Callie was in the middle of the most comfortable bed she had ever had the pleasure to lie on. Her mind had gone blissfully blank as soon as her head hit the pillow. Several hours later, she was woken from the most peaceful sleep she'd had in months by a rough, wet sponge being swept across her face, leaving behind a trail of sticky dampness that smelled like a dog's breath. She turned her head away from it to shout at the person who dared to interrupt her dream.
"Go away! I'm trying to sleep here."
She reached her hand out from under the duvet to push the offender away but instead of an arm, she encountered long, very dense fur. Her eyes sprang open to meet a pair of emerald green eyes surrounded by jet-black fur, staring right back. A long, pink tongue extended from between powerful jaws to repeat its sweep across her face.
Callie screamed. A strange intermittent soft growl, sounding almost like a chuckle, echoed from the hairy beast and it moved in for another taste of her. She leapt up and tackled it, both of them falling off the bed and onto the floor with her underneath. She pulled her legs up, tucking her knees to her chest, and used as much force as she could to push her legs out, catapulting the beast across the room. It crashed into the wall, sending a cloud of plaster dust into the air. The beast was on its feet instantly, shaking the debris from its coat.
It was huge! As broad as her shoulders and as tall as she was while it stood on all four feet. Its coat was incredibly glossy - thick and as black as night, making the green eyes stand out with an eerie glow. It was undoubtedly, the most beautiful creature Callie had ever seen. And the most deadly, with jaws that could crush bone to dust and claws on the end of its powerful limbs that could cut her to ribbons with one sweep.
That's going to bruise, a disgruntled male voice echoed in her mind.
Callie spun around in search of the owner of the voice. "Whoever said that better show themselves now, or I'll be extremely pissed."
You can hear me? asked the stunned voice in her mind again.
"Yes. Now show yourself!"
The huge wolf walked toward her with its head tilted to one side.
It can't be. Can it? quizzed the voice, sounding confused and surprised at the same time.
Callie held up her hand to the wolf - palm out. "Stop," she commanded and the beast sat, turning its head from side to side, examining her every move. "Show yourself now!" she demanded. The wolf dropped to the floor. Fur and claws receded. Large ripples danced under its skin as its body trembled. Joints popped and limbs shortened. Its snout shrunk back into its face and within a matter of moments, a naked man lay on the floor. She stared at him and realization dawned. "Nico?"
"Ouch," he moaned, unable to move without pain wracking his body from the forced transformation.
Callie winced with each of his pain-induced cries as he tried to shuffle into a better position. She rushed to his side. "I'm going to lift you onto the bed," she told him, ignoring his yelps as she did so. Gently laying him on the mattress, she covered his nakedness and sat beside him, brushing his hair from his eyes. They were just as green as they were in wolf form but the glow had dimmed now that they were no longer surrounded by black fur. "That was your voice I heard then, I take it?"
"Uh-huh," he confirmed, gasping with the pain when he nodded. "Explain later. Tired," he managed to croak as he closed his eyes. Seconds later, soft snores escaped his mouth.
Callie stood and surveyed the room. Dust and bits of plaster covered everything from floor to ceiling except for the practically bare brick wall it was meant to cover. She shook her head and went to shower off the dust sticking to the slobber on her face. She then dressed and went to search for Sidney to break the bad news about the damage she caused.
********
"You beat Nico in a fight? While he was in wolf form?" Sidney asked in clarification, "and you think you forced him to shift?"
"Well it wasn't really a fight. He woke me up by slobbering all over my face, only I didn't know it was him at the time. We wrestled a bit and I kicked him into the wall. It was the voice I heard that I made show itself. Next thing I know, Nico is lying on the floor in agony, and that's when I realized the voice was his. He wasn't even trying to hurt me. He just took me by surprise." Callie shrugged. "Anyway the wall is pretty wrecked and the room is a mess. I'll clean it after I eat, but I'm afraid I'm hopeless at plastering."
"Whatever. The cleaner will sort it and we'll get someone in to fix the plaster. No worries," Sidney assured her. "But you still forced him to shift, whether you meant to or not. Nico is the Alpha of his pack and can only be forced into a shift by a more powerful alpha who wants to take over the pack. Or... No! That can't happen. It's just not possible..."
"What's not possible? Cause I sure as hell don't want to take over any pack...Sidney?" She waved her hand in front of Sidney's face and snapped her fingers. "Earth calling Sidney!"
"Hmm? Oh nothing. Forget I mentioned it." Sidney jumped up and made for the door in a hurry. "I just remembered I have to see someone about ...something." Sidney sprinted to her car. There's only one place to go for answers round here, she thought, waiting for the gates to open.