First chapter has all my disclaimers.

Thanks to everyone for all the reviews! This was meant to be a one-shot, but I've been working on a sequel lately (this story was finished a year ago. I'm just now putting it up on ! So, no worries that this'll be left hanging). Also, I've decided to change my upload frequency to twice a week. Huzzah, right?! :D At once a week, the story would be updating through September, and who wants to wait that long??

Hunt

Standing out in a small clearing deep in the forest of Stonehaven, stripped down to my birthday suit, I breathed deep the scent of pine. When I said that I had no sense of smell worth mentioning, I wasn't lying; but, I was always able to smell pine. It was why I loved Christmas and had such a desperate need for a real tree growing up. I didn't want to be left out of the olfactory loop completely. Now, though, the scent was a thousand times better. I took in another deep, greedy breath and exhaled through my mouth. The air even tasted different from Southern California. It wasn't that heavy, greasy taste of smog and exhaust, but the crisp and clear taste of just plain air.

During the walk out to the woods, Antonio gave me pointers to make the Change go easier: don't force it, let it come naturally, don't fight it when it starts, and above all don't panic. I was worried the most about that last one. The only reason I had worn glasses up until I found myself in the basement cage was that the very idea of having to touch my eye to put in and remove contact lenses sent shivers of fear up and down my back. So, the thought that my bones and muscles were about to arrange themselves based on my own will sounded like the very thing that would send me into a panic.

As I stood there, staring at my hands, I began to wonder what I was supposed to expect during a Change. Was I supposed to think about changing? Antonio didn't tell me that part. I started to shiver, getting cold standing out in the woods the way I was. Eyes closed, I thought about the night in the cage when Jeremy taught me to change back. I thought about my near-black fur, strong wolf legs, ears that let me pick which direction I was listened to. I was distracted, though. My hands and arms all the way up to my elbows itched like crazy. Scratching while I thought of trying to become a wolf was a pain in the ass.

Finally, I opened my eyes and glared down at the tops of my hands as if that would intimidate the late summer insects that I thought were biting me. It wasn't insects that I saw though. The skin on my hands and arms looked like something right out of The Mummy; the scene when the bad guy stole the scarab out of the wall and then the nasty little things started crawling around under his skin? Yeah, it looked something like that, and felt even worse. I started panting, first with fear then through clenched teeth to keep from screaming.

Logically, I knew exactly what was happening. The Change had started, of course. Why was I worried? Werewolves did this just about every day. Somewhere nearby I knew that the rest of the Pack was doing the same thing, a normal weekly routine for each and every one of them. Yeah, and dropping into a world from the imagination of a woman living in Canada was a daily occurrence as well. Of course I fucking panicked!

I couldn't keep from screaming anymore. The pain was well beyond my threshold when I was aware of it and adrenaline was fueling it along. A wail straight from every B werewolf movie tore from my throat as I clutched at my stomach and toppled over onto the forest floor. Writhing, screaming, feeling my body become a completely different species. The more scared I was, the faster it happened and the more painful as my brain kept telling me that this shouldn't be happening. I was supposed to be a human, not a wolf. Cramps were for my monthly rag, not so that my body could accommodate what ever digestive track differences there were between me and good old Canis Lupus. My back muscles battled with my stomach muscles for which had the right to be contracted. Just as I started to feel the first sprouting of hair poking through, the world went black.

The next thing that I knew I was laying on my stomach, panting heavily as if I had run a mile. Yes, I was aware that I was out of shape, but all I had done was writhe on the ground. I heard a soft growl outside of the clearing and lifted my head, letting out a whimpering moan. A wolf matching my near-black color nosed his way into my little private space and cocked his head to the side, as if asking if I was all right. Judging by the wolf's scent, the wolf was Antonio. I blinked, surprised at myself for a moment that I recognized who it was based on my nose alone.

Antonio came over and nudged my shoulder, urging me to get to my feet and pushing me out of the clearing. I protested with a soft growl, but he ignored me. Once out of the clearing, he took off running, probably to join the others. I had other plans, though. I was thirsty and I could smell water nearby. I followed my nose to a pond just north of me and dipped my muzzle in, lapping up the cold water. As I was cleaning my muzzle of droplets of water, the ripples stilled and I saw my own face staring up at me from the water. I blinked and cocked my head to the side.

All of my fur was the dark brown-black that my arms were when I first was aware that I had Changed. What I hadn't noticed before was the crimson red highlights that streaked through my fur, catching the sun. Against the red undertone of my fur, my hazel eyes seemed to stand out, the green being more prominent than when I was human. I blinked slowly, as if unable to accept that my eyes, usually the color of a muddy swamp, could actually look interesting. Behind me, someone howled and I jerked up my head and pricked my ears to locate where it was. I hesitated only a moment to look at my reflection once more, head tilted to the other side this time, before I turned away from the pond and took off running toward the howl.

I was surprised by an ambush pounce from Nick when I joined the rest of the Pack. With a yelp, I went rolling until he had me pinned, panting with a big shit-eating wolf-grin on his muzzle. I growled playfully and snapped at his muzzle, a clear warning that I could bite off his tongue if I wanted to and he wasn't careful. He snorted at me and shook his head, releasing me. I rolled and got immediately to my feet, pulling one of my habitual head counts.

I already knew where Nick was, but Antonio was laying nearby panting with laughter at his son's successful pinning of the new pup. Right behind him was Clay and Elena, almost twin blond wolves with Elena's fur being a paler shade than Clay's. I blinked and sat on my haunches, unsure of what I was supposed to do next with myself. It's one thing to know how wolves acted, but a completely different thing to actually be one of them. As if a silent alarm went off, their ears perked up and noses twitched. A moment later I smelled it, too. A lone doe, close by. The pack was at it's feet and ready to start the hunt, leaving me behind to scramble awkwardly after them.

I wish I could say that once the hunt was started, my wolf instincts kicked in and I was a natural at helping the Pack bring down our prey. It was nothing like that. In fact, if I were to judge it on a scale of one to ten, ten being natural wolf, I would rank somewhere in the negative range. I was trailing the Pack through most of the period of tracking. After that, I left an opening a mile wide for the doe to get through. Luckily, though, I was with some experienced hunters. They got the doe to head back in the direction of Clay and Elena, who finished the poor beast off by jumping on her back and ripping out her throat. I remembered my manners, though. I let everyone else eat first, leaving nothing for me. I was okay with that. I was still new enough to worry about my meat being cooked.

As the Pack did some post-hunt lazing around, I paced anxiously. Looking back on it, it was pretty stupid of me to think that they would head back to Stonehaven after a Hunt. Humans did that, not wolves. My stomach was protesting my little hunger strike, making me antsy and unable to rest. After stealing a glance of the others as they dozed, I realized that I wasn't much fun when I didn't eat as a normal human. It almost made me feel worried of what I may do as a hungry wolf. So, I slipped off into the woods to find myself something to take the edge off. I told myself that I'd find some wild greens, but my nose and instincts already had me on the trail of a rabbit.

"Piss off, Nick!"

I stormed into the house, haphazardly dressed and covered in scratches with Nick behind me. No, I didn't get the fucking rabbit. Nick and Antonio had found me wedged head-first between the ground and a fallen tree that marked the entrance to it's warren, struggling to free myself. After Changing back, Nick laughed his way back to Stonehaven and was still laughing at my botched hunting attempt as I stomped my way in. Even stone-faced Clay had struggled to not laugh at my misfortune.

My feet stomped on each step as I made my way up to the guest bedroom and slammed the door shut behind me. I wasn't mad that I had failed at my first hunt, I was embarrassed. I had screwed up so badly that it was met with laughter, rather than angry words. I could have handled if the Pack had gotten mad at me for letting the doe through, but being laughed at for being outsmarted by a rabbit was just too much for my pride to handle.

I dropped to the bed, ignoring the pricks of the twigs that were tangled in my hair. Dirt smeared the white of the pillowcase and darkened the comforter on the bed as I rolled around, trying to get comfortable. I had finally settled on the odd position of my shoulders laying flat on the bed while my hips were turned as if I were on my side. I stared up at the ceiling until I lost track of time, pouting the whole time at being made fun of.

The smell of lunch meats and Antonio reached my nose before I heard the door open. I turned my head and watched as he walked in with a mountain of sandwiches piled on a plate. I waited until he was seated at the foot of the bed before I gave him the respect of sitting up to look at him. I crossed my legs and slouched forward, frowning.

"You missed the last meal," Antonio stated in a matter-of-fact tone. "Thought you might like a snack."

"Thanks," I mumbled as I reached for the top sandwich.

I was sure he missed my glare as he reached for the one right below mine, since he didn't even look at me.

"You gotta work on your teamwork," he said around a mouthful of bread and meat. As if suddenly remembering his manners, Antonio swallowed before continuing. "You weren't the only one working on bringing down the deer, so you can't act as if you are. As for rabbits, well, they're difficult for even an experienced hunter to catch."

His overly friendly grin seemed to diffuse my anger a little and I bit into my sandwich. I was still embarrassed, though, so I stared at the plate of food as I ate and refused to look at him. We continued to eat in silence until the plate was clean of anything but bread crumbs. I stared at it, not even pretending that there was something interesting there to look at. I just did not want to look at Antonio.

"So," he started hesitantly. He stopped, as if reconsidering if he really wanted to start talking again. "So, quite an interesting turn your life has taken, hasn't it?"

I couldn't stop my eyes from going to his face. I felt the tingle of adrenaline surge through me and I bit the sides of my tongue with my molars. I was sure that I saw something in his eyes change as fear washed over me and caused me to sit up straighter. "Yeah, it has..."

"I've never known 'normal', so to speak." He inspected his finger nails as if there was a pesky hangnail that needed his undivided attention right at that moment. "Nicky, either. He and I are from a long family line of werewolves."

I only stared at him as he talked, instinctively knowing that he was hunting for information.

He paused, brought his index finger to his mouth and chewed on the side of the nail. Satisfied that he conquered the invisible hangnail, his eyes met mine. "What about you, Nyx? What kind of family do you come from?"

"My dad's side is Jewish," I mumbled. His head bobbed a moment in a nod of understanding. Most people figured that out about me pretty early in meeting me, what with the frizzy dark hair, Jewish nose and all. "My mom's side is Italian... Sicilian, I think. My papa used to be a Brooklyn Dodger. Relief catcher or something like that. He was never part of the starting line-up, that's all I know for sure."

"Oh?" His head tilted, seemingly interested in my tidbit of personal trivia.

I frowned at him. There were quite a few things that I'd classify as a "pet peeve" of mine, but pretending to be interested in me when fishing for information really ranks high up there. I finally scowled and looked away from Antonio. "Look, I already told Jeremy that he wouldn't believe me if I told him, so why are you still trying?"

When he didn't answer, I looked back at him and continued. "I know the Pack as a whole doesn't trust me, and I thank you all for allowing me to be your source of post-hunt entertainment tonight. The trust issue goes both ways, though. Until I can be sure of my own safety, how I know about you—all of you—shall have to remain my secret."

"Secrets won't protect you here, Nyx." Antonio's eyes had darkened as his voice went soft. It sent a shiver through me as cold as ice.

"I... I don't plan on keeping it forever. You have no idea how much I want to say something, to just tell everyone everything. I just can't right now and still be sure that the Pack won't see me as an insane liability."

Antonio shook his head and got up from the bed, taking the plate with him. "If you know so much about us, Nyx, then you already know what we've been through." He raised an eyebrow as he looked at me. "What could possibly be more insane than what we've already seen?"

If he only knew...