As Aspen eased her body down to the blanket, Tora instructed her to close her eyes and imagine what it would feel like to be inside the body of a panther. “We’re going to do some guided imagery,” she said, her voice like silk. “Your human body is just a mask. Beneath that mask lies a panther. Your black fur coat is sleek, shiny, and soft to the touch. You’re a top predator. With that comes strength, cunning, and confidence. Your teeth and claws are formidable weapons. Your sense of hearing is extraordinary, picking up the slightest rustle in the trees above or a whispered conversation on the ground hundreds of yards away. Even in darkness, your eyes hone in on the tiniest detail because your eyesight has evolved to match your nighttime predatory instincts. This is who you are—who you were born to be. You’re a panther.”
Tora had moved into position directly above her. Aspen kept her eyes closed. She could feel the heat from Tora’s body, now just inches from her own.
Tora whispered in her ear, “Breathe with me, Aspen. Listen to my breaths, and stay with them.”
Aspen blocked out all other thoughts as she listened to Tora’s steady breathing. Goose bumps traveled the length of her body when she felt their hearts begin to synchronize in rhythm. As Tora lowered herself and their bodies connected, Aspen had a vision that shook her to the core.
She and Tora were in a birthing room. This time, however, Tora was the patient. Round and pregnant, she was in active labor and pushing with all her might. Aspen was at Tora’s bedside, holding her hand. Showing an unfathomable level of self-control, Tora remained in human form the entire time.
Aspen looked down at their intertwined hands and saw they were both wearing wedding bands. She suddenly realized they were married. Tora was giving birth to their first child—a girl. They had already chosen Dawn as her name. Born a Myriad, there was no need for Aspen to do a blessing. Like her beautiful mother, their daughter’s primary animal would be a lioness.
The doctor placed the infant in Aspen’s arms as he cut the umbilical cord. Her exhilaration in that moment was soon replaced with dread as the machines attached to Tora began sounding their alarms. A nurse stepped over, shouldering Aspen aside. “She’s losing blood. We need to transfuse her. Tora? Stay with us.”
And just like that, the love of her life was gone. Aspen was left to raise their daughter alone.
“Keep your eyes closed.” The sound of Tora’s voice jolted her from the vision. “Hold on tight.”
Aspen felt Tora’s body growing longer, heavier, and bulkier. Tora’s feminine curves shifted into muscular shoulders. Their hearts still beating in rhythm, she was aware that Tora’s head and jaw were taking on a more predatory shape. Despite the fact that her eyes were still closed, she watched as Tora’s cells morphed within her body, seamlessly coordinating their structure into those of a lioness.
She was so tuned in to Tora that she pushed aside the sound of buzzing in her own ears. A nuisance at first, she was able to ignore it and focus on Tora. But the buzzing soon grew in volume, pulsing through her body like a thousand bees. Before she had time to think about it, her own body began to change.
Aspen felt powerless to stop it. It was like rolling downhill in a car without brakes. Part of her was afraid. Realizing she wasn’t the one in the driver’s seat of her own body, she felt truly out of control for the first time in her life. Once the initial panic subsided, she was surprised to discover that a part of her longed to surrender completely. So she did.
As her body finished shifting, she rolled over, sprang to her feet, and faced Tora. She felt powerful, fierce, deadly. She flashed back to carrying her weapon in full police uniform for the first time on the streets. That feeling of empowerment paled in comparison to what she was experiencing now. But she wasn’t as comfortable in this form as she thought she’d be. Felt like she was wearing shoes that were just a little too big.
Tora immediately shifted back to human form. “Well done!” she said with a grin. “I didn’t expect you to shift on the first try. Returning to human form is a lot easier. I’ll walk you through it, but you should take a look at yourself first.” She opened the closet to reveal a full-length mirror on the inside of the door.
Aspen stepped closer to the mirror, exhilarated as each of her paws made contact with the floor. Expecting the reflection of a panther, what she saw in the mirror startled her. There, staring back at her, was a large and ferocious-looking lioness. Confused, she looked up at Tora in question.
“You’re probably wondering why you shifted into a lioness instead of a panther. I don’t know the answer to that yet—I’ll have to look it up in the library—but I suspect it’s because you’re a Myriad. As a Myriad, you can take the shape of any animal. I’m guessing you assumed mine because you were focused on me. You were probably just following my lead.” She knelt beside Aspen. “But you do make a beautiful lioness,” she added, studying her. “Your eyes are set farther apart than mine, your fur is a darker shade of blond, and you’re a little longer and taller than me.” She lifted one of Aspen’s paws to examine it more closely. “Your paws are also slightly larger and more squared-off than mine. Like humans, no two Shrouds are identical when they shift.” She let Aspen’s paw fall back to the floor and returned her gaze to the mirror. “Ready to shift back?”
With one last look at herself as a lioness, Aspen nodded.
“It’s easiest to shift when you’re in motion. Just walk forward, take a deep breath, and remember what it feels like to walk on your feet in your human body. The rest of your body will follow suit.” Tora stood. “Go ahead. Give it a try.”
Aspen did as Tora instructed and realized immediately that something had gone awry. Instead of shifting back to human form, she now had wings. She turned around to look at herself in the mirror and caught her own reflection as a snow-white owl.
Tora came up alongside her. They both stared at her image in the mirror. “Amazing. Were you trying to shift into an owl?”
Aspen shook her head and extended a wing to examine it. Strangely enough, her instincts were telling her to stay on the ground. She still hated heights, even in this form.
“Well, you also make a convincing and very beautiful owl,” Tora said, standing. “Try shifting back to human form. Remember what I told you?”
Turning, Aspen ambled away awkwardly on owl feet. This form was even less comfortable than a lioness. She focused and immediately felt her body begin to change. She knew she was a wolf before she even looked in the mirror—a wolf as black as the darkest shadow, just like Oscar. Bewildered, she turned to face Tora.
Once again, Tora knelt beside her as they both studied her image in the mirror. “Were you trying for a wolf?” she asked.
Aspen shook her head, a little concerned.
“It seems you’re shifting into the animals you’ve seen in the order you’ve seen them: a lioness, an owl, and now a wolf. Maybe this is typical shifting behavior for a Myriad,” Tora suggested. “I read everything I could find on you in the library this morning. Since Myriads haven’t existed for over a century, the information we have is pretty outdated. There are bound to be surprises along the way. I’m sure this is the first of many, but don’t be discouraged.” She stood. “Keep going. You’re doing great.”
Aspen shifted into a tiger, grizzly bear, and cheetah. On the heels of one animal came another. Her body had its own agenda, seemingly beyond her control. Each time she saw the reflection of yet another animal, she grew more concerned at the thought of not being able to return to her human body.
A gorilla, snow leopard, and rhinoceros followed. She felt her body going for the elephant next. Through sheer force of will, she braked it to a screeching stop because she knew the bedroom ceiling wasn’t tall enough to accommodate such a large animal. A little disoriented by the raw power and massive size of an elephant, she felt herself shrinking into a tiny brown field mouse.
“Show-off,” Tora said, peering down at her like a giant. “All that’s left now is—”
Aspen felt herself growing in size and caught sight in the mirror of a large brown Cape buffalo with menacing horns.
“The buffalo,” Tora finished.
She wasn’t done yet. Her body rapidly assumed the shapes of an Irish wolfhound, an orangutan, and then a gorilla.
“Forgot about them,” Tora said. “Well, I think that about covers it.”
But there was one more Tora didn’t know about. The chance encounter with Jacob in the hospital corridor accounted for the red fox she found herself now facing in the mirror. Feeling dizzy, Aspen wondered if she would manifest the primary animals of the newborns she had blessed but was relieved to feel the familiarity of her human body once again.
“Welcome back,” Tora said. “How do you feel?”
“Like I could sleep for a week,” she admitted, thankful to be walking on human feet. She sat on the edge of the bed and glanced down at her body. She was so tired she’d almost forgotten she was naked. “What about my panther?” she asked, too tired to grab the throw off the floor to cover herself. At least they were both naked.
“Did you try to shift into your panther?”
“I really didn’t try for anything. It all sort of just…happened.” She yawned. “Can I put some clothes on and go to bed now?”
“Not until you shift into your panther.” Tora put her hands on her hips and locked her gaze on Aspen. “This is important, Aspen.”
If she wasn’t so damn tired, this moment would be comical—Tora standing there, hands on hips, stark naked. But she couldn’t even muster enough energy to laugh. “Fine. Tell me what to do,” she said, standing from the bed.
“Just do what I do. But instead of a lioness, envision yourself as who you really are inside: a black panther. Embrace your instincts, Aspen. Embrace who you are. Feel the details.” Then, without another word, Tora dove headfirst toward the bed, effortlessly shifting into lioness form.
Aspen watched, mesmerized. It was a breathtaking display of grace, beauty, and magic. Tora landed on the bed with all four paws and turned to face her. Flicking her tail in agitation, she flattened her ears, snarled with menacingly sharp teeth, and swiped a paw—hard—at Aspen. She glanced down at her shoulder to find a trail of blood where Tora’s claws had sliced her.
She brought a hand to her shoulder and held it to stanch the bleeding. “What the hell, Tora? That hurt!”
Tora leaped from the bed and stalked around her in a circle like a lioness toying with its prey before the kill, her amber-gold gaze perfectly mimicking a hungry and very dangerous predator.
Aspen imagined herself as a panther, but she remained in human form as Tora continued to circle her. “I’m trying to shift. It’s not working.”
The rock floor under her bare feet vibrated as Tora growled deeply. Another lightning-quick strike to Aspen’s thigh drew more blood.
“Stop, Tora. This isn’t funny anymore.” Without taking her eyes from the lioness, she brought a hand to her thigh and felt the blood oozing between her fingers.
The lioness didn’t back down. She appeared to be in true predatory mode. Had Tora’s primal instincts taken over? “Tora?” She searched the lioness’s eyes but saw nothing of Tora in them. “I said, stop.”
The lioness reared up, set massive paws on Aspen’s chest, and knocked her to the floor in the blink of an eye. Aspen soon found herself trapped beneath the lioness’s muscular girth. She felt four-inch canines begin to puncture her delicate human skin as powerful jaws clamped around her throat.
Her instincts suddenly kicked in. She wasn’t born to be prey. She, too, was a powerful predator. She felt her body changing so swiftly that she didn’t have time to think about what it was changing into and was relieved to see that her hands had shifted into furry black paws with formidable-looking claws.
At once bursting with power and strength, she kicked at the lioness and flipped her onto her back. Before Aspen knew what had happened, she had the lioness pinned to the floor by the throat. The lioness froze, so she stopped just short of sinking her canines into the lioness’s tender flesh. She gradually eased up and finally released her grip when the lioness made no move to challenge her. It was clear who won this battle.
The lioness righted herself and rose slowly on all fours. They circled one another warily in the center of the room. Aspen growled in warning, her head and tail held high. The lioness finally lowered hers in submission.
Aspen caught a glimpse of herself in the mirror. Her fur was shiny and sleek, her muscular physique clearly defined, but her eyes were the most startling. A piercing yellow against her black-as-night fur, they had an ethereal quality. This was the body that was truly hers. It surprised her to realize this panther body felt even more comfortable than her human body. Not too big, not too small. The perfect fit.
Tora came up alongside her, and they both gazed in the mirror. They were of equal height and build. The yin and yang of their coloring once again struck Aspen. Remembering the lacerations to her shoulder and thigh—courtesy of the lioness beside her—she gave Tora’s cheek a long lick with her sandpaper tongue.
Tora shifted back to human form, a look of disgust on her face. She wiped her cheek with the back of one hand. “You licked me.”
Aspen followed suit, shifting back into her human self with little effort. Shapeshifting was a lot more fun than she’d imagined. She doubted it would ever grow old. She glanced down at her body. The lacerations on her shoulder and thigh were still there. They hurt like hell. “Payback’s a bitch. But for the record, I’d rather be licked than mutilated by those insanely sharp razor blades you call claws.”
“You’re a Shroud. You’ll heal fast. Besides, that was for your own good. I had to do something to get you to shift into your panther.”
“And I gave you that as a small token of my appreciation,” Aspen said, pointing to Tora’s cheek. “Since I’m the dominant female, I get to lick whoever I want.”
“It’s whomever. And no, you are not the dominant female. I let you win that wrestling match.”
“Did not.”
“Did too.”
Aspen gave her a playful bump on the shoulder. “Whatever you say.” She stood and used the last of her energy to walk to the bed. “Can we get some sleep now?”
“As much as I enjoyed the show, we could both use a good night’s rest.”
For a moment, Aspen wasn’t sure if Tora was flirting. Was that comment about her body or the endless stream of animals? It wasn’t worth contemplating in her current state of mind because her judgment was undoubtedly impaired by sheer exhaustion. Unable to peel herself from the bed’s soft mattress, she watched as Tora went to a duffel bag in the corner, unzipped it, and threw on blue-and-white-striped pajama bottoms and a white V-neck T-shirt. Aspen wanted to get dressed, too. But she didn’t have the energy to move even a single pinkie toe.
Glancing over her shoulder at a still-naked Aspen, Tora slid open a dresser drawer. “Boxers or sweats?”
“Boxers.”
“T-shirt or tank top.”
“Tank.”
Clothes in hand, Tora slid the drawer shut and joined her. “Here,” she said, sliding the shirt over Aspen’s head without hesitation. Aspen pushed her arms through as Tora knelt to place the boxers around her ankles.
She could barely stand as Tora pulled the boxers up for her. Longing to throw out a clever quip, she came up empty. She had never felt this tired before in her life.
Tora eased her back down to the bed and pulled the covers around her. “I’m staying with you here tonight. You’ve been through a lot today, and I want to make sure you’re okay.” She went to the closet, took out a sleeping bag, and unrolled it on the floor beside the bed.
“We can share the bed,” Aspen protested.
“I’ll be fine on the floor.” Tora clicked off the lamp on the bedside table and climbed inside the sleeping bag. A night-light switched on automatically in the corner.
As exhausted as she was, Aspen would never be able to fall asleep knowing Tora was on the floor. The doctor needed a good night’s sleep as much as she did. “A lot happened today,” she admitted. “I’d feel better if you were up here beside me.”
“Fine.” Tora gathered the sleeping bag, walked around to the other side of the bed, and set it on top of the covers. “But we are not spooning.” She climbed inside, and they were both quiet.
Aspen considered sharing the vision she’d had earlier but decided against it. Things were just starting to feel easy between them. Sharing something like that would only make things weird. Besides, she couldn’t say with any certainly that it was even a vision of the future. Maybe what she saw was the result of an overtired mind after a long day of blessings.
Fading fast, she reached over and found Tora’s hand. Tora responded to her touch as their fingers slowly entwined. Funny how much had changed between them in the last twenty-four hours. She nodded off, the feel of Tora’s soft, warm skin reassuring against her own.