Chapter 7: The Wolf in Me *Aliana*

Here I was, standing in the center of our kingdom, right in front of the castle, in front of everyone. I wore the most marvelous dress that I have ever seen until this moment; made from my own Mother's hands. The dress was a soft satin made from the gentle fur of rabbits that I hunted for my mother days before. The fur was dyed a deep blue but left white around the trimmings. It was threaded with silver lacing and there was a hood attached to the back. The dress was a bit heavy but definitely very comfortable, warm, and elegant.

It was my Day of the New Wolf. The people of Telaerion were all around me, circling me with flowers and gifts, cheering me on for luck. I have been waiting for this day and yet dreading it altogether. My father always told me he would be here to teach me how to hunt in my feral form, how to use my extra senses that will be given to me, and how to control myself. He was not here though; my father wasn't standing beside my mother against the castle doors. He was gone; a broken promise that weighed me down. My heart began to feel heavy, and I knew I was sinking into a deep sadness for my father, but I shook my head and smiled at the people that were here now, in front of me, happily cheering for my existence, ready to see the wolf I will become.

As the sky began to become dim, our village healer came to stand in front of me while he quieted the excited village down. The people of Telaerion have been waiting for the Princess' Day of the New Wolf, and now that day has finally come.

Chaitra, the healer faced me with his old green eyes and gave a cheerful smile. He then began to speak "Aliana, this is most definitely a wonderful day for Telaerion, our Princess' Day of the New Wolf. Now given everything Telaerion has to offer, we werewolves must trust each other in keeping the balance of our natural lives in order. Werewolves are not to be vicious monsters, but careful creatures. We are not rogues nor humans, but a hybrid race of Telaerion. A proud race that your father and mother have maintained, and now you are coming of age to maintain it as well. When the light dims away, you will be left alone. Your change will be hard and gruesome at first, but you must let your humanity be the better side of the beast. You must learn to switch between the two forms, you must learn self-control, and you must learn your new wolf that has become a part of you. Now everyone, let us begin the change!" The people that were standing close to me were now spread out and distanced from me. Suddenly, they all began to change into their feral forms and began howling into the sky above, with grunting, and grinning wolf smiles radiating throughout the crowd. I could see the light dimming from the sky, yet I felt nothing. Was I supposed to be feeling anything? I looked around at all my people that I would lead one day. My pack that I must learn to protect. The sound of their howls rang through my ears and sent shivers through my body, the beautiful sound of my race in unison with one another. I took a deep breath and savored the sound.

Then it suddenly hit me; a bursting sensation inside my whole being. It began burning where my heart set and I wanted to scream as the burning grew to my throat, but my voice would not allow me to; only it came out a short whimper. My legs collapsed beneath me and all I could do was curl up in pain. My whole body ached, and I felt as though every bone in my body was being broken. My heartbeat intensified, and energy surged through my body, I wanted to suddenly run through the trees. I bolted from the center of the village and into the woods, sprinting as fast as my body was capable. My body was on fire and the more noise I wanted to make the harder it seemed and the more it came out in a half-whimpered screech. My head began to throb, and my hands began to ache. I stopped running, stumbling over my dress and fell to the ground, dirt flying up around me. I stripped off the beautiful dress, which was now left in a filthy heap, leaving me in just my light undergarments. My whole entire body was aching in agony. I gritted my teeth together only to feel them getting larger in size and sharper. I tensed my muscles and dug my nails into the cool soil of the ground. I tried so hard to scream out my pain, but the sound just kept getting worse. It felt like someone was pulling on my jawbone and trying to rip off my ears. My bones were being bended, molded and stretched in ways they never knew. I did not know what part of my body to focus on more. My spine felt as if it were being ripped from my tail bone, I tried to scream once more as loud as I could and out of my vocals came a loud, ear-piercing howl.

Feeling as if I were going to puke I fell over on my side, gasping for air, heart beating at a dangerous speed and my sight beginning to blur. My body felt paralyzed, like I could not move at all, or I did not want to. I just wanted to lie on the chilled ground, under the canopy of the elm trees. Then I felt the different formation of my body. I blinked my eyes multiple times, my vision clearing with every blink. As it did, I saw white paws and I could actually see my nose straight in front of me. I had a black nose with light gray flecks around the muzzle.

I decided to stand up with my back feet, but then stumbled as my knees buckled underneath me. I had long back legs that were slightly longer than my front legs but bent, and my back paws were as long as a rabbits, longer than my regular front paws; I had to bend my back legs and place the ball of my back paw on the ground. I placed my front paws on the ground in front of me; my back arched a bit and stood in my feral position. It felt strange, but natural. It felt like as though I was being born again and having to learn everything over. I wobbled like a newborn fawn when I tried to walk, I could not help but angle my ears in all directions, my tongue seemed as if it were too big for my own mouth, my teeth were twice the size as they were before, and now I had a tail. When I tried waving my tail in front of me it was difficult. It was a big, long, fluffy white tail, with a bold dark gray stripe cutting down the side at a slanted angle.

Deciding it may be time to walk back to the village, I did but slowly, embracing the powerful changes of my senses. My eyes were so clear and glossy, yet they felt a bit bulgy. I could smell everything through my nose, each type of flower, every fruit, every tree, and every different type of animal in the vicinity. It was all so overwhelming and so exciting to be experiencing this unusual way of living. As my claws dug into the soil of the ground, it gripped so easily; so, I began to run. I could feel my claws kicking up dirt behind me from grasping the ground, pulling myself forward to run faster. Before I even noticed, I was right at the entrance to the village. As I entered the clearing, everyone was still in their same spots, still in their feral forms. All eyes were on me as soon as I came into sight. Everyone's eyes were wide open and shining at me. I strolled over to my mother and faced her. Her canine lips were slowly curving up into a grin and a tear drop rolled from one of her eyes and sunk into the fur on her face.