Chapter Text
Saying it was cold was a complete understatement, and even in her mind, she couldn't bring herself to say it. She was, however, looking forward to getting back to the warmth of her new yurt. She loved inclement-weather Glamping; the thrill of it always called to her. She was about to start a new job in the city, and this would be the only chance she would have for a while, so she went all out.
The snow falling dampened the sound around her. The soothing sound of snow crunching beneath her feet was violently broken by the bang of a gun and a wolf howling. Andy quickly crouched, reaching for the gun at her hip. This was a wildlife reservation owned by the locals that allowed backpacking and camping during the winter. This was Sacred Land with a strict no-hunting rule. Andy slowly stood after scanning the area. Not wanting to be out in the open, she decided to jog the rest of her hike.
20 minutes later, she could see the green point of her tent, the rest covered in the falling snow. The front awning flap had collapsed under the weight. She was so preoccupied with thinking about how to secure the flap if it was broken that she barely had time to keep from tripping over red furry bundles sliding across her path. On her right was a small drop off, and whatever the two furry masses were, they must have fallen and slid down the side.
Andy froze and observed the scene before her. A red, fiery bundle of fur was barking and poking its nose at another that lay slumped at the base of a tree. The brunette looked up at the top of the drop-off. It wasn't enough to be fatal, but definitely enough to knock you unconscious if a tree stopped your descent. Andy looked around. It was only 20 or so feet from her yurt, and she couldn't leave these two pups out in the cold to fend for themselves.
“Hey there, I'm not going to hurt you,” Andy said as she held her hands out and up. This unfortunately opened her coat just enough for the pup to see her weapon, and it jumped in front of the other and growled. So she took it off, emptied the chamber, and tossed it towards her yurt. “See, nothing's going to hurt you, little ones.”
Taking slow, deliberate steps, she walked a tightrope of tension and fear, with the wind threatening to knock her over, and these were wild animals. Her hood blew off her head, and she didn't want to risk moving her hands to fix it as she squatted down next to the two pups. The unconscious one was breathing steadily, and the other licked its face, trying to wake it up. Andy decided she needed to move quickly now as another gunshot shattered the silence.
Andy scooped up the protective pup, stuffed it into her coat, and zipped it up so its head poked out. It wiggled, barked, and snapped at her, but simmered down as Andy bent down, slowly and gently scooped the other into her arms, and walked briskly to her yurt. Once inside, she turned on the battery-powered LED lights and pulled the spare blanket by the bed down onto the floor. She cradled the pup while quickly making a little blanket nest shape in front of the wood-burning stove in the center of the yurt.
She placed both pups comfortably inside, then went to get some hand-sized pieces of wood and started the fire. She backed away slowly as the protective one moved between her and the unconscious one and eyed her almost suspiciously. The look was oddly human, childlike, even. Andy dismissed it as a trick of the light and went about settling in for the night. She chose at night to turn off the TV or radio, not wanting to draw too much attention to her location with whoever was illegally shooting out there. The light and smoke of the fire couldn't be helped, but she didn’t need to be reckless. She needed to be able to hear anyone or anything approaching. Her stomach growled, and she set about cooking dinner.
Several minutes later, Andy felt as if she were being watched in a supernatural sense, and it made the hairs on the back of her neck stand up. Looking around, her eyes locked onto the protective pup. The pups' eyes were blue before, but now had a glow about them, and she heard a small voice in her head. Hungry. Andy looked down at the chicken she was grilling, flipping it over one last time and checking that it was completely done. She cut off a chunk and shredded it for the sandwich she was making. Then cut off another piece and cube it. Placing the meat on a wooden camping plate, she walked slowly over to the two pups, and the protective ones growled again. Andy placed the plate on the floor and walked back to where she was cooking. She went back to making her sandwich and trying to remain uninterested as the protective puppy left the blanket nest and sniffed at the plate.
Andy smiled triumphantly to herself as the pup began to eat in earnest, then stopped and looked back at its sibling. The pup grabbed a chunk of meat and placed it in front of the sibling's nose. Seconds passed, and a nose twitch later, the other pup sprang to its feet and devoured the meat. Licking its chops, it looked around, sniffed the air, and beelined for the plate. Andy stood in shock as the protective pup tripped its sibling and made a dash for the plate too. The next thing Andy knew, there were two fur balls barking and pouncing on each other. It was odd; the interaction felt playful even though she saw glimpses of claws and teeth. Thinking quickly, she made another plate and placed it on the floor next to the other.
Both pups froze at her sudden moment. The smaller of the two sat on its haunches and cocked its head to the side, studying her. It looked at its sibling, the protective one, then looked around the space. The larger of the two nudges its sibling, bumping the top of its head against its sibling's chin, then trotting over to a plate. Its sibling hesitated for a moment, then followed and stopped to devour the meat in the other plate.
By comparison, the protective one continued to nibble and calmly eat its meal. Growling whenever its sibling tried to steal a cube. Andy rolled her eyes with a chuckle and added more meat to the smaller pup's plate. The meat barely hit the place when an ear-splitting howl pierced the night. The two pups howled back simultaneously, and Andy paled. That first howl was uncomfortably close.
°~°
(A couple of hours earlier)
(Miranda)
Miranda was so proud. Her pups just finished their ceremony and shifted into their feral forms! For the next few days, they'll be extra hungry and exhausted as their bodies recover. During recovery, they won't be able to change back; the shock would be too much for their human bodies. She smiled as she shifted into her Feral form and sat on her hunches, watching her little miracles learn to walk on their four legs. Cassidy, always the more analytical of the two, stood so on wobbly legs and practiced picking up each paw and then placing it back down. Soon, she was trotting around as her other daughter brute-forced the new skill. Pushing herself to stand and run. She'd get a few steps, trip over her limbs, and crash back down to the ground. She bounced back up and tried again, over and over, until both Cassidy and Caroline were racing each other around in circles.
Miranda had no idea where they found the energy; the first transformation usually zaps the strength right out of the shifter, and they sleep for days. Only waking to eat and relieve themselves. Miranda heard the click of a gun and barked at her girls to run. Bang- the sound was way too close, and the bullet lodged itself into the tree next to her. Good, if they were aiming at her, they hadn't noticed her pups yet. She turned and barked again, and the group took off in the opposite direction. She could hear men shouting and the heavy clomp of boots in the distance around them.
Mom, watch out!
Miranda heard Caroline scream loudly in her mind. They had been practicing the mind-link their clan used to communicate over the last year, but they both still struggled with volume control. Pain lanced through her body as her back paw landed in the bear trap her two pups barely managed to jump over. She howled in pain as a fire slowly flooded her veins. Silver, the bear trap was made of silver.
Run and don't stop! I'll find you. These aren't regular hunters. They're hunting Were-animals!
No! We won't leave you behind!
Go, I'll catch up with the little ones! I just need to take care of enough of them to give us a head start back home. Now Run!
Her two pups ran off, disappearing into the brush, and she pleaded with Gia to keep them safe as she shifted her focus to the silver bear trap. The silver poisoning was spreading fast, and the burning sensation was already up to her thigh. She gritted her teeth as she started shifting into her True form. The moment she had hands, she pulled the sides of the trap apart, freeing herself. Transformation causes the heart to pump faster and the fire to spread through her veins.
Miranda's palms burned where her hands touched the trap, her whole body tingled, and she could feel her senses starting to dull around the edges. She had to hurry. She took off, ignoring the physical pain of the damage to her leg, and began hunting the men one by one. There were six in total, and by the time the sun started to set, there were only two left. One got off a lucky shot right as she was about to pounce on the other.
The silver poisoning had already stolen her hearing, and her vision was desaturated on the edges. She was relying mostly on her sense of smell as shadows grew longer. Soon she would need to rest; silver doesn't kill Were’s out right, but makes them sick. Shutting down parts of the brain, removing their senses, and making them sluggish as the body switches all focus to removing the toxins.
She felt the buck shots graze her side. Most missed, but her side was still shredded, muscle exposed to the cold night air. The silver bullets, plus her earlier exposure to the silver trap, slowed her regenerative healing. Miranda switched targets. The man tried to run, but even in her current state, she was faster. She plucked him up by his hunting jacket. The man screamed and flailed as she leaned over him, his head easily fitting inside her mouth. She bit down and felt the snap of bones and tasted his blood. She let the body fall unceremoniously to the ground and turned to where she last saw the other hunter.
The edges of her vision were now black, and the rest a hazy, static-filled gray. She could feel the fatigue settling in her bones. The other hunter had fled, and she couldn't follow. She needed to find her pups. She howled for them into the cold night. Miranda knew she wouldn't be able to hear their return howls, but she would feel their response through her parental bond. Only Caroline responded, and that caused panic to flood her system, temporarily overriding the silver and giving her the energy she needed to run.
She was close; she could feel it as she limped. The adrenaline was long gone, and she was acutely aware of all the blood she was losing. Miranda didn't think she had much left, but she would find her pups. She needed to find her precious pups. Her damaged leg had already gone numb along with her hands, but she dragged the leg and banked on the anatomy and structure to keep her upright just a little longer. One hand was supplying pressure to the wound on her side, pinned there by her other arm.
All she had left was a pinprick of vision, and she could see a large yurt up ahead. She didn't have any fight left in her, so she howled in hopes of scaring off any remaining hunters inside. She felt both of her pups press against their bond and limped as fast as she was able in the direction of the tent. She was just poking her snout through a crack in the opening when she felt the paws of her pups on her face, and she pushed her large form inside and collapsed.
She could barely feel her pups physically, but she could feel them through their connection. She tried to move her limbs, but they were too heavy.
Mom! What's wrong?
There's a nice lady here!
She helped us, maybe she can help you too!
Both of her pups screamed in her head, but she was already fading and couldn't get herself to reply. She trusted her babies, and if they said this woman was safe, then she would believe them. She shifted back into her human form and promptly passed out.
°~°
(Andy pov)
Andy screamed silently in her head as a massive white snout poked its way into her yurt. It was bigger than her brain knew it should be. Her scream increased in pitch as what could only be a giant humanoid wolf pushed into her tent and collapsed on the floor. Her brain pinged that there was a word for what she was looking at, but she was too busy looking around for something to defend herself with since she stupidly forgot and left her firearm out in the snow. During her frantic search, she registered all of the blood and how the wolf pups barked and licked the massive creature. It was easily 10 feet, maybe more, with claws that could easily shred the fabric of the yurt, but didn't.
Then right in front of her eyes, the snow colored werewolf, yeah, that's the word, transformed back into a human. Andy blinked at the nude, unconscious woman bleeding profusely in the middle of her yurt. She quickly ran over to get her medical supply kit and rushed over to the woman. There were burns on her hands, numerous puncture wounds around her ankle, and her side was a mess that made Andy queasy looking at it.
She knew she had to start with the side as it was losing a lot of blood. She put on gloves, squeezed her fists together to settle her stomach, and then got to work. She picked the white-haired woman up in a fireman's carry, thankful she was already unconscious as she got her arranged on the cot. Next, she cleaned the wound as best she could with supplies in the kit, plus some alcohol she brought for cooking.
An hour later, the woman was wrapped and bandaged as best Andy could. Andy was exhausted, but there was no way she'd be able to sleep with the smell of blood in the air. So she cracked a few window flaps and set to work cleaning the blood off the yurt floor. The bed covers that the woman was lying on would just have to be bagged and tossed out at home once Andy breaks down the tent. Once she was finished, she looked up, and the two pups were cuddled around the woman. All of them passed out. So Andy used this moment to retrieve her weapon just in case, and a spare comforter from the trunk of her jeep. She closed the window flaps, built the fire back up from a small flame to a warming blaze, and made a pallet on the floor in front of it. Her back to the warmth so she could keep an eye on the woman. Hours passed, and her eyelids grew heavy from her earlier hike. Soon she was out too.
~¤~¤~
Andy awoke as a winter breeze swirled her hair. Her yurt was gone, and she stood on the side of a mountain. She was freezing, but not as cold as when she was actually camping on a mountain, so she realized she was dreaming. To quickly distract her brain from the realization, she focused on the snow blowing around her. The snowflakes were unique and unnaturally big. One landing in her outstretched palm before melting. She wondered if she could fly and jumped. Andy hovered in the air, and she grinned. The brunette spent the next few minutes flying around, swooping, soaring, and driving through the trees until she felt like she was being watched. Landing, Andy felt a warm sensation tugging at her. It felt like comfort, protection, and home.
She wandered through the woods at the base of the mountain. The trees grew taller and thicker the further she walked. Eventually, she stumbled into a clearing, and there in the center sat a white wolf. The glow of the moon was briefly blocked by a cloud, swallowing the clearing in darkness for just a moment. The woman replaced the wolf, standing tall, half the distance away. Her chin held high and glowing white eyes pinning Andy to the spot. The older woman grinned ferociously, all sharp teeth and cold eyes as the cloud moved on. A large gust of wind blew brunette waves of hair into Andy's face, and when her vision cleared again, the large werewolf was directly in front of her, looking down. Her white fur ruffled with the wind as the Were leaned in closer, sniffing her hair, face, and neck. The towering werewolf took a step closer, and the ground tremored softly under its weight.
Andy should have been scared, should have turned and run, but the creature before her was the source of the warm feeling she had been following through the cold dark. Andy lifted a hand to the large snout. The fur was soft as the werewolf leaned into her touch.
Mine
The single word echoed around them. Andy took a step forward, wrapping her arms around-
~¤~¤~
Something tickled Andy's nose, but she was so warm and toasty that she didn't want to wake. On every camping trip, she woke up cold because the fire would inevitably go out at night. She snuggled closer to the warmth, and it tickled her nose enough for her to crack open her eyes. Something red and furry was pressed against her front, snoring loudly. Andy jerked awake as she remembered everything. She needed to check on the woman!
Andy sat up and was immediately pinned in place as the woman's white eyes watched her. Andy felt as if time stood still as the older woman's gaze drifted from her face to her neck. The hairs on the back of her neck tingled as a cold breeze surrounded her. Andy looked down and saw that it was one of the pups tucked into her chest. Andy gently got up and walked over to the bed. The woman's eyes followed her the whole way.
“I'm Andy. I'm not really sure what's going on, but I need to change your bandages so you don't get an infection.” The brunette gestured to the bandages covered in red splotchy patches.
The older woman nodded, and the pup tucked under her arm yawned, got up, and hopped off the bed to snuggle with its sibling. The woman rolled her eyes the way only a mom can, and Andy chuckled. “Are they yours?” Another nod. “They are adorable! The smaller one was unconscious when I found them, and the other was fiercely protective. The small one woke up when their sibling brought them some of the grilled chicken I made.
The white-haired woman was gorgeous even in her exhausted state. Crows' feet bloomed at the corners of her eyes, and laugh lines graced her features. She blinked slowly and seemed like she was fighting to stay awake. “Go back to sleep. I'll get you cleaned up and check on you later today.” With that, the woman was out like a light again. Andy warmed up some water and set about cleaning the lady. To the brunette's surprise, the burns on the woman's hands were gone, and the skin on her side was healed, shiny, and pink.
It was then she realized the woman was completely naked. Snow white hair grew everywhere hair grew on a human body, causing Andy to blush, but not from embarrassment. She loved a woman who let her body go all natural, plus she really did love a good bush. The sleeping beauty was sporting a pretty wild one, and Andy licked her lips before quickly turning away and getting up. Digging through her suitcase, she pulled out some clothes.
Andy was impressed that the woman managed to sleep with her, trying to wrangle the clothes on her. The woman's limbs felt heavier than they should be, but Andy wasn't sure if it was just dead weight or if it was supernatural. She stood and stretched her arms; it was time to start the daily routine.