I could see shock in both of their eyes, and I could tell they were just as stunned to see her as jaguar as I was. They stood up from the couch, then they both walked to the hall opening and waited for her to return.
The second Celeste came out of the bedroom, her mom was quick to gush, "My precious girl, you finally shifted! I can't believe you are a were-jaguar! Drake, how is this possible?"
Celeste's dad chuckled before he replied, "It's not very common, but I've heard of this happening before. One of us must have an ancestor who was a were-jaguar."
"Whatever the reason, I don't care. Sweetie, your jaguar is absolutely gorgeous," her mom affectionately stated, as she wrapped Celeste in a loving embrace. A second later, her dad joined them and made it a group hug.
Celeste's parents had always been loving and affectionate parents to her. Sometimes, I wished my parents were more like hers. Not that my parents treated me bad or anything like that, but they weren't as quick to give me attention unless it was my birthday, or I was seriously injured. However, they made sure I had any and everything I could possibly want or need.
After they released Celeste from the group hug, she told them "thank you," then she grabbed my hand and excitedly pulled me to her bedroom. As soon as her door shut, she happily chirped, "You aren't going to believe what all happened this morning. I still can't hardly believe it, and I was there."
I chuckled at my excited friend, then I curiously asked. "What happened?"
"I don't exactly know how to explain it, but the jungle was calling to me, and my cat took me so far into the jungle that I ended up on the Jungle Pack's territory. That's where I shifted into my cat form for the first time," she enthusiastically gushed with excitement.
"What else happened?" I asked after I process what she had just said.
Celeste took a deep breath, then she cheerfully exclaimed, "The Jungle Pack's members surrounded me while I was shifting. At first, I was so scared, but they were really nice. Alpha Jared explained to me that the jungle called me there to make my first shift easier and less painful. He says I belong with their pack, and he offered me to join them anytime after I turn sixteen."
"What? You can't leave our pack unless it's for your mate," I stated with anxiousness. I couldn't stand the thought of her leaving, and I felt a rush of emotions overwhelm me, as I heard her say something about joining a different pack.
"I didn't agree to join them, but he was very nice, and their territory is absolutely beautiful. There is this waterfall that is so mesmerizing to see. Oh, and Alpha Jared said I could bring you and Lynzee there with me, as long as neither of you start trouble for their pack," she quickly explained.
I had seen her excited a lot of different times, but I had never seen her as excited as she was at that moment. I couldn't stop the smile that slowly formed on my face from seeing her so happy. After a few seconds, I assured her, "I would love to visit the waterfall with you. We could go for a swim while we we're there."
"Definitely," she happily replied with the smile still plastered on her face, then she walked over to her bed.
After she climbed onto the bed, she waved for me to join her, and I wasted no time doing just that. As soon as I did, she reached over and grabbed my hand, then she just held it in hers, as she stared up at the ceiling.
We laid there in silence for a little bit, as we both got lost in our own thoughts. I wasn't sure exactly what she was thinking about, but I was thinking about how odd it was that she shifted a week after her birthday, and her cat form ended up being a jaguar. I had never heard of a werecat shifting for the first time on any other day besides their birthday. I found it to be quite mindboggling.
When she finally spoke again, it was to drowsily mumble, "Shifting for the first time is exhausting."
I chuckled before I nonchalantly replied, "Yes, it is."
Celeste went silent again after that, then I heard soft little snores start escaping from between her lips. I smiled at my bestfriend and watched her sleep for a few minutes, then I felt myself start drifting to sleep.
Celeste POV
I only had to sleep for a few hours, then I woke up feeling fully energized again. After I rubbed the sleep out of my eyes and gave my limbs a good stretch, I reached over and gently shook Lance to wake him up. It took a few times of shaking him, then he groggily asked, "Why are you waking me up, Celeste?"
I giggled at him, then I nonchalantly replied, "I'm bored. Get up and hang out with me."
Instantly, he huffed at me, then he rolled to his side with his back to me. I flashed an evil smirk in his direction, then I started tickling his side. Right away, he curled into a ball and started laughing. Tickling always worked to wake him up, and this time was no exception.
After I had him panting, as he tried to catch his breath from all of the laughing, I finally stopped tickling him and curiously asked, "Are you going to get up now?"
"Yeah, yeah, fine. I guess I'll get up now," he playfully remarked before he stretched out his limbs. When he was finished stretching, he glanced at me and asked, "What do you want to do, now that you got me woke up?"
I flashed him a smile, then I cheerfully replied, "I want to go for a run."
Lance rolled his eyes at me, then he jokingly responded, "You would want me to go run as soon as I wake up."
I laughed at his response, then I climbed off the bed and slipped my feet into a pair of black flip flops. Lance slowly followed suit, then we headed straight from my bedroom to the forest outside. After I hid behind a tree, I pulled my sundress off, then I shifted into my cat form. When I left the cover of the tree, I saw Lance had already stepped out from behind his tree.
I walked over to him while I admired his beautiful panther, then I batted my paw at his black tail that was sporadically whipping from side to side. Instinctively, he turned and hissed at me, but I just batted my paw at his face when he did that. A second later, he whipped his tale and lightly smacked my face with it, then he sprinted into the forest.
I was quick to sprint after him, and it didn't take long at all for me to catch up with him. Right away, I tackled him to the ground, then I started playfully nipping at his ear. It didn't seem to bother him, and before long we were playfully rolling around on the forest floor wrestling with each other in our cat form.
By the time we stopped wrestling, we were both covered in dirt and leaves, and I immediately started licking my fur. I couldn't stand being dirty, and I noticed right away that Lance was doing the same thing. We spent about twenty minutes cleaning our own fur, then out of nowhere, Lance started licking my ears and the top of my head.
My heart melted a little from the affectionate gesture, and my cat started purring like crazy. As soon as he stopped cleaning me, I returned the favor and cleaned the top of his head and his ears. Just like my cat, his cat started purring, and I thought it was the cutest thing ever.
Other than the day Kyle killed me, when I was still Alana the werewolf, my parents were the only ones who ever showed me that kind of affection. Even when Kyle did show me affection, it didn't feel right to me. However, it felt perfectly amazing to receive affection from Lance, and I hoped with every ounce of my being, that Lance would end up being my werecat mate.
Kyle POV
It had been exactly a year since Alana died, and I was still filled with grief over her death. I still blamed myself, and I had yet to come with terms with any of it.
I had insisted my parents have a memorial built in honor of her, and I would visit it everyday on my way home from school. While I was there, I would apologize for the way I treated her, and ask for her forgiveness. I knew I wouldn't hear anything back from her, but it made me feel a little better to admit I was wrong for being so cruel to her when she was still alive.
I was seriously starting to wonder if I would ever be able to get over her death. It made no sense for me to be so upset about her death, but I felt like there was something special about her. However, since she died, I would never know for sure.<
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Luckily, I had recently shifted into my wolf form for the first time, so I had battle training in the evenings. That helped more than anything else to take my mind off of the dead shewolf, and it gave me a reason to start taking better care of myself.
Chapter 10
The Waterfall
Celeste POV
After I stopped cleaning Lance's head and ears, I mind linked Lynzee and asked her to meet us at the rain forest near the southern border. I was excited to show them the beautiful waterfall on the Jungle Pack's territory.
When Lynzee got there, she eyed me suspiciously, then she slowly walked closer and sniffed my scent. A few seconds later, her excited voice came through our mind link with her peppily chirping, 'I'm so happy you finally shifted.'
'Me too. I want to show you where I shifted the first time,' I happily replied.
'Okay. Lead the way,' she cheekily responded through the link.
Since my cat was the one who took us to the waterfall, I wasn't entirely sure how we got there, so I focused on my enhanced sense of hearing. After I zeroed in on the sound coming from the waterfall, I followed it until the cascading water came into view.
Once again, I was mesmerized by the beautiful scenery around me. The water flowed over a cliff that was over 120 feet high, and the water spanned across the cliff reaching a width of nearly 200 feet. It was a huge waterfall that cascaded into the Freya River.
This particular river flowed through the length of the Jungle Pack's territory, then it continued south. As the river headed north, it curved to the west, then it curved up in a northwest direction and barely clipped the corner of the Midnight Pack's territory before curving back to the west again.
There was a decent sized river inlet nearby, so I walked over to it and lapped up some of the water to quench the thirst I had developed, then I mind linked Lynzee and asked, 'What do you think?'
'This place is gorgeous. Where are we?' she curiously asked.
'We are on the Jungle Pack's territory,' I cheerfully informed her.
'What? Won't they get mad about us being here?' she anxiously asked, as she darted her eyes around to see if there was any other werecats around.
I giggled through our mind link, then I assured her, 'Don't worry, Lynzee. Alpha Jared gave me permission to come here anytime I want, and he said I could bring you both with me.'
I could see the confusion swirling in her eyes, as she warily asked, 'Is he the Alpha of this pack?'
'Yes, and he's really nice,' I happily replied.
'How did you meet him?' she curiously asked.
'He showed up while I was shifting the first time. Apparently, the jungle called my cat here, to make the transformation easier and less painful on me,' I quickly explained through our mind link.
'Did it call your cat here, because you are a were-jaguar?' she asked with a hint of amusement in her voice.
I giggled through our link again, then I proudly replied, 'That's exactly why.'
'This is so cool,' Lynzee gushed through the link, then she started frolicking around. She was also a black were-panther, like the majority of the midnight pack, but her fur had the prettiest shine to it, and when the sun reflected off of it, I could sometimes see a hint of dark blue.
A few seconds later, Lance walked over and sat beside me, then he asked through our mind link, 'Is this where you shifted?'
'Yep. Isn't it beautiful here?' I quickly replied.
'It is,' he thoughtfully responded, then he laid down and watched Lynzee happily prance around.
We stayed at the waterfall for awhile, then we headed back to our pack's territory. As soon as we crossed the border, we decided to have a contest to see which one of us could climb a tree the fastest in our cat form.
Since I was still getting used to my jaguar form, I wasn't as fast at climbing the trees, but I was happy for Lance when he won the contest. However, when we had a race after that, I ran faster than both of them. I didn't win the race by a lot, but I still won, and I was ecstatic about it.
When we got back to the tree line by my house, Lynzee told us 'bye' through the mind link, then she headed home. Whereas, Lance and I both went behind the trees where we left our clothes, then we shifted back into our human form and got dressed.
After that, we were quick to head inside, then I led him straight to the kitchen. We had worked up quite the appetite, and I wasn't waiting any longer to eat.
I quickly made us tuna fish sandwiches, then I grabbed a bag of potato chips and set them on the dining table. After I poured us both a cup of sweet tea, I sat down beside Lance, then we both enjoyed our lunch.
As soon as we done eating, Lance headed back to his house, and I went straight to my bedroom and climbed onto my bed. It was beyond time to take a nap, and I was quick to fall asleep.
When I woke up a few hours later, I headed straight for the shower. I gave my skin a good scrub and washed my long hair, then I got our of the shower and quickly wrapped a towel around my body.
I was quick to return to my bedroom, then I pulled on a black sundress with bright orange hibiscus flowers decorating it. The flowers on the dress reminded me of the flowers in the rain forest.
Since I was feeling a little lazier than usual, I grabbed a book about were-jaguars that I had checked out from the library a few weeks ago. I had been reading for almost an hour when I heard my mum call for me to join her and my dad for dinner. I made sure to fold the corner of the page I was reading, then I quickly joined them at the dining table.
Lance POV
As soon as Lynzee joined us at the rain forest, Celeste led us deeper into the thick jungle that ran along the Freya River. She navigated us through the dense vegetation, and I was thankful for the camouflage that it provided us.
The leaves were vibrant shades of green, and there were large hibiscus flowers all over the place in varying colors. I had to admit to myself that I was a little envious of the Jungle Pack's territory, because of how pretty everything was.
When we reached the waterfall, I gazed at it in awe, while Celeste walked over to one of the river inlets and drank water from it. It was a stunning sight to see, and I couldn't take my eyes away from it for several minutes.
It wasn't until Lynzee started happily prancing around, then I pulled my eyes away from the mesmerizing waterfall. I walked over to where Celeste was sitting and sat down beside her, then I curiously asked through our mind link, 'Is this where you shifted?'
'Yep. Isn't it beautiful here?' she quickly responded.
'It is,' I thoughtfully replied, then I laid down and continued to watch Lynzee prance around.
We hung out for a little while, then we headed back to our territory. On the way there, I thought about how I wouldn't blame Celeste if she decided to join that pack. She looked so at peace when we were hanging out at the waterfall. I didn't want her to leave our pack, but I wouldn't be mad if she did.
Lynzee was quick to head home after we had a few races, then Celeste and I shifted back to our human form. As soon as we went into her house, Celeste made us both some lunch, and I very much enjoyed the food.
When we were done eating, I could tell Celeste was ready for a nap, because of the way her eyes were starting to droop. I was quick to thank her for lunch, then I walked back to my house.
As soon as I got there, I headed straight for the shower. I made it a quick shower, then I got dried off and pulled on a pair of dark blue gym shorts.
I could feel exhaustion settling into my bones, so I climbed onto my bed, but instead of falling asleep, I got lost in my thoughts about Celeste and the Jungle Pack's territory. I couldn't seem to get my mind off of those thoughts.
I liked seeing her happy, and if she decided that's where she needed to be, then I fully planned to support her decision, even if it's not what I wanted. It was a beautiful territory, and it wasn't far away, so we would still be able to visit each other and hang out all the time.
I was glad we still had six years before that would act
ually be a possibility, and a lot could happen to influence her decision when that time came. I knew the biggest influencing factor would be centered around her finding the one she was mated to.
Every time I thought about her being mated to anybody other than me, I would get a slight ache in my chest. I did not like the idea of her not being mated to me, and that made me feel so confused.
I wasn't sure if it was normal for me to be having these types of thoughts at my age, but I had already began to develop strong feelings for Celeste. Ever since she almost died, we had been practically inseparable, and the time we spent together over the past year was nothing short of memorable.
Celeste changed so much after that near fatal incident, and I still wondered if there was more to the sudden changes. However, those changes made me like her more than ever. I found this version of Celeste to not only be mysterious, but also captivating.
She was filled with wonder, and she loved to go exploring. She was always nice to everybody around her, and when she saw somebody getting picked on, she was quick to put the bullies in their places. It was almost like she had become a crusader against bullying, and I loved that about her.
Chapter 11
Lance's Dream
Lance POV
I don't know what it was about this particular day, but Celeste was adamant that we stay in the rain forest overnight, then she refused to leave the next day, and she wouldn't let me leave either. Her persistence was unnerving, and it just made her even more
mysterious to me.
It had been over four years since she almost died, and she still hadn't regained any of her memories. The only things she remembered from her past, were the things we told her.
Of course, that didn't stop me from falling in love with her. I couldn't bring myself to tell her that, but it was the truth. I loved everything about Celeste, and the mysteriousness that surrounded her made me love her even more.
Revenge : His Mysterious Werecat Page 6