Late in the afternoon Will came into the kitchen where Laura was preparing supper. "Can you make me a couple of sandwiches? I'm going to go out to the herd and keep watch tonight. We can't afford to lose any more cattle."
"I'll have supper ready soon." Laura said.
"I need to be out with the herd before dark."
Laura put together some sandwiches for Will, wrapped them in butcher paper, and put them in his saddle bag.
"Are you going to take Miss Betsy tonight?" she asked.
"No, we can't afford to lose another horse, and she's too old and too slow." He picked up the saddle bags, and turned to her. "I'll be gone all night. Bolt the door and stay inside. I'm taking my rifle, and I'm leaving you the shotgun."
Tears filled Laura's eyes. "You're leaving us alone again? I can't shoot that well."
Will rolled his eyes. "Stop acting like a child, Laura. You don't have to shoot well with a shotgun. Just aim in the general direction of your target and fire. You're bound to hit something." He turned and heard him stop and say good night to Peggy, and then the front door opened and shut and he was gone.
...
Will walked out of the yard and into the woods. He hadn't wanted to admit it to Laura, but he felt different. There was a wild singing in his blood, and he needed to be outside, away from the house, away from her. As he moved deeper into the woods, he began to walk fast and then faster until finally he was running full out. He dropped his saddle bags and then his rifle. His hat blew off, but he didn't care. He kept running, and he felt strong, as if he'd never tire. His clothes were holding him back, binding him to an old life, and he unbuttoned his jacked and shrugged it off. He took off his shirt and dropped it as his ran. His boots - his boots were holding him back. He could move faster if he were barefoot, and Will stopped running and took off his boots and the rest of his clothing. When he stood naked, he looked down at his gun belt, lying on the ground. He picked it up, taking his Colt from the holster. He'd never been without it since his father had presented it to him on his fourteenth birthday. He stood looking at it in his hand, and then he heard the howl of a wolf. He let out a howl in return, and a strange feeling came over him. He began to undergo a physical change and fell to his knees. There was no pain, but he looked down at his hands and saw that they were covered with hair.
Suddenly the wolf pack was around him, and he was one of them. He ran as they ran, and as they howled, he howled. Somehow he had become one of them, one with them, and their thoughts were his thoughts. They were hungry and so was he, and there was a deer and it was running from the wolves, and Will and the pack were chasing the deer, and it was Will who finally leaped onto the young buck's back and brought him down for the pack. It was Will who bit into his throat and tasted his first blood. The buck fell, dying quickly, and the pack savaged it. His need for blood satisfied, Will stood back and watched the pack eat.
A large gray she-wolf stood back from the pack, watching them and watching him. He noticed her, and he looked into her eyes. Will you not eat something, my lady, he asked. He suddenly realized that he was not speaking. He could read her thoughts and knew that she could read his.
Thank you, but I am not hungry just now. She walked toward him. She was large and graceful, and the moon shone on her coat, turning it silver. I am Ayesha, leader of this wolf pack. And you are -
I am - he drew a blank. He couldn't remember.
Ayesha drew closer to him. It will be all right, she soothed him. You have not completed your transition. Just be patient and all will be well.
The pack finished eating, and there was little of the deer left. They gathered behind Ayesha, waiting for her signal. She looked at Will. Goodbye for now.
She and her pack melted into the woods. It seemed that they were gone in an instant, leaving him behind. He wanted to follow, but knew he wasn't ready - it wasn't time yet.
He turned and began walking back the way he had come. As he walked, he began to change again. The hair on his hands disappeared, and he suddenly realized that he was walking on two feet instead of four. He came to his clothes, and put them on. He picked up his gun belt and buckled it, although he knew he had no need of it in the woods. There was nothing here that could - that would - hurt him. He found his rifle, his jacket, and his hat. The sun was coming up as he approached his home. He knocked on the door, and, after a few minutes, Laura let him inside.
He looked tired, she thought. "Would you like some coffee?" she asked.
Will shook his head. "No, thanks, I'm going to lie down for awhile."
"Will -" Laura began, but he waved her off.
"Leave me alone, please. There's nothing left to say." He went into his bedroom, the one they had shared once, and closed the door. She took a step toward it, and heard the click of the lock.
