Page 42 of Escaping Wildfire

“Mija.” My mom came and sat beside me. “The Alpha said we have to leave before midnight, but I hoped we could talk before then. There is so much I want to say that I won’t get the chance to say right now, but I wanted you to know that we love you and are so proud of you. I have faith that you will find a way out of this, and I hope you can someday forgive your father for what he did. He is not perfect, but he did this so that we wouldn’t have to suffer the loss of any more of our family.” She squeezed my hand, hoping I’d understand.

“I get that he had his reasons and good intentions, and I know Wildfire Pack took your parents and brother, but I’m still hurting over this right now. He sold me out, and I don’t know how that will ever be okay.”

My mom nodded at me with tears in her eyes. “I’m so sorry. I’m sorry, too, that we can’t be there to watch you shift, I bet your wolf will be the most beautiful.” She wiped her eyes and hugged me again.

A guard came over to my mother, indicating it was time to leave, and she squeezed me tighter before she let go and headed out with my father.

Happy Birthday to me.

“Are you excited to get your wolf tonight?” Rory nudged my shoulder and gave me a soft smile.

“Yes, I am actually excited.” That was the first honest thing I had said all night. “I know your family won’t be able to make it to your shift, but would you mind if I stayed with you? I had to go through my first shift with just Larkin, so I can help you through it if you’d like?”

“That’s very nice of you to offer, I would actually like that.”

“Good, I’ve already cleared it with my father, and he said we can go to the outside training area and run there. I’m sorry, but he won’t allow us to run in the forest.”

“That’s fine. I didn’t expect I could do that anyway.”

“If you’re ready, we can head there now.”

I nodded and got up to follow Rory. I noticed her mother had left with Sheila around the same time my parents left, so Rory had sat alone for most of the dance. Larkin had disappeared after the cake-cutting, and the others had gone up to bed about an hour ago.

When we got to the field, I noticed a basket was set out in the middle over a picnic blanket. “It’s not much, but I got you a gift. I’m not allowed to leave the pack grounds, but I’m a decent baker, and I asked one of the twins if they knew your favorite flavor of cake.” She pulled out a container with three perfectly frosted strawberry cupcakes. “We can eat them now or after the run, but I’d suggest after as I’m always hungry after a run.” My eyes filled with tears at her kindness, I’d get my strawberry cake after all.

“After is fine.”

She nodded and showed me what else she had brought. “I brought extra clothes for after your shift, in case you didn’t want to wear your dress.” I nodded my thanks. Most people would have changed out of their party dress to not ruin it, but I wanted to keep it on and have my wolf completely tear through it. I couldn’t destroy the dress, but my wolf could.

“It’s midnight,” Rory said cheerfully as she looked at her watch. “Do you feel anything yet?”

I was about to shake my head, but I was gripped by a sharp pain in my stomach.

“Come here, it’s easier if you get on your hands and knees.” She guided me down, and I took off my shoes. My body started to itch, and it felt like an eternity before anything else happened.

I looked up and focused on the crescent moon. Noah was supposed to be here. We were supposed to find out if we were fated mates or not tonight. I wouldn’t get to have my first run with Cosmo and my family like I had always dreamed of doing. Moon Goddess was supposed to give me my happily ever after, instead, I got this.

Another pain shot through me as my bones started to crack and shift. I could feel that my shoulder had pulled into an odd position, and I started to feel my gums tingle.

“You’re doing great,” Rory cheered me on as she rubbed my back. “Just a little bit longer.”

I felt a few more bones crack, and I felt the fabric of my dress tear away. A soft breeze blew by, and the pain was gone as suddenly as it had arrived. I looked down at myself and saw fur-covered paws.

‘Finally, it’s good to be out.’

‘Hi! You’re my wolf!’ I cried out excitedly through the link.

‘Hello, Gema. My name is Amora.’

Amora, I loved her already.

‘I know you’ve had a hard few weeks, but I’m here for you now. We’ll get through this together.’ Her voice had a soothing quality that calmed my nerves.

A light tan wolf suddenly appeared before me, and I hadn’t realized Rory had gone off to shift until now. She gestured to the edge of the field and started to run. I had to work on keeping up with her, as I was still a bit clumsy in my new form, but I got the hang of it after circling the field a few times.

Rory slowed down and went behind a tree. When she came back, she had changed back into her human form and dress. She rummaged through her basket before pulling something out.

“I brought a mirror, I thought you might want to see yourself.” She flipped it around for me to see.