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  “I’m good. Thank you. I’ll be right out.” I leaned my forehead on the wood, smelling the faint scent of varnish as I listened to him. He hesitated, probably not believing me when I said I was fine. I didn’t blame him. There was no way I could wrap my head around this situation and feel perfectly fine. I wasn’t fine. I was far from it, and in a place where I might drown if no one saved me.

  No one would believe me. This situation was insanity. Flying like a freaking bird? How would that go down at the hospital? It wouldn’t, and I’d be shot up with a knockout dose of Haldol faster than I could scream out that I was just kidding.

  Pulling away from the door once I was satisfied he’d shuffled away, I gave myself another look in the mirror. I needed to make sense of this mess, but all I could find was the guy’s comb sitting on the counter next to his razor. The bathroom was pretty bare, and a sense of loneliness hit me, but it wasn’t my emotions. Inhaling deeply, the mood passed as though it had never existed in the first place.

  I took in the rest of the bathroom then peeked into his medicine cabinet. It was obvious he lived alone. Whatever girlfriend had left these clothes had been meticulous enough to take everything else with her. Or he had gotten rid of any residual effects the moment she’d left. Regardless, the space felt like he was just a lonely guy up there in the woods, and if he wanted to feed me and save me from certain death on the road, he couldn’t be that bad.

  I hoped.

  I splashed some water on my face and hair then jammed the comb through my tangled, blonde locks, managing to get the knots out until it returned to some semblance of a normal style. I needed to get home to bathe and sleep off whatever had messed me up. I must have been drugged. There was no better explanation for the crazy array of images that were flying through my head. It could have been worse. My relief was little comfort.

  Exiting the bathroom, I held out my arm, touching the wall to guide me forward through the cabin’s hallway and out to the living room again. The soft material of the sweats rubbed on the raw skin of my legs, making me wince. It was just an insignificant discomfort, and I pushed any thought of pain to the side. Sounds of utensils scraping against ceramic dishes brought me to the kitchen where Malachi sat stuffing his face with eggs, bacon and pancakes.

  Breakfast for dinner. Yum.

  Whatever girl ditched this guy was incredibly shortsighted.

  He waved to the chair in front of him at the tiny kitchenette table. There were only two chairs, further confirming my suspicions that he probably lived alone. I slid down into the chair and peered over my plate. It smelled divine, and I was relieved my stomach was feeling much better; who’d want to miss out on this? The tall glass of water next to another filled with juice looked refreshing. I took that first and swallowed down several mouthfuls before replacing the glass. The food was revitalizing.

  “Do you remember anything about what happened today?” Malachi asked. He wiped his face, which had a few days growth of stubble along his jawline. It had a reddish tint to it that didn’t quite match the jet black hair on his head. It did, however, compliment his face, including those gorgeous dark brown eyes.

  I looked back down to my plate, swallowing the last bite and hoping I hadn’t betrayed my thoughts by turning red.

  “Yes, but it doesn’t make sense.”

  “There were white feathers all around where I found you. I assume they belong to you?” He chewed whimsically as he regarded me.

  I shook my head. “I’m not sure. I just remember a feeling of flying through the trees. The sky was so blue and I was scared. I think something was after me, but I can’t remember anything more.”

  He leaned back in his chair, considering what I’d said. He knew something. At least it felt like he knew more than I did. Why I was getting that vibe from him was a mystery.

  “You’ve never transformed into a bird before, have you?” he asked.

  My eyes widened and my mouth opened slightly. “What did you say?”

  “There are others like you, you know. You’re not the only one who can change into an animal and back again.” He tilted his head in deep thought, studying me further. “I’m surprised you’ve never met a shifter before, especially since you’re one of us.”

  “A what? I’m not. I can’t… there’s no way I’m a shifter.”

  “Have you ever heard of shifters?”

  “Yes, of course, I’ve heard of them. But that’s like the stuff of fairy tales. I don’t know why you would suggest such a thing.”

  I was about to jump to my feet when he reached out to place his hand on mine.

  “Wait. Don’t go.” He hesitated, furrowing his eyebrows while his eyes streamed a flurry of concern toward me. “I don’t mean to scare you. I’ve just never met one who’s never shifted before. Especially at your age. Usually, you find out you’re a shifter at a much, much younger age. Prepubescent, actually. At or around twelve or thirteen is the typical first shift. You’re what? Early twenties?”

  I didn’t move, scared to do anything. “I’m twenty-four. I’ve never transformed into anything. Ever.”

  He narrowed his eyes and removed his hand from mine. “Maybe you’ve been cursed. I’ve heard of humans being turned into shifters before, but that’s the stuff of legends, and I’ve never met one. So it’s kind of hard to imagine.”

  “There are other shifters who can transform into animals? How do you know that?”

  One side of his lips lifted, making his dimple deepen into his left cheek. “I know because I’m one too. I can change into a wolverine. And I wouldn’t be telling you this unless I knew you were one. I can smell it in your chemistry. Shifters smell like animals. Specific animals. Like you, for example. You smell like a bird.”

  “I do not.” I tapped my fingers on the table, staring at what was left of my breakfast-dinner. “If I was cursed, how would I know?”

  “You can transform. That’s how you know. Especially if you’ve never had that power before. It’s pretty specific.”

  “How do I fix it?”

  He scrunched his face like he was shocked to be considering such a thing. “Fix it? Uh… I don’t think you can. You got this power somehow. I don’t believe whoever did it to you even knows how to reverse it. It’s not something you can shed. It’s part of you. A part of your human DNA that has been awoken. Disturbed and now active. Everyone in the world has this potential, but like any other kind of genetic disposition, it doesn’t show up in everyone. It’s like blondes and brunettes. Blue or brown eyes.”

  “That sounds impossible.”

  “Oh, it’s very possible. It’s just more dormant than not. That’s why most of us shifters remain in the dark and out of the public eye. No sense in scaring the majority because we’re different.”

  “There’s more of us in this town?”

  He nodded.

  “Who?”

  “I’m not at liberty to say. At least not until they give me the go ahead.”

  “What the fuck does that mean?”

  “It means that if they want to tell you, like me, they can do it themselves. It is what it is. They’re not my secrets to tell. You’ll figure it out sooner or later.”

  My heart raced in my chest. I was starting to feel sick again but fought to keep my dinner where it belonged.

  “I guess I can see why. It’s all so overwhelming.”

  “I understand.”

  “How do you change when you want to?”

  “It takes some practice. I can help you if you let me.”

  I nodded, desperate to get a grasp on this madness.

  “All right. When do we begin?”

  “Are you feeling up to it?”

  “Yes.”

  He leaned forward, scratching his chin as he thought about it. He rose to his feet, held out his hand and grinned.

  “Good. The sooner, the better.”

  Malachi

  “Concentrate harder.”

  I crossed my arms, narrowing my focus at Phoebe.
She was trying. Oh, how she was. It wasn’t enough to do a full transformation. She would get to a certain point and get stuck. There were white feathers littering the entire mat of my garage, which I’d transformed into a mini gym/workout room.

  “I am,” she snapped.

  We’d been at it for an hour and hadn’t gotten any further along in getting her to shift at will. This was way harder than training a preteen to shift. Their lack of experience helped them change faster than Phoebe could. They didn’t have the same life experiences and inhibitions. I felt for her, but if she was going to get up to speed on this shifter stuff, she had to buckle down.

  “Just try to relax your body while you’re thinking of changing. Breathe slowly. Imagine your skin morphing into soft, white feathers, all over.” I stood still, itching to pace, but I had to stay calm if I wasn’t going to break her concentration.

  She nodded, breathing in and out with her eyes closed. “Okay. I can do this.” She shook out her hands and flexed her neck. “Come on. Come on.”

  For a human-turned-shifter, she was doing surprisingly well. I’d offered to take her home, but she had refused. I wondered if anyone was looking for her, but the glint of fear in her eyes when I mentioned going back was enough to shut that idea down immediately.

  She held her breath even though I had told her to breathe in through her nose. I did see her visibly relax, which did the trick. It looked like she was melting into the floor for a moment before all that remained was a pile of the clothes she’d been wearing. I peered into the clothes as something moved within them. I bent down and sifted through the bunched-up shirt to find a small white bird with the softest-looking feathers and dark blue eyes staring at me.

  “Well, I’ll be damned. Look at you, Miss Thing.”

  She cried out and flapped her wings, trying them out. She was unsteady and fell forward onto her beak. Wrestling back onto her taloned feet, she wobbled to each side until she spread open her wings and steadied herself on the ground, with each tip touching the floor.

  “Takes some getting used to your shifter feet, doesn’t it?” I grinned, watching her tip her tiny head before twisting it to one side. She was flexible there, and if I hadn’t known she wasn’t just a bird, I would’ve found it oddly cute if not, disturbing.

  She cried out again and stared hard at me. I reached toward her, but she snapped at my fingers with her beak. It looked dangerous and could take a good chunk if not a whole finger if I wasn’t too careful.

  “Whoa there, girl. No biting.” I pulled my arm back and watched her as she took a few tentative steps forward, less wobbly than before. She still had her wings stretched out, and they were surprisingly substantial and wide for such a tiny body. She walked around in circles for a while before she was able to tuck her wings back and walk normally. Well, normally for a bird.

  “Okay. You’re looking good there. Do you want to try your wings out? I’m not letting you outdoors yet, you’re liable to never return.” I chuckled and held out my arms. “Go for it.”

  She bobbed her head up and down, and I knew she could understand. She held out her wings and stretched them before giving them a jerky flap. It sent her toppling over, but she rolled back on her feet again and kept on, falling over and over again. The weight of her wings was just too much when in motion.

  “Doing good,” I said. I didn’t want to push her too hard and risk her giving up. She seemed determined, which was excellent considering this was like Shifter 101 on steroids. I liked her fiery spirit.

  Her pretty face was a bonus. When she was in human form, I had to admit she was stunning. I’d never met her before, and I’d lived in Woodland Creek my entire life. I never got sick, so I had no reason to frequent the hospital she worked at. Had I known, I might have made an effort to feign some sort of abdominal pain just to get her to my bedside.

  But I wasn’t that kind of a man. She was the kind of woman I would admire from afar, never saying a word to her if I could help it. Not because I was afraid or shy, but because I didn’t want to corrupt her. I’d kept to myself for far too long. It wasn’t due to shyness; I didn’t have a shy bone in my body. It was more of the attitude that things just never turned out good for me, so why bother?

  She squawked, visibly frustrated. She started flapping madly, letting her feathers fly up around us. Her body lifted off the ground, and her ascent moved her across the room, straight into a stack of mats.

  Crash!

  I ran to her side and found her on her face again. Lifting her up, I cradled her in my arms.

  “You all right?” I gently checked her wings, but she snapped at me before I could finish. “I think that’s enough for the day. I set her to the side and eyed her tiny body up and down.

  She hissed in return.

  “Remember what I said before about shifting back? Just relax, like you’re going to fall asleep. Let your feathers get reabsorbed as your body return to what’s familiar. Imagine it in your head. It’s easier turning back.”

  I sat back on the floor, leaning on my arms. I watched her staring at me, her eyes glowing blue saucers scrutinizing me. It was funny. Shifted, Phoebe’s expressions were raw and unfiltered on her bird face. I wondered if in her actual life she hid her true self under a mask more times than not.

  She visibly exhaled and closed her owl-like eyes. Almost immediately, her body morphed back to her human form, naked, with all her curves exposed to the world. I immediately turned away to stare at the wall and give her privacy, but not without capturing a glimpse of her full breasts and impossibly long, smooth legs extending out.

  My chest seized as I tried to inhale slowly and calm my out-of-control heart. She ignited something within me I hadn’t felt in years. She wasn’t the first female I’d encountered lately, so why her? Sometimes I felt like fate had a sadistic sense of humor.

  I prayed she hadn’t noticed my momentary lapse.

  “I’m dressed,” she said. “That was amazing. Rough, but… wow.”

  I turned to find she’d slipped on her sweats and covered up that gorgeous body. I was relieved yet sadly disappointed. I liked the way she made me feel. All discombobulated and uncomfortable. It was a brand new feeling encroaching on the same old mundane sensations that kept my world dull and gray. She added the much-needed color to my life, and I’d only known her for a few hours.

  “Feeling okay? You took a nice hit or two.”

  She rubbed her left bicep, rolling her shoulder and wincing ever so slightly.

  “Yeah, I’m fine. Sore, but I guess it’ll get better with time, right?”

  I nodded.

  “Got any more food? I’m starving again!”

  Nothing got me smiling wider than talking about food. “I’ll get that for you. Got some leftover eggs and bacon from earlier, or I can whip up some sandwiches really fast.” I was relieved I had salvaged all the food in my fridge when I’d spontaneously packed to leave earlier. It had been in a cooler, and all I’d had to do was transfer it right back to the fridge when I’d brought her home.

  “Sounds perfect. Oh, Malachi, can I ask you something?”

  I stopped mid-step and turned back to face her. “Of course. Go for it.”

  “What do you look like when you shift?”

  I scratched my scalp, chuckling. “I was wondering when you were going to ask me that. Want me to show you?”

  Her eyes shined with excitement. “Yes.”

  “Um, okay. Give me a sec.” I walked back to the center of the room and yanked my shirt off. Dropping it to the floor, I proceeded to undo the belt on my jeans.

  “Whoa, don’t show me your birthday suit!” She was about to turn away, but I waved at her.

  “Can’t take the view, huh?” I chuckled. “When I turn back, you will have to look away or you’ll be getting a nice eyeful. Just taking off the jeans. I’ll rip them if I keep them on. Don’t worry, I have stretchable boxers on, and they’ll just fall off me when I turn.”

  “Okay.” I could see her swallow,
turning various shades of red before she nodded slightly.

  I got my jeans off and tossed my socks to the side before I grinned at her. “Ready?”

  She bobbed her head up and down, looking more embarrassed as the moments ticked by.

  “Get on with it.”

  I shuddered, feeling the morph crawl through my body in a series of shifting muscle and bone. Hair sprouted from my pores as I sank to the floor, huddling in a ball, shaping into my wolverine self. My claws extended from my fingertips and tapped against the mats on the garage floor. Finished, I turned around in full wolverine shape and blinked up at Phoebe, who stood over me with a mixture of odd curiosity and sheer horror.

  Her mouth was hanging open, and her color had paled a shade. I hoped she didn’t faint while I was turned. I could change back much faster than she could, but I wouldn’t be in time to catch her. Strange how concerned I’d become for this beautiful stranger in such a short amount of time.

  I gave her a tiny yip, hoping she’d snap out of the shock.

  “Wow. You weren’t kidding. You’re like a small bear or large raccoon. That’s kind of freaky.” She wanted to run; I could smell her fear rolling off her in waves of desperation. It made me sad, but I had to remember she wasn’t used to seeing the morph. Whoever had done this to her had chosen her for a reason, and I wondered what that could be.

  “Can you change back?” Her voice shook, and she took a step back when I moved toward her. I stopped in my tracks and nodded my head up and down. My answer brought her some relief, and she started to laugh nervously. “I’m sorry It’s just… I think I have to sit down.”

  She stumbled to one fo the dusty school chairs sitting in the corner of the garage. I had salvaged it from the street on garbage day. It was perfectly fine except it’d been someone’s unwanted trash. It served as my resting chair where I’d wrap my wrists for working out at the punching bag.

  Leaning forward, she covered her face with her hands. She was deathly pale, so I took that opportunity to morph back, grab my clothes and throw them back on since she wasn’t peeking.