Dani Harper - First Bite

He ignored the remark. Number one, I don’t need anyone to hang with. Number two, if I did, I wouldn’t choose a green wolf because it’s a helluva lot harder to keep a low profile. And number three, this I-don’t-trust-you shit is getting old.

You think I should trust you? You’re a werewolf!

It’s not a character defect.

For a split second, the anger in his gaze gave way to something else. Sadness? Pain? Before Neva could decide which, however, Travis’s usual glare returned full force.

You wanna walk on two legs? Fine. Let’s do it.

Now they were getting somewhere. Neva stood up and followed Travis’s terse instructions: Picture yourself as a human. Close your eyes so you can concentrate—you have to hold the image until you feel your human body. Call it to you. Not like that. Okay, that’s better. Now let go.

There was a strange sensation over every square inch of her, as if she’d suddenly drawn in all the essence, the energy, even the air from all around her. Soaked it in like a dry sponge pulls in water. And her hearing, her sense of smell—all of her senses, in fact—were abruptly dulled as if she really was underwater. She opened her eyes in a panic, but realized she was in her human skin—and her senses were naturally blunted as a result. Neva heaved a sigh of relief and turned to say something to the tawny wolf, who was sitting and staring at her with his head cocked to one side. He didn’t look angry anymore. In fact, his lips were drawn back in a wide lupine grin. Obviously he was pleased that she’d managed to—

Omigod, I’m NAKED! Neva tried to cover herself with her hands and finally dove behind a tree. “Where the hell are my clothes, you bastard!”

Probably back by the truck. That’s okay, you look fine without them. Better, in fact.

She looked around the tree trunk and bared her teeth at him. “What didn’t you tell me? What did you leave out? You’re fully dressed when you shift back into human form. I’ve seen it. So why aren’t my clothes here?”

Probably because you’re new at it. Most Changelings have to learn to bring their clothes along during the transition. It takes practice, that’s all.

Great. So how do I get my clothes back? Where the hell do they go while I’m a wolf?

You can’t now, and nobody knows. Travis turned and trotted back up the slope.

Whaddya mean, nobody knows?

Exactly what I said. Changelings have been trying to solve that one for eons. Current thought says they go to a different dimension or something. Whatever. The big tawny wolf did a passable imitation of a shrug. We’ve hung around here long enough. It’s time to get going.

Neva realized with a start that she had no idea where here was. She made her way awkwardly up the bank, slowed down by the uneven stones. Wait, I can’t travel like this. I don’t even have shoes!

You wanted to be human now, remember? And you seem to suspect me of goddess knows what every time you don’t get your way. So deal with it. If you don’t like being human, Change back.

She cursed him out soundly as she stumbled along. The easy, ground-eating pace of her wolf had now given way to painful, awkward plodding. The game trail they were following had seemed like a smooth, green tunnel before, a perfect little highway through the brush. Now she stood a lot taller on two feet than on four, so what had once been an overgrown ceiling of shady foliage was now a hellish wall of scratchy branches and itchy leaves. And bugs , dammit. She couldn’t even see through the bushes to know where she was stepping. The ground felt rough under her feet now, the soil hard-packed and crisscrossed with tree roots. I don’t know how to shift back, you jerk!

Then figure it out.

And just like that he was out of sight.

Meredith licked the blood from her lips, then resumed her human form in a shower of blue sparks. She spared a glance at the folds of her Grecian-inspired gown and was satisfied that it remained pristine. The feather-white fabric glowed flawlessly in the moonlight.

It would have been more fun to kill the upstart wolf, but she was already short on initiates. As it was, Riley would be a long time healing and was useless in the meantime—except for the example she’d just made of him. “Take him back and throw him in the pit,” she ordered and turned her back to look at the other new wolves. She didn’t need to watch to know that she’d be obeyed instantly.

The gray mixture beneath her feet crackled with energy. Tiny veins of red lightning shot through the ash, charged further by the spilling of living blood within the circle. She felt tingly all over, but not half as good as she would a few moments from now. Meredith drew the pendant from between her breasts and held it aloft. Immediately the black opal flashed in the moonlight and began to pulse with crimson fire like the beating heart of a dragon. The energy in the circle built, and the six new wolves stood motionless, their gaze fixated on the opal in her hand and their eyes reflecting its light. Meredith laughed as she felt their living energy join with the magic, her magic, in the circle.

The collective power grew, swirling around her, faster now. It surrounded her, ascended her legs like a living thing, caressing, scintillating, arousing as it rose higher. And higher still. Her breath came in short, sharp pants, and her nipples thrust at the fabric that imprisoned them until they were sensitized beyond bearing. Finally she yanked the dress away from her with her free hand, tore and clawed at the fabric until she stood naked in the moon’s light. Her long blonde hair fell loose around her hips, wild tresses glowing nearly white. One hand still held the opal high above her head; the other cupped her mons as she began to thrust her hips in time to the gem’s fiery pulse. She chanted out the words, the dark, power-rich words, as the wild energy built to a crescendo and erupted through every molecule of her body in a tumultuous rush of sexual and magical release, turning her last word into a scream of raw triumph and pleasure.

It felt like she’d been walking for hours, and Neva was no less furious with Travis. The big werewolf had interfered in her original plans with his self-appointed mission to save her, forcing her through a Change she hadn’t wanted, and now leaving her in the middle of nowhere, naked.

Angry as she was, however, her sense of fairness nagged at her. He’d saved her life, coached her safely through a process that might have killed her, and had taught her how to return to her human self. The problem was, she’d demanded the latter knowledge right now .

Swell timing. She really should have thought that one through.

And he hadn’t exactly left her on her own, either. Although Travis was out of sight, her newly heightened senses told her he was little more than a couple hundred yards ahead on the narrow game trail. Obviously he’d slowed his pace to match hers—and hers was worse than pathetic.

Fighting for every step, she was making poor headway through the brush in her human form, and her bare skin was scratched and insect-bitten everywhere. Her feet had finally gone somewhat numb, but they began throbbing the moment she stood still. She had to admit that her lupine form had been a swift and efficient method of traveling, yet she certainly wasn’t about to resume it again—even if she could figure out how. Come to think of it, she wasn’t sure why she was still following Travis. Or why he was bothering to stay with her—after all, she didn’t need his help anymore. And he’d made it plain that he didn’t need anyone, especially not someone like her .