RILEY
Three weeks later, Riley was going to shift. She was nervous, excited, terrified. The war of emotions in her had her nearly ready to call them to stop from going. It was finally another Friday and she was getting picked up by Gabe to hang out at the mansion. She didn’t make that call, it was too late. Gabe was already on the way.
Haley had been furious that she was hanging out over there but Riley knew better then to tell her what she was. Haley would have committed if Riley just said she was learning how to be apart of a cat family.
It had been an entire argument that Riley just wanted to ignore the day before. She’d gotten a call, late Thursday and had thought it would be fine. It wasn’t.
“So, tomorrow night, Riley?” Haley was on the phone. She was on her hour long meal break at the diner and had called Riley. Riley inhaled sharply.
“Actually, tomorrow isn’t good for me,” she didn’t tell Haley why. Oh, I’ll just be learning what my cat form is and going on a run. No big deal, right? Rain check?
“What? We haven’t partied with each other since that week when they had to rescue you at Rocker’s!” Haley whined in her ear.
“I know, it’s just been busy for me. New cat and all. And soon, I’m going to finally try for a car of my own, so I’m penny pinching.”
“Bull shit,” Haley snapped. “You’ve spent every day with those guys since Rocker’s! How many times do I need to tell you? Stay away from them.” Riley sighed as the Haley rant began. “Instead, the entire town sees you hanging out with them everywhere! Winter is on afternoons and evenings now and talks all sorts of shit about-”
“I don’t really give a damn what a sixteen year old had to say, Haley. Winter wants Andrew’s dick and he’s not falling for it.” Riley growled at her best friend. “On top of that, you are judging them for how the behaved ten years ago as teenagers!”
She was spending a lot of time with them, she knew it. She was learning about what she was, how the pride worked. She got to cuddle with large cats, place her face in their soft fur, run her hands through Brenton’s mane. What kind of girl passes up the chance to hang out with a bunch of sexy, ‘tame’ big cats?
“Men like them don’t change!” Haley screamed into the phone.
“Says the person who has never left Wild Junction!” Riley roared back, startling Star off her perch. Riley felt guilty at that. “Just because you will never change or Jeff, doesn’t they haven’t.”
“Wow, bitch.” Haley gasped. She then hung up on Riley.
Now, the next morning, Riley still wasn’t sure she should feel bad. Brenton was the only person in the group who ever did anything wrong to her and he apologized fairly quickly and helped her out afterwards. She didn’t understand Haley’s hatred and she needed to. The single story about Haley’s older sister just wasn’t enough and they were all teens ten years ago. Joey loved the guys, so did Ruth. So did most of the town, so what was Haley’s problem?
Sheriff wasn’t different at all. He actually seemed like he thought she was good with them. It was weird.
“Hanging out with the boys again?” He’d asked her as she went running one morning, walking with a coffee. It was a week before her planned day to shift.
“Yeah, is there a problem with that, Sheriff?” She grinned at him, all sass at the big man. He was like seven feet tall. She wasn’t sure how someone could get as big as him.
“Ah, my wife and I just want to see you happy, kitten,” Sheriff grinned back at her. “But you be safe, you hear? And make what ever one of those boys that likes you buy you dinner.”
“Sheriff!” She laughed, and ran off, to continue the four miles she had been doing.
“I’m just saying! They have the money!” Sheriff yelled after her, laughing. He’d been joking, she hoped.
Then the planned day of her shift arrive. Three weeks to the day that she went home with them from Rocker’s.
She watched Gabe pull up and jumped in the SUV before he even said a word.
“You ready for this?” He grinned at her. “We all are.”
“Yeah, I’m pumped!” She laughed, throwing Haley’s issues out of her mind. Not today. Today was the day she shifted. “And a thousand other feelings.”
“Good,” he wagged his eyebrows at her and she laughed.
There was only one problem with her life at this moment. She was attracted to all of them and they knew it. Troy and Gabe seemed to find it hilarious. Andrew was nervous about it while Brenton and Zachary ignored it completely. Actually, since the bar, none of them did anything more then innocent flirting. Brenton stopped invading her space as completely as he had. Most of them had stopped touching her for the most part as if to give her a break from it. All it did was make her a little sad. She liked Andrew’s hugs and now she didn’t get as many as she wanted. That was a weird feeling since she really never wanted to hug people but his were… nice.
It was later explained to her that they could smell most moods, even lies since the body gave a scent when one was deceiving. Anger, fear, and arousal were the three strongest for most of the population. She would need to learn to ignore reacting to smells since it was considered rude. Which was why they never reacted to her hots for them unless she made a move and she didn’t want to make the first move. Until Gabe told her about it anyways. What he had said was considered incredibly rude and it was made clear he said it to not embarrass her, but to teach her. Sadly, Gabe had no tact at all for that type of thing. Gabe was like that and she would need to learn to live with it.
“If you stop reacting, he stops,” Andrew had told her. “Though, if he goes to far, he’ll be the first to admit and beg for forgiveness. Probably on his knees if your into it.” She still laughed every time she thought about that. The mental image of Gabe on his knees did a lot to her.
Troy was consistently more of a prankster then his brother. He buttered the kitchen floor and laughed when Andrew fell out of the room. He had whoopy cushions hidden everywhere like the couches in the den. Just a lot of really immature nonsense that got a few laughs.
Neither of them pranked Zachary, since he was always in a bad mood. She was seeing that more and more. He was a sullen tiger. She found him in the gym most of the time and he would always ask her to leave him be. She did. She didn’t have it in her to go toe to toe with the tiger. But every now and then, she teased him mercilessly over how protective he could be with the pride. He heard she forgot to lock her apartment once and stole her keys to go all the way back to do it himself.
Riley left her thoughts as they pulled up to the Estate. She smiled and jumped out to run up to the front door. Gabe whined that she left him to park the car by himself. She had free reign of the place now and they were working on making her a room in case she wanted to stay over. They were planning renovations to the room she had stayed in that night she was trashed. She had liked the two headed shower in the bathroom and had made it clear it should stay. Honestly, she wanted them to keep the bathroom exactly how it was. She had enjoyed it. The room was going to be her favorite colors, black with blue and orange highlights. She loved the contrast and they agreed to it without complaint.
She wasn’t sure how she felt about them spending the money but she was told this was a pride thing. Pride members always had a personal space at the main living space, which was the mansion. She had to stop fighting that.
She drifted into the den and found Brenton reading a file. He looked up to her, smiled and closed the file swiftly, handed it to Gabe, who then quickly left the room with it.
“What was that?” She inquired, sinking into the other end of the leather couch.
“Nothing important,” he told her mildly. She watched his eyes drift over her. She had worn comfortable, easy to remove pieces for this. She had weeks to get used to the thought of turning into a cat. The guys shifted often around her now so she got used to them as well. “Good choice of clothing. Very good.” His tone was appreciative and those gold eyes kept looking her over.
It helped that she loved cats and she more comfortable cuddling with a leopard then the guy it really was. Though Brenton was intimidating in either form and now he was looking at her like she was dinner.
“We’re heading out there in only a few minutes,” he said to her, grabbing one of her legs. She squeaked as he pulled her close, draping her legs on his lap before she had a chance to stop her. The close proximity made her heart pound, like it did when she was close to any of them. “Last chance to back out.” He rubbed her thighs, covered in simple black yoga pants.
“I’ll be fine,” she choked out to him.
“You are going to turn into an unknown cat. You’re going to be completely nude in front of me and the guys,” he leaned in closer to her. “You sure?”
“Yes.” She wasn’t sure about that part at all but she wanted this. It felt right and she needed it. Nothing had every felt more perfect. And she wanted to see if she was truly the feline they thought she was.
When she first move to Wild Junction, she got her fifth tattoo. The quote “Nothing can come of nothing” in black across her chest, decorated with black roses and vines. It was to remind her that nothing changed if she did nothing to change it. It was a reference to her ex but she tried to apply to everything. She hated the rut she had been in since then but this was a chance at change and she wasn’t running. Well, she wasn’t running away, she was very much running to it.
He knew what she was thinking about as his hand traced part of the tattoo visible from her tank top. They had talked about her chest piece before though she didn’t tell him everything about her ex-boyfriend. He didn’t need to know all of that. Her breathing nearly stopped and he chuckled.
“I shouldn’t mess with you,” he stopped touching her and leaned back on the couch, arms stretching on the back of couch. Her legs were still draped over him as Gabe walked back in.
“Everyone is here.” He told them and she was off the couch faster then Brenton could blink. Gabe was grinning at her and threw an arm around her as she tried to leave the room. He forced her to walk with him to backyard, his finger making circles on her arm. Those circles sent shivers down said arm and she tried to make some space.
Weeks of no advances like that first week and suddenly they were all back right to it, without a care in the world. Was it because of her shift coming, about to be an official member of the pride? She had no idea.
Zachary, Troy, and Andrew were already in their feline forms and she waved at them. A few weird paw gestures later and she laughed. They couldn’t really wave and that’s why she did. Gabe was stripping next to her and she was nearly used to it at this point. She just didn’t look down. Down was a bad place to look during these moments and caused all sorts of problems for her breathing. They had a chest where they hid their clothing so nothing got ruined and once his stuff was placed away, he shifted into his black leopard form.
Brenton was the last out and he looked down at her.
“We doing this?” He asked her softly.
She nodded and stripped with him. She didn’t bother folding any of it, just throwing it on top in the chest over Brenton’s stuff. He snorted at her mess, since he and the others did fold their clothing, but he didn’t say anything about it.
She wrapped her arms around herself and took several deep breathes, her back turned to the guys. A huff told her that Brenton was ready and they were waiting on her.
She slowly turned around and ignored all of them except Brenton. He’d been clear. She needed to maintain eye contact with him and only him. The other guys were only there to witness the newest pride member join the ranks. This was ceremony.
His gold eyes pinned her amber ones. She took a shuddered breath as he growled.
Something deep in her moved. It prowled back and forth. She felt it climbing up but not for what she thought it would want.
It didn’t want to confront the lion in front of her. It wanted to run and it was much faster then she was. It was terrified of the massive male felines around her. It wasn’t built to defend itself in a fight. But she was built to run.
Riley didn’t know what changed, one minute the second entity was an it, then it was a her. Finally, it was her, rising past her skin. Her mind barely comprehended the change, fear still pounding in her veins. Her muscles twitched and she on all fours, ready to bolt low on the ground.
*Don’t move!* Brenton’s snarled command pinned her. He did the Alpha suggestion thing and she wasn’t going anywhere without a lot of hard work.
She knew exactly what she was and Brenton stepped closer to her. Her sense of smell told her everything. Told her how scared the guys were of something, how worried Brenton was, and her own fear of the males around her.
*You’re a cheetah.* He huffed in her scent and she felt the fur on her head move. He was standing over her now and she was tiny in comparison. *Cheetahs are the fastest but weakest of the big cats. Once I saw your form, I figured you would try to run. It would have been your first instinctive impulse, especially in a group of large males.*
She nodded her feline head slowly. They had warned her and told her about the telepathic speech but she couldn’t wrap her head around it. Now as a feline, she could give a try.
*Can you hear me?*
It was a bit like throwing out a thought. You had to put an effort into it, an intent for others to hear it.
*Yes, we can hear you.* Brenton leaning down and rubbed his head on her body. She knew he was marking her but there was absolutely nothing she could do about it. He was the Alpha and he wanted her still for this.
*Why are you marking me, Brenton?*
*So other shifters know you are a member of my pride. If they harm you, they should expect retribution from me. Nothing more.*
She mulled over that thought for a minute before nodding again. She finally looked at the other guys from her position under the huge lion. They were all laying down in a similar position to her. Their Alpha was doing something important and they would wait. Brenton was still rubbing her and she knew he was being careful. Cheetahs were fragile cats, easy to injure in a fight so they normally ran. For a lethal and highly specialized predator, she was still the bottom of this particular food chain.
He finally stepped away from her and she got hit with oddly nice scent. She couldn’t place it and he looked down at her. She was also afraid to ask.
*If you’re not going to run from us, you can get up and stretch. Get a feel for the body and understand it.*
She stood slowly. So did the others, who were more relaxed then her. She didn’t bother comparing heights, but instead just physical size. And she was outclassed all around. They would all ruin her in a fight if they could catch her. She knew exactly how fast cheetahs could go and wondered when she could really stretch her legs.
They all watched as she stretched the thin body she was in.
*She’s tiny.* Zachary’s snort filled her mind.
*I think she’s quite…* Andrew trailed off for a second and no one interrupted. *Pretty, that’s the word.*
*Beautiful.* Brenton’s voice was only a whisper.
The sun was warm on her back and she loved it enough to fall back and soak it in. Nothing in her wanted to move while it was nice and warm like this.
*And there she goes.* Troy’s voice chuckled in her head and she snorted at him. *We all do it, no biggie.*
*Yeah but I want to run, so get up.* Gabe was whining and he headbutted her in the ribs. She sighed and stood back up, shaking grass off. Brenton was still just watching her. All of them were just watching her really.
*So, now I just match you all in speed and stick with the group?* She looked around between them. Brenton nodded, his mane bouncing from the action.
*You’ll stay with me in case there are any problems. Zachary and I are big enough to shield you.*
She knew he meant game hunters. A guy hunting deer in Colorado wouldn’t miss the chance to take down a big cat from another continent. She’d been briefed on all their precautions as well, Zachary making sure she knew what types of protections the property and the house had in comparison to her tiny apartment. Then there were the shifter hunters but they didn’t go into those very much yet.
*There is a field on the property where we can let you really run.* He bumped her as they began to trot at an easy pace. She could do this speed all day. His bump was not something she could do all day. It sent her stumbling three feet to the side and she heard all of them laughing in her head. She hissed and Brenton let go of a small roar. She tried to roar back.
Cheetahs chirp. Of course they do. How could she forget that?
*What the hell was that?* Zachary growled.
*I was trying to roar!* She whined at him. She watched Troy trip over Gabe and Andrew just stopped moving. Brenton’s laughter filled her head and echoed.
*Oh, shit that’s wonderful!* Gabe cackled. *Do it again!*
*No.* She was embarrassed by her lack of a roar. Cheetahs, the only big squeaky cat.
*I can’t roar either.* Andrew chuckled to her. Other guys were nodding now at his confession as they all had stopped to look at her.
*You can at least give an intimidating snarl! She fucking squeaked, Andrew!* Troy howled in laughter and her head was going to hurt soon from the guys laughing at her.
She summoned up solid growl but it wasn’t nearly as good as Brenton’s earlier. She sighed and shook her head. Cheetahs were fast, deadly, and the sounded like an overgrown house cat that could squeak like a chew toy. These guys could turn her into a chew toy if they wanted to and she would just need to get used to that too.
*That was alright.* Troy gave a feline shrug to her. They had barely made it a hundred yard in the woods.
Brenton growled and started moving again. She watched all of them fan out and she stuck to Brenton’s side with Zachary on her other side. This time, Brenton had them moving a bit faster but still wasn’t really feeling what she knew cheetahs could do. It took what felt like forever to get to the field.
She bounced ahead of the two big males and fell in the grass.
*Go, the guys have it covered from all sides.* Brenton chuckled to her.
She stood up and let loose. From zero to sixty in only four seconds, she blew through the field. She went for a straight line for most of it and then let her body teach her how to turn. It was instinct and she got air with every massive stride, her tail counter-balancing her another piece of her highly specialized new form. She was almost done with the turn when she slipped and wiped out.
*HOLY SHIT I’M FAST!* She mentally yelled, laughing internally. She didn’t even feel bad for the wipe out. It happened but the run was just much fun. She felt a little sore from it and she was panting hard from the run.
Suddenly, Zachary was next to her and growling. She could smell he was feeling playful but shook her head.
*That’s all I got! Only got one run.*
*I know.* he growled and tried to pounce on her. She was able to scramble away from him and made distance, only to run into a growling Brenton. He swatted at her lazily as Zachary pawed her back end, making her fall.
*Yeah, yeah, pick on the small one!* she laughed. *I know. Cheetahs can run real fast for not very long.*
*Exactly.* Zachary threw his head into her and rubbed. She felt him rumble. He was purring. Brenton was too, and she could feel it since she now pressed up to him. It was comfortable.
*How long can we stay out here?* she pawed at Brenton’s front right leg.
*Not very long, we come out nearly every night for about an hour. Just to stretch it out. Though, we shift whenever we want in the house. Lay on our beds and sleep, lay about in the den for a nap. You know that.*
*I’m not sure Star would be okay with me as a cheetah on the bed with.*
*She probably knew what you were before you did.*
She thought back to picking Star. She remembered when Andrew entered the cat house and how every cat suddenly wanted his attention, except her Star, who was content in her arms. They much have smelled the similarities in the human looking males. She huffed at the thought. Even the real cats knew. Star must have noticed it in her and it warmed her heart a little bit.
They laid about for a long time, with all the guys eventually joining the pile hidden in the field of tall grass. Troy swatted her tail so she smacked him on the head. It was then that Brenton reminded her that cheetah’s couldn’t fully retract their claws like over felines. She needed them for traction so she had to be careful with them when playing with the guys so no one lost an eye.
She wrestled with Andrew a bit at one point, laughing when she out ran him and he was trying to pull her down. Gabe snuck up on both of them and knocked her over. By the end, though, they let her lay on top of all of them. They could crush her if no one was careful so there was no jumping on Riley.
They all purred when she was laying on them, so she didn’t feel guilty about it. She thought the purrs were pretty cute, even when she was in human form and they started doing it.
When they got back to the house, she remembered what they had all told her about shifting now that she done it once. She just needed to think about it. Put the cat away. She was slower then the guys but she did it. They were all standing and she was still on her hands and knees. She would need to learn how to stand and shift.
She stood slowly, readjusting to her human body. They all watched her and that odd scent hit her again. Then she looked down at herself and remembered she was very, very naked. She knew what the oddly good scent was now and it was also coming from her as she got the perfect view of all five of them.
She pushed past them, trying ignore their own nude forms. One of them growled softly at her as she passed. She ignored it, until a hand grabbed hers before she could open the chest.
Brenton pulled her upright and forced her to look at him.
“Riley. I need you to get over it.” He whispered to her. She was blushing furiously. She couldn’t get over it. She wanted him. Shit, she wanted any of them. They were all great in their own ways and she couldn’t handle it. She couldn’t handle that she knew they reacted the same way she did. “This is our life.”
She positioned herself so her body was turned away from most of them but couldn’t take her eyes off Brenton’s face. He was the Alpha and he held her there.
“I’m trying,” she hissed softly, trying to yank her hand away.
“None of us will do anything to do you that you don’t ask for specifically. Nudity doesn’t bother us, we’re reacting to you being embarrassed. Yeah, you’re hot. We want you but… that’s something that’s completely up to you. You are in charge of accepting us like that or not.” He finally released her. She blinked several times. Her Alpha just told her she was in charge of something. She finally looked back at the other guys, who were waiting patiently on her. None of them physically reacted even though she could smell it.
“You guys are so used to this that you don’t even…” she waved at them and it was Troy who shrugged with a laugh.
“Yeah, we don’t get hard just being seeing hot naked women. And remember, it’s rude to point out scents. Just don’t acknowledge it.” He waved his hand dismissively over it. She giggled hysterically and covered her face.
“This is fucking weird,” she mumbled and Brenton sighed.
“You’ll get used to it once you realize everyone is very good at ignoring a lot of things.” He pulled the chest open and grabbed her clothing, the yoga pants, tank, and jacket.
When he kept searching, she realized he was looking for her underwear. She pulled on her yoga pants first, since she knew she never wore any to begin with. She thought they were just an extra layer of clothing she didn’t want them to have to see. After tossing her top on, she finally stopped him.
“Where are your-”
“I didn’t wear panties or a bra, Brenton.” She tried to keep it a low whisper. “You can get dressed.”
This time he blushed and it was first time she’d ever seen it. She heard the tiny whisper behind her from Troy. Maybe she should have just not said anything… Or worn underwear. Oh, she was a fucking idiot.
“Oh shit. Gabe, tell me you heard that.”
Andrew and Zachary were both coughing loudly and she heard a few thumps when they must have been hitting each others backs or their own chests.
She ignored the comment and just went inside. She had realized out in the field how much better her hearing was. It was actually easier to ignore then the smells. She was used to ignoring comments and sounds from daily living, now she just heard more. The smells were just weird.
She landed in the den, on her favorite couch(the middle one) and sighed happily. That was fun and Brenton was right. She had to own the nudity or she would never be able to get over it. For them, it was natural. They probably lived with both male and female shifters for years and Andrew told her young shifters could only go runs with parents or guardians, so they all saw each other nude all the time. That included opposite sex family members and they just were raised to it.
She could do this. She could own it.