Century Traveler

"I am good worker. You will see," Sasha said from the doorway.

"She's also very fast," Anna smirked.

Sasha entered with a camouflage backpack and set it on her chair. She opened it and pulled out the contents. There was a small camouflage tent, a sturdy camping shovel, a lightweight sleeping bag, a small first aid kit, and waterproof bags.

"That's it?" John asked, surprised.

"When I went with Wallace, we drove to trailhead... why are we not driving?" she paused, puzzled.

"I don't know how to drive," John replied.

Sasha blinked at him, obviously suppressing her natural reaction to make a rude comment. She continued. "That time, we ran as humans until we decided to leave trail. We crossed country until we make a safe distance. We set up tent near stream and put clothes in bags. We bury clothes away from tent and hide shovel. Then we change. We ran for rest of day. We move fast and ran far. We hunted and ate that night, making our way back to clothes. When at clothes we changed back. We dug up clothes and slept in tent until morning. Then as humans, we pack up and run back to car."

"Sounds like a good plan," John said. Then he noticed how small the tent was. "Uh, will you bring your own tent and sleeping bag?"

"It gets very cold in mountains. Is safer to share to stay warm," she said with a straight face, but she couldn't hide the twinkle in her eye.

Anna snorted and stood up to begin clearing away the plates.

John felt nervous about sleeping in such close quarters with the blond vixen. He was even more worried about not sleeping in such close quarters with her. But he needed her help on this, so he'd take it one step at a time. Sasha went home to get changed into her running clothes. He'd told her to meet him downstairs at ten.

When he and Anna were alone, he asked her what she had planned for the day. She said that she was thinking of looking for a home furnishings store to pick up the items they'd discussed for the condo. He smiled at that.

"Mr. Stills can probably point me in the right direction. I can put it on my credit card, and you can reimburse me," Anna said.

"That would be great! Thanks! You'll be back before dark, though, right? I'm nervous about there being more of those shadow hunters."

"Yes, John, I'll be back before dark."

"Oh! I'll need to get you a spare key fob as I will be out," John remembered. He picked up the phone and contacted Mr. Stills, who promised to have a fob waiting for Anna at the security desk when she headed out.

He looked at the clock and saw it was time to head downstairs. He grabbed the running pack, his wallet, keys, and phone. He'd have to turn his phone off when it was buried with his clothes, and he wasn't likely to have any reception out there. He started to worry about Anna, but she caught the expression and shooed him out, saying he was cramping her style.

"Go run! And keep an eye on Sasha. See if you can keep it to just your eye," she teased.

He smiled and headed downstairs. He met Sasha in the lobby and had to struggle not to stare. God! Her running tights were so form fitting, and her form was so... He closed his eyes and steadied his breathing. It was too late, though. He saw her flare her nostrils and smile with satisfaction as she read his mounting excitement.

They walked outside, and Jerry was waiting at the curb with a big smile. That smile threatened to split his face in two once he saw John's partner. He opened the back door of the cab, and Sasha entered, John following her in. They pulled away from the curb, and Sasha gave the driver instructions as they drove; north of Seattle on highway four-oh-five to highway five-twenty-two over to highway two. John began to suspect Sasha had been less than truthful to him again. Another lie to get her way.

The third set of instructions she gave Jerry was for their final destination; highway two to Skykomish where the trailhead began. This let slip the fact that she'd known the name of their destination all along. John's wolf reacted excitedly when it heard it, confirming it for John. Sasha smiled back at John and saw his glare. She suddenly realized her error, and he saw fear in her eyes. Not fear of pain but fear of rejection.

Slowly he reached over and gathered the fabric of her collar by her throat in his hand. He pulled her gently but steadily towards him, glaring into her eyes the entire time. Her big blue eyes began to well up with tears. He put his forehead against hers and whispered fiercely to her. "No. More. Lies. If you continue to lie to me, we are done. Is this understood?"

She nodded silently, and he moved his hands up to wipe the tears from her cheeks with his thumbs. She pressed her cheek against his palm.

John turned inwards to communicate with the wolf. He pictured a wolf pack with a stray wolf on the outskirts, desperately trying to be admitted to the group but getting rejected because of its odd behavior. John felt that rush of fresh air again, and he knew he'd hit the nail on the head. Next, he pictured a wolf pack with just one lonely black wolf in it and the odd stray still trying to join. John left the wolf contemplating that image. He came back, and Sasha rested her head on his shoulder, squeezing her body tight up against his. It wasn't sexual. It was just a need for contact.

They rode on in silence, and Sasha fell asleep. As she'd already mentioned their destination, that wasn't an issue. Traffic was fairly light once they'd finally gotten away from the city, but it took almost two hours to reach Skykomish. John had the cab drop them off at a small roadside restaurant and paid him double the fare as a tip, and received a promise that he'd pick them up in twenty-four hours and wait, with the meter running, if they were late. The happy man drove away while Sasha blinked sleep from her eyes. The air was definitely cooler here, so he was glad to be wearing full-leg running tights. He glanced once more at Sasha's sleek curves and unsuccessfully looked away before she noticed. She led him into the restaurant with a satisfied grin, swinging her hips just a little more than necessary.

After they had topped up their energy stores, they made their way to the trailhead. John secured the backpack comfortably on his back, and they set off up the trail, Sasha in the lead. John's wolf bristled, but he vetoed changing their position as he was enjoying the view of her ass and legs in her tights. They walked at a brisk pace until they could no longer feel their lunch in their stomachs. Then they picked up their speed and kicked it up again until they were running up the trail. They passed a couple of other groups of hikers who watched them in amazement at the pace they were setting. More than once, John heard comments about how they'd burn out when the trail turned into the steep switchbacks.

They were well up the trail and hadn't seen anyone for over thirty minutes when Sasha pointed to an opening in the woods to the side of the path. Truthfully, it was no more than a deer passage, but she darted off to the left, and he followed. While the quality of the trail definitely diminished, their pace increased, and John felt the wolf really beginning to enjoy itself. He was certainly enjoying the chase. After another thirty minutes, they arrived at a small glade in the woods with a stream running along its edge.

Panting from their effort, Sasha pointed to where the tent should be set up, and John dropped the pack to pull the tent out. In short order, they had a small shelter resting on the soft floor of the forest. John peered inside and realized it really was a one, maybe a one-and-a-half-man tent. Cozy indeed. He glanced up at Sasha, and she unsuccessfully tried to look away before he caught her grin. John tossed in the sleeping bag, first aid kit, and the empty backpack. He picked up the shovel and the water-tight bags and followed Sasha further uphill. She found a spot where the ground was soft and relatively free of tree roots. He dug a shallow pit, and they took off their clothes, folded them neatly, and slipped them into the bags. He shut off his phone, which had no signal anyway, and put his small running pouch in with his clothes. They sealed the bags and placed them in the pit. He covered the bags and replaced the moss.

"Now piss on it," Sasha said with a straight face.

"What?" he yelped.

"You must mark it to keep others away," she looked at his groin expectantly.

John immediately had shy bladder issues and blushed. Sasha burst into giggles at his expression.

"I just tease. No one will disturb. I will find by scent," she remarked with a wicked grin.

He shook his head and grinned back at her. "Bitch!"

"Now you are learning," she said with a smile. She took the shovel and buried it a few hundred yards away under some leaves. When she returned, she noticed he had an erection and a fierce blush. She smiled, but there was a stiffness to that as well.

"I am flattered, but we must change now. First times are not fun. You will fight it. My advice is do not fight. Is hard, but you must give in. Surrender." Her eyes were full of concern at this point, and John was getting seriously spooked. His wolf was picking up on his anxiety, and he felt it pacing, fearing he would change his mind. John sat on the forest floor and used his yoga breathing exercises to steady himself. The wolf paused, then sat beside him in his mind. He reached out and hugged the wolf and whispered in its ear.

"Go."

Pure joy splashed back on him from the wolf, and his heart filled with it.

Then the pain started. The wolf spread from his mind to the outer edges of his body, and the burning began. Instinctively, he pulled back from the pain, but he felt it sharpen to sanity breaking levels when he did, so he kept up the yoga meditation in his mind while he opened himself to change. The burning got worse and worse, and it took everything he had to not react but instead just accept as Sasha advised.

Then it was suddenly over, and he opened his eyes. His senses exploded! Colors beyond the spectrum he'd known before. The richest tones from sounds he couldn't possibly have noticed. Nature was a symphony! Scents were a completely new experience! So many layers! It was as though the world had just grown a thousand times bigger and more interesting! The texture of the forest floor under his massive paws... He looked down and felt the wolf's amusement at his shock from being in the wolf's body.

He picked up the scent of fear and need and swung his nose in their direction. A big silver wolf was groveling and rolling on its back. It wet itself in fear, and its eyes seemed slightly crazed. His wolf's first instinct was to kill the weakened creature, but John knew it was Sasha and knew he needed her. He envisioned the pack of one again, and his wolf huffed a breath of annoyance.

It walked over to the trembling beast, which began to whine as it winced its eyes closed. His wolf bent down and gently put its massive jaws around the throat of the submissive wolf, then pulled back and licked its nose. It moved further away and watched the silver wolf freeze. Then it was under the maw of his wolf, frantically licking at his jaw and yipping. He growled, and the silver wolf shot forward and began to run in circles around and in front of his wolf. John was happy Sasha's wolf was so excited to be accepted, but his wolf was less impressed.

Instead, it lifted its nose and caught the wind's direction. It set its course for the nearby mountain and began to lope towards the dense forest on its lower slopes.

Sasha came close to barrelling into him in her excitement several times, but after a quick growl and a nip, she settled down and fell in line.

They ran for hours, and John marveled at the land's beauty and how much more real and immediate it felt as a wolf. He sent the wolf an apology for keeping it confined to his comparatively blind human form and felt a lick on his face.

The sun was going down, and it was time to hunt.

Working as a team, John and Sasha's wolves tracked a herd of deer over one of the mountains as they made their way back towards the tent.

John's wolf took a scent, and he noticed something off. Sasha's wolf picked up on it, and the wolves shared a look. There was a connection, a unity of purpose. They moved as one over the ridgeline and spotted their target. It was an old buck with an injury to its hind quarters. Infection had set in. The nerves of the buck's leg were ruined with the rot, and its haunch twitched uncontrollably.

It hadn't scented them, so they remained downwind. John's wolf found an ambush point behind a rock outcropping next to the trail the buck was standing on but downwind. Without a second glance, the silver wolf moved up the hill to get behind the injured deer. A light breeze came over the ridge, and so did the silver beast, slowly pacing down the trail. The buck lifted its weakened neck and picked up the new scent in the air. It knew a predator was closing in. Favoring its injured leg, it set off briskly down the trail. Sasha's wolf began to run, and the buck accelerated directly through the rocks and into the trap of the huge black wolf. A snap from its powerful jaws, and it was over. Sasha caught up, and the two wolves dragged the buck a short distance from the trail.

John returned to his mental yoga relaxation exercises as the two wolves ate their fill from the buck. The savagery was distasteful for the man inside the wolf, but it didn't seem offended in the slightest. It was delighting in gobbling down mouthful after mouthful of deer meat and paid him no mind. Sasha's wolf finished and watched nervously as John's continued to gorge itself on the heavy meal. Finally, the big wolf licked its chops and turned from the carcass.

They set course for the tent, chasing each other through the woods playfully. It took roughly ninety minutes until they were back on the hillside where they'd buried their clothes. Sasha's wolf trotted up with the shovel in its mouth and dropped it at his paws. Then she began to change. John thought the process was fascinating until his wolf indicated it was his turn. The fire he'd felt entering his limbs when he became the wolf was twice as painful when it was leaving his cells. John hadn't mentally prepared himself, so it hit him hard. He shook and screamed silently as the streaks of fire pealed themselves out of his limbs and sunk into his mind.

John felt his consciousness slipping away from him as his body twisted and warped. There was a sensation of intense heat in his belly, and his body felt heavy and shot full of sparks at the same time. He clamped down on his mind and tried to just let the change happen, not to fight it. It got easier, then there was a huge flash of energy, and he whited out.

John found himself sprawled out on the forest floor face down. Everything hurt, and everything trembled. He sensed his wolf poking him with its cold nose, trying to see if he was dead or worth reviving. He surprised it by visualizing giving its nose a lick. He sensed amusement and relief.

He gathered his arms under himself and shakily pushed himself up to his knees. He looked up and saw Sasha sitting cross-legged, watching him with huge eyes.

"What?" he wheezed.

"First change can leave permanent alterations," she whispered. "I was brunette."

John glanced at her beautiful white locks and fair eyebrows, trying to imagine them brown or black. He couldn't. He looked down at himself in the dim light of the partial moon and couldn't see any difference until he touched his chest and slid his hands down his torso.

Since he'd first been bitten, he worked out and hardened his muscles. He'd lost his softness over the intervening weeks, but he hadn't added any real mass. His fingers moved over slabs of hardened pectorals and over the new ridges of his stomach. He touched his thighs and felt ropes of muscles that weren't there before. He wasn't huge and bulky, but he certainly wasn't the slim and trim hard body he'd been before.

"Shit!" he yelped and jumped to his feet.

Sasha stood up quickly and clutched his arm as he wobbled, suddenly dizzy. Something was off. He couldn't place it, but something else had changed. Sasha stood directly in front of him, and he looked into her eyes, puzzled. The angle was wrong. She was four inches taller than him when they'd met, and he recalled almost craning his neck to look at her. Now it was... much... less.

Sasha was admiring his new musculature. She ran her hands over his arms and squeezed his thick biceps. She slid her fingertips over his chest and down over his six pack. She looked further down and saw he was responding to her touch.

"Oh! You have been gifted here too!" she said as she took him in her hands.

"Sasha!" he yelled, pulling away.

"Sorry, just warming hands," she smiled wickedly.

"Speaking of warm, it's freezing out here. Let's get our clothes on and get to the tent." He bent down and grabbed the shovel. He was still a little wobbly. He looked around. "Where did we bury it?"

"Use nose. Scent of plastic," Sasha suggested.

He raised his eyebrows, thinking she was teasing him again but gave it a try anyway. He did smell something that didn't belong. He walked a short way, following his nose, and felt the slight rise in the moss. He pulled it aside and carefully scraped the top soil off until he hit plastic. He looked back at Sasha with a grin. He pulled the bags up and went to open them.

"Not yet. Run to tent to warm up," Sasha said seriously. She snatched a bag and began to lope away barefoot. He had no choice but to follow as she had the bag with his clothes. He somehow managed not to step on anything sharp as he ran. He caught up to the woman at the entrance to the tent. She was wiping her feet on some moss, then she knelt and went into the tent feet first. She must have thrown his clothes into the tent first as he couldn't see the bag. He mimicked her actions and crawled into the small tent after her.

It was absolute darkness inside the tent. Sasha must have opened the sleeping bag before she got in as he felt it covering the tent's floor and run up each side slightly. He thought he might try to pull the bag over them, but with her body squeezed against his, the small tent was actually beginning to feel comfortable.

"How are we supposed to get dressed in here?" he asked.

"We don't. Skin to skin is warmer," she said simply.

He was aware of her soft skin and her firm breasts pressing against his chest. Her scent of sweet flowers and earth was maddeningly enticing. Her breath was on his face, and his face leaned forward automatically until his lips encountered the softness of her mouth. He pulled back, surprised at himself. When her lips found his in the dark, he didn't pull away. The tip of her tongue slid across his lower lip, and he touched it with his. She slipped her tongue into his mouth, and he gently sucked it. Her breathing sped up, and he felt her hands running over his body. His hands craved touching her skin, so he gave in to the urge, and his right hand found and cupped a breast. He gently squeezed and pulled the nipple, and Sasha sighed into his mouth and clung to him tighter.

John gasped when her hand slid around his erection. She gently stroked it up and down until his breathing was filled with gasps.

His hand slid down to her ass, and he began to knead the firm flesh. Sasha gasped and rocked forward against his groin. He felt himself sliding up and down her wet opening. She began to position herself to take him inside, but he froze.

"I don't have a condom!" he gasped.

"Is fine. I'm not in heat," she explained.

"What? What does that mean?" he asked, confused.

"I cannot get pregnant at this time," she stressed and tried to mount him again.