"Just relax." Kaelos spoke calmly.
"What did you do, Kael?!" Adrian snarled, his voice barely recognizable as human, the words distorted into a menacing growl.
"If you try to fight it, you will bring yourself more pain. Let it come to you naturally, Adri." Kaelos instructed without hesitation.
Adrian tried to fight it but it only became stronger and very painful. He growled in pain as this was the very first time he was going to shift in his years of living.
"Let me guide you through it, Adrian. Don't fight it." Kaelos said.
Adrian gritted his teeth and allowed Kaelos to guide him.
His transformation began with a subtle shift in his posture. His muscles tensing as he let out a low, husky growl, his body started to contort and stretch, his skin itched and pricked, as if a thousand tiny sparks were dancing beneath the surface, and a thick fur began to push through, covering his skin in a luxurious layer.
His face elongated, his nose flattening into a snout, and his ears grew pointed and alert. His jaw stretched, revealing sharp, glistening teeth.
A majestic wolf emerged, its fur a rich, silvery color, with eyes that burned like golden lanterns in the night.
"It wasn't so hard, was it?" Kaelos asked triumphantly and wagged his tail.
Kaelos went towards the water, his reflection stared back at him.
"Aren't I beautiful?" Kaelos asked in a narcissistic tone.
Adrian was stunned and could not speak. He had finally shifted into his wolf but unfortunately, no one was there to cheer him up. And he could no deny that his wolf was beautiful, it had the color of his hair and his eyes, a fiery golden yellow that burned like the sun.
"I can smell our mate!" Kaelos declared happily and began running towards the scent.
•••••
Arielle eased herself finish and didn't want to go back to the carriage yet. She found a place to sit when something beside her on the forest ground moved. When she looked slowly towards it, her eyes widened in horror and her heart made a sharp turn in her chest before dropping down to her stomach.
Right in front of her, was a huge wolf!
It growled sending shivers down Arielle's spine.
Arielle could not make a sound as fear had sealed her mouth shut. She began backing away, dragging her butt on the uneven ground of the forest.
Kaelos looked at Arielle who was backing away from him as she looked really frightened. He didn't like that at all. Why was she running away?!
"What did you expect? For her to give you a welcome hug?" Adrian asked with a scoff. "She's human and it is very normal for her to be afraid."
He also didn't like the way Arielle behaved around his wolf but… There was no but! It's probably because of Kael he felt this way. He said, convincing himself.
Kaelos growled in anger, he didn't like that she was scared of him. But somehow, her scent was calming his anger and hunger. It felt as though a dam had burst within him since he shifted, his hunger raged like a torrent.
He moved closer towards her and he saw that she was about to scream, he stopped in his tracks.
"Do not let her scream Kael. I don't want the others finding out I can shift yet." Adrian warned.
"Fine! But she goes nowhere, her scent is calming my hunger and I can't promise anything if she runs away." Kaelos said.
Arielle stopped and just stared back at the wolf, not taking her eyes off even for a second. She tried backing away but the wolf growled and walked towards her only stopping when she stopped. She tried it a few times and the wolf did the same thing.
She relaxed a bit when the wolf lay down on the ground. She tried to move but it stood up again and snarled at her. She gave up and just sat down there. "What do you want from me?" She muttered.
She suddenly had the urge to touch its silver fur. And she did exactly that. She moved towards it, slowly and she remained alert in case it suddenly decided to pounce on her but the wolf just laid there as if it was dead.
"Please don't eat me. Please.." Arielle chanted and finally got to where the wolf lay. She raised her hand to touch it when the wolf slowly opened his eyes and pounced on her.
Arielle widened her eyes in horror, she was supposed to scream but she didn't, it was as though she knew the wolf would not hurt her.
What was wrong with her?! She asked herself inwardly, slightly panicking with the wolf on her.
Arielle closed her left eye tightly and left the right opened a bit. She watched as the wolf leaned down to sniff her. Sniff her?!
"Ohh my goodness!" She exclaimed softly.
This was it! She would get eaten.
She shut her eyes again, waiting to feel the pain of its large teeth, but felt nothing even after some minutes.
Kaelos lowered himself to the side of her neck and continued sniffing. She smelled heavenly, he could not get enough of her scent.
Arielle opened her eyes when she felt the wolf lie on her with his nose in her neck.
She relaxed as she no longer felt afraid of the wolf. She raised her hand to run it through the wolf's back fur. She was surprised at how soft it felt against her hand.
She continued doing that until she could no longer endure the weight of the wolf. "You are so heavy." She said aloud and as if the wolf heard her he rolled away but remained by her side.
Arielle felt cold immediately the wolf rolled away. She had to get back to the carriage or she would die in the cold.
"I have to go, Wolfy. I can call you that right?" She asked when the wolf opened its eyes and stared at her.
"I might die of this cold if I don't go back." She said and shivered from the cold. The wolf surprised her by reaching out its hand, using its claw to pull her towards its torso, and then wrapped an arm around her.
Arielle was surprised at the turn of events, the wolf was so soft and warm. "You are warm, wolfy." She said groggily as she struggled to leave her eyes open but she could no longer fight it, finally succumbing to sleep.
Adrian shifted back and looked at the white-haired girl sleeping peacefully in his embrace.
His emotions were conflicted at the moment and he didn't know what to think.
He lifted her in his arms and walked to where his clothes lay. He placed her on the floor and proceeded to put his clothes on.
Arielle shivered from the cold and rolled to find the source of heat that had kept her warm before, not finding it, she curled herself up to shield herself from the cold.
Adrian put his mask back on, now that he thought about it, he had always wondered why he had always had a mask on. He made a mental note to ask his grandmother when he got to the palace.
He strode over to the curled-up girl and lifted her. Arielle snuggled closer to the source of warmth and relaxed comfortably.