Chica had finally passed away. It had been raining when I heard the knock on my door. Neil came in looking sad and I already knew what he was going to say. I had mentally prepared myself for this day, but I still felt my heart drop. Neil offered to bury her for me, so I let him. I had other chickens which would keep producing eggs, but she had been my first.

I was still a bit tired from yesterday's party. It was Allen's birthday, so Rod and I decided to throw him a celebration. The rest of the pack came and we had stayed up really late. I didn't drink, but some of the others did. I didn't envy the hangovers they were going to get.

After my chores, I met up with Amir and Sanjay in the woods. They were going to teach me how to shift. I felt a bit nervous since my first shift had been against my control. I didn't know what would happen if I could turn back human.

"Are you ready Miss Alex?" Sanjay asked me, "It can be complicated the first few times, since you're not used to it. Don't worry about anything. We are here to help you. It's the least we could do for you, since you built our mansion."

"Just imagine what you looked like as a wolf. Observe," Amir closed his eyes. He turned his gaze to me and nodded.

I could sense Sanjay shifting and felt more stressed. They were much better than me at this. How long have they been cursed? How did I not notice that my friends were not human?

Sanjay nudged my leg softly as if to get my attention. I could see a questioning look in his purple eyes.

"I'm not worried, give me a second." I tried to imagine the orange fur of my back and paws. I closed my eyes, expecting to feel goosebumps, but nothing happened. I opened my eyes to see the lovers tilting their heads in confusion. My eyes shut again as I tried to focus harder. I haven't really seen myself since transforming. I remember seeing myself in the pond, but I had freaked out then. I focused on the image I had seen. A small wolf with fur the color of carrots, and emerald eyes. I felt light, as if I could run forever. It was over quick. As I fell forward, I landed on my paws. I looked at myself and saw that I had shifted. It didn't hurt at all.

I did it! That wasn't too bad after all.

Good job, Alex. Being able to transform into another species is pretty cool, Sanjay looked at Amir, Right Master Amir?

Yes it is. Just do the same thing when you want to be human again. This should be a lot easier for you. You've seen what you look like as a human a lot. It's very easy to imagine what you look like. Also make sure you remember what outfit you wear. Rod has made that mistake a lot of times. Or so that's what I heard.

That must have been embarrassing. Poor Rod!

I closed my eyes and imagined what I had looked like when I checked a mirror this morning after Neil had left my house. I felt the lightness again and was soon back on my human feet. Luckily I had clothes on when I turned back.

"When you get forced during a full moon, your clothes appear on you. That would be very inconvenient for us. Let's practice a couple more times, just to be sure that you get it right."

After practicing with them for a couple of hours, I met up with Felicity and Iroha at the restaurant.

"Where's Tina? I thought she was going to have lunch with us?"

"She's hanging out with Rod at his stall." Iroha told me, "They're dating now. It's all thanks to you."

"What would you like?" Felicity got out a small notebook.

"Large Omelet rice. All that training is making me hungry," I didn't dare say shifting. I didn't want to make the others mad by being the one to reveal our secret to the humans in Echo village. I smiled at that. I was in on it now, so I wasn't being left out of things. It was annoying not knowing what the pack was talking about.

"Hope you can eat all that," Tina entered with Rod. They held each other's hands, making me feel satisfied that they worked out. Maybe I should consider dating. I did have a ring.

"I can. I love the food here," I gave them a smirk, "You lovebirds might not being able to make it fit with all those butterflies in your tummies. It's like something out of a movie."

"What about you? I'm sure someone in town likes you. I think I know who he is," Tina smirked back.

"You like someone? Who is it?" Rod turned to me with excited eyes.

"I don't know what you're talking about," I stuffed a spoonful of eggs into my mouth so that I couldn't answer. I'm sure that I have gone as red as a tomato.

"It's fine if you don't want to tell us," Iroha put her hand on my shoulder, "You can say it whenever you want to. Act like they aren't here."

"Hey!"

"I just wanted to know. . ."

After the awkward meal, well awkward for me, I decided to visit the Harvest Goddess. I haven't seen her since the day I shifted, which was about three days. I threw in a turnip and waited for her.

"Thank you for the gift Alex. I'm sorry about a few days ago. As you are aware, you are cursed. It wasn't anything you did, you are the only one in Echo who can see me. I didn't want this to happen to you."

"It's alright. You didn't curse me, I was born with it. I just wish you could have told me before, so I could be a bit more prepared."

"It wasn't up to me to tell you. I didn't know that you were cursed until it happened. Got to go. Thanks for the turnip."

When she disappeared, I let out a sigh. I felt a bit bored, so I decided to try shifting again so I could get more used to my other form. I closed my eyes and felt myself turn. In the water was my reflection. I studied it for a moment, getting used to it. My fur was the same shade as a carrot. I was more fluffy in the back, my tail reminding me off a fox. I raised one of paws. The pad was pitch black. My eyes were a dark tone of green. My coloring reminded me of fall. My wolf was beautiful. I opened my mouth to check out my teeth. The canines looked sharp and deadly. I felt the air go through my fur as I glanced into the water. This wasn't so bad after all.

After that I walked down near the clearing near the forest. I decided to lay down and wash my fur. The wind had messed it up. But I was interrupted by the sound of footsteps. I got up really quick. Since my hearing had improved, I recognized who walked like that.