Jack
One moment, the warm, vibrant energy of the earth surrounds me. The next, I know I’m not alone and I open my eyes to find a massive wolf looming over me.
My heart starts beating double time as I try to think through panic. I can’t outrun this creature. My grasp of defensive earth magic for a fight is woefully lacking.
The wolf huffs and backs up to give me room. A bushy tail ticks and tucks in behind him almost bashfully. Did he realize he startled me?
“H-hello there.” I manage to find my voice. “Where did you come from?”
Naturally, the wolf says nothing. He does seem to understand me. A shapeshifter?
“Thanks for dropping by.” I wince because I don’t know what else to say and I’ve switched to default politeness. “Um, can I help you with something?”
Light blond fur covers his large form, and he isn’t quite as terrifying as he seemed a moment ago. I keep staring like I have no manners whatsoever and was never forced to attend etiquette classes. I can’t help myself. He’s mesmerizing. I’ve never been up close to a shapeshifter in their animal form before.
And then it gets better. His form ripples and starts changing.
The best casters allow magic to flow from them seamlessly, shaping an idea into reality like it’s the simplest thing in the world. Shapeshifting seems more complicated. It may be natural for shifters, but it still involves altering one’s anatomy and physical form, altering even your skeleton to twist into a new shape. The process always sounded painful to me, but this guy makes it look natural, a fluid transition between fur to skin. Even when the man is on his hands and knees for a moment, it doesn’t seem silly.
He rises gracefully, standing to his full height.
A man stands before me. Proud, unashamed… and totally naked. My eyes see him, see all of him, since I haven’t been able to look away since the wolf appeared. I get a very good look. It’s like I’m in a trance.
“Hey,” he says, casual and friendly like one of us—him—isn’t naked. “Thanks for the warm welcome.” He huffs a laugh. “Could have been a lot worse.”
His rough yet pleasant voice jolts me out of my daze. My eyes snap up to his, and there are those same blue eyes the wolf wore.
I blink furiously to get miles of smooth skin and the firm lines of his body out of my mind. It doesn’t quite work. An attractive naked man has just appeared in my yard. He seems steady, comfortable in his own skin, though maybe all wolves are? How is that possible right now? I wouldn’t be nearly as calm to find myself naked in an outdoor setting with a stranger. What the hell am I supposed to do?
Here’s one idea: stop staring at the nude man like a total idiot!
“What, what are you doing here?” I squawk. “This is private property; you can’t just wander in and—”
“Yeah,” he says dryly. “This is more like the reaction I expected.”
“This is what happens when you drop by unannounced and scare people half to death!” I nearly shout, fixing my gaze on the hedge to his left.
Now he sounds concerned. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to freak you out.”
“A huge wolf appeared in my garden and turned into a” naked, naked, naked, “human trespasser who definitely knows that other people’s lawns are off-limits. My garden isn’t suited for carousing wolves! How am I supposed to react? Comment on the weather and invite you in for tea?”
“Oh no, I didn’t trample your plants, did I?” he comes closer to inspect the chamomile bush near him with concern.
Nakedness may be normal for shifters, but handsome naked people don’t stroll through my yard every day.
“The plants are alright,” I promise hurriedly. “Stay right there!”
“The wolf side doesn’t always care about private property,” he explains. “Usually, I steer it in the right direction to avoid things like this, but…” this time he’s the one to look away, almost bashful. “We caught a really amazing scent.”
“That’s why you’re here, you sniffed out the neighbor’s azalea bushes?”
“No, it was a scent but also sort of a feeling?” Even when unable to stare directly at him anymore, I feel him totally focused on me. “I think it was you.”
– That’s all for now. You can get your copy and read the rest here.
Gay Paranormal Romance 