I woke and stretched, my back feeling tense from my dream last night. I got off my bed and got to my paws, wait paws? I looked down to see that I did indeed have paws. Oh crap, I better hope that none of the servants see me like this, otherwise I would be in a lot of trouble.
There was a sound that was the door opening and I saw that it was Hildy, my maid. Shit, I have to figure out how to change back to my human form fast. She walked in and closed the door behind her.
"My lady? Lady Rose, is that you?" her voice was calm and she looked as if this were an everyday occurrence. I knew that she was terrified, but she wasn't showing it, which my wolf respected. I nodded in answer to her question.
"My lady, do you know how you changed?" I shook my head. I must have shifted in my sleep. "Then, perhaps you should try picturing yourself as a human."
I did as she said and found that my fur started shifting to skin and I felt my bones shifting and cracking, moving from the skeleton of a wolf to that of a woman. Needless to say, it was quite painful.
Hildy looked on in sympathy, saying "My mate once told me that the first few transformations are always the hardest and the most painful."
It surprised me that my maid had a werewolf mate, but I remembered from my dream that a werewolf's mate could literally be anyone.
"Hildy," I suddenly asked, "What's it like being the mate of a werewolf?"
She smirked and said, "Have you met your mate yet, my lady?"
"Yes, I met him last night."
"Lady Rose, werewolves are loyal to two people above all else, their mate and the alpha. Your mate will love you and fight for you with his last breath, and the pleasure he will be able to give you is indescribable." she finished with a sigh.
I was shocked, "Hildy, you're not married!"
She laughed and said, "My lady, as far as his pack is concerned, my mate and I are married. Though, if it makes you feel better, we are going to have a ceremony officiated by a priestess of the Goddess soon enough. I won't tell Her Grace about this but come on, you have to get dressed and I have to clean up the mess on your bed." I looked down at my naked body and my bed where my clothes were torn to shreds and realized that Hildy was right.
I sighed and went into my closet to get dressed. I knew that my mother was going to lose her mind if she ever found out. My mother hated werewolves with every inch of her being. If she found out that I was one, she was going to kill me, without a doubt.
My mother has two sides, her benevolent side is the one that she shows most of the time. Her benevolent side is where she is kind and caring, that side of her is what makes her a good duchess. Father and I both learned a long time ago that it is best for everyone involved that she continues to show her benevolent side. Her other side is her malevolent side, it is ruthless and has no qualms about using whatever means available to get what it wants. I haven't seen her malevolent side in 10 years and I would live a happy life without ever seeing her malevolent side again.