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reveled in it as she pulled him closer to her.
    “I don't know why,” she whispered as his body loomed over hers. “but I feel like this is supposed to happen.”
    Mati swallowed hard, his mouth suddenly very dry as she positioned herself under him, pulling his face closer to hers.
    “It's powerful,” she said breathlessly. “The connection we somehow share.”
    She dropped her hand between them, putting it under his shirt and rubbing against his chiseled abs as she rose up, kissing him softly.
    Mati quickly responded, deepening the kiss, keeping his hands on both sides of her. They stayed like this for a brief moment, lost in blind passion. Mati felt Awen pushing against his shoulder and allowed her to overpower him as she climbed on top, lifting his shirt over his head. She straddled his middle, feeling his excitement beneath her, but leaned forward, locking their lips in a heated kiss.
    Awen found that he was surprisingly gentle as his fingers tangled in her hair, pulling them tighter together. His tongue sought entrance, and she granted it quickly, sucking on the tip of it suggestively. Mati's hands began to wander down her body and fixed themselves on her hips, pulling her down harder on his lap for added friction.
    Awen moaned softly against his lips. Without warning, Mati’s inner beast began to surface with a vengeance. He slowed his breathing in an attempt to calm himself down, but the beast pushed back harder. Mati sat up quickly being, careful not to harm Awen.
    “Oh, no.” His voice was barely a whisper. He felt it then, that deep longing; the forest was calling out to him.
    “I'm sorry,” Awen murmured. “I'm definitely being too forward.” She reached out towards him, a calming gesture, but stopped when he flinched.
    “It isn't you.” His voice was a low growl. “I want this too.”
    Awen shuffled closer to him, her features ground together in confusion. He jerked away, skidding across the floor on all fours. He faced her.
    “Mati, what's wrong?” Awen’s voice wavered.
    Mati’s only response was a loud snarl. Awen couldn’t believe what she was seeing; his eyes began to glow yellow. She un-holstered her gun and Mati lunged out the front door, battering it off its hinges.
    Awen staggered after him determinedly. When she reached the outdoors the breath hitched in her throat; Mati was grappling with himself, tearing at his skin viciously. As pieces of flesh fell away from him, she was surprised to see patches of fur emerge, instead of the blood and gore she had expected.
    “Mati!” she screamed. She raced forward, arms outstretched, trying to reach him.
    When he fixed her with his gaze his eyes were no longer human. She watched in terror as his nose protruded from his skill, a great roar emitting from the mouth below it. He dropped to the ground suddenly, and contorted his limbs as a sick cracking noises filled the night air. One final, loud roar completed the transformation. It was no longer Mati standing before her; it was a great grizzly bear, at least eight feet from nose to tail. Awen watched in shock as the hulking form that had previously been Mati took off into the night.

CHAPTER THREE
     
    “What the hell,” Awen muttered into the darkness. She couldn’t believe what she had just witnessed. Mati, snarky but sweet Mati, had just transformed into a bear before her eyes. Her knees wobbled in shock, but within seconds of the beast’s departure she was able to steady herself enough to run into the forest after him.
    Adrenaline alone kept her on her feet as she tore through the underbrush. A scream in the distance had her charge forward even faster, and she held the gun firmly in front of her as she went. Reaching a small clearing, Awen heard a roar. The moon lit the scene in front of her; a woman, half dressed, was crawling away from a stocky man. The bear closed in, a giant paw raised, ready to strike.
    “No! Stop!” Awen screamed, running towards them. She fired her gun in the