Riley

14

I was gone. Flying through my room and out the open balcony door before leaping over the railing, landing on the lawn beneath as if I had jumped from the top step rather than a two-story balcony. I raced across the lawn faster than I ever thought possible. I had no destination in mind, all I wanted to do was run. Run as far and as fast as I possibly could. I made sure to avoid streets and yards (and trees) but my body seemed to be on autopilot. Dodging and turning and just... running as if I had been born like this. I don't know how long I ran for before I was finally able to get a grip on my emotions, but the moon was high in the night sky before I finally slowed to a stop, panting lightly. I don't even know what time it was when I left, but it seems like I must have been running for a few hours. However, it only took me a few seconds to realize that I had absolutely no idea where I was. This seems to be a trend for me after interacting with either Richard or his brother. Although, I wasn't even slightly concerned at being lost in the middle of the woods, possibly hours away from home, as a huge tiger. I felt absolutely no anxiety or worry or anything else that a reasonable person would feel in this situation. I chose to believe that it was because of the exhilaration, adrenaline, and complete emotional shut down from all of the recent events.

"Or maybe it's because you're not as lost as you think you are." I felt Benjamin say. I slowly turned, searching for the source of the voice, and my eyes fell on familiar grey ones. Only instead of them belonging to a man, those eyes belonged to a black panther.

'Benjamin?' I thought/said. This animal speech thing is complicated.

"Yep," He responded as the panther walked closer. "Geez, you're big. And apparently a male."

I took a couple of steps back in shock.

"WHAT?!"

"No, no. That came out wrong," Benjamin told me, walking closer. "I meant that your tiger is big. You're a whole three feet taller than me. And then I was slightly shocked that your tiger is male even though your human self isn't."

"My animal is... male?" I asked cautiously. I didn't feel any... additions.

"Yeah. I think it has to do with you being an alpha. That's probably why your animal is so big, too."

"But... I'm not an alpha. Leo is supposedly."

"Leo is the Alpha, but you're still an alpha. It's... complicated. But as great as this is, Dad will kill me if I'm not back by dawn."

"Dawn?" I asked, looking up to see the moon still high in the sky. It was then that I really started to grasp just how far I probably was from the house. "I have to get home!"

"Calm your horses, er... tiger?... whatever. Just follow your scent back to your place. It's quite strong honestly. But, yeah, when you get back just focus on being your human self again and that should do the trick. It'd probably be best if you did it in the bathroom, in front of the mirror."

"What do you mean?"

"You'll see. But I really gotta head back now. Don't worry. Dad will be in touch with you soon. It was nice to finally meet you... big sister." Benjamin said before turning and running off into the woods.

***

'Just follow your scent', he said. 'It's quite strong', he said. 'You're not as lost as you think', he said! Well, screw him! I've never been more freaking lost in my life. I don't even know what my scent is supposed to be! Why doesn't this stuff come with a manual of some sort or, I don't know, some instructions maybe? I'm pretty sure that at the very least I'm supposed to have some kind of instinct or something. Maybe I've got a defective animal. It would explain why I've been wandering around these godforsaken woods for hours. I recall quite clearly informing that Benjamin kid that I needed to get home, but instead of actually helping me get home, he gives some freaking vague ass instructions and runs off. God, I miss the days when my biggest issue was whether I made the soccer team or not. Back when my gene donor was still AWOL, and I had no clue who he was. Those were the simple days. The days before I turned into a giant cat. I guess it's true you never know what you have until it's gone. I let out a harsh breath through my nose. It was as I was breathing back in that I realized that I was standing at the edge of my yard. Well, I guess I do have instincts after all.

A quick jog and an effortless leap and I had made it back into my room. Luckily, it's big enough for me to have room to walk around comfortably. I figured I'd better take Benjamin's advice and try this whole "changing" thing in the bathroom. However, as I turned to head in that direction I heard a small gasp.

"Oh my god!! It's a...there's a...oh my god...there's a FREAKING TIGER IN HERE!!!"

I spun around and found Sara pressed against the far wall with eyes the size of saucers. Before I even knew what I was doing, I was crossing the room towards her. For some reason, I didn't register that I was the thing that she was scared of until her terror-laden scream stopped me in my tracks.

"Please don't eat me!" She screamed while tears were streaming down her face. I started to panic. I didn't know how to tell her that I wasn't going to hurt her and that she didn't have to be scared of me. So, I did the only thing I could think to do and licked her across the face and let my tongue loll out of my mouth in what could only be considered the animal version of a grin.

"W-what?" She asked, stunned. I quickly rolled over onto my back and started squirming, causing her to give a small laugh before hesitantly bending over to rub my underbelly. As embarrassing as it is to admit it, I couldn't stop the loud purr that started the moment she touched me.

"Aww, you're just a big fluffy baby. Aren't you? And you have such pretty fur. But...where did you come from? I mean-" As Sara continued talking, I figured that I should try to change back now that she seemed calm enough. Benjamin had just said to think about my human self. How do I- oh. The image of me looking at my human self in a mirror-filled my mind and I felt the pain start to spread throughout my body. A loud whimper caused Sara to quickly move away again. I felt as if all the bones in my body were being broken and rearranged, which they probably were. When it was finally over, I could only lay panting on the floor.

"Riley!" Sara exclaimed before pulling me into an embrace. I immediately tensed up before gently pulling away and scooting away.

"Sara," I sighed out as I closed my eyes and hung my head.

"Riley, you're a...you have a..." She stuttered out. I let out a long breath.

"Yeah. I was the tiger. I'm so sorry. I know that you're probably scared, and I know that this freaks you out. Hell, it freaks me out. But, I'm still the same person I was before. This is new to me as well, and I'm sorry you had to find out this way. I will completely understand if-"

"Riley! I was trying to say that you have a little extra downstairs now, babe." Sara interrupted my rambling. My head shot up.

"What?!" She only pointed. I followed her finger with my eyes before quickly jumping up in shock. "What the hell?" I grabbed a pillow to cover myself, my face burning with embarrassment.

"Riley, babe, it's okay," Sara said placatingly as she walked towards me.

"H-how are you not...freaking out right now?"

"I am freaking out," she said, pulling me into a hug. "But, as you said, you're still the same person. You're the same girl who owns it on the soccer field. You're the same girl that I've known these past few months. You're still the same girl that gave me the best night of my life. And I still feel the same connection to you. Yeah, you have some freaky shit going on. And yeah, you scared the hell out of me. But, it's honestly kind of badass if you think about it. And, from what I've seen, your not-so-little extra will definitely make our sex life more interesting. Of course, I would like to know the whole story behind this at some point, but for now, as long as you're okay, I'm okay. Alright?" She finished, kissing my cheek.

"Alright," I mumbled, nuzzling my face into her neck. "Thank you, Sara."

"You're welcome. Now, how about you go shower and I'll wait out here for you."

"Okay. And Sara, the others..." I was cut off by lips being pressed firmly against mine.

"Your secret's safe with me. I promise."