Shifting Fortunes

Chapter 5. And then there were two

In her dream she was eight years old and her mother had just made her breakfast. Steaming scrambled eggs piled high on her plate alongside toast scraped with butter. Her mother Annie had shaped the toast into love hearts. Her favorite. She happily took a bite, smiling at her mother who was doing the washing up.

Someone else entered the room, and a shrill chirp sounded behind her. Sam twisted in her seat curiously. Steve, Annie's current boyfriend, was standing in the kitchen doorway, beaming. He was holding up a big gold cage with a gorgeous, blue budgerigar in it. Sam's heart skipped a beat, a huge smile forming on her still innocent face.

"What do you think, Sammy?" Steve asked with a laugh as he came and placed the gold cage on the table beside her. Annie clasped her hands together in pleasure, a big smile on her face as she watched her daughter's reaction. Sam's eyes never left the pretty blue bird sitting inside the cage, chirping happily. She turned her big green globes onto Steve.

"What kind of bird is it?" she asked tremulously. She'd never, ever had a pet before. Steve squatted beside her, ruffling her hair gently with one hand, his brown eyes twinkling at her.

"He's a budgie, Sammy. He's yours - you can name him anything you like. Happy birthday."

Disbelief flooded her young mind, even at that age, Sam had never felt she ever really deserved anything nice. She knew her eyes were shining with tears. She looked back at the blue budgie. So blue. Blue as the sky on a clear day. "Sky. Can we call him Sky?"

Fast forward two weeks later.

Samantha ran screaming from her room, away from Steve. He tried to touch her while she slept. She'd woken with one of his hands up her night shirt. He stumbled blearily after her; drunk. "Come back, Sammy! Don't you know how much I love you? Don't run away from me, sweetie."

Annie had woken to find the man missing from her bed and ran out of her room. She took in the unbelievable scene unfolding in front of her, her own green eyes staring in shock at the man she had allowed into her home.

Sammy dove into her arms, sobbing, but her mother told her to run down the stairs. And so Sammy had run, even as she heard crashing sounds coming from upstairs. The first thing she saw as she ran into the living room was Sky. In his golden prison. Racing towards him, she flung his door open, and gently scooped him out like she always did.

The bird had gently cooed at her, rubbing his head on her hand, bobbing up and down happily at the attention. Not really thinking, she took Sky over to the back door and opened it. Raising her hand high, she sobbed heavily as the bird sensed freedom and took off.

She watched him fly away into the night, wishing that she could too. That was where her mother had found her, frantically sobbing in the doorway; then she was pulling her child into the car, hands trembling.

Sam finally sunk into shock and she watched with emotionless detachment as her mother hysterically backed the car out, knocking over the trash cans that the neighbours had neatly stacked the evening before. Tears drying and streaked across her face, she just continued looking upwards, the street lights blinding her. She never saw Sky again.

************

The sky was so blue. The bird flying above her was so high, she couldn't tell what it was. She wished she could join it. She dozed fitfully, half asleep, half awake, toying with the idea of shifting into the budgie she'd set free so many years ago. It was the only bird she'd ever touched, but she knew that the blue budgerigar would never make any distance.

It was too conspicuous, too out of character for a forest, and too small to make it far. God, if only she'd had the opportunity to touch an eagle or a falcon. Even just a seagull. She mumbled lightly her disappointment, stretching her limbs carefully, enjoying the sunshine and heat warming her body.

She rolled over and snuggled back into a firm, warm chest. She stilled immediately.

What the-?

Instantly wide awake, Sam leapt out of her dreamy thoughts and snapped her eyes wide open. They were looking at a strong chin dusted with stubble. Her hands were resting on a hard stomach coated lightly with a sprinkling of hair, her breasts pressed into a lean rib cage.

Oh God

, she whimpered as she realized that she'd actually thrown a leg over his.

Shit, shit, shit

, she cursed frantically as she refused to look lower than his stomach. She refused to even think where her suddenly aching pussy was pressed against, her traitorous leg draped over his, forcing her close. Her eyes whipped straight back up to his face, relief washing through her when she realized he was still soundly asleep.

Gently now, with extreme care, Sam extracted her leg from over his. Her eyes warily watched his for any sign of him awakening. Every flutter of his eyelashes sent mortification crashing through her. Her heart was thudding in her veins, she was sure it would wake him up.

Easing her upper body away from his side, she had successfully removed all contact with him, when his eyes suddenly flickered open.

Fuck!

In an instant she had shifted.

Jake was pleasantly warm, he was snuggled against something soft and sweet smelling, but it had gone. He opened his eyes and blindly reached for it and was greeted with a handful of fur. Fur? Confused, he sat up on his elbows and realized that he'd inadvertently grabbed Sam. Only she was a wolf. Damn, had she never once shifted back from that form? Had she been awake all night?

Groaning, he started to sit up, then realized he was buck naked. And he had an embarrassing morning condition. More worried about her than himself, he immediately stood up with his back to her without saying a word, and walked off behind a tree to relieve himself. Plenty of time for good mornings when he wasn't so, well, indisposed. His muscles ached from the blinding run last night.

Sam watched Jake walk away, suddenly mesmerized. Unlike the day before, this time she was unable to avoid looking at him. All of him. Oh Lord, he was stunning. He had been so hard and...Sam's mind groped for the right word.

Huge. Thick. Hot. Fuckable

, her sub conscious taunted her.

No, no, no!

Sam desperately stamped that other voice down even as she watched his gorgeous, tight butt disappear around the trunk of a large old pine.

She desperately hoped he hadn't noticed her wolf's eyes leering at him.

Distraction.

THINK

, she demanded herself. Instantly she was gratefully rewarded with the sensation of incredible thirst. They needed water. She vaguely remembered hearing a river not far off last night, and she turned away from Jake's direction. She sat carefully, ears flicking about, nose twitching, grateful for this task.

Sure enough, a faint rushing reached straining, sensitive ears, and she immediately marched off in the direction. She had no idea where they were. As she followed the sound, she kept her foot falls light, the pads of her feet treading softly on pine needles and bracken. The trees were much thinner here than near the cabin. Spots of sunlight seeped easily through the branches.

She looked curiously around her and viewed the forest as the wolf saw it. Lots of possible areas to find prey, faint animal trails leading across her path, but water was their main priority. They needed to drink. They had run so far yesterday and for so long. She didn't want to think why right now.

The warm sunshine was a pleasant change from the recent, frigid weather. Her wolf reveled in it and she took the time to halt and lengthen her front paws out in front of her in a quick stretch. Sinuous muscles flexed languidly in the sun, the light causing her thick coat to turn almost cobalt. Sam could feel the wolf's senses enjoy the brief respite before continuing on.

It didn't take long. The rushing sound became consistently louder. The racket then becoming deafening and it became apparent why; a waterfall dropped from a short cliff face in front of her into a deep pool, stilling briefly before morphing into a rushing river thirty or so yards to the right. The waterfall itself was small, but the sheer amount of water dropping over its edge was incredible.

Sam stood in awe, taking in its rugged beauty. The rocks were washed black with its force. Small ferns dotted here and there. Sunlight filtered easily through the thinned out pines surrounding the pool. The water was so clear and tantalizing. A light spray from the waterfall misted upwards, causing the sunlight to flicker iridescently through it.

Sam knew Jake hadn't followed her yet, and her human desires quickly won out before she got too chicken. The pool was far too tempting, and she was so dirty, her muscles needing a soak. Quickly she shifted back to herself and dove into the deep pool, careful not to get too close to the quick rapids off to the right.

A laugh bubbled up as she resurfaced. It had taken an instant to realize that although she'd once had a pet fish, she had never thought to actually touch it. One of the primary schools she'd attended had even had a resident turtle, but she had been too cautious of it to pick it up like the other children had. It would have been fun to try swimming like a fish in the water.

She'd have to itemize all the animals she could change into, she thought briefly as the cold water made her shiver a little. The wolf was the only useful one she had in her current situation. A dog or a cat wouldn't cut it out here, but maybe when, and if, they hit suburbia they could be useful.

She slicked her blonde hair back out of her face as she tread water in the deeper water, different thoughts flickering through her mind. It was tempting to just stay out in the wilderness and live as an animal. She briefly wondered how Jake had got close enough to touch a mountain lion. It was a beautiful creature.

Submerging herself again in the crisp water sent a thrill up her spine, raising goosebumps on her skin again. For now, she pushed the dark thoughts about her pursuers that were threatening to rise down again. She had never skinny dipped before. Sam stifled a chuckle as she realized that's definitely what she was doing.

She swallowed great gulps of water down, the clean, crisp taste only serving to make her feel even happier, effectively quenching her raging thirst. In this moment she was happy.

The sun and the cool water were just the right combination, and her initial shivers dampened as her body adapted to the sensation. She became lost in languid strokes as she drifted closer to shore and her toes dug into the soft, sandy bottom of the dark pool.

**********

Jake stayed in the edge of the trees.

He had had a moment's panic when he'd returned and found her gone. He immediately thought she had run away from him again, and instantly changed into his wolf. Fear licked at his heart, and he didn't take time to question it.

He'd found her trail straight away and as he quickly traced it, he relaxed as he had realized that there was no twisting and turning, no indications that she had moved faster than a walk, and certainly no panic to her scent.

A few seconds later, when Jake heard the rushing water sound, he'd felt relief when he figured out her intentions were just to find water. At that thought, his throat immediately felt like it was on fire with thirst. He'd raced ahead to the river, heedless of her trail now.

Then he'd seen her in the water. He'd had to stop short before he burst out onto the shore. She was stroking effortlessly through the water, and he inhaled a quick gasp as she rose far enough out of the water for hard, pink nipples to appear, the cold water teasing and lapping at them.

If his mouth was dry before, it went even drier. He turned instantly back into human form, his cock harder than it had been when he'd woken up. Hot claws of desire scraped up his spine and shivered down it again. He jealously watched the water flicker over those nipples the way his tongue itched to do.

Finally, he wrenched his eyes away from her, even as her nipples ducked back below the water and she swirled around, completely unaware of his heated gaze. She was like a goddess, and he fervently thanked whatever fate had led her to him, no matter how dire the consequences.

He had to physically force his body to turn and take a step away. Then another. Finally he thought himself far enough away out of view before he shouted out of the trees. Feeling guilty for the ruse he was about to create, but knowing it was necessary, he tensed himself. "Sam? Sam!"

************

Sam instantly ducked herself into the water, her chin even dipping under.

Shit!

She'd waited too long before getting out. She supposed her wolf could tread water but she'd never tried, and she didn't want to get swept into the rapids while she was figuring out the doggy paddle. Maybe she could make it to the shore before he made it there. No suck luck. She quickly averted her eyes again as Jake came out the trees.

She heard his low whistle and his excited laugh, then a huge splash as he dove into the water as well. Startled, she whipped her eyes back onto him. Christ, she hadn't been expecting that. She was fucking naked and they were in the water together. Naked. Both of them.

Good one Captain Obvious

, the annoying sub conscious irked at her.

Frantically, she looked down and realized the water was dark enough and murky enough that she couldn't see past her shoulders. A part of her relaxed marginally as she watched him come up for air.

"Holy shit, this is incredible!" he yelled excitedly, letting out a whoop of glee as he flicked his wet hair back out of his face. Sam cautiously raised her chin out of the water as she realized he was maintaining a good few meters distance between them. She couldn't help but smile at his enthusiasm, his brown and gold flecked eyes reflecting his joy. The water dripped down his shadowed cheeks, stubble dusting his chiseled chin, his mouth a warm, pink slash to break up the hard features. Sam's heart stuttered. He really was gorgeous.

Jake swept mouthfuls of the pure, fresh water into his mouth and felt his body adjust to the temperature. He was grateful that the initial blast of cold water had dampened down his raging erection. Looking over at her though, he felt his cock twitch again. Her green eyes were sparkling, her blonde hair slicked back as rivulets of water cascaded down her face. She was absolutely stunning, a little smile suddenly quirking one side of her mouth up.

He was so caught up in looking at her, that he didn't notice her subtle movement until a slew of water suddenly hit him square in the face, interrupting his view of her. Shocked, he coughed and spluttered, blinking water out of his eyes, only to hear the tinkling sound of her laugh. A big grin stole upon his face, and he felt a huge, satisfying smirk rise up in him. So it was like that, was it?

Sam laughed as she practically drowned him with the spray of water. It died out when she saw his eyes narrow and the big, evil smile reaching across his gorgeous face.

Uh oh

, Sam caught her breath, her heart leaping within her. She hadn't really thought about the consequences as he started swimming toward her. "Oh no, you are gonna get it," he growled.

Sam shrieked and turned tale as the first onslaught of cold water hit her on the back of her head. Laughing, she turned back. The surface of the pool was rippling slightly from the waterfall. No Jake.

What the-?

she thought for the second time that day.

"Jake?" she asked cautiously. Just what was in the pool anyway, did rivers like this one have alligators in them? The thought speared fear into her. "Jake, don't fuck with me!"

Suddenly something grabbed at her legs and she screamed as she was pulled under the water. She kicked violently as she swallowed a mouth full of water, freeing herself and kicking back to the surface.

She rose spluttering, ready to head straight for the shore when Jake popped up, laughing uproariously right next to her. Still trying to blink the water from her eyes, she looked at him incredulously. Then her own eyes narrowed. He noticed. He struggled to contain his laughter.

"Aw, Sam, I was just playing. I'm sorry if I scared you," he chuckled, trying hard to suppress his grin. He was also trying to suppress the sudden urge he was having of slipping his hands through the water and wrapping them around her waist. She was so close. She didn't even say anything, and aside from sending him a mutinous glare, she just turned away and started to swim away.

He stifled another laugh. It had felt so good to play with her like this, though he admitted he may have got a little carried away. He followed her, eventually catching up and swimming by her side.

"Come on, it was funny. You gotta admit," he teased her gently, the corner of his mouth pulling up in what he thought was his most charming smile.

Sam had to force her mouth not to reciprocate, and she turned her head from him. Damn him. He had actually scared her, and she didn't need scared from him right now. Mostly she just felt bloody stupid and like a fool for thinking the thoughts she had. Alligators indeed. She felt her cheeks heat up a little and she frowned at herself.

A hand tentatively touched the small of her back and it felt like an electric shot had zapped through her. She stilled instantly, toes digging into the soft bottom, shoulders just level with the water's surface. Jake was really close, and his closeness was doing confusing things to her. He was taller than her, so his pecks were out of the water and his dark pink nipples were tight and hard, the light dusting of hair that surrounded them damp, and beaded with water. Her tongue darted out to wet her suddenly dry mouth.

Jake had been surprised at how she had stopped at his touch. He hadn't meant to do anything more, he just wanted to tell her he was sorry for obviously scaring her. Stupid prank. But then she'd stopped and she was looking at him like that, and it was making it really hard to restrain himself. Then that little pink tongue darted out onto her lips as she stared at his chest, and his cock leapt against his stomach.

There was no way he could stop his hand from snaking around her waist this time, and that's exactly what he did. His blood started to pound as it headed immediately southward. He felt like he was on fire, even in the cool water. The sound of his heart accelerating started to drown out the sound of the waterfall. Did she feel it too?

Jake's hand blazed a trail of fire wherever it landed, and as it started to draw her gently toward him, Sam found she couldn't look away from his gold flecked eyes, like she was hypnotized. There was a roaring in her ears that wasn't the waterfall. How could she feel so hot in the water? His dark hair was shaggy and long, starting to curl at his neck as it began to dry. Her fingers itched to thread themselves through it.

Both his hands were on her waist now and she was facing him, staring into his eyes tremulously. The second his eyes slipped to her lips, she knew she was in trouble, and she unconsciously darted her tongue out again to wet them.

Jake groaned and finally surrendered to his needs; her tongue flicking out again like it had before splintering the last of his resolve. His mouth came down on hers, slanting against her own, taking advantage of the parted lips and forcing his tongue in against hers. He heard her moan gently at his possession and it only stoked his desire more.

She was definitely on fire, Sam acknowledged hazily. Her eyes closed as his mouth claimed hers and all she could do now was feel. She wanted this badly. She didn't want this at all. God, she ached for him. The flurry of emotions and confused feelings swirled around and around in her head, but all reason was immediately lost the second on of his hands swept up her side and brushed against the under side of her breast. She was a goner.