It was mere moments after the door closed behind Lupa and David, when Ella first felt the magic begin to grip her body. It felt like a weighted blanket covering her, and slowing the movement of her entire body, as a powerful warmth filled the core of her being. 

“Well… this feels different from your magic…” Ella said eventually, trying not to stagger from the strange sensations running through her from the arches in her feet, to the tips of her hair. “Gods… I’m actually gonna become a wolf!”

Jana let out a small chuckle. “I guess it would feel different from your usual shape shifting. But seeing you still be this excited by magic…” She kissed the top of Ella’s head, “You’re too adorable for words, Ella.”

Ella blushed. Now the magic wasn’t the only thing making her weak in the knees. She stumbled a little, prompting Jana to catch her and sit her down gently on the floor.

“Feeling a little woozy…” Ella groaned, rubbing her head. She gasped when she felt something fuzzy poking up through her hair, which she quickly realised were her canine ears! “Oh my god! It’s started!”

“Deep breaths, bunny... I’ll be right here through everything!” Jana said, holding Ella’s hand in both of hers, and resisting the urge to change her pet name to “puppy”. She couldn’t start the bad dog jokes this early in the night…. But Ella already looked so cute with her new pointy ears!

“This is so much different than shapeshifting!” Ella said again and brought her free hand up to touch the fuzzy tip of one of her new ears. “When I transform, it’s like I become liquid then reform as something different. This is like I’m made of clay, and hands I can’t see are molding me!” She gasped as she heard a rip of fabric. Looking behind her she saw a new bushy black tail and forced its way out the back of her hiking shorts. 

“Well that’s not ideal.” Ella blushed as she realised what she was about to ask. “Jana sweetie... Could you help me out of these clothes while they’re in one piece?”

Jana helped her girlfriend undress, fighting the urge to make any flirtatious remarks. Ella needed comfort in this moment, and it wouldn’t help to embarrass her. Soon enough, there was a naked wolf-girl sitting on the carpet, and it was Jana’s turn to blush.

Ella felt the room spinning. She couldn’t explain it, but the longer the transformation went on, the more it seemed like the world was changing with her. Already colors were brighter and sounds were clearer. “Oh gods…” She had to look away when she looked and saw black hair start to sprout up from her arms. Magical or not, she couldn’t help but feel a twinge of dysphoria at that sight. 

Trying to shift her focus onto something else, Ella’s ears perked up as they heard the sounds of howling outside. “Jana!” the wolf-girl gasped excitedly. “Do you hear that?!” Before she even thought about it, Ella let out a small howl of her own, in response to the other wolves. She covered her mouth with both hands, a bit embarrassed by the outburst.

Jana giggled as she watched her girlfriend become more wolfish by the second. Ella’s excitement was punctuated by her new tail wagging happily. It was adorable enough to distract from the fact that she was now rapidly growing black fur all over her body.

Suddenly, Ella wobbled as her limbs went numb, and Jana had to catch her again. Ella stared at her now fur-covered feet in shock, as they elongated into hindpaws with a series of uncomfortable-sounding pops, as the bones rearranged themselves. Both girls looked away as Ella’s knee joints reversed, and her legs reshaped themselves to match her feet. Ella was now almost all wolf from the waist down!

Ella looked into Jana’s eyes for reassurance. She felt a lot safer when she saw her girlfriend smiling back at her. “It’s okay, Ella.” Jana whispered. “You’re doing great…”

Ella tried to hold the genie’s hand, but gasped when she felt her fingers shrink into padded paws. Realising this, Jana gently set Ella down on all fours, keeping her hands on the wolf-girl, and making sure she was comfortable. Ella’s arms and torso began to shift and grow until she started to resemble an oversized canine, albeit with a mostly human head. 

Ella glanced back nervously at her new form, as the numbness began to subside, and she started to get a feel of her new body. “Uhhh… Thish feelsh weird…” She struggled to get the words out, as her teeth grew larger and sharper.

“Shhh…” said Jana, stroking Ella’s fur. “Try not to talk for this next bit. It’ll be over soon, sweetie...”

“What do you meaaargh!” Ella’s eyes went wide as her mouth, along with the rest of her face, suddenly began to push out to form a wolf’s muzzle. The sensation reminded Ella of having a dental filling on anesthesia, only multiplied by 100! While there was no actual pain, the sensation of having one's entire skull change shape in such a manner was disorientating to say the least. Ella went cross-eyed as she watched her new wolf nose stretch out in front of her, and saw the remainder of her black fur cover her new muzzle. 

Then… after a moment, it stopped. Ella blinked, slightly dazed by the whole experience. 

Gradually, the numbness subsided, and Ella realised just how much adrenaline was rushing through her new form. The sensation of her whole body having shifted around both inside and out, combined with the uncontainable excitement of becoming a werewolf, was making Ella’s heart pound like a jackhammer.

“Wow, this feels incredible!” Ella thought to herself. All of the new sensations brought on by Ella’s new body, instincts and senses were overwhelming. Before she could even think, Ella raised her head and let out another howl, this time loud, powerful, and full of purpose!

Ella couldn’t quite explain it, but howling like that felt like she had been holding it in her whole life. It took her a moment or two after she’d finished calling out to even register the strange nature of her behaviour. She looked around to see Jana sitting next to her, stroking her fur and smiling. “Well… That wasn’t so bad, was it?” The Genie grinned cheekily, “Who’s a pretty girl, then?” She clearly couldn’t help herself.

Grateful that her fur likely covered up any sign of blushing, Ella tried to ask her girlfriend to hold up the mirror for her, but all that came out of her mouth was a series of small barks. Luckily, Jana seemed to be one step ahead of her, as she conjured up a full body mirror for Ella the wolf to gaze into.

Ella had expected to be completely befuddled by the sight of her own reflection, having now become a gigantic black wolf, from head-to-paw. However, something about the new instincts rushing around in her head, and the way her new body felt; the wolf looked completely natural to Ella. All she saw was herself in that mirror.

She moved much more gracefully and more naturally than when she had just transformed into a standard wolf, as if she had been moving in this body her entire life. Her tail wagged a little, growing faster as she started to scamper around the room, taking delight in the speed and agility of this new form. 

“Oh you are so cute!” Jana smiled wider and wider at how cute her pupper girlfriend was behaving. “Sweetie, come over here for a second,” Feeling mischievous, the genie chose a different way to say it, “Ella, come! Come on, Ella! Good girl!” She whistled, and patted her knees to get her attention.

The black wolf’s ears perked and she rushed over, sitting her large frame at Jana’s feet. It was only once she was in this position that Ella realized just how undignified she was acting. Were these the canine impulses? Or did Jana just have her that tightly wrapped around her finger? She gave a small indignant woof, which only made Jana giggle even more, as she ruffled Ella’s fur.

“I’m sorry, honey.” Jana said, though her grin said otherwise. “I won’t do that again, if it makes you uncomfortable.” She began to move her hand away from Ella.

Ella barked in protest, and rushed forward to nuzzle Jana. There was no way she was gonna say no to affectionate physical contact from her girlfriend. However the wolf slightly misjudged her own size and strength, and the attempted nuzzling quickly escalated into a tackle to the floor.

“Whoa!” laughed Jana, as she just managed to avoid being squashed by her big furry girlfriend. “Steady, Ella! I’ll take that as a yes to more pettings?”

Ella barked happily, and rolled over onto her back, inviting Jana to rub her belly. She didn’t care if it was undignified, or about looking dumb. She was a wolf now, and this was what made her wolf-brain happy!

However, before the adorableness could continue, Jana seemed to notice something as her face froze. Ella blinked in confusion, and followed Jana’s gaze down to…

“Oh…” Jana said slowly. “I should’ve known that might happen…”

If Ella had been able to speak at that moment, she still wouldn’t have known what to say as she realized just what Jana was looking at. Ever since she had gained the ability to shapeshift, Ella had been apprehensive about making any changes to her body… downstairs. She had certainly made some permanent changes in the hair and voice departments, as well as altering her overall body-shape to one of her liking. But the issue of genitalia had always been a touchy subject for Ella.

When she had changed her form in the past, she had merely covered up her sensitive regions with clothing, fur, scales, or whatever was appropriate at the time. If she thought too much about it, it opened up way too many difficult questions in her mind. Would she be comfortable making that change? Could it even be done well? Would she be able to change it in ways that other trans women couldn’t? Would it mean she would be able to do things like give birth? Would that be fair if she could do it, and other trans women couldn’t?

All these questions had led to Ella largely ignoring that particular part of her body whenever she shifted. However, this time, Ella hadn’t been in control of the transformation, and there was no denying that whatever forces were behind this change had decided that Ella should become a 100% physically female wolf.

Ella was dumbstruck by the sight of her own anatomy. A small part of her almost wanted to laugh at the bizarre fact that she had literally been transformed into a giant wolf, and yet this was the part that shocked her the most. At least now she understood a small part of why she had felt so comfortable and at-home in this form.

There was a sudden familiar puff of smoke beside her, and Jana was suddenly replaced by a large white wolf, which finally drew Ella’s attention away from her body. The wolf barked, and to Ella’s surprise, her wolf brain processed the sound as speech.

“Hey sweetie…” said Jana the wolf. “Thought it would be easier for us to communicate this way.”

Ella took a few deep breaths and sat up from her position on the floor. Something about having the communication barrier down did help to sooth her nerves. “That’s the second time that’s been an issue for us. Thanks angel… This is just… a surprise I didn’t expect tonight.”

“You feeling ok, Ella?” Jana asked, nuzzling her canine head against her girlfriend’s fuzzy neck.

Ella nodded. “Yeah… Yeah I’ll be fine Jana. It was just… A shock you know? But… I can’t deny, I am happy about this too.” A smile came to her muzzle as she continued, “I mean, this is the ultimate confirmation of my gender! This isn’t from your magic, this is the magic in all werewolves, and it decided that I should be completely female inside and out tonight! It… It’s a lot to take in, you know?”

Jana nodded in agreement, and leaned in to give Ella a small lick on the cheek cheek. “I’m glad you’re happy, babe. Do you need to lay down? A drink, maybe?”

Ella shook her head, touched by the concern. “I think I’m ok... I understand why David passed out, though. This is… a lot. It must’ve been even worse not knowing what was coming.”

Jana trusted her girlfriend’s instincts about what her body could handle, but still wanted to take things slowly for the first hour or so. “Ok then, pup! Just promise me you won’t overdo it tonight. Ok?”

“I promise.” Ella chuckled and used a forepaw to cross her heart as best as she could manage, touched by Jana’s concern. 

“Right then! Shall we join the pack?” Jana asked, nodding her head towards the apartment door, back to the outside world. 

“Almost.” She was struck by an idea. This was the second time Jana had needed to transform herself to understand something that Ella had been trying to say. “Just in case you want to go back to being human at any point tonight. I wish that you could talk to animals and that no matter what form either of us takes, we will always understand each other.”

The white wolf smiled. “Done and done, bunny! Both wishes are for my benefit, so they are absolutely free for cute wolf girls!” She laughed and clapped her paws together as she couldn’t snap, and Ella felt the magic wash over her like a strong breeze.

Ella nodded, and bowed her head, motioning for Jana to take the lead, “Wonderful! Now, Alpha’s first!” She said playfully.

Jana smirked and pushed the unlocked door of David’s home open with her head. “Try not to make too many of those jokes tonight, ok? Like Markus said last time we were here, wolf packs don’t actually work like that.”

“Oh! Right, sorry!” Ella ran out of the house after her love, quickly scampering down the stairs and into the night. Perhaps it was the light of the moon, or her new canine eyes, but the forest and village before them was as clear and bright as day! Perhaps brighter, showing an energy and life in the very air that seemed absent under the sun.

At a passing glance, many of the wolves looked very similar, but with her enhanced senses, particularly her heightened sense of smell, Ella could identify all the canines frolicking about immediately. A large she-wolf and a small male approached the pair, and she could tell immediately it was Lupa and David coming to check on them.

“Ella! You made it!” David barked excitedly, his tale wagging as he ran up to greet his sister.  “And you didn’t pass out either! Great job!”

“So, how does lycanthropy feel?” Lupa asked, walking forward with more dignity than her mate, though her tail still wagged excitedly.

“It’s pretty awesome so far!” Ella said, feeling so happy, joy only rising further by how cute she felt with her own tail wagging. This seemed to be a very popular reaction among wolves.

“Glad you like it! And your accent is much better now.” Lupa nodded her approval.

An idea struck Ella. Now that she could understand canine speech there was something she wanted to know. “Before you said this village’s name couldn’t be pronounced by humans. What is it?”

Lupa and David exchanged a look. This was evidently something that they were used to answering for newcomers. It was certainly strange that Ella could now perceive so much more from the very subtle body language of the wolves, now that she was one herself. 

Lupa said the words, but it still came out as barks and growls, linguistically unintelligible, yet Ella did manage to get some meaning from them this time. Not exactly words, but emotions… thoughts… a feeling of safety. Companionship. Friendship. Love… The closest words she could connect it to came to first her mind, and then her lips. “Home… Family…” 

Lupa smiled warmly and nodded. “That’s about as near as any human language can name this place.” The she-wolf rolled her shoulders and stretched her back. “Any interest in joining us on the hunt tonight Ella? We’re looking for some deer tonight. Better challenge than any birds or rodents and not as aggressive as the wild hogs. A fine first hunt!”

Ella was about to say no to the offer, but stopped mid-thought by a sudden growl from her stomach. For some reason the very thought of raw meat was making her mouth water, and she didn’t think she liked that. 

“Maybe not tonight.” She said after gathering her thoughts. “You said not everyone joins the hunt right? What does the rest of the pack do?”

David recognized the expressions and struggles on his sister’s face from his own transformations and quickly answered her before anyone could bring up the hesitation. “Well, we all take turns staying behind to protect the village, watch the pups, that sort of thing.”

Ella’s ears perked up at the mention of pups. “So Logan is staying behind too?”

“Yep.” Lupa nodded, “Along with Dad. It’s his turn to help watch the play area.”

“Play area?” Jana asked, pretty sure this was a modern addition for the pack.

“Yep! It’s over here.” Lupa barked and bent her head to gesture for her friends to follow. She led them a short distance away from the cabins to what looked like a combination between a kids’ playground, and a dog agility course; complete with a polished wooden slide, a few seesaws, and a few long winding lengths of tube to crawl through. Around a dozen pups were already scampering about with parents watching on.

Ella’s tail was already wagging from the heartwarming sight. She had no idea there were so many kids in the village! Before she would have just seen an adorable bunch of puppies scrambling about with very little distinction, but with her new canine senses she could tell which pup belonged to which family, as well as their general ages. 

She quickly picked Logan out from the group, as the most familiar scent and realized that compared to the others, he was rather small for his age. He might have even been considered a runt, which explained why he specialized in cuteness and humor, being lesser in physical strength among the others. The little guy certainly played to his advantages.

“Hi Logan!” Ella called across the playground, hoping the kid would recognize her.

“Ella? Jana?” The young wolf called back from the top of the slide, staring at the girls in confusion, as he tilted his head adorably. In fact, now that attention had been drawn to the pair, every parent and child in the park had turned to look. It wasn’t every day that two newcomers appeared unannounced on a full moon like this.

The unofficial mascot of the nature preserve and village drew attention away from his favorite human by slipping from his seat at the top of the slide. “Woah!” He cried out, tumbling head over tail as he rolled down the ramp, landing with a thump in a patch of soft grass at the bottom. “I’m ok!” He called out, the pups laughing or cheering for him as he dizzily staggered over to where his big sister was waiting with the guests.

A huge black wolf, who Ella recognized from scent and baring as Markus, came over to check on his youngest child. “Well now, what happened to you two?” He asked, looking over the newcomers. 

“Whoa!” Logan gasped as he ran around Ella and Jana, sniffing them with endearing curiosity. “Did Lupa turn you two into wolves as well?!”

Ella and Jana started laughing at the implications, but Lupa and David seemed horrified! “What?! Logan, no!” Lupa huffed. “She’s David’s sister! I would never...” She paused as she noticed Ella watching her. “Oh… Sorry, Ella. I didn’t mean it like…”

“Oh, don’t worry!” Ella chuckled, in far too good of a mood to let Lupa’s slip-up bring her down. “I know what you meant.”

“So what happened?” yapped Logan, who was determined to get to the bottom of this mystery! “Did you two get bitten? Did Rhea curse you? Tell me!”

“I can answer that one…” said Jana, giving Ella a sly wink, which seemed to say, “Watch this...” 

There was a puff of smoke, and Jana was once again in her human form, only now she was wearing a long elaborately-detailed golden robe, and moving her hands like she was Doctor Strange. “Behold, mortals! I am the genie of the lamp!”

Logan barked excitedly, and all the other wolf children gathered around to watch. Even some of the adult wolves, including David and Lupa, seemed interested in where this was going. Ella simply chuckled to herself, glad that Jana was enjoying her chance to put on a mini-magic show.

“My powers are near limitless!” Jana shot her hand up into the air and a golden rocket shot up into the sky. When it exploded in the air, high above the treeline, the descending sparks turned to a swarm of fireflies, fluttering around the audience and lighting the ring of Jana’s performance. 

“I have harnessed my powers to transform my beautiful mistress, Ella Grant, into a powerful wolf!” Jana was getting more than a little caught up in the role of the stage performer as all the cubs barked and howled in place of thunderous applause. “Who would like to see more feats of my magical prowess?”

Yet more cheers greeted this. Quietly, Ella leaned over to David and whispered, “I’d have thought with three magic users here, the kids wouldn’t be impressed by magic anymore.”

David shook his head, just as entertained as the kids, “My magic isn’t good for tricks, Karl talks too much, and Rhea doesn’t usually perform tricks this good, unless it was for her own amusement. This is pretty rare fun for them!”

“Heh, the most impressive part of all this is keeping Logan entertained.” said a voice from behind Ella, who turned to see Markus watching his son cheer for Jana’s magic. “I take it that a wish made you like this, Ella?”

Ella nodded. “It’s only temporary, but yeah. For tonight, I’m a genuine werewolf! Gotta say I’m loving it so far!”

There came another cheer from the wolf crowd, as Jana demonstrated her own shapeshifting abilities, assuming the forms of a wolf, a deer, a hawk, and many other woodland critters. Logan seemed to be the most enthralled by this, as he howled with delight and wagged his tail.

“Remind me to thank Jana later.” said Markus, smiling at his son’s enthusiasm. “Usually by this point, I’m having to chase him around the village to keep him entertained.”

“For my next trick, I shall need a volunteer from the audience!” Jana called out. Every pup stood on their hind legs to volunteer themselves, waving their fore paws around to catch her eye.

Jana made a big show of looking out over the sea of excitable young dogs, purposefully ignoring Logan for a moment before looking down as if she had just seen him, “Ah! Yes you! The young gentlewolf in the front row! Come up here!”

There was polite laughter as Logan scampered up to his magical friend. Once he was in position, Jana got down and whispered in the pup’s ear. Logan nodded enthusiastically in response and ran back off the stage, scampering through the crowd until he came to Markus and Ella.

“Hey Dad!” Logan barked excitedly. “Jana says she needs your permission to use her magic on me! Can she?! Can she?! Please?!” The little wolf’s use of literal puppy dog eyes was clearly something that Markus was used to, given that the pup’s father didn’t immediately cave in, as Ella would have done.

“Is it safe?” Markus barked up at the makeshift stage. “You’re not gonna do anything permanent, are you?

“Rest assured, without the binding power of a wish, all I do shall be temporary.” Jana grinned, staying in character as she reassured the crowd. “Any transformative spells will wear off in time, even if not undone.” She left a pause for that information to sink in.

Markus glanced over to Prospero, who gave a small nod of approval. It only made sense to consult the nearest magic user for this sort of thing. Logan’s head turned between the two elder wolves, tail wagging faster than ever.

“Oh, okay then.” Markus finally relented with a thin smile. “I suppose it should be fine.”

“Thanks dad!” Logan yipped excitedly. He nuzzled his father affectionately, before running back onstage to an awaiting Jana.

Once she was sure she had everyone’s attention, Jana smiled and waved a hand out towards the watching canines. “I shall need suggestions from the audience! Tell me; What shall I transform my excitable assistant into first?”

The implications of the magic she was offering excited the pups. Several were already barking suggestions. “A tiger! An eagle! A dragon!” could be heard, among several other suggestions. 

“I want to be all of them!” Logan barked excitedly! “I want to be a full grown carnivore!”

“You got it!” Jana smiled. She made a bigger show than normal out of her hand motions leading up to the spell before snapping her fingers, creating a loud crack as Logan was engulfed in a puff of smoke. 

The crowd watched excitedly, expecting the wolf pups fur to start shifting and growing. What was Logan becoming? He’d requested to be a fully-grown predator, but what would that be, exactly? A fully-grown werewolf? Or maybe a lion? Or a dragon!? 

Seconds later, the smoke cleared to reveal that Logan had become… A tiny red-furred weasel, no bigger than 7 inches, who looked just as confused as the audience. 

“Behold!” Jana announced, a hint of suppressed laughter having entered her dramatic tone. “The Mustela Nivalis! Our brave volunteer has become a fully-grown Least Weasel; the world’s smallest carnivore!”

She picked up the tiny chittering mammal and held him up with one hand for the audience to see. “Hey now! Don’t use that sort of tone with me, young pup!” She scolded in a joking tone. “This is your own fault for not specifying the size predator you wanted to be!” 

The audience got a good laugh out of Logan the Weasel’s frustration, but Jana was quick to turn him back into his wolf form. “Let’s give it up for our brave volunteer!” She called, and the wolves howled in lieu of applause, as Logan scampered off stage back to Markus and Ella.

“Hey Logan!” Ella cheered as the pup reached them. “You were amazing! You feeling okay?” While she had enjoyed the show, Ella was slightly concerned about the poor kid’s wounded pride after what had happened.

“Ah, he’s fine!” laughed Markus, resting a paw on his son’s head. “Logan’s a natural performer! Used to this sort of attention, aren’t ya son?”

The young wolf gave a modest shrug. He could hardly complain when he regularly played the adorable goofball puppy role in most of his videos. If anything, his brief stint as a weasel would probably increase his popularity within the pack.

“How did it feel being a weasel?” Ella asked. “Think you’ll wanna try being transformed again in the future?”

“Maybe?” said Logan, giving another shrug. “I think I like being a wolf better, but it was cool to try it out. Besides, if I was a were-weasel, I wouldn’t be able to do this…!”

Logan suddenly pounced up onto his father’s back, catching Markus off guard. The elder wolf collapsed to the ground dramatically, and laughed as Logan scrambled around on top of him. “Ahh! A sneak attack!” Markus growled in a mock-angry tone. “I’ll get you for this, insolent whelp!”

“You’ll have to catch me first!” giggled Logan, leaping off his dad’s back and scampering off through the village, his tail wagging all the while.

Ella smiled as she watched Markus run off after his youngest son. Part of her was tempted to run off and join them in their game of tag, but she decided to wait for Jana to finish her magic show. After all, she still had the whole night ahead of her...

__________________________________________________________________

The magic show continued for a while longer, with Jana delighting the young pups and adults alike with all kinds of summoning and transformation tricks. Ella excitedly watched her girlfriend build up to bigger and bigger tricks, and howled along with the rest of the crowd. David and Lupa had slipped off shortly after Logan and Markus, to join the rest of the hunting pack. 

After turning a tree into a giant eagle and back, Jana was preparing for her grand finale! A musical cue started to play. A tune that Ella immediately recognized as “Friend Like Me”. However, before Jana even had the chance to sing the first word, the howling of dozens of wolves drowned out the song. The hunters had returned! The feast was almost ready to begin!

In shockingly little time, the crowd in the park had completely disbursed, leaving only Ella, and a rather disappointed Jana. Feeling bad for her lover, wolf Ella ran over to the genie and licked her face to comfort her.

“Thanks, Ella...” Jana said, trying her best not to sulk. “It was gonna be so cool!”

Ella nuzzled her and barked, canine for “Don’t worry, you can do the whole song for me later.”

“You promise?” Jana asked, immediately perking up and smiling at the offer.

“Promise.” Ella said, giving Jana a few more doggy kisses before nudging her to come along. “Now come on angel! I don’t know what it is they’re cooking, but I can already smell it from here!” 

__________________________________________________________________

Ella was a little concerned when she found that the wonderful smell she could practically see wafting through the air had come from a couple of raw, bloody deer carcasses. Her human and canine instincts were fighting between gagging and drooling at the sight. The hunters of the pack had proudly displayed their kills in a clearing illuminated by the moon high above and a roaring bonfire. Jana tried her best to comfort her girlfriend. In or out of wolf form, the dead deer wouldn’t have looked the most appetizing to her either. 

David saw his sister’s distress and walked over to her from the hunting group. His fur seemed very clean, where Lupa and the twins all had bloody muzzles. “I know, it’s weird at first. Come over here.” He led Ella and Jana to the other side of the fire where several huge wild hogs were roasting. “Here’s dinner for those who still prefer cooked meat.”

“Thanks David,” Ella said with a sigh of relief. “This is better.” She glanced sideways at her brother, “Wait, weren’t you on the hunt? Are you eating the deer?”

He shook his head, “I’m not to that point yet. I just joined the hunt for the chance to run through the woods with Lupa.”

Ella smiled, “That’s actually really sweet.”

He nodded and smiled. “It’s wonderful to watch her work! The true grace of an apex predator!... All the same, I’m probably not kissing her until after she’s washed up.”

“That’s fair.” Ella and Jana said in perfect unison and they both laughed. 

“May I serve you?” A voice asked from behind Ella, making her jump. She turned to see a tall beautiful woman in a long white dress. Her long limbs and slender face gave her the look of an elven queen. Her smile was kind and her eyes mischievous, and yet Ella couldn’t help but feel unnerved by the new arrival. Not just how she had still managed to sneak up on magical wolves with enhanced senses, but the fact a long sharp carving knife was held in her hand.

“I… I’m sorry?” Ella asked, trying not to sound rude or frightened. 

“Serve you.” She said again, this time clarifying by nodding to the roasting boar. “It is my sacred duty to serve, protect and aid my pack in any way I can.”

“Your pack?” Was this woman another witch to learn magic?... No… something about this person seemed much less human than the other mages Ella had met… Older… Stranger.. 

“Wait… Rhea?!” Ella gasped.

The woman smiled wider, the devilish gleam in her eyes glowing a little brighter. When she spoke again she had dropped her ceremonial tone and was more recognizable as the crass old woman Ella had met earlier that day. “Well, what do you know, Prospero? She guessed it faster than you did!” 

“What happened to you?” Ella asked in quiet awe. How had the eccentric, ancient witch changed so much?

The woman in white laughed, as if she could hear the thoughts Ella had left unspoken. “The wolves aren’t the only ones to change and grow in power with every full moon my dear.”

Well that answered one question, but raised so many others. Just what exactly was Rhea? She had to be much more than just some elderly human mage, right?

Ella’s thoughts were then distracted by the return of the rest of the Olsen family. She had never seen them all together as wolves before, and was pleasantly surprised to notice the women were all the bigger ones in this family. In wolf form, Laura was a head taller than her mate, as were Lupa and Sofia with their partners. It now made more sense why the twins were always so aggressive. Like many young, insecure boys around their age, they were over compensating.

“Who’s the new girl?” Farkas asked, walking up and sniffing Ella.

Lupa grabbed her brother’s tail with her teeth and gave him a hard pull back before he got too close for Ella’s comfort. “Use your head, Fark! Who do you know with black hair, green eyes and smells like Jana, that has been around a lot recently? It’s her first night as a wolf and she hasn’t had to ask who anyone was!”

“Lupa, be nice to your brother.” Laura called out, as Vilkas snickered to himself.

While the siblings were starting into a rather heated debate, Ella slunk a small distance away towards Karl and Sofia, the latter of which was having her fur brushed by Jana for the sake of old times. 

“Hey Karl…” said Ella. “You know Rhea better than anyone in the village, right?”

The old wolf gave a little shrug once he had been able to look away from his wife being cute. “Yes, I suppose. Sofia knew her for longer, but I have spent more time around her, over the years. We’ve had quite a few adventures over the years, like the time when she...”

Sofia coughed to interrupt the story before her husband could really get going. “What do you want to know dear?”

Ella smiled a covert thank you at Sofia before continuing. “Well… What is she, exactly?” She asked as quietly as she could with the transformed witch tending the meat over the fire not far away.

“Oh.” Karl hadn’t expected this question and it derailed his narrative thought processes entirely. “I am going to be perfectly honest with you, my dear. No one knows that for certain. It doesn’t help that any time someone asks her, she gives a different answer. She once told me she was the spirit of this forest, but I know that she told Markus as a child that she was some horrific monster in human form. She could be a goddess, a subspecies of vampire, a lesser demon, a normal witch that clones herself periodically to stay alive longer, I heard one pup even question if she was real or a mass hallucination by the entire pack in its final stages. None of us knows for sure, and I think she likes it that way. Why, my predecessor as the chief apprentice once told me about her; I think it was back in the early 80s...” 

“Pork shoulder, dear?” said a voice from behind Ella, who turned to see that Rhea had snuck up on her again, this time holding a large platter of meat cut from one of the hog roasts. The meat smelt incredible to Ella’s wolf senses, and her human side was pretty tempted too.  

Rhea set the platter down in front of Ella, who immediately dug in. Ella didn’t even care about looking undignified. She only had one night to get the full wolf experience, and she had no time to let table manners get in the way of it! She allowed her wolf instincts to take over as she tore into the meat, savouring the taste all the way down to the bone. It was actually a little frightening how quickly she disposed of the food, and even scarier how she immediately wanted more.

Trying to get her mind off of thoughts of meat, Ella asked, “Hey Rhea…” She tried to think of the most diplomatic way to ask her question and settled on, “Where are you from?”

The witch paused, “Italy originally. Or what would eventually become Italy at any rate. I was the queen of a small city state once. When the city was sacked, a mother wolf helped rescue my two sons, and nursed them back to health. My boys became two of the strongest wolves around, and I was considered an honorary pack member. I swore to aid that pack in thanks for their kindness, and the gods granted me the gift of magic, so that I could do just that!” 

Rhea let the end of her story hang dramatically in the air, before returning to her casual demeanor. “Anyways, you better hurry if you want more, or all the meat will be gone.” She smiled and walked off, practically floating across the ground with the grace of this form.

“Huh…” Jana said after a while. “Karl was right. A different story every time.”

“I suppose…” Ella said, looking after the witch. That story that she had told seemed very familiar to her, especially when paired with certain names of those around her. A tale from ancient Rome… Had Rhea actually told the truth of her history? As she watched the elven woman and wondered, she saw the witch break a rib off of a cooked pig carcass and start messily tearing meat from it.

“Yeah right!” Ella laughed. “No way that’s the real story…”

__________________________________________________________________

A short while later, Karl was prepared to continue telling more stories of his life as a wizard, when Ella heard a small bark, as Logan came scampering up to them. He gave a running pounce at Ella and pinned the larger wolf to the ground. “Ha! I saved you, Ella!”

“Saved me?” The temporary werewolf asked through a laugh.

“Yeah! Vilkas told me grandpa’s stories could be so long they could put a newbie like you to sleep for 100 years.” Ella noticed Laura gave her middle child a very stern look, but Karl didn’t seem too upset, and the rest of the family seemed amused.

“Oh no! That’s horrible!” Ella said, playing along. “Please tell me you know the cure!”

“You’ve got to run around with me, and have lots of fun!” Logan answered excitedly. “Sugar helps too, but we can’t eat much on a wolf night.” He spoke like a little expert, as if the young pup had run studies to get the best results of surviving a Grandpa Karl story. 

“Hmm well if it’s medicinal, I suppose I better follow your treatment plan, Dr. Logan!” 

Ella started to run around the clearing, the little pup close by her side, laughing with him as they jumped around each. Getting an idea for something fun, Jana resumed her own white wolf form and started running the other way around the clearing. She met her girlfriend half way, crashing into her with a pounce. The pair rolled to a stop in the grass with Jana on top and Ella pinned by her back to the ground. Apart from a little blush to her canine cheeks, Ella had no problem with this. Jana leaned down as if to kiss her love when they heard someone clear their throat.

They both looked up to see Rhea had snuck up on them again. “Try and keep things PG when the cubs are around girls.” 

“Oh you’re no fun!” Jana huffed, climbing off of Ella and helping her up from the ground.

__________________________________________________________________

Once the pack had all eaten, the mood became a bit quieter and sleepier. Some soft music came from the band stand that had been set up earlier in the night, the instruments all playing themselves with the aid of Rhea’s magic. Some wolves howled/hummed along with the music, which seemed to be the wolf equivalent of campfire songs. 

The younger cubs had started to nod off shortly afterwards. Logan had been one of the first to fall asleep, having failed to take his own advice and listened too long to a story Karl told of a time he had once escaped from a sea troll. The pup was curled up snugly between his mom and dad, while Lupa and David listened to the rest of Karl’s story.

Over towards the edge of the clearing, Farkas and Vilkas were the only wolves left who still seemed to have some energy in them. The twins were fighting over a large bone from one of the hog-roasts, while Sofia sat off to the side, “refereeing” their match.

Ella too was starting to feel tired from the excitement of the night. She and Jana sat under a massive pine tree to get away from the noise of the twins. Jana was once again in human form, brushing Ella’s fur and scratching behind her ears, “You are just so cute!” The genie said, nuzzling against Ella’s fluff.

Wolf Ella laughed and squirmed, feeling so happy and relaxed, almost too content to have the energy to wag her tail. “Maybe we could do this now and then at home…” She said through a yawn. 

Jana smiled and kissed her lover’s canine muzzle. “Any time you want, bunny.” She snapped her fingers and a warm fleece blanket appeared folded in her hands. She draped it over Ella’s shoulders. “You look so tired. We should get you back to David’s place.”

Another yawn from the black wolf, “Could we sleep out here tonight? Everything is so quiet… so peaceful…” With a final soft yawn, the wolf put her head down and fell asleep without another word.

“I suppose we can.” Jana laughed to herself, cuddling up against the sleeping shape shifter. The night was quiet. The band had stopped, the wolves had either fallen asleep or moved to other parts of the forest, and the bonfire had burnt down to embers. “It is quiet here… and  soothing… and…” Jana suddenly sat up, a tense panicked feeling in her entire body. “Wrong.” Something was very very wrong.

The genie stood up, trying to remember where she had felt this way before. Realization almost came too late… She turned to call out to Ella, to warn her, but no words would come. All she got was one final look at the girl she loved, still sound asleep and unaware of any problem, before she felt her magic activate against her will. 

A horrible unclean feeling that made her regret ever being born. A single tear rolled down her cheek as she heard the signature crack. Next she felt the hard pull on her entire body of an unwanted teleportation… and was gone from the forest without a trace.