Statera - The Balanced One

Chapter Fourteen

I loved being in the form of a white-tailed kite. So rather than returning immediately, I decided to take a moment. The O'Connell estate was impressive, especially from the air. It was far bigger than I'd imagined. Their little slice of heaven wasn't little at all; it was enormous. The sun was climbing into the sky as I took in the rise and fall of the land. It was beautiful, with all its changing colors and shades. I flew over the pasture where the lone oak tree stood, and before long, I came across the O'Connell herd of Angus. They were drinking water at a stream that ran through the pasture I was flying over.

Feeling I'd had enough time alone, I banked north toward the house when movement in the shade of the trees caught my attention. Circling around, I retraced my flight pattern and descended about sixty feet to better understand what caught my eye. As I cleared the tops of the trees, I saw it was a family of wolves napping in the cool shade.

These wolves were large—too large. I realized they were Lycans, six of them. Just past the trespassing pack, there was a dead Angus calf. It had been severely mutilated, with chunks of its flesh missing. The chest area had been gutted, and I could clearly see what was left of the rib cage. My heart raced, and I flew with purpose back toward the house.

I ate up the distance in just a couple minutes and sailed toward the patio. Hitting the deck running, I ran right into Samantha at full speed and fell on my butt. Samantha hadn't budged even an inch.

Her wolven expression was curious as she glanced down at me through the beautiful yellow orbs of her eyes in Pure Form. She cocked her head to one side inquisitively in the adorable way dogs do when trying to figure something out. Putting a hand on Samantha's head, I concentrated on the image I'd conjured in my mind of myself in Pure Form, with the correct proportions to match the others. Finally, I felt the morph take hold and opened my eyes. The rest of the family gathered around me, and Keitan was sniffing my hind courters. When I growled, he growled right back, but then I took a menacing step toward him and bared my teeth. He whimpered and took a paw back. Despite my best efforts, I still hadn't hit the mark on my size. Keitan was still bigger than me by a full head.

I quickly nuzzled Keitan with my snout and explained what I'd just seen on my flight to the rest. Cole's ears stood straight up as I relayed the information.

"What's Cole doing?" I asked Keitan.

"Listening, he has superior hearing even in Human Form. His ears are like radar in Pure Form and can hear almost anything if he knows what to listen for."

Owen, the only one still in Human Form, walked out onto the patio and did a double-take when he saw me. Keitan brought his father up to speed on what was happening. I was surprised to discover they understood each other no matter their form. Owen immediately started for the far end of the patio and jumped off the edge. When the rest of us made it to the rail and looked over, he was already in Pure Form and clipping across the ground.

Everyone else followed Owen's lead and made the fifteen-foot jump, but I didn't feel comfortable taking such a leap. So instead, I took to the air once more. When I caught up to the others, I saw that Owen had fallen behind his children, who were eating up the distance between them and the other pack. Swooping down alongside Owen, I morphed into his Pure Form. This time, I nailed the proportions accurately. I was bigger than Owen, and I saw his eyes gleam with approval. We ran in tandem a good expanse behind his kids.

When we finally caught up to Keitan and his siblings, they had the family cornered between the three of them and the tree row. There were two full-size Lycans, and the other four were significantly smaller. Upon closer examination, I noticed the four huddled and cowering behind the larger two. There was something different about these Lycans than those who'd attacked me, but I couldn't put my finger on it.