Chapter 17: Changes

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Alison's POV

We run for at least a couple of hours. They nip at my heels playfully before overtaking me and turning our chase into play. My muscle are jello by the time I jog back up to the pack house. The twins, not tired at all, stop next to me as I collapse in a heap of black fur.

Leaves rustle around me until a hand settles gently on my head. "I know you're sleepy honey, but you need to shift back." Cameron says, running his hand down my back.

"And eat," his brother adds.

My lungs slow and my eyes open as I catch my breath. He's right. I'm hungry. Starving, actually. It's been a long time since I've exerted quite so much energy. Even longer since I've had to shift back, but I focus the way I used to.

Muscles pull and stretch around popping bones. The pain is manageable but still enough to keep me from shifting quietly. Canine whimpers turn into human groans until I'm laying on the grass as a person again.

"Shit," I murmur, rubbing my forehead. My hair is tangled and as dirty as my clothes are. "I forgot what a pain in the ass shifting is."

They laugh and grab my arms, pulling me up. "It'll get easier. You did great but after not shifting for so long, you're probably going to be sore for a while." Chris says as if he's thinking out loud.

"There's plenty we can do for that though," his brother muses on the other side of me, bending slightly to kiss my head as we walk back towards the deck of the pack house.

The house is quiet when we walk in. Everyone will be busy at this time of day. Even the omegas will be off cleaning somewhere after dinner. I walk straight to the fridge, practically slamming it open in my eagerness. Tupperwares stack in my arms up to my chin.

Adorable smirks greet me when I turn back around. "Baby," Cameron laughs, "why don't I heat some of that up for you while you wash up and sit down?" He walks around the island to me and nudges me towards the sink.

Normally, I'd want to do it myself. But right now I'm too tired. Every bone in my body aches when I move, including breathing. So I scrub the dirt out from under my nails and plop down on a stool at the island. Watching Cam do things is relaxing anyway.

Chris sits down next to me. My thoughts roam as his arm wraps around my shoulders, pulling me to his side and radiating his body heat through me.

Nothing in my life is going the way that I always thought it would. I have mates. I'm a witch. I just shifted. In retrospect, I couldn't have gone my whole life never shifting again anyway. I had assumed that Nessa would never come back and I would be basically human forever.

She may have still come back if I hadn't been mated to the twins but, the chances are slim. Not only is she back because of them. So are my enhanced senses and the magic that I never knew about. She's bigger than she used to be too. I was only a half a foot shorter than the twins in wolf form.

My body is still weaker than the average wolf in either form though. It's going to take time and food to even get me to average strength, let alone luna strength. All I can do is hope that I'm given the time I need before serial murdering vampires hunt me down.

The reignited concern leaves my train of thought as soon as Cameron sets a plate of steaming food down in front of me. After inhaling the pasta in front of me, I lean my weight against Chris completely.

"That may have been the most food I have ever eaten in one sitting," I mutter, "but I'm actually a lot less tired now."

Cameron's fork clinks against his plate as he sets it down with a chuckle, "It's almost like food is a form of energy for human based life forms." His mocking joy brings a smile to my face. I sit up slightly and turn my head his way.

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