Here's the thing; being an animal sucks. Don't get me wrong, being a shapeshifter is usually awesome; you can fly, be super strong, crazy fast and have amazing senses, but that is generally for short periods.

I was going into week four of being stuck in dog form, and I hated it.

For the first week after I realized I couldn't shift back to human form after the full moon, I'd been mildly concerned but reassured by the fact that I'd spent extended periods in non-human form and survived, but the difference was that it had been my choice to change shape and live off the land. I'd had time to prepare and have a game plan on where I was going and for how long I would be 'unavailable' to my meagre social circle.

This time, it had been unexpected, and as such, I was utterly unprepared for the difficulties that would follow. For one, I'd lost my apartment! Yeah, here I thought that Jerry and I had a special bond, and then my stupid landlord had put all my stuff into storage and given away my apartment three days after the rent was due, and I couldn't pay it.

Fucking landlords… can never trust them.

Which brings me to now, as I lose any and all dignity I might have had and begged for food like a common stray. As I sat in front of the 'Mystic Grill,' I tried and probably failed to look cute and approachable, going by the stares and wide berth the customers gave me as they exited the restaurant.

I couldn't blame them; the form I'd chosen for my last full moon hadn't exactly been cute.

The breed of dog I had chosen was the Belgian Sheepdog with a pure black coat that made me look more like a wolf than a canine companion. Add on almost a month's worth of dirt and grime from living in the woods and hunting small game for food, and I was terrifying.

But, I was desperate and needed help if I was going to survive.

As I people watched and looked for the right person to hoodwink into feeding me and, fingers crossed, bring me home for a bath and warm bed, I began to feel discouraged. I'd been here going on an hour, and other than a busboy who tried and failed to shoo me away several times, I hadn't been successful.

Just as I stood up to leave and try my luck in some of the large trash bins in the back alley, I saw him. The man/boy basically had sucker written all over him despite his brooding disposition and dark clothing. He looked like a teenager, but as I got closer, my senses perked up, and I knew; vampire.

I felt my hackles rise on instinct, but I pushed them down; it was only because my inner animal recognized a predator. Maybe if I was younger, I would be scared, but going by the stench of animal blood wafting off the young vampire - only a century or two old at most going by smell - I had a feeling I could take him if needed. As well as changing my shape and retaining my young body for as long as I continued to shift regularly, like a vampire, I gained strength, speed, and healing ability the older I got.

I also had my secret weapon, my venom.

Unlike werewolves, I only ever produced venom when I wanted to, and it was lethal to everything, not just vampires. But with that strength came a weakness, my blood was the cure, and all it took was some opportunistic enemy stealing it to heal themselves and weaken me.

I'd only used my venom twice in my life, once when I was newly shifted and scared and another time when I was captured by a coven of power-hungry witches. So to say I didn't heal them would be an understatement.

I trotted forward to intercept the vampire on his way to his vehicle. Once I was close enough, I put on the charm. Whining and using literal puppy dog eyes, I trotted in front of him and planted myself at his feet. I could understand his confusion, most animals hated vampires because of their predatory nature, but I was counting on the novelty of a dog liking him to work in my favour.

"What the -?" His green eyes widened in shock, and if I was human, I would have laughed, but in canine form, I settled for a doggy grin and a head cock. After a few seconds of stunned silence, I realized the vampire wouldn't react; I hid my irritation and turned the charm up a notch.

Stepping forward, I began to wag my tail and nudge his hands where he held a takeout box. Going by the smell, it was probably a burger and fries, and my stomach growled in agreement. Seeming to break under all of my 'cuteness,' the vampire knelt and began to rub my head, opened the box, and offered it to me.

Trying to contain my 'snapping,' I dug in and ate quickly before his offer could be rescinded. Once I was done, I sat back on my hunched and wagged my tail, looking at him expectantly.

Sighing, he said, "Come on you." And opened the passenger door to his beautiful red Porsche.

Gracefully, I jumped up and tried to retain my balance without ripping the leather seats with my claws as he pulled out of the Mystic Grill parking lot and took off down the street.

With a deep groan, I laid my head down on my paws and was finally able to relax after a month of scavenging and hunting to survive on four paws. It had been a couple of hours since Stefan took me to his vast house, much to his human descendant's dismay.

The middle-aged human had tried to kick up a fuss but was quickly silenced with a few pointed words from 'Stefan.' That was vampire boy's name, Stefan Salvatore. He was staying with Zack, his human descendant who didn't look happy to see his 'Uncle Stefan' but didn't seem to have the balls to really do anything about his unwanted house guest.

One of the perks of animal form was the easy ability to spy and listen in others' conversations. No one thinks to hold their tongue in front of a bird or a dog in this case. I'd learned a lot about my new hosts this way over the last couple of hours. Stefan might not look it, but he was a talker when faced with a 'cute' dog.

As he'd cleaned me in his massive ensuite, he'd complained about his older brother Damon who Stefan hadn't seen in decades but was sure would turn up once he heard little brother was home. He'd also talked about the teenage girl he'd been stalking all summer named Elena, who looked like his ex. This had my hackles rising in discomfort over a centuries-old vampire stalking a young girl, but I'd forced it down.

Elena Gilbert wasn't my problem; surviving was.

Clearing my head, I looked up as Stefan walked into the living room, took a seat on one of the sofas with an old-school book, and relaxed. Still looking to ingratiate myself with the vampire, I stood and lumbered over on tired feet to lay my head on his lap. Absentmindedly, he began to pet my head in long even strokes and read his novel quietly.

Within minutes I was closing my eyes and falling asleep. I'd found a vampire, now all I needed was time to figure out how to fix myself or go to my last option; find a witch and hope she fixes me instead of killing me.

For the next week, for the first time in a long time, I relaxed and rested my travel-weary bones as Stefan prepared for school. I couldn't understand why anyone would want to repeat high school, let alone a centuries-old immortal, but the guy had bought me top-of-the-line dog beds for every room and gourmet dog food made with real meat, so I couldn't really complain. Plus, once the vampire was in school, I would have more time to snoop and explore this new town.

I'd always been a nomadic person even before I started to shift, but the non-ageing gave me an excuse to travel the world on my own terms and work odd jobs to pay my expenses. Whenever I ran low on funds, it also helped that I could turn into a small animal and simply squat in warm buildings or even sometimes build a den in the woods to live in. I was basically made for the hitchhiker life and, usually, I enjoyed it a lot, but after a month of roughing it, especially without being able to have the control to shift back, I enjoyed the pampering.

I even had a routine. Every day, Stefan and I woke up at 8:00 in the morning to eat breakfast - he always made extra bacon for me - and go for a morning jog. I think I surprised him when he lost focus and realized he'd been running for almost two hours with his vampire stamina, and I'd been able to keep up easily. Then we went home, where I took a nap while Stefan wrote in his journal and putted around the house for a couple of hours.

I knew he sometimes went to 'look in on' Elena, but I put the creepiness out of my mind.

After my nap came lunchtime and then 'playing' with Zach, which basically meant I tortured the uptight bastard by stealing his socks and other miscellaneous items and watched him try and fail to find them.

What? I needed entertainment in this mausoleum.

Then came playtime with Stefan when he threw a frisbee for me or played any number of games with me. He also liked to 'teach' me tricks, and I obliged him because he used real bacon from breakfast as treats.

Then came supper, reading by the fireplace and sleep.

Rinse and repeat.

But today was the first day of school, and Stefan was leaving. Leaving me alone with a human who hated me and a human who I was not too fond of either. I already planned on exploring the town while Stefan was gone. I'd been too busy starving to really take a look around town when I had first arrived.

Trotting after him, I was Stefan's shadow as he got ready for school. Maybe I'd take a nap before exploring; it was way too early to be conscious.

Once he was ready, Stefan knelt down and roughed up the fur on my neck that was freshly groomed the night before and said, "Hey, girl. I'll be back soon. Maybe then I can finally figure out a name for you."

Woofing softly, I gave a little dance and doggy grin as he stood and walked out the door. When his scent was gone, I realized he must not have taken his car and had instead run to school.

Was he trying not to draw attention with his flashy car?

Makes sense.

Shaking out my fur, I tried–for the millionth time– to shift back to human form, and what do you know? Nothing. Absolutely nothing. Growling under my breath, I trotted to the kitchen where the back door had been outfitted with a doggy door and slipped outside. It was time to explore this new town and figure out where the hell I was.

The town was quiet as I explored it. The lack of school-age children made the town sleepy as parents bought groceries and finally got a break from their darling little monsters. The Grill was missing its usual crowd of teenagers when I passed by; and I casually appropriated a few fries off an un-bussed table.

It wasn't until I felt a familiar and wholly unwelcome tingle on the back of my neck that I froze and slowly swiveled my head around. I'd slowly made it into the suburbs, and my instincts were screaming at me to run around from a pair of green eyes assessing me from the front porch of a brown house.

Swiveling my head, I felt my hackles rise and my teeth bare as I made eye contact with an older woman with aged brown skin and curly dark hair. Instead of flinching at the sight of a hundred-pound dog baring its teeth, she seemed to smirk and relax further into her rocking chair.

My instinct kept screaming one thing as we stared across the street at each other; witch.

Witches and shapeshifted had a sordid past filled with witches sacrificing shapeshifters for more power and to use the blood for their spells and potions. I didn't have a pack because greedy covens had almost wiped all of the shifters out in search of power. This led to Shifters going against their natural inclination. Instead of living in large family groups like werewolves or witches, shifters took more after vampires and acted like nomadic creatures to keep out of witches' radar.

Backing up slightly, I prepared to take off when I felt my paws freeze in place against my wishes. Realizing what was happening, I began to frantically struggle and create a racket hoping someone would come to save an injured dog or call in a noise complaint. Anything to stop what I feared was about to happen.

All too soon, my howls were cut off as my vocal cords were frozen against my will, and I began to feel my eyes start to drift shut in unnatural fatigue.

No! No! Please! Not like this! Please!

But it was no use; within seconds, I was gone, and the blackness of unconsciously took over.

When I awoke, I did so slowly and with careful breaths. I'd been around the block enough to know, if you are knocked unconscious and kidnapped, use it to your advantage.

"Child, stop faking unconsciously and get up. We need to talk." The calm voice filled with a hint of irritation and amusement had me freezing before sighing in defeat and lifting my head off the ground.

Looking around, I saw that I was in a living room filled with what I could tell were magical artifacts and grimoires hidden behind mortal literature and art.

Trying and failing to stand up, I glared at the witch from my prone position within a freaking salt circle. Of course, that alone wouldn't be enough to hold me, but with the right spell and witch?

Fuck! I'm so screwed…

"Oh, don't give me that look. I needed a way to keep you from running off. Your kind is so timid-"

I bared my teeth at the insult and let out a dark and echoing growl filled with murderous intent. Timid? Was she fucking joking? Survival isn't cowardly; it was clever.

The growl only seemed to silence her for a couple of seconds as she regained her composer and continued, "Of course, I haven't seen one of your kind in decades, and I can understand your reservation considering what those dark witches did to your people."

At the words 'dark witch,' I let out an amused huff. Is that what this witch told herself to feel better? That 'dark witches' massacred shifters for power? Please, half of those greedy bitches were as 'light' as they came; they just didn't concern themselves with how 'animals' felt. Watches, so high and mighty when almost all of the supernatural creatures they hated so much were their fault.

Werewolves and vampires were the creation of witches, yet they were 'cursed' and 'abominations.' Don't even get me started on how shitty witches were to any of their own kind. Anyone they considered different, really. Witches were judgemental hypocrites who made up stupid rules to justify their hatred and xenophobia.

Realizing the witch was still talking, I begrudgingly tuned back in, " - nasty problem you got there. How long have you been stuck? A month I would guess, going by your magical signature. It might take me some time, but I can probably fix it with the right mixture of herbs and incantations."

Snarling at the word 'incantation,' I refused to hope this witch could or would save me. She was lying; she had to be. They always lied.

Nodding at my incredulity and refusal to believe her empty words, the witch said, "Child, I understand your unwillingness to accept my help but now is not the time to be stubborn. Your energy is completely out of balance for whatever reason, and if we don't fix this soon, you'll be stuck in dog form forever."

She wasn't lying by her steady heartbeat, but that didn't mean I trusted her, with magic she could alter her heartbeat. When she saw my mutinous disbelieving glare, the older witch sighed and said, "Give me a week, then come back."

Before I could process her words, she used her foot to break the circle surrounding me and step back. As I cautiously stepped towards the door, still waiting for her to try something underhanded, she continued, "My name is Sheila Bennett, and I am going to help you, Willa Valentine."

At the sound of my name coming off her lips, I couldn't contain a deep jolt of panic and took off in a dead sprint. To her, I would have been a blur of fur as I ran out her open front down and into the nearest wooded area to hide.

What the fuck was that!?

By the time I managed to gather up enough of my courage to leave the woods and head back to the boarding house, I was exhausted. I made sure to zig-zag and take a different route back so any tails would hopefully be lost along the way.

It was getting dark, and school must have been over for hours by the time I crawled through the doggy door and barked loudly to gain Stefan's attention. I was cold, wet, dirty and starving; I needed some pampering.

Almost as soon as the bark escaped, Stefan was turning the corner so quickly his form was a blur. His eyes were practically frantic as he took in my form, and they quickly filled with concern at my harshing pants and shaky legs.

"What the hell -? Come here, girl." He swooped down, and before I could blink, I was up and in his arms. As Stefan marched me up the stairs in the direction of his bedroom, I relaxed into his hold and finally released the breath I'd been holding since running from the Bennett Witch.

I tried to push down my panic for the next hour as Stefan bathed me and laid me on my bed to eat a special supper of red meat and veggies. Almost as soon as I finished eating, I fell asleep to the sound of him getting dressed for a high school party and reassurances that he wouldn't be out late and when he got back, he would check on me.

It wasn't until I awoke to raised voices and a crash that I was jarred from my deep, death-like sleep and rose to my feet to investigate. Running into Stefan's room, I was confronted by the image of broken glass scattering the floor from the shattered window near the desk that looked like a truck had hit it.

Or another large object…

Creeping cautiously forward, I widened my hearing abilities to hear voices coming from down below. Avoiding glass, I looked down and saw two male figures aguing in the driveway and flinched slightly when the new vampire grabbed Stefan by the throat and threw him into the garage.

As I watched in fascination, the dark-haired male - Damon, my mind substituted, going by his interactions with Stefan and the subject of their conversation - said a few more snarky comments and left his brother behind as he headed towards the house.

Once I saw Stefan stand up and shake the glass off his form, I shook myself from my daze and went downstairs to look around. This new vampire was a wild card, and I was far too curious to leave well enough alone. In fact, going by the snarky comments the guys had spewed and his dark sense of humour, I had a feeling we would get along if I could, you know, talk.

Trotting down the stairs, I put on my patented 'dumb dog' act and used my nose to sniff the newcomer out. But, as I got closer, I heard raised voices belonging to an annoyed and scared Zach and an amused unknown male and followed them too.

"Uncle Damon, we had a deal -"

"I know, nephew, the deal being you keep my house up to standards, and I let you live here and keep breathing. Pretty good deal, huh?"

"I… yes, Uncle Damon."

"Good! Then we have an agreement. If I were you, I'd get to fixing that window; I think it's letting a draft in."

As Damon finished his sentence, I turned the corner and bounded into the room with an excited bark and doggy dance. This, of course, caught the new vampire's attention and had him turning to look at me with surprised gorgeous blue eyes.

Wow… the Salvatores must have excellent genes.

I didn't let my awe at this man's gorgeous looks stop me as I raced forwards and began to sniff at his hands and feet with ample enthusiasm. Once I had gotten my fill and was confident I would be able to spot Damon's scent from a mile away, I nudged his hand for pats. Time to get the measure of this man.

Did he like dogs? He couldn't be totally evil if he liked dogs.

After a second of hesitation, the dark-haired man knelt and began to pet me with curiosity and amusement in his gaze. But, like Stefan, I was sure he was unused to animals actually liking him, especially predator creatures like cats and dogs.

I was aware of Zach making his escape while Damon's back was turned, and I was sure the vampire also knew going by the quirk of his lips and amused look in his eyes as the human ran for safety. It was to the sight of Damon sitting in one of the loveseats, drinking a glass of bourbon and allowing me to climb onto the couch with him to lay my head on his lap, that Stefan found us.

After a moment of stunned silence at the odd occurrence, the younger Salvatore spoke, "You know, she does shed; I would have thought you of all people wouldn't want her on the couch."

Without pausing in his administrations, Damon answered, "Oh? Do you mean Cara here? Well, it's not like I'm the one who has to clean up after her or anything. Plus, I think she deserves to be spoiled, don't you?"

At his words, I raised my head slightly to look at Stefan and give him a doggy smile. I had no doubt Damon would snap my neck in an instant if he thought it would give him the upper hand over Stefan, but for now, I would try and stay in his good graces. If that meant allowing him to use me in his petty squabbles, so be it.

Stefan seemed to frown and prepare to argue further, but something in Damon's eyes had him backing down and retreating with a scowl. Before he crossed the threshold, he threw over his shoulder, "Come, Cara, time for bed."

Following my gut, I jumped off the couch and followed Stefan upstairs with a final lick on Damon's hand and a tail wag. Balancing my affections would be challenging but necessary if I wanted to stay here and keep the protection living with two vampires gave me.

I needed time to think over Sheila Bennett's offer, and this place was the safest sanctuary I could think of to hide from the elderly witch if I decided to defy her. I had a feeling a so-called 'light witch' would hesitate before associated with bloodsucking vampires.