Lilith had prepared her for this, every single day of the past month, but Maya couldn't help but feeling on edge, and it wasn't the upcoming moon to make her feel that way, or not just that at least. She couldn't help that, despite everything Lilith did for her, she didn't feel ready for this, at all. She wasn't ready to become a werewolf.
It had happened all of a sudden, she was just walking back from work, it was a full moon night too, and she just had to meet a stray wolf. She instinctively rubbed her arm where she was bitten and then left bleeding on the street. She would have died, hadn't she been lucky that another wolf came in to protect her, this wolf being none other than her girlfriend, she had seen her before as her wolf self, Lilith had told her the truth not much after they had got together. During full moon nights, she tended to stick close to where Maya lived to protect her from other hostile wolves.
Only that this time she hadn't been so lucky.
The realization didn't sink in until the next day, Lilith apologized to her over and over, for not having managed to drive off the other wolf sooner, before it got to her, but Maya wasn't mad about it, she wasn't mad at all, just worried, she had never been a wolf before, she'd always been a human, unlike her girlfriend, who was born like that and had a lot of time to adapt, while she did not.
So, after calming down, they both assessed the situation, Lilith coming to the conclusion that there was no other way but to teach Maya how to be a wolf herself, promising to guide her every step along the way.
And she did, and Maya could not be more grateful for that, Lilith had been remarkably patient with her, preparing her for her eventual first night, and with it, her first transition.
Her girlfriend taught her all the ways she knew on how to deal with the pain that they both knew would come during the process, the best way was apparently to not think about the transition itself, but rather think at anything else pleasant, and Maya was glad that she practiced meditation, she was decently good at focusing on other things and empty her mind.
Also, Lilith had sworn that she would not leave her alone as she went through it, but to stick with her until the end of it, as she also turned too. This sort of comforted her.
Still, Maya did not feel ready for this.
Regardless, Lilith came to pick her up at night, took her by the hand and led her in the outskirts of the town, in an abandoned shack, where she usually came during these nights so no one would see her.
Maya glared at the moon as they went, as if it had done her wrong, she didn't want to do this damn it!
Lilith seemed to sense her bad mood, she always did, and squeezed her hand gently.
"Don't worry My, we'll do this together, I won't leave you." she said, still Maya didn't turn, so the other woman grabbed her face and forced her to look into her eyes, yellow, like all the wolves born as such had.
"Look at me, you got this, okay?" Maya slowly nodded, still not convinced. "Now calm down, and breathe."
They both took some deep breaths, much needed to break the tension in Maya's head, she wasn't alone in this, and she had to remember that.
Lilith then instructed her to enter and sit down on the floor, and then sat down herself next to her, as a standing position would not have been ideal, as Maya could fall over and potentially get hurt once her body would start to change.
Since Lilith had been a wolf so long, her process of changing into one would be much shorter, and also, less painful, since her body had adapted long ago. She had plenty of time to focus on Maya and aiding her before she too had to turn.
She had just managed to get Maya comfortable, she was leaning on her shoulder, as her hands tangled in her long blue locks, soothingly stroking them, knowing her girlfriend loved this kind of thing, before it happened, she heard it loud and clear, accompanied from a loud hiss from the other woman. It was the distinct crack of a bone.
Maya gave her a panicked look for a short moment, before a loud scream tore through her throat, making Lilith wince at the sound, she never heard her yell, at all. It hurt her ears, and her heart too.
She watched helplessly as her girlfriend threw herself off her, rolling on the floor, wailing in agony as her bones twisted at unnatural angles. She scooted over.
"Maya, listen to me, focus on me." she struggled to keep the panic away from her voice, she did not really know how to help her after all, and this tore her apart.
The other woman managed to look at her for a moment, before another snap, another whine.
"I... I can't..." Maya cried. "It hurts so much..."
The only thing Lilith could do was just stand there and watch. "I know, I know, just..." she was cut off from a sharp pain in her lower back, she did not have as much time as she thought she would have, at all.
Maya looked at her in panic for what she could, still in tears.
"I'll be okay, don't worry for me." Lilith replied to her with a huff. "Just breathe, and think at good things, all the good things we did together, it will be over soon." a hiss. "I promise, I'll be here."
Several moments passed, between sickening cracks of bones and screams of agony from both of them, but mostly from Maya, until finally, things went calm once again.
A reddish brown wolf lifted itself up from the ground, stretching lightly, her ears dropped at the sight of the other wolf, a black one with a gray spot on her muzzle, lying prone, breathing heavily and weeping.
Lilith approached her, nuzzling into Maya's fluffy mane of her neck. "I'm here."
"I'm so tired..." the other wolf cried, looking slowly opening her eyes.
"I know, it's always like this the first times, don't worry, but, we don't have to go anywhere, we can stay and you can rest." there was no reply from Maya, but, she didn't move, which was a definite yes.
Lilith lied down next to her, licking her muzzle gently. "It'll be okay."
With time it would get better, she knew, but for now, it was enough staying here so Maya could recover, with plenty of cuddles and kisses too.