Shape-Shifter

Chapter 4

Chapter 4:

Aaron really wasn't a good rider. He slouched and lost his balance and slipped around on his saddle and he relied on the stirrups to stay put. I could tell he wasn't using his knees, and he was clutching the reins like his life depended on it, and though he looked relaxed enough, I could tell he was all tense. People say you can consciously use body-language to deceive, you just have to practice it, as most of it comes naturally, without you even thinking about it, but not on a horse.

I took us to the woods, not actually planning on taking us jumping, because if I did, I would probably get Aaron killed. Instead I wanted to show them Lupa. I wanted them to know, that if they hurt me, they would have a problem. I wasn't really afraid that Alex would do something, but Aaron worried me. He looked reliable and kind and all that, but he was still a bit shaky towards me, giving me the impression that I couldn't trust him. I had to make sure that he knew that if it came to it, I would have a whole wolf pack, and possibly more, at my command.

I brought us deep into the woods, and made sure we made as much noise as possible, so that Lupa would hear us and howl, 'cause then I would have an excuse to howl back.

She howled, thank goodness. And I howled back, inviting her to bring her whole pack, but that she should know that I have two other humans who couldn't change.

She arrived shortly afterwards.

Aaron jumped off Cloud. He really can't ride, because otherwise he would have known that he's safer on the horse. He ran to Alex. Either he expected Alex to protect him, or he wanted to protect Alex.

And what about me?

I slid off Night. The pack had never met me as a human before, so we would have to take this slowly. Lupa and I greeted as usual, only I stayed a human. The pack started smelling me, and once they realised who I was, they greeted me happily.

I couldn't help notice that Alex and Aaron were looking at me sceptically.

Alex slipped off Sandy and came over to me, slowly and carefully. He asked, "What should I and Aaron do?" I noticed how he put the 'I' in front of 'Aaron'. 

"Walk over here slowly, on all fours. Look small so that they don't see you as a threat, and when they come to inspect you, don't move or try to push them away, just let them see who you are, and if anything gets out of hand, I'll have them off you. You may not seem nervous!"

He did exactly as I told him, and the wolves accepted him. Aaron seemed to have lost some of his fear and came over slowly too. He did the same as I had told Alex.

The pack though, completely to my surprise, didn't accept him. They were starting to growl, and this could end pretty badly if I wasn't careful. I told Aaron to get onto a horse, and he did, but unfortunately he panicked and ran the last few meters.

That set the pack off, and they ran to attack.

I shifted, acting entirely on instinct. I felt my clothes rip and my bones change shape. I ran, jumping over a couple of wolves, desperate to get to Aaron first. I got there, turned around and faced the pack. Lupa had been doing something similar, but hadn't been succeeding. Now that there were two of us, they faltered. I bristled my fur so that I would seem bigger, I bared my teeth, so they could see what I had in store. Most of it was show. I wasn't a real wolf, and I was, even for a human, tiny and not very strong, and naturally, my wolf wasn't big or strong either.

But with Lupa at my side, they seemed to see that they couldn't just barge past their alpha female and another friend, no matter how tiny she was. Finally the alpha male seemed to change his mind and relaxed, hiding his teeth, and settling.