The sound of bones breaking fills the room. Emma screams from the pain and I just stand and watch her suffer. There is absolutely nothing I can do to soothe her pain and it is killing me. I just hope she survives the shift. I need her to survive the shift. I know she can do it, she is strong.

"Come on cupcake, you can do it, come on" I try to encourage her but she screams louder.

Fortunately the owner of the hotel is a friend of mine and he made sure to clear three floors just for us. Having to cover this up when humans call the police would consume much needed energy. And I need all my focus to be on Emma right now.

"Caleb it hurts" she cries and a tear slides down my cheek. I can't even touch her. I can't even hold her hand. The tingles will make it worse.

"It's going to be over soon baby. Just hold on. You can do this. Look at me" I say and she looks into my eyes. Her eyes are red and teary and begging for my help. "You can do this" I say and she nods.

Another wave of pain hits her and she closes her eyes and screams.

When she opens them again their natural hazel color is replaced by a shiny golden one. It's her wolf. She's coming out.

"Jax!" she shouts and my wolf cries to be let out. He wants to comfort his mate.

She needs me!

If I let him out he'll hurt her. He can't help her. She needs to do this alone.

"Caleb!" Emma screams.

"Cupcake don't fight her. Let her out. It's your wolf. Let her take control. She'll help you" I say, fighting my urge to pull her on my lap and kiss her pain away.

She needs to do this alone.

White fur starts growing on her skin and I sigh. She's changing. She did it.

After a minute, her pure white wolf lies in front of me. She's exhausted. I can feel her. I can feel what she feels! It's done!

"Emma can you hear me?" I say through mind link and the wolf turns her head to my direction. She can hear me. Okay. Good.

"I'm not Emma!" she growls in my head protectively and I take a step back.

"I am her mate. Your mate. What's your name?" I try to calm her down but she shows me her teeth.

Let me out!

Jax practically screams in my head.

"Get away from me and my human!" she growls again. Maybe I must let my wolf out. If she let him touch her then we'll be good. She'll know we're their mate.

I take another step back and let Jax take over. He is a little bigger than her so she cowers back at the begining. But when Jax lowers his head and throws his ears behind she takes a cautious step towards him. They're talking but they're shutting me out. I can't hear them. Finally, she let's him closer and he nudges her neck with his head. Good. Now she knows.

Jax let me take control now.

He pouts and nags about doing the hard work but gives me back control.

"So you're our mate! Good. Emma is asking for you" she says but still doesn't give Emma control.

"Are you going to let me talk to her? Or do you want to talk with me? What's your name?" I say trying to gain her trust. She looks at me cautiously.

"My name is Cia. And yes, you can talk to her. But if you don't let us mark you soon I will be very angry" she says glaring at my unmarked neck and I internally chuckle at her jealousy.

"Caleb? I did it!" I hear Emma exclaim and I finally launch myself at her. I lick her face, since we're still in wolf form, and wag my tail.

"Yes you did, cupcake. Now do you want to shift back? I know you're exhausted" I say and she nods.

"How?" she asks looking around confused.

"Just think of it. Think about being a human. Cia will help you" I say. She nods and I see her slowly change back to her human form. I also shift and hurry to cover her tired body with a warm blanket.

"I'm a werewolf" she says proudly before she drifts off to a peaceful slumber.

"I'm so proud of you, cupcake. I love you" she smiles and cuddles into me, using me as a pillow.

She survived the shift. I didn't lose my mate.

~~~

I wake up next to Caleb, my head lies on his chest, my feet tangled with his. His arm is wrapped protectively around my waist, spreading tingles on my bare skin.

Lick his face!

I almost scream when I hear the voice in my head but then it hits me. It's Cia. My wolf. I barely remember talking to her last night. She helped me shift.

I will definitely not lick his face. But, I definitely want to kiss his slightly parted lips. I move his hair out of his face and slightly touch his cheek, sliding my hand down to his jaw.

"Caleb?" I ask as softly as I can, my voice barely audible. "Are you awake?" I continue running my fingers through his hair, but I get no answer.

I move my hand to his chest feeling every muscle tense under my touch. At least his body is awake. I smirk and decide to move my hand even lower. I reach his abs, and then his V. And just when I'm about to go even lower, his eyes open and I move my hand back up to his chest.

"It better not be a dream" he says and looks down at me. I blush and smile innocently.

"Good morning" I say running my fingers across his chest. He smiles and pulls me on top of him. He sits up with me on his lap, my legs straddling him. He kisses my lips softly and then buries his head in my chest, growling tiredly.

"I'm so fucking exhausted. Aren't you?" he nags and I laugh.

"Actually no. I'm hyped. I feel like I wanna run a marathon or something" I say playing with his hair.

"That's Cia. And once you've run that marathon Emma will be exhausted" he says and moves me off of him. I find myself whining at the loss of his touch.

He chuckles and pulls his pants on. He moves towards the door, like he's leaving.

"Where are you going?" I ask annoyed and sit up to block his way.

"I have some extra clothes in the car for you" he says lowly, his eyes darkening when he looks at my half naked half wrapped in the blanket body.

"Well, you're not leaving this room like that!" I say pushing his bare chest.

He is mine and no slut is allowed to look at him while he's that sexy!

"Put your shirt on!" I say at it.

"Possessive much?" he chuckles and I frown. I'm not possessive. Am I?

"I love you" he says after putting on his shirt. "And I'm all yours, and noone else's" he leaves a kiss on my forehead and exits the room.

I'm not possessive. But it looks like Cia is. But aren't we supposed to be the same person? This shit is confusing.

I walk to the bathroom to wash my face and brush my teeth. After I'm done I look up in the mirror. It seems like every characteristic of my face has been enhanced. My eyes are shining and there are visible pecks of gold in them. My hair looks fuller and stronger. My jaw is sharper. It's like I've had some magic werewolf beauty makeover.

My eyes linger on the mark that sits at the crook of my neck. I'm a marked werewolf. I'm the Luna of a werewolf pack. I'm the mate of an Alpha.

My eyes start searching for anything sharp. A razor, some scissors anything. I need to let some stress out. I find a razor in a cabinet and quickly place it on the skin of my wrist.

No Emma! Stop it!

I need this. I just want a little pain, nothing more. I'm not going to kill me.

I said no!

I look at my eyes that flicker between gold and hazel. Cia wants to come out. A growl escapes my throat and I put the razor back on my skin.

Just a little cut. I push down and feel the blade tear my skin apart. Blood runs down my hand but I don't feel the same relief I felt before. I cry and fall to the ground. Cutting won't work anymore. Why? Because I'm a werewolf now?

The door opens slowly and Caleb walks in. His eyes teary, his breathing unsteady. I look down at his bleeding arm. Did I do this to him? My eyes fill with tears. Did I hurt him?

"Is it that bad loving me? Such a fucking problem, that you have to cut yourself to find some relief?!" he says raising his voice for the first time.

He has never spoken to me like that.

"Caleb, I-"

"NO! You don't get to say you're sorry! You're not sorry! But guess what? Cia, your own subconscious, doesn't like cutting. So you have to find some other way to find relief from the terrible situation I've put you in!" he says angrily. He throws me the clothes he brought me and storms out of the room. I stay frozen until a wave of pain hits me. My heart aches. He left me.

Get up, get dressed, and let's go find him.

For the first time I obey to my wolf and do as she says. She's my subconscious. My wants, my needs, my reasoning voice. I need to listen to her more.

I wear the white t-shirt and the pair of jeans, but I'm stuck with the heels from last night.

Last night was perfect. Why did I have to ruin everything. I rush out of the hotel and start walking not knowing where exactly I'm going. I have no cell phone. Caleb left the car behind. I guess he shifted and ran away as a wolf. Still I can't drive. And even if I could I don't know where he went.

I do.

Of course! I can smell him!

Full of hope I walk towards the woods and start undressing. Now I must shift. How do I shift?

Let me out.

I feel my skin burn. I let my wolf take over and soon my bones start to break. That's it! I'm doing it.

I look down to my white paws and start walking slowly. I can smell Caleb. His scent is intoxicating and I have an urge to follow it, to find him. I start running, jumping over logs and roots.

Suddenly I lose his scent. I look around me, I can only see trees and bushes but no Caleb.

I'm lost.

"Caleb where are you?" I mindlink him but he doesn't answer.

I continue roaming around the forest until the sun sets and darkness covers everything.

I'm tired, my feet hurt and my heart aches for my mate.

I cower down next to a tree trunk.

"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to hurt you" I try to mindlink him again but as every other time, he doesn't answer.

I'm scared and alone and lost in the woods. But nothing feels worse than knowing that I hurt him.