Dream Catcher (Woodland Creek)

“Were you, really?” Over my shoulder, Kerri, who was holding on to my back in a pinching grip, was giggling with each step I took. Swatting her behind playfully earned another wiggle from her legs. There were so many other things I would’ve rather been doing with her than that right then.

“I was a little worried.” Ignoring them wasn’t easy as we lumbered down the path together, away from the school and into a clearing of the woods.

“Here we are!” Jase deposited Reagan, who brushed off her arms as if to take off in flight.

“Whoa, easy, give me a minute to take this all in,” I told them, gently lowering Kerri to her feet as she stepped back a little bit. Of all of us, I was the least prepared and needed a deep breath to clear my head of the doubts. Shifting on demand felt as if it were some circus sideshow performance. It was one of the reasons so many sought refuge in Woodland Creek, and there we were, blowing the secret wide open. “Are you sure you want to see this? It can be…a little disarming the first time.” I was hoping she said no, but instead a mischievous smile crossed her lips.

“Warren Boone, just how many girls have you been dragging into the woods to strip down and go all wolf for?” She stood with her hands on her hips, looking beautiful and full of moxie that I bet wouldn’t have been there prior to her arrival in Woodland Creek.

“Just you, baby.” I winked at her and let go of my own inhibitions. It was now or never to rip the Band-Aid-like anxiety off. “Stand back a little.” I watched her take two big steps back in the small clearing, watchful and cautious.

“Will it hurt?” she questioned, and I shook my head no. Shifting never hurt, but it sure felt weird to explain. Our bodies morphed into something else and not all shifters had the greatest control over that…gift. I pulled out my shirt and lifted it over my head. I slipped off my sneakers and jeans, leaving my boxers on as I let myself kneel down to the packed dirt and pine needle flooring of the forest.

“I’m not going anywhere, Kerri. It’s still me.” She nodded at my need to reassure her. “Remember, you’re safe with us.” Clutching her hands in front of her nervously, she nodded a second time.

“Go on, get on with it.” Whispering to me, she winked, a nervous tick to her smile urging me on. I looked over at Jase, who had stripped down pretty much the same, and Reagan, who remained fully clothed for the moment.

“Remember you as

ked for it.”

She mouthed the word chicken to me and we chuckled.

I thought about leaves falling from trees and rain turning to snow, dipping my head toward the ground to focus on the internal changes in my body. I hadn’t ever given shifting a whole lot of thought before then. The mechanics of it were fairly straightforward and instinctual. The process usually began with a twitch of my muscles. Sometimes, especially the first time I did it as a teen, my clothes ripped right off my body, shredding from the growth of my shape. Bones in my legs and arms elongated, pulling muscle leanly to match my new skeletal figure. Hair grew long and shaggy to cover every inch of my skin in a dark mahogany pelt that matched the hair on my head. My rib cage expanded, popping with each incremental change as my heart muscles pumped furiously, enlarging and compensating for the demands of oxygenated muscles, blood, and bones. Partially changed, I looked up to see Kerri on her knees, staring at us changing. Amazed and cheeks pink, I followed her gaze toward Reagan, who was slipping out from her clothing and taking flight, squawking and wings flapping.

Reagan’s glossy black feathers reflected the light of the setting sun. I watched her soar up past the copse of trees filled with leaves of burnished golds and reds. A single black feather fell from one wing and Kerri picked it up, testing the soft texture between her fingertips. Her smile was the best part of it. Her acceptance and ease that what we were did not frighten her or damage her psych with the impossible. I let my head drop again and gave in to the final changes. My face grew longer, snout and nose followed by my elongated teeth and narrow eyes. Instinctively, I gave in to a long bellowing howl, followed by Jase.

“Oh, Warren, you’re beautiful.” My head cocked up and Kerri rushed over, hugging her arms around my neck, unafraid. Her fingers ran through my pelt and the soothing touch stirred me both humanly and in my wolf state. My heart told me she was mine to protect and care for, my companion and now part of my pack, though human. I let my head nuzzle her and lick her face affectionately. Reagan chirped, swooping down low to perch on Jase’s back as he playfully tried to nip at her. Kerri almost looked horrified but calmed down when Reagan reached a tree branch to perch on, far from Jase’s reach.

“I never imagined a world like this outside my own. Thank you. All of you for sharing it with me.” Kerri was beaming at me and Reagan swooped down again, this time circling us protectively.

“Not all of us feel so generous sharing...” My acute hearing nearly missed the rattle beyond our clearing in the woods. The hair on my back rose defensively and a growl stirred deep within.

“Oh my God, the spider!” Using my head, I pushed Kerri behind me as Jase came up to my shoulder, snarling at Creighton. This guy was the worst pain in my ass. I heard Kerri scrambling backward.

“Yessssss, I’m not a fan of sssssshhharing either.” Slithering out from the bushes, Stefano joined his eight-legged buddy. I had wondered where his sidekick had been lurking. Kerri screamed, but I should have known better bringing her there that no one was likely to hear us or find us for some time. If she was hurt, it would be my fault and undoing.

Jase sprang into action, jumping on top of Stefano and biting the snake shifter, taking him down to the ground as they wrestled into a roll. His mouth opened wide, showing large fangs that dripped with acid-like venom as his back end rattled and wrapped around Jase’s midsection, squeezing. Reagan flew into the melee, pecking at the snake’s back. Creighton was left to me.

“Interfering humans and soft-hearted puppies…no wonder this town is going to shit.” Creighton skittered around, his long multiple legs sporting tufts of black hair, but it was his spider fangs that worried me most. I’d had my few run-ins with those two, always taunting and causing trouble, but right then they were getting violent, attacking us.

Raging, I lunged and parried back, trying to find a way to take the spider down as we dangerously circled each other. “You can’t even tell her run, shifted as you are…go ahead and bark, puppy.” He laughed maniacally. “They’ll just look at her like she’s crazy and commit her to the mental ward in Lexington.” In the chaos of Jase thrashing and me circling Creighton, Stefano rolled, his tail swiping my back legs out from under me, leaving me vulnerable for a second. It was just enough time for the spider to rear up and spit sticky webbing over me, trapping me to the ground.

Struggling to dislodge the shit from my fur and legs, over my shoulder Kerri helplessly grabbed a large stick. I tried growling to tell her to run, get out of there, but the spider crawled over me. I should have warned her that I couldn’t verbally communicate when shifted. Some could but not wolves like us. Worried for her safety, I wriggled to dislodge him from my back, my legs punching out to throw him off me, but I knew he was going to bite me.

“Get off my boyfriend, asshole.” A loud thwack permeated the struggles of the forest and the weight on my back seemed to fly off me, landing against a tree. Jase managed to subdue Stefano, tossing him in the same direction, hitting his friend and slumping down on the ground next to him.

“Warren, are you all right?” Kerri was trying to pick the phlegm-like substance from my fur. Reagan flew down and pecked enough off me that I could get off the ground before flying to her pile of discarded clothes. She shifted back and grabbed the stick Kerri dropped, ready to strike should they come back for round two. Jase kept an eye on our knocked out villains. They roused with evil looking smirks and ran off, both limping and damaged.

“Ugh, he’s going to need a shower, like badly.” Reagan assisted me up the rest of the way, using the stick to balance my weight as she pulled me up with Kerri’s help. “Girl, I didn’t know you could swing like that. Hello, Woodland Creek! We got one bad ass human coming through.” Praising Kerri, a hand squeezing her shoulder, Reagan handed me my shirt.

“Oh my God, I’ve got to get the taste of snake out of my mouth. Retched crap.” Jase grabbed Reagan for an open-mouth kiss, presumably to get the taste out of his mouth. She struggled about a second before giving in, sinking into Jase’s arms.

“Are you all right?” I asked her, wiping the slimy crap from my face.

“Yeah. You?” I nodded at her and grabbed her hand in mine.

“Thanks for saving my ass.” Sheepishly, I tried running my other hand over my head, but I realized too late I was covered in a full beard of wolf hair and spider spluge.