Change of Plans (17 page)

Chapter Thirty-three

Over

Caleb

I was downstairs talking to
Brody about the Tribunal when I heard the screams. Taking the stairs two at a
time, I bolted into Allie’s room. She was thrashing on the bed, trying to fend
away an invisible monster. I had only left her for about five minutes, but I
regretted it. Shaking her hard, I tried to get her to wake up.

Her eyes popped opened,
bewildered. She turned her head quickly, trying to take in her surroundings. I
pulled her into my arms, trying to chase away the demons for her. I could feel
her silently shaking against me, sobbing. I pulled her closer to me.

“It’s alright, Allie,” I
whispered to her, like I would to a baby. “It’s over.”

———————————

The nightmares always came.
No matter how many times I assured her she was safe, she would always wake up
screaming. It’s already been a week, and anytime I wasn’t sleeping with her,
she would revisit the memories that haunted us both. It was the shift that kept
the pain fresh for her.

She’d gained a lot of her
weight back already, which I was grateful for. Still, she wasn’t ready to go
back to school though. She acted as if she
were
fine,
but Brody and I always caught her crying.

The Tribunal was scheduled
for three months out. Tribunals were rare, but when they happened, it took a
while. There had to be witnesses from other packs. My dad was also going on
trial for blackmail. I hadn’t told Allie yet, but I think she was assuming the
worst for her dad. I knew the punishment for him, and it wasn’t pretty.

I was walking downstairs
with Allie for breakfast when we ran into Sierra and Brody. Making out. I think
that’s the third time this week. Sierra had unofficially moved in after Allie
was taken. I guess telling us where Allie was taken was enough to be put in
Brody’s good graces. I was still cautious about her, but Allie seemed to like
her well enough. At least she wasn’t the only girl in the house anymore.

Sierra had volunteered to
make breakfast
today which
meant cereal and soggy
eggs. I ate the as quickly as possible, not taking in the flavor before
swallowing. Taking Allie’s plate, I placed it along with mine in the sink.

“Do you want to go out
today?” I asked her, taking her hands in mine.

She nodded, smiling. Sighing
in relief, I realized how much she was starting to look like her old self
again. The color was back in her face, but her smiles weren’t as often anymore.
I went back upstairs to grab her a heavier coat. In the past two weeks, the
temperature had dropped even more. Wolf blood ran hotter than normal, but I
still didn’t want her getting sick, which Wolves didn’t do either.

Allie was talking to Brody
when I came back downstairs. Sierra had made herself
scarce
which
meant they were probably talking about their dad. Coming up behind
her, I wrapped my arms around her waist, dropping my chin to her shoulder.
Sometime this week, she had told us everything that had happened. The part
about her mom got the closest to them. Allie and Brody both wanted to believe
that she might still
be
alive, but I didn’t want Allie
to be let down again.

Pulling her away from Brody,
I helped her into my Jeep. She tried to get me to leave. “Caleb, I’m fine, I
swear. I can get in a car by myself.”

“Okay, then just say I’m
being a gentleman and let me help you.” I’ve never met someone who hates being
coddled as much as Allie. Anytime I tried to help, she would push me away. I
knew she was independent, but it still hurt that she didn’t want my help.

Finally with us both in the
car, I headed toward the edge of town. Her body relaxed the further and further
we got. Realizing where we were going, she smiled and I squeezed her hand. Even
though drive controlled the radio, I let her have it. The Black Keys softly
thudded in the speakers, and I realized that we had missed the concert I had
bought tickets for. Oh well, we could go to the next one.

After a mile on the country
road, I pulled over. I haven't been to the clearing in a while, but it seemed
like a good place to spend the day. It was also far from other
people which
is what I needed for what I had in mind.

The blanket I use to have in
my trunk was gone. I burned it after that night. Instead, we walked empty
handed toward the clearing. The animals came even closer to Allie this time. In
her red and blue shirt, she could have resembled Snow White. The clearing was
dead now. The red, dried leaves were all over the forest floor, losing the
ability to stay with their branches. There was
an overcast
,
giving the scenery an ominous look.

It was such a stark
difference from last time we were here, almost as if it were reflecting Allie’s
mood. I wasn’t sure how to approach the subject of the full moon, but she
needed to shift soon. With her own free will.

“Allie?”

“Hmm,” she responded, still
distracted with the bunny that was at her feet.

“The full moon’s coming up
in a couple weeks,” I tried to lead her to the subject.

“Okay,” God. She was making
this so hard.

“That means you’ll have to shift,” I said. Her head snapped up,
realizing what I was saying. Memories flashed before her eyes of her last
shift.

Chapter Thirty-four

Changed

Allie

Shifting
was the last thing I wanted to do. Every night in my dreams, I shifted. And
every night, it was just as painful.

“No,”
I whispered.
“Can’t I just not change?”

He
shook his head, pity in his eyes. “I wish Al, for both of our sakes, but no.
The pull of the full moon is too strong for anyone to resist, even you. I was
thinking that maybe you could do it now, get use to it.”

I
could tell from the hope in his green eyes that he wanted this to work, but I
don’t think I could. Even if I wanted to, which I don’t, all I would be able to
remember was that night.

Caleb
could see me starting to shut down. “Allie, you’re going to have to do it
anyway. It’s a lot easier if it’s of your own free will. I promise it’s easier.
You’ll have me to help.”

I
nodded before I could think twice about it. I trusted Caleb, but the problem
was that I didn’t trust myself. He sighed in relief, pulling me further into
the clearing. Wind whistled through the dead leaves, causing me to pull my
jacket tighter around me. His leather jacket stayed clutched in his hand. I
wanted him to share some warmth, but I didn’t think it was the wind causing my
chills.

In
the dead center of the clearing, Caleb stopped. Throwing his jacket nearby, he
sat down with his legs in a ‘V’. Patting the space between him, he invited me
to sit. On shaky legs I lowered my self across from him. He narrowed his eyes
and reached across the space between us. With ease, he lifted and turned me around,
pulling me until my back was against his chest.

“Relax,
Al,” He said as he kissed the familiar spot under my ear. The familiar ripple
of electricity went through me as he drained my fear. I tried my best to relax,
but Caleb had to keep the constant flow of energy between us, erasing any doubt
that came up.

“How
am I supposed to do this?” I asked Caleb.

“Once
you're relaxed, close your eyes. Imagine yourself as a Wolf. Start out small,
with ears or hands. Then move onto bigger things.”

I
did as instructed, imagining my ears swapping out into the point, furry, ears
of a wolf. Feeling a weird sensation in my ears, I reached a hand up to my ear.
Instead I got a handful soft fur. I hadn’t even felt it.

Turning
back to Caleb, he was smiling. “Good, as you do it more, you’ll be able to do
it all at once, but this is easiest.” He grabbed my hand in his, “What about
these?”

My fingernails and extended and curved, hair growing
larger until it was silky fur.
I
sat amazed as I completely transformed by my own will. I was about to imagine a
muzzle when Caleb stopped me. “Wait, I forgot. You probably want to take off
your shoes, jacket or anything else you don’t want to be ruined. When you start
to see yourself changing with larger parts, you’ll start to feel fuzzy. Don’t
panic, it’s normal until everything just goes blank. When you wake, I’ll
probably be with you. If I’m not stay where you are, I’ll come find you.”

I
nodded at his words, understanding. I tried to pull off my shoes until I
remembered I had claws. I held them up to Caleb with a questioning eyebrow. He
laughed, kissing the pad of each paw before undoing my shoes for me.

I
probably looked like a mixed and matched ragdoll, with the ears and hands of a
Wolf. But for once, I felt myself start to get excited about shifting. Caleb
must have sensed it because he looked back up at me, smiling.

He
nodded at me to go ahead and start shifting. First came my snout,
then
my arms grew hair. As Caleb said, my vision and brain
started to go fuzzy. Yet, unlike Caleb said, I started to panic. He drained my
once again, taking it away, before sliding out behind me and kneeling in front
of me.

“You got it, keep going.” And I did.

Epilogue

Allie

Five years later

     
I
woke up again to the smell of bacon. That was the one great thing about Caleb
and Sierra moving in. I didn’t have to cook breakfast anymore. I was still too
tired to get out of bed though. The sun peaked its rays through my blinds,
warming up the chilly room. Caleb was gone so I was assuming he was the one causing
the ruckus downstairs. He let out a little curse as he burnt himself like he
always did every morning. He and stoves did not agree.

After dad’s Tribunal, he
luckily hasn’t come back, leaving the house to us. By pack laws, made a long
time ago by the original Wolves, he was sentenced to death. His crimes against
the pack and me were too much to overlook. I begged Caleb to not go through
with it. Even after everything he had done, he was still my dad. Instead, he
was sentenced to banishment.

Mr. Winters was charged with
blackmail and unfair treatment of the pack, resulting in stripping of rank, the
ability to shift and banishment. The laws were new to me at the time, but I
didn’t try to lessen Mr. Winters’ sentence, not that Caleb would have let me.

He confessed to making up
the story about my mom, breaking my heart again. Even though I thought my dad
was crazy when he said it, I couldn’t help but hope. Caleb gave him a good
punch when he confessed to that, which was well deserved.
It
didn’t matter how many years passed
,
I would always
miss her
.

Mrs. Winters and Rebecca
moved houses to something smaller, homier, and closer to us. Rebecca, now
twelve, was like a younger sister I never had, always coming over. Mrs. Winters
had also lightened up since her husband left. Caleb had taken over as the man
of the house, providing them with everything they could possibly need. Rebecca
had to be the most spoiled child in Virginia.

Caleb moved in with me and
we shared the house with Brody and Sierra. It was like a strange, never-ending
double date, but Sierra wasn’t as bad as I originally thought. Also, when we
teamed up, we always got to choose the movie for movie night. Caleb kept trying
to convince me to move out with him, but I wanted to be closer with Brody for a
while longer.

Even though Sierra and Brody
were disgustingly cute, it wasn’t too bad. Okay, never mind. It was awful. I
hoped to God that Caleb and I didn’t look like that. Every time I caught those
two alone they were planning their wedding or picking out baby names. I might
have to take up Caleb on moving out if it continued.

From the silence in the
kitchen, I could tell that Caleb was done cooking and I prepared myself for
what’s to come.

I ducked my head under the
covers as Caleb came into our room with Sierra and Brody, singing happy
birthday. I didn’t need a reminder that I was turning twenty-two today. I was
officially old now. Yet, I still dated a five year old. Caleb had placed
candles on top of a large stack of chocolate chip pancakes. If it was anything
like last year, they were the kind of candles that never went out.

The flames of this year’s
candles danced across Caleb’s face as he finished his song. I raised a
questioning eyebrow before attempting to blow the flame out. Luckily, they went
out on the first try. Caleb snapped a photo with my
camera
which
I would probably have to delete later.

“Happy Birthday!” they all
yelled, and Caleb leaned in for a kiss.

“Are y’all going to do this
every year?” I questioned, already devouring my birthday pancakes with my eyes.

“Yup,” Caleb chimed in
before shooing Brody and Sierra out. He was still in his pajama pants, and the
last five years had done him well. He started growing out scruff along his jaw,
which tickled me every time we kissed but I didn’t mind. He set the pancakes
down by me and I dug in before saying ‘thank you.’

Caleb gave me a question
eyebrow. Hey, I saw him scarf down three burritos the other day. He had no
right to judge.

I dug into the chocolate
chip pancakes, loving them as always, and not caring what I looked like. He
made the best pancakes, always with extra chocolate chips. Eggs, on the other
hand, were something I’d leave to Brody. Caleb came and crawled under the
covers again, providing his warmth. Grabbing the extra fork, he dug into to the
stack. I tried to jab his fork away with mine, wanting the pancakes to myself,
but he’s wasn’t having any of that. He held down my wrist as he forked a
colossal amount and shoved it in his mouth. Pig.

“Oh, I forgot,” he said
between bites of my pancakes. “Matt called. He’s coming in town today and wants
to wish you happy birthday. So I was thinking we could do lunch with him.”

I smiled, how times have
changed. It wasn’t too long ago that we were fighting because he didn’t want me
hanging out with him. Matt was in his senior year of college. We had finished
high school together and he got a scholarship to UVA for basketball. Luckily
the campus wasn’t too far from me so I could visit whenever I wanted.

“Is he bringing his new
girlfriend?” I asked excitedly.

Caleb groaned, “Yes, but try
not to chase this one away.”

“In my defense, she was
psycho. How long were they dating until she brought up marriage?” He shrugged,
remembering that one. I think he was just glad Matt didn’t like me more than a
friend anymore. I looked down at the bracelet he had gotten me for my
seventeenth birthday.
The one with the wolf and small diamond
for the moon.
I couldn’t help but smile remembering the day he gave it
to me, even though it was right after the incident.

Caleb tapped my chin, making
me look at him. “Penny for your thoughts?”

I smiled. “My thoughts cost
a lot more than a penny, and I was just think how times have changed.”

“Time would change a lot
more if we got a house of our own,” he tried again. I groaned, not this again.
Since we were pack alphas now, we didn’t have to work on anything other than
pack problems, which were much less than they use to be. That also meant we
could afford a house now, because we got paychecks. Big paychecks. The pack
paid for it, similar to taxpayers and government workers. I still felt bad for
buying anything with their money.

“Caleb, for the last time.
Not till I’m twenty-five. That’s only three more years. You can wait,” I told
him.

“It will kill me to wait
that long,” he said as he placed his hand over his heart, as if I’ve actually
hurt him. He was still such a kid sometimes. I glared. He put his hands up in
surrender. “Okay, twenty-five. Got it. Now get ready, we have places to be,
people to see.”

He got up to take a shower,
leaving a small, silver wrapped package on my bed. “And Al?”

“Yeah?”

“Happy Birthday.”