Mishaps & Wolves (REWRITE)

Chapter 4 - Channelling Houdini

"Finished?" 

Marissa was not doing so well. She was getting a crick in her neck from being penned up against one side of the cage, the migraine had taken over and the pain from her jaw was a constant hum at this point. Needing to go to the bathroom was also becoming another problem, but there was no way she was getting relief any time soon.

She wasn't the only one in dire straights. Randy had been switching between wolf and human form multiple times over...she actually didn't know how long they'd both been cramped in that cage. There wasn't a window or any sort of clock around, just other cages along the walls and a single door. Now she knew how the animals back in her clinic felt when they were caged in the back room, although they had it better because they could actually get to a convenient bathroom.

Don't think about it! She chided herself. 

She had to admit though that the time between the shifts was getting longer. Although, Randy was spending more time in wolf form, which didn't really upset her because seeing the guy she considered a brother naked at their age was its own nightmare. But he still couldn't talk much before  he shifting again. Changing seemed to take all the energy out of him.

A pins and needles feeling up her legs had her snapping out of her thoughts and moving to carefully stretch them out. She had to lift the wolf carefully to get him out of the way but he didn't seem to care. He just stared back at her, chest heaving and tongue lolling out, trying to catch his breath before he switched again.

"At some point you're going to fry the last of your brain cells."

The wolf just snorted at her, pushing its head onto her lap.

"Seriously, this can't be healthy for you. Not that I mind getting a new pet, because lets face it, your probably a lot more useful like this for scaring idiots away from my door. You couldn't deal with the salesmen away last time you were house sitting for me and I ended up with an entire encyclopaedia set that I couldn't lift to throw at you. But like this? Major improvement. One bark and I'll never have to answer the door."

She found herself stroking him behind the ears as she talked. It seemed to calm them both, so she kept stroking his velvety ears. 

"Switching like this is going to be a major problem though. I can imagine the look on Dr Adams' face when I take you in to get checked up and your suddenly sitting there back in human form. I'd pay to see the look on his face as they drag him into a padded cell. It might finally be the thing to get him out of the clinic." She could tell that there was a dreamy look on her face at the prospect of getting rid of that parasite at what should have been her clinic, but the wolf interrupting with snort pulled her back to reality.

"You need to get a grip and stick with one form, preferably human because I need you to help me understand everything that's going on and find us a way out of here."

The haze that usually signalled his change engulfed him a lot faster this time. Marissa pulled her arm back and stayed as still as she could, worried that she might mess something up and dislodge a kidney or something whilst his body moved bits and pieces around.

When Randy was left in human form moments later, curled up on his side in the foetal position where the wolf had been, Marissa released the breath she hadn't known she'd been holding. 

"Quick, tell me everything before your furry side comes back."

He didn't move and he didn't seem to be breathing either.

"Randy?" She tried to move and get closer, panic overwhelming her pain now. 

"I can't believe....you prefer....the wolf to me...." He groaned, his breathing shallow.