Revenge : His Mysterious Werecat

8 - Celeste's First Shift

Celeste POV

    The next year went by crazy fast, and I was loving my life as a werecat.  I belonged to an amazing pack of werecats, who accepted me wholeheartedly.  They were nice to me, and nobody treated me like I was a leper.  

    Lynzee and Lance remained my bestfriends, and we had a lot of fun hanging out together.  Lynzee was really spunky, and she had a tendency to bring out the more wild side of me.  Lance was a little spunky, but he was the one who usually kept us from doing anything too wild or dangerous.

    I had gotten used to my new human form, and I could do all kinds of things that I couldn't do as a werewolf.  I could climb up a tree, and I could jump down if I didn't climb too high.  If I accidently fell while I was climbing up the tree or walking across a limb, I always landed on my feet, because of my awesome agility.

    Celeste's actual birthday was exactly one week before Alana's, but I didn't shift into my werecat form like everybody expected me to do.  I was a little bummed, but I knew there was a high likelihood that I would shift on Alana's birthday, since it was Alana's werecat soul that was brought out of it's dormant state when the Moon Goddess reincarnated me into Celeste's human body.  

    Aside from the not shifting, I had a wonderful birthday.  My parents threw me a party that all of my friends attended.  It was the first time I ever experienced a birthday with an actual party, and it was a little overwhelming, but I enjoyed it a lot.  It was nice to have friends who wanted to celebrate my birthday with me.

    My favorite area of the Midnight Pack territory was the southern area that was more like a rain forest.  I could spend hours climbing up those trees and admiring the scenery around me.  Everything was more vibrant, and I found myself captivated by it's sheer beauty.  

    There were colorful flowers scattered throughout the area, and the creatures in that part of the territory were very intriguing to me.  I would often get books from the library to research the different creatures, and I learned a lot of cool stuff about them.  I still loved to read, and that's what I did most of the time when I was at home.

    During the overnight hours leading up to Alana's actual birthday, I stayed in the rain forest.  I couldn't explain it, but I felt like the jungle was calling to me.  Sometime during the early morning hours, I felt like I was being called to explore farther into the rain forest.

    I was hesitant at first, because I knew that would mean crossing the border, but I couldn't stop my feet from taking me farther into the dense jungle.  Eventually, my feet led me to the most stunning waterfall.  

    As I gazed at the cascading water, I got this overwhelming sense of belonging.  It was like nothing I had ever experienced before.  

    I climbed up one of the trees in case anybody else showed up, then I used my awesome night vision to scan the area.  When I didn't see any signs of anybody else, I got comfortable on the limb I was perched on, then I took a nap.

    I woke up a few hours later to that familiar burning pain.  It was the same pain I had experienced when Alana shifted into her werewolf form.  However, the pain wasn't anywhere near as intense, but it was enough to cause me to loose my balance.  As I fell to the ground below me, I contorted and twisted my body just right, so I landed on my feet.

    Right away, I dropped to my knees and hissed in pain.  I rocked back and forth on my knees for a few minutes, then I laid on my side and curled into a ball.  I could feel beads of sweat form over my entire body, then I started to hear the familiar snapping of my bones.

    However, the loud snapping of my bones stopped me from being able to hear the twigs snapping around me.  Since I was curled in a ball with my eyes closed, I didn't see the crowd of werecats that had surrounded me.

    It wasn't until all of my bones snapped and rearranged, then I opened my eyes and saw the many werecats that had surrounded me.  I was shocked to see so many eyes all locked on me with shock evident in them.  

    Instantly, I lowered my body as a show of submission, so they wouldn't attack me.  I had no clue where they all came from, and I didn't recognize any of their scents, so I was determined to not do anything that would cause them to attack me.

    Most of the werecats surrounding me were were-jaguars, but there was also a few were-panthers and were-leopards.  The largest of them was a were-jaguar.  After he stared me down for a few minutes, he shifted into his human form, then he curiously asked, "Is this your first time shifting into your cat form?"

    I nodded my big cat head at him, as I took in his human features.  He had dark orange hair and the brightest green eyes.  He was well built, and he had a smile that could make any girl swoon.

    He slowly walked closer to me, then he warily asked, "Can you shift back to your human form, so we can talk?"

    I nodded my head at him again, then I glanced at the portion of my body that I could see.  My fur looked a lot like the were-jaguar who was talking to me.  My cat form was beautiful with my mostly light orange fur that had splotches of black circular forms.  The smaller blobs of black were filled in, but the larger ones looked more like outlines of circular forms, and I had a long tail that was orange and black.

    After I committed my werecat form to my memory, I thought about Celeste's human form, then I shifted back into it.  Right away, the werecat that asked me to shift back handed me two large leaves so I could shield my naked body from the view of the other werecats.

    As I held one of the leaves in front of me, and the other behind me, I nervously asked, "Who are you?"

    The large man chuckled before he answered, "I am Alpha Jared Saunters from the Jungle Pack.  Who are you?"

    "I am Celeste Carlisle from the Midnight Pack.  I'm sorry for trespassing on your territory.  I will leave now," I anxiously responded.

    Alpha Jared jovially laughed, then he adamantly insisted, "My dear, there is no need to apologize.  You are one of us, and you are always welcome on our territory."

    "Why do you say I am one of you?" I curiously asked.

    "You are a were-jaguar.  That is why the jungle called you here.  This is where our subspecies originated," he happily explained.

    "Oh, I didn't know that," I sheepishly admitted.

    "That's okay, Celeste.  There aren't very many outside of this territory who have that knowledge, unless they are called here by the jungle," he nonchalantly informed me.

    "Why and how did the jungle call me here," I warily asked.

    "The jungle called out to your cat, and she is the one who actually brought you here.  She knew you wouldn't be in danger, and she acted on instinct.  I don't know how it happens, but the jungle knows when there is werecat soul close by, who belongs in the jungle," he explained with a small smile playing on his lips.

    "Is that why I always feel compelled to spend my time in the rain forest on my pack's territory?" I curiously asked.

    "Yes it is," he happily chirped.

    For an Alpha, he seemed to be especially nice, and I didn't feel the slightest bit uneasy after just a minute of talking to him.  I flashed him a smile, as I enthusiastically chirped, "This is so cool.  I am a member of the Midnight Pack, but I am still welcome to visit here whenever?  Can I bring my friends here with me?"

    "If you trust them to not start problems with our pack members, I am okay with that.  When you reach maturity, you are welcome to join our pack at any point in time.  We would love for you to be here where you belong," he thoughtfully replied.

    "Thank you, Alpha Jared.  I will definitely keep that in mind, and I look forward to visiting with you all again.  However, I really need to get home before my parents and friends start to worry," I happily stated.

    "Okay, dear.  We looked forward to seeing you again.  Do you need help finding your way back?" he politely asked.

    "I just need you to point me in the right direction," I quickly responded with a wide smile plastered on my face.

    Alpha Jared returned the wide smile, as he pointed in the direction I needed to go and cheerfully replied, "Have a safe journey back."

    "Thank you," I happily chirped, then I thought about my jaguar form and shifted back into it.  

    I nodded my head at Alpha Jared once more, then I sprinted in the direction he pointed me toward.  It was awesome running in my jaguar form.  I was way faster than any werewolf I had ever seen run.  

    As soon as I crossed the border, I slowed my pace, then I climbed up a tree to see what it was like in my jaguar form.  I noticed my agility was even better than my human form.  I could jump from one tree to the next if it wasn't too far away, and that was awesome.  

    I was enjoying my time in my new cat form, when I heard Lance's voice come through our mind link.  He sounded a little worried, as he asked, 'Celeste, where are you?  I'm at your house.'

    I quickly mind linked back, 'I'm on my way there, but I'm in my cat form, so don't freak out.'

    'Okay.  See you in a few,' he warily replied before he cut the link.

    I wasted no time sprinting in the direction of my home, and I made it there in record time, since my jaguar could run so fast.  When I emerged from the tree line, I saw Lance's eyes instantly widen in surprise.  

    I slowed down to a walk, then I proceeded to close the gap between us.  When I reached him, he gazed at me in awe, then he reached out and ran the palm of his hand down my back, as he softly murmured, "I can't believe you are a were-jaguar.  You are so pretty.  That totally explains why you always want to hang out in the rain forest."

    Right away, I opened our mind link and sheepishly asked, 'Can you open the door for me.  I shredded my clothes when I shifted.'

    "Of course," he happily replied, then he walked to the front door of my house with me following close behind.

    As soon as he opened the door, I sprinted past him and straight to my bedroom.  I could hear my parents gasp as I passed by them, but I wanted to get shifted back into my human form and put some clothes on.

    When I got to my bedroom, I shifted back, then I pulled on a light pink sundress, before I headed back to the living room.  I had expanded my wardrobe a great deal over the last year, and I had clothes in all different colors to choose from.  It was a nice change from all the purple and white stuff I started out with when I first became Celeste.