couldn’t find the strength to keep standing.
I crashed to the ground, and I felt a much larger thud resound beside me. Despite the pain, I noticed a pair of hands were still holding me tightly, not letting me go.
But the pain was too intense to let me focus on anything else.
I threw my head back and my eyes flew open as I stared at the moon. It appeared blurry at first, as if it was enveloped by a hazy cloud, but then it swam into focus.
I hardly got a moment to breathe when another bolt of pain shot up my spine.
My eyes watered, and at some point, I let go of the hands holding me. “Nooo”
I clawed at the earth to get a grip on myself as my body seemed to convulse and bend. My stomach was rioting as if I would- throw up and my head felt disoriented.
“What is happening?” I asked and Callahan replied,
“You are shifting, Zee. You can do it. Fight it. Fight the pain”
Those words and his soothing voice gave me a moment of relief. I was doing it, I could do it, I tried to recite it but another wave of pain shot me.
I doubled back and fell on the ground, my face eating dirt. The pain was so intense that I clawed at the grass viciously, trying to dig into the earth, trying to find comfort.
And to make matters worse, I was feeling extremely hot. As if I had been thrown in a blast furnace. My bones began to snap, and I felt as if a few of them had cracked.
At some point, tears began streaming out of my eyes and I cried as the pain almost rattled me. No amount of training could have prepared me for this.
The heat felt like liquid fire running through my veins, replacing blood and melting my bones and flesh.
Was I dying?
No, Callahan didn’t sound too worried. I had to trust him. I had to trust this process.
But no matter how much I tried, the pain showed no signs of stopping. It felt as if someone was cutting my skin could do nothing except watch and endure.
“Please, make it go away!!”
open
and I
I begged, and I felt two hands pull me close. The familiar scent of Callahan’s cologne reached me and my mouth watered.
He embraced me with one hand and pushed the hair plastered to my face with the other.
“You are a strong girl, Zee. I know it. You know it too. Fight, my little lamb.”
The way his voice sounded made my skin shiver. How could he believe in me when I was literally screaming on the forest ground, sweaty and confused?
“It’s hurting”
I cried and my hand reached to my belly as I tried to clutch it.
“The dress. Probably you need to get rid of it.”
“Do it”
I said without hesitation. At this point, I wouldn’t mind if somebody took my skin away too. I just wanted the pain to go
away.
Callahan hesitated, and I repeated, “DO IT”
He did not need further pleading. His hand went to the sleeves of my dress and he gently tugged at it, careful not to hurt me in the process.
The sleeve fell limply to the side and next, he pulled the other sleeve off too.
I took in lungfuls of air when he tore the front of my dress. It was as if my chest was caged and it was finally free.
“Breathe” He patted my back as I bent down, my head touching the forest ground and taking in deep, raspy breaths.
I was covered in sweat and muck, and no amount of air seemed to cool me down.
“Hot, I feel so hot,” I mumbled and tugged at my hair, not knowing how long it would take.
“Talk to your wolf. She is trying to force herself out. Tell her to be slow and that you are helping her”
I had not heard her voice in my head yet, but I did what he said, nonetheless.
“Please, I am here for you, my wolf. Take it slow”
Immediately, I felt the heat go down a little. Had that been because of her furious attempts to break out of the cage?
I did not know why it was taking so long. But then I had never really seen someone awaken their wolf.
“Did she show up?” Callahan asked, and I shook my head.
He frowned, unsure of what to speak. I felt like a failure. All of this training and rigorous dieting had been for nothing.
It seemed like my wolf was stuck behind some unknown barrier
I could only cry. But Calahan seemed to have another plan.
“Well then, let us help her,” He said and before I could ask what he meant, Callahan’s hands went around me and he pulled
me up.
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