Chapter 19
The grass was soft under her feet.
Paws, she reminded herself. She didn't have feet in this form, not like the ones she'd had her whole life. She was running through the woods and underbrush, letting loose.
Grasshoppers fluttered away and around her as she disrupted them, her breath heavy from the excitement and the exercise. She'd never been much of an outdoors person, but this was different. Each of her senses were on fire, some senses she hadn't even noticed before were kicked into full overdrive. She was ready, eager, now. It was as if she'd been watching life without ever touching anything, as though she'd been in freefall for so long that touching the ground was novel again.
The wind in her fur, combing through each follicle, felt exhilarating and fresh.
She'd only gone out because she thought she owed it to herself to explore this more. She needed to know if this was a part of herself that she wanted to claim. A part of herself that she felt in tune with.
So far, she had no complaints.
A river was roaring nearby. She could smell it before she heard it, and she rushed off to it, letting herself flop into the racing cold water. It was icy, and she could tell it was just swarming with fish. Automatically and without hesitation, she opened her mouth and immediately snagged one.
She was excited at the skill until she realized she had a live fish in her mouth.
A live, raw fish.
From a river.
In her mouth.
Gagging even in her wolf form, she spat out the fish and rushed to the shore of the river. She collapsed onto the pebble-strewn edges of the river, almost laughing at herself. Her laughs sounded almost like barks in this form, and it made her laugh harder.
Crows or ravens? She could never tell the difference. Seven of one or the other had gathered in the branches above where she lay, watching keenly like they couldn't decide what she was.
Willow laughed, rolling over in her wolf form and letting her human form take over. The change was painful, but she was making herself get used to it. The moment she could stare up at the crows while she was in her human form, they scattered immediately, spooked. She laughed, unsure why they were so surprised if shifters changed all the time out there. She heard a crack of branches, and turned to see a deer scattering away.
Sighing happily, she looked around herself and tried to imagine a life there.
A life of living in a small town, yes, but getting to be wild, getting to let out her wolf-self that she never knew she had. It made the entire town feel different, like it was a forest that featured a town instead of the other way around.
It was the closest yet that she'd been to figuring out who she was and where she came from.
The taste of the river hung in her mouth. She was naked in the middle of the woods, and yet she was happy. If Willow was entirely honest, this was the happiest she'd been in years. Her job brought her nothing that excited her anymore, and she didn't have much of a home life outside of renting a month-to-month condo.
She didn't have many friends. Most of them were just in contact online since she traveled so much. Her parents had retired to a small community in Florida. She didn't have anyone just for her, or any sense of community.
The moment these people – shifters – knew that she was like them, they accepted her.
Without question, with open arms and smiling faces, she was one of them.
Never in her life had she felt so welcomed and included.
Guilt filled her gut, making her more nauseous than the fish had. They'd opened their arms to her, literally, and she was so quick to decide to run.
Changing back into her wolf form, she chased the thoughts out of her mind.
She didn't need to worry herself with their problems, and she knew that. They were strangers, after all. Regardless of how similar to her, how much they'd opened her eyes to a part of her that she hadn't known before, they were strangers.
She needed to depend on herself just as she always had.
Willow raced through the woods again, letting the grass cool her mind,
Her paws pounded away beneath her. Her heartbeat matched the pace. She'd let herself get attached to Carter, let herself begin to enjoy this strange town, let herself believe that the pack wanted her there. She knew it was foolish, Willow knew she needed to leave before they dragged her in for good.
She was realizing she didn't want to leave, and it hurt her.
Finally, she found her clothes and shoved herself into them, thinking about how badly she needed to get back to Carter and figure this out. She tried not to think about how easily she was shifting in and out of wolf form. She was amazed to realize how quickly it had become a norm for her.
“I can't believe this,” she said to herself softly, pulling on her flats before double checking herself. She'd fallen for him. Hungrily, desperately, and she needed to know how he felt. She wanted to know if it was the same, or if she needed to just give up and leave.
She couldn't stay if he didn't feel the same.
Willow started toward the edge of the woods, feeling anxiety prickle at her stomach and mind.
The sound of a car door shutting slid her out of her own concentration.
“What are you doing out in the woods alone?” a friendly voice said. Officer Keech, the one she'd met in the station when she was trying to put in a report, was leaning against his cop car. Willow relaxed, happy to see a familiar face.
“I thought I'd go for a run,” she admitted. “I'm really enjoying running and swimming suddenly,” she said, smiling as she approached him.
“It's a great day for it,” he agreed, looking up at the sky for a moment. “We're a couple hours from the resort. Would you like a ride back?” he asked, patting his car.
Willow looked down the road toward The Grand West.
She'd walked this far so that nobody would find her, no non-shifter would come upon her and realize what was happening. Her muscles ached from use, and she was starving for anything to eat. Suddenly, the fish seemed almost appetizing.
“Yes, please,” she agreed, smiling. The truth of it was that she wasn't looking forward to going back to the hotel and having to have this talk with Carter, but she knew it needed to happen.
Keech opened the back of the car for her and let her in, before closing it behind her.
Being in a cop car was a new experience for her, almost thrilling, and she tried not to embarrass herself by asking for a picture of her back there. It would be a funny thing to send Carter, at least. She bit her tongue, though, and tried to act dignified.
“Are you from the area originally?” she asked, leaning back in her seat.
“Yep, born and raised. Carter and I have been thick as thieves since we were born,” he laughed. “What about you? Where are you from?” he asked, looking back at her in his rear-view mirror.
“Pretty much everywhere. Grew up military,” she admitted.
They passed the resort.
“Oh, I'm actually staying there,” she said, surprised and not wanting to seem ungrateful.
“Not anymore, you're not,” he interjected. His voice had lost its friendly warmth.
Willow's stomach dropped completely.
“Please, just let me go,” she said, trying the door handle. It was pointless, of course, and she wasn't sure what she expected from it.
“Just sit back and enjoy the ride. this will be the last conversation you get to have. Don't waste it,” he said lightly, his voice going back to friendly so fast that it was finally obvious how fake it was.
It was him.
He was kidnapping her?!
The idea filled her with dread, and she tried again to jiggle the door handle.
“Please,” she begged, the images of the Wells family were strong in her mind.