The meeting ended after discussing what to do about the Magic Pox that was apparently going around again. All that left me wondering was, did I need a vaccine for magic pox? Oh, never mind.

Colin was waiting outside the long hallway with a small coffee cup in his hand. It suspiciously had the same colors and shapes of a Starbucks coffee cup but read Star Witch. His face brought me back to that embarrassing moment at the beginning of the meeting. I’m secretly wishing for a Forget-Me potion.

“How did it go after that outburst?” Colin lead my over to a booth in the semi-coffee shop that was connected to the council meeting place. Apparently, it hasn’t been long enough for people to quite forget that disaster yet. My bright red cheeks and averted gaze answered his question for me.

I grabbed a donut off of Colin’s plate and took a bite. How was I going to explain to him that I had a week to find the missing Zodiac or they go to war? Would this shift the blame of the war to me since it would be my fault that the witches and warlocks went to war? Of course it would.

“I know what happened in there, Sam.” Colin’s happy mood shifted to a more serious one. He pointed to a tv screen above the coffee bar.

“It was in your nature to step in, so I can’t be mad. But I have to know, how do you plan on pulling this off? I thought about it since you said that and I have no idea where to even begin.” Colin wasn’t being cruel. He was right. Hell, I couldn’t even fly yet. Let alone shift while in control of my emotions. I couldn’t let what happened last time I transformed, happen again. I didn’t want to hurt Colin like that ever again.

“Teach me how to transform. How to fly.”

“That could take months on it’s own-” Colin was cut off mid-sentence.

“Not if we help out.”

Michael and David sat down with their own plate of donuts. It felt like I had just gotten out of church with all the donuts and well dressed people around. All I had on was a t-shirt and some cacky shorts. I did not pack Sunday clothes.

“David, my husband, is a werewolf shifter. He knows everything there is about shifting, and we’re willing to help you out.” Michael took a sip of his paper cup coffee. David’s attention wandered over me. He stared like a big scary hawk. I shrunk into myself like a kid who just got in trouble for heavily indulging myself in donuts. That is an alpha werewolf for you. Not that I had ever met one before.

“Why?” Colin is straight to the point, as always. I don’t think I have ever met someone more blunt than he is. Just once, I would like to have a nice conversation without him interrogating people. They are willing to help my mission from hell? Cool, no questions asked.

“We are interested in the same things. War hurts our family. Especially our oldest daughter, Naomi. She uses the same magic the Witches use, and would be undoubtedly called to war because of it.” Michael’s old english accent was hard to ignore when he spoke in a hush. David leaned forward.

“When Michael and I met, we were on different sides of a decades old war. But we ended that on the agreement to never let it happen again. For us, and for our children.” David’s voice sounded strange. Too high pitched for a guy of his size and power. The stories they told about the alpha werewolf who married the vampire Zodiac were far-fetched at best. The rumors seemed almost ridiculous.

“Okay,” Colin conceded. “I don’t have what it takes to teach a newborn dragon how to change, let alone fly. So,” Colin reluctantly let out a breath, “We could use your help.” I have never, ever heard Colin actually give in to someone other than me. And he sounded so defeated. Like he lost a competition we weren’t actually in. Can I rewind this moment and tape it for when we inevitably get into another argument? Is that too much to ask?

“Good. We start now. Come on boys.” Michael and David stood up and pushed out their seats simultaneously. Their movements were seamlessly in sinc. They were mates, right? Would Colin and I be in sinc like that one day? Scary too think, really.

Exiting the building, I noticed that Michael and David’s children were already waiting outside. The two younger boys were playing with the tall grass in the fields, and the girl was talking with one of the Zodiacs I saw earlier. Of course, I didn’t know his name.

“First things first, transforming. Creatures like us depend on control and comfort when changing. If you don’t feel safe, you aren’t in control. If you aren’t in control, then you don’t feel safe.” David sat down in the field. Michael and Colin backed away from us. “Sit down, and clear your head. Tell me about the first time you changed.”

“I was angry. And I hurt someone.” I sat down across from him. Was this okay? He could probably guess who I had hurt, and yet I couldn’t say it aloud.

I hurt Colin. I hurt Colin and it was my fault.

“Don’t focus on who you hurt. They are fine. You weren’t in control before, but that doesn’t mean you can’t get control now.” David tried to sound comforting. But this wasn’t working for me. All I thought about was those bruises on Colin’s midsection.

“Focus on just yours hands. Change your hands.”

I probably can’t do it. That’s fine. Who needs a dragon anyway? I like the way I am. But Master Wei can’t fly us everywhere. Ethan can’t either. They might be helping me out now, but eventually… Eventually I’ll have to do it myself. I have to carry my own weight. And what if I can’t?

Worried. I felt worried. If I can’t do this, the troll zodiac will stay missing. My skin hardened. If I can’t do this, the witches and warlocks will go to war. My teeth sharpened. Ms. Agnes will have to go to war. My eyes glowed. David’s family will suffer. I felt my claws sharpen and my skin turn red. I have to find that Zodiac.

“You’re losing control,” David was sitting beside me. “You are safe. There is no pressure for you to change.”

“But there is. I have to find that zodiac. And that isn’t going to happen by taking a long time.” I told him as I grew. When I opened my eyes, everyone was shorter than me, and everyone looked disappointed. Disappointed? Why?

“You will never get anywhere by rushing.”

He was right. I felt myself calm,and the shrinking feeling came to me again. I was turning back. Once I was on human footing, David asked me to do the same thing again. Change my hands.

I closed my eyes and focused solely on my hands. On the nails that turned to claws, on the skin that turned to scales. I moved my hands just to feel the scales drag against one another like coins rubbing together. There was no reason to love that sound, but I did anyway. I opened my eyes. Success!

Here is where, if my life were a movie, it would cut to my awesome action training montage.

It would show a scene where I learn to change into my full dragon self, and where I learn to breathe fire. Only, when I breathe fire, there would definitely be a scene where I accidentally almost burned the whole field to ash. No worries though, Naomi happens to be a skilled ice elemental. Thank heavens.

The montage would pepper in my attempts to fly. I would land face first on my dragon face. Then I would crash into several tree’s. And finally, after all that work, the last scene in the montage would show me about to run into a tree, and then me using fire to try and burn it out of my way.

Needless to say, it didn’t work.

“It’s only been a few days, but you have the hang of some of the more important stuff.” David said. We had taken a dinner break after my last flying attempt. Colin still refuses to ride because he is worried he might not survive. Luckily, David has done some dragon riding in the past. With Colin’s blessing, David has been flying on my back to help me.

“Right. Because flying isn’t important.”

“Flight comes natural. You know, where I was a pup, I couldn’t howl like the rest of my pack? The youngest girl in the pack, and to make things worse, I couldn’t do the one thing a wolf can always do. My mom sat me down and she told me that if I were patient, it would come when I needed it most. So just wait and see,” David said. I wanted to ask. I knew I shouldn’t.

“When did you need it most?”

“When I realized I was a man. And when I decided I loved Michael. Those are the only two times I’ve ever howled at the moon.” David smiled at me. I looked down at the blanket we were sitting on.

“And what if it doesn’t come? What if I can’t fly because I’m really just some human who accidentally got caught up in all of this?” Self doubt was the worst. My brothers teased me all the time for it. But I knew that there was nothing I could do to get rid of it. I would feel this doubt for the rest of my life as a Zodiac.

“Even if you are just some human, the Zodiac chose you.”

“You know, that’s another thing I was wondering. How does a ‘Zodiac’ chose someone?” I asked. I took a bite of my sandwich while staring at the Zodiac building. The beautiful constellations made me want to never look away from them.

“Well, I don’t know how much you believe, but they say the Original Zodiac’s chose another heir that has the character they are looking for in a leader. If you don’t believe that, which I personally don’t, then you are just chosen because the mark appeared on you, so it’s your duty. Now eat your sandwich. There’s still three hours of flight time to get in.” David finished his sandwich and stood up.

I groaned. Flying was just not in my skill set.