A/N: Woah, an actual story, and not a one-shot? Amazing. Yes, as much as it might not seem like it at the moment, this is a Twilight fanfic. I got the idea from the conversation between Edward and Aro towards the end of Breaking Dawn when they mention the children of the moon, or the real werewolves. I might bring in our favorite vampire family later, but for now I think it will be mostly the werewolves (not the shapeshifters ;)) and the Volturi. Comments/criticism/cool names welcome.
Oh, and I don't own Twilight, or any related ideas. Just the storyline. And the characters that aren't in the books. I.e. Jamie. Why are you reading this? Read the story.
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What was happening? Jamie's thoughts tumbled around in her head like the rocks in the riverbank during a flash-flood. Her ankle hurt like hell. And the pain was spreading…
She was suddenly hyper-aware of the full moon above her.
It was beautiful! Why hadn't she noticed it before? It was like a friendly lantern, hung in the star-speckled sky to aid her. Like a beacon, watching over her rather than pointing her out to unfriendly eyes. It was a north star, a compass point, a friend, pointing her way in her life.
Then another jolt of pain jerked her attention away from the beautiful orb above her. The pain was accompanied by a strange tickling sensation that was now spreading through her legs and towards her torso. Another spasm of pain caused her to double up, hands almost touching the ground.
And her feet—her feet felt too…long. As if her heels were much farther up than they should have been. Her legs felt stronger, too, as if she could jump several meters as easily as walking.
Now the pain and the tickling had spread through her torso, and into her arms. She found that she could barely move her fingers apart. There was something wrong with her hips, too; she was still in a folded-over position, and yet…it felt right. As if standing upright would be wrong.
The pain was all through her head now, and for a moment, she lost consciousness.
When she came to, she wished she hadn't.
What had happened to her? She was still on all fours, but the position felt comfortable, natural. She glanced down at her arms, now covered in hair—no, fur. Realization like an electric shock pulsed through her, leaving every muscle tense and her veins pumping with adrenaline.
Her arms—no, front legs—were thin, wiry. Her back legs were much the same, only more lithe than wiry. Strong. Powerful. She could turn her head almost all the way around, she realized, and with this newfound skill, she surveyed her body. It was completely covered in fur, save where the remains of her dress covered her back. She shrugged out of it—it was much more comfortable without. She looked down across her furry back and—a tail?
She wagged it. Yep, it was attached. Drat. She turned slightly, meaning to get a better look, only to have it move away from her. She almost began to turn again before recognizing the signs of the tail-chasing dogs she had seen in the park earlier. She wrinkled her nose in disgust at what she was doing.
Ah, her nose. Jamie found her attention immediately diverted from the new addition to her backside. Her nose had become a snout, long and thin. Her jaws, like her back legs, felt powerful, and, as she could tell when ran her tongue over them, her teeth were long and sharp.
What had happened?
Jamie staggered a couple of steps towards the pond sitting serenely a few yards away, trying to get used to walking on four feet—well, paws. What was she?
Finally, she made it to the edge of the pond, and gazed at her reflection. The word had already pulsed through her mind and body many times long before the realization of what it meant caught up.
Werewolf.
A howl rent the silent night in two.
What have I done?
But that didn't matter anymore. None of the things that had bothered her only a moment ago seemed to matter—not the long, sharp claws extending from her furred feet, not the even longer, sharper fangs extending from her upper jaw, not the odd clarity of vision in a light that she knew should reveal nothing save dim shadows. None of it was odd. None of it mattered. The only thing that mattered was the piercing howl that seemed to reverberate through every bone in her body.
It was the most natural thing in the world to point her long snout towards the glowing orb hanging in the sky and howl back.