The next day... I was still human. At least, I woke up from a deep, dreamless sleep into my normal, human form.

Pun aimed at Elena intended, it was textbook anticlimactic.

So, like usual with my father, I was thrown back into my normal scheduled routine. More specifically, Cole kicked my ass over every inch of those black, squishy floor mats.

Since we established that I was incapable of landing a punch on Cole and he tossed me around like a ragdoll, today he switched to showing me defensive moves. By my constant failure to grasp the concept of removing myself from basic holds, I wasn't any better at defensive than offensive fighting.

"How is this helping?" I asked from my belly-down position on the floor with Cole's knee lodged in the back of my lower back. "How?"

Seriously, this guy moves like a freaking ninja.

"You're holding back, Princess," Cole groaned, leaving his knee pin in place. "Get up."

"You make it sound so easy," I muttered and squirmed against his heavy frame blocking me down. After I managed to roll sideways, I kicked his leg out from under him and rolled onto my side.

"Better," he gruffed out, bounded up to his feet, and gestured for me to stand. "Again."

"Can I please get a fucking br -" I stopped talking when he tensed up, his spine straightening and making him look two inches taller.

His eyes flashed while pools of yellow dripped into his hazel-brown irises, then his pupils dilated until his eyes were solid black. They stared at the entrance door to the gym, and from my angle on the floor, his fists tightened and nostrils flared. A pink flush spread over his not-sweaty face.

An internal urge of awareness swelled inside me,like I should have recognized what his shifted reactions meant. But since I witnessed this reaction from Cole - heartless, emotionless, reactionless, feeling-less Cole - I didn't have a clue what was happening here.

"Cole?"

He ignored me, his eyes flashing to a bright cobalt blue and glowing like a ring light. The muscles and veins from his wrists to his shoulders tensed, his lips parted, and I swore a low growl rumbled in the back of his throat.

"Cole?"

I swiveled my head in the direction he stared. My eyes widened at the most non-threatening, small, feminine figure.

Elena?

She stood in the doorway, hugging a handful of books to her chest. Her hair was tied into a messy bun at the nape of her neck but soft, stray brown curls framed her face. She shifted uncomfortably in her stance and leaned into the door frame as if she drew strength from it to stand.

Her brown eyes were frozen and stared back at him the way I looked at chocolate donuts.

"What the -" Words escaped me when the blur previously known as Cole moved.

In a blink, he was inches from Elena. His large, muscular frame leaned over her small body and he placed his palms on either side of the door frame, caging himself around her. Then he leaned over, placed his nose against the crook of her neck, and inhaled deeply. Instead of a shocked, gut-wrenching, 'what are you doing!?' reaction that I felt in my stomach, I watched as she enjoyed the exchange.

Wait... she... is enjoying this?

Elena's cheeks flushed pink, her eyes fluttered closed, and her lips parted. Between the seam, soft, melodic giggles escaped. She shifted her head, tipping up her chin like she gave him more access and welcomed him to repeat the odd, animalistic behavior.

The books fell from her arms, abandoned in slow motion and crashed at their feet, as his nose brushed up her neck and tucked below her earlobe. The hard muscles in his shoulders and upper back tensed into angular shapes as his lips moved into words only she heard. She giggled again, then her eyes flashed a similar bright blue before she cupped a hand over her mouth. Her chin bobbed like she whispered back.

My palms braced the floor mats I was too familiar with, and I pushed myself up onto my backside. Bracing my weight in my hands, my own lips parted at how they moved and spoke as if they were the only ones around.

My face warmed from my staring at their interaction, and I looked away. With a push of my palms against the gym mat, I stood up. After brushing my hands over my pants, I cleared my throat and hugged my elbows because I wasn't sure what else to do.

I could have told them I'd forgotten to walk my goldfish and they wouldn't have noticed.

After a few more huddled whispers, I was obviously now a third wheel. I excused myself, not that they noticed, slid past them in the doorway, and entered the nearest bathroom. I removed the tape from my knuckles, and smiled at whatever interest that seemed to spark between them, and washed my hands at the sink.

Maybe this is the start of Cole growing a heart.

As I bent over to wash my face, I felt the light-headed onset rush of a headache. Just a dull sensation swelled in my forehead, around and in between my eyes. A pulsating sensation in the same spot grew stronger quickly, and an increasing pressure built up inside my skull, right behind my eyes and pushing them.

A flush of heat spread over my body, as if my temperature increased a few degrees every second.

"Oh..." I gasped, grabbing my head with both hands.

My damp, cold palms pressed into my cheeks as both my legs collapsed. Pain burst into my knees as they knocked into the cold, hard floor with a thud. My entire body now radiated in heat but the floor offered no relief. I squeezed my elbows to my knees and contracted my abdominal muscles tightly as a sensation of sharp, hot needles now stabbed all over my bones.

And then, instantly, I felt nothing but pain. Searing, red hot pain licked at and surged all over my body, shooting down my arms and legs into my palms and soles, locking my fingers and toes in splayed out positions. My shoulders wrenched up to my ears, where I even felt pain and pressure like my eardrums would bust.

As the pain reached an excruciating level, every inch of my body twitched, spasmed, and writhed. I opened my mouth to scream but the pain inhaled my words and constricted my breath. My throat choked down on itself and dryness coated my tongue.

Ear-splitting, stomach-wrenching sounds were chased by the most excruciating pain I'd ever felt.

Crack.

My spine felt like each vertebrae was snapped as my chest protruded and pelvis retreated. I arched backward, then the back of my head lurched into a hard contact point.

My feet.

My feet? This can't be happening.

Crack.

With gut clenching pain, my elbow and shoulder joints dislocated, followed by my knees and hips. Helpless, I witnessed my body moving and acting on its own accord. It attacked itself, leaving my mind paralyzed and unable to process what happened.

Fear of the unknown licked up the back of my neck until my head wrenched sideways and my chin met the sharp bone protruding from my left shoulder.

Crack.

My shins and forearms snapped like they'd been struck by invisible weapons, broken upon contact.

Crack.

Every bone in my body, from the large femurs in my thighs to the tiniest bones supporting my ears, felt like they were struck by a thousand hammers and shattered. Like a contortionist, my body morphed into unnatural angles and shifts, the strain pushed against my skin like a knife cut its way out of a plastic bag.

Blackness surrounded me as I squeezed my eyes closed. Heat roared through my veins, pushing my ribs, the last in-tact bones, into obliterated pieces. Loud, throat-vibrating, blood-curdling screams ripped out from between my lips as every inch of my skin felt stretched and torn off my body.

White spots dotted my black vision.

And then, nothing.

Silence.

As if my body couldn't handle any more pain, a dull ache washed over me. A hollow, empty, numbness flushed into my body. The strain in my squeezed eyes relented and I collapsed onto the floor.

I must have blacked out from the pain because I slipped into the dream I hadn't had in weeks. With steps of her large, white paws, the wolf came back. The light caught the wispy movements of her fur and her electric, light blue eyes peering at me. This time, however, she didn't run away, only stared at me with enlarged pupils.

Wait... How do I know it was a she?

'You are female.' A voice inside my head spoke. I felt like there was also a 'dumbass' implied there.

Wait, what? Why am I hearing voices?

The voice grew, equal in volume and attitude.

'Zara.'

I clenched my eyes closed, shaking my head. That was a bad choice, by the pounding throbs that rushed a sense of dizziness through me.

Who is this? Am I going crazy?

My breath stalled, burning in my lungs where I held it and waited for the response.

'Your wolf.'

Tension and strain knotted between my shoulder blades uncurled and dissolved.

I have a wolf?

'Yes.'

There's a wolf in my head.

'Yes.'

So do I call you wolfie?

A snort echoed out of the back of my mind.

'No.'

A faint twitch tugged at my lips because this felt like a true conversation and I doubted it was real.

What's your name?

After a long pause, her answer flowed through my mind.

'Lumi.'

Warmth filled my chest, not from the new acquaintanceship but the sensation that part of myself was unlocked and introduced.

Lumi, you're beautiful. Like in my dreams.

With no interest in compliments, she chuffed at me, a half-snort, half-exhale sound.

'Not dreams Zara. Wake.'

My eyes fluttered as if I was woken up from the odd dream. Blurriness coated my eyes like lenses and a spinning sensation overwhelmed my temples as my thoughts attempted to disentangle reality from my dream. A strange, unfamiliar energy that hummed through my body added to my confusion, so I exhaled a strong breath and felt all my senses tingled with electricity.

After shifted movements and several eye blinks, I realized I laid in a heap on the floor. With weakened arm muscles, I struggled to sweep my hands under my shoulders, grounded them far away from the sides of my body, and pushed myself halfway up. With what little energy reserved inside of me, my arms buckled and I plopped back down onto the floor.

Exertion panted out of me, but stubbornness fueled me to try again. Locking my arm muscles, I pressed harder against the floor, fighting gravity as much as fatigue to push myself up to standing.

My eyes caught a glimpse in a nearby window, flashing the same aquamarine blue eyes back at me. However, they were accompanied with a long white snout, gray nose, and pure white fur all the way to the tips of her ears. With the exception of a few almond-color hairs in her ears, her body was coated with pristine, iridescent, snow-white fur.

Lumi.

This wolf had to be her. Had she spoken to me in the dream?

No... it's impossible.

Her insistence, coupled with that annoyed tone I associated with her, overpowered my doubt.

'Yes.'

There she was. The unrecognizable but familiar voice in my head.

My heart pounded loudly as a restricted pressure sensation squeezed my chest. Breaths puffing out between my pursed lips became shallow, not as panic soaked into me, but reality. Jutting up her chin, eyes gleaming down her nose, Lumi stood in front of me. Her broad chest expanded at the ribs, releasing a few hot, sharp, panted breaths at me.

Mesmerized at this perfect, unblemished animal, I wanted to stare at her forever. Dry and cracked, my lips parted. Desperate to talk to her again, the rest of my body was so weak. My wrists buckled, elbows dislodged, and I collapsed under the weight of my upper body.

Upon the impact thud, my eyes rolled back and blackness took me under.

"Uhh..."

I blinked open my eyes at the whiteness surrounding me. Unlike the pure, crystalline color of Luis' fur, this white was duller, almond-tinted with age, and yellowed at the intersection with the floor. White paint peeled off the ceiling, where a fluorescent light flickered and hummed.

There was no door, only a window along one wall next to me. I didn't need much deduction to know I was in an isolation room, like for a person who wasn't allowed to interact with society.

But why?

My accomplishments, other than failing to punch Cole, were being utterly clueless and blacking out. Different states of coherence made me question if I shifted in and out of alternative nightmares. The thought offered slight relief, until I realized my limbs sagged with fatigue.

If I've been sleeping so long, then why am I exhausted?

My body felt more aches and pains than my worst workout from Cole. A dull headache threatened as my brain attempted to sort this out.

Taking a slow, deep breath, I reached up to rub my fingers into my forehead. Instead, a rough, texture surface scratched across my face. Blinking, I looked down at my hands.

They were... paws? White furry paws with light gray pads on them rolled with my wrist movements. I flexed my thumbs and light gray dewclaws, looking as sharp as eagle talons, extended.

I'm a dog?

One quick glance back at the window showed she was still here, right where she stood in my dream. Round with curiosity, her aqua-blue irises blazed brightly at me around dilated pupils from behind the window.

My heart leapt into my throat as I recognized her.

Lumi.

After a few seconds and synchronized, reflected movements, reality hit me.

Wait... Not a window. Mirror.

As my weight shifted two steps to the right, the wolf moved with me. My feet shifted left and she followed. I ducked my head down and she followed with her hindquarters raised, thick, white tail lifted high like a banner. With wobbling ankles, I walked to the mirror and smashed my nose into the hard surface.

Very graceful.

My gaze was mesmerized by those beautiful, aquamarine blue eyes. They burned, like a gas flame. Highlighted with the dim overheat lights, her pupils shrunk.

Trembling, I lifted up a paw. The reflection did as well. The reaction filled me with an odd pleasure and I thumped my tail. My spine froze.

Why the fuck do I have a tail!?

I opened my mouth to speak but only a whine came out.

My ears perked up hearing a shift of movement behind me. I turned and blinked at the small, white animal I couldn't believe I hadn't noticed sooner.

A goat lifted its head, then bleated at me pitifully. "Meeeh-eeeh-eeeh."

The smell of hay and fresh, meaty protein twitched my nose.

Emptiness gurgled and rumbled in my stomach like thunder. My eyes flinched and vision narrowed on the small mammal. Heat, fueled by lust and frustration, rushed through my body and pumped my heart harder.

A primal urge to attack, to destroy overtook my entire body. It thrummed in my veins and ignited my cells with purpose. My head lowered between my front paws and lips curled back on their own accord.

I was hungry.

Every hair on that animal rose up, its pupils shrunk, and my ears twitched at the rapid drumming sound of the goat's heartbeat.

Vibrations rumbled in my chest cavity, rose up the muscles in the back of my throat, and a growl released from between my curled back lips. Within a blink, my leg muscles flinched and I lunged. Long sharp claws extracted from my paws as I pounced and slacked my jaw.

Short, bristled fur met my tongue, followed by a sharp squeal piercing my ears. My canines sunk down into the threads of a warm neck, gushing warm, thick liquid over my tongue. Filling up and oozing out the corners of my mouth, the metallic taste awoke another primal need... to devour. In one sharp snap of my jaws, bone crunched in between my teeth and the goat fell limp in my grasp.

As I satisfied my primal hunger, ripping into and chewing the warm, sinewy meat, my ears flicked when detecting a small audience.

"She's further ahead than we thought, Sir," Anna's voice mused.

I couldn't see past the white walls enclosed around me and splatters of blood dotting them. But I heard her as clear as if she leaned over and spoke into my ear. From the direction of the sound, she stood on the other side of the mirror, observing me.

As the only 'sir' in this house, assuming I was still somewhere within my father's mansion, I deduced he was with Anna.

"She burned off the lupron faster than expected. She bled heavily but her wolf is awake," she offered one explanation of the countless that escaped me, a slight awe slipping into her normal, passive voice.

"She must control herself." Even muffled through walls, my father's cold, sterile voice hit my ears. Devoid of emotion, his tone offered no indication if this information pleased or displeased him. "Her transformation confirmation will be in two nights' time, pack ceremony in two weeks. I'll summon the other Alphas for the next first moon."

Her response, masked behind professional indifference, dissolved back into blank nothingness

"Yes, Alpha Cassius."