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Robyn's Song

Ver. II

By

KMacK

Chapter one

In a way, Robyn's story began on her twelfth birthday, when she received her dearest wish, a ten-speed bicycle. It wasn't that she didn't have a bicycle already, she did; a three-speed second hand thrift shop machine that got her to school and back, but wasn't good for much more than the one mile ride to the junior high school where she was a student along with her three friends--three special friends she had known from elementary school and other more special times.

What made these four young girls so special was that three of them were legends, werewolves, the daughters of werewolves, and just starting to develop the special abilities that would one day make them legends themselves. For now, they were just good friends. Robyn was the odd one out. She was Smooth-human, of human parents who were of the Kindred, a secretive and special group of people who helped legends stay legends and protected their unusual and furred friends from the dangers of a more and more inquisitive world that kept slipping closer and closer to their hidden society of fang and fur.

Robyn was the only daughter of George and Marlena Terrell, and as such was perhaps a bit spoiled; but she was easy to spoil, being of sweet and happy disposition although a bit headstrong on occasion.

The bicycle was a responsibility as well as a pleasure; it was her parents' granting her freedom to visit her friends so long as she was willing to be responsible for the secret that her parents kept. She had promised them that she would keep faith with them and the Kindred's secret when she was able to see her friends on days other than school days and when the families were together at Moon Song, and occasionally when their parents would get together and the four girls would have a day of fun and games. The were's always had games for this and that, modified from their wulfen ancestors' games of hunting and stalking into modern hiding and disguising. They hid not only from the casually curious, but from those who would seek them for less than savory reasons.

The twelfth birthday was special for were's, as it marked the start of the Great Change, where human appearing children started to grow into their wulfen inheritance. Usually the ears were the first to change, going from human round and lobed to wulfen cup-and-point, tipped by a light coating of fur. Robin had been to Shirley's twelfth birthday, six months earlier, and now Shirley and her family were at Robin's birthday; and Robyn was overjoyed, especially since Gretchen, the Pack's WhiteCoat, or "Lunar Crested Servant" was there with them. Gretchen was the Pack's priestess, healer, seer, and general source of good advice, and her attendance at Robyn's party was especially wonderful as it marked the degree of closeness that the Terrell's had with their Pack, and by tradition Gretchen would look into the web of possible futures and tell of the ones that showed the best for Robyn to pursue as she grew up.

"Thank-you, Gretchen," Robyn said respectfully to the Servant, "I know how important this is, and I will do my best to live properly so that the good futures will come to pass."

"Relax, little cousin," Gretchen replied with a smile; "You're a good young lady, and if you avoid the worst of the possible futures that I see, you should fall into the good ones as easily as young Shirley sneaks extra meat when she thinks no one's looking." Robyn laughed at that because her friend Shirley was always trying to nibble a bit of this or that without being caught, and usually succeeding.

"Now, I'll go shift and you wait here. Your parents will bring you in when it's time," Gretchen explained to Robyn carefully. She would shift to her wulfen form and sink into a light trance, and from there would seek into the Goddess' loom of life for the threads that were Robyn's potentials. She would appear as a large wolf, white as snow like the Arctic wolves; but unlike them, her exposed skin on her nose and pads of her feet would be grey, the grey of the shadows on the lunar surface.

Robyn was suddenly surprised by Shirley, who popped out from behind a chair and motioned to Robyn to come to her. When Robyn was beside her friend, Shirley brushed her hair back from her ears and pointed to them: Last week, they had been slightly pointed, now they were classically werewolf cup-and-points, with brown fur at their tips.

"Neat!" Robyn squeaked; "Really neat! When did they finish changing?"

"Yesterday," Shirley replied. "It was really weird, 'cause I went to sleep with just my regular baby ears, then when I woke up; they had shifted on their own."

"And naturally, you slept right through it," Robyn countered; "you'll sleep through your tail growing, I'll bet."

"I will not," Shirley replied defensively, pouting; "They say it hurts awful, at first. Then it just grows and it's there. Won't sleep through all of that!" she added.

"Yeah, the pain will probably keep you awake," Robyn teased.

"Keep that up and I'll bite you, and then we'll see who sleeps through what!" Shirley growled, trying to look fierce and failing miserably, "I don't sleep all the time; just through Geography class..." The fierce look gave way to a pout.

"So I have to take notes for both of us," Robyn returned, joking; "It isn't that boring."

"Is too, especially after lunch," Shirley grumbled, "You have it just before lunch, and hunger keeps you awake. I'm not so lucky; a wolf sleeps after a meal."

"You aren't a wolf yet," Robyn snickered, "especially around Jimmy Dillon."

"Jimmy is nice," Shirley replied, "And he's wulfen, so he's safe."

"Yeah," Robyn said sadly; "You know, I don't know any boys who aren't wulfen. I can't even kiss..."

"Well," Shirley said, "You could Cross Over. Then all the boys you know would be safe." To Shirley it made perfect sense for her friend to Cross, but Robyn had other ideas.

"Yeah," Robyn replied, "but that's a one-way trip. I'd have to hide all my life..."

"Like I don't?" Shirley grumbled, "It's neat, yeah, but I can't wear sandals any more; my feet are changing and by summer they'll be fully formed. It already hurts to walk a lot, and my parents say no high heels until my heels won't touch the floor. I'm wearing lifts in my shoes already, and they aren't helping much; and besides that, when I run like in Gym, I run out of my shoes. Bummer."

Robyn thought for a moment, then suggested; "Look, I have some money saved up, why don't we get another set of heels put on your school shoes that are thicker, so they fit better. I'll pay for it, how much can it cost?"

"You would?" Shirley asked with a happy surprise in her voice, "Robs, you're the greatest, but I can pay for them, I still have some of my birthday stash left."

"Which you want to save up for that cologne so you can wow Ji-mmy," Robyn giggled. "Why not halves? That way you can still get the cologne and have happy feet."

"Ahem," said a voice from above them. It was Robyn's father with a small smile on his face. "If you two want to keep things secret, you'll need to speak a little more quietly. Robs, it's time."

Robyn was blushing furiously as she got up. Shirley was still kneeling and grinning; she still could, both of her teeth hadn't changed yet. Robyn stood and looked at her father; "I guess I'm ready," she said. Gretchen was a nice person, but when she was in fur, she was just a little weird to be around. Sometimes, Robyn thought she saw someone else looking out through Gretchen's eyes, someone who was not Gretchen. When she had hurt herself by twisting her ankle at a Moon Singing, Gretchen had come and just held her sore ankle; and it was well, just like that. That had been the weirdest thing, because as Gretchen held her ankle, she had felt someone else there; looking at her; someone who was very big and very strong, but also very loving. It had been a neat-weird experience.

Her father led her to the door of the den, which had been closed up so it was dark and quiet. Gretchen was a blob of white in the darkness, in fact; it looked like she was glowing, just a little. She went in alone, and sat in the chair in front of Gretchen; who now looked like a big white wolf seated in her father's leather easy chair.

Slightly afraid and slightly excited; she held out her hands and Gretchen took them in her own pawlike hands. Everything became very still, and Gretchen looked at her out of eyes that had neither iris nor white, but instead were sky-blue; like windows to somewhere else. Oddly, she wasn't afraid. She felt calm and at peace.

"Blessings, cousin-who-is, daughter-who-will be; I see in you someone who is strong in ways that She does not know yet," said a voice that was definitely not Gretchen's_. I see a great changes coming in your life, and great fears as well. You can overcome them if your_ faith in yourself is as strong as your faith in others." By now, Robyn's hair would have been standing straight out if it was possible for it to do so. "You will see the light, and you will see The Day dawn as well. You will be deeply beloved by one and lightly loved by another, and you will know happiness in fullest measure. You will have a choice to make, between yourself and others; and what becomes of you will depend on that choice. Think before making that great choice; with love in your heart,

choose wisely and you will be rewarded well; choose poorly and you will know what you might have been all too painfully. You will excel in doing that which is dearest to your heart, so learn what is in your heart fully before making the irrevocable choice. Whatever you do, know you are in my heart; and I will watch your life with great hope."

Then Robyn felt something great and powerful leave, and Gretchen slumped down in the chair, unconscious.

Robyn's shriek brought the adults.

A little later, Robyn was being asked for the two hundredth time (it felt like) what had been said and she had repeated it as best she could. This time it was Bill Macintyre, Shirley's father and a pack council representative.

"Yes, Mister Macintyre, Gretchen said 'the Day' as if it meant something special; I mean whoever it was who spoke through Gretchen," she repeated for what must have been the twentieth time. She was beginning to regret all this "stuff".

Bill Macintyre was excited, which was something he didn't usually do because he showed his fangs when he did. "You have to understand, Robyn, that the Day is very special to us. Do you know why?" He looked her squarely in the eye as he asked her; a habit that he engaged in when he was really interested or when he suspected something had not been said. Robyn shook her head 'no' in answer. She was tired and she was worried about Gretchen, who had been unconscious for almost ten minutes before awakening with no knowledge of what had happened. Shirley was upset too, and wouldn't say why. Things were becoming too serious for a birthday, she thought.

Mr. Macintyre took a deep breath and let it out then started to explain; "Long ago, in the sixteen hundreds, we emigrated fromEuropein huge numbers to avoid the Church, the civil authorities, and the mobs. It was called 'the Scattering' and it's why there are so few of us inEuropetoday and so many here inAmerica. It's also why we hide; because the Smooths are supposed to be afraid of us; and generally are. It's why Shirley has to wear her low shoes until the last moment; people would ask why a twelve year old girl is wearing shoes that most young ladies wait until they're sixteen to wear.

It's why she will have to wear false 'braces' on her teeth so people won't ask why she never opens her mouth really wide. We have to hide what we are, just to stay alive; and the movies don't help any, either. You know us, you know we aren't dangerous or monsters, but most people would act on what the movies tell them and act as if we really were monsters, and dangerous. Our lives would be at risk, to say the least."

"Well, The Day is supposed to be the day when we can come out of our hiding. It's supposed to be the day when we aren't going to be measured by what the movies say about us, but by what we really are; good, decent people. We have our fur, and our fangs, and we look like big wolves, but we aren't animals: we're People, just like everybody else, with all the good and the bad associated with people everywhere. Imagine what it would be like for Shirley not to have to hide what she is and people would look at who she is instead."

"You mean like, you could wear your fur all the time?" Robyn asked. "Like when you're at the Moon Singing? You're pretty--I mean handsome, in your fur and, well, that would be nice."

"Well, we'd wear clothes, too," Mr. Macintyre replied, smiling; "just wearing your fur leaves you short on pockets. But, yes, that's the idea. Passing--that is looking smooth just to get by, is very uncomfortable for us but it's what we have to do to survive. That's why The Day is so important. It means we can be honest about ourselves, and you know how we value honesty."

Robyn nodded. The were's were very strong on things like that. She tried to be like them in that way, because she really respected them. The thought of Crossing came up again, but she banished it and felt a little ashamed at doing so.

Shirley came to her and asked her if she felt any better and then told her father that Gretchen was feeling all right and wanted to speak with him and as all the adults.

"Which leaves us 'kids' free," she grinned. She had one fang in, and the opposing tooth was loose. They left the adults to talk and went to the other side of the room.

"How did it feel?" was Shirley's first question. "Did she, like, glow or stuff? Nothing like that happened to me, she just gave me some advice about being honest with myself, and to remember that fitting in isn't everything."

"I don't know," Robyn answered, "I was scared, but at the same time, I wasn't. I first realized that there was something odd when it wasn't Gretchen speaking to me, but somebody else speaking through Gretchen. Her eyes--did they look like holes into blue sky when she spoke to you?"

"Nope," Shirley replied, "She looked like Gretchen, only like she was looking through me at something behind me. She said a lot of stuff you could get out of a fortune cookie, but then she said some stuff that was real personal and I really listened to that."

"Like what?" Robyn was immediately interested.

"Like it was personal, Robby," Shirley said, closing up like a book and pouting. Then she relaxed a bit, "She said that I didn't have to try showing off with Jimmy. That he was not for me, and I knew it; that I would love someone else," she was looking rebellious now, something Robyn was used to.

"So, who?" Robyn was interested now.

"You, silly;" Shirley stuck out her tongue and made a face.

Robyn struck a pose, "I'll have you know I'm not that sort of girl," she said, hamming it up, then laughing. Shirley laughed too, but Robyn caught the look of sadness in her friend's eyes. What had Gretchen said to her friend?

Her father brought her a piece of paper with her remembrances of what had been said written down on it. "Are you sure you haven't missed anything?" he asked. She read it again and shook her head, "No, Dad; that's all that I remember. It's scary, and some of it doesn't make any sense." Then she asked, "Daddy, who was that? It wasn't Gretchen. I felt somebody, or something, really big and powerful leave just before Gretchen passed out. Who was it?"

Her father knelt and looked her in the eyes; "We, all of us, including Gretchen; think it was Her; Lunara. The Goddess spoke to you, dearling; and we have to figure out what She meant."

"But why would our Mother-Beloved talk to me? I'm just twelve. Shouldn't She talk to some big, important WolfKin? I'm Smooth, and I'm just a girl. Why would she talk to me?" Robyn was feeling afraid, again, only this time there was nothing to control it. The Goddess didn't talk to twelve year old girls, She just didn't...

Gretchen came to the rescue, coming in as Robyn asked the last of her questions;

"Robyn, our Goddess chooses the people She chooses so they will grow strong. She is always looking out for us and our family; of which you are a part. Your message is for you to think about and let it guide you; not to frighten you. She told you that you were 'in her heart' meaning She cares about you as much as if you were WolfKin yourself. The part where She says 'with great hope' is the truth; we were given our free will by our Goddess, she hopes we are happy and fulfilled, and will help us if we ask, but it's up to us to ask. So when you sing, or say your prayers; ask Her to help you to see the right way, to do the right thing. She won't do it for you, but She will help. Don't forget to thank Her as well; as it will bring you closer to Her. Do that, and you will never be afraid, ever."

Somehow, as Gretchen spoke; Robyn felt the fear leave and a sense of peace replace it. She had been spoken to by her Goddess, and there was nothing for her to fear.

Later, after cake and sodas and gifts and Robyn had oohed and ahhed over her new bicycle (even though she had seen her father putting it together in the garage for the last three nights and had ached to help him); she managed to corner Gretchen and ask her a serious question.

"What does it mean when the Mother-Beloved is watching a twelve year old like me?" she asked. "I could understand it if it were someone important, like the President or my folks; but why me? I'm nobody."

Gretchen looked at Robyn with sad eyes. "Come with me, little cousin," she said.

When they were out in the screen porch in back of the house, she sat and motioned Robyn to do the same.

"I did not know the answer to that until I had some time to think about the message, the whole thing. The salutation, 'cousin-who-is, daughter-who-will-be' suggests that you will be presented with a choice that involves Crossing Over. And again, She counsels you to 'know your heart' and 'trust your heart'. It will go no farther; but please, Robyn-dearest, have you considered the Crossing? It may well be the irrevocable choice She spoke of, to you; and She is telling you that whatever you choose, it will make no difference in Her love for you. Robyn? Robyn? Child--what is it?"

Robyn had first stiffened, and then was crying quietly. Gretchen took her in her arms and held her until her tears stopped.

"Dreams," the young woman whispered into Gretchen's ear; "I've been dreaming about running across a wide place where there are grasses and trees and all sorts of things, and I'm a wolf; not a girl. I'm brown and gold sometimes, and other times I'm all white, like you. But if I cross, I won't be able to...to kiss my mother goodnight, or daddy, either; and there will be all the quarantine things for my parents' safety. I'm afraid that if I say anything, I'll just get scolded and told that Crossing is for grown-ups, and only then in an emergency. It confuses me so much. There's this part of me that is a girl, and part of me that--I think is a wolf, but I don't know how that can be. It just scares me, and when I hear Shirley talk about all the things that she will have to do, to hide; to pretend to be Smooth when she isn't--I couldn't do that, I'd go crazy."

Gretchen looked at the young person she was comforting, then told her, "It is possible that you have a wolf soul. You know how we are reborn, from life to life; perhaps, you have a wolf soul and you are simply experiencing that soul's desire to express itself. Would you like to know?"

Robyn nodded so hard her braids shook.

Gretchen smiled; "This I can do without shifting. Sit before me, and let me place my hands on your head for a moment."

Robyn sat as directed. Gretchen put her hands on Robyn's head and seemed to trance out for almost five minutes. Then she opened her eyes wide and looked at Robyn again and differently, this time. "Dear sister," she said gently; "dear young Smooth-bodied sister. Your soul is as wulfen as my own. You are a wolf; I had wondered at some of the things you have done in the Singing Time. You understand us, don't you? Our song is not just howling, is it? You know why we do certain things, in fact--I've seen you do the same things, only I didn't recognize them; because you are a wolf in a smooth body, and all I saw was the body."

She lowered her eyes, "Will you forgive me?"

Robyn hugged her. Now the dreams, the desires, they made sense.

"When it is time, and I don't know when that will be, I will take you Across the Passage myself. You will run as your spirit was made to do," Gretchen promised. "Only you will know the time; and when you say so, it will happen. Now, does that help you, sister?" she asked gently.

"Yes," Robyn replied in a tiny voice, "but when will I be less afraid?"

"When you are ready, you will have no fear," Gretchen promised.

Neither one of them saw Shirley, hiding just inside the back door with a strange half-smile on her face and tears streaming from her eyes. If they had, Robyn wouldn't have understood.

Chapter Two

Two weeks later, Robyn was helping Shirley with Geography, again. She was helplessly confused about the European Union. Robyn wasn't that solid on it either, but for her friend, she would try to understand the confusion that the book had presented.

"I know the Euro is the unit of currency, but before, when they were all separate countries, their money was worth different amounts. How did the Euro keep from making some people rich, while making some people poor; since it's all worth the same amount, now?" Shirley asked. "It's like saying that somehow American Dollars and Mexican Pesos, and Canadian Dollars would all be the same, if there was some new currency for all three countries."

"I read," Robyn replied carefully, "that there was a period when everybody turned in their old money, and got the equivalent amount in Euros. I know the old money, the pre-European Union money, isn't worth anything anymore. Maybe they took the value of the money against, like gold; and calculated it on that. The book wasn't real clear on that either. I think that they got the value of their money in Euros, if not the amount. That way, if Pesos were twelve to the dollar and they were converted into dollars, everybody gets one-twelfth of their Pesos in Dollars. Say, One hundred-twenty Pesos, gets you ten Dollars, that sort of thing. If things still cost the same, the Dollar would have the buying power of twelve Pesos--I think."

Shirley tilted her head to the side, thinking. "I'd barter. I'd just say nuts to the Dollars and the Pesos. You want lunch, bring me a chicken," she grinned. "Then I'd cook the chicken, and serve two people lunch. That'd get me two chickens, and I'd serve four people lunch, and get four chickens..." she stopped at Robyn's look of humor, then said, "Well, it'd work," defensively.

"Until you needed to pay the gas bill," Robyn replied.

Shirley grinned widely, showing off her new upper fangs, and said "Eggs!" I'd pay the Gas people with the eggs the chickens laid!" Then she started laughing.

Robyn grinned back. "My friend, the Egg-centric Economist," she quipped. "Suppose they were boy chickens? No eggs."

Shirley stuck out her tongue. "I'd get one boy chicken, and all the rest would be girl chickens. So there!" Then she grinned and said "Peeps and Profits!"

Robyn was looking at her mouth. "You got them both in! You're not lopsided any more!"

"Nope!" Then Shirley made a face. "Dad says that tomorrow, I get the fake braces. I bet they hurt like real ones though."

"They hurt?" Robyn asked, horrified; "Why?"

"Because they're like Jimmy's, and he says they hurt the inside of his mouth, all scratchy like." Shirley replied.

"Better not kiss him then," Robyn chided, "or you two could get locked together, like those deer we saw in Science class." They had seen a nature movie about wild deer and two dueling bucks had locked horns. The image of Shirley and Jimmy so locked started Robyn giggling.

"Maybe that's why Gretchen said he wasn't for you," Robyn giggled. "You two would get locked together, and the whole school would see."

"Jimmy's a nice boy," Shirley responded. "He takes them out before..." then she saw the trap she had fallen into. "Robyn!" she squawked, "you tricked me!"

Robyn was laughing hard now, and could only nod her head in agreement.

"Ought'a bite you for that," Shirley growled. "And now, I got the teeth to do it with!" she mock snarled at Robyn. "Then see how you like it..."

She stopped at the look on Robyn's face. "Awww, come on, Robs; I was just joking," she said to try to calm her friend.

"Will you keep a secret for me?" Robyn asked, hesitantly. Shirley nodded.

"Lose my ears if I tell," she replied, "and my fangs too; Lunara witness," she said.

"I asked Gretchen about my dreams, you know the ones;" Robyn said slowly.

Shirley nodded. "Well," Robyn said carefully, "Gretchen checked, and, well; Gretchen says I'm wolf-souled, not smooth--and she'll take me over when I say it's time." There. It was out. She'd said it. Suddenly, she was being hugged by Shirley, tightly, and Shirley was crying. She was saying one word: "Sister, sister," over and over. Then she was crying too, because she was so happy. She wasn't weird because of the dreams anymore, and she had a sister...

Somehow, that was so important. She wasn't alone. She had a sister, a packmate.

* * * * *

Later, after they had cleaned up and finished the Geography lesson to the point that Shirley knew as much as she did. That was important. Sisters ran together.

Slowly, over the next two weeks, the other two members of their 'pack' were carefully let in on the knowledge. Little Terry was the calmest about it; "I knew you were Kin, not just Kindred," she said calmly. "You're too much like the rest of us. You sometimes surprised me when you'd do or say something that was, well, just wulfen, not smooth. I thought is was because you were with us so much, but this makes so much more sense."

Then she cocked her head to one side, "We have to keep this from the adults, even our parents," she stated; "They just don't handle this sort of thing well, they get all upset over it. Gretchen's cool, but I know what my dad'd say: 'Cross her now! She'll handle it better as a child than an adult,' and he wouldn't listen to anybody else, either!"

Beatrice nodded. "Our parents do all sorts of things for 'our own good', but they never ask us if it's what we want or not. They say we'll 'understand when we get older', or something like that. We have to keep our sister safe from everybody, even our parents. It's her choice, not theirs."

Robyn felt like she was floating. She wasn't alone, she had sisters; and they were a real pack, each looking out for the other. Inside, Robyn felt the wolf smile for the first time in her life.

Now, if she could just get over being afraid--or if she could figure out what she was afraid of. She had never been as happy as she had been these past weeks, first Shirley, then Beatrice, then Terry. Their presence, their knowing; was like water to a parched plant, and she blossomed. She belonged, she was a part of--what? Four young girls, no; four young female wolves, unafraid of anything. Males; beware!

Only she was--afraid--of Something, and she didn't know what it was, and she couldn't ask, because she didn't know what to ask. She would trust her sisters, and all would be well.

* * * * *

"Well, that bicycle seems to have made all the difference in the world, Robby," her father was saying. "I don't think I've ever seen you so happy. I'm glad your mother

talked me into buying it for you."

"Yeah, daddy," Robyn said. "Its so neat that I can see my sist--I mean my friends now whenever I have the time after school."

Her father wasn't fooled. "You were about to say 'sisters' weren't you?" he asked. Then he became serious, and a bit sad, as well.

"Robs, they are friends, and Kindred, yes. But the term Sisters is, well, kind of special among the WolfKin. It means the person is a werewolf. We are fortunate in that we are friends and Kindred, trusted and respected; but we, and you--cannot use that term about your friends. They might be using it with you, but if you used it with an adult WolfKin, you would offend them. So please, don't use that word again. It's disrespectful to them, and all the pain and problems they have to go through just to live here."

"You are close, now, but that will change in a few years. They are different; not better, not worse; just different. They need each other in a way we can't understand. I was very close with several of the Pack members when we were young. Now, we are pleasant; friendly, but not friends. They changed, as they grew into their heritage, and I didn't. It was the same with your mother. Make some other friends, please; because I don't want you to go through what we went through."

Now Robyn knew what it was she feared. She nodded to her father, because she didn't trust her voice. She managed to climb the stairs to her bedroom under control. Then she wept. She didn't come down for dinner.

The next morning, she hurried out of the house, and for the first time in her life, she skipped school. She rode to the medical complex where Gretchen was employed as a psychological nurse. When Gretchen saw her sitting in the waiting room, she spoke to the doctor and quickly put on a sweater and took Robyn by the hand and went with her to a nearby coffee shop.

She wept her father's words out to Gretchen, until Gretchen took out her cell phone and spoke to someone, then told her; "You are coming home with me. I cannot work well enough Smooth to help you, and there are some things you need to learn."

They got her bicycle into Gretchen's car, and then she drove Robyn to her apartment near the edge of town. They went up to Gretchen's little apartment, and the first thing she did was shift, even as she was getting out of her clothing and into a robe. Then she sat down in front of the heartbroken young woman and had her start again, from the beginning; only this time she was letting the Goddess' Peace flow into this dear child.

When Robyn finished telling what her father had said, Gretchen bowed her head and explained; "Part of what he said is true, and it will happen to you as well. What he did not say, and I suspect that he does not know, is that he was in part responsible for that loss."

All Robyn heard was; "it will happen to you as well..." and she started to cry again. She would lose her parents?

"Robyn, dear child, listen to me!" Gretchen almost commanded. "Your father and several members of the Pack were very close, as was your mother. They assumed that everything would always be the same among them and their wulfen friends, and when their friends started to live their heritage and they could not; they pulled away. Your parents were the ones who started the separation, not the WolfKin. As you have found out--and yes, I know about your friends--your loyalties are with your sisters. It cannot be otherwise; that is what we are. That is what you are too, little sister.

"This would have happened anyway, even if I had not found your own soul's nature. Think; but for your questioning, you would have started changing as well and no one would have known why. You would have lost your parents in bitterness and anger, because your wolf's soul would have driven you from them as it began to take command of your very nature. What had been sweet and proper in a young lady of twelve would have become cold and demanding in an adult of eighteen. At least this way you can let your parents have a second chance by not losing you through their intransigence.

"Perhaps, they might even regain the friends who have never stopped loving them, but cannot deal with their unmoving natures. Perhaps you can help them regain some of the pack-sense they knew when they were younger."

The telephone chose that moment to ring. Gretchen answered it, and said, "Yes, she is here, broken hearted. You are both at home? Good; you will come here, you know the address, or your wife does--we were very dear friends some time ago. We have some talking to do. About what? Your wolf-souled daughter, for one thing. Yes, I said wolf-souled, and you have almost made the same foolish mistake with her that you made ten years ago. Now get over here; and for now she is in The Goddess' hands; and I am Her representative here. Be quick!"

The White-Furred wolf woman turned to Robyn and said, "Her hand is in this, I can feel it. Your father called, and he and your mother are on the way here."

When Gretchen saw the look of terror on Robyn's face, she knelt by her and said, "Don't fear. I believe it is through you that our Goddess means to work a healing here.

Trust yourself, and if you need to say something, say it. Help your mother and father heal the pain they have unwittingly set upon themselves. Remember Her words: to trust yourself as you trust others. Do this, young sister, do this."

Robyn's parents arrived in less time than she had anticipated, and she was surprised by their arrival, as well as their appearance. They looked embarrassed.

"Thank-you, Gretchen," her father said quietly; "I'm very sorry that our daughter has upset you. It won't happen again..."

"If you keep up with that attitude, it most certainly will, George;" Gretchen replied somewhat coldly. "You heard what I said about her. She is wolf-souled, and neither you or Marlena have the slightest idea about what it means, do you? Are you going to turn away from her as she grows into it, as you have your other wulfen friends? You have saddened many of us, and I believe that your daughter is our Mother-Beloved's way of bringing her Smooth outrunners back into Her Pack."

"Hurt? How?" Marlena's question was deep, from her heart. "You left us behind.

We tried to keep up, but..."

"It isn't a race, Marlena. It's the way we grow, and you could have grown with us, but you chose to stay as you were; to see only the Smooth side of our lives and not the Furred." Gretchen gestured to them to sit and Robyn went to them; seeking comfort with the only source of comfort she knew, her parents.

"Should Robyn hear this?" George asked. "She doesn't know--about what happened."

"I think that is, and must be, her choice," Gretchen replied. She turned to Robyn, and asked, "Little sister, do you want to participate in this? It involves your parents, and you, too. It may not be pleasant, but it will shed light on some things happening to you now."

Robyn nodded, clinging to her mother tightly. Her father reached around his wife, and squeezed Robyn's shoulder. Robyn grasped her father's hand.

Gretchen began, as though telling a story; "Twelve years ago, you were born to your parents and everyone was happy, for we feared that our friends and kindred were to remain childless. Your mother was thirty-seven years old at the time of your birth. I was a student then, not yet Chosen to Service by Lunara, but I remember it as though it was but yesterday.

"It is a custom, among our people, to dedicate our first born child to Lunara; as a thank-offering to the Goddess for Her blessing of new life. Your parents declined to do so, saying that as Smooth Kindred, they had not the right. We were surprised and shocked at this thing, but we respected your parents' choosing. What we did not know was that in our Pack, there was one bitch--in every negative sense of the word--who was telling them lies and distortions. She was of the separatist belief, which says that we of the Wolf Kindred were superior to the Smooth Kindred, and that the Smooth kindred existed to serve; and only serve, their wulfen betters. We can be grateful that she was not an extremist, for they hate the Smooth kindred; but her words were believed and accepted by your parents as truth.

"When the truth was found out, your parents were--dare I say it--ashamed of what they had done; but the damage was deep and corrupt. Your father had in his youth loved a WolfKin but had lost her to another, and a deeper bond; as had your mother. I think that was the fertile soil that the lies of that vile old fool fell on, for the fruit has grown there to this day. We love just like anyone else, and hurt when it fails; and losing your loved one to a Mating Bond is a painful thing, even for us.

"Why?" Robyn asked, innocently.

"Because there is no chance that this thing can be overcome; the Mating Bond unites for life two souls and two bodies into one spirit and one being." Gretchen replied.

"Because when Suzy went from wanting me to Cross, to hardly knowing I existed; it hurt like hell," her father explained. "Sometimes, it still does," he added.

"Bill Macintyre was a bit kinder about it," Marlene said quietly. "He explained, and I was able to come to grips with my pain. But when I saw George hurting like I was, I just..."

"Two hurt hearts comforting each other," Gretchen said quietly.

"You mean that Shirley's dad could have been my...?" Robyn asked, amazed.

"No," her mother replied; "We were lucky, he met Liz before we had made any--serious commitments. If he had met Liz a few months later, though;" her mother paused, then began again; "The Mating Bond is superior to any other marriage or declaration. He would have gone to Liz regardless. At least they were kind about it, but then Andrea..."

"Andrea disliked any sort of smooth-wolf relationships," Gretchen growled angrily. "She would get angry when a Smooth person referred to a WolfKin as 'sister' or 'brother', and go into a tirade with the wolf involved. She would have seen your parents' grief as a perfect place to sow her hateful seeds, and she did."

Gretchen looked pleadingly at George and Marlene, "Brother, Sister; give over these things that keep you from us, please! For your daughter's sake! She is the mother of smooth and wolf alike! Let your daughter be the proving of that; Smooth in body, Wolf in soul--two in one person! Come back to us. These walls you put up not only separate you, they separate us! We are your Pack, and you are our Smooth-skinned Kindred. Can't you see that?"

"Isn't it a bit late?" Marlena's bitterness was plain. "All this brother and sister business only started when you discovered our daughter was wolf-souled."

"It was only when your daughter came to me with your words that I fully realized what had happened," Gretchen was frantic; "Can't you see that? I didn't know! I thought that your separateness was your choice, even after we had spoken of Andrea's perfidy. You know we are pledged to respect each other as people, first and foremost. Only when your daughter told me your pain did I realize why you were still so distant." Gretchen was near to weeping with her own frustration.

"Mom? Dad?" Robyn asked meekly, "Could we try it? I mean be friends like Gretchen says; at least see what our friends say?"

Her parents nodded, their own eyes tearful. It was awful, being alone; they had been raised in the community of the WolfKin, and were as pained by being alone as any wolf--or WolfKin would be. They were people who lived with the pack, and were a separate but still involved part of that greater identity of people. While not wulfen, or WolfKin; they still felt and thought as part of the Pack; only at a self-imposed distance.

Her father spoke to Gretchen; "Is it too late for that dedication, if Robby wants it?"

Gretchen shook her head, "No, it isn't. We can do it here, or at the next Moon-Singing."

Robyn spoke; "Before the Pack. Before our Mother-Beloved's light. I want to hear the songs the People and my parents sing; and I want to sing, too."

Her parents nodded and Gretchen wept as she pulled them all into a hug; a welcoming home to two almost lost outrunners.

That Full moon, Robyn was formally presented to the Goddess and the Pack; and dedicated to the Goddess and her People. Robyn and her parents were welcomed back into their pack, and old friendships began to gently blossom again. There was happiness.

Chapter Three

As Robyn and her "Pack" of sisters were developing, she found herself with less and less time when she was alone. Her parents were becoming more open with their Pack-Sisters and-Brothers, and Robyn was spending more time with the wulfen children in the pack, not just her little group of friends.

So it was something of a surprise that she found herself alone on a Saturday. This was largely due to the fact that tonight was full moon and Singing-Night and everybody had something to do--except her. She had been assisting a younger 'brother' with the World History she had studied the previous year; and when that job was finished, she was at loose ends. She hated that. She liked to be doing things, if not with her Pack-sisters, then with the larger Pack itself; but there just wasn't anything left to do.

That had placed her at the local Dairy Queen, eating french fries and drinking a diet soda. The booth across from her was occupied by high school boys who were apparently in some sort of planning operation, as there were several salt cellars on their table, purloined from others, and they were all gesturing and pointing.

Then a word struck her ears; "Were-wolf". She went from just snacking to intent listening in less than a second, although nothing was visible of the change. If it were possible, her ears would have 'snapped to point' at the high-schoolers, but instead, she simply listened while continuing to eat the occasional french fry and sip her diet drink.

"I tell ya, they're real!" a blond haired boy was saying with some heat. "I saw 'em last full moon, just like the stories say, out past the old Trolley viaduct. They were all gathered around and howling like crazy--and they were standing on their hind legs, man!"

"Yeah, sure," his dark haired opposite laughed. "And you got pictures, too, I'll bet!"

"I do!" the blond one replied. "On my computer! I took my dad's electronic camera and made a bunch of them!"

"Yeah, you used that fancy image program your dad uses," his dark haired heckler laughed; "Man, you can do anything with that program; you showed us, remember?"

"This isn't a fake-out, dude," blond-hair's curly haired buddy interjected. "I was, like, there with him; and I saw 'em too! Like, standing up and everything, man; this isn't a scam, it's for real."

"Yeah, sure." Dark-hair replied. "Prove it. They're supposed to do their thing when the moon is full, and that's tonight. Take us out there and show us."

Dark-hair's friend, who had been quiet until now, spoke up. "Look, my dad's got this video camera that is supposed to work in real low light. He showed me how he could use it to look through a girl's skirt and see her legs and all. I'll borrow that camera and we'll go out there; and if you ain't hosing us, we'll get some pictures that we can sell to the newspeople for some bucks."

"Yeah!" blond hair was looking gleeful. "We'll be famous! We'll be rich!"

His curly haired friend looked at him carefully, "Yeah, if we don't get eaten or something. They're dangerous, like, remember the movies? Are you sure you wanna do this?" he was looking less than happy at the idea.

"Sure, stay home, Clarence;" his friend sneered; "We'll get the pictures and you'll be playing video games like usual."

"Hey, man, I'm with you," the one called Clarence replied; "just stay cool. Where are we gonna do this from? It better be, like, real far away..."

"The footings;" Dark-hair's friend replied. "I'm gonna need a solid surface to set up the tripod on. There isn't any image stabilization with my dad's camera, so it has to be on a tripod. How far are we gonna be from them?"

"About a half-mile," blond-hair replied. "They won't see us, we're too far away, and it'll be night, or almost night. How much magnification does your dad's camera do, Ross?" he asked the dark-haired youngster across from him.

"Enough," was his answer, "and it's digital. I don't like this, but if they exist, we gotta warn the town before they start killing people, like in the movies. This better not be some scam, like the last one with the "nude beach. Talk about wasting time..." As the group of boys left the Dairy Queen, Robyn was almost paralyzed with fear. That was where the Singing was happening! These boys had found out, and were going to make movies! What to do? That area had no cell service, she couldn't call and all the adults involved were out there.

She'd have to go, she decided. It was almost twelve miles to the site, but she had her bike. She would ride out and warn them, and they'd do something. She put her trash in the container and went out to her bicycle. Time to run, time to warn the Pack. The wolf was in control, and she was determined to do what was in her blood--Protect the Pack!

Then she remembered her mother had told her to be home by five, so they could drive there. Well, daddy was there already, she'd tell him and get a ride back home, or to a telephone where she could call. Mom would forbid her to go; so, she wouldn't tell her mom until after. The Pack had to be warned! That was all that mattered!

She kicked off from the Dairy Queen parking lot, and ran on wheels rather than legs out to the Singing-Ground.

Half way there, she made a discovery that all cyclists eventually make; twelve miles by car was a lot easier and shorter than twelve miles by bicycle, ten speeds or not. She was panting and sweating when a car drove past her, and she saw it was the group of boys from the Dairy Queen. She pedaled harder, still not used to getting all she could out of the ten speed. The last mile and a half was uphill, too! She gritted her teeth and pumped in the next to lowest gear. She thought briefly that she could walk faster but kept going. She was panting like one of the Cousins, but she kept going, the Trolley viaduct was her target and she was going to reach it or die trying.

Finally, she was past the old trolley viaduct and coasting downhill toward the entrance to the Singing-Ground. Then she was there, and pedaling up yet another incline toward the entrance when someone stepped out of the brush at the side of the road.

That someone was covered with fur and had long fangs.

"Robyn?" the wolf asked, puzzled. "What are you doing out here?"

Robyn was gasping and started coughing as she tried to warn the man. He helped her off her bicycle (her legs were cramping badly) and helped her gently toward the Singing-Ground, half carrying her. There, she found her father and her voice at the same time.

"...and they said something about footings, whatever they are," she gasped out.

"I think I know what you're talking about," a large brown-gray wolf said, "The old trolley line used concrete footings, really just flat squares of concrete; to set their transformers and rectifiers on. There's one on that hill," he pointed a paw-hand, "and considering what those kids said, that's probably where they will set up. We'll take care of it." The wolf put a hand on her shoulder. "That was good work, Miss Terrell, real good work. The Pack owes you a big thank-you, sister."

Her father was worried, just a bit. "Robs', I can't take time off right now. Can you call your mother from the telephone at the gas station down the road and tell her what happened, and have her meet us up here? There's no sense in having you ride all the way back home after you've come out here. Just be careful--there's some real speed-demons that use this road for a race track; stay on the shoulder, both here and back."

"I will, daddy," Robyn promised. Then she climbed on her bicycle and headed back down the slight hill to the county road.

The little decline that she had coasted down to the road that led to the Singing-Ground was much steeper when she was riding up it, and she was tired to boot. Still, she felt good at having helped her Pack, and the word--sister--from one of the werewolves she had only seen in his fur was a title she treasured. She was almost to the viaduct when she felt a little bump from behind and then she was flying through the air; to impact the stone upright of the viaduct with shattering force.

The four high school boys who had been scared out of a year's growth by the sudden appearance of two werewolves and Robyn's father were speeding back to home and safety and never even noticed the collision. There were only a few scratches from Robyn's bicycle in the paint of the beater car they were driving. They never even saw her body as they went past it, back to their idea of "safety".

Robyn awakened to pain. She screamed herself hoarse, but nobody heard. Finally, she wept; "Mother-Beloved, help me..."

The pain drew back. She felt comfort, and then a barrier between herself and the pain. She began to pray, for help; for her parents, for anything. The pain was almost gone, and she was at peace. There was Someone watching over her, keeping her safe; someone who loved her. She had never felt safer or more cherished than she did then.

She drifted in and out of consciousness. She was hidden and she knew it. She hoped someone would find her--or her body; but she really didn't care; she was at peace.

Miles away, Shirley was practically screaming at her mother to go! Robyn was hurt! She didn't know how she knew, but she was absolutely certain of it. Her mother drove her toward the Singing-Ground, at her direction, and they stopped just after passing under the old trolley viaduct. Shirley was out of the car and crouching, unaware of anything else but the trail(?) of which her injured sister was the terminus. She crept through the brush until she found Robyn's body, still breathing and unconscious. Then she collapsed, one arm over her friend to protect her.

Her mother, following, found them like that and hurried back to the road; there was a cell phone signal area around here she remembered vaguely, but where?

She finally went back to the other side of the viaduct, where by some miracle her cellphone showed a weak but usable signal area. She called an ambulance, then she called Robyn's mother.

Robyn awakened in the back of a County ambulance, looked at Shirley, who had refused to leave her friend; smiled, and passed out again.

She awakened a second time in the emergency room of the County hospital, where bright lights and hurrying people started confusing her; she wanted back to the Someone who loved her and had kept her safe. She felt a sense of sadness, and "Not yet" although the presence was still there with her.

Her parents were there; along with Shirley and her parents as well as Gretchen and a few adults she didn't recognize. They were apart from her; but as soon as Shirley saw she was awake she made a beeline for her friend.

She had to stop, though, because there were still medical people working on Robyn, and she couldn't get through.

In a few minutes, a doctor came to the group and spoke to them quietly, and some of the adults left, although Shirley stayed, as did Robyn's parents. Robyn was worried because her parents were both crying and Shirley had the too-bright-eyes of someone who was keeping their tears back by force of will.

"Hello, Robs," her father said quietly. "How are you feeling, honey?" he asked.

"Daddy, I don't feel very good, but I don't hurt. What happened? I was on the shoulder and everything..."

Her father interrupted her; "We think those kids may have hit you. They were scared and we didn't think to stop them. We were just satisfied that they had left. The police are treating this as a hit-and-run, and are looking for a car that has scratches from your bike on it." He seemed to want to say more, but was having trouble speaking.

Her mother spoke to her; "Robyn, you're alive because you were wearing your helmet, but darling; when you hit the viaduct you were hurt very badly. The doctors have X-rayed your back, and it's broken. They think you may be paralyzed," then she started crying again.

For a moment, Robyn didn't understand. She wasn't paralyzed, was she? She looked down her body at her feet and tried to wiggle them. Nothing. Again she tried to close her toes, like she was picking something up. Nothing. They didn't hurt, and then she realized they weren't there! She couldn't feel her feet. She couldn't move them. They weren't part of "Robyn" anymore, they were just here; like somebody else's feet on her body.

Then she began to feel a chill of fear. She tried again, to kick, to roll them, to wiggle them; to do something with them. They weren't her feet anymore. "Mother-Beloved" she whispered, and the sense of comfort was there again, although it did nothing to ease her growing anguish at seeing her feet just lie there, unmoving.

Shirley ducked into the group around Robyn and looked in Robyn's eyes, trying to be there for her dearest sister; but found only pain, and growing terror in her friend's eyes as the truth grew in Robyn's mind. She stayed there until there was a gap in the group of people around Robyn, and finally was able to take her friend's hand.

"Shirley," Robyn said in a very controlled voice, "they say I'm paralyzed. Would you pinch my thigh, please? If I can feel, then I'm not paralyzed." Shirley was unnerved by the calm in Robyn's voice, as though they were discussing the most recent history lessons.

Shirley pinched Robyn's thigh under the covers of her gurney. She pinched again, harder; hard enough to bruise. Robyn stared at the ceiling calmly. "You pinched?" she asked. "Twice," Shirley replied; "Hard, the last time."

Then Robyn started to weep. She wept her heart out, for the life she would not have. She wept for all the dances that she would not go to, the games she would not play, and more deeply, for the wolf trapped within her, now imprisoned in broken flesh.

Shirley wept with her. If she could have cut her legs off and given them to Robs, she'd have done it. She wouldn't have been so damaged, her backbone would have healed and her spinal cord as well...

"Wait, Robs;" she gasped as realization hit her. "I have to talk to Gretchen. I'll be right back, I promise!" Then she was gone.

Gretchen was out in the hallway with several others from the Pack. When she saw Shirley run out into the hall, her heart leaped into her throat.

"Shirley, what is it?" she asked as the young woman hurried up to her.

Shirley asked her a simple question. She answered it, hope growing in her heart.

Then Shirley headed back into the treatment area, to be stopped by a doctor that hadn't been there before.

"No children in the treatment area, sorry," he said, trying to block Shirley's entrance. She slid past him and into the treatment area, headed for Robyn's gurney.

She had barely made it there before his hand was on her arm and he was saying, "You'll have to wait outside, or I'll have security remove you ..."

"You'll leave my daughter's friend alone," Mr. Terrell said as he placed his hand on the doctor's forearm firmly. "If she wants to talk with Robyn, she may."

"Robyn Terrell?" the doctor asked. "Yes, the spinal cord separation," he said to himself as he looked at the chart in his hand; "you need to sign the necessary paperwork for surgery, we need to fix that spine in place so she won't further damage herself. Please come with me, we need to get this rolling..."

"Daddy, I want to talk to Shirley first," Robyn said loudly, having seen Shirley's face. "And I don't like that man, he's talking like I'm not even here."

The doctor was getting annoyed. "Mr. Terrell, your daughter will act out hysterically if you let her. It is important that she maintain her self control if she wants to recover properly..." He stopped when he saw George's eyes.

"We're going outside, " George Terrell said quietly to the doctor. "My daughter needs to speak privately with the friend." Then taking the Doctor's forearm firmly in his grasp, he steered the man out.

"What?" Robyn asked Shirley. Shirley replied in a loud whisper, "Cross! As in Cross Over! If you aren't scarred, Gretchen says you'll heal. You will walk again."

"How?" Robyn asked, daring to hope a little. Shirley spoke quietly; "Gretchen said that if your spinal cord hasn't started to scar over, if you Cross now; the Crossing will heal the damage and your spinal cord will heal up. So will your backbone. Stuff like this doesn't happen to us, and there's even a procedure called, called--'Compassionate Crossing', that's the words Gretchen used; where someone Crosses to heal an injury or a disease we don't get. You have to do it fast, though, 'cause once you start to scar, you're stuck." Then she smiled, showing her fangs; "Of course, then you'll be just like the rest of us, fake braces and all."

An arm whipped out from under Robyn's covers and scooped in her friend; she held Shirley close and wept "Thankyou's" into her ear.

Shirley was out of the treatment area quickly, and quickly found Mr. Terrell, who was listening to the same doctor and growing less and less patient with the man. She grabbed him and said "Quick, talk to Gretchen!" and they both left the doctor staring at their retreating backs.

Gretchen was already speaking to Robyn's mother, and when she saw George, she beckoned to him. He hurried over to the group.

"McCall Trauma and Rehabilitation is the clinic that specializes in Compassionate Crossings in this area, and we have a bonus; they also provide the same service for the military, so they have a lot of experience in this area," she was saying.

"There are were's in the Military?" George asked, and got an arch look in return. "The government pays them for 'services', and we get the side-benefits," Gretchen replied. "Robyn would almost certainly heal completely if she Crossed, but there's a time factor due to wound scarring. She needs to make the decision quickly. At the very worst, she will still be better cared for than she will be cared for here."

"Then we'd better ask her, shouldn't we?" George asked his wife, who nodded.

They hurried back to the treatment bay where Robyn was waiting, to find Shirley blocking the door to two burly security guards as they were trying to 'escort her out'. Gretchen looked at the two of them and said "Leave", and they did quickly. As her parents entered the treatment bay Robyn called out to them, "Get me out of here. These people are not nice. Take me somewhere else."

Gretchen stood by Robyn's gurney and touched the girl's arm gently. A look of amazement spread over her face; "She is not healing at all. It's like she's in stasis." Robyn's mother quickly explained what options were awaiting her at the hospital called McCall trauma and Rehabilitation.

"Can I go there? Please?" Robyn asked, "I don't like it here. It--it feels bad here. The doctor treats me like I'm some idiot, he won't even speak to me. Please, can we go?"

Robyn's parents looked at each other, then nodded. "You realize what will happen to you there?" her father asked. She nodded calmly; "Yes, daddy; I'll get better."

"Then we go there," he said, taking his daughter's hand, " we all go there."

The transfer wasn't as easy as they had hoped. The doctor, a neurosurgeon who 'needed spinal surgeries for practice' tried to put every block in their way he could think of, including telling them that they could be charged with endangerment by not immediately signing her into the hospital where they were. Her parents were resolute, helped by Shirley and Gretchen; who being a nurse, knew the law as well as the doctor did.

Even though McCall Trauma and Rehabilitation was a top-rated hospital, he demanded that they sign their daughter out "against medical advice", which they did.

Gretchen was furious by that point. "That little sneak is just protecting his own rating, doing that," she growled; "There is no reason not to have Robyn transferred there, they have top surgeons and they have a better rehabilitation program than this hospital does; he just wants to protect his rating as a surgeon, that's all." She was angry for some time about it, pacing back and forth by Robyn's gurney; almost as if she were guarding the girl.

Finally, the ambulance from McCall arrived; and Robyn, still on a backboard to protect her, was loaded into it and they were on their way. Robyn's mother was the passenger this time; while Gretchen rode with Robyn's father, as she knew the directions to the new hospital. Shirley was with her parents, who were following a written and drawn map behind the Terrell's car for the fifty miles to the new hospital as well.

Once on the road, the EMT made a gesture to Robyn's mother who gasped and asked, "You are?" He nodded.

He grinned, showing fangs and said, "Thank-you, sister; being able to do this in fur will make it a lot easier," and started to shift after throwing a switch located by his seat. "Tells them up front that I've gone fuzzy," he explained.

"I'm Smooth..." her mother began, and the Servant replied, "You're Kindred, aren't you? Then it's sister--unless that bothers you?"

"Oh, no," Robyn's mother replied, "not at all."

The EMT began to shift to his wulfen form--and the White Fur of a Servant.

Robyn was amazed at the sight; this was the first Servant other than Gretchen whom she had ever seen, and that this Servant was male was another surprise; she had thought it was a female institution.

He smiled an easy smile. "I get sent on these runs when there's Kindred involved," he explained. "Being a Healer, it's useful to have the patient stable and at least in a calm mind when they arrive, and that's my job." He looked down at the girl; "You're Robyn? With a 'Y'?" he asked, "Let me take a look at your charts here," he said; smiling even with his eyes. Robyn felt safe with him, and the feeling of peace was back again.

"Oooh, nasty!" he commented as he read the notes. "Crossing to get your legs back?" he asked. Robyn nodded. "May I check a few things?" he asked next. "Things" included blood pressure, pulse, looking in her eyes, and again the gentle touch--"Hmmm," he said; "Seems you're being held ready. You aren't healing at all, and that's good, since it means you'll gain the maximum benefit from your Crossing."

"I will?" Robyn asked, intrigued. "How?"

"Well, Crossing usually doesn't affect scar tissue," the healer replied. "Sometimes, that means we have to re-injure the area so that healing will occur; but in your case, it appears that She wants you to Cross without any extra problems. That's a good thing," he said with a toothy grin.

Robyn's mother asked, "You mean that--our Mother-Beloved--wants my daughter to Cross Over now? She's unprepared, and too thin..."

"Please, sister, don't worry," the healer said comfortingly; "I suspect that the idea was that she'd Cross when she was ready. But this accident and her injuries have changed that. Now, Mother-Beloved wants your daughter to be well and fully healed; and Crossing will do just that. Remember, because we have free will, She can't predict the future exactly, but She can be ready for things, based on lots of experience and knowledge of Her children. And yes, She wants your daughter to have the best life possible; that's why there's been no healing of her tissues. She will be made whole by the miracle of Crossing and our Mother-Beloved's love."

Robyn suddenly realized; "It was Her that kept the pain away; I mean She.

I felt like I was being held..." and then she began to cry, not from pain or fear, but happiness and relief.

They arrived at the McCall Trauma and Rehabilitation facility shortly before dark, and Robyn was whisked into a set of side "weather" doors that opened to enclose the ambulance's rear and block any vision of who was being brought in through this particular doorway.

A young woman in nurse's whites took Robyn's name and directed the party to a room called "Assessment Room 2", a large-ish room with several medical-looking devices about and a place under a bright light where Robyn's gurney was rolled. James got some folding chairs for her parents and the others, so they wouldn't have to stand. He kept up a running commentary about what Crossing was and wasn't, to ease some of Robyn's fears.

Then James started getting out a number of things in plastic and paper wrap, as well as several IV needles and a plastic bag. He explained to Robyn that she would have to be hooked up to all of it, and promised that it wouldn't hurt at all. He put on a smock and a pair of rubber gloves, and then proved the "no pain' part of his promise.

"We need to have three IV portals hooked up to you in places that won't move as you Cross," he said, then found one of them, stroked Robyn's skin there, and she really did feel nothing as he set the needle in place. Next, he got out a bag of saline solution and a small bag of some milky white liquid, which he hooked together and then hooked up to Robyn's I.V. needle.

"This stuff," he said, indicating the white liquid; "is what you'd get if you were having an organ replaced. It reduces the body's immunity, and helps the first part of the Crossing happen."

He explained every thing he did, and as a result; by the time Robyn's family and friends had arrived and found the entryway from inside the hospital, Robyn was hooked up, and she was feeling relaxed about what was going to happen.

As her parents reunited, he noticed Robyn looking at them with great sadness on her face. "What's the problem, young sister?" he asked gently. "I won't be able to kiss them, anymore," Robyn confessed.

"Wrong," he said as the youngster looked up in surprise. "We used to teach that, as a safety; for--later in your life. Fact is," he said as Robyn's parents and Shirley's parents gathered around the gurney, "you can kiss anybody on the lips as long as yours are dry. So you can kiss your parents, as long as you wipe your lips first. That way you won't accidentally pass the Lupus-Inceptor Virus and start somebody Crossing. Is that better?" he asked a much happier Robyn. She nodded.

"Who's going to do the Donation?" he asked next; "I need to get the doctor, so why don't you get things settled out between yourselves, and we'll start when I get back." He hurried off to find the medical authority that would oversee the first part of the Crossing.

Robyn looked from her parents to Shirley's parents to Gretchen. "Gretchen?" she asked, "Will you be the uhhh,--donor?" Gretchen nodded, a smile on her furred face. Gretchen had shifted as soon as she had entered the "special needs" part of the hospital. "And could Shirley give some blood too?" Shirley was smiling with tears in her eyes and nodding as Gretchen took her hand and held it.

Servant's blood had a certain special nature; in that it was compatible with anyone's blood and rh factor. Unless there was a family sponsor, it was usually the attending Servant who gave the half-unit of blood that started the Crossing. By inviting her best friend, Robyn had also made her a sister in blood as well as spirit.

They waited, quietly praying or considering what was going to happen. Robyn was relieved to discover her fear was gone, and had been replaced with a feeling of family and kinship between herself and everyone in the room. Her parents were harried looking and she was sorry about that, but she would be able to be a help, once she was well. She wondered where this trip she was about to take, this "Crossing Over", would take her. She wanted to make her parents happy, and she swore to herself that she would, somehow.

James returned, with an older Smooth doctor who was carrying a clipboard with a stack of papers on it. He smiled at the group and then focused on Robyn.

"Hello, young lady," he began; "I'm Doctor Logan, and I'll be doing the legal things that have to be done for your Crossing. "Y'know, when I was your age, we didn't have to do all this stuff; if someone needed to be Crossed, they Crossed, but even WolfKin get attracted to paperwork, I guess." He chuckled as he opened the papers to the correct page and read the information there.

He rubbed his lower lip. "All right, Robyn-with-a-"Y". You are an intelligent young lady, so just answer these questions as we get to them. You have been evaluated by those damn fools over at the County as being paralyzed with a broken back. Are you? Can you wiggle your legs?"

Robyn answered, "No, sir; and I can't feel anything, either."

Doctor Logan nodded in agreement; "I saw your X-rays and the CAT scan they did. You are one very lucky young lady." He smiled, "Do you understand that if you Cross Over, there is nothing guaranteed other than you'll probably get the use of your legs again, to some degree. Mother-Beloved may be holding back your healing but sometimes there are other things involved. You will get your legs back to some degree, yes; but you understand that how much you get back is a matter between your body and the Lupus-Inceptor Virus. I'll say that probably you'll be fine, but there are no guarantees in life. Do you understand that?"

She nodded. "Whatever happens is the will of our Goddess, and I accept Her will in all things." Robyn was surprised that she really meant the words completely as she said them. She accepted her Goddess's will as her way in life, totally and without reservation. A sense of gentle peace and happiness came with that decision, and that made her feel even better about what was going to happen.

Dr. Logan looked surprised and pleased with her answer. He cleared his throat and went back to the form; "You understand that this is irreversible. Once you're WolfKin, that's it. You can shift and pass, but you'll always be wolf at heart. You also realize that once you have Crossed, you are responsible for keeping yourself hidden; in short, you don't go around making werewolves just because you can."

Robyn was puzzled a moment, then she realized what he meant, and blushed; "Yes sir, I mean no, sir, I mean..."

"You understand. That's the important thing. You have to be a 'good girl' unless it's with another wolf, right?" the Doctor was smiling gently.

"Yes, sir, I do--or rather, I won't." Robyn was blushing fiercely.

"Last question," the Doctor promised. "You will have to either start the transfusion yourself; as in opening the valve, or designate someone to do it for you. You're right at the age where you get to choose for this. Once you start the transfusion, it goes to the last drop. Then you start the Crossing and will spend the next five days or so doing that. After that, you'll be a werewolf. You understand that?"

She nodded. "Yes Doctor; I do."

Doctor Logan smiled again and signed the documents. Then he had Robyn sign some of them as well. "You can start," he said to James. Then he sat on a stool nearby and watched, as required by Pack Council Law.

Gretchen presented her arm, and the blood was drawn. Shirley donated her three drops as well. James then stroked Robyn's arm, and inserted the needle in the vein. The blood bag was hooked up and James pointed to the long plastic valve. "Your choice," he said; and smiled as she rolled the valve open and let the liquid drain into her arm.

Then he kissed her on the forehead. Her parents gathered around, along with Shirley's parents and Gretchen and they waited. In twenty minutes, she started developing spots, little ones like measles, all over her body. In time, those spots would be follicles where her coat would grow in.

Robyn asked for a tissue, and wiped her lips; then she kissed her mother and then her father, just like she did before going to bed at night.

Thus it began. In six hours, she felt tingles along her legs, and then itching. In ten hours, she was transferred to a bed, still strapped to the back board; and she wept with joy when, atmidnight, Shirley's finger-claws made her feet clench, and she could tell how many claws were there, too. Shirley and Robyn hugged in the joy of that event, even with her strapped to the board. Bytwo a.m.Shirley was sleepy and Robyn was also sleepy; so Shirley settled onto the large bed beside Robyn as her "Official Amateur Crossing Assistant." James had remained with them untilmidnight, when he introduced Joy, a young woman who was to be Robyn's actual Crossing Assistant. She wasn't tired, so she settled down onto one of the couches in the room and got out some knitting to do while Robyn slept.

The next morning, Robyn awakened to a strange feeling all over, and Joy explained that what she was feeling was her body starting to change. Soon her feet began to hurt, and Joy was surprised at her tears until Robyn explained that she had been paralyzed; and any sensation was wonderful if it came from her feet.

Shirley's parents had departed and only Robyn's mother was in the room when Shirley woke up. Shirley was confused at first, but remembered quickly enough when Robyn said her feet were hurting. She and Robyn's mother looked at her feet, and while Robyn couldn't see, they assured her that her feet were changing normally.

Shirley grinned, "At this rate, you're going to be wearing high heels before I am. At least your parents aren't going to make you wear regular shoes to school. Even with the thicker heels, they are still a pain." She showed Robyn her own feet, longer than normal, and with high arches that made her toes bend to fit in her regular shoes.

She asked Joy about her feet and high heels and Joy replied; "Stick with your regular shoes until you have to change them; high heels aren't all that comfortable, even if your weight isn't on your heels." Shirley wore an annoyed look on her face after that warning, but she realized that Joy was almost certainly right.

Robyn's mother suggested that they go get some breakfast and Joy gave them a pair of cards to get them through the doors into the "Special Needs" unit.

"Just wave them at the box by the door," she said; "It's all computerized. If they don't work, call the number on the card and you'll be let in. Most of the time, they work."

As the day went on, Robyn became more and more drowsy, sleeping long and deeply as her body changed. She did wake up when the back board was removed, and she could stretch for the first time in days, but soon she was getting sleepy again. Joy explained that she was using a lot of energy to Cross Over, and is was natural for her to be tired all the time. She said hello to her father when he arrived with clothing for her mother and for Shirley, then went to sleep; and slept for the next four days without waking.

Chapter Four

Robyn awakened. At first she was confused, not remembering where she was, then memory returned and she shivered. She was at a Crossing facility after having been hit by a car. She was lying on her side, and there was something on her nose sticking up into her vision. She went briefly cross-eyed, trying to see what it was.

She reached out to remove it, and discovered it was attached to her; it was her nose. She looked at her hand; briefly not recognizing it. It looked like--a wolf's paw-hand--the back covered with dark brown-gold fur and the underside covered with light gold fur. There were pads on her fingers, and flat grayish claws on the tips of those fingers. She ran her hand--it was hers--over her face, feeling fur and the contours of a WolfKin face. Suddenly, she remembered the dreams, if they were dreams; of so many things and people and places that she gasped in shock.

"Are you awake, honey?" she heard her mother's voice ask. "I think so," she replied. Her voice was different, too; deeper and a little husky.

Then her mother was there, and Robyn sat up and fell into her mother's arms. She wasn't frightened, not yet; this was too strange. She huddled in her mother's embrace for what seemed hours, then let go and sat upright.

The room was different; colors were fainter, more like pastels than paint; and there were smells as well. She looked around, and saw Shirley still sleeping in the bed beside her. There was a cot at the foot of the bed with someone in it.

"What time is it, mom?" she asked. Her mother looked at her watch and said, "it'stwo thirty a.m.on the fifth--no, sixth--day of your Crossing. You're Crossed, honey. My daughter's healed and she has her legs again. My daughter is well." Then both Robyn and her mother were crying and holding each other in happiness.

"What's--ROBBY!" Shirley squeaked in happiness from the other side of the bed. "You're awake! How d'you feel? Are your legs okay?" then Shirley was there, too and Robyn was in a sandwich, a very happy sandwich.

Joy was waking up and rubbing the sleep from her eyes as she turned to them. She was also in fur; white, but not Servant white. She had a brownish chest and throat; and her nose was black, not the grey of the Servant.

Robyn tried to move her legs under the covers, and felt wonderful when they both moved and pulled up so she was sitting in bed with her knees up.

Then fatigue it her, and she slumped back onto the pillows. "I'm tired!" she complained. "How can I be tired after sleeping so much?"

"You were asleep, yes;" Joy explained, "but you weren't resting. I'd suspect you've lost perhaps fifteen pounds of body weight which you will need to gain back as soon as you can."

She looked at a machine hanging over Robyn's bed. "Your pulse is good, it's regular; so let me check you over and then we'll see about disconnecting you so you can get up."

Robyn was excited by that announcement. She had been lying down for longer than she ever had before, and she didn't like it. She held still as Joy disconnected her from the monitoring equipment and the various tubes and needles that had fed and kept her hydrated through her Crossing.

Finally she was free. She sat up, but didn't try to stand; because Joy had asked her not to. Her covers were pulled aside, and Joy, her mother, and Shirley were looking at her. She realized that she wasn't wearing anything and tried to cover back up, but a word from Joy stopped her.

"Little sister," Joy said, "you're covered more fully than you were when you were a Smooth Kin. There is nothing to see, so don't get upset. I just need to get some idea of your weight loss, so we can adjust your diet accordingly. You'll also be going over to the X-Ray department for long-bone pictures; they show the density of your bones and how much bone you have to make." Joy was examining Robyn from both sides and in front, while Robyn was looking at her arm and leg hair--no, fur. It was a soft brown on the outside and her chest and the insides of her arms and legs were a golden-amber color. Her claws were grey, like all Were' nails were, and the pads of her hands and feet were grey-black, like dog pads, only softer.

Curiosity made her reach around behind herself and pull forward something new, her tail. It was colored the same as the rest of her, but there was something wrong: it hung limp and flaccid in her hands

Joy saw that and smiled; " There's nothing wrong; your tail will be the last thing to develop on your body. Figure on a week or so before you can wag it." The words relieved Robyn greatly, although if her tail never moved she was still healed and able to walk and run; that was what was important.

Then a problem announced itself. "Miss Joy, can I use the bathroom?" Robyn asked; "I have to go."

"Certainly," Joy responded. "Let me get the wheelchair, unless you want to walk," she offered.

"I want to walk," Robyn said. "I really do want to walk so much..."

Joy smiled and slid a "walker" to Robyn as she sat on the edge of the bed.

Gingerly, Robyn put her feet on the floor. They felt odd, until she realized that her heels didn't reach the floor anymore. She would walk on tip-toe. The floor was cold and hard, and she carefully stood up, weaving a little. Step by step, she traveled the ten feet to the door marked "Bathroom" and opened it with Joy right behind her; ready to catch her if she fell. She entered the bathroom, sat, and closed the door.

A few minutes later, she called for her mother. When her mother opened the door, Robyn was still sitting, ears back and drooping; looking at her reflection in the large mirror on the bathroom wall. Her facial fur was wet with tears. "Mom," she said, "I changed. I'm sorry, I didn't..." her mother was holding her closely, saying; "You're still my daughter, you're still our Robyn; the fur doesn't matter, honey- you're still our baby and we love you, no matter how you look." Robyn drank in the reassurance, she needed it. She had seen a WolfKin girl, with fur instead of bare skin; and had finally realized the totality of what she had been through. She needed her mother's reassurance: she was more frightened than she had ever been.

"I've called your father and he's on his way here," her mother said. "Let's get your eyes dry, and get you back into bed, so he can see his beautiful golden daughter; all right?" Robyn nodded. Daddy would see her, and he would love her, too. The fur didn't matter; it just didn't!

When her father arrived and came into her room, he stopped and stared. "Robby, you're beautiful," he said. "My little girl is a beautiful wolf-child now, and she can walk." He kissed her on the forehead, then after Robyn had wiped her lips, he kissed her on her lips. He held her closely, and Robyn's fear dissipated. Her parents were still there, they still were mom and dad, and they still loved her. She was safe and happy.

Shirley looked over the bedding at her friend. "Robs," she said, "when I get my coat, I hope it's as pretty as yours; 'cause your fur is so nice and bright. I hope I don't turn out all dark and black like my cousin did: I want to be as pretty as you are."

"For Jimmy?" Robyn asked, spirits starting to rise. Shirley made a face, and hugged her best friend. "No, so you don't get all the good looking boys," she said.

Shirley and Robyn kissed and suddenly Shirley pulled back saying "Eeew! Robyn, you stuck your tongue in my mouth!"

"Just like Jimmy?" Robyn asked. Then she grinned, and her ears popped forward.

"You're a girl! That's different!" Shirley grumbled; "I'd bite you except your fangs are longer than mine. Not Fair!" Then she giggled. "You'll have to wear braces just like all of the rest of us, now."

"Will I?" Robyn asked her father, who shrugged and looked puzzled.

"Possibly not," Joy interjected. "You'll get speech therapy here before you go home, so you may not need them, unless your teeth really are crooked."

"Shirley says that all the WolfKin girls at school will have to wear 'fake braces' to keep their teeth from showing," Robyn explained. "So do the boys; Shirley is afraid she and Jimmy will get stuck together..."

"Robs!" Shirley gasped, "that's supposed to be secret!" Then she pouted.

Joy was chuckling, "Those are removable, Shirley, don't worry. Possibly, Robyn will help you with what we teach her here, so you won't have to wear cosmetic orthodontia. We don't believe in those braces, anyhow, they really just make you uncomfortable and don't cover the fact you have fangs very well. Training works just as well, and is a lot less uncomfortable. When I was in Smooth, before Robyn Crossed, did you see my fangs?"

Shirley shook her head. "No, I didn't."

"Training. I never wore braces, I just learned how to speak without showing anything--my father is the chief speech therapist here, and he taught me, so why not let Robyn teach you?" Joy was smiling with her lips closed, in fur; and it didn't look forced or strained.

"Uhh, Robs..." Shirley began, "about not having braces...?"

"Sure, silly" Robyn responded, giggling a little. Then she said, "Wow, I feel so good! Like, wonderful!"

Joy chuckled: "That's because you're healed, you're not afraid of that any more, are you? Your parents accepted you, as you are, now; and your wolf-soul is in a compatible body. I'd be feeling good too, in your place; little sister.".

Robyn asked Joy, "Are my parents 'brother and sister' or 'cousins?" She cocked her head to one side, ears forward; waiting for the answer. Joy responded, "Mother and Father, what else? The only 'Cousins' around here are the real wolves, which your parents aren't. Why?"

Robyn asked her father to explain what had happened all those years ago. When he finished, Joy looked saddened. "I apologize for that evil woman. We aren't like that, and the fact you were taken in for so many years..." She hung her head, and her ears drooped down; "There are people like that. We are no different from our Smooth skinned brothers and sisters in that respect. I'm just glad that your Servant managed to show you the truth and get through all those lies you had to live with. I guess that shows just how human we are, despite appearances to the contrary." She smiled at Robyn; "Your daughter is a real blessing, anyway; she was the least trouble I've had in the last eight Crossings. You really are blessed with her, and I hope to have a daughter as nice as yours when I mate." Then she sighed, "Now, I just have to get a certain someone to say the right words, in front of our Servant, which is like pulling whiskers. He says he loves me, and he does in his heart; but when it comes to making it official, I'm pledged to a Were-Chicken. I think you've met him; his name is James. Since he is a Healing Servant, he doesn't have to be celibate like the rest."

Robyn's mother smiled. "Be patient, and be inevitable. It worked for me," she said as she poked her husband in the ribs. He grimaced; "I was waiting for the right time," honey. Both women nodded at each other. "Talk to your daughter, dear; tell her that the police have the boys that hit her," Robyn's mother said, pointedly.

Then she asked Joy; "Can we get some coffee at this hour?" Joy nodded, "Yes, we can, and I'll order your daughter's first meal, while I'm at it." She turned to Robyn, saying, "I'm going to order a meal for you; I want you to eat all of it, including the bones. There will be some pills, take them all. Shirley, would you like something?" Shirley nodded. "The usual," she said.

"Good, I'll put in for a sandwich for you, with milk," Joy said as she walked to the telephone. She turned, "Shirley, be sure Robyn eats everything, will you? Mister Terrell, would you like some coffee, or a sandwich?" Robyn's father shook his head; "I'll just stay with my daughter; I haven't had much chance to see her for the last few days."

Joy made the call to the nutrition center, then she asked; "Mister Terrell, could you watch your daughter for a few minutes? I need a shower, badly." She turned to Robyn, saying; "You will discover that your coat will take a lot more time than your smooth skin used to. You'll need to keep both it and your Smooth body clean, or you'll get pimples all over, and you will definitely not like that. I'll be in the shower, right next to the bathroom, If there's any trouble, call me. It won't be the first time I've worn soapsuds to deal with a Crossing problem."

She left the room through the door she had indicated. Robyn was alone with her parents and Shirley for the first time since Crossing. Then her mother kissed her father and went into the shower room to 'talk with Joy' about something.

She looked at her father. "Daddy, is it okay; really, with me being WolfKin, now?" She was still just a little afraid. Her father was the most important man in her young life, and his opinion was extremely important to her.

George Terrell pulled up a chair and sat beside his daughter. He took her hand, and held it while he stroked her arm, marveling at the softness of her fur and the colors in it. Up close, it was not just brown and gold, it was a blend of reds, browns, yellows, whites and tan, all coming together in a soft brown back coat and golden chest and belly coat. Her ears were crème inside, as were her "eyebrows" and the edges of her small ruff.

"Honey," he said gently; "when you were injured, so was I. When I saw you at the hospital, I felt like I had been hit, not just you. Thanks to a real miracle, my Robbie is back, and whole; complete. You are beautiful, just as beautiful as you were when you were born: I was there, did you know that? You're different now, and while that's important for us; you are still my daughter, and I love you. I don't care how you look; even though you look wonderful because you are my Robyn. You will run, dance, play games and ride your new bicycle just like you did before, and the things we have to do to accommodate the fact that you're Wulfen now, we'll do together; you, your mother and me."

Then he smiled; "And when you turn sixteen, and become an adult in the eyes of the Pack; you'll break every boy's heart with your beauty and I'll go crazy worrying about you and your boyfriends--every father does. It'll be a happy crazy, though; because I know my daughter is not just alive, not just well, but happy, too."

"Never worry, Robby; you'll always be my daughter, and I'll always be proud to be your father." Then he stood and stroked her hair, which hadn't changed; and said, "Hmm, you're going to have to grow that pageboy of yours a little longer to cover your ears; for now, we'll have to have those extension things woven in..." he smiled, "Robby, you're perfect. You're my perfect little girl, who had a problem and got over it."

Robyn was literally in heaven, listening to her father's praise. Daddy was happy, Mom was happy; life was good. She would do everything she could to keep things that way, for as long as possible.

Then her father grew grim; "Those little rats that hit you and drove right on by were caught two days ago. The police were looking for them, and traced the car by the scratches and the paint from your bicycle, plus having the entire Pack watching out for them. We had a pretty good idea who it was from the stuff they left behind; you remember those high-school boys that were going to try to expose us? We frightened them off, but one of them left a video camera behind, and the police traced that by means of a security sticker inside the tape compartment to the boy's father, who identified it. Then the police took a look at the boy's car and found enough evidence to arrest him and his three accomplices. Right now, they are out on bail, and the driver is facing either jail time or a very long probation. I hope he gets jail for what he did to you." Robyn had never seen the anger so strong on her father's face before. It frightened her.

"Please, daddy," she asked, "don't hate them. They were afraid, and probably didn't even see me." Then she remembered--something, "Daddy; the driver should get probation; not prison. He didn't know. He was so afraid--and I know I would have been, too..."

"How do you know...?" Then her father got an odd look on his face. "I've heard that when you Cross, you spend time with the Goddess--Robby, did you...?"

Robyn nodded, "Yes, I did. She said that fear was driving that car, not the boy."

"And we scared them; We, the Kindred; myself and two WolfKin. Oh, Robby, I'm so sorry..." There were tears in her father's eyes.

"She said that one of them--Ross, I think; will become Kindred, and will be 'great with the People'--it's so confusing," Robyn's memories were confused, but she did remember that part.

"You were with Her," her father said, awe in his voice. "And we are taught to be merciful..." he hung his head for a moment. "The District Attorney is going to try for jail," he warned Robyn.

"I'll ask him not to," his daughter replied serenely. "He'll agree; I also know that."

George Terrell was awestruck. She was his daughter, and she had spoken with the Goddess. His little girl was very special, of that he was certain.

"Food's here!" Shirley announced from her station by the door where she had been watching (and listening).

The orderly knew who got the big tray of food, and Shirley offered to distribute the rest when Mrs. Terrell and Joy returned. The orderly nodded, smiled at Robyn, and left. This was his twentieth Crossing, and they had all been good.

"This can't all be for me!" Robyn said, looking at the tray heaped with food.

Shirley reminded her; "Joy said eat it all, and I'll bet you're hungrier than you know." Then she stole a sliver of roast beef.

Robyn tried to use the utensils, but was clumsy with them; since she was unused to her new hands.

"Use your fingers," Shirley said. "We do all the time. It has something to do with your grip with your wolf-hands, it's different." She found her sandwich and began to eat.

"Go ahead," her father said. Robyn did.

She found a pile of pills in a cup. "Do I have to take all of these?" she asked worriedly. "There's an awful lot."

"You were under-weight when you Crossed," Shirley said, munching on her sandwich. "Joy said you needed extra everything because of it. I'll bet there's a lot of calcium there, Joy said your bones were under--somethinged, I think you need the calcium to fix it."

"Robyn is under-calcinated," Joy said, returning to the room wearing a big terrycloth robe; and Robyn's mother was with her. "Robyn's bones are brittle right now," she continued, "and the sooner she builds them back up, the sooner she can start gait training."

"Gate training?" Robyn asked. "What's that?"

"Gait training is teaching you to walk, jog, and run on your new feet," her mother said.

"Robyn has to learn to walk again. It's not difficult, just something new;" Joy explained. She found her sandwich and de-caf, and handed two cups around to Robyn's parents. Then she sat on a chair beside the bed.

Robyn was eating as this went on. She had finished the meat, the rice, and the vegetables surprisingly fast. She was looking at the bones left over from the meal with some concern. She poked at them with a claw.

"Eat those," Shirley said. "They aren't weird or anything, mom and dad eat their bones, and so will I once my teeth finish growing in."

"Shirley's right," Joy said around a chicken sandwich. "But Shirley will also need the muscles for those bones, and that usually won't happen until she's fifteen and ready to do a full shift."

Robyn picked up a bone. She swallowed nervously, then put it in her mouth and chewed. She heard a loud "Crunch" followed by more crunches as she chewed. Then she swallowed. "It's kind of like eating ice out of a soda," she remarked, "only it tastes better." Soon there was nothing left on her tray.

"Would you like some clothing?" Joy asked. As Robyn nodded vigorously, Joy went to a drawer and got out some paper scrubs in white. Soon Robyn was clothed in white, with a hole snipped in the seat of her pants for her tail, which still drooped.

With the dawning, came the word that Shirley would be leaving with Mrs. Terrell. She had spent her week with her friend, helping her Cross and would have to make up some schoolwork as a result. Robyn was facing more weeks in the Rehabilitation unit, learning how to use her new body, and eventually, how to reverse the Shift. She would learn her strengths and weaknesses, and learn that being a WolfKin wasn't as easily done as she had imagined when she had started the flow of Gretchen's blood into her arm, but she would learn, and over time become proficient at the art of disguising herself as a Smooth Human.

Under the guidance of the people of both Smooth-skin and Fur at the Rehabilitation unit, she began to blossom into a competent young werewolf-woman; yet she lost none of her gentleness and kindness she had demonstrated as a Smooth Kindred girl of twelve years age. Shirley still came to see her two times a week, and called every night. They talked until Shirley had to go to bed.

Finally, the day came when a wheel-chair carrying young woman named Robyn Terrell, rolled out of the main doors of the Center. She was finally ready to climb into her parents' car for the trip home. She was still getting used to the reverse shift, and didn't like it at all; it seemed a lie and a cheat, but that was to be her life as a WolfKin in a Smooth skinned world.

When she arrived at her home, she was misty eyed; remembering the time eight weeks in the past when she had gone out for some fries and a soda at the local Dairy Queen. All her friends and many other young people from the local Pack were there, making it something of a party as well as a homecoming. The first thing she did, after she was in her bedroom, was to shift into her natural form; that of a young female werewolf. She put on some of her own clothing (not paper!) that her mother had altered slightly with Velcro in the seat seam, and went down to the party that her homecoming had become. She felt wonderful.

The assembled young were's were astounded at the brown and gold WolfKin that came back down the stairs, walking still a bit gingerly; and holding on to the rail with a werewolf's strong grip as protection against falling. She was the belle of her own homecoming ball and loved every minute of it. Old and new friends were praising her for her grace and carriage, but she knew that any of them could easily outdo her best at that time. Still, it felt good to be home and have her 'pack' of three girls plus herself again; and better when her father rolled out a new bicycle with a large red tail reflector. She was home, and she was happy.

Even better, her mother had announced that she could study and, if she passed the final tests; could move on with her own age group and not get left behind by a semester's loss of classes. The girl pack would stay together!

Six Weeks later:

Ross Denby looked at the letter again. It had arrived the day before, and he had shown it to his parents (all mail was to be inspected) before reading it himself. It had come from the girl he had hit that day long ago when he had fled terror incarnate. She was inviting him to her house. She wanted to speak with him.

His father had given grudging permission, and his mother had called the girl's parents to make sure it was genuine. For the first time in over ninety days, he would be allowed out of the house outside of school hours. He was grounded for the duration of his probation, which went for three years; he'd be nearly nineteen before he could leave home on his own and not get in trouble.

It wasn't that he didn't deserve it; he had almost killed someone. The first X-Rays had shown she would be paralyzed, but later ones had shown that while she was dreadfully injured, she would recover and walk again. He as glad for her, and hadn't evaded his responsibility for what he had done, which had made his parents furious. They wanted to hire a lawyer, to challenge every fact; to try to place the responsibility for her injury on the girl's shoulders, not his--and he hadn't gone along. His father made a point of showing his contempt for his son's 'gutlessness' and his mother--always agreed with his father.

So he was doubly 'cursed', by the Law and his own family. Even his older sister avoided him in school; but she would be graduating soon, and he had two years to go before graduation. She drove to school. For the first year of his probation, he was prohibited from driving anything, including a bicycle; so it was busses or walk for him, and forget asking anybody in his family to take him anywhere, they wouldn't.

His three "Friends" had vanished from his life; he was an embarrassment to them now. His grades had come up though, since he really had nothing else to do but study. He was a pariah in his own home, so he spent most of his time in his room. Even there, his father had restricted him; no internet, except for school subjects.

Oddly, instead of feeling sorry for himself, he had grown up in the space of those fourteen weeks. He was aware of what was happening, but refused to let it get him down.

Now, this letter. The girl, Robyn Terrell, had asked him to come to her house so she could talk to him about the accident. She said she had some explanations for him, if he was interested. He was, as long as it didn't include werewolves. They were a figment of his imagination. He hadn't seen them. The psychologist had explained that he had created them to give him a reason to drive so fast; they were his way of escaping responsibility for what he had done. What he had seen was a man and two dogs, that's all. Anything else was pure fantasy, and his father didn't like fantasy in his son. He had said so. Repeatedly. Men dealt with what was real, and nothing else.

So today, Saturday, Ross was going to take a bus and walk half a mile to the girl's house. She would scream and yell at him (his father said). Then he would walk and bus ride back home. He was getting comfortably numb; things just didn't matter anymore. He would do what was expected of him, and then come home and do what was expected there, too. It was really very easy. Caring was for children; an adult took what came and dealt with it (his father again). He was becoming thoroughly adult, which pleased him.

Being adult would go far when his father tossed him out the day he came off probation as he had already promised he would do; he would be legally adult at eighteen, and one week before his nineteenth birthday, he would leave home. He had already decided never to come back, no matter what. The Army looked interesting...

It was time to go, to catch the bus. He had wondered if he would feel anything; being able to leave the house on a Saturday. He didn't. Saturday was just like any other day of the week. Interesting.

He showed the bus driver his bus pass, glad that he didn't have to pay to transfer, since he didn't have more than a dollar on him. His father had "garnisheed" his allowance to pay for the Court costs and the fines that had come. He got five dollars on monday, for school. He had been carrying his own lunch, and sometimes had two or three dollars left on friday, and he'd been saving it up; until his father had found his stash of coins and bills and confiscated it, too for the "costs". He was allowed one dollar; mostly so he could call home and report where he was. His cell-phone had also been confiscated as "unnecessary". Even that hadn't bothered him; in fact it had been funny in a way, since his father still had to pay for it until the contract was up. He was learning not to care. He was building armor against pain and loneliness.

The bus ride took forty minutes, and the half mile walk took twenty minutes; an hour after leaving his house, he was at the Terrell residence. He knocked at the door, and an older man answered it. The man looked vaguely familiar, but Ross discounted it; he had never met the Terrell family members, not even at court. Having pled guilty, he had not had the exposure of a trial.

The man drew in his breath, then said; "You must be Ross Denby. Come in, my daughter will see you in a few minutes, she's practicing."

Ross entered the house and was directed to the living room, where glaze curtains made a diffuse light. Mr. Terrell asked Ross if he would like anything, and Ross shook his head 'no', "but thank you for offering."

He sat for a few minutes quietly, but his shield of indifference wasn't working very well, he felt embarrassed for the man, who was obviously her father; having to welcome his daughter's almost-killer into his home.

"If you'd prefer," Ross began, "I can wait outside..."

"Oh, no," the man replied; "I'm sorry if I'm making you uncomfortable. To a degree, I was partially responsible for your flight that day. I'm the man you saw with those two..."

"Dogs," Ross finished. "I made up a silly lie out of fear and cowardice; or so my head-shrinker says. Now I place you; and I apologize for intruding onto your private property." He was feeling odd; his numbness wasn't working like it should.

"Fear and cowardice?" Mr. Terrell asked. "Fear, yes; but your willingness to accept blame doesn't square with you being a coward. Who told you this?"

Ross made a face; "My father, my mother, and the shrink. My father invented the cowardice part, I think."

"Why?" Mr. Terrell asked, "Why did your father say you were a coward?"

"Because I admitted that I might have hit your daughter, sir. Because I didn't try to take things to trial, where perhaps dad's lawyer could have shown that I wasn't at fault; not completely. My father says I caved in, that because I didn't fight it out in court; I'm a coward--and a lot of other unpleasant things."

"Then your father is a fool," came from the doorway into the hall, where Robyn was rolling into the room in her wheelchair. "Excuse me, but I have to practice walking and gait every day, and I'm still not steady on my feet."

Ross' numbness was gone, he was feeling acutely sorry for hurting this young girl. "I'm sorry I hurt you, " he said. "I'm sorry I put you in that chair. You will get better, won't you?" he asked hopefully.

"I am better," she said, calmly. "Right now, I'm just a little tired."

"I'm glad that your back wasn't broken," Ross said, still trying to get his 'numbness' back. "I heard they mis-read your X-Rays over at the County hospital, that you would be paralyzed, and things..."

"They didn't," Robyn replied calmly; "My back was broken and my spinal cord was severed. I got better anyhow."

Then she said something crazy, or at least Ross thought so. "What you saw wasn't a lie. You saw my father, my best friend's father, and his brother-in-law. I've learned about what happened to you as a result of your honesty. I wanted to apologize for the loss of people you thought were your friends. Yes, you hit me; but you were sharing the steering wheel with fear and terror, and they don't drive very well. I forgive you for that."

Who was this girl of--what? Twelve? "Miss Terrell, I saw a man and two dogs that looked like wolves. There are no wolves in this part of the state. Are you saying that--that those two dogs were your friend's father and his brother-in-law?"

The girl nodded 'yes'.

"Excuse me, Miss Terrell, but you aren't making any sense," Ross said carefully. "What you're alleging is impossible. Are you saying that--your friend's father is a--a..."

"Were-wolf," the girl said, making the words clear and unquestionable. "My best friend is a werewolf, too. So is her mother. When your three friends and you decided to spy on them, they decided to frighten you a little without thinking of the possible results. My injury was one of those results."

Ross' world was spinning out of control. "They don't exist!" he cried, trying to find stability in negation.

"They do," Robyn said gently, "and because they feel responsible for what happened to me and to you; some of them are making an offer to you. You got their respect when you accepted responsibility for your actions. You just turned sixteen, which makes you an adult in their way of thinking. You did what you did as a child, and now because you're sixteen; they are willing to offer you a second chance. You can put this behind you if you're willing to keep a secret. If you want to earn some real friends, people your age that won't desert you, the offer's there."

"Werewolves aren't real, Miss Terrell!" Ross repeated with some force and then looked at her father, sitting in the corner. Was he crazy, too? Were these people all nuts?

"Not real?" the girl asked with a little smile; "Watch," she commanded. She took a deep breath, then lowered her head and slumped in her wheelchair.

Her arms began to darken, like they were dirty. Then is was as though she were in a cloud of smoke that clung to her skin. The 'smoke' darkened and became fur. Two ears pointed themselves above her hair, and her hands changed as well, becoming longer and darkening as well, becoming a cross between hand and paw.

When she raised her head, it wasn't a girl in the chair. Human eyes looked out of a wolf's face, complete with pointed teeth and a dark nose. She lifted the lap-cover off her legs, and stood; a wolf on her hind legs, wearing shorts and a tee-shirt.

She walked with an odd, gliding pace and pulled up an ottoman and sat on it, swishing the seat with her tail before she sat down.

"If they weren't real, I'd be paralyzed for life." she said, her voice coming from between fanged jaws. "They made me one of them, so I would have a life outside of a wheelchair and a 'handicap' sticker on my parents car."

Ross was sitting inches from something impossible, no; make that someone impossible.

"I'm sorry I hurt you," he said in a tiny voice. A furred hand reached out and took his and held it. Human eyes in a wolf's face stared into his.

"I accept your apology," she said. "The offer is still open. If you want friends, we are open to friendship with Smooth humans. We call it Kindred. You are an honest person and no coward; in spite of what your father said. We respect honesty, for all that just to survive, we have to live a physical lie with our bodies. You have lost your friends, you can find new ones among us. We are nothing like what the movies make us out to be. We are a good, decent people, not monsters that die at the end of the picture. I read the transcript of your hearing, before it was sealed. You are a good man, and we respect good men.

"If you want to, you can say what you like about what happened here. No one will believe you, and you will be more alone than you are now. We can end that loneliness, that numbness that comes over you; if you let us. Will you...?"

Ross did something he hadn't done for years; he broke down and wept, and the wolf--no, the girl--no, someone said, "Come to us, brother." He nodded, wiping away tears of pain, feeling the fur against his skin, feeling the gentle strength of this amazing girl; feeling again, not being numb.

"Okay," he whispered. "I'm in. Thank-you." Then he hugged her, feeling the canine body against his, accepting.

"There's someone who can really help you right now," Robyn said quietly. "I think you know her," then she raised her voice slightly; "Gretchen! There's somebody here that wants to talk with you!"

A pure white wolf in a loose top and trousers walked in from the back of the house, where she had been waiting. Even though she was covered with fur, he managed to recognized her.

"Gretchen? Gretchen Styles?" Ross asked in amazement. "You're the..."

"I'm the nurse you talked to because the doctor is so very busy," she said. "When Robyn suggested this, I was for it because I could see you walling yourself off from everyone and everything. You are much more mature than your father ever will be, but you made a mistake and were compounding it with another mistake in closing your self down. Among our People, I'm a healer and counselor; and when I heard what the doctor was suggesting I was appalled. If you choose to become part of our Kindred, I can help you regain some of your self-respect."

Then she stood directly in front of him and beckoned him to stand as well.

"Take my hand. You see; I am just as real as Robyn, and just as much a wolf, although I was born this way. What she said about our offer is true. You will be able to earn friends by what you do, and the sort of person you are. Did you know you share several classes with our youngsters, and that some of them are female? We are made up of both wolf and smooth, and you can make friends with both, if you try. Why don't you come out on the Terrell's newly security-screened back porch and talk to me, while we let Robyn rest. She was really working out on her gait training just before you came over, and I suspect she would like to take a nap."

Ross nodded, then a thought occurred to him; "Uhh, my dad has grounded me for the next three years, so I don't know about being able to get out much--and he has said 'no friends' visiting."

Gretchen made a face where she peeled a lip back from her impressive fangs, then said; "We'll see about that. You father listens to the doctor, and the doctor listens to me; so don't bury yourself before you're dead. If the doctor says 'the right sort of friends' well, we can provide those--and he will, after he gets my report. You might have more of a social life now than you did before your little adventure."

"Is the doctor a--a wolf, too?" Ross asked. "No," Gretchen replied, "but he is SmoothKin, he knows about us. Once I talk to him, he'll be on your side."

Ross turned to Robyn, still sitting. She looked up at him, ears perked and attentive. "Thank-you, Miss Terrell," he said. "For everything."

She smiled, not showing teeth; and replied, "Call me Robyn. All my friends do."

This story is copyrighted and may not be reproduced or distributed without the permission of the author. Full use permission is granted for viewing electronically. All persons depicted herein are fictional, and any resemblance to any person, living or dead, is purely coincidental. Copyright Kyllein Faolchu' MacKellerann, 2006 ®