His chuff agreed. He bent down, nuzzling my neck, nose buried in my hair as I wrapped my arms around his neck and hugged him. It’s taken time to get to the point where he’s this comfortable with me in wolf form. I’ve been there since his first Change and most since then. It’s our thing. Also, it makes a good excuse for being together, away from everyone else. Hey Dad, time for Derek to Change, so we’ll be in the forest for a couple of hours and everyone else better stay away, just to be safe. Of course, it doesn’t take him two hours to Change and run. The rest of the time is for other forms of recreation, ones that are best enjoyed in total and uninterrupted privacy.

I hugged Derek, running my fingers through his fur. Then, I slid from under him and stood.

“All right,” I said. “One last chase. The quicker you catch me, the quicker you can Change back, and then we’ll take a nap, because I know you’ll be exhausted and want to sleep.”

He snorted and gave me a look that said, Hell, no.

I grinned. “Well, then, you’d better catch me fast, before you really are too tired for anything but a nap.”

I took a look around, staking out the best route. The clearest path wasn’t always best—I can outrun Derek a lot faster in thick brush than on open ground. I picked my course, then I took off. No thunder of running paws followed. That was the “fetch” part of this game. He didn’t chase me until I gave the signal. I counted steps. Once I got to a hundred, I whistled. That’s when I heard the pounding of paws. And that’s when I started running for real.

Two

Two

Derek was Changing back. That took about ten minutes, and it didn’t seem to get shorter as he grew more accustomed to the process. It was a body changing forms; I guess it couldn’t be rushed. It couldn’t be painless either, unfortunately. At least the projectile vomiting had stopped. That had been unpleasant. Not that I’d ever said so to him.

I stay with Derek during his Changes. When it gets tough, I rub his shoulders or just talk to him. I don’t know if that helps, but he hates to Change without me, so it must at least be some comfort.