“It tells you that in here?” Maizie read the cover. “The Wolf Curse by Gervase of Tilbury, in the year of our Lord twelve-hundred and fourteen.”

“Some of it’s bullshit, of course.”

“Gran.” The woman hardly ever swore which made the rare occasions all the more surprising.

“They were afraid of their own shadows back then. And it’s not a curse. It’s a virus. You come down with the full-blown disease first, like chickenpox, before your body creates antibodies to control it. After that you can change back and forth at will. The rest of the book is fairly accurate, I’m told. Pack law, instinct, tradition. You should read it before things progress too far.”

“Great.” She felt like crap, achy, sick to her stomach, overwhelmed by all manner of noises, and now she had homework. Maizie shivered, her skin tingling. She checked her arm to make sure it only felt like ants crawling all over her. “I have to get home.”

“Yes, dear. I heartily agree. Read the book or find Gray. Your choice, Little Red.”

Something told her the time for choices had just run out.

Chapter Eleven

Her body was trying to turn itself inside out…through her bellybutton.

Maizie snuggled tighter into a ball on the couch, tugging the blanket under her chin. The cottage was full of shadows, the sun nearly set. The temperature on the hummingbird thermometer suctioned to the window read eighty-two degrees, but Maizie was shivering so hard her teeth chattered.

This was worse than the time she’d caught the flu and had to be hospitalized for a day and a half while the worst of it passed. They’d been afraid she might die. What did that say about her chances now?

Another shard of pain tore through her abdomen, like a chainsaw slicing her from navel to neck. She screamed, but the sound was hoarse, the last half hour had ruined her voice. She should’ve called Gray. But what could he have done except watch? She’d already thrown up until there was nothing left inside her. No one needed to see that.

Her body convulsed, every muscle pulled tight then stretched apart. The blanket flew across the living room, falling behind the chair in the corner. Dear God, she was freezing, even as sweat dripped from her chin and nose. She couldn’t stop shivering and when another wave of pain raked through her body she found herself writhing on the floor.

Her hair was sopping wet, long strands clinging to her face, stuck to her neck and dripping little puddles on the floor. She pushed up, locked her elbows then rested there for a second trying to find a moment’s peace. Her body wouldn’t have it.

“Ohmygod, ohmygod. Something’s happening.” She collapsed.

If it was possible to survive every bone in her body being broken simultaneously and rearranged, muscles ripping from tendons, organs shifting, cartilage growing, stretching her skin-if it was possible to survive her own autopsy-Maizie now knew what it would feel like.

Her mouth opened on a voiceless wail as she watched her fingers shrink, the bones in her arm pulling back, reshaping. She could feel each thick hair poke through her skin like fat needles forcing their way through the smaller follicles.

She screamed again when the cartilage of her nose crumbled and reshaped, stretching her flesh, her jaw thrusting out, teeth sharpening, ripping her gums as they grew. But the sound wasn’t her own, or at least none she’d ever heard herself make before. It was a crazed, high-pitched screech that hollowed toward the end.

Her spine arched one way then the other, bones breaking along her back, reshaping, pushing beneath the sensitive flesh above her ass.

“No. Please…a tail.” Tears stained her face, but she couldn’t feel the moisture through the fur. Her legs transformed just as her arms had, the pain just as excruciating.

And then…finally it stopped.

Maizie lay motionless on the floor next to the living room couch. Her eyes closed, she panted, trying hard to catch her breath. The pain had lasted a lifetime. It took several minutes to trust it wasn’t coming back.

She licked her lips, except she didn’t have any. Teeth, long and sharp, scraped along her tongue. She licked again and nearly touched the top of her nose. The fur was rough against her tongue, salty from sweat and tears.

She opened her eyes, almost crossed them trying to see the long muzzle where her nose had been. Something scurried along the foundation of the house. She listened and felt her ears turn. She shook her head at the strange sensation and got to her feet, shaky at first, the center of balance so different from two feet to four. Her shorts were crumpled around her back feet, and what was left of her T-shirt still hung around her neck.

She tried her best to paw the torn fabric and managed to catch her claw in the collar and rip it the rest of the way. She made a mental note to be naked next time this happened. The thought stopped her for a second. She knew there’d be a next time.

Free, she shook herself. Yuck. It was too weird. Her thick heavy fur slid her skin back and forth on her neck. A shudder traveled from her shoulders over her back and down her tail.

The tail. She’d almost forgotten. Maizie twisted, trying to see her ass, but when she turned, her backside followed. She circled again, catching only a glimpse of reddish fur and maybe a hint of strawberry blonde at the tip. She couldn’t be sure. If she could just get a better look.

Shoot, how do you work a tail? She tried wagging it as she circled around but that took more coordination than she’d mastered at the moment. She kept trying to see though, circling and straining, straining and circling, but she couldn’t quite catch her… Oh God, I’m chasing my tail.

She stopped, thankful no one had seen her. I’m an intelligent humanish-being. I can figure this out. Now, if I want to see myself I-

Something was in the flowers right outside the sunroom. Maizie lifted her head and sniffed. Deer. And it’s upwind. I could catch it if I…

No. Wait. She was thinking of something else a minute ago. What was it?

Her butt smacked against the couch and then again. But she hadn’t moved her butt. She curled her neck around toward her rump and saw a flash of strawberry blonde fur swing out at the tip of her tail. I’m wagging my tail. Cool. How?

The instant she thought about it though, her tail stopped. Shoot. She’d only gotten a quick look. She wanted to see more. That’s it! She’d been trying to think of a way to see herself without running around in circles. A mirror.

Sheesh, what was the matter with her? Why couldn’t she keep a straight thought in her head? Maizie turned and headed for the stairs, amazed how quick and easy she moved now that she had four feet to climb with instead of two.

There were so many scents, so many sounds, even everyday things captivated her curiosity. It was all she could do not to sniff in the wastebasket when she went into the bathroom.

She nudged the door with her nose so she could see herself in the full-length mirror behind it. But when the reflection showed a tall, rusty-brown wolf, she panicked. The hairs down her back to her haunches bristled, a snarl vibrated her jowls, bared her teeth. The rust-colored wolf snarled right back, mimicking her low crouch, baring its teeth.

She could fight or run. This was her den. She wasn’t running anywhere.

Maizie leapt at the wolf and the wolf leapt at her. They collided hard, a spider-web crack shattering where their heads met. Maizie stumbled back, shook her head and saw the rust-brown wolf do the same. She snorted, and so did her reflection.

Ugh. What was she thinking? No. The problem was she wasn’t thinking. She was acting on instinct, wolf instinct. It was more powerful than anything she’d felt as a human and surprisingly hard to ignore. She’d have to keep that in mind as best she could.