Natalia’s P. O. V

I felt raw.

My entire body was stiff and creaky, but somehow noodle-like and ungrounded at the same time. My head was pounding in a way it hadn’t since the last time Clark had gone on a rampage with me close enough for him to direct his rage at. Every single decibel of sound and every trace of every smell, for what I assumed were miles, bombarded my senses, adding to the throbbing of my head. With the way my ears and nose were acting up, I didn’t even want to open my eyes.

I heard someone approach and enter my room. The scent told me it was Hailey, with food that triggered a growl from my stomach.

I was ravenous.

“Hey…” she called. Her tone was soft but her voice sounded like it was at full volume to my ears, “I figured you’d be hungry, I was starving after my first shift.”

“I am, thanks.” My voice sounded hoarse, like my vocal cords had been out of order.

I took a breath, then decided to peel my eyes open. I could literally hear the movements of my eyelids sliding over my eyeballs.

The first thing I noticed was that the world was much brighter, and there were more shades and colours than I’d ever seen. I knew my sight had been heightened before, but this felt like I was gazing into another dimension.

I looked over at Hailey seated in a chair next to my bed. She looked the same, but different, like I was seeing her again for the first time.

I guess this was what people who needed glasses felt like after their first time wearing them.

She placed the tray she was holding on my lap after I sat up in bed. It was a beautiful spread of pancakes and at least half of a grilled chicken. I paid no mind to the odd combination, devouring the food with a speed that surprised even myself.

When I was done, she silently handed me a glass of water, which I basically downed in one gulp.

“How do you feel?” She asked once she’d taken the tray back.

“Better…”

My hunger had been sated, but my body still felt weird to me.

She offered me another sympathetic smile, “I felt different after my first shift too, so I know that feeling of strangeness. Not to mention the fact that you Uncovered and your body just grew and matured overnight. I can only imagine how dissociated you feel right now.”

I nodded, and my new hair came into view, “Everything’s hyperfocused, but off at the same time.”

It reminded me of when my hearing had heightened before at nine. It had been overwhelming, and had taken me a few days to get it under control.

And I needed to do that all over again, but also get used to moving with my new height and dimensions and controlling the rest of my senses. Plus, there was the little issue of my spontaneous combustion.

Hailey must have seen the worry growing on my face, cause she placed a hand on mine, “It’s okay. Kaesha and I will be here to help you.”

“Thanks.” I smiled.

She gave my hand a reassuring squeeze, then left with the tray.

I looked around my room. It was the same as I’d left it, with the only change being that Hailey had moved the vanity’s chair next to my bed.

I spotted my phone on my night stand and picked it up. I’d wanted to check if I had missed calls from Timothy, but I caught sight of the date and my jaw dropped.

It was the twenty-third, and the middle of the day.

I’d lost a day and a half, and I had no idea of how much of that time I’d spent as a wolf or asleep. No wonder I’d been so hungry.

Deciding not to lose sleep over the time I’d lost to sleep, I swung my legs over to the floor and stood up.

Like Hailey had said, my body was foreign to me, and just standing up felt like I was piloting a new vehicle.

I decided to direct my body to a shower first, which felt good, but also served to show me just how I’d changed even more. As I lathered myself and washed my hair, my mind went to all the insults that had been hurled at me over my appearance.

One particular summer day, Brittany had been feeling bad about herself, so she’d forced me to strip in front of everyone while she stood in a bikini next to me. Then I’d just stood there as the entire pack ridiculed my prominent ribs and lack of any semblance of a shape. When someone had yelled out ‘twig arms’, Brittany had gleefully broken one of my arms just to prove the theory correct.

I shook my head to clear the latent anger and embarrassment that had surfaced alongside the memory.

‘For what it’s worth, you’d put her figure to shame now.’ Candy yawned.

I shrugged, ‘I guess so, not that it matters anyway. What happened with you? Where have you been?’

I could feel the giddiness in her voice as she perked up, ‘Oh my gosh, Nat, it was amazing! I might have been a bit rabid in the beginning, but once I settled into my body, I felt like… I don’t even know how to describe it, Nat! I felt whole, and free, and like myself for the first time ever!’

I just had to laugh, ‘I’m glad at least one of us feels good about these new changes.’

‘I’d just been let out for the first time. Any change feels amazing to me, cause I’ve never felt anything myself before. You already had a body you were used to, but now you’re taller, sexier and Uncovered, with new things your body can do that you have no control over yet. You’ll get the hang of yourself, and when you do, you’ll be magnificent.’

Her words turned my lips up in a smile. The clouds of trepidation at the journey to getting myself under control had eased, letting hope and excitement shine through. I wanted to feel as whole and free and amazing as Candy felt.

For whatever reason, I was a full physical hybrid of both a Werewolf and a Syren. Even though my confusing biology left more questions that needed answering in my life, it had given me the gift of having one more thing to feel closer to my mother with. And I needed to explore this connection.

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With that determination, I started what was left of the day.

I’d heard and smelt Kaesha earlier, and true to that, she was present when I went to the living room.

“So she lives.” She teased, her eyes relieved and laughing.

“Apparently so. I might as well have been revived from the dead, with the way I feel in my body.”

She laughed, “Well, you’re apparently both a Werewolf and a Syren. At this point, I wouldn’t be surprised if you could resurrect yourself from death too.”

“I know right.” Hailey chimed, “How are you even possible?”

I shrugged, “I’d like to know that too.”

Silence passed, each of us pondering our own theories on the basis of my existence. Eventually, I decided thinking about that didn’t matter anyway.

“I hope I didn’t cause too much trouble for you or hurt you in any way?” I couldn’t see any injuries on them, or smell any blood from them, but Hailey was a Werewolf, so she’d probably have healed by now, and Kaesha could have used magic to heal herself too.

They shook their heads.

“You were hella strong though, nearly broke my barrier. But you didn’t hurt us.”

Hailey nodded, “The worst thing that happened to us was the fatigue afterwards. By the time you shifted back, we were both exhausted. Kaesha couldn’t teleport back and she was too tired to walk any distance, so she slept over in one of the guest bedrooms. I was pretty drained from her channelling me too, so I was out once my head hit my pillow.”

“Thank you so much, for everything. The both of you have been there for me more than anyone in my life, and we haven’t known even each other that long.”

Kaesha smiled and Hailey waved me off, “Why do you still think of it that way? We’re family.”

“And you’re my friend. Besides, I’m not completely unselfish. Practicing magic has been good for me and being around you gives me plenty of opportunities for that.” Her smile turned into a smirk, “Plus, I know you’ll have my back just the same if my coven ever turns up to drag me back and sacrifice me again.”

I snorted, “Definitely.”

Hailey’s stomach growled, and our conversation was steered towards food.

The lack of any strong smells of food told me that there wasn’t anything substantial to eat in the kitchen. It didn’t take long for the two of them to agree on what to eat then Hailey fished her phone out of her pocket, but I stood up before she could order the food.

“I’ll go get some groceries so I can make something.”

The same worry appeared on both their faces and they shared a look.

“Are you sure?”

“Yeah, you sure you won’t burn the store down?”

I was already walking away to go upstairs and get ready, “Yes, I’m sure. The fire mainly seems to come when I’m emotional, and I doubt picking broccoli is gonna make me cry. Let me do this for you guys.”

They shared another look, but let me go.

Up in my room, I retrieved my concealment kit and placed it on my vanity. For a while, I just sat there, staring at it. The instructions Mrs Burton had given me played in my mind, her carefully going over things the both of us had been so sure that I wouldn’t need.

I needed it now.

I picked up a spray bottle, the contents sloshing around mesmerizingly. Closing my eyes, I spayed it on my head, envisioning myself as a brunette again.

Mrs Burton had made sure to note that if I used the spray without envisioning anything for my hair colour, it’d just make my hair appear black. And while it would be nice to move in the world with the hair colour I was born with, I didn’t need the added stress of lying about the change.

Feeling like I’d sprayed enough, I retrieved the contacts and put them on, making sure to give myself green eyes again.

In my vanity mirror, I looked the same, and it struck me that I referred to my Uncovered look as ‘same’ like it was normal for me, when it felt anything but.

In the small mirror that came with the concealment kit, meant to be the spokesperson for the eyes of everyone without Syren blood in their veins, my reflection showed that I was in fact concealed, right down to my roots.

With my appearance settled, I grabbed my wallet and phone then left for the grocery store.

Fifteen minutes later, I was speed walking to outpace the small group of people that had begun to follow me around the store. I looked normal, I knew that, but my allure must have been in overdrive, cause I’d been turning heads from the moment I finished running to the store and walked in.

‘This is getting ridiculous!’ Candy grumbled.

I glanced back, agreeing with her. The three men trailing behind me all had the same dazed look on their faces, with their eyes transfixed on me.

In my focus on the guys behind me, I nearly ran into one standing in front of me, my feet fumbling to a halt before him. My senses were probably what kept me from colliding into him before my focus caught up.

“Sorry…” I mumbled, moving to sidestep him, before my eyes went up to his face.

He was so familiar, and it took me a moment to recall that he was Danny, the guy that had sort of kidnapped me to meet Kirstin.

He was staring too, with an intensity unlike the others behind me. And there was something in his eyes that made me take a step back. Alarm bells were ringing in my head and I had to remember to breathe as I begged my body not to sprout any fire.

“Danny…?”

Hearing his name seemed to snap him out of whatever was going on in his head. Lazily, he dragged his eyes away from me to look at the men behind me.

“Do you need something from this young lady?” He drawled.

At his confrontation, the men left their daze. Mumbling and confused, with lingering looks, they dispersed.

“Thanks.”

He didn’t respond, but looked at me strangely.

“I guess it’s time for me to meet up with Kirstin at the hotel.”

He nodded slowly, stretching a keycard out to me, “Room 343, fifth floor. And get each other’s phone numbers this time, so I don’t have to keep being the middle man.”

I’d forgotten to ask her last time we met, so unused to having a phone, and I guess it hadn’t crossed her mind either.

I took the card out of his hand, “We will.”

My mind went back to Hailey and Kaesha, I wasn’t going to just leave them without anything to eat after I’d insisted on making them something, “Could you tell her that I’ll be there in the evening? I need to go back to my place and prepare.”

Another nod, then he turned on his heel and sauntered away.

I stared after him, willing my heart to slow down its frightened pace.

‘I don’t know why I don’t like him.’ Candy huffed.

‘Well, he did put you to sleep last time we met.’

‘Yeah, but still…’

I knew what she meant. For whatever reason, I couldn’t see Danny and I ever getting along. He unnerved me, more than I remembered, and I hated the feeling of being so ready to run from someone. Not to mention how he mysteriously seemed to have the ability to track me down.

I was just glad I probably wouldn’t need to see him again.

I finished up my shopping, the only other awkward encounter being when my cashier insisted on packing my groceries for me, and even offered to ditch his shift and carry them to my house through the snow when he found out I’d walked here after I’d declined his offer to carry them to my car.

As soon as I got home, I threw together some creamy mushroom and chicken pasta as fast as I could. Then I went upstairs to get the things I’d need for my meeting with Kirstin from my library.

“Where are you in such a rush to, lugging all that with you?” Kaesha called out, spotting me from where she sat with her food in the living room.

“Remember how I mentioned that I have an inside person to help us? She’s in the city and I need to meet with her so we can discuss the dirt we have on the Lightwood Pack.”

“Why not just invite her here?” Hailey asked.

Kaesha answered her before I could respond, “She doesn’t trust her yet.”

“Oh, makes sense.”

“I know you’re super strong or whatever, but text us the address so we’ll know where to start searching if you’re kidnapped or something.” Kaesha said then returned her focus to the food.

“I will.” I called, then breezed out the door and locked it behind me.