He grumbled some more and looked at her from under his dark eyelashes. Something about the expression reminded her of a grumpy puppy. Her lips twitched with a smile.
“I have an idea,” she said, chewing on the inside of her cheek. “An ode to old times. Let’s visit our hangout spot.”
Any hint of frustration left in his face melted away and he stared dully at her. “Seriously?”
“Yeah. You obviously need a break and I’ve been wanting to visit ever since I got into town. Feel like taking a run?”
He looked up at the sinking sun. “It’ll be dark before we get back and I’m not really in the mood for hiking through the underbrush at night.”
A devious grin lit up Stasia’s face and she began to work her shirt up her stomach, flashing her belly button. “Not if we go as our wolves. We’ll be there and back in no time.”
She turned and trotted toward the edge of the forest, feeling Billy’s burning gaze on her back the entire way. As kids, they’d found the hideout after getting lost on a particularly long hike and claimed it as their own. But that had been before their eighteenth year, when the biting ceremony took place and kids became werewolves themselves. They’d never had the chance to go as wolves. This would be a whole new experience. One that made butterflies flutter in her stomach.
Hiding behind a thick tree, she undressed the rest of the way and carefully placed her clothes in a pile. The transformation didn’t take long. She’d been a werewolf long enough that all it took was arching her back and her wolf began to emerge.
First, it was the claws and the deep black eyes of the wolf. Then, a soft layer of chestnut brown fur. Finally, the hard bones in her body melded into the shape of a large wolf, big enough to take down even the hardiest of prey. The process was painless and smooth, unlike that of a first-timer.
Stasia sniffed the air and reveled in the strong senses of her wolf. The scent of beer, battered foods, and cut grass drifted on the wind. The air had a slightly salty taste of the Bering Sea, even though it lay hundreds of miles away to the west. Lastly, her large ears pricked up at the soft sound of paws approaching through the leaves.
She swept around to see a large wolf staring at her. He had the familiar black eyes and shape of the werewolf. His fur was a luscious hickory color and his body built of pure muscle. Stasia shivered at the sight of him. If Billy Finley was gorgeous as a human being, it was nothing to his wolf form. She had to snap her jaw shut to keep from drooling.
Billy tilted his large head in the direction of the woods before looking back at her. She saw the challenge flash in his eyes only moments before he sprang into action, leaping ahead. Yipping in protest, she chased after him, determined not to lose the race.
They bounded through the forest, over streams and fallen trees. Through brush and brambles. Dried leaves crunched beneath their paws. Her claws dug deep trenches into the dirt for more purchase. An unwitting deer crossed their path and Billy gave chase, Stasia not far behind. The cool forest air filled her lungs as she panted in time with their steps. Never had she felt so free.
Leaving the deer to its own business, Billy let loose a joyful howl and Stasia joined in. Their voices rose together in perfect harmony, piercing the quiet evening. Somewhere far away, three voices answered back, their howls causing Stasia to whine with excitement. Billy paused to look back at her. His nostril flared and he gave her a wolfish grin. Without warning, he was off again, bounding in an opposite direction.
Stasia thrilled at the chase, her body charged with emotions too instinctual to describe. The scent of Billy just ahead drove her crazy. She longed to catch up with him and feel his soft fur against hers, nuzzle his neck, and lose herself in his dark, soulful eyes.
It didn’t take them long to arrive at their destination: a small abandoned lodge with broken window panes. They trotted softly up the broken porch and inside to sniff around. The scent of their teenaged selves had long faded. What remained was the smell of small creatures who had made the place their home. Stasia kept a safe distance from Billy, not trusting herself to get too close. He nosed through an old cabinet and pawed at a large metal box within.
Recognition hit Stasia. It was a box they’d found here in the lodge as kids. They’d claimed it for themselves and filled it with treasures. She slid up next to Billy and pawed at the metal clasp, huffing with excitement when it fell open.
They both looked inside. It seemed that, unlike most of the lodge, their belongings had remained untouched. A few knickknacks, a deck of cards, and two smuggled blankets were there to greet them. Billy nodded his head at the doorway to the bedroom and then padded his way through it.
Stasia watched him leave, enjoying the full view of his wolf form. When he was gone, she took a deep breath and stretched, letting her human form take shape once again. Her naked body shivered in the damp coolness of the room, so she pulled an old blanket from the metal box and wrapped it tightly around herself.
“You can come out now.”
She heard a thud and then the thump of feet on wooden floorboards.
Billy cleared his throat and held a human hand through the doorway. “Not without a blanket.”
She grinned and pulled another blanket from the box, strutting toward the open doorway. “You’re in luck. There’s one more.” She held it just out of reach of his fingertips. “Remember that time we went skinny dipping and you stole my clothes?”
He growled and reached his hand an inch further. “You wouldn’t dare.”
A laugh bubbled up from her chest. “I would, but maybe not today.”
She tossed the blanket through the doorway and turned away with a smile. Maybe pushing away the past hadn’t been the right solution for them. Yes, t
here were pains and hurts still lingering after all those years, but avoidance obviously wasn’t working. If she wanted Billy to open up, she needed to make him remember the good times. The times when they were friends. Before everything crumbled.
“Look, Polaroids!” She kneeled next to the box, keeping one hand on the blanket around her chest, and pulled out a small stack of photos.
Billy came out of the bedroom with the flannel blanket around his waist. Her throat went dry at the sight of him, his muscular abdomen bare. She quickly averted her attention back to the photos, willing her heart to slow as he sat next to her and took a few from her hands.
“Yeah, I remember these.” A smile pulled at one corner of his mouth. “Wasn’t that the day we met? I beat you at air hockey.”