There's blood everywhere. Hunks of fur, wolf legs, some looking suspiciously humanoid. I'm panting and coughing every few breaths to get the stink out of my nose, but I think it's there to stay. Kayla

(Lila)

is just standing there, looking at me.

(That was...)

(crazy)

She's bleeding. I'm at her side and licking at her before I can think anything about unsanitary or hunger or anything human. The wolf knows that licking a wound helps stop the blood. It's her neck. One of them got her neck. I growl.

(It's no big deal, just a nip)

(I should have stopped them faster)

(You were amazing)

Then she does that thing again, where I'm flooded with warmth and good and my heart slows and my eyes slide to half mast.

Funny thing is that this also gives me the irresistible urge to pee.

While I'm marking my territory

(my kills MINE)

Kayla's changing. I watch with blissful interest as the fur fades into her golden, smooth skin. She makes it look so graceful. One moment she's a wolf, the next she's a woman.

(she's my cousin)

(I can still hear you, you know)

I choke off my thoughts and try to shake them out of my head. Some other kind of happy feelings are racing around and they make me want to hump Kayla's leg.

(Try changing back now, Daniel)

Her voice in my head is smiling.

I turn away and try to push my humanness out. I have no idea how to do it. My pelt suddenly feels like it's too hot, too tight. I glare at my paws. Why aren't they shifting?

(close your eyes)

I oblige.

(see yourself, your human self)

Drawing a blank. I barely know what I look like. When was the last time I really looked at myself in a mirror? Dark brown hair, too long. Brown eyes. Pale. Skinny.

I keep seeing Kayla as she unfurled herself.

Growls emerge from my throat. I grind myself into the snow. Damn fur is too hot. I'm agitated. Why is this so hard? I've done this a million times before, only I don't remember it.

(take a deep breath. Let it melt away)

I suck in some air. Close my eyes. Imagine the fur melting off and revealing my human self. Cold air rushing in. It's a relief for about two seconds and then the cold robs my breath away.

"Why did we h-have to change b-back?" I ask.

Kayla laughs through her chattering teeth. "Look." She's pointing at one of the more humanoid bodies. "We can't leave this for the humans to find."

"What do we do?"

"Burn it."

"With what?" I gesture around. "All we've g-got is snow and ice."

"There's a lighter in the backpack."

I glance around, looking for our stuff. I don't see it anywhere. My nose sniffs out our trail, but my human eyes don't allow me to see too far into the distance on this moonless night. "Where is our stuff."

"About two miles thataway."

A vicious shiver rips through my body. "Why the fuck did we change then? Makes no sense. We can't walk two miles through the snow like this."

"You need practice."

"P-practice walking through the snow naked?"

"No, practice changing. Hurry up, I'm freezing my ass off."

She wants me to change back into a wolf. I stand there, wondering how to even begin. It's one thing when I'm feeling dizzy and nauseous and angry to just turn myself over to the wolf. But now? I'm cold and I can't feel my feet.

"What's the hold up?" she asks.

"I don't–I have no idea how to start it," I say. "I've never tried to make it happen. It just happens, and I usually try to stop it. What do I do?"

She steps closer to me, and I instinctively step away. We're both naked. What is she doing?

"Don't move away," she says. She steps up to me and puts her arms around me.

The back side of me is turning almost as numb as my feet, but suddenly my front side is all kinds of warm. I lock my hands around her back, press my face into her hair. We shiver in unison.

(you have to change or we're both going to die)

(I can't do it I have no idea how to do it)

(let me know how this works)

She gives me her good feelings again, only this time it feels like she was holding back those other times. I'm instantly hard and flushed and jittery. My fingers dig into her back.

(let yourself go)

(it's not that easy!)

I'm waiting for those symptoms that tell me the wolf is clawing at my door, but there is no nausea. I'm not dizzy. I'm just stepping back and

fur fangs snow death blood

Kayla has melted into a wolf in the next heartbeat. She makes it look so easy. Her forelegs bow down, but I know she's not bowing to me. It's not subservience but

play

And I'm bounding after her, no thoughts just

warm female lilacs run mate