It's been awhile since the pain has been this bad. I can't stand anymore. I can barely move anything. The only thing in my entire body that is moving is my spazzing diaphragm that keeps my hiccups coming since I ran out of tears.

Demi had to leave for work, and I physically could not do it today. She tried to feed me, but I couldn't even open my mouth, let alone chew. It's only supposed to last about five to six hours at a time. We are hitting hour number eleven.

Tate has been trying to get me to shift to see if that will help, but every time I go to my body gives out due to me not having anywhere near enough energy to shift my bones and muscles with purpose. I'm in so much pain that I'm howling. My howls of pain don't sound like a person trying to mimic a howl; they sound like actual howls of wolves who run in the wind without a worry in the world. Except this time it sounds like a wolf got shot.

"Harlow, you've gotta eat to get your energy up if you're going to shift." Tate sighed as he walked in with a bowl of soup that was steaming at the top.

I couldn't respond. In my mind I was yelling 'no', but there is only so much that I can do.

"I'll sit you up and then I'll feed you." He found a way to get me sitting up straight in my cave-like bed before pushing the spoon past my lips multiple times. "Swallow Harlow. You can at least do that." Tate scolded me.

I swallowed the soup before doing my best to turn my head away from the spoon in my brother's grasp. I groaned as the hot fluid painfully ran along my esophagus.

"If you won't eat, you have to try to shift again." Tate raised a brow, but I shrugged and focused.

My eyes closed as my bones started to shift into the correct place for my wolf stature and the fur started to grow.

"There you go. Keep pushing yourself; you're halfway there." Tate stepped away and let me shift with more space.

"Fuck!" I howled as my neck shifted into position. My body fell forward onto the blankets as the last few muscles shifted into place.

"There you go! Now we're talking! Do you feel any better?" Tate raised a brow at me before cheering too much.

"Yeah, the shifting stopped. I've gotta stay in this form for awhile though. There is no way I am shifting any time soon after finally being out of pain." I sighed, not knowing how Demi will feel about it.

"Let's go visit Demi. I'll go get the service dog jacket and I'll text Demi to let the office know about our visit." Tate quickly rushed out before running to his building.

Tate and I have service dog vests and certificates so one of us can be in human form and the other can be in wolf form and still be together everywhere we go.

I stood still has he fitted the jacket around my brown coat. Lacing it in between my front legs and securely around my stomach.

"Let's go Low." Tate smiled down at me before leading me out of the house.

I have to act like a service dog. Stay serious, and don't get distracted. Follow commands, and be nice to people.

"Hi, I'm here to see Miss Lovato." Tate smiled brightly at the lady at the front desk.

When she saw me and my height all of the blood drained from her face. "Is t-that a wolf?" She stuttered out.

"Yes, this is Low. She is well behaved and licensed to help me with my blood pressure. Would you like to see her license?" Tate asked with a bright smile.

"N-no that won't be necessary. Miss Lovato informed me of your arrival. The gym is the big building outside and to the left. Directly behind the football field." She gave me a nervous smile before looking back at Tate and handing him a visitor's pass.

As soon as we got out of the main building Tate started to crack up. "Can you make yourself a little less intimidating? Like, not glare at people?"

"I don't mean to." I whispered and made sure to keep my head down so no one knew I literally just talked.

Tate sighed and shook his head as he opened the gym doors.

"My baby!" Demi smiled brightly with her arms out, asking for a hug.

I looked up at Tate for permission since technically speaking he is my handler and I don't want to look like I'm not trained. "Go get her." Tate chuckled.

My four paws skidded across the floor like characters in old cartoons before I actually started to get traction. My classmates gasped and started to whisper random thing about me to each other as I bolted across the gym.

When I got to Demi she crouched down and wrapped her arms around my neck.

"Hey baby." She whispered in my shoulder.

"Hi." I whispered back, making sure to keep my head down and hugging her back.

"Do you feel better now that you've shifted? I know it wasn't supposed to work like that, but do you?" Demi pulled away with a smile to play it off and ran her fingers through my brown coat in between my ears, causing me to involuntarily lean into her touch.

I hummed a 'yes' since it would've been obvious that I talked since my face is no longer covered by her shoulder.

"Who wants a wolf on their team?" Demi stood up and asked with a bright smile.

The gym went silent.

"Oh come on. She's friendly as long as you are nice to me." Demi giggled.

"I'll take the wolf Miss Lovato." A popular girl raised her hand as a smirk grew on her lips.

"Why the smirk Georgia?" Demi stared her down.

"We'll win with a wolf on our team. It's rugby. Harlow is usually on our team, and we need a replacement so... come on Mutt!" She patted her knees for me to come to her, but I wasn't moving an inch due to her degrading name she chose to use.

"Due to your name choice for her, the other team will get her. Her name is Low, and she responds to commands immediately and effectively. So let's head on out." Demi smiled down at me before tossing the ball for me to catch.

I did a backflip with it which made some of the kids cheer while the others were terrified of me.

When we got out to the field Demi refreshed everyone on the rules. "Do not hesitate to tackle her. I promise she won't do anything. Treat her like all of the other players and it'll go in your favor." Demi smiled brightly at all of them before letting us all line up.

"I wish we could have Harlow and Low on our team. You should have her come in more often." One of the guys, Tyler, laughed.

If only he knew.

Basically, they just kept giving me the ball and had me weave through everyone. I'm even faster in my wolf form, so once I got through the main line of them, I was clear. I did let them tackle me once so it would be kinda fair, but I didn't let go of the ball. I waited for one of my teammates to grab the ball from my jaws that had it secure and away from the other team.

"How much rugby does Low play?" Tyler asked Demi.

"Ever since she could walk she wanted to play with all of the kids, so she's been playing for awhile and knows the rules better than she knows how to behave." Demi giggled and raked her fingers between my ears repeatedly, making me sleepy.

"Is Harlow okay?" Tyler asked with a small smile.

"Yeah, she's just got a really bad cold." Demi nodded with a smile.

"Tell her I said I hope she gets better soon." Tyler smiled brightly before trotting back to his group of friends.

Demi bent down to my level before sitting down and letting me rest my head in her lap. "He likes you." She muttered under her breath.

I hummed and closed my eyes.

"Every time I run my hand up the bridge of your snout you fall asleep. That or rake my fingers in between your ears." She giggled at my relaxed figure.

Someone suddenly swung the gym's front doors wide open and had a sickening smile on his face.

That someone was my father.