White Tiger (Book 1 in the White Tiger Trilogy)

Chapter 2- Shifters

Picture of Ani to the side >>>

 

"White Tiger"

2012 Copyright © All Rights Reserved.

Stryder Sweetman.

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Chapter 2

I blinked at the sudden brightness as I jolted awake. I was greeted by the sight of the forest, along with a calm looking Willow and a clearly impatient Ani.

Ani was tapping her feet against the ground, her arms crossed as she stared at me. I let out a strangled yowl and lifted my shaking body off of the ground.

I stood uncomfortably on all four paws, my legs shaking like jelly beneath me. I felt my legs preparing to give out, and quickly dropped into a sitting position. I looked up at Willow and Ani, my mind going into overdrive and my whole body shaking from exhaustion.

“Sorry about that…” Ani rubbed the back of her neck as she chuckled nervously.

I lifted my shoulders in an uncomfortable shrug and flicked my eyes over Willow, who was leaning against the trunk of a tree with a blank face.

I got sick of waiting for an explanation and let out another yowl. Willow stepped forward and sat down, getting pine needles all over her black dress.

She sighed and began to explain, “Ben, you need to hear all of this before you have another panic attack. I know you aren’t really going to get it all immediately, but here are the basics of what just happened- you are a shape shifter.

“Ani and I are also shape shifters, which means that we can take on any form- and we are actually both 18… We scout schools to find shifters who are unaware of their heritage. Sorry, but we couldn’t tell you until today.” She rubbed her neck, “To shift, you need to picture the form you want to take- you can alter your human form or just shift into any human you want, you can shift into an animal, you can even shift into mythical creatures and figments of your imagination.

“It’s not a curse Ben, it’s a gift. I know you are weak now, and you aren’t feeling all that good- that tends to be the case when every bone in your body breaks and every cell converts to turn you into another creature. It’s only the first shift that hurts; after that, you can shift without an ounce of pain.”

As I took in all the information, my head began to spin again. I shook my head in an attempt to clear my mind, and lost my balance, stumbling to the side.

I caught myself before I fell and shook my head again, squeezing my eyes shut. I blinked and faced Willow again, huffing in an attempt to communicate.

She nodded at Ani, who grinned widely before explaining, “So there are different types of shifters, shape shifters can shift into anything, but there are sub-species of shape shifters that can only shift into one form. Were-wolves, were-cats, were-foxes, even were-dolphins! Though they are usually called were-wolves, they are actually Wolf Shifters.

“We can’t shift into inanimate objects…” She trailed off, her blue eyes glazing over as she drifted into her own thoughts. Willow nudged her and Ani jumped, panicking. Her eyes flashed and she remembered that she was speaking.

“Oh, right!” She continued, “So yeah, no inanimate objects. Except rainbows… I love rainbows.” Her eyes glazed over again and I sighed.

Willow rolled her eyes and continued for her. “No, you can’t shift into rainbows. Anyway, basically you can tell what type a shifter is by their scent.”