Mornings were always harder with that dream lingering in her mind. It came less often lately and wasn’t always the same, but each time it came it left her with shaking hands and a cold lump of nausea in her stomach. The dream would start with the familiar house of her childhood, a cozy home at the end of a twisting driveway with the woods creeping right up to the edge of the yard.

Her daytime memories told her those woods were nothing but trees, leaves rustling in the wind and flashing green in the sunlight. She had hiked through those trees and played in their shade along the edge of the yard while her parents worked in their garden. The trees were full of bird song and the fresh smells of summer. In her dreams they were night trees, dark and foreboding, their trunks too close, their branches more like spindle fingers waiting to grab her.

She’d see herself standing in the yard, the warm light of the windows behind her, beckoning her back. Sometimes she was a child, barefoot in a pair of overalls, her bob-cut just long enough for a ponytail that didn’t help to keep her dark hair tamed. Other nights she saw herself as she was now, nearly thirty, her hair still short, her feet still bare as she faced the night trees in her pajamas. The dark silence was broken by the whisper of the wind and the crunch of autumn-dry grass and leaves beneath her feet that she could feel the prickly tickle against her skin. That whisper became a moan some nights, others a mournful howl, but always there would come the scream. A woman’s scream, full of pain and desperation. Her hesitation at entering the dark woods evaporated and she ran towards the sound, knowing the cause, knowing what she would find. The branches caught on her hair and clothes, scratching her arms. The ground here was rougher, the branches and brambles cutting the bottoms of her feet. She stumbled, breathless, nearly blind here where neither moonlight nor the light from the house could reach her.

After the scream came the bellowing of the beast. The two voices rose and fell, dancing with each other in the dark. And then silence. She was never fast enough. She never reached the clearing in time. She’d burst through the trees into that patch of moonlight and find them dead. That was when she woke every time.

In truth she hadn’t been in the woods that night. Instead she had been tucked in bed, safe and sound, too young yet to be in the woods on the full moon. It wasn’t screams that had woken her but a single distant gun shot. Even that had only kept her from sleep momentarily. Where she lived such sounds were not uncommon. It wasn’t until morning, waking and padding into the kitchen to find the Clan Chief seated at the table, that she learned the horrible truth.

Can’t think of that now, can’t be late for work again. Jane Gratton rolled out of bed and headed for the living room. She settled on the bench and began her rigorous morning exercise routine. By the time she was done, she was hot and sweaty but her mind was blissfully empty. A quick shower, a clean uniform, and it was like the dream had never happened.

---

It was the day of the full moon. The rest of the time her dreams were as random as anyone else’s, but in the nights leading up to the full moon that random bad dream became a recurring nightmare. At least tonight there wouldn’t be time to dream it. She supposed that was the one blessing of the long sleepless night that awaited her.

It had been nearly two years since The Human Order’s attack on their clan, long enough that she didn’t drive most of the way to the old warehouse on a full moon anymore, but not long enough that she didn’t feel the need to look over her shoulder when she got out of her car. Their recent run-in with an old clan member with ambitions of a coup didn’t help either. Today she arrived at the same time as Jules. He was big enough to dissuade anyone from randomly attacking them and he was now emotionally stable enough to handle a fight without shifting on the sidewalk. She had Kaylee, his girlfriend, to thank for that. And she was thankful. Now he wasn’t calling her up every other day to babysit him at the warehouse. Okay, it hadn’t been that often, but it had taken a rather large bite out of her free time.

Right, because what the hell do you do with your free time? Workout? Take professional development courses?

“Evening,” he said.

“I see you managed to give Kaylee the slip.”

He blushed. They’d only been living together a few months and were still spending every possible moment together. “She’s with my mother. I’m glad they get along, don’t get me wrong, but I get the feeling this is going to get me in trouble at some point.”

“You’re probably right.”

The warehouse door opened and Philippe stuck his head out. “Are you two coming? The sun set won’t wait for you.”

“We’re coming,” Jane said. She could feel the pull of the moon on her soul and she had no desire to shift out in public. Besides, she rather liked the clothes she was wearing and would rather they stay in one piece.

Inside Brock and Remy were huddled over a phone.

“More baby pictures?” Jules asked. “Don’t show Kaylee. I’m not ready to be a father.”

“I didn’t think I was either,” Brock said. “I’m just so amazed at this little guy. Just look at him. He discovered his toes this morning.”

Jane rolled her eyes and threw her sweater over the back of a chair. She sat down and removed her socks and shoes. Shifting in shoes was the worst.

“All right,” Remy said as Brock put the phone away. “We’re all here and the moon is rising. Is there any pressing business?”

No one spoke.

“Then let us shift and play before the moon.”

They undressed without fanfare, keeping their eyes to themselves. Jane had grown up in a rural area where most of the clan lived within a mile or so of each other with the woods just a stone’s throw from the back door. They’d shifted at home and go into those woods to meet with the clan, and with whatever wildlife was out that night. It had been a big change at eighteen, shifting for the first time indoors surrounded by strange men.

They had given her whatever privacy she required, turning their backs on her, giving her a screen or putting the chairs between them and her. Now she didn’t bother with any of that. She didn’t look at them, wasn’t interested in them at all, and they offered her the same curtesy.

She wasn’t naked long. As soon as she was free of her clothes, she loosened her mental hold on the bear that was both self and stranger, and let the bear answer the call of the moon. It was a strange feeling, that tugging inside her, that sense of being called, of needing to answer, needing to do something. Shifting on a full moon, for Jane at least, was cleansing. She shed her human life completely, leaving behind her headaches and heartaches, her bad dreams and her memories of home, her long work hours and her idiot boss.

She was a smaller bear than the rest of her clan, almost dainty as far as bears went, except of course she now weighed over four hundred pounds. The others were stretching and rubbing paws over noses. She sneezed. Jules yawned. Everything was at peace.

They explored the warehouse with their noses, searching out the barrels where the food was hidden. It was the closest thing to hunting that they could indulge in here in the middle of the city and Jane always wondered if this was how bears in the zoo felt. The others didn’t seem to mind. She never sensed anything restless about them, but she sometimes felt the oppressive weight of the warehouse like it was a cage.

She was used to real woods and had been shifting and running free in them for six years before moving here. She’d only been here five. She wasn’t sure how long it would take her to truly adjust. Her soul remembered the wide open spaces and the smell of the woods at night and if her soul remembered then the bear remembered. And some nights the bear yearned to return to those woods even though the woman had vowed never to go back.

---

Going to work the day after the full moon was never fun. Yesterday’s uniform had avoided any messy mishaps with the residents so Jane threw it on while the coffee brewed. She downed a mug like it was water and poured the rest in a Thermos. She generally got three quarters of the way through it before she got to work, and guzzling coffee directly from a Thermos while driving was no easy feat.

Work was a four-story sand-colored brick building with heavy metal screens over the windows. The sign out front read “Elmwood Senior’s Center and Care Facility”. She had started here five years ago in the kitchen with no education and no intention to stay there long. She had taken a food handler’s course and her first aid and settled in to a boring routine of setting dishes of pre-made food on trays all the while keeping an eye out for a better job.

Dementia was not a pretty thing, she came to realize. She had been there nearly a year and was clearing tables after lunch when she heard the commotion. Mr. Overwater was headed for the front door, pushing his walker in front of him and shouting something about being late for work. It always surprised Jane – how did he remember he needed the walker and not remember he’d been retired for twenty years? The exterior door locked and only opened from the inside with a code, or if the fire alarm went off, so the residents couldn’t wander off. This only made Mr. Overwater angrier. At some point the walker got away from him. He tottered a moment, then fell, hard.

“Get Bryce. He’s heavy.”

“Bryce is on break,” the second nurse said. “He’s not even in the building.”

“We can’t lift him on our own,” said the first. “And we can’t leave him here.”

“Kevin?”

“On vacation.”

“Right.”

“Excuse me,” Jane said. “Maybe I can help?” Being a werebear she was stronger than she looked, and at the time she looked every bit the underfed eighteen year old.

The two nurses just stared at her.

“Maybe all three of us together?” Jane prompted.

“Well you said it yourself, we can’t just leave him here.”

So they had let her help, and she had used just enough of her strength to get the job done. The next day the head supervisor called her into his office and offered her a promotion and a raise. Since a better job didn’t seem to be coming along any time soon, she agreed. She agreed to the courses, seminars, and additional training. She invested in the scrubs and the appropriate shoes. The only thing she refused to do was take the overnight shift.

Now she knew all the residents by name, though she didn’t often work directly with them. She helped Bryce change bedding and helped nurses when patients needed to be lifted or moved.

The work-out routine had been Remy’s idea. Of course she was strong enough to do her job without it, but now she looked strong enough. They didn’t need people questioning how a bean-pole could lift patients without effort. And she made it look like it took effort.

“Oh shit,” Bryce said when she walked in.

“What? I’m on time.”

“You picked a hell of a day to show up bleary eyed. Carter is on a rampage today.”

Carter was the new chief supervisor, selected by the board a year ago when the last one retired.

“Then be happy I didn’t call in sick. What’s on the schedule today?”

Bryce talked while she stashed her stuff in the staff room. “Laundry, east hallway, third and fourth floors. And Megan needs your help with Mrs. Ediger.”

“I’m not surprised. She’s been going downhill lately and it’s her regular bath day. At least her family comes often. Makes me sad when a resident has no one to visit them.”

“You and me both. Come on before Carter finds us chatting and gives us a lecture again.”

Jane rolled her eyes. “Heaven forbid we enjoy our day by engaging in friendly conversation.”

“You’re bitchy when you’re tired,” he said under his breath, and not for the first time.

She just shrugged and grabbed the laundry cart. She didn’t mind being called a bitch and he didn’t seem to mind that she sometimes acted like one. They worked quickly, stripping each bed, putting the used sheets in the cart, flipping the mattress and putting fresh sheets on. Then one did the pillow case while the other did the blanket. Then it was on to the next room. They had a good rhythm and were making good time.

They were doing Mrs. Ross’s room and talking about the sunny flowers someone had brought in for her when Carter caught up with them. “Bryce, you haven’t been taking your payroll stubs home. They’re cluttering up the message center. I put them in your lunch in the fridge.”

“Thanks, Carter. Sorry about that.”

“Jane, watch your language around the residents.”

“I haven’t said a single swear word in a week.”

“Uh-huh.” He clearly didn’t believe her. “It’s not just the swearing. It’s your attitude in general. The sarcasm, the cynicism. We’re trying to keep these people cheerful.”

“Some of them have sarcastic senses of humor too, you know.”

Carter levelled a finger at Jane. “Put a smile on and lose the attitude when you’re working with the residents.”

“Yes, sir.”

Carter nodded and stalked out.

“Asshole,” Jane muttered.

“Well, there goes the morning,” Bryce said. “Not even lunch time and I could use a stiff drink.”

“I agree.”

“Well then, how about it? It’s more fun drinking with someone who has the same things to bitch about.”

“We can’t drink on the clock and we can’t take our lunch breaks at the same time.”

“So how about after work?”

Jane almost said no. She had refused every coffee invitation and lunch invitation and direct sales party invitation from all of the nurses since she started. But Jules didn’t need her in the evenings, Brock had a family, Philippe worked nights, and hanging out with Remy was like hanging out with your boss or your father. “All right. Sure. But I’m not staying out late because I’m wiped already and this isn’t a date.”

“Got it.”