Winter Howl (Sanctuary) Read online

  In the end, the purpose of the sanctuary had changed. Not only did it offer shelter for unwanted dogs, it offered shelter for canine shapeshifters. They were, however, expected to help around the sanctuary in exchange for their presence there. They watched other packs, made sure everyone was healthy, and helped weed out the dogs that were not a fit for the sanctuary. In addition, they helped in the garden and greenhouse and did other odd jobs within their means. The more work they did, the more privileges they had—the system worked well because those who wanted to do less work were those who usually preferred their canine side and were fairly typical dogs. Those who embraced both sides of themselves and also wanted to be human on occasion could have human privileges in exchange for their work. Over time, the other two barns had been built—one for farm animals like cows and chickens, which the shapeshifters took care of and protected, and another for the shapeshifters who wanted a place for their human skins.

  Britt had been accepted as almost a member of the family, and while they were not sisters, she and Renee had been the closest of friends even through their teenage years. Perhaps it had been easier for them to get along because they were not blood-related. Ki and Max had been too old for them at first, but the older Britt and Renee became, the more Ki and Max had hung out with them in human form. When the three shapeshifters were in canine form, however, they’d hung out just fine, with Ki and Max keeping Britt company and acting the leaders.

  When Jake had arrived, around the time that Renee and Britt were eighteen, he and Britt had almost instantly connected. He was able to turn into a golden retriever, which could have been funny, except the human mind in conjunction with the dog’s made him more of an animal to be reckoned with. He was an undeniable alpha as a dog. He was something of an alpha with his pack as a human, too, although Britt would not let him be too much of one. But he was always somewhat reserved with Renee, solicitous and deferential, in spite of the fact that he towered over her at more than six feet.

  Britt had suggested to Renee one evening that Jake might have a thing for her, in such a way that she was the alpha in their relationship without even trying to be. Renee did not know what to think about that. Renee sometimes had the sense that Britt had a thing for her, too, like how Ki mostly stayed with Max but sometimes was with Malcolm.

  After Seward, Renee’s dad, had died of a heart attack when she was twenty, roughly eleven years after the death of her mother, Renee had inherited the entire operation. The shapeshifters had been indispensable in taking care of the sanctuary and keeping all things canine running more smoothly than Renee could have done on her own, especially since that had been the point when Renee’s agoraphobia had become so much worse.

  The sanctuary had grown from the initial seven dogs to an average of seventy-five dogs. Right now, there were seventy, of whom eighteen were shapeshifters. There were approximately five packs, varying from the six dogs in Renee’s primary pack to sixteen dogs in the largest pack. The fences were good enough to keep most dogs from leaving, but a shapeshifter was another matter. The ease of coming and going was more useful for the shapeshifters.

  With a more official presence among the shapeshifter community, Renee received more donations more regularly than she would have with an ordinary dog sanctuary. Especially from Jake’s parents, who were more than a little rich and wanted only the best for their baby, even if their baby was almost thirty.

  Renee’s primary duties were in the legal and advertising aspects of her sanctuary. She wrote press releases, handled the bills, taxes, and paperwork, and dealt with everything computer-related, including the sanctuary’s website and online bulk purchases. She was also the public face of the sanctuary, as reluctant as she was to be a part of the public. She helped facilitate adoptions, both on the computer and in person. As long as she could stay on her land, she was all right, if a little awkward.

  She was not the only one who helped the sanctuary on the computer. In order to contribute to the expenses, Leslie and Ki did online freelance work. Ki helped her with the finances near tax time and the end of the fiscal year, and with writing grant letters. Leslie had actually published a book, which had been a moderate success, and was working on his next. He generously donated half the proceeds to the sanctuary. In addition, he wrote articles for green and country living magazines. Like Malcolm, he was something of a loner and more eccentric than was typical for someone who spent as much time as a human as he did a dog, but he was passionate about the sanctuary.

  Malcolm had more of a managerial role—he kept track of the names, health and disposition statuses of the dogs, and he was the main person to whom Renee went when she was updating the database for adoption purposes. Max and Jake tended to manage physical labour among the other shapeshifters, and Jake was the main cook for the house, while Ki was the main cook for the shapeshifter barn, although she had two other shapeshifters working with her at all times. Britt was attached to Renee’s hip most of the time when she was not running the perimeter of the sanctuary to exercise the dogs.

  Their pack was the most concrete pack in the compound, and while some of the other shapeshifters were transients or did not want a bigger role, they all provided a solid foundation for Renee to run something that could have easily overwhelmed her on her own, but something worth doing. Besides, dogs were much easier for her to understand and be around than people, including some of the shapeshifters in the compound. Not many people truly enjoyed following in their parents’ footsteps, but Renee felt that it was work worth doing.

  * * * *

  “As difficult as it is to be,” Malcolm said, “you’re a little quieter than usual. What happened in town? Did everything go smoothly?”

  “I’m fine. Josh made an appearance,” Renee said.

  “Backwoods bastard,” Britt snapped. “All you have to do is give the signal and I’ll bite him right where it hurts. I can do more than just sit back and look loyal.”

  “It would only get you put down,” Leslie said. “You know you can’t do that.” He sometimes had trouble discerning what was sarcasm and what wasn’t.

  “Then I wouldn’t bite. I’d just hold and pull.”

  That earned a smile from Renee before she drank the last bit of her hot chocolate. She set the empty mug on one of the coffee table coasters.

  “So did anything momentous happen in the six hours I was gone?” Renee asked.

  “Ah, business,” Jake said. “Always something to do. Well, I’ll tell you one thing, we’ve either got a wolf or coyote in the north sector, or we’ve got a large dog who isn’t in one of the packs. There’ve been some ravaged animals that haven’t been eaten. We should keep an eye out for a sick dog or wolf, and if you go out that far as a human, remember to take your gun in case it’s rabid. Britt, if you want to do guard duty, keep that in mind.” He looked at Renee. “You still have the rabies shots, just in case?”

  She nodded. One of the vets had provided her with rabies shots to keep on hand and had taught her how to use them.

  “Wait, what? They’re just killing animals but not eating them?” Ki asked.

  “We saw a dead hare on the way back,” Britt added.

  “All I know is that the animals—I saw a few rabbits, a fox and a hare, plenty of squirrels—are gutted and their faces are bitten, but they don’t seem to have been eaten very much, if at all. It’s not normal. Hence, the carefulness,” Jake said. “Now, did I hear you say something about sirloin?”

  “In the truck bed,” Renee said. “I should go check out the barns, see if everyone has everything they need. There were some flurries, so we should try to get everything shipped in that we can before the weather really starts getting bad. Max, have you looked at building three’s solar panel yet? We used more electricity over there than usual, and I want to make sure that it’s working one hundred per cent if this winter is as harsh as I’m expecting it’ll be.”

  “On it,” Max said with a sigh.

  “Break over,” Ki added, following him out
of the door. Malcolm followed also, sensing that the top dogs and their human needed to talk.

  Leslie wandered off into the computer room and office, where Renee had set up three different computers—one for Leslie, who had bought his own, one for her, and one for general use during the day among her staff and the other shapeshifters.

  Renee, Britt, and Jake were left lounging in the room. The sun would go down soon and make the air more than just brisk. Jake would set up a fire once the sun set.

  “So what’s really up?” Jake asked. “Usually we all sit and chill, I make dinner, Ki makes popcorn and ice cream shakes, and it’s all a good time.” Sometimes they would play games—Clue, Monopoly, Risk. It was not the games so much as the interaction that they enjoyed, since they kept pretty busy the rest of the time.

  “We can still do that,” Renee said. “I just want to get some work done, that’s all.”

  “Yeah, but honey, aren’t you exhausted?” Britt asked. “All that tension you get when you go out, and I’m tired, too, you know. You could let me try to give you that massage again…”

  “No,” Renee interrupted a little too quickly. The last time Britt had done that, it had hurt like hell, and Britt had asked whether she ever relaxed because she was hard as a rock. Renee had raised her eyebrow, and Britt had let it go. “I’m fine. Josh just shook me a little, and I wanted to do a few things before this evening. You can let them back in around dinner time, okay? I’m fine.”

  “Come on, Renee, we know you,” Jake said, leaning forward in his seat and staring at her intently. “You can’t hide when something’s bothering you.”

  “Brought up some issues,” Renee said. “Things I didn’t want to think about.”

  “What, calling you a frigid bitch and then trying to kiss you?” Britt asked.

  Renee glared at Britt. “Thanks.”

  “So…you’re afraid he might be right?” Jake asked.

  “No,” Renee said.

  “And I would agree,” he said quietly. “You’re not.”

  “Not that there’s anything wrong with being a bitch,” Britt added, stretching and grinning. The statement made Renee smile again. “You’re an honorary bitch, honey. Ki and I just come by it naturally.”

  “Yes, you’re our bitch, although someone here is more bitch than others,” Jake said with a pointed glance at his girl. Britt just flipped him the finger. “But you’re not the ice queen of the Northern Highlands, if that’s what you’re thinking.”

  “The way I am when I’m out. The way I treat people, here and there,” Renee said. “I haven’t done anything that would indicate that I’m not some…”

  “You’re not,” Jake insisted.

  Renee curled up in the armchair. “Why?” she asked.

  “Just because you have different needs than other people, just because you were born a little different, doesn’t mean you aren’t a passionate person.”

  “If I can’t let people near me, if I can only stand being around people who aren’t people half the time, then what difference does it make whether I’m passionate or not?” Renee asked.

  “Renee,” Britt interrupted, “I know why you’re concerned, but you aren’t anything near an ice queen. It was your idea to have the detachable showerhead in the bathroom.”

  Jake tried not to snort and failed.

  “People are different than showerheads because they’re something you can’t control,” Britt continued through Jake’s snickering. “You know how you are about control. But just because you have standards and certain issues doesn’t mean you’re frigid or anything like that. Trust us. When we’re dogs, we can smell when you are anything but frigid.”

  Renee blushed. “Really?”

  “Yes,” Britt replied, kissing her on the forehead lightly. “Don’t worry, we don’t mind and neither should you. You’re only twenty-six. New shapeshifters come in every year. And then there’s us, the ones who stay.” She stroked Renee’s hair, fingernails scratching pleasantly on her scalp through the red strands. “You have time to decide what you want and when you want to take it. And when you decide to take control of whoever the lucky bastard is, I promise that you’ll find out you’re nothing like frigid.”

  Britt did not usually touch Renee at all when she was out of her dog skin, respecting Renee’s strict boundaries, and this just added fuel to Renee’s curiosity about whether Britt was interested in more than just their close friendship.

  She was not against the notion of women with women—she just did not know where she fit into the notion of women with women. Sexuality in general was relaxed among her shapeshifters, in part because the issues people had with sex were often not an issue among their canine companions. Hence the red faces and apologies in polite society when Duke tried to mount Spot or when Cinnamon tried to mount Lily. Renee, having been raised around dogs who naturally engaged in sexual activity amongst themselves and shapeshifters who did the same, was not fazed by the theory or practice of sex. She had just never engaged in much more than masturbatory exploration, which had been okay with her, for the most part. The idea of being attracted to someone was an abstraction with very few exceptions in her life, the kiss with Josh being one of them and the attraction that Jake and Britt had for her and each other being another.

  The hair stroking did feel good, though. But another part of her was beginning to make her skin hum a little less pleasantly. She felt frozen in place, caught between liking the strokes and disliking the sensation of not having a handle on the moment.

  Britt removed the hand, and her placatory grin was a little wry. “Sorry, was I pushing things?”

  The ‘no’ caught in Renee’s throat, but she was able to say, “Wasn’t sure what to make of it. I need to go check supplies in the shifters’ barn.”

  “Sorry,” Britt said.

  “No. Don’t be.” And that she said it meant that it was true.

  * * * *

  Renee left the house and retrieved her scarf and coat from the truck. The sun was going down fast, and she was going to get chilly very soon.

  Her feet crunched on stray brown leaves as she walked down to the second barn, where the set-up favoured the shapeshifters who occasionally preferred to be human. Renee provided each shapeshifter with a bathrobe, but as long as it was okay for them, and they felt no shame in their human skins, they were free to eschew clothing altogether. Renee had no trouble looking at naked people with their beauty and their flaws, ever since Henry, one of their first shapeshifters. It had taken Seward and Frances a little time to accept this, especially with their young Renee seeing everything. But after a while, they relaxed the necessity for some kind of clothing cover. If they were okay with Renee seeing nature take its course with the dogs, they figured that knowing the human body would not be too traumatic for a seven-year-old.

  Renee entered the barn to hear Ki clanking pots and pans as she fixed a stir-fry for the dozen or so shapeshifters who did not eat with the core pack. There were forty cots on one side of the room and five beds. Renee was working on getting five more. Some of the shapeshifters slept with the dogs, on the property or in the dog barn, but most slept in their human skins in the shifters’ barn because the sleep was more satisfying. The beds were usually reserved according to seniority or physical need. Most of the transients slept on the cots softened by additional mattress pallets, which were more comfortable than they sounded. Every once in a while, Renee bought more clothing from secondhand stores during her summer visits to town, and she kept these in boxes on the shelves along the barn wall. People could take what they needed and put it in the small chests at the end of their beds.

  If any of the shapeshifters had been confrontational, the set-up might not have worked so well, but in general, shapeshifters who came to the sanctuary wanted to avoid conflict. There were fights now and then, typical as much in human nature as in canine, but they were usually easily resolved. At least, Renee had never heard any complaints. There had only been one shapeshifter that they had
ever had to throw out—she had been placid when sober but raging when drunk. The sanctuary had had to reject more dogs than people.

  The laundry machines—three washers, three dryers, all donated—were adjacent to the kitchen area, and a door next to the two stoves led to a huge walk-in freezer for the bulk supplies, which would last a season and sometimes more. It was connected to a separate emergency generator in case the electricity went out during storms.

  “Everything kosher, commander?” asked one of the older shapeshifters—Dusty, who could turn into a dachshund and hound mix—as he rested on a bed. He had hurt his foot by stepping on it wrong when climbing out of one of the trees during a routine trim. It did not seem to be broken, but it was swollen, so it might have been strained or sprained. He was supposed to stay off his feet until he was better—at least, until he could put his weight on it again. They could not bring a doctor up. The shapeshifters did not want to be noticed. They only involved hospitals when there was an absolute emergency.

  Renee nodded. “New blankets needed?”

  “Sir, no, sir,” Dusty replied.

  “Stand down, soldier,” Renee said, with a completely straight face. Dusty looked as if he wasn’t sure whether she was being serious or not.

  Renee left the shifters’ barn and walked a little way to the dog barn. Most of the dogs were out and about, although that would end soon when Max and Malcolm began feeding them. That could be something of an arduous process, especially when it came to giving everyone their fair share.