Falling For Storm

Amara

“I love you, Amara,” Storm said, and a couple of other things I couldn’t entirely remember before sleep claimed him.

It wasn’t because I found them unimportant; it was because my mind literally went blank when I heard those three words. If anything, it also made my heart hammer wildly in my chest. Did he really mean that? I mean, he did say that I was his mate, and he explained how that goes, so it must be true. He loves me! Storm loves me, as in me, Amara! I would’ve done a celebratory dance right then and there, but I knew I had to keep my cool. There must be something wrong with me because, despite everything that happened, I felt like I was on cloud 9. Did I hit my head when I fell? I should really feel devastated or frightened right now, but I don’t. I kept thinking about the words wolf, mate, rogue, luna, and alpha before my eyes grew heavy and I fell asleep feeling content in Storms’ arms.

I jolted up in the middle of the night, startling both Storm and me. I screamed loudly as pain shot through my veins and bones.

“Baby, what’s wrong?” Storm asked, clearly alarmed.

“It hurts!” I shouted.

His parents burst through the doors, wanting to see what was happening. I was shaking uncontrollably and gasping for air, and nothing they said or did made things better. A piercing cry escaped from my mouth once more as I felt another unbearable pain hit my entire body like a shock wave.

“She’s turning,” Storm’s dad explained.

What?!

“What do you mean by I’m turning?! Aaaaarrrggg!” I thrashed hard on Storms’ bed.

“Fuck!” Storm spat out before lifting me off his bed. He then took me to the open area in their backyard, placing me across his lap as he sat on the ground.

“Shh, I know it hurts, baby, but it’ll be over soon. You’re going to be okay. I’m right here. I won’t leave, I promise,” he kept saying next to my ear.

As much as I wanted to believe him, I couldn’t because the more time passed, the more I felt like I was dying. I was very tired, and yet I couldn’t stop writhing because the pain was a vicious cycle. After what felt like an eternity, Storm gently placed me on the ground and started removing his shirt. What was happening right now? I thought to myself. I couldn’t understand why he was stripping because, in the back of my mind, seeing him naked wasn’t going to help. I mean, was it? A moment later, a few crackling and ripping sounds were heard before the pain finally subsided. And when I opened my eyes once more, Storm was already in his wolf form. My eyes widened in surprise. He whimpered and lowered his head as if he were telling me that he wasn’t going to hurt me. I pushed myself off the ground, and to my surprise, I was suddenly almost as tall as him. He was a massive wolf, so what the hell?! I looked down at my feet and noticed two gray, almost white paws. I turned my head to look at what was behind me, and this time, I saw a fluffy tail. Like, Oh my god, was this really happening?

I tried to say something; I even tried to scream, but all that came out were howls and more whimpering. How am I supposed to communicate now?

“Amara?” A voice spoke in my head, which startled me.

“Hello? Who? Who’s there?” I asked, looking around Storm’s backyard.

“I’m you, specifically the wolf in you.”

Wolf in me? What in the world did that even mean?

“So, I’m you but not you?” I asked back because this was so confusing.

“We’re one and the same; we’ll deal with definitions later, but right now you need to stay calm, okay?” The voice explained.

“You need to change into your human form; it’s still dangerous for you because your mate hasn’t marked you and you don’t belong to a pack yet.”

This was all gibberish to me, but I agree about changing back to being human.

“And how exactly do I do that? Is there some sort of step I need to follow? What do I need to do?” I asked, trying to stop the panic that was rising in me.

“Think hard and dig deep. Will yourself to change while thinking about what you look like.”

It was easier said than done, but what choice did I have? I tried my best to picture everything and kept thinking about images of myself as I tried to internalize the change I needed to will myself to make. I was nearly on the brink of giving up when a few crackles resonated. In an instant, I felt smaller, so it made me believe that it worked. I opened one eye first and lifted my hands up to check, and when I was no longer seeing my paws, I breathed a sigh of relief before opening the other eye. Storm changed into his human form, grabbing his discarded shirt from the ground with a puzzled look.

“How did you do that?” he asked quickly, putting it on me and covering my body up to my thighs.

Holy shit! I was completely naked, and he saw everything. Oh, my god! Again, I was calling upon the gods to open the ground and swallow me whole, hoping hard that they would make it happen this time. The amount of embarrassment I was experiencing was becoming more and more intense, so I kind of wanted to pretend that I had fainted.

“How did I do what?” I finally asked when I realized that my prayers were not going to be heard.

Nothing was making sense anymore. One minute I was asleep, the next I was in excruciating pain, then I think I turned into a wolf, and after that, this voice who claimed to be my alter ego told me to change back, and now I guess I changed back. This was some trippy stuff that was making my head hurt, literally and figuratively. Strom pulled me into a hug and asked the same question he did earlier.

“I don’t know how I did it; I just heard someone tell me to do it, so I tried, and I guess it worked.”

He moved back a bit, just enough to look into my eyes, and judging by his expression, he was clearly as confused as I was.

“You heard a voice, and you spoke with the voice?” He asked, brows pinched together.

“I think so,” was my answer.

Wyatt, Hunter, their parents, Storm, and his parents were all staring at me like I was some sort of science experiment gone wrong inside their living room. I kept glancing at their faces, wondering why I was yet again sitting in front of everyone when all I really wanted right now was to go back to bed. They kept discussing things about me, especially the voice I mentioned, which they refer to as the wolf inside, like I wasn’t there.

“Am I going to hear another shocking revelation? Because honestly, I’m about to lose my sanity,” I stated sarcastically.

Storm’s eyes softened, and he sat next to me, kissing the side of my head.

“Shifting back on your own after turning for the first time and being able to talk to your wolf without her taking over isn’t normal, Amara.”

Nothing was normal anymore, so I kept quiet and only looked at him with a blank expression.

“That only happens if you’re born a wolf; there’s no other explanation,” he added.

“Okay, now wait a minute. What are you saying?” I frowned.

“I don’t know yet, but we’ll get to the bottom of this. Right now, I know you’re exhausted, so let’s just go back to sleep.”

Hallelujah! He finally said something that made damn sense. I didn’t need to be told twice, so I stood up quickly and said goodbye to everyone before heading back to bed.