A Savior to the Alpha

The First Shift

Carter's POV-

Shit. I thought I'd have at least one more day before she shifted, but I was wrong. While making supper for the four of us, I heard the first screams of what is going to no doubt be an all night process. Her wolf seemed even more eager than I anticipated. The guys heard it too and we all raced up the steps to her room. I quickly unlocked the door to find Lilliana contorting in pain on the floor in front of the window nook in her room. I could tell this was just the first stage of her shift, her cells transforming with her wolf DNA preparing her body to take form.

It appears she was sleeping when it started no doubt startling her from her slumber. Ryker and I went over to her as Mac made his way back down stairs to unlock the back door leading the garden. We had talked about the plan in length and I was glad they knew exactly what to do. I needed to get her outside as she was shifting faster than we had anticipated and I didn't need a new wolf destroying my house. This was the safest house in the pack and if she destroyed it, we would have no choice but to relocate to the barracks which was the last place I wanted my mate. I placed my hand on her shoulder and her screams softened to whimpers. I knew I could lessen the pain for her but if she could I was pretty sure she would tell me to f**k off back to hell.

"Little Wolf, we need to get you outside. I'll have to carry you down since you can't walk." She didn't answer, but I knew she couldn't, since she was in too much pain. She was panting and sweating, fighting her shift. I had to wonder if she had been properly prepared for it since they didn't live in a pack. I gently lifted her off the ground and we made our way to the garden with Ryker trailing behind. Once in the garden I noticed that Mac had already shifted and Ryker was right behind him. We were faster in our wolf forms and most wolves love to run during their shift since it was the fastest they would ever be. I decided not to shift until she had, which by the look of it wouldn't be long if she would just stop fighting it. I laid her in the soft grass and stepped back letting nature run its course for the end of her transformation.

Lillian's POV-

The pain was radiating through me like my insides were on fire. I could feel everything moving around preparing for the Shift. My neck snapped back and I couldn't help but let out a scream. My face contorted until it elongated into a snout and my legs broke back into the form they would take as a wolf. Two rows of sharp teeth pointed and grew preparing for their predatory role. I knew I had to stop fighting the transformation but it was so hard. I was scared since my dad hadn't spoke in detail what to expect during the shift. I knew it would hurt but not this damn much. I could feel the heat building in intensity until it finally released and I laid on the ground panting, now in my wolf form. I laid there for what seemed like hours, but was only a few minutes, as the pain receded and my wolf settled down.

For the first time I could smell how truly hypnotizing Carter's scent was. I shook my head trying to pull myself together and focus on my plan. It was next to impossible with the fresh rain that penetrated my nostrils but I managed to break through the haze. I tried to stand up, but for a moment my legs seemed like they had a mind of their own. Slowly my movements became more fluid and deliberate and I managed to stand. I finally noticed the three other wolves standing and watching me. Carter was watching me intensely, his black fur contrasted only by his bright blue eyes. Ryker's wolf was a sandy tan and Mac's was a light grey blend.

They all had the mind-link, but since I wasn't officially a park of the pack they couldn't hear me. A firm knocking resounded through my mind but I blocked it as well as I could. The only conclusion was that it was my wolf and I knew she wouldn't be able to resist going to her mate. I had to keep control so I could get us home. I decided to feel out how protective they were going to be, so I took a few steps further into the garden and noticed the guys hadn't moved. I stopped to smell some of the flowers and collect myself before I took off in a dead sprint back towards my home.

I could hear the guys paws hitting the earth behind me, but slowly they started to fade. I ran as hard and as fast as I could determined not to stop. Soon I could no longer hear them following me, and even though I didn't slow down, I started to relax. I focused all my efforts on putting paws to the ground blocking out all other thoughts. This might really work after all. It didn't last long though, my little victory. A few more feet and I felt a body slam into mine from the side. Before I could get up there was another wolf on top of me, but this one was unfamiliar and definitely not friendly.

He was a darker brown with piercing brown eyes. Before I could whimper, shift, or get away he began attacking like a rabid dog. His mouth was trying to wrap around my throat as he clawed at my sides. Whoever this wolf was I was sure he would kill me. No one was supposed to even know I was here so surely this was just my shitty luck and not directed at me. I tried to get away from him, but I was weaker than him and there wasn't much I could do. Just when I had resolved myself to succumbing to the blood loss I heard footsteps running fast through the forest. I listened for a moment trying to determine if it was friend, and I use that term lightly, or foe. This wolf could have been working with others and if that was the case I was well and truly f****d.

All of a sudden his scent hit me, filling my nostrils like a beacon of hope. If I could just hang on long enough, Carter would be here to help me. I honestly didn't want it to be him coming to my rescue but my choices were severely limited. I could feel myself beginning to drift in and out and I knew I would be lucky to survive this fight. All at once I felt the weight lift off of me as Carter slammed into the mystery wolf. I tried to scramble to my feet, but I was weak and disoriented. I lost my balance and slammed into a tree, howling at the pain that racked my body. I was ready to pass out again but I mentally slapped myself to try to stay conscious.

I felt Ryker and Mac on either side of me, trying to help me stand. They could shift on demand, but during your first shift, you have to ride it out, so I couldn't shift into my human form until my wolf let go. Ryker was urging me to walk back towards the house, but I looked back at Carter fiercely fighting my attacker. He scared me, but in this moment I didn't want to leave him. Mac joined in the effort to get me moving and I figured it was probably under Carter's orders even though I didn't have the link yet. He probably just wanted me away and locked back up in the room and that spurred my defiance. I tried to take off again but my attempt proved futile as I stumbled and fell. There was no way I was making it home like this, no way in hell.

I gave in and let Ryker and Mac walk me back to the house. As the adrenaline began to wear off, the pain coursed through my body. I felt the life draining slowly and it was getting increasingly harder to stay upright. Every once and awhile, I would stumble and fall, letting out a small whimper, until the house came into view. At the edge of the tree line, Mac shifted back, but Ryker kept urging me on. I could hear Mac calling the pack doctor but I couldn't walk any farther. I was so tired and weak and I just wanted to give in. I fell again, but this time I couldn't bring myself to get up, the blackness slowly engulfing me, until I no longer hear the shouts from Mac. A small hope blossomed inside me that I would soon see my mother and brother again, but also a pang of guilt that I was leaving my father alone.