Shift, Chapter Three

        Shape shifters.  The words echoed through Wynter’s mind like the steady sound of a drip of water in an empty cave. “Shape shifters? You’re kidding, right? I mean, they’re just legends, myths... Aren't they?” She said shakily, trying to convince herself that what happened to her wasn’t real. After all, there was no way that people could just change into animals randomly. Not in the real world, at least. They don’t exist. I’m not a shape shifter…Am I? She looked to her aunt and uncle helplessly. “Please tell me you’re joking.” She had a sinking feeling that she knew the answer, but still, she hoped that she was right, that shape shifters were not real. Even for all of her trying to convince her self otherwise, there was the small feeling of doubt that tugged at her, telling her that she was wrong. Oh, how she hated that feeling.

         Greg shook his head, giving Wynter a smile. “I’m afraid we aren’t, Wynter. You see, my brother and his wife-your mother and father- were two very strong shifters. You have inherited their gift.”The look in her uncle's eyes was not one of sadness, or even slight guilt, but of pure joy at his niece's transformation.

         Donna nodded in agreement with her husband. “Greg’s right, Wyn. You’re a shifter, just like your parents, and just like us.” She wrapped her arms around Wynter’s shoulders, giving the teenager a strong, but gentle hug. “It’s a remarkable gift, Wyn.” She said softly as she let Wynter go. She smiled kindly at her niece, trying to make the news as easy to bear as possible.

         Wynter pulled her blanket closer around her body, as if it would help all of her problems go away. She looked up at her aunt. “Gift? Gift?! How can something like this be a gift?! Yesterday I was a normal teenager, with normal friends, and now I’m a danger to them!” She exclaimed, her body trembling.

         Greg sighed. “No, you’re not a danger to your friends! You-“ He stopped his sentence short as a loud knock came from the door. He looked to Donna, and gave her a quick nod. In an instant, Donna was on all fours, this time as a huge, black, shaggy-haired Newfoundland dog. Wynter gasped at the sight of her aunt, standing directly in front of her, muscles tensed, ready to attack. “Wynter, stay quiet. Whatever you do, don’t move, and try to take deep breaths.” Greg instructed before walking out of the living room, towards the door.

     Too late for that. Wynter thought, feeling her heart racing like a Thoroughbred’s. Donna turned, and put a paw on Wynter’s knee. Looking down at her aunt, Wynter still noticed one trait that told her that the dog was indeed her aunt-her eyes. The dog's eyes were the same dark blue color. Wynter took a deep breath, and focused on calming her heart rate down. Apparently this satisfied Donna, because she once again turned, and watched the entrance to the living room from her position in front of the couch. She began to growl as she heard voices coming from the front door. She crouched, baring her teeth, ready to defend her niece by whatever means necessary. Just when Wynter thought her aunt was fixing to charge into the front room, she heard her uncle call, “It’s okay, Donna! You can relax!” Her aunt stood up, and by the time she was sitting on the couch next to Wynter, she was back in her human form, as if changing into a Newfoundland was just a part of her daily routine.

         “Relaxing is something I won’t ever get to do.” Donna muttered with a small chuckle. She looked at Wyn. “There’s more of us than you think, Wyn.” She said, trying to give her an encouraging smile. She looked back up as Greg returned to the living room, followed by Sherry and a tall boy with dark brown hair and electrifying blue eyes.

Wynter’s  jaw hung open in shock. “Sherry? What are you doing here?” She asked, her voice filled with confusion and surprise. Her best friend was at her house mere minutes after the most terrifying experience in Wynter's life, and more than that, she brought this boy with her. If the situation had not of been what it was, Wynter might have thought he was attractive, but at the moment, she barely noticed anything about him.

Sherry went and sat next to her friend, while the blue-eyed boy stood near the entrance of the room. He kept glancing over his shoulder, out the windows, as if he was waiting for something to happen. Wynter eyed him suspiciously, wondering what in the world the boy could be looking for. “Hey Wyn, I heard about your first shift.” Sherry’s voice broke Wynter’s eyes away from the boy. “How are you feeling?” Her friend asked.

Wynter sat in slience for a moment, then she shrugged. “I don’t know how I’m feeling…” She said sadly, her voice trailing off. She looked her friend in the eye. “I don’t know what to think. Everything just…isn’t right.” Wynter felt her eyes beginnning to water, but she took another deep breath, and forced the tears back. To her, crying never had done any good, and just ended in embarrasment and hiccups.

Sherry shook her head, smiling at Wyn. “No, Wyn, it’s great. What’s happening to you isn’t so bad.” Her grey eyes were filled with their normal merriment, but there was now a pride in them that was normally hidden to Wynter.

“How do you know?”

“Because I’m a shifter too, Wyn.” Sherry grinned at her friend. “I always have been.”

Wynter’s jaw dropped, and once again she sat in shock. I should have known. Of course, yesterday I didn’t believe shape shifters existed, but why else would she be here? She thought.  “How long have you been a shape shifter? Why didn’t you tell me?” She demanded. She and Sherry had told each other all their secrets, and had confided in each other on more than one occasion. She wondered if this was the only secret that had been kept from her, or if more were to follow.

Sherry opened her mouth to reply, but she was interrupted when the boy walked to her and said, “We have to go.” His voice was low and smooth, but had a slight gruffness as he looked at Wynter. “You have to come with us.” He glanced down at Sherry. "Right now."

Wynter looked to her aunt and uncle, then back to the boy. “What do you mean; 'I have to come with you'? Why should I? I don’t even know your name!” She exclaimed, annoyed at the way he just came up and acted like he was the boss.  He held out his hand to Sherry, and after she had taken it and stood, he held out his hand to Wynter. Wynter gave him a glare that said ‘not in your life' and she stood up, turning away from him as she did so. “I’m not going to come with you if I don’t get some answers, and maybe not even then!” She said resolutely, putting her hands on her hips.

Donna put a hand on Wynter’s shoulder. “Wyn, you need to go with Sherry. She’s going to take you to a safe place, and we’ll come soon. I promise.” She said to her, pleading with her eyes for Wynter to go.

“But why? Do I really have to?” She asked. She would go anywhere with Sherry, but this boy-whatever his name was- he was a different story. She looked at him. She knew he was not trying to be mean. He honestly looked like he just wanted to help, but she still was not about to just go and follow him wherever he may lead. Even though her aunt and uncle seemed to trust him, Wynter was not willing to go with someone she had just met, especially without her family.

Donna pulled Wynter into another hug. “Trust them, Wyn. They will take care of you.” She whispered in her ear, giving her a little push towards Sherry and the boy. Her aunt gave her an encouraging smile, "Don't worry, we'll be right behind you."

Wynter glared at the boy. “I guess I’m coming.” She muttered. She looked over at Sherry, and her friend moved to stand next to her, seeing the worry in Wynter’s eyes.

The boy turned to Greg and Donna. “We’ll see you later. Don’t worry, we’ll take care of her and get her to the Mansion safely.”

Greg nodded. “You don't have to worry about that, that is our job.” He said, his normally happy face masked with an uncharacteristic grimness.  

The boy nodded, and he headed towards the door, with Wynter behind him, and Sherry behind her. As they exited, Wynter asked. “So do you have a name, or am I free to call you whatever pleases me?” She asked, heavily implying that what she wanted to call him was not any normal fun nickname. Sherry nudged her friend in the ribs, but the gesture had no effect because of the snorts of laughter coming from her.

“My name is Wade. If I didn’t know your name, I’d call you sugar, since your personality is so obviously nice and welcoming.” He retorted, his voice dripping sarcasm. He held the door open for the two girls. "So here's the plan," He said, turning to Sherry and Wynter. "We're  going to walk towards the mansion, like a group of friends going to a movie or something. If Sherry or I see anything wrong, we'll take care of it." Wynter opened her mouth to object to her best friend being put in harm's way, but she was dismissed with a wave of Wade's hand. "Don't worry, your aunt and uncle will be right behind us, in animal forms. If anything goes wrong, they'll help us as well." His eyes rested on Wynter. "I can garauntee you that everybody is well taken care of." He assured her, his eyes filled with honesty. Wynter raised an eyebrow at the sincerity on his face, and she nodded. Though she didn't know how, she did know that Wade meant what he said, and that somehow, he would make sure that he was right.

Wynter turned to look at her aunt and uncle again, but all she saw were two hawks perched on the porch rail, one with dark blue eyes, the other with hazel eyes. With a sigh, she thought she would never get used to this. The two hawks squaked something that sounded like a laugh, and took off into the sky, circling above the teenagers. Regardless of the laughter, Wynter wondered what threat was out there, and what would cause the need for protection. She looked at Sherry. Her friend just smiled, and was fixing to say something until she was interrupted by Wade, who was not amused nor seemed to be happy about their current situation said : "Hurry." He led the way, and had Sherry follow behind Wynter.

Wynter hurried along behind him, but his long, ground-eating stride was difficult to keep up with. "Please slow down," she asked him. She shivered slightly as a cool breeze enveloped her momentarily. Though school was out, and Spring was giving way to Summer, the chilly mountain air was always a surprise. She looked across the street, past the houses, at the beautiful, snow-capped mountains. There was always something new to notice about them, whether it was that the snow crept down further across the mountain, or the way the clouds swirled around them like thin tendrils of smoke. It was neither of these that caught her attention this time, however. This time, it was a large horse galloping across the field behind the houses. Its black mane and tail whipped behind it in the wind, and its golden body shone brightly in the sunshine. Wynter stopped as she realized that the horse was heading straight towards them. "Wade," she called. He turned, and again she was slightly taken aback by the intensity in his eyes. "Yes?" he asked, his tone serious. "What's wrong?"

Wynter pointed across the street, to the field behind the house. "There's a horse-" she stopped mid-sentence, her eyes widening in fright. "It's gone." She didn't even notice the man leaning against the house, his dark hair pulled into a short ponytail. She jumped as she heard the screeching of the hawks above her, and Wade jumped in front of her. "Sherry, get her out of here. Donna will go with you." He snapped.

The man with the dark hair looked up with a wicked sneer on his face. "So you did notice me." In the shadows of the house, the man's body transformed into a Bull Mastiff, his arms and legs shortening and becoming stocky. The last thing to change was his face. His nose lengthened slightly, and his teeth grew longer and pointed. The sneer turned into a low growl as the hackles on the dog's back rose.

"Now, Sherry!" Wade snapped. Sherry grabbed her friend by the arm, and began to pull her behind her. Wynter stumbled behind her, but soon found her footing and took off behind Sherry. As they took off, they were joined by a Newfoundland dog once more, running beside them. Wynter looked back, and let out a small squeak of horror as she saw the Mastiff on one side of the road, and on the other was a large gray wolf. Circling above the two kanines was Greg, still in his hawk form. "Don't look back, Wyn! Just keep running!" Sherry called. The loud, unmistakable sound of a horse's hooves filled their ears. In place of the Newfounland now ran a black Arabian. She galloped up beside the two girls, tossing her head towards her back, telling them to get on. Sherry grabbed the horse's mane, and with a leap landed lightly on her back. She reached down and pulled Wynter on behind her, and the horse bolted off, leaving the dogs and hawk behind her with a neigh.

Wade narrowed his eyes. With his heightened vision, he took in details about the Mastiff that the human eye could not see-A slight hesitation in one of his front feet indicated some trauma happening to the shifter's human arm. "How did you know we were here?" He growled, his voice no longer smooth, but instead gruff and gravelly. The Mastiff snorted, and did not give a reply instantly. With speed uncommon to most dogs, he charged Wade, his jaws wide open and aiming for the wolf's throat. Wade quickly rolled away from the larger dog, clawing at his ribcage. The Mastiff barked in pain as Wade's claws scraped the skin back. "Who sent you?!" Wade demanded as he doubled back to latch onto the Mastiff's neck.

 The dog rolled, and with his massive paws, deflected Wade from his path, slamming him onto the pavement. "You know who sent me," the dog snarled in a sinister voice, "And he sent me with a message!" With a howl of victory, the Mastiff sank its teeth into Wade's back. He picked the wolf up, and flung him across the street, only to be stopped by a telephone pole in his path. The dog charged Wade again, but was stopped as Greg swooped in from the sky, his talons sinking into the flesh on the dog's face. With a yelp of pain, the Mastiff turned, and retreated. "This will not be the last you have heard from Ares! He wants her!" The dog howled as it ran back across the field, towards the forest on the other side. Within minutes, it was gone.