Chapter Seventeen

The werewolves all waited in silence for a moment before they began to speak amongst themselves. Everyone quieted instantly as Nyvern looked at me with strange new eyes and asked "Will that be your decision then? Do we get the most powerful pack-sister that this world has ever been blessed to bear witness to?" I stared deep into his eyes that reminded me so vividly of the wild side of the night, the greenish-yellow color stirring something within my soul.

I took and deep breath and nodded my head with a smile. "Yes Nyvern, let me join your pack as a true werewolf. Let my soul be free." I whispered the last part, but all the werewolves seemed to hear it anyways. All the werewolves howled together, their voices rising in octave as Nyvern and I joined them. The exultation was incredible, and the feeling was able to be tasted in the very air of the caves.

With a smile, Nyvern led me into one of the inner rooms of the caves, going deep in until we'd made it to a very small secluded room with nothing in it. He closed the door so that he and I were alone in the room, and then walked over to the other side of the small room. I wondered what he was doing, when he slid back a secret panel to find a small brass key laying inside of it. He pulled the key out and closed the rock panel, opening another panel similar to it in the very center of the wall.

Inside this panel was a strangely shaped hole, and it took me a moment to realize it was a lock hidden in the wall. But why would a lock be there of all places? I wondered to myself.

Nyvern gave me a secretive smile and fit the brass key into the lock, turning it slowly. As he did, a series of clicks and mechanical whirrs followed. I gaped in awe as the stone began to slide open and a hidden room was revealed. Nyvern gestured for me to enter first and I blinked at him slowly. I looked around everywhere as I stepped inside, and was amazed by what I saw.

"Being the werewolf chief does have its perks, of course." Nyvern commented as he stepped inside behind me. I glanced back just as the stone door closed up into a regular wall again. I gazed around the large room and began to wonder to myself, How do you keep something this big a secret?

The room was mostly in the style of the elves, with columns and tiers of white. There was as small half-flight of marble stairs, and the marble continued across the lower floor, going shade by shade of marble into a dark gray that surrounded a pure white stone fountain in the center of the room, with the purest water cascading through it. Along the walls were many vines and mosses, and different plants were scattered around the room and over the tiles, as if the forest had moved into the caves themselves.

On the other side of the room with the large fountain was a wall of vines, through which a large bedroom could be seen. Across from it was another wall of vines, where an office and library was visible. I smiled to myself. This place was truly amazing.

Nyvern walked down the half-flight of marble steps and went to a lounge chair on the right wall of the room, laying back in it comfortably and looking perfectly at ease. As a werewolf, Nyvern fit perfectly into the lifestyle of this place. I smiled to myself as Nyvern closed his eyes and relaxed completely.

I hesitantly stepped down the small steps and walked towards the fountain, dipping my hand into the cool, clean water. Suddenly, the parts of my hand that had touched the water began to glow white. I raised my hand up and felt new life and energy pouring into my form. I gasped in amazement.

Nyvern slowly opened his eyes with a serene smile on his face. "You fit into this place perfectly, especially with your strange magic." He told me, his eyes running over my figure with some amusement.

"Will anyone else, other than the werewolves, be able to detect or somehow find out what I am?" I asked him. Nyvern quickly shook his head.

"No, the only way someone who isn't a werewolf will be able to find out what you are is if they see you shift from human to wolf, or vice-versa. No werewolf would ever be able to betray you either, so there aren't any worries there." He said, a small smile lighting his features. I sighed in relief.

"How do you think we managed to keep our existence a secret for so long Ayla? We're a very careful race." He told me. I nodded slowly before looking back down into the water.

"How did you manage to hide the power in that Amulet of yours? No one felt it, and I only know what it is because I found out about it before anyone else has." He commented, his curiosity burning.

"My white magic is able to connect with the Amulet, so I was able to fully command it. I commanded it to hide its true form from everyone except me, and it changed shape. It's an overly useful Amulet." I explained. He nodded with a smile.

"You're well protected now, luckily. I wonder if your Light will allow you to have complete control over your werewolf form, giving you a human mind. If it does, then you'll be very blessed indeed. Those that change into a werewolf look back upon our early days with a shudder." He said, flinching slightly.

I stood from the fountain and walked over to him, putting a comforting hand on his shoulder to quell his despair. He looked up at me with faint hope shining in his eyes and I gave him a small smile. He slowly stood from his chair, embracing me softly.

"I can't wait to change you; then I'll be able to give you a real hug." He whispered. I could feel him smiling into my shoulder.

I smiled into his chest, my body betraying me as I began to tremble. Nyvern pulled back and held my face between his large furry hands.

"There's no need to be afraid. You won't even recognize the pain for what it is; you will feel only pleasure, I promise you." He whispered in my ear. I nodded slowly, still afraid. Nyvern's furry hands trailed down my sides to my waist where he began to slowly lift up the bottom of my leather shirt.

He removed my cloak and weapons in the process somehow, and when my top was bare he placed a gentle kiss on my lips, whispering "You'll be fine young one." And with that said, he bit sharply into my chest, right above my beating heart.

I gasped with pain, feeling the werewolf's venom flowing through my veins and rushing into my heart. I didn't even feel Nyvern pull back, but when he did he must have grabbed my shirt. I felt the fabric slip back over my shoulders as he put my shirt back on, and I felt the familiar weight of my cloak and weapons as well.

I felt my body changing, and if I thought about it I knew I would feel the pain. Yet I didn't. All I could feel was ecstasy, and complete pleasure. I laughed aloud as my bones began to reshape themselves, and my muscles strengthened and lengthened. My skull was reforming itself, turning into a snout as my teeth and nails became razor sharp.

Through the transformation I felt my mind trying to shift into nothing but complete instincts, but instead the white light within me worked to build in the gaps that would have taken years to fill in the natural amount of time. My mind completed its link between werewolf and human, and when it was done I knew my transformation was complete.