THE SHIELD AND THE SWORD

Chapter 9 - SHIFTING & RUN

Asteria and Jasmine

Watching the sun slowly sink into the mountain skyline, I lean back into the cool grass and look at the sky. I hear footsteps and look over and see Jasmine coming my way. She sits beside me and lies back to stare at the sky. Our shoulders are touching.

“I am so glad I have you in my life, Jasmine. You’re the sister I never knew I wanted,” I say, giggling. Jasmine looks over at me with a massive smile on her face. “Yeah, well, I love you too, Asteria. I enjoyed our training session today. I don’t think I will ever be as strong or fast as you,” she admits. “Maybe not jazz,” I replied. “But you are a strong fighter and have strong magic.”

She reaches over and pokes me in the side with her finger and laughs. “You forgot to add that I have a kickass sister,” she jokes. I have to laugh at her antics.

Out of nowhere, I start to feel warm inside. “Akira,” I say in my head. “What’s happening?” “I feel it, too, Asteria,” She replies. “I think it’s time for our first shift.” “Oh my gosh, Akira,” I cry in my head. “It’s too soon. I’m only 14,” I proclaim. Akira calmly replies. “All things happen when they should.”

Then, an unbearable pain starts ripping through me. I flip on my side and curl up in a ball, trying to breathe through it. “Just breathe, Asteria,” Akira tells me. I tried to take long, slow, deep breaths. It seems distant, but I hear Jasmine yelling from my mother and Thomas. It’s just a few minutes until I feel arms wrapping around me and my mother telling me it will be OK. I guess her wolf has told her what is happening. I raise my head, and I see Thomas standing in front of me with a proud smile.

I keep breathing and listening to Akira, and within moments, the pain stops. I look at my hands, no their claws. Black claws. Akira tells me to stand.

“What do you mean to stand?” I replied. “We are a lycan. I know this is foreign to you, but relax and drift back into your mind, and let me have control.” I do what she says and relax both my body and my mind. I feel her moving forward in my consciousness. Suddenly, I feel our bodies standing.

Oh my gosh, I’m looking down on Thomas. I’m used to looking down on my mother now that I’m older, but Thomas is over 6 feet tall, and I am looking down on him now. “How tall are we, Akira?” I hear her laugh in my head. “We are 7 feet, my dear—a force to be reckoned with.” I turn and look at my mother, who has a look of utter shock on her face. Akira reaches forward, wraps our arms around her, and pulls her to my chest.

Akira backs up and nods at my mother, then turns and does the same to Thomas. They both immediately run to the forest's edge, go behind trees, and shift. I turn to see Jasmine smiling from ear to ear. Akira turns to the side, squats down slightly, and looks over her shoulder at Jasmine. It takes a moment for Jazz to jump up and get on Akira’s back finally.

When Mother and Thomas emerge from the trees, they are shifted into their beautiful wolves. They both tilt their head to the night sky and howl. Akira, in kind, does the same. Akira takes off running, with Thomas and mother following close behind. I can hear Jasmine laughing in my ear and holding onto my shoulders. “Akira, this is amazing. Thank you for including jazz in our first run.” “Don’t thank me, Asteria,” She replies. “We have both adopted her as a sister. She will forever be family.”

We all run and play for about an hour, then head back towards the lodge. When we arrived, I realized I had no clothes to put on when I shifted back. “Akira, what will we do when I shift back?” I ask. “Don’t worry, my dear. I’m sure Mother will think of it and bring us something.” When Akira stops back at the same place we started. Jazz slides off Akira's back, and I turn and look at Mother. She nods as she emerges from the trees.

I see my mother running towards the house to get me some clothes. When she comes out of the lodge. Akira grabs the clothes and goes to the forest line. Akira pushes my consciousness forward, and then she says, “Picture yourself in your human body, and you will shift.” I do as she says and then quickly get dressed. I’m walking toward my mother, Thomas, and jazz when I feel lightheaded. “Akira, what’s happening to us?” She replies, “Selene needs to speak with us. I’ll let Mother’s wolf know so she doesn’t worry.” The next thing I know, I feel like I’m falling, and everything goes black.

Jasmine

I can’t believe that Asteria shifted. Akira is majestic. She is much bigger than I thought she would be. Being able to go on her first run was amazing. As I get off of her back, I can’t help myself, but I admire her. After all she and her mother have been through, she is such an amazing person. I feel so lucky to have her in my life.

After she gets dressed, I watch her start walking back from the tree line. Then I noticed she had this weird look on her face. She looked in her mother's direction, and suddenly, I saw her eyes rolling back in her head and her body falling. What is happening? I run to her and roll her over onto her back. Her mother and Thomas come running around and kneel beside me. Ruby looks at me and Thomas and states, “She is visiting with Selene, but she will be OK.”

Ruby asks Thomas if he will carry her to her room and put her in bed. That she will sit with her until she wakes. Thomas nods to Ruby and says, “Of course I will.”

Although, I know in my heart that she will be OK. It still worries me. We are so close. The four of us are all like family now. They’re all I have. I know at some point, I need to tell Asteria my whole story. Maybe after she wakes up, we will have some quiet time together, and I’ll explain then.