It was the last Friday of April and Timber was in her wolf form running around the living room barking joyfully. Grace was having no success trying to get her to settle down and Emily's laughter was only encouraging her. It was Field Day at school to celebrate Earth Day. There were no lessons and it was a half-day for Timber and Emily before spring break so Chad and Grace had purchased tickets for their first ride on the Skunk Train.
"Timber, if you don't stop right now, you're goin' to be late for school," said Grace. "Now come here and eat breakfast." Timber didn't listen and kept running around the living room. "Timber, stop right now or I'm keepin' you home from school."
Timber stopped running and stared at her aunt. Grace was standing in the kitchen in her pink floral dress and pristine white apron with her hands on her hips and her eyes narrowed. Timber did not want to miss anything at school so she ran over to the table with her tail between her legs and started tearing into her bacon.
"Timber, would you resume your human form, please?"
Timber looked up and scowled but the look on Grace's face erased all desire to protest and she Turned. Seeing Timber in human form made Emily sit at the table and eat her breakfast too. Timber was quiet and obedient for the rest of the morning before she left for school. She knew better than to push Grace.
When it was time to leave, she hugged her aunt and cousin goodbye and took off running. She didn't have her backpack, just her lunchbox with a snack and her digital camera so she wasn't weighed down. Timber ran to school and immediately went to the monkey bars on the playground.
"Wow, you're really out of breath!" said Kendra.
"Did you run all the way here?" asked Ashley, and Timber nodded as she sat down on the tanbark.
"I don't think even Xianna could do that," said Kendra. "She's fast in short distances but she only knows one speed."
"Come to think of it, the last time we did the mile, Timber was the only one able to run the whole thing without stopping or slowing down," said Ashley.
"Is that - a bad - thing?" huffed Timber.
"No," said Kendra. "It's just very impressive."
"Good morning," called Xianna, walking toward them. "What's wrong, Timber?"
"She ran all the way here," said Ashley.
"Wow!" said Xianna with wide eyes. "So I've got some great news! My brother just got accepted to Seattle University!"
"That's wonderful!" said Timber.
"When is he leaving?" asked Ashley.
"Well, he has to finish the semester at the College of the Redwoods," said Xianna. "He said he would stay and take me on a camping trip when school ended. Then he's leaving. He said he wants to get familiar with the area before school starts."
"That makes sense," said Kendra. "Are you better now, Timber?"
"Yeah," Timber replied as she got to her feet. "I was just excited about today, I wanted to get here as fast as I could."
"I was up early this morning," said Kendra. "Scared my mom because I hate mornings."
"I didn't want to sleep last night, I was so excited," said Ashley. "So my dad sent my brothers and I out back to run out my energy before dinner."
"Did it work?" asked Xianna.
"Well, I fell asleep at the dinner table so you tell me," laughed Ashley. "The only thing I object to is the request to wear a white t-shirt. This is my brother's old shirt. I'm not too thrilled."
YOU ARE READING
The TimberWolf Effect (Book I)
WerewolfNine-year-old orphan Timber Brogan was headed to an unknown future with her father's sister and her family. Being half-human and a trained killer, Timber must learn to embrace her more human side and accept her new family despite her fear. But life...
