Shifting Fortunes Ch. 07

"Thank you so much Derek. It means a lot that you could help us. We've been barely surviving on scrap food and pilfering what old clothing we could to get by. Having Jake's accounts will help, I just wish I could contribute," she ended morosely. She didn't have a cent to her name.

"You did contribute," he said, brushing non-existent crumbs off his hairy upper thighs. He smoothed a hand over his thick black beard, as he had done countless times during their visit. It was immaculately groomed, which was odd as the rest of him really wasn't. But he had peaked Sam's interest.

"I did?" she asked, dumbfounded.

"Well, technically your mother did. I transferred the lot in with Jake's," Derek said as he stretched and cracked his knuckles. Jake came to stand behind him, also stretching his legs. They had been sitting on the cushions Derek had piled over the floor of the treehouse the entire time they'd been there. Sam averted her eyes as Derek unabashedly straightened the contents of his Y-fronts, still trying to work over the fact that Annie had had some money left. She'd thought Rutherford would have emptied the accounts!

"How much was there?" she asked slowly.

"Forty thousand dollars, give or take a bit," the bearded man said, moving over to the other side of the treehouse where a bar fridge stood and cracked open a can of beer. He handed one to Jake too, while the two of them stood dumbstruck.

"Did you just say-"

"Forty thousand dollars?-"

Jake and Sam just turned and stared at each other. Sam's mind was working overtime at all the times they hadn't been able to afford more than meagre supplies, food or clothing. And all this time, her mother had been hoarding away thousands! She wondered at the logic. It must have been for a reason, but it was lost on her at this time. A rush of relief poured over her as she realised that she suddenly had some security, and it threatened to overwhelm her. It was lucky she was already seated, but she still put a hand out next to her on the floor as she felt a wave of blackness pass in front of her eyes. Suddenly Jake was there with her.

"Sam, bring your head down," he ordered softly, one of his hands gently pressing her head towards the floor. She did as she was told and was thankful to feel the blackness start to rush away again, leaving her with a prickling feeling and a cold sweat. "Are you okay kitten?" Jake asked anxiously. She leaned forward with her elbows on the floor, thoughts racing still.

"I think so," she said breathlessly. "It was just a bit of a shock." His hand kept stroking over her back, and she was aware of Derek leaving the treehouse. Well, who knew it - Beardy had tact after all. She sat up and held onto Jake's arms as she looked into his eyes, but couldn't say anything. His warm honey eyes softened as he read her expression, and they crinkled into a slow smile.

"We're okay now, Sam. We can make this work." He touched his forehead to hers. "We can buy you whatever you need to feel secure."

She smiled reluctantly at the first thing that popped into her head. "Just don't buy me a foil hat."

Jake laughed out loud then, sitting back from her. "Didn't I tell you why? Derek's a mind reader, he uses it to shield himself so he doesn't go crazy from all the stray thoughts in the neighbourhood. He wouldn't be wearing it if we weren't here, that's why his entire tree house is...foil-ised? Aluminum-ised. Silvered. Whatever."

Sam stared at him dumbfounded as he rambled on.Well, I'll be.She had just met her first mind reader. She fervently hoped that hat of his worked, because some of her thoughts about him hadnotbeen cool. And at some stage during the hour, she had been thinking about Jake and her making love on the cushions on the floor of the treehouse. She was sure she'd even once imagined what it would have been like for Jake to go down on her with a bushy moustache and beard. She looked helplessly at Jake, her face turning red while he burst into uproarious laughter, knowing exactly what she was thinking.

He pulled her close again and nestled her head into the crook of his neck while he dropped a kiss on hers. "Kitten, Derek is the least of your worries. Now we have a future. We have something to build it with, and it's thanks to your mother." Sam's eyes finally filled with tears. Her wonderful gentle mother, had inexplicably been putting money away for years, and it seemed now she was coming from beyond the grave to take care of her daughter once more. The thought was comforting and saddening, and she pulled back to look into Jake's sweet eyes with her now blurred green ones, running her thumb over his full lower lip, smiling as he gently bit down on her.

"She would have wanted me to be happy. And with you, I am. Thank you Jake. I wouldn't be here without you."

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SIX MONTHS LATER

Jake high fived Sam with a huge grin on his face. That had been epic! Neither of them could wait to try this one out. The huge, golden lion yawned on the end of his chain, scaring some of the other lucky tourists who had paid for this up close and personal photo shoot with the big cat. Both of them had had their photos taken with the cat, placing their hands on its soft, velveteen fur. The tiny rush of energy that absorbed into them was more noticeable when they took a big animal's essence.

The last few months had been spent experimenting with their abilities, until they were sharp and honed. Rutherford hadn't caught up with them and as the weeks and months flew by, their feeling of safety and relief grew a tiny bit more each day. They didn't talk about it, but they knew that eventually something would have to be done about him. Jake thought more and more about seeking out his father's murderers, too. They may not discuss it, but they had both made the silent agreement to start seeking out dangerous animals to absorb and build on their abilities.

As they practiced, it became abundantly clear that their abilities were far greater than either of them had ever realised. Not only could they morph directly from one animal to another fluidly now in the blink of an eye, they had found that they could morph animal parts onto their human bodies.

The first time Jake's claws had come out on his human fingers had been shocking; they had been making passionate love, the essence of a grizzly bear recently absorbed, and as he came, he clenched his hands into the pillows either side of Sam's head as his cock let thick ropes of seed into her. Neither of them had realised until they had come to and feathers were everywhere, the whole cushion shredded. Jake had reared back, surprised first, then Sam had noticed the claws. It had been pandemonium - Sam had screamed, Jake had leapt to his feet, roaring and the claws disappeared instantly. Silence ensued while they stared at each other, and at Jake's hands which were now perfectly normal again, until suddenly Sam breathed "That wasso cool!" and had squealed, desperately trying to make the grizzly claws appear on her own fingers, unsuccessfully. Jake's mind was working overtime though.

"I could have really hurt you," he whispered suddenly, sinking into a chair in the room across from the bed. Sam stopped looking at her hands and crawled into his lap, buck naked. The thought sobered them both and they were quiet for long minutes.

"Then we'll have to get control," Sam suddenly said decisively. She looked at him, and nodded. And so they had practiced. It had taken weeks to perfect, the part-morphs coming more easily to Sam as everything to do with animal morphing did, but Jake achieved control too. Sam's favourite party trick which drove Jake wild was growing a long, sinuous panther tail and little silky panther ears as she padded naked away from him.

They also learned some more interesting things. It seemed there were rules. No matter if one of them was morphed into an animal the other didn't have, touching the morphed animal would not absorb the animal's essence. It had to be from a real animal. An animal also had to be alive, even freshly dead did not work. To Jake, this was more annoying, as it could have been easier that way to shoot some of the more dangerous animals in order to gain their essence. Sam was horrified at his attitude, reiterating to him that the animals were gifting the best part of themselves to them, and they should be treated with respect and appreciation. Jake grumbled for a while, before reluctantly agreeing Sam was right. It just made their job harder was all.

They travelled the country and visited all the zoos and sanctuaries that offered animals to touch. They didn't just choose the biggest, most dangerous animals either. They laid their hands on everything they could, sure that one animal or other would come in handy one day. Rats, alligators, birds of all kinds, and even a dolphin. The afternoon trying out the dolphin forms in the privacy of a sparkling, secluded bay was one of the most magical days Sam and Jake had ever spent together. The sheer happiness that radiated from the animal within as they learned how to move, breathe and dance like real dolphins did was incredible. They'd eventually burst from the water onto the white sandy shores as themselves, smiles splitting their faces, laughing and falling onto the sand to make delicious love in the warm sun. They'd never felt so high on life.

And finally, they had experimented with the more sexual side of their natures. Finding the panther cubs at a zoo in San Francisco was a bonus, as they were able to cuddle one each - Jake held the male and Sam the female. The thought didn't occur to them to try mating in animal form until the day they were able to backpack into a forest and try out the panthers. Tongues lolling out of their cat's mouths after an ecstatic playful game of chase, they rolled together on the bank of a burbling brook, wrestling, claws retracted. Eventually the intentions had become more passionate than competitive, and without realising it at first, Jake's panther clambered up and over Sam's from behind with his erection and penetrated. Sam's panther was ecstatic, bowing down on front paws, purring and yowling as the male panther behind her thrust hard and fast like a jack hammer into her. It was quick, but explosive. Jake's panther finished and fell exhausted onto Sam, who fell out of her own panther into her own form, exhausted and bewildered about what had just happened. She pushed the silky black cat off to one side who was blinking lazily at her and took stock of what had just happened. Jesus that had been hot. She hadn't known female panthers could orgasm, but she was absolutely sure she had, her pussy was tingling, her lower lips swollen and sensitive. When Jake had gotten up and licked all the juices off her human pussy with his rough panther tongue, she had shattered into a million pieces all over again. She had remembered to ask him to do that to her again on more than one occasion.

That experiment had morphed into others, the raciest being Sam staying human while Jake entered her from behind as his white tiger - the big cat engulfed her, and the cat's large erect penis filled her completely. The mating was incredible arousing and she had pressed a hand under her to stroke her own clitoris as the big cat thrust fast in and out of her, his weight carefully held off her by balancing front paws on the headboard of the bed. The feel of the silky, furry belly rubbing over her back, rearing over her combined with the panting and chuffing of a tiger set all of Sam's nerve endings singing and burning with a feverish heat. Afterwards the bedhead had been shredded by the cat's claws as he had shot his cat's seed into Sam's spasming passage. That particular climax had felt like it nearly been ripped out of her, so intensely it had come on.

There were other experiences, but Jake's own favourite experience had been flying as a bald eagle alongside Sam, learning to use the thermals over the Grand Canyon - the incredible freedom it had brought with it, the awe-inspiring vision, skill and speed that gave him an intense respect for this great hunter.

Leaving the lion's enclosure now, Sam and Jake wandered hand in hand over to an ice cream stand in the main zoo centre. Sam pushed the heavy digital camera around to her back as she thrust her hand into her pocket to come up with some change for their ice creams. She handed the coin to Jake and happily looked around her, seeing only the hustle and bustle of families, friends and even some school kids on a field trip. Everyone was smiling and enjoying themselves. She looked up and saw the siamangs high up in the trees to her left and breathed in a happy sigh. She wanted to join them. They had held a baby orang-utan and chimpanzee not too long ago, so the idea really was possible, and she giggled to herself. Maybe not, the zoo keepers would freak out if they saw an animal that didn't belong in the siamang's enclosure. Too bad.

Sam took the chocolate dipped cone Jake proffered her and took a big bite off the top.

Jake laughed at her. "Why can't you lick an ice cream like any other normal person?" She swatted at him playfully with her free hand.

"Because I'mnotnormal," she grinned and took another bite while Jake chuckled again, licking at his own vanilla cone.

"And that there's why I love you." He pulled her into his side happily and walked back to their hire car in the parking lot.

Sam finished her last bite of ice cream and wiped her hands on the small paper towel that had been wrapped around the cone. She turned to throw it into the green bin provided by the zoo near the parked cars, but it never left her hands. Instead, she froze, panic seeping into every pore. She couldn't even move for a few moments, though all her old near-forgotten instincts were screaming at her to do so.Was that -?And suddenly, the man she was staring at turned around and shaded his eyes, looking out over the parking lot. The wave of relief was intense and she was glad Jake hadn't noticed. She hadn't thought of Rutherford in a long time, but she had sworn...from the back he had looked identical - hulking, slight hunch, tall, the hair, even the cap Rutherford used to wear.

She turned quickly back to the car which Jake had unlocked and was only just clicking his belt in as she slid into the passenger seat next to him. He smiled warmly at her, and she did her best to smile back at him, but he knew something was off.

"You okay, kitten?" he asked, concerned, using his favourite pet name for her.

She nodded her ascent, then breathed out, not realising she had still been holding her breath. "Just thought I saw...him."

Jake looked alarmed as she knew he would and he went to get out the car, but she put a hand on his tightly muscled arm to stop him. "It wasn't Jake. He turned around. He just looked like it from behind, it was just a shock. I hadn't thought about him for such a long time," Sam murmured, numbly tracing her hand up and down where the now pale white round scars were on her upper arm. The cigarette burns were a reminder, but she barely thought about them any more. They were so faded she didn't have to shift them over anymore. Life was good, Rutherford was gone and Jake was incredible. She could never have wished her life to turn out better than it was right now. But she knew she would never be able to fully relax into life with Rutherford still in the world.

Jake eased back into his seat, his troubled eyes probing hers still, looking for answers and finding none. For months now, there had been no sign, no word of her tormentor. Sam hadn't mentioned him or had a panic attack in at least three months. Now this, completely out of the blue. He flicked his eyes forward unseeingly. It made him want to twist the steering wheel in front of him into scrap metal. That scum needed to be wiped from the face of this earth.

He looked back at Sam and saw suddenly a fire in her eyes. The resolution. The unsaid promise. They were prepared, they were ready.

It was time.

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Hope you enjoyed this one, it was a little racier than usual, I wanted to spice it up and utilise some of their amazing abilities in erotic ways. I enjoyed writing it, even got my heart rate up a little as the words flew from my fingers ;)