As it turns out,stealing the books and almost burning down the whole village was unnecessary.
The curse seems to be working itself out.
The small changes I’ve been noticing lately weren’t in my imagination. Gray is more human now, and actually spends some time fully human before the curse makes her revert back to her half-wolf state. There’s no rhyme or reason to it, no spell or curse we managed to find in the books, nor anything we did.
It just happened one day. When I went to sleep, I was laying next to a wolf creature, my wolf. When I woke up, there was a muscular, very naked woman with long gray hair curled up next to me in bed, snuggled against my back with her nose buried in the back of my neck.
Needless to say, we had a bit of a shouting match before I finally managed to get it through my head that it was Gray I waslooking at and not some random woman who had snuck into bed with me.
Even now, it’s still a surprise to see her like this, with long gray hair that brushes her shoulderblades, her mismatched eyes peering at me from beneath dark, full lashes. Her lips are full, a thin scar running through the lower one, always slightly parted like she’s about to say something that never quite comes out. Her fingers are long, her nails short and pale compared to the claws I’m used to. She’s still taller than me, broad shouldered and sturdy; she might not be a wolf any more, but I’m certain she could still carry me if she needed to.
As if she can sense my eyes on her, she glances up from stacking wood, offering a bright smile that shows off her teeth, still just slightly too sharp to be human. Her bare feet make no sound as she pads over to join me, snuggling against my back. Her hands tighten against my hips and she buries her nose in the crook of my neck, offering a gentle kiss. She still loves to hold me like this and inhale deeply, even if her senses aren’t nearly as good as they used to be.
“Feeling okay?” she asks.
I nod and she hums softly, clearly pleased. As a human, she can’t purr or growl like she used to, but she knows that humming produces the same vibrations, so she likes to do that because it’s the closest thing she has to a purr.
I turn in her arms, rubbing my knuckles gently over her sharp jaw. It’s still so strange, to feel the softness of human skin when I touch her rather than her fur, but I’m getting used to it.
Just like I’m getting used to our new cave, farther from my village or any other for that matter. It’s taken weeks for us to move everything into the new cave, and it’s finally starting to feel like home.
It’s hard not to feel the urge to look over my shoulder, prepared for someone to chase us or lay a trap, but we’re farfrom my old home; no one knows us here, nor are we close enough to any human settlements to pose a danger to them. There’s no reason that we can’t live here peacefully, but it’s hard to remind myself of that.
"Do you miss it?" Gray asks quietly, her breath warm against my ear. "Being closer to... civilization?"
I consider this, watching the late afternoon sunlight filter through the entrance of our new cave. It's smaller than our old one, but cozier somehow. We've arranged it carefully over these past weeks. Our bed is in the deepest recess for warmth and safety, there’s a small cooking area near the entrance where the smoke can escape, and shelves carved into the rock walls for our stolen books and the few belongings we managed to salvage.
"No," I say finally, and I'm surprised to realize I mean it. "I thought I would, but... no. This feels right."
Gray pulls back slightly to study my face, those mismatched eyes searching for any hint of deception. It's one of the things that hasn't changed about her, that intense way she looks at me, like she's trying to memorize every detail.
"Even with all the uncertainty?" she presses. "Not knowing when I'll change back, or for how long I'll stay human?"
I reach up to cup her face in my hands, running my thumbs along her cheekbones. "Especially with the uncertainty."
Her brow furrows in confusion, and I smile.
"Gray, for most of my life, I knew exactly what each day would bring. I'd wake up alone, tend to my garden, try to sew something good enough to sell in the village even though no one would ever dare to buy from me. I'd go to bed alone, and do it all again the next day." I brush a strand of her gray hair behind her ear. "It was safe, I suppose. Predictable. But it wasn't living."
She leans into my touch, eyes fluttering closed. "And this is?"
"This is everything," I whisper. "Waking up next to you, whether you're human or not. Not knowing what we'll discoverin those books we stole, or whether we'll find a way to give you more control over the transformations. Not knowing what's beyond those mountains to the east, or whether we'll decide to find out together."
When she opens her eyes again, there's something bright, and possibly full of wonder, in them.
"Besides," I add with a grin, "have you seen yourself as a human? I'd be crazy to complain about that."
She laughs, a rich sound that echoes off the cave walls. "Flatterer."
"It's not flattery if it's true." I trace the line of her jaw with one finger. "Though I have to admit, I miss your purr sometimes."
As if summoned by my words, she begins to hum again, that low, vibrating sound that makes my bones resonate in sympathy. I melt against her, letting the familiar comfort of it wash over me.
We stand like that for a long moment, just holding each other as the sun continues its descent toward the horizon. Then Gray stiffens slightly, her head turning toward the cave entrance.
"What is it?" I ask, immediately alert.
She's quiet for a few heartbeats, listening to something I can't hear. Then she relaxes. "Just a deer, I think. My hearing isn't what it used to be when I'm like this."
