Jeff laid back in his chair after taking a sip of his soda. He looked at the clock above, it read seven-thirty. "Where is she?" he said to himself anxiously. They never planned on a definite schedule, but still, Jeff could not wait to see her again. It would be four months ago today when they met in this very diner.
It was Friday night. She had sat alone eating her dinner. Her face was dirty and her hair was tangled. Jeff could've figured her for homeless if she wasn't wearing such clean clothes, and assumed she was once she argued with the waitress about not having any money to pay for the food. Then he came around, paying for her dinner out of his own pocket. It was merely a gesture of goodwill, nothing more, but she, in kind, repaid him with her company for the rest of the night.
It was a fairytale encounter for Jeff. He knew nothing of the blue-eyed girl that caught his attention back at the diner, but he took her to the movies and then around town in the quiet of night. Then she showed him around the outer parts of town, particularly what she called "my favorite place in town," the forest. She showed him the stream deep in the forest where she played "as a child." Then her hiding place, a very secret place in the woods that they could only enter through a small, narrow passage, where she kept many artifacts and objects of her youth.
In this place they sat to rest on a patch of grass where they could see the night sky above. There, Jeff kissed her on the cheek, which she reacted to with shock. But she eased into it, and eventually their lips met in a long kiss. They followed each other around until they could sense a hint of daytime blue in the sky. The girl had promised Jeff to see him again, just seconds before she darted away and out of sight.
From that moment, Jeff was never the same, always intrigued by the girl that had his heart. A strange girl, though. Keeping track of his so-called dates with her, he realized two months into the relationship that he had only seen her at night. He had never seen her at school at no one in town seemed to know who she was in depth. Only that she wandered into town on certain days only to disappear without a trace. What also interested him was that she had these...features that no other girl had. For one, those pointed ears. They weren't inhuman but, still, they were noticeable. Then there was the fact that her accent, a soft and subtle tone of voice, was unknown to him. She was an out-of-towner alright but she was definitely no foreigner.
Still, it didn't keep Jeff from seeing her on the days that she was "available." It was an awkward agreement, to see her at night, all night, but it was one he was able to keep for four months and counting. Why stop now? Besides, Jeff was determined to figure her out, to unlock the mystery of Tina Ferala.
"Fancy meeting you here," Tina said from behind Jeff as she pecked him on the cheek before sitting down across from him.
"Where else would I be?" Jeff replied as he flashed a grin, "It's been a while."
She took a sip from his soda and looked up at the sky outside the window, "Beautiful isn't it?"
"What is?"
"The moon. It's lovely tonight."
Jeff leaned forward over the table, "Are you one of those people who worship the moon?"
"Let's just say I'm bound by it."
"Oh, is that so?"
"You look handsome tonight," Tina said, changing the subject.
"Thank you. How long will you be in town?"
"For two more days, then I have to leave again."
Jeff was curious, "Leave for what?"
"Here and there. You know me, I don't reveal that to anyone."
"Speaking of mysteries, been meaning to ask...what's with those ears?"
Tina touched the lobe of her left ear, feeling how pointy it was at the top, "What about them?"
"It's just...it's kinda cool. They're like...elf-ears or...wolf-ears..."
Tina blushed and appeared uncomfortable, "It's...genetic."
The two were found walking down an ill-lit part of town, just a ways out from the shopping center. Jeff and Tina held hands as he laughed uncontrollably.
"What's so funny?" Tina asked.
"You know," Jeff replied, "Until the very end I thought you were hustling me."
"Why's that?"
"Well, for one thing, you weren't supposed to keep your hand in the ball after you throw it down the lane! Honestly, you've never bowled before?"
Tina shrugged, "Never found the time, I guess."
"Oh, then you've never lived!"
She flashed her teeth at Jeff, "You have no idea."
"My parents used to take me, my sister and my cousins to the bowling alley all the time when we were younger. But I can't imagine ANYONE who doesn't know who to play. Tina?"
Parents, Tina thought. They were always there for her when it came to normal stuff. But she was far from normal, and they could not support her whenever her curse was an issue.
Sure enough, her own parents would not be there during her "sudden changes." They would not even feed her. She was fortunate, one night, to have found someone who would.
She was still very young, and knew very little about her new form. One night under a full moon, she wandered around the forest hunting for her own food. But she was not a wolf, she had no claws to tear into the skin of a defenseless animal. She couldn't pick up on the scents of her prey. And she had no animal instinct to guide her. She was human, and her scent frightened away the native creatures. All she had was a burning hunger for something, anything.
Nearby there was a light that was visible from a distance. She scouted up ahead to investigate. Hiding in a bush, the girl observed as a man placed a fish caught from a nearby stream over a small fire. He wore a cap, a flannel jacket and facial hair that had not been shaven for at least a month. By his side was a rifle and several rounds ready to be used. They were all the signs of a hunter, and her parents had told her never to come in contact with such a creature. To do so would mean great danger.
But it was too late. She rustled around in the bush, making noise that caught the hunter's ears. He looked in her direction and saw her. Surprised, he spoke up, "Well, hey there, little girl!"
Not knowing what to do, the girl crept out of the bush, after which the hunter rushed up to her, "Whoa, are you OK?" She said nothing. Something must've happened, he thought, she was wearing no clothes and her face was covered with dirt. He checked for bruises on the girl, but found none. No evidence of physical abuse or the like. Still, the question remained, where were her parents?
"No matter...here, wear this." He quickly took off his flannel jacket and draped it on her. It felt warm, if large in size. "Come on, sit down," he said, directing her to sit on a rock opposite him. The hunter took the fish away from the fire and put it on a plate, to which he then handed it to her. "You must be starving," he said, "Go on, take it."
The girl looked with wide eyes at the fish that was handed to her. She could barely understand what the hunter was saying, having only shifted into a human a couple of times, but she knew most likely that he wanted her to have his food. So she took it, handling the plate with her small hands. She put the plate closer to her face and sunk her teeth into the cooked fish.
"Well," the hunter said, "You really ARE hungry."
The girl ate most of the fish right off the plate. After licking some of the oils from the remains, she offered the plate and what was left of the fish to the hunter.
"No, thanks," he replied, "You need it more than me."
After understanding that the hunter didn't want the rest of the food, she set the plate down on the ground before showing her gratitude with a smile.
"You're welcome," the hunter smiled back. She did not understand his last statement.
"What's your name?" he asked as he unraveled a sleeping bag. What was he saying? He pointed at himself, saying, "I'm Colin. What is your name?"
She was beginning to get what was being asked of her. She uttered, "Tay...Tee...Nah."
"Tina, is it? Well, don't you worry, Tina, because I'm gonna get you some help in the morning."
But he would not be able to help her when morning came. For when he woke up at daybreak, the girl had disappeared, leaving the other sleeping bag he had left for her. Of course, the hunter had alerted the police about the girl she encountered in the forest, but the report bore no success. "Tina" had vanished into the woods once again.
"Tina? Hello?" Jeff said, trying to wake her out of the trance she had fallen in while they were walking.
Finally, she blinked, "Oh, I'm sorry...I was just lost for a minute."
"Lost? It's like you left Earth or something!"
"Sorry. What were you saying?"
Jeff shook his head, "Nevermind. Come on, let's go."
Suddenly, two figures walked out of the alley Jeff and Tina walked past. The couple turned around to see two menacing-looking teenage boys snickering at them.
"Well, well, well," the first one said, "What do we have here?"
"Hello, boys," Jeff said.
Tina looked at Jeff, "Jeff, who are they?"
He shrugged in disgust, "Just some thugs from school, that's all."
"Treat us with respect, boy," the first said, "And you might walk out of here alive."
The second one walked up to Tina and examined her. He said, "I'll take this one, if you don't mind." Tina snarled, making growling noises at the punk. "Fiesty one, ain't she?" he responded.
"Stay away from her," Jeff demanded, "She's way too good for the likes of you."
The first one retorted, "Here's how it works, Jeff-rey. I'm giving you to the count of ten to split or else--"
Jeff approached the first thug, "Or else what?"
"Oh, I'm gonna make pulp out of you, kid, so get going! One...two..."
"Ten!" Jeff said, throwing a quick punch before his adversary realized it. Tina responded by throwing her own opponent to the ground. Both stunned but not fazed, Tina and Jeff said to each other, "Are you alright?"
"You won't be for long!" the second one said, both punks getting to their feet and waiting to strike.
"Now you're mine!" the first said, jumping towards Jeff who had his back to him, unaware that he was on his feet. But Tina was there, lunging forward and pouncing on the first boy with lightning speed. Before it was over, Tina and Jeff had switched opponents, with Jeff taking on the second boy. Tina had pinned her adversary to the ground, where she hit him hard several times with her bare fists, giving him a bloody nose and jaw after several exchanges. As for Jeff and his opponent, they both exchanged punches before Jeff trapped him in a corner and pulled a pocket knife out of his jeans.
"Got this from the Boy Scouts," Jeff said, "You wanna see how it works?"
Meeting their matches in a very brief fight, the two boys yielded to Jeff and Tina, who allowed them to pick themselves up. They ran off at the first opportunity.
They looked at each other. Jeff said, "You were great."
"So were you," Tina said grinning, revealing a bleeding lip that was cut open during the fight.
"Whoa there," Jeff replied, "Let me look at that."
"It's OK," she said, wiping the blood off her lips.
"That was some move back there," Jeff said in astonishment, "You know, when you leapt towards that guy?"
"What about it?"
"That was, like, a show of animal-like speed and quickness. Wish I had that!"
Tina laughed nervously, but only for a brief moment.
"Come on," Jeff said, "Off to my place now."
The door swung open in the big house that was Jeff's home. He flicked on the light switch once they had their feet in the house. "Welcome to my humble abode," Jeff said.
Tina eyed the interior, a large living room with a TV in the corner and two sofas resting up against a wall and above a hardwood floor. "It's lovely," she replied, not knowing what to make of it, never setting foot inside a house before. "Where are your parents?"
"They went to my sister's college for some big event. They won't be back for four more days. Please, make yourself at home. Sit down over there," Jeff said, pointing to one of the sofas, "I have to use the bathroom."
He disappeared into one of the rooms in the hallway of the house, leaving Tina all to herself in the living room. It was a warm place. Maybe too warm. What was she doing in his place anyways? Was she pursuing intimacy with Jeff? Wasn't she, in fact, uncomfortable with the thought of intimacy at all? No, the situation with Brynn was different, she assured herself. They WERE friends, weren't they? She wasn't so sure, and if she should be mating with anyone, it should be someone among her own kind. But Tina liked Jeff a lot. He was kind, generous, and could take care of himself. But so could Brynn. And if Jeff and Brynn were equals, perhaps Brynn, being of the same species as her, was the better choice. But would she be able to make a clean break with her human boyfriend?
Maybe it was time...Jeff knew who she really was. For one thing, Tina has not been entirely honest about herself. She is a wolf, after all, and Jeff had obviously assumed all this time that she was human. Unless she could show him the truth, she could not keep up this relationship for long. She would just have to make this decision as she went along tonight.
The only other creature in the room was a small white cat. The cat surprised Tina by leaping onto the sofa and making hissing noises at her. "Shoo," Tina said, trying to knock the cat off the sofa. But the cat persisted, making more hissing noises and swinging her paw at Tina, as if to strike. Tina was curious. Perhaps the small cat knew of her true nature?
"I see you've already met Katie," Jeff said as he exited the bathroom.
"Katie's, uh...a nice cat," she replied, fearing that the white animal might attack.
"Now, now, Katie," Jeff signaled at his pet, "Over here, girl." The cat leapt into Jeff's arms as he released it to the other parts of the house. "I love cats," he said.
"I see," Tina said, "Jeff, I have something to tell you."
"What's that?" Jeff asked, sitting next to Tina, pecking her on the neck and then on the cheek.
"You see, well...oh, that's feels good," she said, giving in.
"Do you like it?"
"Yeah," she responded, turning her neck, "Jeff, seriously."
He pulled away, saying, "What is it you wanted to tell me?"
Tina cringed, "Well...it's that...I'm not like other girls."
"You're telling me! You appear for three or four days a month, and only at night, not to mention you got that cool accent. Tell me, it's not British, right?"
"That's not the point, Jeff."
"What is it then?"
Tina had to spit it out, "The truth of it all is...I'm an animal."
"I'll say, partying until late at night, on a school night."
"Jeff, I'm serious!"
"You know, there must've been something in your drink back at the bowling alley to make you talk like that."
Tina sighed. It was obvious she could not get Jeff to listen, let alone understand. "I guess...I'll have to show you the truth."
"The truth?"
"In the morning. I can't show you until morning."
Jeff grinned, "Really? Are you implying you want to be intimate with me right now?"
Tina let the subject go, returning to the moment at hand, "Is there any better time?"
He smiled again, moistening her lips with his before undoing his shirt. Tina undid her own clothes as well and they locked lips once again. Jeff reached around for the lamp to turn off the light as they made love to each other for the first time.
Tina's eyes slowly opened. She was greeted to the familiar sounds of a typical morning. Birds chirping, cars driving by, the usual stuff. Tina laid up on the sofa and stretched her arms while letting out a great yawn.
Wait a minute! Tina was still human! She looked at her arm; there was no fur on it. No fur, no claws, no fangs, nothing! The full moon had left her but her wolf form never returned. She was still in Jeff's house when she woke up. She was draped in a soft, thick cloth and was still lying on the couch where they had made love, her clothes still lying in a heap on the floor.
Tina panicked. This has never happened before. When the full moon set she had always gained her fur back, she had always turned back into a wolf. Something was wrong, definitely wrong.
"Good morning, my love," Jeff said.
Tina jumped at the sound of his voice. "H-Hi," she muttered.
End of Part Two.
Click here for Part Three.