The Animal Within You

Chapter 23

Ever since I first met Jackson and learned about my gift, the days following that were difficult and challenging. The complications were beyond what I had imagined and continued to worsen the more I discovered about myself and my mother. It was frustrating and confusing to handle when none of us were sure of the answers. With an animal that had an entire mind and personality of its own, it only complicated things more. I wasn't sure I'd be able to handle more if my other animal was the same.

And to think that I complained about my life being normal before all of this.

Thinking back to the black wolf I saw, I wondered why it hadn't spoken to me. The white one had no trouble interacting with me and had even less difficulty in controlling my body and beating up my friends.

Her personality was a nightmare to deal with.

"I hate this." I muttered to myself, resting my elbows on my thighs as I stared at the waters below me. Third period just started and even though I was supposed to be training, I didn't think it would be a good idea to try and speak with my animal with everyone around me. Instead, I opted for sitting on the edge of the cliff where I nearly killed myself by falling over it and diving into the lake below. I didn't like the idea of my legs dangling over the edge, so I sat with my legs crossed instead. You could never be too careful.

"Are you afraid to shift?" I heard Jackson ask me as he sat down next to me.

"What gave you that idea?"

"Normally you'd be enjoying the feeling of letting your animal take over. Every time you did, you'd have this ridiculous smile on your face. You seemed to like the region with snow the most." He explained, glancing at me. "Instead, you're sitting here entirely human. Something had to be wrong."

"I can't help it, Jackson. I don't know when or if she'll choose to screw with you guys again once I shift." I ranted, rubbing my fingers along the rocky surface. "I'm tired of it. I want to make amends with her, but she makes it impossible because she decides to target the people I care about. How did my mom do it?"

"We're all different, Caitlyn." He answered, taking my hand briefly to squeeze it. "We have different ways of dealing with things and different methods of understanding each other. It's just a matter of how much effort each person, or thing, puts into it."

"Do you think she'd listen to me this time?"

"I don't even know if she'll speak to you this time." He admitted.

"You're right. This really does depend on her."

We sat there, watching the other students train and receive pointers from Nathan, who had surprisingly failed to see me slacking off at the second highest point of the mountain. At least Jackson was transformed into his animal form, which I couldn't get over how cute it was no matter how hard I tried.

"Have you thought about asking her why you get these sudden pains throughout your body after dealing with some sort of connection with her?" He questioned carefully, turning his body a little to look at me. I shrugged.

"I was planning on asking her, but whether she decides to actually tell me something is all on her. If I don't get anything from her, hopefully I'd get something from the doctor." I shifted my position so my knees would be brought up to my chest, allowing me to hug them tightly. "What if neither of them know why I'm like this?"

"Dr. Moore has been studying animal DNA found in humans for years." Jackson started, finding a loose rock next to him and throwing it towards the water. "His father had done the same thing as well as his grandfather. I suppose it's pretty much in the family lineage. They've been studying hundreds of years' worth of stuff and although you seem to be a new case for most things, maybe they'll find more in a blood sample than we think they can."