“Pick me up at nine tonight and all will be revealed.”
I wished he’d stop using that word because I cringed and blocked out images of naked Jackson from my mind.
Unlike most of my work days that sped by, the minutes and hours were longer than usual. Someone was messing with me, and it was the universe. It had warped time, and the day would never end.
When 9 p.m. finally arrived—I was certain it was delayed by twelve hours—I was outside Jackson's place with the car engine idling and the phone in one hand. Whatever he had to show me had to be caught on camera so I could replay it.
But Jackson got into the car, looking and sounding as he always did, though he was dressed casually in jeans and a hoodie.
“Where is it? What’s this vital information you’re going to divulge?”
“Not here. We have to be in the woods.”
My hand gripped the gear stick because this was getting really weird and more than a little uncomfortable. Being alone in the workshop at night with the lights off and wandering betweenhalf-finished projects and shelves of wood wasn’t scary. That was my place, it was where I belonged.
But trees, lots of them, where my beloved wood originated, with creepy crawlies, largish mammals, and slivers of moonlight. That was not my domain.
“Can’t you do it here?”
Jackson put a hand on my arm. “I’ll protect you. I can give you a hundred percent guarantee nothing will happen to you.”
I couldn’t figure out what this had to do with Remy. Oh wait, they were both nudists, and this was where they met? But at night? And what about stinging nettles and other nasties? Ouch!
My palms ran with sweat as I hunched over the wheel and drove out of town. Once we left the freeway, I followed Jackson’s directions. The road narrowed until it was a one-lane track, and there was no moon, so it was pitch dark other than the beams from my headlights.
When he told me to stop, I was so freaked out, I waited for him to get out and I was going to take off.
“You can stay in the car. And don’t worry, if you want to leave, I’ll find my own way back.”
I was glad the darkness hid my face because he had just read my mind. He instructed me to leave the headlights on, and he got out and stripped off his clothes. My friend strode in front of the car, and I leaned on the wheel, straining to see because while he was naked, he appeared to have some grayish bits spreading over his shoulders and chest.
And oh shit, claws and a muzzle, and he fell on all fours, and Jackson, my friend and colleague, vanished amidst teeth and fur.
My body jolted and the horn blasted, making me scream. I locked the doors because that wolf wasn’t getting in here. Even if it broke the glass, I’d speed off and ram the wheel from left to right until the animal was flung off.
But I couldn’t get the car in reverse. My hand was shaking so badly. And as I fumbled, the wolf kinda retracted. The fur disappeared and so did the claws and pointed ears, until Jackson appeared with no sign of a wild animal.
He slipped on his jeans and got in the car while holding the hoodie.
“It’s a secret I kept from you because I was never allowed to tell.”
He said words, but they were jumbled, and I tried to piece them together.
“What do you want to know?”
“W-Where’s the w-wolf?”
He tapped his chest. “Here. He’s always with me.”
“Are you going to let him out so he can attack me?”
“Never. He likes you.”
Yeah, that didn’t sound plausible.
Jackson asked if I wanted him to drive, but I needed to be in control of something, even if it was only my car. He told me tales of a human-like people who had animals inside them calledshifters. They weren’t a threat to humans and had lived among us since time began.
“And why did you chose now to tell me this?”
