..Forever..Contest Entry..

                                             GRACE

The night air is frigid against my bare skin as I lay on the dampened earth of the forest. The very one that looms ominously behind what was once my home. The trees around me spiral high into the darkened night sky, their limbs like claws and their thick trunks twisted, with gnarled roots protruding from the ground, littered with fallen leaves of every colour.

The smell of rot and car exhaust lingers strong in the air and assaults my newly enhanced sense of smell. With my nostrils flared, I can smell everything. The wet soil beneath my naked form, the crisp, rotting leaves that are littered all around and the pungent tang of blood that has long since dried.

I shiver as the trembling buzzes through my fingertips first and slowly, almost lethargically slivers up my arms and spreads throughout my chilled body. I gasp, as the shudders ripple throughout my entire body with surprising force.Then, all at once, it stops and I'm left breathless, my fingernails digging into the damp ground.

"Sam," I whisper into the air, my breath trailing smokey clouds in its wake. I wish Sam was here with me, he'd know how to make things better again. His beautiful eyes are suddenly in my head, golden in colour and bright. Then it's his voice I hear, soft and musical as it is when he sings. The urge to sweep my fingers through his silky black hair is almost unbearable at the moment.

Once upon a time, I was a regular human girl called Grace Brisbane. Nothing about me is what could be called special. My hair is honey blonde, my eyes are a dark brown and I'm good at math and love the wolves that live in the woods. My boyfriend Sam worked at a book shop when he was human, and when he shifted a into wolf, he lived in the forest behind my house. But, he no longer can change, but I do. Once upon a time, this would have been my wish.

A stick snaps behind me; and in an instant I'm folding my body into a crouch, muscles drawn taut, baring my teeth and snarling. I can barely feel the quivering that has resumed in my body or feel how my bones ache with the overwhelming urge to shift.

They are surrounding me, the wolves. They pad and weave through the winter-ravaged trees with an elegance and grace which I have never seen before. "Hey..." I murmur, for some inane reason unknown to me. I myself am unsure of how much they  are capable of understanding. Are their thoughts as incoherent or as straightforward as they are when they're human? I pause,  I don't know how long I've been a wolf, it could be hours, days or it could have even been weeks. Yet I'm just as uncertain of how my own wolf's mind works. Maybe it's different for each of us.

The wolves watch me, some of them are black, others are white, gray, golden or brown. Their eyes are bright.  The moons opalescent light reflects in their eyes, making them gleam like expensive diamonds or the stars that are twinkling in the dark sky above.

I watch, arching my spine, as they circle me. They are soundless, stealthy.Their scent wafts through the icy air and clings to my nose. Wolf...wolf...wolf... They smell like foreign earth and almonds. They smell like pack. My pack. Pack...pack...pack...

A shiver passes through my body as they howl at one at the full, resplendent moon. Their wailing cries wash over me and my body jerks at the high, keening sound. The wolf inside me is rising now, clawing its way from within me. The sensation is not an entirely comfortable one, I doubt it will ever be, but the feeling no longer frightens me.

"It's okay," I babble to myself, my limbs wavering beneath my weight, slick with sweat. I close my dark brown eyes and remember Sam, Cole and Isabel. I cant help but wonder what they are doing now, as a tremor undulates throughout me, tearing a sharp hiss of breath out of my lungs.

The yowling of my pack rises higher and higher in pitch. I bury my fingers into the soft, yielding dirt, trying with all my might to block out the onslaught of sound, stifling heat and the gurgling pain that's settling into my very bones. My spine arches and white dances before my closed eyelids, the pain is unbearable. My limbs burn and throb with a dull ache as they bend and convert into their new form.

I am a wolf. I can feel the heat of my coarse dark gray fur on my slender, lean frame, the weight of the ruff around my neck. My ears swivel, taking in every noise around me that could not be heard in my human form. Wings flapping overhead, the breeze twirling through the forest, raising brightly coloured leaves and then letting them flutter to the ground once again. My pack stalks closer, their paws almost soundless to my own ears. Their nostrils flare, taking in my scent, something that is both familiar and yet alien to them.

An image flashes into my head, a creek with crystalline water flowing steadily, a few multicoloured leaves gently bob over its surface.  They are inviting me, I realise, into their pack. Instinct kicks in and from that moment, I am running with them, experiencing everything Sam must have as a wolf. My padded paws hit the ground for barely a second before lifting again. My powerful legs propel me forward.

I am but a whisper in the woodland.