Chapter 215

Fiona

Every sound assaults me at the same time.

My vision clears and sharpens, bringing every color to life in a more vibrant spread than usual.

Scuffles sound like shouts. Yelps sound like thunderclaps. My entire world booms around me, confusing and scaring me, but as the wolf near me growls, I remember one thing.

I have a baby to protect.

Stumbling on four paws, I shake my head to clear it of fear and confusion. My body doesn’t respond at first, and I’m glad to see the attacking wolves have stalled, like my brain, at the sight of me.

Laxus’s bloody wolf also stares at me, but he takes advantage of the enemies’ mistake and slices claws through one of their necks. The sight of blood does something to me. Instead of making me sick, it spurs me forward.

I run and slam my new body into one of the wolves attacking Laxus, raking my claws across it. They dig grooves in the wolf’s side, but he jumps away and snaps his jaws at me.

“Fight!” Someone orders from inside my head. “Protect yourself. Protect your pup.”

The voice is female and familiar, but not at the same time. I shake my head and see a wolf jump at me, but I’m not fast enough to dodge. The pain in my leg is joined with a pain in my head as me, and the rogue wolf roll across the ground.

“Protect pup,” the unknown female voice says.

As soon as I can, I put my belly to the ground, protecting it while still trying to fight. I wait, biding my time until he pulls his head back to snap at me, then I strike.

“Kill him!”

I lunge, clamping my teeth around his throat and biting down. The coppery taste of his blood fills my mouth, but I don’t let go. I can’t. If I do, he may get away. I could die.

“Ethan?!” I yell his name down the bond, but there’s so much weight in my mind that I don’t know if it went through.

Still, I send all my fear into our bond, hoping he can feel it and that my change hasn’t messed up the bond. I can barely process what’s going on, but when the wolf goes limp on top of me, I know he’s dead.

Grunting, I try to push him off of me, but he’s too heavy.

“Laxus!” I don’t know why I call his name. The word comes out as a garbled bark that I have no idea if he understands. The wolf on top of me grows heavier, and I can’t move, unable to even turn my head to see what’s going on.

My panicked thoughts bounce around my head, becoming overwhelming until suddenly, the heavy weight is lifted off me.

Laxus, panting and bloody, stands above me with his hands on his knees and his eyes on me.

“What the hell?” His eyes move up and down my body as I roll to my belly. My legs shake as I try to push myself up.

“Right!?” I shout, but again, a bark is the only thing that leaves my lips… snout? Whatever.

“Are you alright? Where are you hurt?” Laxus asks, dropping to his knees in front of me. I’ve got blood on me, some of which is mine and some is the other wolf’s blood. Except, Laxus doesn’t know that and as he looks at me, I can see the panic on his face grow.

Then, he’s touching me, his hands running over my fur to feel for injuries. To help him, and to try to calm myself down, lift my back leg, but the pain that hits me makes me whimper.

“Don’t move. Did they hit your stomach at all?”

Shaking my head, I silently tell him no while also getting annoyed at the fact we can’t communicate. Why is that? How does he communicate with his pack members when he’s a wolf?

I know he does it, but again, I can’t ask because I don’t know.

Frustration builds in me, and I blink back tears. I don’t know anything. Clearly. I’m a freaking wolf right now and I have no idea why or how I came to be like this. I bark at him, wanting and needing answers, but he just stares at me.

I wish Ethan was here. He would know what to do.

At the thought, something inside me urges me to get up, to go to him, and I try. I push my wobbly legs underneath me, but they give out almost immediately, and I flop to the ground with a groan of pain.

“I said, don’t move. You don’t want to get hurt even more,” Laxus growls. The anger in his tone also relays worry, and I can smell it on him. Instinctually, I know the heavy, spicy scent is worry.

My mind spins as I try to process what’s happening. I need Ethan.

“Ethan?! I need you!”

Again, there’s no answer in our bond, and I whine. There’s a block, like a wall, between us, and I want to blame the change. However, I don’t know if that’s true. It could be a problem with me. I didn’t think I could put up a good shield yet, but what if I did, and now I can’t get it down.

“Lady voice? Are you here? Can you find Ethan? Hello?”

She doesn’t answer, and I really start freaking out and thrashing on the ground. I need to get back normal.

“Woah, woah, woah!” Laxus reaches for me, but I jerk away. I don’t want him to touch me. I only want Ethan.

“Mate,” the female voice whispers. She sounds far away, and that makes me feel even weirder.

“Breathe, Fiona. Just breathe and imagine your human body coming back.”

I try. I try so hard that I don’t realize I’m holding my breath until my head spins from dizziness. I swipe my paws over my head, trying to calm myself. I need to think. I have to change back.

What if I’m stuck like this?

A whimper breaks free from my chest, and Laxus leans in, whispering an apology before he scoops me up in his arms and runs.

---

“Grandmother!”

My eyes pop open when Laxus yells, and an alarmingly sharp swarm of scents attacks my nose. I whine as my eyes begin watering from the smell of antiseptics.

“Grandmother!”

“What is…” Her eyes land on me and widen. “Who is this?”

“Luna Fiona. She— we were attacked by rogues and she changed. I didn’t know what to do and she’s injured. I couldn’t get her to change back and—”

“Put her on the bed. Does Alpha Ethan know?”

“I linked him as I was running. I didn’t want to wait because I couldn’t tell how badly she was hurt.”

I whine, wiggling in Laxus’s arms and then against the sheets as he lays me down.

“I’m coming, Fiona.”

Ethan’s voice is a soothing balm on my mind, but when I look around, I don’t see him.

“Ethan? Where are you?”

I don’t hear a response for a moment, then his voice appears in my mind again, “I’m almost there. Hang on, baby.”

“Luna, I need to check you,” Healer Sarina says, moving closer.

A growl rumbles through my body, and I jerk back at the sound. That wasn’t me.

Everyone in the room freezes, staring at me.

“She won’t let anyone near,” Healer Sarina murmurs, looking directly at me. “Her wolf is simmering just below the surface, so it’s best if we don’t touch her until her mate gets here.”