10. Harper

CHAPTER TEN

HARPER

T he next morning, Aria and I woke bright and early to head up to Enski Mountain once again. Aria seemed excited. I talked to her about what Jasper said about the potential of shifting into a wolf, but I still worried how she would actually feel when it was happening. Would she be herself while she was a wolf? I again tried to do some research, but a lot of what I found felt like scare tactics as opposed to real information.

The drive up to the mountain was beautiful. There were pretty strict rules about selling in the mountains. Apparently, a deal had been brokered a long time ago about pack territory, so humans mostly stayed away. Meaning my company would never sell up here, but it was nice.

I rode up the long, winding, drive and my jaw dropped when I saw the house. The place had to be at least three stories. It was a modern lodge style, with an A-frame roof and tons of windows, as well as a perfectly manicured lawn. There was a large, wrap-around porch that extended around the back of the house. I was itching to ask the price, but I thought that should wait for another time.

My palms were sweating against the cracking steering wheel. This house felt like a reminder of how different we were, and though we'd only been on a few dates, they never made me feel any different. I tried to hold onto that thought as I got out of the car and stepped up to the front door.

Before I could even press the bell, the door flew open, startling me. I gasped, and Leo looked sheepish. "Sorry," he said. "I heard you coming."

"How?" I asked. My car wasn't that loud.

"Wolves have very good hearing," he said, moving the door open so we could come in.

"Hi, Aria. How are you?" he asked.

"Good. I'm excited to be a wolf!" she said.

Leo laughed. "I bet you are."

When we got inside, my mouth fell open once more. There were huge vaulted ceilings with exposed wooden beams. For a house so grand, everything was very open and understated. The furniture was all warm browns and light neutrals. The main sitting area was in front of us, with an industrial-sized kitchen to the side. A large brick fireplace sat on the far wall. The whole place looked like it was ripped from a Pinterest page that one of my clients would bring me. I had the urge to explore every nook and cranny, not just for my job, but to get to know them. If I had to guess, a lot of the design in here came from Leo, but I was sure I would find touches of the others if I looked hard enough.

"Your house is amazing," I said.

"Thank you. I did a lot of the decorating."

"I could tell," I noted.

"Are those blocks?" Aria asked, running towards the living room. Sure enough, there were blocks, dolls, and a rug that looked like a city laid out in the living room.

"What's all this?" I asked Leo.

He looked a bit shy. "We thought we should get you guys some things to make you comfortable."

"Can I play?" Aria asked.

"Of course," I said. She ran to the toys and started building quickly.

Leo slid up next to me. "Do you mind if I hug you?" he asked.

"Of course," I said, confused.

He wrapped his arm around my waist, and I easily leaned into him. "I just wasn't sure what you told her about us."

Ah. In all honesty, we didn't talk about it, but I wasn't sure what I would tell her. I wouldn't want her to think they were permanent. We hadn't been dating that long, and who knew what could happen? Plus, we weren't going to stay here forever. Once Aria figured out her shifting, we would be going home.

Leo kissed me on the temple, removing me from my thoughts.

"Where's everyone else?" I asked.

"Hawthorne was showering last I checked, and Jasper went to the clinic this morning to check on Aria's results. He should be back soon. Do you guys want breakfast?"

"I would love some." I hadn't had anything to eat since last night. "Ari, you hungry?" I asked. She'd had some fruit in the morning, but the girl could eat.

"Yes, please," she said.

"I've got bagels with cream cheese and apples."

"Sounds delicious." I brought Aria to the kitchen to help wash her hands. When we went out to the table, Leo had set up the booster seat I brought for her and was cutting up her bagel, an already cut-up apple next to it.

My food was set out too, a toasted bagel and cut apple next to it.

"Thank you," I said. I helped Aria up before sitting down and eating with her, Leo on the other side.

"Good morning," Hawthorne said from behind us.

I almost choked when I saw him. He was dressed in a pair of jeans and a simple henley that clung to his body in the most delicious way. His hair was still damp, water dripping from it.

"Hi, Hawthorne," Aria said, snapping me out of my dangerously smutty thoughts.

"Hi Aria." He joined us at the table. "Are you excited to learn how to shift?"

"I'm gonna be a wolf and go grrr," she said.

He laughed. "You're gonna be the coolest wolf out there."

She started yapping about wolves, which led her to talking about dogs, which somehow turned into talking about space.

But Leo and Hawthorne took it all in stride, chiming in on all the nonsense easily. This all felt so easy and domestic, but the doubt that it could last came creeping in.

"So, about the shifting," Hawthorne started, pulling me from my thoughts. "We can coach her a bit, but it's something that happens naturally. When the small things start, they pick up quickly, and it probably won't be long until she starts shifting fully. What we need to teach her to do is switch back."

"And you can do that?" I asked.

"Yes. Though some people describe their wolves as something separate, like a conscience, it's really just another part of you. Like any other emotion, kids need to learn how to regulate them."

Explained like that, it sounded less difficult and scary, which made me feel better. I was so worried it would be something I couldn't ever understand or help her with, but laid out like that it seemed manageable.

When we were done, I tried to help clean up but was shooed away. So, Hawthorne and I played with Aria for most of the morning. We built block towers and knocked them over, just to do it all again.

A little while later, we went outside where Hawthorne raked up a bunch of leaves and let Aria jump into the piles.

She leap into one, and I gasped when she popped back up and had ears and a snout.

"Mom!" she squealed. "I feel like I'm going to explode again."

I looked to Hawthorne, who had a light smile on his face. "Aria, come here."

She bound over, her speed seeming a bit increased. He squatted down to her level, looking her in the eyes. "Can you feel anything else?" he asked. "Like something else wants to take over?"

She looked to think about it. "Maybe. It feels weird." There were nerves in her voice, and I wished to ease her.

"That's okay," he assured. "I want you to take a big deep breath for me and try to relax. Let the feeling happen. Can you do that?"

She nodded. She inhaled in an exaggerated way before exhaling. A few more breaths later, and more of her started to change. Her body crouched, and she seemed a bit uncomfortable.

Hawthorne didn't show any signs of concern, so I continued to watch. Soon, her entire body was small and furry, and she looked like a baby wolf. Her hair was a reddish blonde, her eyes a bit gold.

"Oh my Gods," I said, eyes wide. I couldn't believe my daughter just turned into a wolf in front of my eyes.

"How do you feel, Aria?" he asked.

"I feel much better!" she said. Her voice sounded a bit different like this, but she was herself, which made me relieved.

"That's good." She bumbled her walking a bit, but I had to imagine having paws was different than feet.

"Mom, look how cool I am!"

"You're very cool," I told her. "And very pretty."

"Thank you."

She turned back towards the pile of leaves and bounded into it, running much faster on four legs.

"What now?" I asked Hawthorne.

"For now, we let her enjoy this, and then I'll help her shift back."

Aria ran around the yard, leaping and bounding over things as she got used to being on all fours.

"Did she shift?" Leo asked, joining us.

"Yeah. She's a natural," Hawthorne said, a bit of pride in his voice.

"She's so cute! I'm sad I missed the first time." Leo said. He said it like he missed her first steps.

Aria came back around the house and jumped at Leo, who caught her easily. As she did, she scratched his arm slightly.

"Oh, I'm so sorry. Are you okay?" I asked, running over to examine the red marks on his arms.

"I'm fine," he assured. "Shifters have advanced healing, so these will be gone quickly." He faced Aria. "But your mom doesn't have that, so you need to be careful not to hurt her, okay?"

"Okay!" she said. She leapt from his arms and went about her running once more.

"For as young as she is, she's very large in wolf form," Leo noted.

"I was going to say the same," Hawthorne agreed.

"What does that mean?" I asked.

"Nothing in particular," Hawthorne assured. "It's just an observation."

She ran around for about an hour more before finally looking tired. "I didn't know she could have more energy than she already did," I said as she laid on my leg in the grass. I pet her head gently, the same way I would run my fingers through her hair.

"Yeah, young pups seem to never stop," Leo said. "My sister's son is a menace."

I laughed. "How old is he?"

"Six," Leo said. "Maybe I could invite them over sometime. It would be good for Aria to play with other shifters."

"That sounds great," I said. It would be good for her to find friends who knew what it was like to shift. To my knowledge, all the children at her daycare were human.

"Alright little one, how about we shift back?" Hawthorne said.

"I don't know how," she told him.

"I want you to close your eyes and feel your wolf. Can you feel it?"

She scrunched her face hard. "I think so."

"Good. Now I want you to pretend you have a nice house in your mind. Can you see it?"

"Yea. It's a purple house with stripes."

I laughed at that.

"That sounds like an excellent house," Hawthorne said. "Now, I want you to lead your wolf back into the house. And don't worry, the house has plenty of fun things for her to do."

Aria didn't say anything at first, which made me nervous, until I saw her body start to change and warp back to the little girl I was used to having.

She opened her eyes and looked at her hands. "I did it!"

"You did! You're a natural. It took me two days to shift back after the first time."

My eyes widened. "Two days?"

"Yes. It can be hard to switch back when you've never done it. I remember my mother using that analogy to finally help me shift back."

"Well, I'm glad she didn't take two days." I would have had a heart attack.

"Let's get her inside," Leo said, standing from our spot in the grass and holding his hand out to me. "She's probably going to need a nap after that."

I agreed and let them lead us inside.