She spotted a creek tucked neatly beneath a secluded bridge. With the creature in her veins shrieking and yowling, Daphne skidded to a halt in the shadows. Her hands tore at the fabric of her clothes. She kicked off her sneakers and socks and crawled into the chilled water of the creek.
She took one deep breath and opened her arms in a gesture of surrender.
Release. Finally. The creature’s growl became a pleased rumble in her chest.
A blanket of tawny cinnamon fur painlessly sprouted along her freckled skin. That, however, was where the transformation ceased being subtle.
Daphne doubled over as her mouth cracked. Eyeteeth elongated into vicious fangs, while her jaw extended into a short, sleek muzzle.
Her ears stretched to subtle points with tufts of wispy fur of at the tops. Where there had been nails, claws pushed through Daphne’s fingertips.
She drank in the sights of the empty patch of park with rich golden eyes. Cat’s eyes.
Being away from Jordan and Tana gave her some relief, though she felt a knot persisting between the blades of her powerful shoulders. The cat, which she’d kept secret from the world these past two years, wanted do something about that. It wanted to run. To hunt.
To eat.
As she crested a hill with grace and ease, the mountain lion’s padded paws kicked up lush green earth. She left behind bridge, creek, and clothes to dart towards the forest.
In the safety of the trees, Daphne Shanahan cast off the final threads of awareness and succumbed to the heightened senses of her long, lithe cat body. It had been too long, and the warm mid-afternoon sunlight felt wonderful.