First Run

Aláine's Point of View

Over the next three days, we practised shifting between human and wolf, human and Lycan, wolf and Lycan, and back again. My shifting time was much faster, although Kristof was incredibly fast at shifting forms. He'd had many years of practice, and it showed. At least it didn't hurt as badly. Unfortunately, the pain hadn't entirely diminished.

I had my walking and running down pat. My tail was acting like a rudder, and I could run and turn without falling over. Kristof said I was a natural at it. I thought my progress was due to being turned as an adult. While it took wolf-born children much longer, knowing the science behind it helped.

Now we were going for my first official run with my mate. I would be handing over the reins to Calliope, and Kristof would allow Connery to have control during this time. Kristof was very explicit with Calliope and Connery that this was a run only, not a mating.

"Why?" I asked. "What's the difference?"