Free Hunter's Moon.htm by C T Adams, Cath Clamp

you had a seizure or something."
    "Or something," I said wryly.
    "It was something, all right. I unlocked the door and there you were, in full glory! Black and white and teeth all over." She looked impressed but not frightened.
    "This is supposed to bother you, ya know. It's not a real normal thing."
    She shrugged again and the towel slipped. She caught it before it showed anything interesting. When she saw me watching she flushed, sending a burst of desert-like scent into the room. You'd think that was impossible in a steam filled room, but that's what embarrassment smells like.
    "It probably would if it was the first time. But I've seen it before."
    "What?" I exclaimed. "Me, personally?"
    "No. Not you. Someone else. I don't even know his name. Probably never will. I had completely forgotten about it. When I opened the door and saw you sitting on your haunches ripping off the rest of your shirt with your teeth, it reminded me."
    "Then what?"
    "You turned to me and whatever is human inside you wasn't home. The look was all animal. Have you been this way your whole life?"
    I shook my head. That was all the information she was getting about me for now.
    "What then?" I'd never had a blow-by-blow narration before. Mild burned coffee rose to me. She was getting irritated by my interruptions.
    "I didn't know what to do. I backed up and you followed, stalking me. I think you thought I was dinner."
    I had a flash of memory just then. I'd never had one before. Visions in black and white, of seeing Sue and having to look up at her. Of being a wolf. I saw her wide eyes, smelled her fear. But she smelled like me. She had my scent on her and I liked the combination of smells. She didn't smell like food, she smelled like… a mate. I knew why I had stalked her. I couldn't tell her that I hadn't wanted to eat her, I had wanted to screw her. That's way too weird, even for me!
    Sue's voice cut through the memory. It frayed at the edges, then fell away from my mind. "I had no choice but to accept what I was seeing. Then there was a knock on the door. You growled and backed into the bedroom. I shut the bedroom door and answered the knock."
    "That was stupid." I was annoyed more at myself than her.
    "I asked first! Give me some credit. The man said he was room service with dinner. You told me you were going to order."
    Oh.
    "There was no one at the door, just a cart with covered dishes. So I wheeled it inside. The food smelled great. I heard you snuffling at the door like you could smell the food and I figured that if you weren't hungry, maybe you wouldn't be so… aggressive. So I took the plate with the rare steak and moved it close to the door. You snuffled louder so I opened the door a little, slid the plate inside and backed up."
    "Thanks for the dinner."
    She shook her head. "You wouldn't eat it. You sniffed it and gave the steak a lick but your eyes went right back to me. I didn't like that look so I closed the door again."
    I coughed to hide a smile. Yeah, I am a little single-minded. I probably would have eaten the steak without her there. "Why didn't you leave?"
    "I didn't know how long you'd be like that or what would happen next. I couldn't just leave you trapped in the room. You couldn't open the door. You might starve or die of thirst if I just left."
    I sighed and shook my head. "That soft heart is going to get you killed."
    "That's the plan," she replied smoothly. It made me smile. I like black humor.
    "So why didn't you let me make you dinner if that's the plan?"
    "Because how would you explain it? It'd be a horrible mess."
    She wasn't lying. "So you weren't afraid of me?"
    She shrugged her shoulders. "As much as I am of any dog, er— wolf. I like animals."
    "You said you've seen it before. When?"
    "Oh, God, a long time ago. It's just bits and pieces of memory. I'm not even positive that it was real."
    "Tell me," I ordered. I need to know if there are others like me. Other than Babs. She hasn't exactly been a fountain of