Page 73 of Wolf's Mark

“No pain, no gain. Right? Come on, brother. Let’s rouse these fuckers. Wanna do it in wolf form?”

He was serious, not that I hadn’t wanted to shift since I’d arrived. I’d also craved doing so since the night at the bar.

“Come on,” he said in a chiding voice. “It’s been a little while but it’s like riding a bike. Right?”

I gathered a stronger whiff of their repulsive stench. They were casing the area, still partially in human form. That could change at a moment’s notice. Still, it wasn’t that we were forbidden to shift but were required to do so only when absolutely necessary.

“Buddy. Yo. Earth to Jackson. We don’t have all night. I can feel their hot breaths.” Riker was exaggerating as he usually did, but it still wouldn’t be long before we were confronted with them.

Not that the transformation took more than a minute or two. Then again, it had been a long time since I’d put myself through the agony. Canines and eyes were one thing. Not painful.

A full body shift was like being pulled apart by being tied to two semis, both backing up.

I think that was from some horror flick from thirty years ago I’d watched a few nights before when I hadn’t managed to sleep.

But it was true.

“Fine,” I told him. “Let’s do it.”

“Let’s find somewhere to put our clothes. And the weapons. God forbid a kid finds them or worse. We don’t need to add to the murder rate.”

I couldn’t help but glare at my brother. He was worried about clothes when we could be facing a group of wolves that could best us. I wasn’t in the mood to die today. I placed my weapon under some brush, realizing at least he had a good point. While he was searching the area, I’d yanked off my sweatshirt and boots.

Once devoid of them, I sensed they were surrounding us. They could smell our DNA. They were waiting to see what we would do.

“Better hurry, bro. We’ve got company and I think they’re foaming at the mouth.”

“I’m with you,” he said.

He was the first to issue another howl as he closed his eyes, preparing for the shift. There was no way to describe the white-hot pain or the way my eyesight was instantly clouded as the transformation began.

We’d been taught to endure agony in our lives. Hell, I’d shifted the first time when I was five because I didn’t know what the hell I was doing and had gotten angry with my best friend, Joey. He’d stepped on a firetruck I’d loved, cracking the ladder and I’d gone berserk. It had taken two Elders to keep me from beating my buddy to death because I didn’t know my own strength.

From there, my mother had sat me down and explained things to me and to Riker. We’d learned more about our history and what was expected of us as ‘decent fucking human beings’ as she’d called us. We’d been taught how to shift, a male Elder taking the place of our deadbeat father.

We’d trained both physically and emotionally to become wolves, learning defensive tactics as well as offensive. Which of course two wild boys had preferred. Not long after that, Chase had begun his training. From there, our mother had mandated it as a regime for all boys and girls.

That had been before the council took over all Wolfen business.

But after the training was concluded in about two years, nothing else was expected. We knew how to shift. We knew how to keep control. We were able to make our own decisions, but told that if we broke the law, Wolfen rules and protection wouldn’t apply.

As the anguish built to an intolerable level, I feared others of our kind would cease to accept the brutality of the transformation. Pain was a great deterrent. Why put yourself through that?

My body was shaking already, claws ripping from skin on my hands, bone cracking then breaking. As my canines grew, dropping from the roof of my mouth, my jaw was smashed.

Lights floated in front of my eyes before becoming as clear as a wolf’s.

As soon as my snout developed, I felt the mind-numbing ripple of my backbone and was forced to drop onto all fours.

By that point, my thoughts became entirely different, my needs bordering carnivorous. I was suddenly famished.

The earth was shaking as I threw back my head and howled. Anyone close would think we were nothing but gray wolves, our cries carrying.

But we were anything but a typical wolf.

There was no hesitation as the shift was concluded. We bounded into the thicker part of the forest, eager and willing to chase our prey.

The chase was freeing, more intense and exciting than I’d remembered. I moved quickly, the power of my muscles allowing me to jump over anything that got in my way. We stumbled onto a makeshift campground. The stench had gotten worse. This was a killing ground.

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