Chapter 161
Third Person POV
Today is the day. Her birthday has arrived. She waits until just before midnight, and then, her family comes to her, leading her silently out of the room and onto the grounds, expectant looks on their faces. She knows that she’s about to receive the greatest gift of all, and she can’t wait until she can rub it into her sister’s face. At least she would not be regarded as pitiful as Fiona. She would be strong, just like her parents and she would be the right choice for leading the pack. She waits, the moon shining brightly above her, her parents shooting each other gazes silently waiting. In preparation, fresh clothes sit on a small tree trunk beside her, and she wears nothing but a silk robe, knowing that when the time comes, all the clothes she wears will be ruined. She’s not about to wear one of her precious designer clothes even for an occasion like this.
It’s almost midnight. Her anticipation grows as the minutes begin to count down. Her mother smiles at her, looking just as joyful as Celeste is feeling. She’s been looking forward to this just as much as her daughter has been and she can’t believe how grown up Celeste is now, let alone that they are now at this momentous occasion. She had no doubts her daughter was going to make a beautiful wolf, whether she was black or white. Privately, she hoped Celeste took after her, but you never knew. Besides, an Alpha wolf would be just as special. She glanced at her mates, who were also looking at Celeste with expectations on their faces. This meant the world to them, and all of them were looking forward to the specialness of this occasion. Their baby was growing up and becoming an adult. Who wouldn’t be proud of that?
For a moment, her thoughts swung to Fiona and a despondent feeling filled her. She missed her other daughter, as hard as it was to admit. She missed Fiona’s smile, her bright light, and the warmth she brought whenever she entered the pack house. She had made a grave mistake in how she had treated her and while she could admit it, there was nothing she could do to change it. She had to focus on the daughter she still had, fearful that Celeste too, might try and leave her. If that happened, Regan’s world would come toppling down and she
Would not know where to turn to. So she forced a smile on her face and began to speak to her daughter, knowing just how nervous she was, even if she tried not to show it. It was just like Celeste to put on a brave face, she thought fondly.
“Remember that you need to relax while it’s happening and just let it go. Don’t fight it,” she advised Celeste softly, pushing back her hair.
Celeste almost rolled her eyes. Her mother was acting as though she was some dumb child who didn’t know what to expect. Celeste was aware of everything the shift entailed, even if she hadn’t gotten to experience Fiona’s.
Celeste fights back her impatience, though. She already knows everything there is to know, but her parents are nodding in agreement, and she fights back her anger. When she has her wolf, she’ll be able to do a lot more. People will take her more seriously than they already did. She would be able to rule the pack with an iron fist and make them do whatever she wanted She could hardly wait.
“Mother, I’ll be fine,” she insists, staring upwards at the moon and openly rejoicing.
“Okay, I guess I’m being a bit overprotective.” Regan laughed, but her tone was sobering.
She couldn’t help but remember Fiona’s disaster of a shift and the fact she hadn’t received her wolf despite her Alpha lineage. She was frightened the same would happen to Celeste, despite both of Celeste’s parents being Alphas and her being a white wolf. She fought back her nervousness for her daughter’s sake although she constantly glanced at her two mates for reassurance, knowing they were lost in their thoughts.
Xander was saddened to be experiencing Celeste’s shift as he constantly wondered about his other daughter, Fiona. They had received an RSVP to Celeste’s party, but he knew that unless a small miracle happened, she would not speak to him. He didn’t blame her. He had acted poorly towards her all these years, perhaps still blaming her mother Isabelle for his misfortune, although poor Fiona had been innocent of her mother’s wrongdoings and didn’t even know much about Isabelle as they had all tried to keep it from her. He wondered how she had discovered information about her mother but also knew it had been inevitable. He sighed, watching Celeste with a morose feeling. His brother, on the other hand, was beaming, Xavier proud of his daughter and awaiting this moment with relish. It had been a long time in coming and he couldn’t believe how old his daughter was. It seemed only yesterday she had been in diapers and wanting her bottles. He sighed, feeling nostalgic.
One minute to midnight. Celeste grew even more excited, hastily stripping off her robe and standing there naked without
1/2
Chapter 161
compunction. The moment she had been waiting for all her life was about to happen. She took deep breaths of the fresh night air, her body humming. So close. Regan and her fathers took a step backwards, giving her space for the transformation. Midnight struck, and just like Cinderella, she began to transform. There was the sound of her bones beginning to break as she fell to the ground, her mouth open in a scream. She had not realized it would be this painful or this excruciating despite the warnings she had been given. It was difficult to keep herself from screaming out loud as her body began to grow fur and adjust. All her limbs and bones broke, one by one. It was the most painful thing that Celeste had ever experienced. She wept, tears trailing down her cheeks. Regan rushed forward, placing a hand on her, taking some of the pain, but it was still so painful that Celeste continued to cry.
It felt like hours passed. To Celeste, it was a lifetime until all the pain faded and stopped. She cautiously moved, standing up on all fours. For a moment, she felt triumphant, but there was a strange expression on all of her parents‘ faces. What was wrong? She didn’t understand, looking down eagerly at her paws to see what color wolf she had inherited. She paused, staring down in disbelief. This wasn’t right, she thought almost hysterically. This had to be some sort of mistake. It wasn’t possible that her wolf was this colour. She had to be a white wolf or black. Not this.this pathetic grey colour that indicated she was nothing but an average wolf. She growled in frustration as her parents quietly moved closer to her.
“Celeste, it’s alright. It doesn’t matter if your wolf isn’t like ours,” Regan attempted.
Of all the things to happen, none of them had envisioned this. Not at all.
But to Celeste, it did matter. It was the ultimate embarrassment. She would rather have no wolf at all than this plain grey and white one. She was an Alpha, for heaven’s sake? Wasn’t she? She stomped her paw on the ground in a fit of temper as her parents continued to shoot glances towards one another. She didn’t like the expressions on their faces. What if they took back the Alpha position because of this? Her wolf finally deigned to speak.
“It’s nice to meet you. My name is Shadow,” she purred.
“What happened? Why are we this colour?” she asked bluntly, angry at her wolf.
“What do you mean? You have always been destined to be this colour, since the moment you were born. I have always been your wolf” she told Celeste quietly, “are you not pleased? We are a beautiful light grey colour with paws as white as snow. How can you not like that?” she said taken aback.
“Because I am meant to be a black or white wolf not this. This horrible grey colour” Celeste cried out, causing offense to Shadow who was hurt by the implication she was not good enough for Celeste.
“If you feel that way, then perhaps we should take some time apart.”
Her wolf put up a block. Celeste didn’t care. She was still reeling from the colour of her wolf.
She had made fun of Fiona for having no wolf, but not now. Now, what was she meant to do? She could barely stand to look at her parents, feeling hysterical. Everything was going wrong. How was she supposed to look at her pack, knowing she was practically the same as all of them? She was meant to be superior in every way. Not this plain Jane of a wolf! She felt sickened, and after taking another look at her parents, she shifted back to her human form, collapsing into a fetal position and beginning to weep as they all rushed to her side in order to comfort her. She felt broken and defeated. If Fiona found out about this…she couldn’t bear the shame.
