Beth Norman sat at her kitchen island, a cup of coffee in her hands, staring but seeing nothing, her feet tapping away. The weather mirrored her mood as it was pouring buckets. Her mind was in an emotional turmoil, her eyes red-rimmed and devoid of tears but her heart was weeping. She had caused an irreparable physical transformation to an innocent man, probably unknowingly caused several other deaths by the hands of the monster she created. She couldn't find peace, no matter how much she tried to think herself out of the situation. Nothing could ever be right with her again.She took a sip of her coffee and scowled. Cold coffee was the nastiest thing ever. With a laborious grunt she got up and shuffled to the sink where she poured the cupful of coffee away and poured another from the coffeepot. Before she could take a sip of the brew, someone knocked at her kitchen door. She scowled again and leaned against the fridge, closing her eyes and wishing the visitor would just go away.Anoth
Lauren was lying face up on a stretcher in Axel's living room, still in her pajamas, IVs and drips running to and from her. Her tiny body was pale and coated in a sheet of cold sweat. Her throat, or what was left of it, was heavily bandaged and soaked through with blood. Tiny, green branched veins showed through her papery eyelids, and the eyeballs underneath them were moving to and fro rapidly. Occasionally her limbs would jerk violently, and she would let out a whimper of pain.Beth watched the little girl from a safe five feet away, too scared to go too close. Gasps of tears escaped her lips as the girl thrashed and turned on the stretcher. Axel appeared behind her. He'd changed from his lab coat into a homely black sweater, and his blonde hair was up in a ponytail. He held a mug of something hot in his hands."Here, drink this," he murmured coaxingly "You'll feel better."She collected the mug from his hands without giving him so much as a glance and took a thirsty gulp. "Dr Makov
The little she-wolf continued to run into the woods, her sight blinded by bloodlust. Her vision was red, with black dots representing distinct objects, like the reddish-black coals of a dying fire. Run! A voice in her head screamed over and over again and she obeyed, racing as though trying to tear herself from her skin. The pain was intense and overwhelming, and all she could think of was the pain and flesh: delicious, intoxicating flesh. She reached a clearing in the woods and stopped, her little wolf heart racing unnaturally. She let loose a scary howl that could be heard from miles away, and staggered as though drunk, the pain wracking her bones. It bent her unyielding body until she was on the floor, whimpering in agony, her sight still tinged with red. Suddenly her head snapped up. She'd heard a sound. It could have been easily missed by a human but her wolf ears had picked it up. Her eyes adjusted and located the source of the sound: it was a massive moose, night-grazing an
The boy looked up at the tall, forbidding Russian facility, a cap and nose mask protecting his face from the howling wind. He sank his hands into the pocket of his leather jacket and walked forward, ignoring the two security guards at the front door. They approached him with their guns outstretched and pushed him back, their faces grim and rigid. "Who do you seek?" One, a bald muscular man growled. "Who's the boss around here?" The boy asked, staring defiantly at both of them. The security guards exchanged amused stares and shifted on their feet. "You want the boss around here?" The second guard asked, thrusting the head of his gun in the boy's chest "Trust me, you'd be better off not knowing who that is." His colleague chuckled and muttered something about puny teenagers. "I heard that." The boy said "And I'm not just a puny teenager. I'm more than that." "Oh, are you now?" The bald guard mocked, then pushed the boy forcefully "Get out of here, kid." The boy smirked and
"Yeah, yeah I know." Sixteen-year-old Lauren said, her phone lodged between her ear and her shoulder "Beth, I'll be back home before seven. It's just a date. Don't make my dinner. Yeah, love you too." She resolved and cut the call, shutting the door of her locker as she did so. She let out a whoosh of breath and laid her forehead on the cool metal of the locker, her dark brown hair shielding her face like a curtain. Tonight was the full moon, and she had to be home before her Change came. She remembered the first Change she had in this new town, four years ago, like it happened yesterday. Beth had locked her up in the attic and made her wait it out. She'd had to stand naked and face the milky moonlight until it happened. Hot currents of pain had ricocheted up and down her limbs, stretching them as far as they could go. Her real canines had fallen out, and new, longer, sharper ones had taken their place. She remembered screaming Beth's name in terror over and over again till she'd los
Lauren hopped down from the bathroom window on the first floor and landed on her feet, unscathed. She crouched and waited in the bushes, hoping no one saw her make that brave leap. Slowly she counted to twenty, stood and walked slowly out of the bushes. She made her way to the parking lot where her bicycle was parked, unchained it and tore out of the parking lot. She could feel her phone vibrating in the pocket of her hoodie but she ignored it. Her thoughts were with the caged werewolf at the station and how she could free it. In a matter of minutes she arrived at the station and saw a group of policemen gathered at the entrance, sipping coffee from mugs and talking. She approached them with what she thought was an innocent school-girl expression and cleared her throat. "Yes, miss?" A dark-skinned one asked. "Good morning, officers. I heard a wolf was captured last night? I was wondering if I could be allowed to take a look at it." The dark-skinned policeman looked at his co
Axel watched as Beth paced the kitchenette of her house, barely minding the cup of brew in her hands as its content spilled with every pace. Her bathrobe swished as it scraped the floor, her reddish hair cascading down her back like a fiery waterfall. At intervals she would roll her eyes and mutter murderously. "Stop it." He said "You're driving me nuts." She let out a groan and slammed the cup on the kitchen island. "No. Lauren is driving both of us nuts!" "Not me." Axel quipped. "I am perfectly calm. And I think you should take a break." He added. "Besides, what if she's just out with friends, doing normal human stuff? She's a teenager, you know. Try to calm down." Beth gritted her teeth, her hair like strands of flames "I am calm. This is me being calm." Axel smiled to himself as he watched her resume her pacing. He couldn't help but admit—to himself of course—that Beth was one attractive woman when she got all worked up like this. He remembered four years ago when he'd c
Lauren woke suddenly to the loud snores of someone else in the cabin. She groaned and turned, but her movements were restricted by the sleeping bag she was in. The sleeping bag itself was in near tatters, long tears running up and down the body. She rubbed her eyes and rolled out of the sleeping bag. The corners of her vision was blood-red and blurry, like her memories of the previous night. She turned around, looking for the other werewolf, and found him lying on the other end of the cabin, half out of his sleeping bag and snoring thoroughly, his arms flinged every which way. She groaned again and shuffled to the door, opened it and went outside. The morning was full of floating mist and the croaks of frogs, the trees whispering as the soft breeze went through their branches. She breathed in and closed her eyes, letting the breeze caress her, washing away the lingering soreness from the full moon. Last night had been thoroughly eventful. After her fight with Beth she had barely ma