All Her Secrets

A Quiet Death - Tyler (redone)

A/N: Damn, I hated writing that chapter... Okay, let's keep going.

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    “Ahh-!”

     Air whistled between my clenched teeth as crumpled to the gravel filled mud  beside my truck. My bones ground together as they shifted and snapped, and I let out a pained gasp as snowy fur began to sprout over my body. Black claws cut through the knuckles of my clenched fists, and I could see the lean curve of Jax's legs forming with the twist and pulling of my muscles. Closing my eyes, I felt my face become a muzzle, whiskers sprouting around my nose, and a low whimper escaped as my ears moved up my skull, becoming pointed and twitching. Clenching my teeth, I felt a sharp sudden pain and tasted blood. My molars lengthened and sharpened into fangs, and I groaned, feeling the intense sting of the cut.

    Even as I thought about that pain it was disappearing. The cut was already healed and the taste of my own blood gone, the distraction too, leaving me with nothing to focus on as my organs continued to move into place. Voluntary Changes were painful, but the involuntary were worse. Even if you don’t quite feel it at the moment, your bones do later.

    Shaking out my fur and back paws, Jackson stretched and purred, feeling the final part of the Change end with my ribs connecting and wrapping around my organs. I sucked a deep breath in,  reveling in all the scents I was able to catch. Huffing as he began to lightly run around the truck, Jackson headed for the woods, saying: 

Finally! Goddess, it’s been too long. Your body is so limited.

Sorry, Jackson, I’ve been wanting to let you run- for weeks but-.

But finals, gotta study, more boring sympathy talk. Chill, I’ve got this.

    He released a low growl and dug our nails into the loamy soil, taking off for the trees. Scents invaded, each demanding my attention. Ears twitching, I marveled in the sound of rapid bird heartbeats in the trees that were almost drowned out by the river rushing over the smooth stones at the bottom. A smile pulled Jax's lips back, and I barked in excitement. 

     Slipping back, I allowed Jax to take complete control over our body, choosing to relax as he ran his energy out. Running around trees, chasing after silver fish on the muddy river banks, Jackson became a puppy again and I laughed when he barked at a bird in the tree. After about fifteen minutes, a tantalizing smell caught our attention, and Jackson jumped in excitement.

DEER!

Jackson…

What, Tyler?

    I hated it when he hunted. But, as little as I let him out, I couldn't deny him the ability to hunt this one time.

… Have fun.

    Jackson released a deep growl, loud and primal, pulling our lips back from our canines. A wolfish grin broke out on our face as Jax chased the tangy scent down through the hills. They were near the section of the river that hooked back around to go down the ravine, and I could pick up the clean water breaking up the intensity of the pine and fir trees surrounding us. The wind picked up as we got closer to the deer, carrying scents from all over, including one that was similar to what Jax had caught in the hallway earlier.

Ty, focus.

I really... Okay.

     Tuning back into the scene before us, I caught the slight motion of the deer tails. I knew our white coat didn’t help with camouflage, except in the snowy winters, but Jax found a patch of brush that hid us well enough. Through the brambles, I could see the small family of a buck, doe, and two yearlings.

Jackson...?

Yeah?

Dad only. Leave the Mom and especially the babies.

I’m not a monster.

Well…

Tyler?

Yeah?

Shut up.

    Jackson got low to the ground, circling through the brush. The buck’s nose twitched and he grunted as the doe whipped her head around, locking eyes with us. Shooting across the clearing, she waited at the edge for her two fawns to catch up before taking off into the treeline. I restrained Jax until I knew the doe was well into the forest. She didn't need to hear what was about to happen.

    The buck turned to face me, taking in our starkly white coat, contrasting with the dark weeds, and our grey eyes, just shades darker than our coat. Stomping his foot and lowering his antlers, the buck charged. We met him halfway, and Jackson aimed for the kill.

    Tackling the buck to the ground, and not even a second later, our senses became overwhelmed with that same scent from the hallway, only exponentially stronger. Our heart pounded even faster, our mind becoming fuzzy and sharp at the same time, the smell swirling around us and mixing with the blood and deer scent.

Pine, jasmine, sage, lavender, oak, apple, cinnamon, strawberry, thyme.

What is that?!

Our mate.

    The buck jumped beneath us, and Jackson dug our claws deeper. Sniffing the air, he ignored the pained bleat of the animal beneath us. I snapped my attention to it, and my voice went rough as my eyes met the buck's. I could see the pain in his eyes, mixing with fear and anger.

Jackson, finish this.

But, Ty-

Now, Jackson!

    Closing our eyes didn’t help much. With a snap of teeth, I could feel the buck’s neck give out beneath our jaws, and with a quiet grunt, he died. The taste of his blood lingered in our mouth, having splashed up our muzzle.

    I didn’t like killing. In fact, I hated it. It felt like it was my teeth, my claws, my body that was killing the animal in such a brutal manner that was not always quiet or easy. 

    I forced Jackson to drag the body to a wolf den and leave it there. Releasing his hold on the carcass, Jackson tore through the river, chasing the scent he had caught earlier and soaking us in the process.

    2 miles of weaving around trees and brush later, Jackson was still chasing the scent at full speed.

    I didn’t give any pause, having forgotten what we were chasing. The look in the buck’s eyes just before he died continued to flash through my mind. It was only when Jax said something that I came back to reality.

Mate is close. Her scent is strong now.

    My mind went still for a moment before I took control and brought our body to a screeching halt.

What the f**k, Jax? Mate?!

Were you not listening earlier? That scent, this scent, is our mate. I know it.

Why didn’t you say anything!

I tried! You were too concerned with the kill than-

The buck.

Whatever, Tyler. Now let go! She’s moving further away!

    I stepped back again, allowing Jackson to retake control. It only took me a minute to think of the first problem: We were in Jackson’s body. With no clothes.

Shit.