“What kind of species?” Penny asked, not moving to join Winifred.
Winifred glanced at me, probably wondering if I was really ready for the freak-out this lady was about to have. I nodded.
“The shapeshifting kind,” Winifred said.
Penny laughed then grew quiet when she saw we didn’t share her humor.
“Before I put you on the air, I need some kind of proof. I will lose everything,” her gaze drifted to the booth, “if I don’t have proof.”
Charlene nodded to Penny then pointedly looked at Winifred. Penny’s gaze followed. I could see her frustration with the situation as much as I could feel it.
“You have proof?” Penny asked.
“No. I am proof.”
Winifred held out her hand and changed it to a white paw, then back again.
Disbelief and panic surged from Penny. I took both.
“I’m willing to demonstrate what I am on live TV,” Winifred said. “And will answer your questions after I explain why I’m coming forward.”
As if in a trance, Penny slowly crossed the room to join Winifred by the couch.
“Do it again,” she said, staring at Winifred’s still outstretched hand.
Awe filled Penny as Winifred’s skin slowly disappeared under a layer of fine white hairs. Her thumb shrank back a moment before the rest of her fingers. A paw at the end of a human arm. It was surreal to see. Winifred didn’t leave it like that for more than a heartbeat before everything went back into place.
“Incredible.” Penny sat heavily in the chair.
The door behind us opened.
“We’ll be ready in five,” a man said.
Penny turned with wide eyes.
“Seriously?”
When the man nodded, Penny’s gaze drifted to Charlene, who watched us from the inside of the booth.
“And you’re okay with this?” Penny said, once again looking at the man.
“Of course,” the man said. “It’s breaking news. The public needs to know.”
He withdrew again, closing the door.
“Have a seat,” Penny said to Winifred. Then she looked at Carlos and me. “There’s plenty of room if—”
“They will remain by the door,” Winifred said, moving to sit on the couch at an angle to Penny’s chair.
Behind me, the door opened. Two men came in to operate the cameras angled at Penny and Winifred. A woman came in and stood near some sort of panel. Carlos moved closer, positioning himself between me and the door. Penny patiently watched the booth.
I glanced that way, too, and saw a digital countdown in the window.
When it reached one, Penny turned to Winifred and started to speak.
“You’re coming forward with some astounding information I know our viewers won’t believe. A new species exists among us.”
“Not new,” Winifred said. “We are as old as humans. Here since the beginning.”
“And what are you?”
“The most popular term is werewolf.”
Disbelief and irritation wafted from the others in the room. I breathed both in and watched them closely. They continued to record, or whatever it was they were doing.
“You can’t expect us to believe something like that without proof.”
“Of course not,” Winifred said, standing. Penny stood, too.
“You might want to move back,” Winifred said.
After Penny withdrew two steps, fur sprouted on Winifred’s skin as she began to change forms. It wasn’t a burst like I’d seen during battle, but it wasn’t the slow shift into a paw either. We were on a schedule after all. If this were a live feed like Charlene meant it to be, we needed to reveal then peel out of there.
Winifred stayed upright long after her legs shortened and recurved. Her boobs shrank as her chest expanded, so when her shirt split open with a loud rip, there was nothing but fur to see. Her pants caught on her tail, but she shook the material free before everything fully formed. Her pearl necklace burst apart, sending the little beads everywhere.
As the panic and fear swelled in the room, I breathed it in. For just four people, there was quite a bit of it. My skin started to tingle.
Penny’s mouth had popped open at some point during the display. Seeing a hand was a bit different than seeing the whole thing.
Winifred dropped to all fours and stepped out of her shoes. She was completely transformed, now. I’d never seen a dog or wolf so big. She turned and padded to the bag she’d brought. The cameras followed her every move. She stuck her head into the bag and pulled out her white hotel robe. When she took a step toward Penny, Penny backed up.
“She wants to change back,” I said, off camera. “All she’s got now is her birthday suit.”