Werehuman

Creekside Talks

Katie and I hopped out of the truck and waved to Mel as she pulled away.

"Are we shifting or walking?" she asked, and rubbed her hand over her hair. "I need a haircut."

"Why do you keep it so short?" I asked.

"Haven't you noticed that most werewolves keep it shaggy? Gross. Plus I don't like dealing with it, I already have fur, what do I need blonde curls for."

"I like my hair," I said, reaching up to pat the dark brown mess on my head.

"You at least pull it back. I imagine that's Mel and Ralph's influence. You're forgiven for now." She giggled. "So we're walking?"

"For now," I suggested. "It's been a crazy week. We haven't talked much."

It struck me that I felt comfortable with this woman after just a week of knowing her. I had protected her when I could and made her a part of my world. There was some attraction, I knew, but what I didn't know was how to do anything about it as a human.

"My brothers and pack are dead," she sighed. "And I've cried, sure, but I don't feel anything for them. I've cried because now I'm alone."

"You're not alone," I told her.

She gave me a smile and took my hand in hers. We walked quietly for a while, and it was nice. This week had been loud and frantic, and a stroll through the woods was refreshing, even if I knew we hadn't put all the panic behind us.

"So what was Nebraska like?" I asked. "I've never been."

"Flat, boring and everyone drinks heavily," she replied. "I grew up in Illinois, but the pack moved when the police started catching on. Nebraska wasn't really my idea."

"I'm sorry."

"Conor, I should have left a long time ago. I was scared and stupid. At least this way, I met you."

Katie smiled at me, and I found myself smiling back. She was still bruised from whatever had happened with her pack and my smile faded, realizing how injured she probably was. Even the hand I was holding had discoloration at her wrist.

"What's wrong?"

"I hadn't really noticed how...hurt you were," I said. "I'm sorry; we can change and run if that's better."

Katie took stock of her appearance and shrugged. "I've had worse. It's nice to walk sometimes. Will we be late if we don't shift?"

"I don't think so. Mel dropped us off farther than she did last time and I'm not positive when Casey's getting there anyway." I sighed. "I hope that Casey has some answers for us. With the sheriff prowling about I am really worried about the full moon. There are too many of us."

"He would have been prowling about after the full moon anyway," Katie noted. "My pack wasn't very tidy during full moon. Some human would have died; probably multiple. They really are fragile creatures."

"You were human," I pointed out. "Still human most of the time."

"I know you don't have much experience being human, but it's different than being human all the time," she told me. "We could live forever, if we stopped killing each other. We smell more, taste more. I can feel the pull of the moon; which is insane because I don't know if I even noticed the moon before I turned. Our self-control problems extend to our human side. I don't think about consequences or whether something is right or wrong. I did before, I assume. I must have. And when you know you can live forever, then why bother having a job or starting a family or making retirement plans? I have a hundred years in which to do those things. Humans, normal unaffected humans, don't have so long." She squeezed my hand. "I imagine retirement plans are pretty foreign to you."