Page 12 of Wild Claim

Time stretched on.

All the while, my eyes never left her.

The ladder shifted again, more violently this time, and my worldslowedto a crawl. Her body arched backwards, arms flailing to grasp the roof, the air, anything that could save her.

A scream tore from her lips as gravity took hold.

I didn’t think. Couldn’t. There was no time for thought. Instincts older than my curse, older than my human doubts, roared to life within me.Protect. The command echoed through my mind with primal force. A burst of forgotten magic flared within me. A spark that grew into a raging inferno.

For her, I seized it with every ounce of my being.

Agony lanced through me. Bones stretched and contorted. Sinew and muscle wove themselves into new patterns. Feathers burst from my skin like hot shrapnel, then dissolved into taut flesh.

The chilly morning air bit into my human skin with a thousand tiny teeth, shocking me into full awareness. I saw her falling, her eyes wide with terror, her mouth frozen in a silent scream. With a burst of speed, I lunged to the spot where she would land, arms outstretched. Her body collided with mine, the force knocking us both to the ground. I rolled, taking the brunt of the impact, and held her tight until we skidded to a halt on the frost-hardened earth.

Silence enveloped us, broken only by the ragged sound of our breathing. I felt the thudding cadence of her heart against my chest. The warmth of her body seeped into me. Damn it. Holding her felt right. But even that was a distant thing, overshadowed by the sheer relief that she was unhurt.

Mina stirred, and I loosened my grip just enough for her to look up. Her eyes held a dazed look. She took in my face, my rough beard, and the rest of me in one glance. “Who are you?” she breathed.

This was the moment of truth. The point of no return. “Howdy,” I said, my voice rough as gravel.

Her gaze flickered with confusion, then settled into something more guarded. She didn’t recognize me, of course, not in this form. Why would she? It had been years since anyone had seen me as a man.

Slowly, Mina removed herself from my arms and stood on her own. She seemed to play out different scenarios in her head. I could be a wanderer, a farm worker, or perhaps a distant neighbor. But never the turkey who’d shadowed her every move these past days.

“Thank you,” she said, warily. “I didn’t see you... where did you even come from?”

I grunted, pushing myself to a sitting position. My body ached like hell. Going to feel that tomorrow. The magic still buzzed under my skin, leaving me jittery. “Just passing through,” I said, scrambling for a story that would make sense to her. “Heard the scream and ran over. Good thing too, or you’d be a pancake right about now.”

Shit. Real smooth, genius. But my brain struggled to piece together a halfway believable story that didn’t involve, “Hey, I’m that feral turkey you’ve been talking to.”

Mina brushed dirt from her elbows and palms, her eyes never leaving mine. Suspicion laced her features, but she wasn’t the type to take someone’s help for granted, even if it came from an unexpected source.

The chill from the ground jolted me back to reality. I glanced down, and reality hit me like a truck.Well, hell. Naked as the day I was born. “Uh, hate to ask, but you wouldn’t have a spare pair of men’s jeans lying around... Or a huge sock?”

Mina gasped, her hand flying to her mouth as she took a step back. The color rushed to her cheeks when she realized what had been in front of her the whole time. “Oh!” She turned away quickly, then glanced back over her shoulder despite herself. “In the barn. There’s... there’s a blanket in the loft.”

I started towards the barn, trying to act like it was normal to be buck naked in freezing weather. The weight of my new situation pressed down on me with every step I took. Somehow, I’d broken free from that damn turkey curse, at least for now. Why? Hell, if I knew. But one thing was certain: I wasn’t willing to go back to being poultry.

At the barn door, I paused and looked back at Mina. She held the ladder, her body tense as if deciding whether to climb back up or call it a day. “You shouldn’t try it again,” I called out. “It’s too dangerous.”

She met my gaze, and for a moment I thought she might argue, might tell me to mind my own business. But then she sighed and nodded. “You’re right. I’ll call someone for help.”

“Good girl.”

Mina’s eyes widened, and she clamped a hand over her mouth, stifling what I assumed was a gasp. I couldn’t help but smirk at her reaction.

Shaking my head, I headed for the barn. The familiar scents of hay and livestock hit me as I entered. It was surreal seeing this place with human eyes again. I climbed to the loft, muscles protesting the unfamiliar movement. There, draped over a bale, was the promised blanket. It wasn’t exactly king-sized, but it’d have to do. I wrapped it around my waist, tying it off with a knot that I hoped would hold.

For a moment, I stood there, taking stock. Hands, feet, a grizzled face that wasn’t all beak. Damn, it felt good to be human again.

Climbing down from the loft, memories came flooding back to me. Winters spent chopping firewood till my hands blistered. Springs mending endless stretches of fence. Summers harvesting under a merciless sun. All the shit I’d signed up for to get away from city life. Now, watching Mina struggle with this place solo... it didn’t sit right.

I stepped out of the barn, adjusting the blanket on my frame. Mina was coiling the rope at the base of the ladder. She looked tired. More than just physically worn out from her near fall.

“You alright?” I called out, immediately regretting how gruff I sounded.

She glanced up, startled. “Yeah, I’m... I’m fine. Thanks again for... you know.”

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