Alison's Secret

Chapter One

March 2013, South Falls, Maine

         Elizabeth pulls her U-Haul into the driveway of her new home. She looks over at her two year old son, who is sleeping soundly in his car seat. Elizabeth steps out of the truck and looks around her. It was three o’clock in the morning, as Elizabeth absorbed her new surroundings. The Sheriff’s Office lights were the only lights visible on the street, which were two doors down and across the street from her home.
         Elizabeth found this house on the internet, and fell in love with it. The house was a two-story, old, Victorian home, which was perfect for her plans. Upstairs were three bedrooms and two baths. This floor her and Michael would live in. Downstairs were two bedrooms, half bath, living room, and kitchen/dining area. This was to be remodeled for the cafe. Finally after seven years of scrimping and saving and going through hell, she was getting her cafe. Elizabeth couldn’t help but smile.
         She came up here about three months ago to sign the papers for the house and hired Shawn to do the changes she required. Mr. White, her accountant at South Falls Bank, introduced them when she asked about local contractors. They all went to the house and told him what she wanted done. He had rough blueprints ready for her the next day which she approved before leaving.
         Elizabeth opens the back door to the U-Haul, and climbs in. Michael’s Playpen was right where she left it. Grabbing it and the diaper bag, she carried them both into the house, returning to get her son. After setting up the playpen, Elizabeth changed Michael’s diaper, then giving him a pacifier; she lay down in the playpen, where he falls right back to sleep.
         Elizabeth looks around then and sees that Shawn had done exactly as she asked. One bedroom had been turned into a storage room, the other a walk-in cooler/freezer. Using material from the walls that were knocked down to open the remaining rooms, Shawn had built a second half-bath, giving her a dedicated men’s and women’s room. They were also used to enclose the staircase leading upstairs.
         Elizabeth had to buy a new toilet and sink for the bathroom, an industrial stove for the kitchen, which was in place. It was then she noticed the bar that was built around the kitchen area. It was simple yet elegant, Elizabeth loved it. The bar stools had been set out and table set up all she had to do was unpack her dishes and pans and other stuff she had bought for the café. The truck was coming today with the rest.
         She walked over to the door she had bought to keep customers from coming upstairs and saw that the second alarm had been installed. The company, though they looked at her strangely, gladly took her money no questions asked. Much to her relieve.
         The changes had cost her a pretty penny, so she had to be very careful with her money until her café could support itself, plus her and Michael.
         Elizabeth remembered that she had the inspector coming at nine-thirty this morning, so she walked back outside and started unloading the boxes from the U-Haul. Elizabeth carried their personal belongings upstairs and set up Michael’s bed in his room. The boxes that held her items for the café, she placed on the bar, to be unpacked later.
         As she was looking at the furniture that had to remain in the truck, because she could not carry it in on her own, Elizabeth heard Michael start to whimper on the baby-com. As she walked back into the house she looked at her watch and was surprised that she had been working for four hours. It was already seven o’clock! After getting Michael dressed, she ran her fingers through her hair, as he sat at her feet playing with his toy truck. Then after locking up the house and closing the back of the truck, Elizabeth and Michael walked hand in hand to the only other café in town.
Odell had just finished his breakfast, when he heard the little bell tinkle over the door as another customer walked into Rose’s Restaurant. He turned on his stool to say good morning to a neighbor, when he froze. This woman and child were not locals, and since tourist season was still two months away, he decided that this was the owner of the new café down the street. Odell shook his head, thinking that he had to be wrong. This woman looked too young to be opening a business. He remembered Joe at the bank mentioning her and Shawn also, mentioned that she was young when he met her three months ago, but Odell didn’t think that they meant that young.
         As Elizabeth and Michael sat down at a nearby table, Rose walked around to take their order, stopping by Odell to whisper. “Close your mouth, Sheriff; you are going to scare away my new customer.”
         Odell swung back around so fast that he almost knocked his coffee off the counter, and into his lap.
         Rose took their order and called it out to Charles, her husband and cook. While he was cooking, Rose returned to the table to talk to her new customer.
         “So, my name is Rose, in the kitchen is my husband Charles, and sitting on the stool there, is our newly appointed Sheriff Odell.”
         Elizabeth opened then closed her mouth. She had almost used her real name. It was going to be difficult getting used to the name Alison, but it was a necessity to protect her and her son. She had been planning this since she was sixteen. Recomposing herself, Elizabeth replied. “My name is Alison Blue and this is my son Michael. We just moved in down the street.”
         “Oh!” Rose exclaimed, the excitement showing in her voice. “Are you the Alison of Alison’s Café that is opening down the street?”
         “Yes, I am.” Elizabeth answered; surprised at the excitement this lady was showing.
         “Wow! That is great!” Rose replied. “And don’t fret about anything; there will be plenty of customers for both cafés when tourist season begins, Also, Charles and I have wanted to go on vacation during the off season, and now we can.”
         Elizabeth was blown away, this lady was happy that another café was opening right down the road? She was expecting anything but this bubbly acceptance that this elderly lady was giving her.
         “Order up” Charles called, and Rose returned with Elizabeth’s and Michael’s breakfast.
         “I’ll let you eat, but after you get settled in, you have to come back for a chat with me.” Rose said.
         Elizabeth agreed, and then started eating. She felt eyes on her and looked up to see the Sheriff looking at her. When their eyes met her stomach did a little flip. Elizabeth quickly looked back down at her plate and concentrated on eating and feeding her son.
         Back at the house, while walking the inspector, Jonathon Walker, to his car, Elizabeth noticed the Sheriff leaning against the wall of his office staring at her. Hearing Mr. Walker talking, Elizabeth turns back toward him.
         “Here are you papers, Ms. Blue.” Handing them over to her, he asked. “When do you expect to open?”
         “Well, if I could find some men to bring in my furniture, I am hoping tomorrow morning at six o’clock.” Elizabeth glances at her watch. “It’s already noon, I have to feed Michael lunch, and I have a delivery coming around five.”
         “I can help with that, go feed your son and I’ll be back in an hour.” Jon said, as he closed the door of his station wagon.
         Elizabeth stood there in shock at this sudden helpfulness, this she was not used to.
She glanced over at the Sheriff’s Office and saw that Odell was no longer there. She didn’t know if she was disappointed or relieved. She couldn’t let him find out about her past so she couldn’t let him get too close, but he was nice to look at. Elizabeth gasped at her own thoughts and quickly went into her house.
         Michael was fed and taking his nap as Elizabeth started unpacking and setting up downstairs. She had all her plates put in the counters under the bar and was stretching her back when she heard all the commotion outside. Strapping the baby-com on her waist she walks outside.
         There were four men outside, unloading her truck. Before she knew it all her furniture was brought into the house and placed where she wanted it. She remembered Jon and Odell; the other two were just young men barely out of school. After thanking them for their help and learning that the two young men were Jon’s sons, she hired them both to unload her truck when it came tonight and in the future.
         Later that night, Elizabeth stood on the balcony outside her bedroom. Michael had ran himself out by eight o’clock, after getting him in bed she took her shower and was now standing there in awe. The sun was setting and even though the beach that brought the tourist to this little town was five miles down the cliff, where her house sat she could see the waves as they rolled in. It was a full moon and the sound of the waves relaxed her as she thought about her day.
         It was then that Elizabeth felt something she had not felt almost her entire life and that was safe. She returned to her room locking the balcony door. As Elizabeth started to fall asleep, she smiled to herself, knowing that she would awake as ‘Alison’; with a new life and new promise ahead of her.
















CHAPTER TWO


Odell is sitting at his desk the next morning, doing paper work. It is five a.m. and the only other person here was the nine-one-one dispatcher. Odell tossed and turned, finally giving up sleeping at three a.m. he showered dressed and drove to the station. Every time he closed his eyes, he would see Alison’s face. 
         The facts he knew about her are that she as twenty-three years old and had a two year old son. She moved here to open her café and she is single. That was it, he thought about googling her to see what he could find but he didn’t. Odell rubbed his hands across his face and looked at the clock. Alison’s will be open in thirty minutes, he thought to himself as he stretched back in his chair.
         After filing his papers he was working on this morning, Odell stepped into the dispatch office to ask Phil if he wanted anything for breakfast. Even though Edith would be in around seven a.m. to relieve Phil, Odell never went for food or drink without asking his deputies and staff if they wanted anything.
         “Phil, I am going to do a quick drive through town.” Odell said to Phil as he stood at the door putting on his jacket. “Then I am going to try that new Café out. Do you want me to bring you back anything?”
         Phil set down the crossword puzzle he was working on and turned his chair towards Odell. “No thanks,” he replied. “I was going over there after I clocked out for the day. I want to meet this girl myself; everyone is so gaga over her moving here it has my curiosity up.”
         Odell smiles as he listens to Phil go on about how in his day a lady would not have a chance of owning her own business. To hear about a young lady raising a child on her own and opening her own business was fascinating to him. He grew up in a time when women stayed home and took care of their family. There were a few who “worked” mostly selling Avon or some other makeup or party items.
         Phil is sixty-five years old and retired from the railroad. He was diagnosed with insomnia three years ago and Odell found him wandering the streets in town his first night on duty. After meeting and getting to know Phil, Odell offered him the third shift dispatch job. It would keep him off the streets in the middle of the night and it would give Phil something to do since he could not sleep.
         Phil is a medium built man, still in good shape for his age. His hair is slate grey and he wore it in a low hanging braid. He is full blooded Cherokee, who was kicked off the reservation when he killed a man in self-defense when he was only fifteen years old. The man was the chief’s son so there was no chance that he would ever be going back to the reservation again.
         Phil finishes his story, so Odell tells him bye and turns to walk out the door. Odell is as nervous as when he went to his first school dance with a girl. “What is wrong with me?” he asks himself as he is driving through town. “I don’t know this girl from Adam, and I am acting like a middle school boy with a crush.” Odell looks in his rear view mirror and continues to lecture himself. “Plus, son she is too young, seven years too young.”
         Glancing at his watch, Odell sees that it is five minutes until six. He turns around at the edge of town and heads toward Alison’s Café, wondering what he would learn about this young girl who has moved into town and invaded his thoughts.
         While Odell is driving back through town, Alison is walking back across the street from the town’s only daycare. She had Jessica, the owner of All-Day Daycare, to mail her the paper work. Alison had used the address of the hotel she was working at.
         When Alison had arrived at South Falls to make the remodeling plans with Shawn she took them over and paid six months advance. Her stomach felt like it was confused. One minute it is almost clenching with nervousness then the next it is fill with butterflies of happiness.
         Alison unlocks her door, turning over the open sign as she walked in. She had started the coffee and some grits, before she walked Michael across the street. As she was making herself a cup of coffee, Alison heard the door chime. Turning around to greet her first customer, Alison smiles as she watches the Sheriff walk in.
         “Good morning, sheriff.” Alison says.
         “Good morning, Alison.” Odell replied as he looked around the café.
         “You’re my very first customer, I just opened.” Alison said. “You can have any seat you like.”
         Odell smiled, “I will just sit at the bar if that is ok with you.”
         “Certainly,” Alison said as she led him to the bar.
         “So what do you have here, is there a menu?” Odell asked as he sat down.
         “You are leaning on it.” Alison said as she pointed to the top of the bar.
         Odell leaned back and looked down. Sure enough there was clear Plexiglas over the bar. Underneath that was a menu, plain black and white as if printed off a home printer. “Interesting, did you make this yourself?”
         “Yep, I know they are plain but I have to budget myself tightly to start with.” Alison said as she set him up. “Would you like a coffee?”
         “Yeah, black please.” He answers.
         Alison pours his coffee then suggests that he takes a look at the menu. She stirs the grits as she steal peeks of the sheriff from the corner of her eyes.
         He looks serious as he studies the menu. His hair is black, the back just touching the bottom of his neck. The front just lays hazardous, like it didn’t know which way to lie. His eyes were so dark a brown, they looked almost black. Alison could imagine herself getting lost in his eyes as they made love. All of a sudden he jerks his head up and says, “Ok I am ready.”
         Alison had been looking at the form of his chest and shoulders when he was suddenly looking right at her. Had he caught her staring? Did he know she was thinking about being held in those powerful arms? Alison stood up hoping the heat in her face was not as red as it felt.
         “What would you like?”
         “Give me the two eggs scrambled, bacon and toast. What is a grit?” he asked.
         Alison had never been outside of her hometown until she ran off with her son; she was surprised that the Sheriff didn’t know what it was. She made him a small bowl but after his first bite Odell pushed it away.
         “What is that?”
         “That is grits.” Alison said.
         “Well, I won’t be eating them.” Odell said as he drained his cup of coffee.
         “Would you like a refill?” Alison asked as she shook her head at his reaction confused.
         “Sure.”
         Alison refilled his cup, and then turned to put the bacon on the grill. She flipped the bacon and was scrambling the eggs when the door chimed again. “Have a seat wherever you like, I will be right with you.” Alison called over her shoulder.
         “I’ll have a coffee.” the man said as he sat down in the far corner.
         After setting Odell’s plate on the bar and refilling his coffee, Alison went to take the next order. As she is walking towards the table with the coffee, Alison felt the hair on the back of her neck start to tingle. There is something wrong, she thinks to herself as she sets his coffee down. The tingling only happens when she is about to go into a vision. Knowing that she only has visions of bad things that are going to happen, Alison wishes that she could let it happen. 
         Alison concentrates on taking the man’s order, and on keeping her brain in the here and now. After taking his order Alison introduces herself and asks him his name.
         “Daniel.” The man answered gruffly.
         Alison thanks him for giving her café a try and walks away to cook his order.
         As she is reaching into the fridge for the sausage, Alison says Daniel’s name in a whisper drawing on the tingling she felt. Her mother had taught her this from the beginning, how to control the vision so that instead of spacing out in front of a room full of strangers, she could rein it in until she was in a safe place. By getting the man’s name during the full peak of the sensation, she could walk away and say his name to pull the tingling (vision) back to the surface.
         She sees sausage, cheese, eggs…dirt, gravel; she is walking towards a house. Alison can barely keep herself up, she smells wild turkey and weed on herself. She looks down and sees that she is in blue jeans and a t-shirt that has Hooters written across the front of it. She is Daniel, and as she gets close to the house, she can hear herself singing and cussing at the top of her lungs. Then the front door opens and a woman comes out with a gun.
“You have been with her again tonight haven’t you?” the woman screams.
         “Woman, if you don’t shut your trap, I will go back and stay in town!” Alison hears herself scream as she drunkenly laughs.
         “I’ll be damned if you will!” the woman yells back as she steps out with a rifle.
         “Ellie put that thing away now,” Alison says as she tries to make it to the porch.
         She watches as the woman lifts the rifle, Alison knows in her mind that she has to moved, but she can only go the way the body takes her. She is only riding it not controlling it.
         Alison hears herself scream “Ellie!” Then she hears a gunshot, her chest feels like it is on fire, then everything goes black.
         She smells cheese, bacon, “Alison!” She jumps when she hears her name.
         “Yes Odell?” Alison replies as she acts like she did not just ride someone’s spirit in a vision and was shot and murdered.
         “Are you ok?” He asked. Looking at her like she has a third head or something.
         “Absolutely, why you ask?”
         “Just looked like you kind of spaced out looking in the fridge for a second there,” Odell was looking at her with concern.
         “No I am fine; I just got to thinking about Michael. I miss him already.” Alison said. Well, it’s not a total lie, she thinks to herself. I do miss Michael, so if the story works leave it be. Then she starts cooking her next order.
         Odell looked at her, and then said. “It must be hard doing all this on your own.”
         “What?” Alison asks, as she is frying the eggs.
         “Opening and running this place and raising your son,” Odell says, and then asks. “Where is his father?”
         “He is dead.”  Alison answers, her voice stressed with anger.
         Odell doesn’t say a word as he watches Alison deliver Daniel his plate. When she returns behind the counter he asks for his check. Alison lays it on the bar and starts clearing away his dishes.
         Odell takes a ten out of his wallet and lays it on top of the check. As he starts to get up he hears Alison say his name.
         “Odell.”
         He turns back around as Alison leans over the bar towards him.
         His eyes cannot help but stray to her breast as her action pressed them upwards.
         “Do you know that man there named Daniel?” She asks.
         “Yes, this town is not that big, everyone knows everyone here. Why?”
         Alison struggles to find a way to let the sheriff know that this man is in danger without giving away her secret.
         “I think he might get into some trouble later tonight. I think he needs to be watched.”
         “Oh, he is always in some kind of trouble.” Odell says with a grin that about takes Alison’s breathe away. “He is the town’s drunk and man-whore. He is married and his wife is always throwing him out or I have to lock him up until he sobers up enough to go home.”
         “Why do you think he is in danger?” Odell asks as he watches her fiddle with her pen.
         “Just a feeling…” Alison trails off as she looks up at him. “So you don’t think he is going to get killed or shot or anything?” She asks.
         Odell laughs until he sees the Alison is serious. “No, I do not,” he says. “Just what kind of feelings are these? Are you psychic as well as an awesome cook?”
         “No,” Alison quickly says. “Just superstitious I guess it runs in my family.” She smiles at Odell.
         “Have a good day sheriff.” Alison says as she hears the door chime again. 
         Odell gives her a puzzled look and nods. “You too,” she hears as she went to greet her next customers.
         It was not too busy during breakfast, but busy enough Alison thinks to herself as she locks the door at ten-thirty. She then runs what dishes she has left through the dishwasher, and cleans the dining area. After checking the roast beef that was to be part of her lunch menu, Alison walks across the street and eats lunch with Michael.
         The rest of the day goes by quickly. Breakfast from six am to ten-thirty am, lunch eleven-thirty am to three-thirty pm, and dinner from four-thirty pm to nine pm. between meals she does a quick clean and spends time with Michael. When she closes at night she just locks the doors until Michael is asleep. Then with his monitor attached to her hip, Alison returns downstairs to clean and prep for the next day.







CHAPTER THREE

         While Alison was getting through her first day as a restaurant owner; Odell was trying to get his mind straight from his visit to her café that morning.
         She was a magnificent woman, who had a smile that made him want to kiss her lips. He knew if he did he would taste her beauty. Her hair was pulled up in a braid today, but he had seen it down when she and Michael ate breakfast at Rose’s yesterday morning. It was a dark brown with white highlights, but he didn’t think it was dye. He is a good bit taller than her plus when she leaned over to talk to him before he left, he could see the top of her head and everything looked natural. Alison was very petite; Odell thought he could wrap his arms around her forever. Her body had looked so fragile but he knows she is stronger than she looks and just imagining Alison without her clothes on, made Odell’s pants feel a little tighter.
         Odell shook his head and cursed himself about letting his imagination get away from him. He never has this problem with other women, why could he not control his thoughts about her! When she called him by his name instead of Sheriff, Odell felt his body tighten in response. Then she had hit him with what she said about Daniel. He didn’t know what was going on with her. He didn’t care what she said, he saw her space out, and he was worried. He would just keep an eye on her, for now, but if she got hurt from it he was taking her to the doctor no matter what she says.
Alison had said that Daniel was going to get hurt, shot, or something. That was insane. She said she had a feeling. Well, his dad always had a feeling at the tracks and he lost his paycheck every week because of those “feelings”.  Odell walked into station and started talking to his deputies. He had to do something to keep his mind off of Alison. Her “feelings”, her smile, her eyes, her body….Come on man, Odell tells himself. Get over it, it is not going to happen, I will not let it. Then he sees Charlie, his number one deputy walk in the door, and calls him over to help with next month’s schedule. That should keep her off his mind for a little while at least.
Later that night, Alison walks over to Michael’s bed, pulls the covers up and kisses his forehead. He stirs slightly then falls back to sleep. She sits on the floor and stares at her sleeping son. She cursed her mom and dad, her curse, and her life. The love of her life was dead; Adam had died the night Michael was born. She could not believe how much Michael took after his father. She only hoped that Michael was able to have a normal life. That was when she heard it, a whine.
Alison leaned in closer to her son, holding her breath. Michael rolled over to his side and there it was. Michael was moving his hands like a puppy, and whining. Alison gasped for air; her son had gotten the curse. What was she to do? Alison knew that this might happen. Even though deep in her heart she wishes it never would. If he was to receive any curse from her or Adam she had always hoped that it would be Adam’s.
Alison sat there and waited for her son to change. It might not happen but she wanted to be here for him if he did. Her father had done the same for her. Alison laid her head on the foot of the bed and watched her son. As she lay there she thought about her family and their curses. Yes, there was more than one.
Alison’s mother was the daughter to a Wiccan High Priest and Priestess, exiled when she married Alison’s father, a shape shifter. It was forbidden for the two races to mix. Shape shifters have been killing witches for thousands of years. When Alison was born her life was grand. Until she began seeing visions then life turned upside down, then she began pretending she was something else.  One day her father went outside with her to play. While she was pretending to be a dog, her father stayed right beside her. Then she changed into a German shepherd puppy. Alison remembered it as if it was yesterday. She felt her body change and the pain that coursed through her, and then she was watching her father through different eyes. She heard herself growl at her father as the animal took her over. Then the growl became a child’s scream. Alison looked up and saw what could only be called a mutt pup looking down at her whining.
“Michael, it is mommy.” Alison said as she got down on all fours facing her son, Glad that he was whining and not growling as she did. Maybe it was the age, also Alison had gone through a very traumatic time when she was seven years old. Michael just changed in his sleep and he was two years old! Then Alison remembered what her Father had told her, when she told him she was pregnant.
“Having a child with that man is not happening! We have enough trouble because I and your mother went against the rules!” Alison’s father had screamed at her. Then her mother had walked in,
“George, it doesn’t have to be all bad, if it inherits Adam’s powers along with Elizabeth’s, he could be very powerful. The most powerful shape shifter actually.”
George looked at his wife in confusion, and then smiled. “How long until we know?” he asked.
“Not long really, the more powerful they are the sooner they can change. I have heard of some changing as early as four or five.”
They both looked at Elizabeth and the look in their eyes terrified her. She knew they had changed, and was trying to get accepted back into their societies and bring them together. But they were no longer good; everything they did was for them. They did not care who they hurt getting what they wanted.
George walked towards Elizabeth, and puts his hands on her shoulders. “Darling, we will take care of you. We will pay for anything that is needed, and doctors. You will have everything you need, but you will not leave this house and you will never see Adam again.”
A cold nudge on her cheek brought Alison back to the present. She looks at Michael and with tears in her eyes she changes into a mutt and grooms her son. As Alison curls up next to her son on the rug by his bed, she remembers the other thing about when she changed; she was stuck as a German shepherd for two weeks.
The next morning Alison wakes up to find her son digging at the bedroom door. She realizes that she had change back during her sleep. She sits up and grabs her sons blanket to wrap around herself. Picking up her torn clothes, Alison opens the door and she and Michael walk towards her room.
After getting dressed, Alison walks downstairs to start some coffee. It is Sunday so luckily she has the day off to figure out what to do with Michael. She had just put down some grits and eggs for Michael, with a bowl of milk, when she heard banging on the door.
After spending time with him, helping her move in and him eating breakfast at the café yesterday, she knew his smell. Odell was outside. She knew she had no other choice, he was the sheriff, and she had to let him in. Alison did not want him suspicious of anything, and her kitchen exhaust was rerouted to go out the houses chimney so he knew she could hear him. Telling Michael to stay, Alison opened the door. 
“Yes, Sheriff” Alison said as he stood there. She noticed that he was tense and that something was wrong. She smelt fear on him, fear of her. “Come in.”
Walking in, Odell said, “Something happened last night and I want you to tell me the truth. I don’t care what it is. I am the Sheriff in this town and I will know everything about it. Do you understand?”
Alison replied wide eyed, “Ok, sheriff, ask away. I will answer your questions.” I’ll make us some coffee while you start.
After Alison handed him his cup, Odell motioned for her to join him at the table. Turning, he tripped over something furry. He looked down and saw a mutt. “When did you get a dog?” he asked.
“Oh, last night.” Alison said as she scooped up Michael and sat him in her lap at the table.
“It looks like the mutt they have at the daycare but smaller,” Odell remarked. “My sister owns it and that dog is part of the program, he plays with the kids. She said Michael played with him all day.”
So that is where the change and form came from, Alison thought to herself. Michael had connected with the dog. Shape shifters can connect to animals and even speak to and understand them.
“Daniel was killed by his wife last night.” Odell said, holding up his hand when Alison started to say something. “You said that this would happen. I want to know how you knew and what that spacing out was. If you have nothing to hide and are not in trouble with the law then you have no reason to not tell me.”
“Ok,” Alison said. It couldn’t hurt to tell him a little of the truth just to satisfy him. “Have you ever heard of witches?” She asked.
“You mean like Dorothy in Oz?”
“No, like Wiccan.”
“Yeah, why.”
“Well, my mother is a bloodline natural witch. Seeing things are one of the things that she can do and this ability was passed down to me.” Feeling Michael squirm, she began scratching behind his ears. In animal form shape shifters are the animal, if they are not careful their human side will let the animal take control and it can be messy. So Alison tried to quiet him down.
“Ok,” Odell said. “I can deal with that; are there any other secrets you need to tell me?”
“Nope,”Alison said.
At the same time she saw all the color drain out of Odell’s face she felt fingers pulling on her nose, and heard a giggle. When she looked down the mutt was gone. In its place was Michael, naked as the day he was born, giggling and sucking on his thumb.
Alison looked up at the sheriff, with fear in her eyes, as he looked at her with shock and anger in his. She watched as he stiffly walked out the door, frozen in her seat with Michael.
Suddenly, frantic about what was getting ready to happen Alison ran to lock the door but before she got half way there he was back with his sister in toe.





CHAPTER FOUR
Eight years later,
South Falls, Maine