“You’re hairy as a sasquatch,” Lucius scoffed, dropping his own drawers. “Look, man, smooth as a baby’s butt. You owe me ten buc—owe! Did you just pinch my ass? You did! You just pinched my fuckin’ ass you perv!”
“I didn’t pinch your ass. I pulled out a hair. Look!” Holding up his hand, Max smugly displayed what was supposed to be Lucius’s ass hair pinched between his thumb and index finger.
Lucius squinted. “There ain’t nothin’ there.”
“Man, I must’ve dropped it,” Max said forlornly, searching the floor around him. Gross. Just gross. I’d have to clean the floors ten times over.
“There isn’t one, idiot, because you pinched my ass.”
“You might as well look, Thaleia,” said Bacchus. “They’re not gonna quit until someone wins.”
“I’m not looking at their asses!”
“Just look,” Caius demanded. “Don’t be such a prude.”
“Fine,” I caved. Glancing quickly over their exposed derrière’s, I drew a hasty judgment in Lucius’s favor. I owed him for his car, though the damage was superficial. “Max is hairier.”
“Look closer!” Max objected, indignant. “You can’t see his from where you’re standing because they’re blonde! But that doesn’t mean they aren’t there!”
“Come on guys!” I protested. “Do you realize how immature this is?”
“There’s no place in the pack for modesty,” Bacchus pressed. “The sooner you look the sooner they’ll pull their pants back up.”
Dropping my head, I pinched the bridge of my nose. “I’ll need controls then.”
“I’ve got a control for ya,” said Caius, clutching his groin. “Right here.”
I pinched a glare in his direction. “A placebo group. For comparison.”
“You want me outta my drawers, Sugar, all ya gotta do is ask.”
“Bacchus,” Max prompted. “You too.”
“We’re identical twins, idiot. Cauis counts for the both of us.”
“I’ll do it,” Crispin offered. His brothers were quick to muscle him around, tossing gibes about his stage of puberty, or how he hadn’t reached it yet. By the time they all made their digs, they had virtually emasculated him, reducing him to a bald cherub still suckling the teat of the Capitoline Wolf.
“What the hell is going on?” Icarus exclaimed, his hands on his hips. His focus zeroed in on his three delinquent cousins committing public indecency in the center of the kitchen.
I looked up from beneath my brows. I had been pinching the bridge of my nose, trying to dull the ache setting in. “Max’s defending his hairy ass.”
“Pull your freakin’ pants up before I toss all your hairy asses outside. You’re aggravating Thaleia’s OCD. You know how she gets about hair, let alone it coming from your ass.”
“My ass is not hairy,” Lucius opposed. Taking a cursory glance at his posterior, he tugged his jeans over his hips and zipped his fly.
“It is too,” Icarus disagreed. “Max’s is just darker so it’s easier to see.”
“Ha!” Max gloated, holding up his fist for a fist bump. Icarus looked at his younger cousin’s hand with outright disgust.
“I’m not touching your hands until you wash ‘em. You were just plucking Lucius’s ass hairs, moron. In fact, the three of you can spend the afternoon tomorrow disinfecting the kitchen to restore Thaleia’s sanity. At this point, she may never want to cook in here again.”
“Shit,” Max complained. “No need to be harsh.”
“I’m taking it easy on you.”
“I was talking about Thale never cooking again. How could you say such a thing?” A visible shiver rolled down his frame. “Look, you made the hair on my arms stand up.”
“Enough with the damn hair!” Icarus exclaimed in annoyance.
“Icarus,” I gasped, my head feeling like it would explode. A tremor racked my body, warning of the transformation about to occur. We were out of time.
“She’s shifting,” Icarus said. “Bacchus, get the door.” Scooping me off my feet, he headed for the basement stairs.
“The basement?” I bit out around the pain. “You’re going to chain me down there, aren’t you?” I was joking, but when I saw his expression, I knew I’d inadvertently hit the nail on the head. “Jesus, you are! You’re going to chain me in the basement like a dog!”
“I have no choice. I was barely able to keep up with you last night. I can’t have you running the woods alone. You could hurt someone.”
Thinking of Bennie and my parents, I nodded my assent.
Until I saw the chain link kennel that would be my prison.
There were two of them. They reached from floor to ceiling, each about eight square feet. The area was bare. Not even a carpet to warm the concrete floor.
Hailey huddled in the far corner of the farther cage, her yellow eyes reflecting against the florescent lighting. She stared resentfully in my direction, sinking to the ground and resting her head on her paws.
“It’s only until you can maintain control through the transformation.”
That would be tonight, I vowed to myself. I might have been cursed to this existence, but there was no way I was spending the night lying on the cold floor in Icarus’s basement.
Icarus placed me on my feet in front of the gate. I stepped over the galvanized pole that secured the threshold and turned into his arms. He pulled me tight and kissed me, then pushed me away so that he could give me instruction before the next wave of pain took hold.
“Don’t fight this, Thaleia. Please. I don’t like to see you in pain.”
“Just tell me what I need to do.”
“You’ve seen your wolf. Summon her. Accept her, but don’t let her take control. Last night, you submitted to her completely.”
“I don’t understand.”
“When you accepted death, she was able to take control. It’s confusing, I know. I’m talking like you’re two separate entities. Though, you’re not. You need to remember that you are your wolf. It’s your baser side. Your instincts want to rule. Because this is all new, it’s easier to let the wolf take over. But you’re strong, Thaleia. Don’t lose yourself. Don’t surrender to the pain. Inside, you’re still there.” Reaching for the hem of my shirt, he began tugging it over my ribs. “Let’s get you out of these. They’re easier to remove beforehand.”
I dismissed the need for modesty. It wasn’t anything Icarus hadn’t already seen. “My dress last night?” I asked, masking my apprehension.
“Shreds.”
“Damn, that was a Max Azria.”
“I’ll but you a dozen if you ace this tonight.”
“I’ll ace it anyway.” I hope. “Straight A’s, remember?” I tried for a smile, but it came out a grimace as my fingers curled, the first wave of the transformation commencing.
Icarus rushed to remove the rest of my clothing, rucking them hastily down my legs. I stepped out of my jeans, silently cursing inside, trying to hide the pain I was in.
Ace schmace. I was going to fail epically.
“Bringing the blankets down,” called Bacchus, descending the stairs. My eyes popped wide, darting to Icarus in alarm. Unlike Icarus, Bacchus wasn’t privy to my state of undress.
“We’re lycan, Thaleia. Modesty is an encumbrance. It’ll grow old quick. Trust me. There are times when changing forms is necessary, and clothing won’t always be at your disposal. You’ll find modesty then falls secondary to your needs. Besides, you’ve nothing to be embarrassed about. You’ve a beautiful body. An amazing body.”
“And you don’t mind sharing the view of it with your cousins?”
He smiled threateningly. “If their eyes settle anywhere above your calves or below your neck, I’ll rip their throats out before they can remember the need to breathe.”
Proving his point, he stripped his clothing likewise, tossing them aside with mine. He shielded me with his body as Bacchus reached the base of the stairs, blankets in hand.
“Boogie
blankets,” I said. Icarus looked at me curiously. “We have the same ones at my house, only they’re pea green. Bennie always jokes that the pills looked like boogers.”
Bacchus dropped two blankets to the floor outside the kennel, and unfurled the last at our feet. “I’ll take the clothes to the laundry room,” he said, retrieving them from the corner. Balling them into a bundle in his arms, he gave me an encouraging smirk. “If you can think about that at a time like this, you’ll have no problem acing the transformation.”
I composed a weak smile. If he only knew what I was really thinking… I was only using the boogie blankets to take my mind off Icarus’s penis pressed into my hip. “Thanks.”
“You’ve a dirty mind, Sweetheart,” Icarus murmured when Bacchus’s footsteps faded up the stairs. “I can smell your desire like a fine perfume.”
“Shut up.”
“Your pheromones started running wild the moment I touched you.”
“Nah uh.”
“Bacchus wasn’t referring to the boogie blankets, Thaleia.”
Boogie blankets or no, Icarus’s teasing couldn’t distract me from the pain any longer. I sank to my knees, curling over from the sheer intensity. It was coming faster tonight. I could feel my bones contorting all at once, instead of the singularity of last night’s transformation.
My stomach heaved, forcing my dinner up my throat with the force of the inner contortions wringing my body. I vomited profusely. Sweat dripped from every pore. Hair clung to my face in damp tendrils. My body convulsed, shaking and trembling beneath me.
“You’re doing great, Thaleia,” Icarus assured, pulling my hair back from my face. Great? I didn’t think I’d ever eat macaroni again. Ever. And if he didn’t stop touching me, I thought I might bite his fingers off his fucking hand. I would’ve warned him, but I was afraid if I opened my mouth, I’d never stop screaming. “Focus. Keep your mind on your wolf.”
My wolf…I nodded sharply. I could do this.
Through the pain, I tried to recall the details of my coat. It wasn’t short. But longish and snow-colored, silky, thick and downy. My ears were like a teddy bear’s, plush and soft. My nose was flesh colored, with a tinge of pink. Long, pearly whiskers fanned out of my long, slender muzzle on either side. My eyes were the only thing that remained true of me, blue and vibrant, set high above my muzzle, like a little bit of sky during a winter storm. My chest was narrow, followed by a straight bushy tail. My legs were long, covered in short, coarser hair and capped with wide, saucer-size paws. The fur on my shoulders was longer and formed a crest on the upper part of my neck, which stood on end when agitated.
I could feel them bristling now, raised in warning. My back arched. Ears erect. My tail held high, quivering. A growl ripped up my throat, rumbling through my muzzle. Teeth bared.
“Thaleia,” Icarus drawled in caution. He crouched before me. One knee resting on the floor, the other tucked into his chest. His fingers fanned out on the concrete, distributing his weight. He balanced vigilantly, ready to trounce some unforeseen danger.
Lifting my nose, I tested the air around me, picking up only his scent. And the imp cowering sullenly in the corner. There was no one else in the room. The boys, I could hear upstairs, listening attentively, waiting with bated breath to hear of my success. With no one else to blame, I realized that I was the danger. I was a wolf. A predator. A weapon at natures finest.
Looking away, I dropped my ears and lowered my head, letting my hackles fall sleek across my neck. My tail tucked between my legs, wagging gently. I relaxed my muzzle, my tongue licking the air. This was all accomplished without thought. It was an odd feeling.
“Jesus,” Icarus laughed in relief. “You did it.”
He’d barely gotten the words out when his own shift took him. I would never persevere the transformation as effortlessly as he did. His skin vibrated, flesh twitching as he resisted the change, endeavoring to determine if I, indeed, endured the transformation, compos mentis.
He was magnificent.
Ample in shoulder, with a thicker neck, and much larger frame. His muzzle was wider and his forehead broader. His legs were long, supported by immense paws with shiny black claws. Pound for pound, he towered me in height and build, yet remaining nimble and sleek.
His ebony coat was peppered with specs of brown along his joints. It was thick and bushy in appearance along his neck and shoulders like a sable mane. His icy eyes stood out against his fur like two disembodied souls, glowing from beneath a shadowy cowl.
He stood tall, his posture alert. Hackles raised. Ears perked. His tail horizontal with his spine. He was pure alpha. He demanded attention. Naturally, I obliged with enthusiasm.
Lifting my haunches in the air, I yipped and barked, wagging my tail like a child taunting their sibling with their favorite toy. Responding with a massive paw over my shoulder, Icarus clamped his teeth over my muzzle, roughly mouthing it in a show of dominance. I backed away, dropping again to the floor, growling my grievance over his gross maltreatment.
This time when he approached, I ducked and dodged. Then, pounced on him, nipping the scruff of his neck. Not having any, he tossed me off his back and bared his teeth in censure.
Ok. So he didn’t want to play.
Warily, I wagged my tail, a white flag of truce.
Icarus growled.
No? Not even a tail wag? Damn. Stickler.
Dropping to the floor, I rolled to my side, showing my belly. Icarus only looked down at me over his nose. I rolled to my feet, keeping low to the ground, inching toward him until I was close enough to lick his face. I did this boisterously, pushing and nuzzling his nose with mine.
Apparently satisfied with my deference, he trotted to the door where Bacchus waited on the opposite side. Bacchus tugged the door open. With a backward glance in my direction, Icarus crossed the threshold and vanished into the night. I guess that was my reprieve.
Leaping to my feet, I raced to join him.
The night was dark and cold. My breath vaporized in a foggy cloud. At first, all I could make out were five sets of luminous eyes. As my eyes adjusted, I could see the bodies of five wolves take shape. They stood at the edge of the woods, pacing and scenting the air.
The smallest perked up at my appearance, his ears swiveling in my direction. Crispin. He was easily recognizable. All ears and legs, he still had the physique of a lanky juvenile. His coat was gray and shaggy in appearance. Max had to be the second black wolf, slightly smaller than Icarus in height and weight. If our size was congruent in both forms, Caius was the largest wolf, with a reddish hint to his gray coat. Lucius was just as tall, but without all the brawn.
Behind me, I could hear the rustle of clothing. Bacchus stood by the door, watching with a grin. “Go ahead,” he urged. “They don’t bite.” His dimple sank in. “Most of ‘em.”
Pointedly, I looked to the others and back to him.
“I’m staying. Someone needs to make sure Hailey doesn’t chew up your expansive shoe collection while you’re out.” My hackles must’ve risen, because Bacchus sniggered. “Just kidding. She wouldn’t chew them up. But I would check twice before slipping your toes in your favorite pair next time. She’s been known to leave ‘presents’ hidden inside.”
An impatient bark came from the pack.
Growling crossly, I bolted for the woods. If I found any Lincoln logs anywhere near my Prada’s, I’d use her scrawny little tail for an ornament on my car antenna.
Crispin was the first to greet me, dropping his head and licking my muzzle, practically belly up in submission. The others were quick to follow, snuffling my coat, tails wagging eagerly. I found myself snapping at Caius when he drew to close to my hindquarters. I was stunned at how quick my response was. Again, it came without thought, a base reaction.
I wasn’t sure who was higher on the totem, but if anyone’s nose came near my nether regions, he was going to lose it. Human or canine, some things were off limits.
Icarus reinforced my behavior,
stepping between Caius and me. It was his place as alpha to keep rule of his pack. He did so, warning his cousin off with a flash of teeth. Caius was quick to comply, moving to the outer edge of the pack, chuffing with what I assumed was discontent.
Pushing my muzzle with his nose, Icarus loped off toward the woods, stopping once and glancing back to check if I was following. I took a fleeting glace at my surroundings and dashed after him. The rest of his pack surrounded us, winding through the brush and trees, my silent guardians in this dark new world of the unknown.
The sky was black, but I could see clearly. The world was painted with an odd blue hue, bleached by the brilliant light of the full moon. A placid breeze tickled the trees. We were downwind. The current carried with it a foreign scent. Yet, my mind registered prey.
My stomach rumbled its assent, empty after its recent expulsion.
My pace hastened, ears scissoring back and forth. My hearing was more dependable than my nose, I’d determined. The scent of my prey was often camouflaged beneath bracken and pine. The wind would come and go, but my ears never failed me. They were sensitive enough to detect even the falling of leaves. Or the creatures disturbing them. Noisy, careless things.
Hence, I heard the snapping of twigs before I smelled the doe. She bolted from the brush, flashing her white tail for the pack to see. We changed direction instantly, bolting through the woods, giving chase. She was swift, pulling away from us in a few fleet strides.
On either side of me, the boys panted, pushing themselves, fanning out on either side of our prey. Icarus was in the lead. Lucius was second. The tallest of the five boys, he was the most apt to keep up. Caius and Max were evenly matched. And Crispin held the rear.
It wasn’t long before they grew winded, but the doe suffered no such effects. She kept her pace steady, her tail bobbing rhythmically ahead of us. Crispin fell back first. Max second. Lucius gave up with a huff. Caius was the fittest, in part because of the sports that kept him in shape. And Icarus refused by will, his determination as alpha demanding he perdure.
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