“It’s a trip out into the woods for our teens. First shift, and they think they are all alone, but there are always watchers,” he said turning onto the highway exit.
“Okay, sort of a rites of passage,” she said.
“Yes, but with shifters, sometimes there are issues,” said Luc.
“Like what?” Meg asked.
“Sometimes we never shift. Others get stuck half way. Some people die. Or, people shift and then never shift back. The wolf takes over,” he said.
“I take it that not shifting back is bad?”
“Depends on the person. Some people are more wolf than human even before they shift for the first time. So, for some it is a blessing. Others get stuck, and can’t think of how to shift back,” said Luc as he merged into traffic.
“Oh, so Ginny’s niece didn’t shift back?” Meg asked, trying to wrap her brain around what Luc had said.
“Exactly. Bitty wasn’t real wolfish, so Ginny thinks she stuck. We have to get to her before she gets hurt,” he said.
“Bitty?”
“Short for Elizabeth. She’s real tiny. Petite,” he said. “And before you ask, the common death for a wolf in this situation is either being hit by a car or being shot,” he said taking the exit for Ginny’s house.
“Oh?”
“Yeah, the confused shifter usually tries to go home, which means they cross traffic, or go too near a rancher. Predictable results ensue,” he said taking the last turn and parking in front of a green ranch style house. Ginny was standing in the driveway.
“Bout time you got here!” she said. “Food’s in the kitchen, kids are in bed or watching TV.”
“Gotcha covered Ginny! Good luck finding Bitty!” he said.
Meg and Luc watched Ginny peel out of the driveway and head north.
Walking into the house, Luc found three toddlers watching cartoons. Meg walked in and was greeted by three sets of eyes.
“Hi kids, whatcha watching?”
“Thomas Tank Engine,” said one.
“Oh, Okay,” Meg replied as she sat on the corner of the couch.
“We’s gots pamission frum Ginny,” said the little girl.
“That’s good,” said Meg.
The third toddler just nodded and snuggled closer to the first toddler that spoke. Two girls and a boy. Luc stepped past them and went to check on the sleeping kids. He was back in a minute and motioned for Meg to join him in the kitchen. Meg stood up and walked around the toddlers.
Luc took Meg in his arms and gave her a hug. “Sorry for the abrupt wake up, but someone had to watch the little ones,” he said.
“It’s okay,” she yawned. “You can rub my back tonight.”
“Gladly. Now, let’s get some food for these kids. There are four more sleeping. They’re a little older than this bunch, but they will be just as hungry.”
“I’ll check the fridge,” said Meg. She opened the door to find a slab of bacon, sausages, and three dozen eggs. “Bacon and eggs or sausage and eggs?” she asked.
“Yes,” said Luc looking around for pans.
“Huh?” asked Meg.
“Both. We have seven hungry kids and us to feed. Knowing Ginny, there is enough in there for everyone as well as bread or waffles,” he said.
“Okay, but I don’t think most kids eat that much,” said Meg as she got the stuff out of the fridge.
Luc laughed and started cooking.
Thirty minutes later, everyone was fed. All the bacon was gone, two sausages were left and six waffles, half a loaf of bread and nearly two dozen eggs were gone. Meg was amazed at the the amount of food they had gone through. As the kids moved out to the living room to watch TV, Meg collapsed in a chair and worked at finishing off her waffle and one of the remaining sausages.
” I can’t believe they ate all that food!” she said.
“I can. Remember, our metabolisms are faster than the average human. Therefore, we need more calories. I never understood how my mom kept us all fed,” said Luc.
“How many siblings do you have?” Meg asked.
“Started out with eight. Two sets of twins. One died in a car accident, two never came back after they shifted, so depending on how you count it, I have six or four,” he said as he ticked them off on his fingers.
“Car accident?” asked Meg.
“Ice on the road, and the truck rolled. She was 18,” he said.
“Oh.”
“It’s okay. It happens. I just miss my brothers that shifted. They were more wolf than most, so we weren’t really surprised,” he said. “Do you have any siblings?”
“A sister. She’d probably annoy the hell out of you. High pitched voice and knows she’s the only real authority on anything. Makes me want to introduce you two and have you shift, just so she’d shit her pants,” Meg said with a smile.
Luc laughed. He’d met a few people over time that he’d fang flashed. Sometimes it was worth it. Other times it lead to more trouble than he cared for. He started collecting the sticky plates and silverware. Rinsed and loaded into the dishwasher, they went to check on the kids.
Looking in on them in the living room, Meg smiled.
“They’re puppy piled,” she said quietly.
“Yeah, what did you expect?” he said. “They are all potential shifters, and even if they never shift, they will still have wolfish characteristics. You saw how they wolfed their food,” he said.
It was Meg’s turn to giggle. “You’re right. I’m still not use to thinking of you and others as duel natured.”
“Get use to it. Being shifter friendly is a good thing in some ways, but means you’ll end up with a whole lot of new friends. Especially if we ever break up,” he said.
“Huh?” she said puzzled.
“Meg, you have no idea of how rare a person you are. A non-shifter who is cool with who and what we are isn’t something you find every day,” he said.
“Oh, so if we broke up, every male in a hundred mile radius would be at my door?” she said half joking.
“Three hundred mile radius,” said Luc, and he wasn’t joking.