Underdogs The First Stories - By Geonn Cannon Page 0,6

mask, the items themselves didn't mean the sex wasn't consensual. Maybe Rebecca really liked being tied up and she just didn't bother mentioning that to her mother.

She just wanted to see if there were big, glaring signs of trouble before she took the next, drastic step. The apartment looked like a place where any nineteen year old would call home. The lover looked to be a bit older, but if she was dating a teenager, all bets could be off when it came to maturity.

Ari gave the apartment another once-over before she went back to the window. She took a shopping bag from the floor beside Rebecca's desk and carried it with her as she left. She scaled the fire escape down to the alley and looked around to make sure she was alone. She moved between two dumpsters and began to undress. She folded her clothes neatly and placed them in the shopping bag. When she was naked, she slid the bag behind a drain pipe, hopefully where it would go unnoticed until Dale came and retrieved it for her.

She rolled her shoulders, closed her eyes, and focused. She had tried to explain the process dozens of times, to Dale and to her mother and to partners... it was very hard to compare to any normal situation. The closest comparison she could make was that it was like forcing yourself to fall asleep. Eyes closed, mind quiet, focusing on relaxation. Only in this case, it was more like seeking a signal. That other part of her that she kept hidden so much of the time.

Much like falling asleep, it was hard to tell when the process began. One minute she was standing between the dumpsters, and the next she was curled in pain. God, how she had hoped it would stop hurting with time. When she was a teenager, going through her first transformations, she'd survived by telling herself that eventually her body would get used to it. No such luck. Her bones had to break and reset with every switch, and that never got less painful.

Her back broke. Her shoulders shifted. The bones of her hands spread and expanded. She arched her back as her flesh rippled and was replaced by a thick hide. Hair burst from her, covering her with a flowing pelt of fur that matched her normal hair color. She dropped to her hands as her knees snapped and turned backward. Her feet became paws. Her teeth retracted and fangs took their place.

Her mind worked different when she was the wolf. She knew her job, however, and it was easier to keep focused during the day. She shook her entire body, stretched, and looked around to make sure no one had wandered into the alley during her transformation. Satisfied she had been unseen, she left the alley and trotted down the sidewalk toward the entrance of Rebecca's building.

She found a shady spot behind a potted plant, curled up with her head on her paws, and looked down the street in the direction Rebecca had gone. Now all she could do was wait and hope Dale followed through on her part of the plan.

A few people stopped as they came out of the building to coo at her, rubbing her head and scratching between her shoulder blades. She didn't mind. Being petted was similar to the massages Dale gave her after a rough transformation, and she welcomed it.

It was almost two hours before she saw Rebecca walking toward her. The blonde from the photo was with her, an arm looped around Rebecca's elbow. The girlfriend was leaning in, looking at the iPhone or iPad or i-whatever the newest thing was that Rebecca had in her hands, smiling at something on the screen. She laughed, and Rebecca tucked the phone into her pocket as they approached the building.

Ari emerged from behind the plant with a timid whimper, lowering her ears against her skull and trying for puppy-dog eyes. She could never pull them off as a person, but maybe actually being a dog would help. Rebecca glanced down and then her eyes widened slightly. "Oh, God, Alicia, look. It's that lady's doggie."

Way to go, Dale.

Rebecca crouched in front of her and rubbed Ari's head. "Hello, Princess. Your mommy is looking all over for you. She's very, very worried."

Alicia was looking back the way they had come, her own cell phone in her hand. "Do you remember the number on her poster?"

"Yeah, I put it on my phone."