The Wolf and the Were

Chapter 18

Hialeah was giggling uncontrollably. Logan, on the other hand, was supremely frustrated, and it was plastered all over his face as he trembled with concentration. His teeth lengthened, his nails lengthened, and suddenly he was a wolf. He snapped back to human form, and Hialeah fell over laughing.

"Sure, laugh it up! See if I care!"

"Awww, but I would have thought you'd have given up ages ago." Perhaps I shouldn't do this, but.... With a smirk, she smoothly transitioned, slowly, from human to wolf, stopping periodically just to make the point.Then she snapped back to human, lifted up on her toes, and pecked him on the lips while he scowled at her.

"I've only been trying for a half hour," he pouted.

She pointed to one of the children who was stalking another kid in the half-wolf form. "It can't be that hard, if a young kid can do it," she smirked.

"I know, I know." He concentrated again, but once more snapped to full wolf shortly after his fangs had lengthened.

She shifted to her wolf and licked his face. He knows it's because we're different. He just hates knowing something is possible, but being unable to do it. She nudged him and soon they were running together, enjoying the feel of the wind in their fur and the stretch of their muscles.

Finally, they returned to their encampment for the night. When they shifted back to their human forms, he didn't look nearly as upset. By the next morning, he was back to his anxiety as the moved further North.

Despite his anxiety, Hialeah was actually surprised there'd been a conflict. It had been several years since they'd even seen a werewolf on one of their migrations. The understanding of what was happening had been established over the course of decades, yet every few years, a stray werewolf challenged their right of passage.

She shook her head. She couldn't believe there was anything to worry about. The werewolves just weren't that stupid.