32. Anticipation
THIRTY-TWO
ANTICIPATION
Jack
T he monster spread our wings wide, catching us in an updraft.
This is … fucking nuts! I shouted inside our head, internally whooping with delight from the joyous freedom of this form.
We are much more aerodynamic in this form than the partial shift into a winged human , the monster agreed. But there was something in his tone, too, that felt lighter than normal.
You fucking love this, don’t you? I asked.
We love it, the monster corrected, and I couldn’t disagree.
Not even Seven’s snarky little remark about our chirping could dampen the heady rush of adrenaline from soaring above the trees, the sun glinting off our feathers.
I might not have been in control of our body in this form, but I could still feel everything we felt. And there was a tug. Telling us we were straying from where we should be.
We didn’t Join with her last night, did we? I asked, worry overtaking my enjoyment. I remembered my mouth, my teeth scraping her neck. I remembered blowing a load down the back of her throat.
What if I’d broken the skin? Was that, combined with her drinking my cum enough to Join us?
It’s not , the monster told me with such certainty that I relaxed a bit. Blood must be shared by both of us. And our bodies must come together fully.
As in … I asked.
As in, we fuck her senseless with our teeth lodged in her neck, and hers in ours, and then we’ll be Joined. Why are you so curious about this …?
Our stomach swooped as the monster took us into a nosedive, plummeting down before leveling out just before we crashed through the canopy, our claws skimming the very tops of the conifers.
What the fuck? I demanded.
You want to Join with her! he crowed.
Fuck. Did I?
No, I managed. Just paranoid that we had accidentally Joined.
Believe me, we will know when we’ve Joined with her. What we’re feeling now is simply her blood calling to ours. It gets stronger the more time we spend with her. We can ignore the call out of necessity, like right now, for this mission. But there will be a price later on.
What sort of price? I asked, nerves thrumming.
One I’m not sure you’re willing to pay …
That sounds ominous.
The monster hissed out a laugh, which only made me more worried.
I’m willing to pay it, over and over again, he said . Because unlike you, stubborn little mule you are, I WANT to Join with her. And deep down, you know you do, too.
I didn’t even want to acknowledge the grain of truth in his words. Instead, I tried to focus on what we could see up here in the brilliant blue of a completely cloud-free sky. Below us, the trees stretched on for miles, spruces straining skyward.
Ahead in the distance, several plumes of smoke curled up in the early morning.
A town? I asked the monster.
He did the mental equivalent of a shrug. A very small one, if it is.
We should check it out anyway, I insisted.
Do you think I’m an idiot? the monster grumbled, but he turned in the direction of the smoke.
I think you keep your part of our brain in our dick, I replied.
I’m tempted to go find a hare to eat just so you get to throw it up when we shift back, he snapped.
I know you feel everything I feel, same as I’m feeling everything now. Even I don’t think you’re that stupid.
He fell silent, and I tried to just enjoy the sensation of weightlessness as the wind buoyed our wings.
But instead, my stupid brain replayed the feeling of her lips on my cock last night.
Did she really want to pretend it never happened? Was she mortified that she’d done it?
I was pretty sure my brain had just stopped working last night. There had been zero fucking rationality in what had happened between us.
But I didn’t regret a second of it. I’d had blowjobs before. I’d never even had to seek them out. Once, I’d gone into a bathroom at some random guy’s house party to take a piss, and had walked out with a sleepy grin on my face and lipstick smears all over my dick. I swear that girl hadn’t had even a hint of a gag reflex.
But nothing had come even close to being as hot as Seven’s innocent lips wrapped around the head of me, her hand pumping my orgasm into her mouth.
Because she’s meant for us , the monster muttered. Everything will feel better with her.
Do you think that we could … I began, then shut myself up. No. What I was thinking was utterly stupid.
Could what? the monster asked.
No … we can’t , I muttered.
Will you stop being such an ass and just say what you’re thinking? the monster grouched. In case you haven’t realized it yet, I am you, so it’s not like you’re embarrassing yourself. We are the same, even if you refuse to merge with me.
I sighed. I think I want … more … with her , I admitted. But! I added quickly before the monster could start gloating, I don’t want to Join with her. Is it … do you think it’s possible to … do other things, without getting so carried away that the Join happens by accident?
The monster banked, and I focused on our surroundings again. There, nestled around a small, meandering river, was what looked like a tiny village. A handful of houses, a couple of buildings that could have been shops. One narrow track led north, most likely heading towards a proper road.
How long do you think it would take us on foot to reach this place? I asked the monster.
Perhaps … if we were in tiger form and not exhausting ourselves, maybe two days? It’s much slower going in the thick forest, and we’ve been flying three hours, so around a hundred and twenty miles.
Three fucking hours? We’ve been in the air for three hours?
I couldn’t believe it.
Believe it , the monster told me. Just because you’ve been moping in there about how you want to fuck our Blossom, but you haven’t worked up the courage to actually do it, doesn’t mean I haven’t been undertaking our mission here on my own.
We were close enough to see a main street running through the village now. It was barely more than a dirt road. There was what looked like a grocery store and a shitty dive bar. The rest were so nondescript they could have been anything. Not that it mattered. As long as someone had a phone and they’d let us use it.
Scattered around the main street, on either side of the river, were a bunch of houses, many not much bigger than the cabin we’d found in the forest. The village was probably filled with more beat-up old pickup trucks than it was houses. Or people, for that matter.
The place reeked.
What is that smell? I asked.
Shifters , the monster confirmed tersely. A lot of them. And they’ve been here very recently.
Where the hell are they all, then?
No idea , the monster replied before diving further, our stomach swooping as we leveled out, landing gracefully on a fencepost behind the bar. As we watched, two men came out of the back door, one carrying a black trash bag, the other clutching his head.
“How’d she outdrink us all?” he moaned, then heaved, turning and throwing up in the dirt. We shuddered, ruffling our feathers at the sight.
“Fuck me,” he muttered when he was done, spitting, and leaning back against the building. “How could such a tiny little thing hold her liquor better than a pack of fucking Shifters!”
We froze.
A whole fucking pack of them? Here?
Calm yourself. This pair may be too hungover to be able to smell us.
Shit. I hadn’t thought about the fact that if we could smell them, then they could smell us. My stomach churned at the memory of that night in the clearing in Greenrock. Of that other pack of Shifters.
Is this … a Shifter village? I asked.
Maybe , the monster replied shortly.
“How did a Drinker just stumble across us, anyway? It’s fucking weird, man,” the heaving one mumbled, wiping at his mouth and grimacing.
“Clay seems okay with it,” the sober one said, tossing his trash bag into the back of a truck parked by the door. “Said unless she stirs up shit, we’re to let her be. She said she was only passing through.”
“She was pretty fucking interested in that military base, though, wasn’t she?” the hungover one remarked, letting rip a giant burp. He bent to hurl some more.
Military base … do you think he’s talking about Taiga? I asked the monster.
How likely is it that there are other military bases out here?
I snorted. We don’t even know where ‘here’ is!
The sober one looked on, sniffing in disgust. And then sniffing again, his nostrils flaring.
His eyes darted in our direction.
Shit , the monster hissed, and just as the guy’s mouth opened, he launched us into the air.
Our wing muscles ached from how fast we gained altitude. Soon the village … the fucking Shifter village … was just a speck below.
Does that dude know we’re a Shifter? I asked. Our blood burned with adrenaline. The monster scanned the skies around us, below us.
It appears so, he muttered. They may follow. We can’t risk leading them back to Blossom.
Our stomach dipped at the mention of her, and suddenly that … tugging feeling low in our stomach roared back into our consciousness. It spread outwards, prickly heat flaring across our back, our wings.
What do we do? I asked.
We use the Echo , the monster replied, tilting downwards and diving towards the forest to the north of the village. The side furthest from Seven. They don’t know we’re an Echo. They’ll be looking for a human … or a bald eagle.
But you said we’re days away from her on foot! I exclaimed. The monster dove into the trees. If I’d had control of our body, I would have been clenching our asshole at how close the branches came to our face before the monster settled on a bough.
There are other bird species, you know, the monster derided.
I can’t fucking think of a single one right now!
Our heart was hammering, and the monster ruffled our feathers to try and rid us of that itching feeling.
We need to get back to her , I grated.
Just picture a fucking raven, then, and we’ll get on our way!
Black. Glossy. Long, knife-like beak. Thick, shaggy throat feathers. Intelligent, beady eyes.
The shift was so fast that I barely registered it had even happened until the monster spread smaller, darker wings, feathers so black they looked blue and launched us towards the patch of sky still visible through the spruce trees.
We’re getting good at that , the monster said.
I think we should still give the village a wide berth.
The monster let out a loud caw of frustration.
And you had the gall to accuse me of being a backseat driver, he muttered. But he banked west, flying steadily in that direction for several miles before landing at the top of a conifer for a rest.
No one is following , he announced. Maybe they’re different. He did say that they’d been told to let the Drinker go about her business. Maybe they’re not as fucking insane as the Greenrock pack.
How fast can we get back to the cabin? I asked. I want to be human again; these fucking feathers itch!
That’s our need for Blossom, not the fucking feathers , the monster derided, launching himself into the sky. But we need to shift again. We can’t fly as fast or as far in this form.
Well, are you gonna land? I asked.
No, we’re going to shift mid-flight. It’s possible.
Nope! That’s one hell of a fuck no from me.
The monster chuckled. You want to go reap revenge on that fucker Baxter? Because that’s going to be far more dangerous than this. Or perhaps we should shift into a chicken … since that seems to be your spirit animal …
Fuck you , I muttered, but his taunt worked. I pictured the bald eagle form again.
And we were freefalling, plummeting towards the earth.
Fuck! I yelped as the trees below rushed closer, like swords sticking straight up at us. We’re gonna die, you fucker!
But then our huge, tawny eagle wings caught an updraft, and we were soaring again.
Jesus fucking Christ! I snarled. Don’t you ever fucking make me do that again!
Nothing like a near-death experience to make you appreciate life! And now we go back to our Blossom.
Something inside me … some deep feeling that had been simmering all day, roared to life, searing through every vein, every nerve.
Anticipation … the monster murmured.
Fuck. He was right.
He turned us, jetting like an arrow in the direction we just knew, like the knowledge was embedded into our bones, was taking us closer to her once more.
We’re screwed, aren’t we?
The monster didn’t reply immediately. We tilted, found another updraft, letting the wind buoy us.
You still insist we do not Join with her? he asked solemnly.
Yes. I wasn’t sure he believed me.
I wasn’t sure I believed myself.
Well, you better have a plan for when we get back.
Why?
Because, the way this feels right now, we are going to have no choice but to taste her.
No fucking biting! No drinking her blood!
The monster’s voice was sly. We can taste her in … other ways.
Fuck. Me.
Any chance I’d had of stifling the urges that had been bubbling away in my blood since the first time the fucking monster snarled Mine disappeared, leaving nothing more than need pulsing through me.
Fucking fly faster , I growled.