The remaining cat-men turned tail and ran for the trees.

With the threat gone, Lana eased back into her small human form.

"That's what I thought, freaks!" she taunted.

Raya, on the other hand was still fully wolfed and crouched as though ready to spring. Raya-wolf snarled and emitted low, menacing growls, staring at the trees.

"They're gone, Ray," Lana said, but then froze, her hand in the air midway toward her sister.

That sense of knowing they weren't alone had returned. This time, however, instead of her fight response, she was definitely picking up more of a flight reaction kinda vibe. It was the sneaking tickle up her spine - the feeling she'd gotten as a kid when she stood before the mirror and said Bloody Mary twice, but just couldn't get the third one out. The don't-do-this feeling.

"Double, double toil and trouble," she mumbled, glaring into the trees through which the beasts had gone.

Even with her new super-awesome night vision, she couldn't see what was seeing her. Lana tore her eyes away to coax Raya into running. If all wolves were the same, it would be no easy task. She knew she, herself, would never run from a fight in wolf form; it made you feel too invincible, fearless. Soaking in Raya's pose, she was pretty sure Raya was ready to take on whatever was in the dark.

"Ray. We have to go," she said in the most stern voice she could muster.

Raya crouched in a rigid stance. The fur on her scruff and down her back spiked as her growl grew more intimidating.

Rip. Tear. Kill, her angry wolf mind thought very simply.

Shadows leaped out of the trees and landed on the ground in front of them, startling Lana. As they jumped down one by one, she counted ten. Ten new cat-men, but they were different than the others. These were all black, even the ninja assassin outfits they wore.

This just gets worse and worse, she thought.

"Raya, come on!" she shouted desperately.

The newcomers looked like teenage mutant ninja panthers. There was no possibility that they would make it out of a tangle with ten of these things. Lana started to listen to her instinct and head for the house, but Raya wasn't running away.

Raya wasn't afraid to fight, but she knew the odds. Even a werewolf can count. She only had to surprise them to get the upper hand. The werepanthers started to advance on them, she had to act fast.

"Come on!" Lana screamed at her again, but the words didn't register.

Raya darted to the trees and, with some difficulty, hefted a sizable tree straight out of the ground. Dirt and leaves flew as she flung the tree into the werepanthers. They yowled and some tumbled over like bowling pins, but others jumped straight over the tree.

Lana grabbed Raya's tail with both hands to keep her wild ass from making a big mistake. She tugged as hard as she could while Raya bucked and clawed at the ground. They'd managed to retreat a decent five feet before the closest of the werepanthers was within a hair's reach.

Just when Lana was sure they were screwed, the ebony beast smacked into something invisible and fell backward. The others close behind tumbled into a pile when the same thing happened to them. Lana was still pulling Raya's tail, keeping her from slashing through whatever the beasts had plowed into. She snarled and struggled something furious, but Lana was strong and was able to hold her at bay.

The werepanthers inspected the invisible barrier. They touched it, swiped at it, one even licked it. It was as if shatter proof glass had popped up out of nowhere to protect the girls. When the intruders figured out there was no way around it, they began to retreat. The last one standing, a female, gave them a final burning glare before she, too, retreated.

Finally, Raya began to calm. The wolf faded away, leaving Lana's hands empty as the tail shrank. She plopped on the ground on her bare bum, feeling relieved and glad for the light sprinkle of rain that was cooling her heated skin.

A naked, still miffed, but coherent Raya soon took the wolf-girl's place. She was still on the ground on her hands and knees.

"My Jimmy Choos, Lana. You know how much I spent on those, how much I adored them," she pouted.

"They were pretty," Lana replied sympathetically.

"Oh, look. Were naked again. Guess we ruined more clothes, too," Raya complained.

"We should just become nudists," Lana mused.

They both seemed to think on it a moment, then burst into laughter. They were happy to be in one piece, but they were also well aware at the ridiculousness of their situation. It was so unreal, so bizarre, they had to find humor in it to remain sane. Lana was sure she looked comical, her tiny nude body dragging a big werewolf around by its tail. Raya couldn't believe she basically went Dr. Jeckyl, Mr. Hyde over a pair of shoes. Lovely expensive shoes, but shoes nonetheless. She'd also tried to write a check her ass couldn't cash by trying to take on all those werepanthers. Both girls knew they were covered in mud and lucky to be there in one piece.

Yet, how?

Lana inspected the barrier. She stood, reach out her arm, and touched...nothing. It was only air. She tried again, but swilled right through nothing.

"What the frack? I saw it knock them all back . . ."

"I'll try," Raya suggested, and the same thing happened.

They looked around in a stupor, trying to figure out what was there. Then Raya's keen eyes landed on something. There, tied to a tree, was an odd bunch of hemp braided with herbs and some type of metal medallion hanging from the end.

"No way," she uttered. "Lana, look."

Lana followed Raya's pointing finger to the talisman.

"Well, I'll be damned," she said.

It was what their grandpa called a trespass repeller. After many unwanted visits from salesmen, he'd hung them about the property. The girls thought he was just humoring himself then. They were used to his old gypsy superstitions and didn't begrudge him his odd beliefs, but at the time, they'd never believed it could work. Then again, at that time they weren't werewolves. Now anything seemed possible.

"Guess Gramps was right," Raya said.

"Come to think of it, we didn't have many visitors after that day . . ." Lana observed.

"Let's go. We can get our stuff tomorrow. I don't even want to look at the Impala tonight-"

My girl likes to party all the time, party all the time, par-ty all the ti-i-ime.

"Fucknuts!" Raya spat.

Her ringtone repeated. The girls followed the sound to Raya's shredded jeans. It was a bit damp, but the Otterbox had protected her actual phone. Not wanting to take chances, they dashed back over to the safe zone before Raya put her phone to her ear.

"Raya speaking," she said normally.

She had no idea whom would be on the other end. It was a number she didn't recognize, but as soon as he spoke his first word she knew.

"'Bout damn time. Where are you, and why are you avoiding my calls?" Bruce said.

"A, this is the first call I've heard, and B, I'm not up for games right now. Half of my wardrobe is ruined, I'm down a pair of shoes, I think my car is trashed, and I'm standing in the middle of the yard, naked and covered in mud," she vented.

Bruce's wicked, booming laughter floated through the phone. "Well, the last part sounds kinda sexy. Where are you?"

"I don't feel sexy at all. I'm not telling you where we are either." Raya didn't miss the fact that he'd made a point to ask twice. Could it be that he wasn't on their trail? Had he not sent assassins? She didn't want to say anything just yet.

"I see. Well, I've gotten rid of your...guy," he said airily.

"Great. Thanks. Gotta go."

Raya ended the call and six missed calls popped up. All of them said 'Alpha'. So he pulled the old she's-not-picking-up-so-I'll-call-from-another-number bit. Raya rolled her eyes.

"Let's get inside," Lana said.

Lana knew Bruce had been on the phone, but she wasn't even worried about anything he had to say to Raya that moment. He'd caused enough stress on her for one night. If she weren't a were-lady she wouldn't have to fight, or have monsters causing them to wreck, or eat her weight in fucking bacon. Okay, the last part was pretty fun, but still.

The sisters splashed all the way to Grampa's front porch. Lana snatched the key from under the doormat, a very common place, but she supposed it didn't matter as long as the trespass repellents held up. She unlocked the door and went inside, Raya on her heels.

The house smelled like their grandpa's Old Spice cologne and sage. For a moment, Lana almost hoped he would walk through raving about the awful fashion sense kids had these days, or to tell Raya she looked more like Grandma every time he saw her.

Unfortunately, the house was empty, save for a raccoon that had wondered in and gotten cozy. It dashed behind the couch as Raya flipped on the light.

"I guess the repellers don't work on small critters," Raya observed.

"I'm too frazzled to give a hockey right now," Lana said. "We can handle him after a long, hot, relaxing shower."

"For sure. I hope I can find something not terribly out of date to wear," Raya replied, knowing it was a fat chance. She hadn't lived there in years and whatever clothes she left behind were probably left behind for a reason.

Raya was right. Her old clothes were atrocious.

"How could you have ever worn this, Raya Loveridge?" she quizzed herself in the mirror of her old closet.

Her tee shirt was blue with a huge strawberry filled ice cream cone on the front, the loose fitting pajama pants were a matching blue, littered with ice cream cones. The saddest part was: it was the coolest thing she could find. Still, the blue did nothing for her fair complexion, and the pink clashed with her strawberry-blonde tresses.

Raya abandoned her mirror to bask in the memories in her old room. The dated posters on the wall with faces of old boy band members and young actors smiled back at her.

Hello, Matthew Lawrence, she thought, sparing his poster a little more time than the others. There's a cutie that got even hotter after Boy Meets World.

She remembered when she thought she'd meet him and he would take her to a fancy Broadway play, then ultimately, take her hand in marriage. She chuckled out loud. Such simpleton, girly dreams. She also imagined she would marry Justin Timberlake and Fenton James - the local high school football star. Heck, if she had it her way, she'd have been somebody's wife by now.

Fluffy pillows and plushy animals covered Raya's bed. The pillows were for necessity and decor, but the stuffed animals were a collection of sorts. From the old, ratty alligator to the cute little zebra, she loved them all. Even the soft puppy with floppy ears and sad eyes that Stew McDaniel gave her on their fifth date when he asked her to go steady. Sure, she'd caught him making out with Dee Renfro later that week, but she couldn't hold it against the pup.

Thinking of pups . . .

Raya sighed as she put her vulnerable collection safely away in the closet. They were from long ago, and now she was a destructive fiend. If the wolf in her decided to bust out and have some fun with her plushy pals, they'd stand no chance. Just one of the many downfalls of being a werewolf.

"Come on, dang it," Lana coaxed the raccoon. He'd abandoned the couch for a safer spot behind the refrigerator. "You know, if I wanted to, I could lift this fridge with one hand and grab your furry ass. I'm giving you a choice here."

The Raccoon's eyes shined back at her from the darkness. He backed deeper into his hiding place, her words completely meaningless to him.

"Fine. So I'm no Elisa Thornberry. You gonna hold that against me?" she teased.

What's the fun in being an animal if you can't even communicate with them? she thought.

Lana did what had to be done, lifting the fridge and grabbing the wild thing by its scruff. It put up a fuss, but she'd reined in larger things. Next to Raya-wolf, this little guy was no big deal. She let him go near the woods out back and he skedaddled.

"Tell your friends to stay away, too!" she said.

Cleaning the raccoon's mess inside was going to suck. She was already dreading it as she swung open the door. All of those crackers in the floor, the broken flowerpot spilling dirt on the kitchen counter, the-

The door to the basement, Lana noticed. Not that it was wrecked, but it was in the kitchen. All her life, the basement had been off limits - Grandpa's rules. It was his private area. Well, he wasn't there now, so he wouldn't be angry with her if she had a peek.