Of Wolves and Wings

Chapter Five

I groaned as I felt movement at my wrist. I've never consumed alcohol, so I wouldn't really know, but I would liken the morning after a full moon to be akin to the morning after a drinking bender. Everything hurts. Ev-er-y-thing. Not as bad as the shift, but still.

"Morning sunshine," Landon whispers.

I cracked an eye open, making sure he's decent before opening them fully. I glanced down at my own body and am grateful that I managed to get dressed before passing out. It will sound ridiculous, but we wear loose fitting swimsuits for the change. We don't get all big and hulk-like as you see in the movies. Our wolves are generally the same size and shape as a normal wolf. As long as the clothing has enough spandex, it doesn't break. At least, that's how it is for shifters. For werewolves, they do get massive when assuming their wolf form. This wouldn't work for them.

So, for us, swimsuits are elastic enough to accommodate the shifting muscle and bone for us and allow us to shift in the same room. It's not something I would consider modest enough to go out in public in, but it's better than the alternative. I mean, you've seen people put clothing on dogs. It is possible. Maybe it's a fashion line we could market in the future. Though, the other wolves I know don't seem to have as much concern for modesty as we do. And, I guess Landon and I could always shift in separate rooms. But, wolves are pack minded animals, so shifting alone is never recommended.

"Morning," I said to Landon as I slowly rose to sitting. I scrubbed at my eyes, as if I could wipe away the exhaustion. I looked around the room, inspecting the basement for signs of our wolves taking over. "Looks like no damage was inflicted."

Landon nodded and handed me a cup of coffee and a plate of bacon and eggs. What would I do without him? I thanked God for him every day and prayed I would never have to find out. I also prayed that he would never put words to the feelings that my wolf knew he had for me. My heart was tied up in someone else, and I knew our friendship wouldn't be the same after a confession like that. Still, I wondered if he were getting close to putting himself out there to me. I mean, Sadie had even noticed and she is about as self-absorbed as the average teenager, even given that she isn't a "normal" teen.

"Yep, I would say things were pretty calm, relatively speaking. Course, I can't say for sure."

I laughed at that. Only flickers of memory from the time under the moon ever make it through to our consciousness the next day. Thankfully, since we go to such lengths to make sure we are under contained, we usually have nothing to worry about. I can't imagine what that would be like, to come to the next day and have no idea what you had done the night before when you were free to roam. Then again, I don't really know that I would want to remember if I had done something horrible. That does happen, the horrible things. That's why Landon and I chain ourselves up the way we do. Just because we were dealt an unfortunate hand doesn't mean we have to give ourselves over to it. We don't have to let it control us.

"What's on your agenda for the day," Landon asked as he digs in to his own plate of breakfast.

"Go home and sleep for a few hours, Bible study with Sadie, then run by the store to get some work in on organizing shelves this evening. How about you?"

"I've got some orders to fill, signs to hang. The usual," he said with a shrug and a wince, as if the shrug hurt him. It probably did. Anything that would require the use of our joints for the next twenty-four to forty-eight hours would be uncomfortable, sometimes painful. Think sore muscles on steroids.

"Landon," I scolded. "There is no way you are going to be in any shape to be hanging signs, or even working on them. You need to go upstairs and sleep off last night."

"No can do princess," he said with a smile. "Just because my body changed into a wolf last night doesn't mean that my business can take a hit on productivity. I'm still trying to get word out about my work. I have customers who are expecting orders, and they aren't exactly going to accept the excuse that I turn into a wolf one night a month and need a couple days to recover."

I sighed, sensing that he was not going to budge at all on this. Stupid, stubborn wolf. It wasn't like the humans didn't know about us. There were certain people among the town's citizens that were very aware that they had supernatural beings in their midst. We even had members of our races on town councils and within law enforcement to help ensure fair treatment.

"At least make your crew do most of the work. And, stop by this evening and I'll make my famous meatloaf."

His smile grew authentically wide at that. "You don't have to tell me twice. Your meatloaf really should be famous," he said.

I laughed. "I'll add it to my menu at the shop." I finished off my breakfast and stretched again before getting up with a groan. "Drive me home?"

He nodded around a mouthful of bacon. "Yep. I'm kicking your sorry self out at the gate, though, if that banshee of a cat is on the loose."

"She just needs to warm up to you," I joked. He wasn't wrong, though. Normally cats hated wolves since we smelled, well, like dogs to them. That wasn't the case with my pet when it came to me. For some reason my cat, Cutie Pie, loves me. I must be the exception to the rule, however, because she absolutely loathes Landon. He had several pairs of shredded jeans to prove it. I guess I wouldn't really know if her hate extends to all the rest of the wolf population, as Landon and I are currently the only wolves in Haven Grove as far as we know. He has a few choice names of his own for her, including Bane. As in, wolfsbane, an herb that is deadly to werewolves.

"Uh huh. You're just lucky that you are my best friend or I would show her what werewolf fangs look like up close," he tossed back.

I gasped in fake outrage, making Landon chuckle. I rolled my eyes, knowing that he would never make good on those threats. Landon could barely stand to kill a spider. "Speaking of friends of the feline nature, I guess I need to be getting home. She's likely to start tearing up my books again if I'm any later in getting her morning snacks to her."

Landon nodded. "I don't doubt that at all. Let's go then, Ms. Hissy Pants beckons." He held out a hand for my plate and I followed him up the stairs and out of the basement.

Contradictory to his word, Landon walked me to the door of my little cottage style home. He gave me a hug, and I could have sworn I felt him kiss the top of my head, as he departed. He all but ran to his car after that, and I decided that it had to be due to the fact that Cutie Pie was currently howling on the other side of the door. It had nothing to do the with the fact that he may have been trying to get away before I responded to the possible kiss on my hair. No, it couldn't have been because of that. That didn't happen.

I unlocked and opened my door, holding my arms out to catch the black mass of fur that was hurtling from the couch toward me. I caught her in my arms and gave her a scratch behind her ears. She purred up at me, but did wrinkle her nose a little. She wiggled out of my arms and raced for her food bowl. This was a common reaction of hers the morning after the full moon shift. I suspected I smelled a little more strongly like a dog to her then, the magic still receding from my body. She yowled loudly and I hurried to get her food.

As I walked, I checked in on my home and breathed a sigh of relief. It looked like I had made it back just in time and no books were harmed. I poured her favorite kitten kibble into her bowl and gave her a pat on the head. Now that the beast was tamed, I needed a good nap for oh, say six or seven hours. I filled a second food bowl that was attached to a timer ensuring that it would release the food for her lunch while I was dead to the world. Next, I texted Sadie to let her know all was well before turning my phone on silent. Then, deciding to forgo the shower for now, I collapsed on my bed and quickly sank into sleep.