He knew what he had to do. He closed his eyes once more and took a deep cleansing breath. He let his shoulders droop and he felt his tail relax low behind him. He pictured himself as a human once more. The image floated in the darkness that he wrapped himself in. The soft pink flesh was his natural form. It was fragile and easily broken but that pink flesh was what he had been born into this world with. The image rotated as he tried to focus on what it was to be human, flawed and weak. Those thoughts were a death sentence to him, and he knew it. With a difficulty that he thought he was past he was able to force those self-destructive thoughts out of his mind. He was able to open his eyes. He looked down and saw his light-colored skin and hands instead of claws. He was coated in sweat, and he found himself to be exhausted. The effort to change back had been monumental. He thought he was past all that. Maybe there would always be that small part of him that never wanted to go back to being human. It was up to him to keep that part of him small and containable. The thought was distressing but right then he had other things to do.
He reached for the dresser and pulled out some clothes and his toothbrush and baking soda. He wrapped up everything together, grabbed a pair of shorts out of one of the drawers and yanked them up to his waist. He then grabbed the rolled-up bundle and ran out the doorway down the ramp.
The ceiling crystals of the cavern were still in their starlight mode, so he knew he still had time. He wasn’t sure of how much time, so he forced himself to run at top speed. Like in his journey to this city he was able to run without getting tired. He knew that this was because of the pack bond that he and Aceso shared, the added speed and stamina were welcome. He wasn’t sure how much time he had used changing back to his human form. The constant battle that changing back was going to be for him was a little disheartening at best.
He raced to the public restroom and tore into the open space. The dark room was empty. He said a silent thank you for that. He bolted around the partition wall as the ceiling crystals adjusted to his presence. He tossed his bundle of clothes on a nearby shelf and ripped off his shorts. He stepped into the open shower bay and turned on the water. The icicles that pelted him froze his body instantly and the shock immobilized him so that he could barely move out of the way of the near freezing water. Goosebumps formed all over his body and his more sensitive areas shrunk to the size of peas trying to hide from the sudden cold. William couldn’t do anything for a moment but let his body try to warm itself as he clutched at his frozen skin. He looked down through the harsh spray of water and saw that he had turned the hot water faucet on. Just when he was about to turn the water off a plume of steam began to rise from the cold black tiles of the shower bay. William reached out to touch the water and yanked his hand back as the super heater water scalded him. He allowed the residual heat from the steam plume to warm his still cold shocked body. When he was able to, he unwrapped his arms from his body and reached around the hot water and turned the faucet to close a little and opened the cold-water faucet. Despite his caution the shower head was still able to drop a few scalding hot water droplets on his unprotected arm leaving angry red spots in their wake. After several minutes of trial and error he was able to get the shower usable. The water was either too cold or too hot, but he didn’t have a great deal of time in any case. He washed his body with the bar of soap that was conveniently sitting on a soap dish near the shower head and finished his shower quickly. When he was done, he grabbed a clean white towel that was hanging on a rack near the shower bay and dried himself. Replacing the towel, he put back on his shorts and walked around the partition to use the sink. Once he finished brushing his teeth, he unwrapped the rest of his clothes and put them on. He didn’t lose any time running back to his room replacing his toiletries. Without a second look around his room he bolted out through the open entryway and down the ramp.
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It was a surreal feeling walking back through the empty predawn streets of the City under the Mountain. The place was quiet as death. Coming out of a side street exposing the monolithic black tower jutting up from the street piercing the open air of the underground cavern was still intimidating. He had never fully lost the sense of foreboding that he felt whenever he saw the tower and this morning was no different. What helped him keep his composure was seeing the familiar wolf form of Aceso sitting on her haunches waiting for him. Achelois was nearby but there was an icy separation between the two. William suppressed a sigh and walked up to his alpha. He didn’t say anything. He knew he didn’t have to. He sat down a respectful distance away and waited for the rest of the pack to join them.
He didn’t have to wait long. Soon he saw the tall lanky form of Charles emerge from in between two of the black buildings with Katherine following close behind. Even though he knew that there had been a sense of urgency this morning Katherine somehow still managed to look put together. Her long wavy brown hair looked like it had been combed and was flowing behind her as if she had spent some time in the bathroom before meeting them here. Her clothes were well fitted to her athletic curves and the neckline of her shirt was conservatively high. William couldn’t help but admire her poise and beauty.