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Katriel finished up shopping with some canned goods and a jug of fresh milk, and they went back to the camper. She took a moment to hook up the utilities and then went inside to start cooking. Over the months of her travel, she had become a wiz at cooking camp food. She started throwing ingredients together and in no time a huge put of stew was simmering on the stove. She could see Ray's mouth watering so she gave him a glass of milk to tide him over.

"Tomorrow, we'll go for our first hike," she said as she waited for dinner to cook. "Tomorrow evening if the full moon, so we need to be ready. Is there anything I should know about your transformation?"

"Pain and nausea are normal if you're inexperienced or weak or both," Katriel explained. "I've also heard that it's harder for those that were bitten, since their genetics aren't preset for the change. In my experience, it's like visiting the chiropractor and having every bone and joint adjusted. We're having some corn and chicken chowder for dinner, since I want to get youa plump as possible before tomorrow."

"It should be done by now," Katriel said, her nose telling her that everything had finished cooking. She served up two large bowls of stew, full of corn, chicken, tomatoes, peppers, and rice. It was thick and creamy and piping hot. Katriel also put a piece of bread on the side of each bowl. "You can dip the bread while you wait for the rest of it to cool. And if you finish all of that, we have Twinkies and gummy worms for dessert!"

She loved the way his face lit up when she served him food. It was so endearing, although she knew he had lingering issues. Still, it was a guilty pleasure perk that came with taking care of someone.

When Katriel finished dinner, she stretched.

"I think I'll save the twinkies for another night," she yawned. She had almost forgotten how much work it was to take care of someone, but that didn't make it any less enjoyable. "I'm going to change into my pajamas now. Just warning you."

She pulled out her favorite green shorts and shirt and just stripped to her underwear in the main cabin. She figured that tomorrow night with the full moon they'd be naked in the woods together, so modesty didn't make much sense now. With her clothes off, it was easy to see the scars that she had collected as alpha female, including a ragged bitemark on her ribs and the white lines where a set of claws had raked her hips. As a werewolf she had superior healing abilities, but significant tissue damage could only be repaired so much. She was also showing her tramp tramp stamp; a tattoo of right wolves with Inuit designs linking them together on the small of her back. She finished getting dressed and covered all these marked again.

"Ready for bed?" she asked with a smile.

"You're so cute when you blush," she teased as she crawled into the bed.

She pulled an extra thick quilt from one of the cupboards and gestured him to come beside her. She spread the quilt over them both and then wrapped her arms around his waist. She nuzzled his neck, enjoying the scent of him. It had been so long since she had been near one of her own kind, and with the full moon rising tomorrow night, things were bound to hot and steamy. She wondered if she should revoke her first rule--because expecting him to keep it under these conditions was almost impossible. She tried to distract herself with thoughts of the hunt tomorrow night.

"There are so many wonderful things to see here," she sighed. "And we can go places humans can't. We'll find a special place, just for us to share."

Katriel slept better than she had in a long while. It was almost like being in the old dog pile in the old den. She woke in the morning, warm and snuggled against her pack made.

"Morning," she mumbled against Ray's shoulder. "Do you want some breakfast or would you rather stay under the covers for a while longer?"

Katriel smiled and gave him a squeeze. She drifted of to sleep again and started to dream. In her old pack, they called it "moon dreams;" in the human world they were called erotic dreams. Katriel dreamed of Ray, only he was the model of mature werewolf health with toned muscles and thick red hair. She blushed and mumbled in her sleep, even as she pressed closer to Ray. She woke up again, but this time she drooling on his shoulder. Her embarrassment and frustration made her blush.

"Sorry," she mumbled as she used a corner of the quilt to dry his shoulder.