Change

by Melissa Stevens

  Chapter 24

  By Saturday I hadn't heard from Brandon since that last call on Tuesday. Part of me was relieved, but another part was worried. Brandon had been my friend for too long for me not to be worried about him, no matter how mad I was.

  While I’d been at the clinic on Friday Alexis had told me I needed more practice calling animal forms, that the one time I'd done it in the clinic wasn't enough for her to be sure I had it down. Honestly, I agreed with her. It wasn't something I would be comfortable attempting without her there to oversee me, at least not yet. So, with my agreement, she’d arranged our outing today. I had no idea how she'd done it on such short notice but it meant that early this morning, Alexis had picked me up at my apartment. With Caden already seated in the back of her SUV, and we headed for a ranch on the west side of Mt Graham. The ranch was owned by a pack member and we were supposed be able to shift and run there without worrying about being seen.

  Apparently, Alexis had asked several members of the pack to volunteer to let me call their animal forms as practice. She arranged for those who were willing to be my guinea pigs to go for a run there on the ranch. The idea was that they would be shifting anyway, so why not let me try to call their wolves? She had enough volunteers that I wasn’t sure if I’d be able to shift them all.

  The trip took well over an hour, mostly over rough dirt roads, and when we arrived at the ranch house I was glad to be able to get out of the car and stretch my legs some. I felt like I'd rattled half way across the country since I climbed into the seat. The dust was still settling on the road behind us as I opened the door and slid out of the seat, I bent my legs repeatedly before walking in small circles beside the vehicle. I moved with exaggerated motions, bending this way and that as I stretched in different muscle groups trying to work out some of the kinks. I heard Alexis and Caden get out of the car behind me, and looked over to see Alexis doing the same on her side of the car, her footsteps making a light crunching sound in the gravel. Caden's much heavier step was still, either he wasn’t suffering the same problem or he wasn’t willing to show it, and he stood silently next to his closed door, watching the two of us.

  Caden’s reaction was my first clue that the three of us weren’t alone any longer. He lost his relaxed pose and he stood upright, away from the car, suddenly alert, ready to move quickly should he need to protect one of us. I turned, looking toward the building we’d pulled up in front of, but saw nothing. I turned a slow circle, trying to spot what had alerted Caden. I'd turned about a hundred and eighty degrees when I spotted him. He was an older man, probably in his 60's, maybe a very weathered 50's. Alexis smiled and stepped forward.

  "Joe! Thanks again for letting us do this out here, it's a big help." She turned to me. "This is Nickie Daniels; she's the one who'll be calling your wolf today. Nickie, this is Joe Adams. He's our host this morning."

  I smiled as I shook his hand, he was several inches taller than me, probably just shy of six feet, and I looked up to meet his gold eyes. When I touched his skin I got a low level buzz across my senses that told me he was powerful. I struggled not to react because I didn't want the ability to sense strength to be general knowledge, at least until I had a better idea of how to use it.

  "You're pretty old to be just discovering talents." Joe said.

  "I am," I conceded, "But I've only recently discovered that I'm Kindred. I was adopted as a baby and never knew about the Kindred until I shifted."

  "Wow, I bet that was a bit of a surprise." He said, I nodded in reply, "Wait a minute. You said Daniels right?" He asked, turning back to Alexis.

  "Sure did," She replied.

  "You from around here?" Joe asked me.

  "Grew up in the valley," I replied happily.

  "Adopted, Daniels, and from the valley," He ticked off the details on one hand, "You're one of James and Brenda's tribe aren't you?" He sounded pleased that he'd put it all together.

  "Yep, and proud of it."

  "You should be, they're good people. From what I've seen, they've done a good job raising you kids."

  "I think so." I said, not sure what else to say.

  We stood and visited for a little bit while we waited for everyone to arrive. Thirty minutes later several trucks and a few cars had pulled into the large driveway and we had what seemed to me to be a small crowd forming. Alexis easily took charge of the situation.

  "Attention please!" She yelled over everyone, the noise of many conversations quickly quieted so that they could hear her. I wasn't sure if it was her position in the pack that demanded obedience, or Caden's large form standing behind her, a menacing look on his face. "I want to thank all of you who agreed to let Nickie call your wolf today. She's only recently discovered the talent and needs the practice. She’d like to be able to use her abilities to be an asset to the pack. By agreeing today, you're not only doing a favor for me, but you’re helping out us all.

  "Here's how things are going to go. Nickie hasn't been among us for very long and she isn't comfortable with casual nudity yet. She can handle one or two at a time, but I think all of us would overwhelm her, and that won't serve our purpose today. So Nickie will stand on one side of the parking area and we’ll take turns. You can approach her one at a time and let her shift you.

  "Please keep in mind she is still very new, not only at calling animal forms, but at being Kitsune, and she is still learning our ways. A soft murmur spread through the crowd but it soon quieted.

  "Now, who wants to go first?" she asked. Several hands shot into the air.

  Joe stepped forward, and spoke quietly, "It's my place, I'll go last, and be a hospitable host."

  "Thanks, Joe," Alexis replied, before turning back to the group in front of her. "All right, let’s do this, how many of us are there?" After a quick head count it was determined that there were an even dozen for me to shift, that should be plenty of practice, if I could manage to shift them all. Alexis had told me that calling animal forms could be draining. I had some shakes handy just in case I got hungry, but we’d see how things went.

  To avoid dominance problems, Alexis decided that everyone would draw numbers. After numbers were drawn and details worked out she pulled me around the far side of the parked vehicles while the first couple of people I was to shift undressed and dealt with their clothes.

  "I want you to take this one at a time." She instructed, "After each shift we'll pause a moment and see how you feel, shifting others can be as draining as shifting yourself, at least until you get used to it."

  "All right, you're the teacher here. As long as you don't decide to have me do something I find objectionable, you won't have any argument from me. Being smart rarely gets an objection from me."

  Alexis nodded as she called the first person to come around to where we were standing. I carefully kept my eyes on the man's face. He was about my age, and only a few inches taller than I was, and his long dark hair was pulled back into a short ponytail on the back of his head. He wore small gold hoops in both ears, and I could see the edges of a tattoo reaching up his neck but I refused to lower my eyes to see what the rest of it was. His name was Rick, I had been introduced to him earlier, and I shook his hand again as Alexis spoke to him.

  "Are you ready for this?" I asked him.

  "Sure, no reason to wait." He said with a smile.

  "Why don't you go ahead and get in whatever position you prefer to shift in?" I suggested, thinking it would be easier for us both that way. Rick bent down in front of me, until he was down on one knee with his back curled over so that his hands could rest on the ground in front of him. I reached one hand out toward him. I didn't touch him, instead I my hand barely over his skin so that I could feel the energy that flowed through is skin. I closed my eyes and sent my senses out; I pushed it deep into him. I used that part of me that senses power to look for his wolf. I felt him in that small space where they seem to live. I sent that undefinable part of me to sooth him for a moment before I tried to coax it out, to enco
urage the wolf to the surface. I felt the wolf moving to the surface, and opened my eyes.

  I was looking sightlessly in front of me, not focusing on my hand or at Rick beyond it when his body started to change. I tried to look more closely but his entire body seemed to blur before my eyes and in the next moment the blur cleared and there was a large black wolf standing on the ground in front of me he looked up with clear amber eyes.

  I sent a thought to him, *Are you okay?* He looked up at me, intelligence shining in his eyes as he nodded once before turning around and walking around the side of the vehicles where he’d come from.

  "How are you feeling?" Alexis asked me.

  "Good, I was nervous before, but now that I've done one I'm feeling more confident."

  "Not tired at all? You feel like you can do another one?"

  "Nope, not tired, at least not yet. I'm ready for the next one."

  "All right then," She turned around and motioned for the next person.

  This time the person who rounded the corner toward me was a young blond girl. She couldn't have been more than nineteen or twenty, but she seemed very sure of herself.

  "Hello," I extended my hand to her, "Can I ask your name?"

  "Becky" she took my hand and shook it firmly.

  "You know what's gonna happen right?"

  "Yep, I've had it done before."

  "Okay then, what position do you prefer?"

  She bent down in front of me in what I soon realized was a common position to take before shifting. I had to admit it was pretty much the position I used too, as it had seemed natural when I tried to shift on my own. Once she was down on one knee, with back bowed and her hands on the ground beside her I again reached out with my hand and sent my power into her. I could feel her wolf sitting inside, it seemed to be anxious about something and when I beckoned to it, it refused to answer my call. I sent that part of me that could sense the wolf further into her, trying to be gentle first. Her wolf still balked, and I had to grab it with my power and pull it forward. It resisted more, not seeming to want to surface but suddenly Becky's form blurred before my eyes for just seconds before the sight of her slender gray wolf form became clear.

  *You feeling all right?* I asked her telepathically.