— •⚡️ Isabella ⚡️• —

"Walking through the forest is just magical to put it simply.

You can really appreciate the beauty of the world we live in. The world we all take for granted.

A world that can so easily be stripped by us, if we chose it.

After all, we are the protectors of the forest, or the world, of nature. Yet we are the ones destroying it."

Huh, who said that?

I wander through the forest. Trying to figure out where the voice is coming from.

The trees are tall and wide. Their leaves; green with purple or blue tips that floated down to the ground. Landing like the soft touch of a feather.

Wow, it's so beautiful here.

Birds fly around, ducking and diving between the branches, singing their sweet songs for the forest to hear.

"But there are some people who are not like others. Those who appreciate the world and the beings within it, both those they love and those they don't.

They are the people who bring internal sunshine to the world, shining a light on the bad and good, respecting both. The people who see the good and bad in a person and can accept them for both. For everything they are and everything they are not.

Those people who are far too good for this world but don't see it. They only see pain and regret.

Those are the people who will save the world. Maybe without even knowing it."

That voice again!

I turn around and I'm met with bright blue eyes. Its eyes glitter both with the mischief of a youngster and wisdom of an elder.

A black and red fox stands before me. Its fur is a patchwork of red and black, with flecks of silver throughout, and a white tipped tail.

Its eyes shone. Reflecting the same passion and desire I have in my own. The same curiosity. But they also hold sorrow and pain, which mine do not.

"Umm, Hi?" I say, unsure of what to actually say. This fox both amazes and terrifies me. Much like that woman I met in my dreams...

"Hey, you must be Athena." She says. Her voice was soothing and floated in between the trees.

"No. I'm Isabella." I say confused.

"Ah, so your spirit is Athena. I see." She says, slightly nodding her head.

"My spirit?" I ask, totally confused. Why would I have a spirit?

"Yes, your spirit." She says, laughing lightly. "I'll see you soon Izzy."

Izzy? Only Athena calls me Izzy. Strange.

There is a flash of white and suddenly the fox is gone.

I wake up.

Bella, we need to go to the forest. RIGHT NOW!!

I jump out of bed, startled by the voice in my head.

Why, Athena. What's happening?

Just trust me.

Okay. Let's go.

I make my way out of the tent as quietly as possible and creep through the camp. I don't want to wake anyone and I definitely don't want anyone to follow me.

Above me, the moon shines down. A bright staring eye that knows all my secrets and fears. Glittering in the company of the moon, stars are scattered carelessly throughout the blanket of the sky.

When I reach the fringe of the forest, I run.

I run as fast as I can until it's safe.

Okay, you can stop now.

I stop running and pant for breath.

Athena? Why did I need to come to the forest?

Because we are going to shift!

Woah, hold your fucking horses.

Shift?

Into what?

A wolf.

Your wolf.

Me.

I'm going to shift into you?

Yes, you see our spirit is shared between 2 beings. A human and wolf and therefore this body we currently reside in can choose to become whichever we please as we are both.

Okay. How exactly do I do this?

You don't have to get onto all fours but it helps and it's less awkward.

Okay, I'm on all fours.

Close your eyes and imagine me as a wolf. Imagine you as a wolf. Feel the ties that bond you to your wolf, pull on them making them stronger, imagine them wrapping around you until they become a part of you.

I feel my bones crack, at first it's relief from the constant pain I've been feeling, but then they crack and bend and split in ways they shouldn't. I try and scream out but nothing works.

Focus on the shift.

I try to imagine myself with claws and canines, with a muzzle and snout. I imagine myself as a wolf.

The pop of bones as they click into their new places. The tearing of skin as hair, teeth and claws pierce it like a knife.

Pain rippling through me like a tsunami. I shiver involuntarily and close my eyes. Gritting my teeth towards the pain that courses through my veins like electricity.

It hurts like fuck.

I want to howl in pain but know it's not a good idea. Especially with the other wolves that live in the forest. They'll see me as a threat.

Owwww! I growl.

Wait. I growled. I open my eyes and I feel funny.

I try to walk forwards but lose my balance and fall. That's when I look down and I notice the paws that have replaced my hands, the fur that coats my skin.

I stay collapsed on the ground from the pain. I did not expect it to hurt that much.

Didn't I warn you? Oops, my bad.

Athena!

What? I'm sorry.

After a while, I get up, which is difficult on four paws. I manage to balance whilst standing so try to walk and manage a few steps, just taking it slowly, not wanting to push my luck.

Okay so explain this whole wolf thing to me some more.

So, at the minute you are in control of the wolf. If you retreat or I take over, then I am in control. The closer we become the better our relationship, the easier the shift. It's also easier for you to push me to the back of our mind.

One last thing. I can also take control of your human body. Obviously, the human body has your spirit and the wolf has mine but as we are a human-wolf hybrid, with our spirits connects the bodies we share is also.

I guess that makes sense.

So wanna see how beautiful we look?

Yes!

Come on, water over here.

I trot over to the lake and stare at my reflection. A massive grey and white wolf. My fur seems to glitter in the moonlight. My eyes are a matching grey that shines with authority and power. They are captivating, with specs of white in the grey, that make them look like I hold the night sky in my eyes.

I'm huge. You think normal wolves are big. Nah, I'm probably as big as a small horse.

We are also bigger than most other werewolf lycanthropes.

Werewolf what?

Well, we are a werewolf technically as we are part human and part wolf. But the modern terminology is a lycanthrope. They are defined as having control over the shifts which we do, rather than the folklore of a werewolf which is every full moon.

Ah...

I gaze at the water some more. Captivated by the beauty of the wolf. Of my wolf.

Bella quick. We need to shift back now!
Someone is coming.

Imagine yourself as a human and don't think about me. Block me out.

I imagine myself as a human. Skin, pale face, long hair, hands and feet. I shift again, this time it hurts slightly less, shifting back is a lot less painful. Standing up I realise I'm fully dressed which surprises me. I'm used to the movies showing clothes ripping.

I walk away from the lake and deeper in the forest. I have a feeling that Athena didn't want whoever is coming to know I was there.

I hear a twig snap behind me.

I spin around.

"Lucas? What are you doing here?" I ask, a slight bit of panic etched into my voice.

"Well, I was looking for you, I didn't think you were here at first. But then I saw a wolf. I thought you might be in danger so I kept looking."

I hope to god he didn't see me.

"Well, here I am." I say.

"Yeah. What were you doing here anyway? Out in the forest? It's the middle of the night." He asks, concerned.

"I was just going for a walk. I like walking on a night with all the stars. The forest seems almost magical." I reply.

"Yeah it does, doesn't it."

I walk over to a fallen log and sit down.

"What were you doing up at this time? Aren't you supposed to do extra training tomorrow? Won't you need to rest?" I ask.

He sits down next to me.

"I couldn't sleep. Stuff on my mind you know?" He says.

"Yeah. I do know." I laugh lightly and he turns to face me, quizzically.

"Oh, don't worry about it. It's just scary being 16. More responsibility." I say.

It's not just that, the fact I have a wolf, those vile creatures, Paige killing two grown men yesterday, just everything.

"Yeah, don't I know it." He says, laughing more to himself than anything else.

"What do you mean?"

"Nothing. It's just my dad is getting on at me to be more responsible, look after the camp more. You know. Just my dad being my dad."

I just rest my head on his shoulder and he wraps his arm around me.

"Cold?" He asks.

"Yeah." I nod.

"Come on, let's head back." He says. Standing up, pulling me up with him.

— • ⚡️ • —

Pain. I'm aching all over. My bones feel like they've been broken, fixed and broken again.

I mean they technically have.

I'm laid on my bed. Arms and legs tangled in a mess as I roll around. My skin is crawling with pain. Why does it still hurt? Athena knew it would hurt when I shifted but why not mention it would hurt afterwards.

Because I didn't know it would.

Athena?

...

Urghhh.

I get up. I need something to stop the jolts of pain that shuck my body.

I head to the lake.

Dipping my body into the clear liquid gave immediate relief. The cooling sensations as the water rolled over my skin. Chilling my bones numb.

— • 🔐 Lucas 🔐 • —

Everyone else is training in the shadows of the trees, I'm walking around camp trying to find any stragglers that need to join the group.

As I walk, I'm hit with wave after wave of pain. I can't tell where it's coming from but it circles the camp like an angry shark.

I curl over. My body gripped in agony.

But then nothing. The camp dove into silence. The pain stopped, but the air in my lungs was tight. Even the trees seemed to stop breathing. The fire blew out and the pond that was located next to where Dandy grazed stopped rippling. Everything had stopped dead. It was like time itself had frozen.

After 5 minutes. Everything went back to how it was originally.

What the fuck was that?

— •⚡️ Isabella ⚡️• —

I swam across the lake and back until the sun began to set.

Colours danced across the sky like artwork. Reflecting in the mirror that I swam across.

I decide to link Athena. I wonder if she is okay. That pain was almost unbearable.

Athena? Are you okay? What happened back there?

The pain was too much. When I surfaced, I released too much of me. That cannot happen again.

She said it more to herself than to me.

Athena. What do you mean, you revealed yourself?

When I talk to you, our wolf comes to the surface. Our wolf is very powerful Izzy. I do not know how powerful, but I know we are powerful. I can tell from the aura it emits.

Is that why you don't talk unless we are alone? So that no one knows who we are?

Yes, it is for our safety. I'm not aware of the danger of revealing ourselves but I can guess it would be bad.

Normally, when I talk to you, we emit a small aura. Other wolves will be able to smell it, potentially other werewolves. But back then when I spoke to you whilst you and your wolf were in pain and it emitted a larger aura. I still don't know why that was the case, but we can figure it out if we are careful.

Okay. I guess we should talk later. Someone is probably going to turn up. They always do.

I heave myself out of the shining water and sit on the banking.

Above, is no longer a swirling battle of colour but a deep blue, showing stars that climb the sky.

I sigh. Everything has become so complicated. I just wish things could go back to before. When I didn't have to hide to feel comfortable, to talk to Athena. I could train without the extra ache of my shifting bones. I didn't have to worry about Paige and how quiet she became after the incident. I could laugh and be happy without having to fake it. Hiding all these exhausting thoughts from my family. I didn't have to think about monsters that tried to kill me. How I nearly died- and barely survived.

The water glitters my skin like a thousand tiny diamonds beautifully dancing down my body.

I sit there. Among the nature of the world. Both lost and trapped in my thoughts.

I fall asleep, to the gentle lull of the water lapping the banking, kissing my feet in respect.

Word count [2353]

Sooooooo bella's a wolf shifter... did any of you guys guess? I mean apart from the title and cover of the story😂

Anyone got any theories on the relevance of the fox? And why she would have a dream about it?

Leave feedback, pretty please? It helps a lot.

- Bri xox