My Wolf’s Bane(72)

“Honey, I’m home,” he called out as he came through the door.

I chuckled. “Supper’s about ready, dear.”

When dinner was over, we spent some time with his mom, then gathered our things and went to my house.

“Why don’t I morph?” I asked, leaning against a wall in the living room. Zack had the couch. I could’ve taken my dad’s recliner, but even that was too close. Too comfortable. The temptation to flirt with Zack was too much.

“Everyone’s different. I started noticing changes when I was sixteen. This was right after my mom quit working, because she kept getting sick. It was stressful having a job, doing the grocery shopping and everything else while worrying about my mom. From what I’ve learned so far, stress can bring on the first morph. It was another two weeks before I turned into a wolf though.”

I recalled the first day I’d noticed changes. I’d just learned we’d be moving again and then I’d gotten grounded. The next day, I had the run-in with Zack, then Gina got pissed off at me and later Daniel douched it up at my expense.

“You must’ve completely freaked the first time you morphed,” I said.

“It was strange,” Zack agreed. “But I had so much energy and this wild urge to… I don’t know. One time I took off running and in my mind I was a wolf. I needed to be a wolf. And an instant later, I really was. It felt natural. Instinct, I guess.”

I didn’t feel any of those things, except the extra energy and the running part. “I haven’t had the urge to morph.”

“You probably won’t. Shape-shifters are different. Relax. It’ll come.”

I shook my head. The sooner I learned to change into a bear or some other dangerous animal, the sooner I could protect myself. “I’d like to try now.”

“Go for it.” Zack pointed to his temple. “It’s all in here.”

“What if I can’t change back? I’m afraid I might get stuck.”

He chuckled. “Not gonna happen. If you can change once, you can change again. Once you morph, you’ll see.”

“Okay, here goes nothing.” Focusing everything I had into being a wolf, my body heated up and a tingle that felt like it might turn into a headache traveled up the base of my neck.

“You’re trying too hard,” he said after a moment. “Think soothing thoughts and picture a specific animal. Visualize it. Be it. You have to know you can do it.”

I imagined myself as a wolf. I am a wolf… a wolf… a wolf. I opened my eyes and held out my arms. They were blurry, almost translucent. It felt… like I was meant to morph. Peaceful.

“Yes,” Zack whispered. “That’s it.”

My arms steadied and became normal again.

“Sorry. I guess I distracted you. Try again. This time I’ll be quiet. Go on,” Zack coaxed.

I focused again, the exact same way. The vibrations started, only this time, more controlled. Then, my body became lighter, almost weightless. Suddenly, I stood on all fours and the world appeared a lot different. Black and white, mostly. Ugh. I wanted to run now, but couldn’t in the living room. I felt trapped and claustrophobic.

I thought about being human again, and the next moment, I was.

I felt the chill across my naked flesh and screamed. Zack gaped as I hunched over to cover myself. “The least you could do is look away,” I hissed.

He turned around.

“You could’ve warned me.” Snatching my clothes, I disappeared behind the recliner and threw on my shirt. My pants weren’t on yet, but Zack couldn’t see beyond the furniture. “You can look now.”

“Kind of like when I was barking for you to turn around and ended up having to dress in the bushes. Twice.” Zack raised a brow.

“Okay, Zack. Now we’re even,” I said, zipping up my jeans and sitting next to him on the couch. I was so irritated that I knew nothing could possibly happen between us now. Which made the close proximity to him totally safe.

“I wasn’t trying to get even for the times I morphed and you forgot to turn around. I wouldn’t do that on purpose.” His eyes were riveted to mine. “Besides, there are less sneaky ways of getting you naked.”

Why was I thinking the couch would be safe? This yo-yo business was getting painful. Standing up, I struggled to concentrate as I leaned against the recliner. “So it’s always like that? You shift back buck naked? Kind of inconvenient, isn’t it?”

“I never worried about it, because I’ve always been alone when I morphed.” He shrugged. “If you wore one hundred percent cotton or linen — something from nature, or close — it would shift with you. When you’re human again, you’re fully dressed.”