Chapter 63

“Please, try to calm down, Miss,” Jennifer said gently. “Honestly, it’s nothing to be afraid of. Shifting is a wonderful thing. You’ll see.”

“Were you nervous before your first shift?”

Everybody keeps telling me not to be afraid. But I bet a lot of them were nervous before their first shift.

“Of course I was. Everybody is afraid of the unknown,” Jennifer replied. “My first shift wasn’t a grand affair like yours, but shifting is something all werewolves enjoy.”

“How many will be watching?” I asked her. “I’m going to be scared enough without having an audience.”

“Your father decided the ceremony should be private,” Jennifer replied. “So there will just be you and your father, Mr. Klein, and Mr. James, and I was asked to be a witness.”

“That doesn’t sound too bad,” I admitted. But my insides still wouldn’t stop squirming. “I wish it was over with.”

“It will be soon enough,” Jennifer said and checked her watch. “It’s time. We need to meet your father downstairs.”

“No,” I whispered and clung to Jennifer’s hand.

She squeezed my hand and gave me a pleasant smile. “Your father is waiting for you. You know he loves you so much that he wouldn’t let anything hurt you?”

“Yes,” I replied. I knew she was right. Alex would never allow anything to hurt me. Neither would Victor or William, who also waited for me downstairs.

“Then let’s go,” I said, feeling a burst of courage. Everyone kept telling me shifting shouldn’t frighten me. Suddenly I was determined to find out.

And I was tired of being afraid. I wanted it to be over with.

But my feet felt like lead as I followed Jennifer downstairs and down the long hallway that led to the ballroom. I was pleased to see the ballroom doors were closed and locked.

I still heard the buzz of voices on the other side of the double doors, but none of the guests could leave the ballroom this way and get into the altar room for my Moon Goddess ceremony.

It was a relief to know that no curiosity seekers would be watching my first shift.

Alex tucked my cold hand into his arm. “I can’t believe you will be an adult in only a few minutes.”

“His eyes welled with unshed tears. “I missed so much of your life. But know that I love you, my daughter, and I always have.”

“I love you, too, Father,” I said for the first time. “And I always will.”

Alex opened the secret door, and we both took a deep breath. My anxiety had returned, and it had ramped up to an excruciating level when he gave Victor and William the signal to begin.

William and Victor led us into the altar room. My legs were shaking so badly that I was afraid I would collapse before reaching the dais.

But they didn’t. Silently and solemnly, my procession made its way to the dais.

Jennifer walked behind us and took a spot near the back of the room. But the four of us kept walking toward the raised platform where Kyra and Lycaon’s altar waited for us to begin.

My father kissed my forehead and surrendered me to my Alpha guides. Victor and William each took one of my hands and helped me up the two steps onto the raised platform.

The air was thick with the scent of the powder Kyra was sprinkling everywhere. Inhaling the scent, I began to calm slightly, but not enough.

Victor and William bowed to both Lycaon’s statue and the Moon Goddess’s image before they left the platform, and I stood alone with Kyra.

Terrified, I turned and looked back at the three most important men in my life: Alex, Victor, and William. Alex and William gave me encouraging smiles, while Victor gave me a discreet thumbs up.

Kyra began to speak, and I forced myself to turn and face her as she invoked the Moon Goddess. On my behalf, she asked her to beseech Lycaon for his blessing.

It would happen soon. I could feel it. There was something like an electric charge in the air that flowed from the altar and encircled me.

The air seemed to thicken, and it became difficult to breathe. I was freezing cold, and my entire body shook with fear. I knew I had to get through the ceremony, but I was beginning to feel faint.

Kyra’s voice and the chants of the few witnesses buzzed in my head as I grew dizzy. I was sure I was going to pass out.

But it was going to be okay. A second later, a sense of total calm and peace washed over me when I heard a voice I had never heard before.

The sweet feminine voice seemed to come from everywhere, yet nowhere.

“Have no fear, Daisy,” the voice told me.

The voice seemed as familiar as my own, and I was sure it was nothing to be afraid of.

It wasn’t Kyra. Where was the voice coming from?

“Who are you?” I asked.

“Don’t be afraid. I am your wolf,” the voice said inside my head. “My name is Diana.”

Diana’s voice was soothing. She was a stranger, yet I felt I had known her all my life.

“Have you been sleeping inside my mind all this time?” I asked. “Your voice comforts me.”

“I have been with you since you were born, although I could not make you aware of my presence until now.”

It was strange but not upsetting. Did she know all of my secrets, all of my desires? Has she witnessed all my failures and fears?

“What do you know about me?” I asked. “What have you seen?”

“I know how you’ve suffered,” Diana continued. “I have seen through your eyes how badly others have treated you, and I know how you battle with fear and anxiety because of the way you were treated.”

“But Daisy, you don’t need to be afraid anymore. You're no longer alone. I will be here for you to help you throughout the rest of your life. Your happiness will be my happiness.”

“Thank you, Diana,” I said. “I gladly welcome the honor of sharing my life with you.”

“Then we shall be as one, my sister,” Diana declared.

I repeated Diana’s vow. “Yes, my sister, we shall be as one.”

Kyra touched my shoulder, and I looked into her pale, beautiful face and saw my reflection in her eyes.

My face had begun to shift. Painlessly, my flesh and bones were reshaping themselves.

My anxiety changed into excitement. It was happening!

“Diana, it’s happening!”

“Thank the Moon Goddess, Daisy,” Diana replied. “She was successful in acquiring our blessing from Lycaon.”

“Yes,” I agreed. “Thank you, Moon Goddess, the protector of the wolves. We are forever your servants.”

As I said the words, I felt an intense tingling spread throughout my body, and Kyra signaled for me to drop my robe.

I let the material slide off my shoulders and down over my torso. But before the robe hit the floor, my body had completely morphed into its wolf form.

There was no pain. Victor had explained it well. It was like bursting out of a hard, confining shell. My body had changed into what it was meant to be.

A wolf.