How to Howl at the Moon by Eli Easton Read Free Book Online Page B

breakfast, though, okay? Do you like eggs? I picked up a dozen in Fresno, and I’ll scramble you three as soon as we get up. Maybe some toast too. Which reminds me. I’ll have to run out and get some dog food tomorrow.”
    Lance lay down on the couch with a grumble and closed his eyes so he couldn’t see the food. Tim petted his back with one hand while he ate. Lance’s fur felt soft and clean from the bath. He wondered idly if he should try that shampoo and if his human hair would feel this good if he used it.
    While Tim munched, occasionally Lance would open his eyes and peek at the TV. He hadn’t watched Twilight Zone in years. He’d forgotten that he liked it.
    There were a lot of things Lance hadn’t done in years, he realized. And plenty that he’d never done at all.
    Lance loved the dog part of his nature. It was happy, good-natured, loyal, and protective of those he cared about. In his experience, he preferred quickened to humans any day. But despite this, he rarely shifted into his animal form. He’d been born with it, a fourth genner. As a kid, he’d been reluctant to shift that first time, afraid of losing himself, of losing control. But finally his friends had goaded him into it when he was twelve. And all through high school, he’d worn his animal form whenever he could. It felt great to run in the woods with his friends, to wrestle and play. He’d always been a serious boy, and becoming a dog let him experience being playful and carefree for the first time in his life.
    But then he grew up. His dad was the sheriff , and Lance got a job with the department . He was determined to prove he was there because he deserved to be, and not just because he was his father’s son. He had big footsteps to fill. Everyone respected Sheriff Clifford Beaufort. The time to play had gotten harder and harder to find. Others in the community had a regular ‘howl at the moon night’ once a month, running in the mountains just for the joy of it.
    And exercise, his mother always insisted. It’s good for you to use those muscles, to shift back and forth. Keeps you young and sharp! Your dog needs to play.
    Lance always insisted he got plenty of exercise on the job. And what if an emergency came up while he was off romping around in his fur? It’s not like he could carry his cell phone. Since his dad’s passing, leaving the ship unattended even for a moment was not an option.
    But being in his dog form was one thing. This was something else entirely. Lance had never, ever pretended to actually be a dog with a full-blooded human. H e’ d never been on the receiving end of petting hands, hugs, and endearments, and, for god’s sake, a bath! He should be horrified at the very idea. But, in his dog form, it was all strangely… okay. In fact, if he was honest with himself, it felt disturbingly comfortable and distressingly nice. It was like sinking into a warm, fluffy bed.
    No wonder some of the newly quickened decided to go back to living full-time as a dog. It wasn’t something the community approved of. Understood—yes. Their dog nature still had a strong pull to be with humans. With the right human, being a dog full-time was a very easy path in life. But Lance always found such behavior a complete and inexcusable cop-out. The gift of the spark was just that—a tremendous gift. To ignore the fact that you could think and reason and talk, that you could stand on your own two legs and take care of yourself and others, could be an agent in the human world, was to spit in the face of that gift. He’d never understood how anyone could make that choice.
    And how frightening it was, too. Living as a dog meant not having control. Someone else decided everything for you, held your life in their hands. No thank you.
    Lance himself had never felt much of a pull to be with a specific human being. Never before. But now, the dog side of his nature felt a stab of longing for the man sitting next to him. And that gave his human side