I stand in the middle of the woods surrounded by nine male werewolves and one girl who stands off to the side with Josh. John stands to my left and Alex is on my right. The rest of them line up on either side of us. I look to both sides, everyone is excited to shift. A few yell and pump their fists in the air, a few grin and get down into position. The others like me, John and Alex bend down onto ours knees and prepare ourselves for the pain.
Groans fill the air as we all shift into the inner beast that we carry around inside of us everyday. It doesn't hurt as bad this time and I stay silent for most of it except for when my arm snaps beneath me and sweat breaks out on my forehead.
John shifts first, followed by me and the rest of the pack. We all jump forward in a whole new body. Some of them have pure black fur while others are covered in a dark brown colour. A couple are light brown and could blend in with the ground easily. There's one that stands out among them all and I can tell that it's Adam because his fur is a beautiful reddish-orange colour.
I feel someone nudge me and assume it's John but when I look to my right, it's Alex. He wants to race with me so I bend down and get ready to sprint ahead. A few seconds before we start running, John steps up beside me and then everyone joins in with us. We all look to our left and right then sprint forward, racing each other through the damp forest. By the time we all stop, Adam is the one to pull ahead and beat all of us.
Most of us lay down but a few others rolling around on the ground and grunting. They look so peaceful and happy. I belong with them. I wouldn't be where I am without them. I wouldn't know the truth if John didn't come into my life. But most of all, I never would have felt as if I actually belonged somewhere.
. . .
We're all laughing and walking back into the house together after playing out in the forest for over an hour.
Alex puts his arm around my shoulders and asks, "Did you have fun with us, Anna?"
"Yes," I say, not really sure of his gesture. "Do you guys always have that much fun?"
"Always," he says.
I laugh and he grins at me. Eventually he lets go of me and joins the other pack members in an interesting conversation about whether hunted food is better than bought food. Hunted food takes the prize. I spot John a few feet ahead and run to catch up with him. I put my hands over his eyes and whisper in a husky voice, "Guess who."
"Hm, let me guess," he says. "Anna?"
"Dang, you got me," I say.
He grabs me by the waist and pulls me into a hug. I wrap my arms around his neck as he asks me, "Did you like that?"
"Yes," I say. "You're really good at hugging."
He pulls away and smiles at me. "I meant running with the pack."
"It was great," I say. It feels good to talk to him again. "I think I had more fun when it was just you and me though."
"Oh, really?" He asks and we both laugh.
"Of course," I say.
"Well, I'm glad you feel comfortable here."
"We need to do that again some time."
"We will."
"Good." I pull away and we walk hand-in-hand into the house.
As we're walking, John looks at me and asks, "Am I really good at hugging?"
I laugh.
