by Lilly Wilder
“You afraid some shapeshifter’s gonna break my heart?” I stuck out my tongue and licked her ear. She screamed and squirmed away. With a playful shove, she sent me back a few feet.
“Why do you have to be such a jerk?” Her face was stormy and flushed. If it were any other day, I would take her somewhere and make her cum until she forgot about it.
“This jerk’s gotta hit the road.”
Tears burst from her eyes. She threw her arms around me. “I’m really sorry. I’m just worried. Don’t be stupid, okay?”
I squeezed her tightly and whispered in her ear. “It’s just an adventure. I’ll be back before you know it.” Her kiss was deep and passionate. I grabbed her hands from around my neck and put them down at her sides. “See you soon.” I turned and walked towards the gathering crowd of women near the river bank. When I reached them, I turned back to wave, but she’d already gone. Looking around at the eager faces, I started to feel nervous. Every size, color, shape and feature were represented. What if I don’t get chosen? How could I stomach walking back to our small cottage knowing that I was rejected? Relax, the Goddess had to be behind this. She was with me. Instead of worrying I needed to focus on doing the best I could. Leave it to the Goddess to sort it out. There were stunning examples of the female form in this crowd. It looked like a model casting call. God was I the only one with cellulite in this crowd? Let’s just hope there wasn’t a bikini competition. A short blonde with a pixie cut giggled loudly to my right with a busty redhead. A tall woman to my left ran her fingers through her purple hair and played with her lip ring, her bronze skin glistened in the afternoon light. I squeezed her arm and leaned in to whisper in her ear. “What are we all waiting for?”
She smiled and narrowed her eyes. Flirtatious little minx. “Same thing as everyone else doll. For some big strong shapeshifter to fuck some life into us.” Her lip ring swirled around in her fingertips as she gave me a small smile. I bet she’s testing me.
“I’m just here for the chicks.” Just because I was fulfilling a mission from the Goddess didn’t mean that I couldn’t have some fun.
She snorted and covered her mouth with her right hand. She extended her other hand towards me. Her words were muffled.
“What?” She seemed embarrassed by the snort. It was fucking adorable. Her tank top exposed broad muscular shoulders and slender but well-defined arms. Just a peek of midriff was visible above her dark wash jeans. Although she was tall and muscular, her body still held curves in the right places. “I’m Vivica.”
I shook her hand. She must be human. Witches never greeted each other that way. “Nice to meet you. I’m Cat.”
She smiled widely. Her teeth had a slight gap in the front and her straight nose had a sprinkling of freckles. What a fucking treat. “What’s Cat short for?”
“Catalina”
“That’s unique. You foreign or something?”
“Something like that.”
A shriek cracked through the cacophony of the crowd. Our heads snapped towards the river’s edge. A large man stood in a dark knee length coat despite the sunshine. “I’m Syncan. I’ll be your point of contact for the next week. You can call me Sync. You ladies have been called from all over our lovely corner of the earth to help us shapeshifters with a particular problem. As you know, we’ve had a bit of a wee conflict with the Northern Territories. The ice caps are melting, so the vampires are beginning to encroach on our upper border. We’ve sent our fiercest warriors to guard us, but that leaves us a bit short handed. We’ve got a whole new class of shapeshifters and the situation in camp is quite dire. For the first time in a thousand years, we need to reach out to other tribes for help. These are certainly uncharted waters. Do any of you have any questions before we head to the basecamp?”
A woman that looked to be about twelve shouted, “Are we all going to get to join the shapeshifters?”
Sync frowned. “I’m afraid not. We’re going to head to basecamp. Each shapeshifter will shortlist three of you. This of course will be based on your appearance and their personal tastes. After some rigorous….um…tryouts…you will be either chosen to mate or return home.”
Tryouts? He couldn’t possibly mean…well I guess if we’re supposed to be their mate…. Vivica leaned in, her lips brushed my ear. A tingle ran up and down my spine.
“Seems like we’re going to have fun from the start.”
I grinned. “If I had known that we were going to be giving up the goods so soon, I would have invited my girlfriend to join us.” Hopefully she’d get the hint. Women were always so clueless when they were being hit on. Even beautiful ones.
“Girlfriend, huh? That’s too bad.”
“That’s probably too strong of a …” The man at the front started herding all of us towards a small dip in the river bank. I took several steps forward, closing the gap between the few women in front of me.
“So, you’re one of those, huh?” She cocked her head to the side and shot me a look I couldn’t decipher.
“One of those what?” I’d heard that plain humans were notoriously prejudiced against different sexualities, but I thought that was a stereotype.
“I bet your girlfriend doesn’t think it’s too strong of a word.” Oh. Right.
“We’ve been together for years. I’ve always been upfront and honest with her about my appetite. I’ve got nothing to hide.”
She raised her eyebrow but didn’t speak. We continued to walk along the river bank. Where in the hell was this guy taking us? “I’m serious. It’s not like she isn’t with other people.”
“Let me guess, it’s you, her, and some dope that thinks he’s won the lottery.” This girl was quite perceptive for a plain human. What other tricks does she have up her sleeve? I laughed.
“Yeah, we’ve had plenty of dopes. Most of them thought they won the lottery. A few of them knew it.”
She cracked a smile. “No other women, though?”
Let’s see. Maya and I had been sleeping together for the last ten years on and off. A few years ago, I began sleeping over at her cottage and simply never left to get my own place. During that time, we probably had a couple threesomes a month. Only a couple of those were recreational, most of them were with targets. But, there was Ava. “There was one other woman. A few years ago, I went off with a caravan for a few weeks. I met her on the road. We had a few passionate nights under the stars. Never saw her again after that.”
“Did you ever tell Maya?” The mention of her name jolted through me. Had I mentioned it? How else could she have known her name? If she was a witch, why didn’t she greet me like one? And if she was a straight laced plain old human, how could she know such things? “No. But, I’m sure on some level she knew. She never wanted me to go on a caravan again. And...”
“She didn’t want you to breed with a shapeshifter?”
“You could say that. But, no matter what, she’ll support me. She might be mad for a few weeks, but we’ll be back to normal like always.”
“She’s not wrong you know. You can’t expect to become a breeder and not have it change your life. There’s something about having a life growing inside of you…” Vivica clutched her stomach.
I opened my mouth to speak, when I crashed into the chick in front of me. We were stopped. I swiveled around to see how far we were from our starting point, but the surroundings were all unfamiliar. The river had narrowed to the size of a large creek and we were now standing in front of a thick forest. How long had we walked? I’d let my desire to have Vivica sit on my face interfere with my safety. What’s wrong with me? Shame hit me like a punch to the gut. Maybe Maya was right. I was taking unnecessary risks already. Now, I had no idea where we were. How would I be able to escape if things went wrong? I guess I could follow the creek, but I wasn’t even positive that this was the same body of water. Fuck!
“We’re now at the entrance of shapeshifter territory. You are to form one line and hold hands. No matter what h
appens, do not let go. They chose these woods for a reason. If you need to, close your eyes. I’m sure some of you have seen strange things before, but the creatures in this forest are experts at changing appearances. Even the trees will fuck with your head if you let them.” Shapeshifting trees? That sounds exciting. Not. The last thing I wanted was to expend energy before I knew what I was actually getting into.
“Is it dangerous?” Vivica’s raspy voice shook a bit.
Sync shrugged his shoulders. “They are mostly mischievous creatures. We just don’t want you getting lost. It’s going to get dark in a few hours. We’re not going to come looking for you until morning. Our nights are busy enough without having to send out a search party.”
Vivica gulped and nodded vigorously. She reached out and grabbed my hand. Her fingertips were sweaty, and her palm was soft and smooth. My skin tingled where we touched. I was going to have to watch myself around her. Were shapeshifters as pliable as other species of males? Most men were disgustingly possessive until it came to their woman eating pussy. Then they were all for polyamory as long as it gave them something to watch while they jerked off. A woman’s softness balanced out the desperate hunger of a man. Men were on with the flip of switch. I’d come to enjoy a female’s slow burn. I pulled her closer and wrapped my arm around her. “Don’t worry. There’s nothing in these woods I can’t handle.” She turned towards me and leaned into my body. My head reached her nipples. I’d never been with a woman so much taller than me before.
“For some reason, I believe you.”
“Ready or not, ladies? Let’s go.”
We all headed into the forest without another word. When I looked behind me, I could see nothing but the last edges of daylight squeezing through the trees.
-3-
We walked about twenty minutes before we saw anything out of the ordinary. A chubby sprite with olive skin gasped and planted her feet. Several of us bumped into each other like train cars ridden off the track.
“What’s wrong?” The girl that was holding her hand rolled her eyes and yanked her back into line.
“I saw a wolf. It was huge with yellow eyes that were glowing. It looked like it was snarling, but I couldn’t hear anything.” Her eyes were wide with fright.
“You didn’t see a wolf. Didn’t you listen to the man when he said these are shapeshifting woods?” The twang of the girl behind her was unmistakable. Definitely a plain human. Why were the shapeshifters recruiting weaklings? How in the world would a plain human be able to birth a shapeshifter? They take a whole nine months to growth their own babies. How long would it take them to nurture a king of shadows?
Another cry from another one of the girls.
“It’s not a wolf. It’s a bear! Don’t you see it? It’s in the bushes! Straight ahead!” She pointed with her free hand. We all turned to stare. Several of the woman in the group gasped. I could see a large shadowy figure, but it didn’t look like a bear to me.
Sync’s voice boomed over the nervous chatter.
“If you’re scared, close your eyes. Do not and I repeat, do NOT let go of anyone. Just keep walking. They mean no harm. They’re just as scared of you as you are of them.”
Our caravan of chicks began to move forward. This was going to be a long walk. Vivica gripped my hand tighter and tightened her stride. I was half out of breath from trying to keep up with her long legs. It seems as if half of our group was model height, only a few petite pixies were sprinkled within the line. Of course, I felt as if I was a marshmallow squeezed in between a bunch of fence posts. I really hoped that shapeshifters dug curvier girls. We continued on past the mysterious wolf and bear sightings and deeper into the forest. The air around us began to cool and less light filtered in through the gaps in the canopy. The deep dark green of the underbrush and the light green underside of the canopy swayed gently. “Do you feel a breeze?” Vivica either didn’t hear me or she didn’t want to know why I was asking. The cinnamon colored bark almost appeared as if it were shimmering. Knots of various sizes peppered each tree. Each knot was twisted into a different shape. I spotted a few faces, a turtle, and a bird. Birds. Where were the birds? The forest was completely silent except for the sound of our footsteps and an occasional twig cracking. That was certainly not normal. I was hit with the sudden feeling of being watched. I could feel eyes boring holes in the back of my neck. I craned my neck to peek behind me without breaking my grip on Vivica. The large figure behind me knocked the wind from my lungs. A gigantic bear walked on the path behind us. Its paws were the size of dinner plates. Shaggy black fur covered the animal. When its yellow green eyes met mine, I felt a jolt of electricity. They were emerald green and sparkling. One iris was dotted with yellow. I tugged on Vivica’s arm. When I opened my mouth, nothing came out. Fear overwhelmed my senses. The bear seemed calm and I didn’t sense a threat of violence. It was those eyes. They looked completely through me. Could he read my thoughts? When Vivica turned back, the bear halted in its tracks. “What? Do you see something?”
“You…you…don’t see that?” The bear stood completely motionless. Its mouth turned up at the corners, almost in a smile. Do bears smile? He sat back on his haunches and placed his paws on his belly. If you added a pot of honey, he could have been a cartoon character. A pinprick of recognition grew in the corner of my mind. I’d heard something about shapeshifters. Weren’t bears the original form? Could I be mistaken? Wolves were the most well-known, but I think they’d been bears originally. They’d only switched for survival. Because humans caught on and began to kill them all. Until they eradicated most of the wolves too. Barbaric creatures. Humans could really suck sometimes. “What is it? What do you see?”
“Nothing. It was nothing. I thought I saw something, but it was just the shadows.” One of the bear’s eyes closed, almost as if he was winking. I blinked, and he was gone. The empty path stretched out behind us into the black edges of the forest. That had to be one. Vivica put her hand on my shoulder. “Cut the bullshit. You’re shaking. What was it out there?”
“I think I just saw a shapeshifter. There was a bear and he seemed…off. Knowing.”
“A bear? Don’t they usually choose more subtle creatures as their animal forms? A bear is pretty indiscreet.”
“One of the other girls saw a bear. And a wolf.”
“I believe you. These woods are creepy. Why isn’t there a better way to get to their damn camp?”
“Come on. They wouldn’t take us out here if it was so dangerous. It isn’t like they have endless breeder recruits to feed to the woodland creatures.” We spun around back towards the group.
“Fuck!”
The path was completely empty in front of us. Vivica had let go. The group had left us. We were all alone with nothing but the dark forest.
-4-
“They can’t have gone far. We were only looking back for a minute or so.” Vivica’s voice trembled. The volume of her voice was eerily amplified by the trees surrounding us.
“Let’s run a bit and see if we can catch up.” She nodded and began to jog. I sprinted to catch up with her and grabbed her hand. “Don’t let go this time.”
She flashed me a smile, but I could tell her heart wasn’t in it. We jogged in silence together for a couple minutes. I crossed my left arm over my chest to stop my boobs from bouncing. Well, tried at least. There wasn’t much activity that didn’t cause my breasts to jiggle. Curse of being full-chested. The path in front of us continued to stretch out in the darkness, winding back and forth through the trees. It wasn’t pitch black yet, but night was approaching. We had to find them and fast.
“Where in the hell could they have gone?” Vivica wheezed.
“Maybe they made a turn somewhere?” I really hope they hadn’t. If they turned into the forest, we’d never find them.
“Where in the hell would they go? This is the only path.” Vivica vocalized my only hope.
Please let them be close. My right side was starting t
o cramp. How long had we been running? The hairs on the back of my neck stood up. Something was watching us. I could feel it. I swiveled around. The path behind us was empty. Darkness around us thickened. If we didn’t find the others soon, we were going to be lost in a shapeshifting forest with nothing to protect us but my magic. A twig snapped loudly to the left. I dug my heels into the ground and pulled back on Vivica’s arm. “Stop.” Vivica’s eyes grew wide.
“Did you hear that?”
I put my finger to my lips and nodded. We began to creep forward, keeping our eyes on the woods to the left of us. Shadows danced in between the trees. My chest burned from running. My heart thumped against my chest. Could whatever that’s out in the woods hear it? Another crack rang through the twilight. It was coming. Grabbing Vivica’s wrist, I burst into a sprint back the way we came. Another crack echoed in our ears and leaves rustled behind us. Vivica’s fingertips dug into my arm. I pumped my legs faster. Vivica’s long legs powered effortlessly. My short chubby legs burned, attempting to keep up. My neck began to tingle again. I felt eyes on my back. Heavy footsteps thudded behind us. They were slow, but heavy. Something was big. Could it be the bear? My lungs burned and thighs were on fire. Every breath scorched. A little bit more of the daylight faded away behind the trees. No more than twenty minutes remained before we’d be in complete darkness. The trees on either side of us swayed in a cool breeze. Sweat poured down my forehead, stinging my eyes. My legs wobbled. I wasn’t going to last much longer. The footsteps behind us got closer. A large shape burst through the trees in front of us. We both screamed. I went left and she went right. Our arms pulled and I fell backwards. I hit the ground hard. Scrambling to my feet, I readied for a fight.
“Where have you guys been?” Wait…what? Sync. Of course. He’d probably been chasing us to try and catch up.
“Thank the Goddess you found us! We were so worried. There was something following us.”
