Chapter One: Deformity

The dim light cascading through the small living room entrance to the apartment, natural and ghostly white beaming from a partial full moon, became camouflaged by the sudden yellowish bright glow of the room’s tall lamp-stand flipped on instantly as Aiden Pole and his blind date, Vivian, stumbled inside, laughing in a drunken stupor. In reality, Aiden was only buzzed, the taste of alcohol; mostly all kinds of beers, never really fueled his desires to get wasted. His date, on the other hand, had just recently downed her seventh shot of tequila before exiting the local bar two blocks from Aiden’s apartment complex, saving the trouble of driving where it wasn’t needed. The man-made light vibrantly showed their blushing skin as Vivian tripped over a lilac quilted rug between Aiden’s cheap faux-wooden coffee table and newly-refurbished cream couch, Aiden catching her quickly in his arms as the two gazed into each other’s eyes for a brief moment before bursting into further laughter.

“Boy, am I clumsy,” Vivian cried, the mixture of booze and her own ditzy personality making her voice more obnoxious than ever, even causing Aiden’s ears to tug in pain.

“I think it’s just the tequila, Viv,” Aiden replied, grinning as he stood Vivian back on her feet.

She stumbled forward once more, pressing against Aiden’s body. They stood quietly looking over each other bashfully, though Aiden could sense her second trip was intentional. Despite the strong odor of alcohol wafting against his face with each exhale she took, there was another smell he had been noticing ever since they started walking back to his place, something that helped replace the lingering embarrassment of being around this weird woman with excitement…sexual excitement. It shouldn’t be possible for someone to smell anything that resembled pheromones; only certain animals produced scents like that being easily detectable by other animals. That didn’t mean he didn’t recognize the difference between being dirty or clean and being aroused; his own member normally emanating something similar while in the middle of pleasuring himself at times.

Then again, sometimes Aiden forgets he's not really normal. And thinking about stuff like this was reminding him of his “deformity” that could wind up hurting his chance at making out with Vivian, let alone freaking her out or being mocked. Only with the light moan from her lips and her arms slowly wrapping around his shoulders sensually did Aiden’s confidence and chances renew, smiling back as the two waited another moment before locking lips.

Steady passionate kissing grew wilder, pursued first by Vivian showing her craving for rougher oral stimulation, as the two began to mindless walk about the room, heading for Aiden’s bedroom, eventually finding the entrance and collapsing onto his bed without turning on the lights. Their make out session in the dark became more intense as Vivian hastily removed her jacket and blouse, a silky light green bra all that stood in Aiden’s path from groping plump mounds and tasting the flavor of her teats. She helped him with pulling off his overshirt and plain grey t-shirt as he repaid the favor by helping Vivian out of her denim mini-skirt, now leaving just the bra and matching panties before her milky smooth skin was opened to him for the taking. Vivian’s hands fiddled with his jeans…

That was when Aiden grabbed the wrists of her hands, sighing heavily from exhausting breath. “Wait,” Aiden muttered through his sigh, looking to the side before continuing, “I don’t know if we should be doing this.”

“What’s the matter, baby?” Vivian asked, her voice a tad slurred from the amount of tequila still swimming in her system. “I know you’ve been imagining this moment all night. I’ve been seeing it in your eyes. Don’t you want to do me?” She ended her question in an innocent whimper, mimicking puppy dog eyes.

“No, I do…I mean I would…you definitely are very pretty.”

That’s about all you've got going for you, Aiden harshly thought, knowing full well Vivian was not going to be the one he would marry someday.

“Good,” Vivian nodded, sliding a hand around the back of Aiden’s head, pulling him gently towards her. “So why are you holding out?”

Aiden didn’t answer immediately, looking for the right words to explain himself without going into the true reason, fear plaguing his confidence. “Well, I mean…I don’t think this would be right tonight. You’re pretty hammered, and I don’t want you to get the wrong impression I like taking advantage of women who are drunk.”

Vivian suddenly bellowed a hearty laugh, almost like a mighty female Viking.

“Oh, baby,” Vivian softly recomposed, brushing the back of Aiden’s hair tenderly. “You are way too innocent. But that’s sort of cute. Only makes me want you more.”

Her fingers scratching and petting his hair made Aiden shudder secretly without Vivian noticing, his voice wanting to murmur something he knew was inhuman; his chest swelling uncomfortably trying to repress it and felt that too was wrong. His suppression method began to slip in another form, unaware for a brief moment that his tongue had lolled out of his mouth, panting happily.

“Ah, see?” Vivian giggled, scratching vigorously around the sides, as if scratching between the ears of a dog. “I’m corrupting you already.”

Aiden looked back down over his current hormonally driven flame, still panting as he began to admire Vivian’s tenacity. The worry his mind alerted him to moments ago suddenly vanished as he shared her eagerness to fornicate right here, right now, a faint animalistic whisper sounding in his ears and head confirming the belief he would show this bitch how it was done, to make her truly feel the meaning of intense pleasure.

No…please stay back. Don’t show yourself tonight, please.

Before Aiden could react and shake off this cursed primal sensation surfacing, Vivian pushed up to his knees and resumed undoing his jeans, giving the waistline a fierce pull down. Aiden’s animal confidence vanished instantly as the fear struck back, seeing Vivian looking shockingly surprised and baffled.

“Holy…what the hell is this?”

Aiden’s hands scrambled to hide his manhood, fully embarrassed and panicky as he crawled away off the edge of his bed, turning away as he took a few steps towards the bedroom door.

“W-wait, Aiden?” Vivian shouted, stopping him in his tracks but still shaking from dread from whatever further grotesque reaction she was about to divulge.

“Vivian, I…I didn’t…I…” Aiden wasn’t able to find any words now, knowing this night just turned south and that any chance of scoring with her tonight was over. Worse yet, who knows what kind of stories Vivian was lining up on the fly to tell her friends, people who could eventually spread the word and make him a laughing stock of the human world. In the end, his mind went completely blank and the only answer he could give her was a heavy sigh and a lowered head.

“Hey, it’s ok,” Vivian cooed, crawling to the edge on her hands and knees, Aiden not yet noticing the dazed but sweetly timid expression she was giving him. “Honestly, I have to admit you've got a pretty big cock. But…why is it so weird looking? And why is it stuck to your stomach?”

Aiden’s fears once again evaporated, if only by a little, from the bland but helpful comment to his self-esteem. His stomach still churned anxiously, taking a breath and calming his nerves before he could attempt to explain his deformity.

“I really don’t know why it’s like this,” Aiden said, turning cautiously back around to face Vivian face to face. “I only know two things about it and that’s all.”

“And…” Vivian pushed, her eyes studying through his covering hands.

“Well,” Aiden started, looking up to the ceiling and exhaling wearily before he looked back to Vivian and continued, parting his hands away, resting them upon his thighs. “…all I know is that I was apparently born like this. It’s not something that comes from my parents...my adoptive parents anyways, and as far as I know, I’m certain my parents weren’t wolves.”

You sure about that, Aiden?

Vivian nodded in goofy fascination, still looking observantly at Aiden’s canine-like phallus. “And how do you know it's wolf, not a dog?”

Aiden paused before answering, his lips opened and quietly squeaking as he tried to form the right words once more. Ever since the time of his teens, when he grew to become curious in women, along with sneaking into adult comedies or dramas now and then, he finally began to realize how absurd his own manhood looked. Coming out of Biology in school furthered his confusion after a semester’s course went into the anatomy and behavior of animals, eventually discovering that his own piece of anatomy matched that of a wolf. The truth was, however, for the longest time he already knew it. That little voice whispering…no, howling in his head occasionally confirmed it.

“I just know, ok?” Aiden finally answered, his stern tone chilling the room and making Vivian flinch, looking surprised and mildly frightened with her lips shaped in an O. After a brief silence though, Vivian began to swing her legs out in front over the edge, sitting up straight as she whipped her hair gently, grinning.

“Well, it’s not the worst thing I ever saw,” Vivian remarked, a hint of awkward giddiness sounding in her chuckle. “At least it’s not like a tiny thing now, right. Guess it would be a new experience for me to be fucked by a dog, I mean…a wolf.”

Though her comment didn’t help Aiden’s self-esteem personally, the lustful flame that had been extinguished from the stunned discovering rekindled brightly within himself, looking back with a ‘wolfish’ grin as he gazed amusingly at Vivian’s heaving chest and twiddling of her fingers against the middle of her panties. His jeans having been laying over his ankles this entire time, he stepped out of them and kicked them aside as he approached Vivian with carnal ambition, running his hands under her arms, feeling the delectable curves of her sides. His member began to stir madly, sensing burning and radiant bodies yearning to mesh and grope, hips magnetically seeking to hook and penetrate that loose but youthful sex.

“That’s a good boy,” Vivian friendly mocked, leaning back slightly with her neck tilted as Aiden resumed kissing, his lips and tongue tasting the flesh of her neck and shoulders. Vivian moaned delightfully as she took him in her arms, pulling Aiden close enough that their bodies grinded, legs crossing behind his back as she tugged him onto his bed, toppling on top of her. Vivian began to laugh again but was cut off quickly by Aiden’s relentless kissing, finding it amusing at how he took to behaving more like an animal in foreplay with his exchanges of amorous kissing and affectionate licking. “That’s it, wolf boy. Let that beast out. Go wild.”

Aiden’s lustful mind seemed to take her invitation to heart, wasting no time in finding her sacred, though worn, temple, thrusting cautiously at first until he picked up a steady and quick rhythm. To Vivian, they seemed rather fast and sloppy, yet she couldn’t deny how each penetration was deep and profound, tensing up sooner than expected in orgasmic bliss, her body burning bright red and her voice raising in pleasurable cries. Her eyes began to shut tight from the intensity of Aiden’s forceful humping, the visuals around her becoming too much to bear with all the stimulation to her sex affecting her. Half-open eyes could see the familiar panting Aiden displayed early, but she was sure the 6peeking6 sensation and the lasting booze was making her see things, believing Aiden’s nose was getting darker and more dog-like. Even his teeth seemed longer than normal, as if he had grown fangs. She ignored this, believing she was imaging things, having too much of a good time being fucked to notice other possible illusions spreading over her newest lover.

That is, until she felt his fingers tighten over her shoulders, feeling a sharp poke against her precious milky skin.

“Ow, watch it, baby,” She said, opening her eyes finally to see the most shocking thing ever in her life. The person on top of her humping her madly for gratification…it didn’t look like a human anymore, not as much. Instead, Vivian gazed horrified at an abnormally animal-like creature that bared little resemblance to the man she willingly agreed to a date and planned to have sexed by. It was creature of human flesh and physique, but the face was twisted and deformed, shaped in the appearance of something close to a real dog.

Or a wolf.

“Oh God, get off me!” Vivian shouted, shoving the creature away but finding it hard to do so. She realized the creature’s penis remained firmly attached to her vagina, not even the release of tension to her sex making it less likely it would be easily removed. The creature itself seemed to take offense to her behavior, snarling furiously as it pinned her shoulders to the bed, continuing to pump into her without much of a care.

“No, please stop! Stop!”

The creature suddenly froze, its body having arched back and head gazing up at the ceiling. When it looked back to down to her, it did so confusingly and nervously, its eyes expressing how frightened it had become.

“Vivian? What’s wrong?”

Vivian gasped and began to shudder in a cold sweat, replacing the ones from her intercourse. Now she really thought she was losing her mind. Did this monster just sound like…

“Aiden?” She exclaimed under exhaling breath. “Is that you?”

Aiden himself questioned her response for a moment, dumbfounded at her reaction and awe-struck stare. “What do you mean is it…” He stopped suddenly as he realized why Vivian had gone into such a shock, feeling the weight and shape of his face from the way his mouth opened and closed. He quickly brought his hands to his face, wincing from slapping, having not expected to touch his own mouth so soon. He rubbed around the bridge of his nose and gasped his own surprise, discovering the bridge had extended outward along with his upper lip and jaw, imagining in his mind the form of a short animal muzzle upon his head.

“Get off of me,” Vivian shouted, rocking frantically for freedom, the two of them still locked.

“What…what is this?” Aiden cried, suddenly feeling the abnormal way his ears twitched and pulled above his head. Bringing his hands to where his ears use to be, he traced the cartilage up to the tops, realizing his ears were now pointed and longer, erect in similar surprise. “What’s happening to me?”

“I said get off me!” Vivian screamed, pushing Aiden once more with all her strength, the force enough to finally release their sexes and toppling Aiden onto the floor. Freed, Vivian grabbed her clothes she had tossed on the other end of the bed, hastily putting them on as she made a beeline for the doorway and the living room. Aiden got to his hands and knees, almost finding it painful to leave this position until he willed himself to sit on his knees, darting his gaze towards Vivian reaching for the knob of his apartment door.

“Wait! Vivian! Don’t go, please!”

Vivian turned with a sneer, having trouble facing him directly. “I knew you were strange, Aiden, but I never thought you were this strange.”

“Please don’t leave me like this,” Aiden pleaded, reaching out to her pathetically with an outstretched clawed-tipped hand. “I swear I don’t know what’s happening to me. Please don’t leave.”

Vivian scoffed in disgust, scanning her eyes at one part of her shoulders as she felt wet blood moisten under her blouse. “Jesus Christ. You know if you turned me into a werewolf, I’m going to rip your throat out with my own damn claws, you fucking dog.”

“No! Vivian?” Aiden tried to call her back once more but lost his voice as she walked out furiously, slamming the door behind her.

The apartment grew still and cold, though Aiden’s body continued to burn, not from arousal but from whatever unknown surge of energy had caused the transformation of his face and other parts of his body. Soft whimpering, much like that of an animal, began to squeal from his mouth, staring down at his front door sorrowfully. His world had just come crashing down on him in five minutes flat. Now, not only did Vivian seem to hate his guts, but who knew what kind of story she would be boasting on about now. Hell, what if she is going to the police to have him arrested for attempted rape and being a monster? Then again, she was still inebriated. If she did go to the police, there was a good chance they wouldn’t believe her. One whiff of her breath and they would only send her home with an escort to make sure she didn’t pass out over a ditch in the street.

Drunk or not, the monster part seemed true. Clamoring to his feet, staggering slightly from the unusual way his feet wanted to stand on his toes instead of heel down, he made his way to his vanity mirror across the left side of his room hanging over his dresser. Knocking away some dirty clothes and material objects, Aiden took a long and hard stare in the mirror’s reflection, baffled at what really was there. His body appeared mostly normal, with the exception of his hands; fingers swollen at the tips and palms stretched by half an inch longer, fingernails torn away some time ago with blackened boney claws. Looking down briefly, he finally discovered why his standing posture was so different, his feet having been elongated and toes fattened and proportionate with a missing digit on each, nails also replaced with curvy talon-like claws; his feet now the distinct form of lupine-like hindpaws. Turning his hips and back to the mirror with his eyes still gazing, his mouth became agape at the sight of a thin and short fleshy tail twitching above his rear, curling back in response of his desire for a better look at the appendage. But it was his face that had changed radically; his ears had truly grown out into wolfish points and shapes, sporting a short canine-like muzzle, his nose darkened, leathery, and moist to the touch, upper lip parted at the middle, and teeth sharpened with his canines lengthened in the form of fangs. His own body shook with a chill as he gazed into the eyes of the monster in his reflection, glowing a haunting amber-yellow with the whites blackened out.

“Is this really me?” Aiden questioned, running his trembling clawed fingers over his animal-defined cheeks.

Let out the beast in you. Go wild!

Vivian’s earlier invitation echoed in his mind; only her voice had switched with that unknown hidden whisper, hearing it growl delightfully. Without being fully consciously aware, Aiden suddenly began to repeat the whisper’s actions, growling softly while displaying bared fangs in front of the mirror, brow tensed and wolf ears folded back behind him as he leaned aggressively over his dresser. His claws began to dig into the wood, his growl growing deeper as his upper body hunched, letting out a wolfish roar as the vertebra down his spine began to crack and pop. With it, his small tail began to pull out longer, thickening and shaping into a more realistic tail suitable for a wolf. He could feel the bones and muscles of his face beginning to build pressure, seeking release by pushing out longer…to become a real lupine muzzle.

Aiden pressed his palms against his temples, shaking his head violently to make these animalistic tendencies stop. His voice wanted to mutter audible resistances, but this inner beast climbing out the deepest part of his soul only fought harder. Eventually, Aiden started giving in, unwillingly, to the animal’s urges, letting out a lengthy howl to the ceiling, calling out to the sky in the beast’s victory. His mind became flooded with simple yet primal wants and needs of this moment, lurching away from the mirror and dresser, stammering steps heading towards the living room. Despite his earlier attempt to fight these urges, Aiden was beginning to crave satisfying these desires himself, wanting to escape his cramped den for the openness of the woods just half a mile from here, wanting to hunt to relieve a raising hunger creeping over his stomach and the anger sustained from Vivian’s rejection and disgust. His loins also continued to ache for gratification, yearning to find a bitch to mate with to have his pent up lust slaked.

Aiden lost conscious momentarily lost in those thoughts, finding himself outside his apartment now, looking side to side for any onlookers or sign of trouble. He then looked up to the sky, gazing up a partial but nearly full moon looking down upon him with awe, bathing Aiden in its pale light. His tongue escaped him as he panted, exhilarated in the moon’s watchful presence, howling once more in respect. His conscious suffers again as he now finds himself at the outskirts edge, looking back once and hastily behind, realizing he was at the end of the town park, growling uncaringly at putting the human city in his metaphorical rearview mirror as he lunged into the woods, racing off to find his first meal…and possibly a ready shewolf to finish the job that despicable human female had started.

Chapter Two: Embarrassment

Warm euphoria blanketed the back of Aiden’s shoulders and legs, sighing pleasantly as his eyes fluttered open. Blends of greens and browns were all his eyes could see, annoyed by being bombarded by even the dimmest light that he kept them shut a little longer, cautiously opening his eyes little by little to adjust. While doing so, Aiden brought himself up to crossed legs, stretching out his arms and hands, the rays of heat covering his backside now upon his chest and face. The warmth and stretch was wonderful, Aiden instantly smiling as he dropped forward and repositioned his legs behind, stretching his entire body out on hands and knees. This posture also felt good, more appropriate than normally standing on his feet. It felt more…animal.

His sight adjusted; eyes staring ahead and then blinking in surprise as Aiden finally realized where he was. Nothing but short and long grass; dark brown loose and rocky earth, a scattered array of trees grown all around him, seemingly blocking the sky if not for an empty path ahead of him where the sun was rising. This was the woods deep beyond the borders of town, probably a mile away from where one end connected and crossed into the town park so close to his apartment. Eyes began to water and tremble in shock, body tensing stunningly as a small gust of morning gale revealed no clothes worn over his naked body.

“No way,” Aiden muttered quietly, shaking off the alien desire to stay on all fours and climbed back up to his feet. It was an awful lot to take in, most people normally not having to deal with waking up in the middle of the woods. The light chilly breeze freezing his naked body and the discomfort of jagged and uneven ground under his feet elicited some need for panic. It wasn’t the trying to get home and warm that bothered him the most, more likely the fear of embarrassment of getting caught by passing pedestrians or motorist and his streaking journey getting told around, like a folk song. But what really had Aiden reeling was the reason he was even out amongst the trees.

Did all that really happen last night?

One palm pressed against his forhead as his head hung down against his chest, Aiden’s mind began to recollect most of the events from last night, the terror and abnormal pleasure he felt from what had happened to his own body and mind. The night was supposed to have been his moment of truly becoming a man, to walk along those that had tasted adulthood, albeit in the form of sex. But, it would have been enough to finally feel satisfied in being called a man as he was a virgin.

It was kind of hard to have confidence in making out with the other sex with the knowledge of a particular deformity hanging over his head, and the unknown reactions and fears that would come with it.

Aiden didn’t have a real clue why he thought Vivian was supposed to be the one he would lose his virginity to. Their hook-up was a mere accident, thanks to his friend, Gary, playing matchmaker without Aiden’s permission. In most cases, he would have fought about things like these, not liking to be told how you should or what you shouldn't do, that he had a right to choose how to live his life instead of being a copy of generic horny and drunk lunatics that saw little value in manners. Aiden knew he sometimes felt ridiculous playing an innocent goody-goody all the time, but he grew up being taught to be better than most others and to live his own life. His self-made path, though, paved a rare occasion to experience the carnal bliss of making love to a woman, as he tried to keep his malformed manhood a secret as long as he could.

Lately, ever since he turned 21, his views had steady changed. Having been a goody-two-shoes for so long, he never acquired any baser urges, sex being the last thing on his mind. On his first night in his new age, though, his thoughts suddenly became plagued with them. It was like his lusty hormones had been dammed up most of his life, accumulating every stimulating thought and transmission every time Aiden brushed the notion aside and moved on. He hadn’t done anything different on his birthday to exasperate the dam, unless it just finally gave from the overbearing weight. Whatever happened, Aiden had been overcome with a rush of heat and a stiff erection, his animal phallus rubbing against his stomach, adding to the tension. In a hormonal stupor, Aiden went to business quickly, discovering the bliss of sexual gratification and achieving three separate orgasms in the course of one night, regrets occurring the next morning as some of the places in his room he decided to finish in had to be cleaned. An embarrassing morning for him, indeed…but satisfying none the less.

Having tasted sex, and driven by it as of late, Aiden allowed the hookup to happen, looking past the obvious faults Vivian expressed through her mannerisms and quirks, suggestively told through her body language that she didn’t seem to mind him taking her to his bed and “pounding the pillow.” This all happened in two days, last night meant to be the night Aiden and Vivian were to make love and enjoy real sex with a partner, not alone. His spirits and hopes had risen magnificently after Vivian expressed her eagerness for being plowed “by a wolf.”

He hadn’t accounted on actually turning into one.

His memories recalled Vivian pointing out his physical changes, later standing on digitigrades in front of his vanity mirror to confirm it, Aiden broke from his thoughts and hastily scanned himself, looking over his hands and feet and feeling around his face. They were all normal, all human, with the abysmal exception to his manhood. Aiden raised his head high and let out a relieving sigh, eyes widening back open and body tense once more.

Did that really happen to me? Was I turning into a…a wolf?

Nothing like this had ever happened to him before. It was always weird that he was born the way he was below, but there had never been any real signs of an animal hidden deep within him. He had never been bitten by a giant wolf creature or rabid wolf, nor did he recall ever encountering any pissed-off or sinister witches or gypsies cursing him to become one. It hadn’t even been a full moon last night, four days away still. The idea that he had truly experienced turning into a werewolf, recalling the urges and thoughts it had…he had while escaping from his apartment complex, was just absurd and baffling.

But it did happen. It wasn’t some kind of nightmare. Maybe Aiden had known something lurked inside him all along and didn’t want to believe it. The faint whispers that had surfaced since the night of his 21st birthday, the ones that had egged him on to seek sexual pleasure by any means; could they been the voice of the animal, the wolf? Last night, during the provoking and in mid-coitus, those whispers had gotten louder and Aiden now detected a wolfish tone in its voice, even animal calls and cries mixed within. His inner wolf had sought sex and by finally complying, Aiden had managed to crack the lock keeping the beast in its cage. The wolf had gotten a taste of freedom.

And Vivian knows about it, probably having told her friends or even the cops by now. Hopefully, she spilled the fact she was wasted last night too, compromising her story. Aiden felt sorry for what he had put her through, but was less sympathetic to how she was going to move on. Her mannerisms and advances had given him the impression that Vivian was a born slut, getting what she needed from one guy and, once bored, moving on to the next. A sly grin pulled across his face thinking about it, amused at how timid and paranoid Vivian would be the rest of her life with another man, never knowing if her next fuck-buddy was another wolf.

I’m only sorry we never finished what we started. I’m certain if she had more guts and imagination the bitch would have enjoyed it, and then beg for more.

A light chuckle left his lips, followed by an excited round of panting. His amusement faded the moment he realized how awful that sounded in his head. What was most troubling was whether that was his inner wolf talking or Aiden himself.

Another brush of cold wind brought Aiden out of his contemplation, skin crawling with goosebumps as he began to figure out a way of getting back home without getting caught in public nude. The only problem was he literary had no idea exactly where in the woods he was, not even the fragmented memories roaming around as a wolf beast helped shed any clues. His hope was ebbing away as Aiden attempted to take a few steps to the left, and then to the right, until he paused and groaned.

This is crazy! Aiden thought, pressing one hand against his temples, the other covering his manhood. I don’t remember what direction I took off in last night. I’ve never been out here once. How am I suppose to know which way is…*sniff sniff* …Hey! Is that ground beef and flour I smell?

Drawn to the smell of Mexican delectables, Aiden began to walk dazedly towards the scent, tongue lolled in anticipation as his walk shifted into a steady run, the unevenness of the earth under his feet not much of concern. The smell got stronger after a few minutes of running, pausing ever so often to sniff the air frantically for the source of the cooked meal. Taking refuge behind a thick tree trunk, Aiden rested forward against it, peering deeply ahead with primal fascination, the smell having instigated a common hunger, but one that had grown maddening. Huffs and grunts began to change to rapid consecutive soft barks, subconscious to the fact that his inner wolf was starting to surface again.

And a part of him seemed to welcome it.

The bark of the tree Aiden grasped around began to crack with a scrapping sound, nails feeling sharper than before digging in reaction to rising tension building up inside. His face and spine started to twitch and swell, pressure building as tugging ears listened to audible pops sounding. He could feel it, his face trying to push out into that short lupine muzzle; his spine lengthening and feeling the small short stub of his animal tail growing. And the more it tried to come out and change him, the more he liked it, accepting it.

It’s what you are, the whispers spoke in his head again, returning more vivid and clear than ever before. Let out the beast. Go Wild! You’re a wolf, after all.

His head cocked back high, the strain forming over his body intensifying as he succumbed further to his inner wolf’s wishes. His voice wanted to let out a triumphant howl, to express his willingness to be possessed and transformed, to see how much more wolf he could become.

“I’ll take a Carne Asada Burrito, please.”

Rational senses jumped back into Aiden the moment he recognized that voice, despite still being too far to see where the source of food was coming from. But it was close, and the owner of that voice may be his only chance in surviving humiliation from the world…though it was going to be hard explaining how he had gotten lost and nude in the woods. Shaking off the animal thoughts and behaviors, Aiden resumed his dash towards the smell, praying Gary, his friend and owner of that voice, would still be there.

The land began to slope steeply until he nearly stumbled down to the edge of the woods, spotting a beat-up street. Examining further, Aiden realized he was near the road that linked down to his high school. A passing car stole his attention, shrugging closer behind his tree to keep from being noticed, looking out once more to finally discover the source of all that delicious ground beef and chicken wrapped between toasted tortillas. One of the three wandering Mexican food buses that circle around town had made a morning stop near the school, looking to snag any early-bird customers from hiking, school-bound teenagers. Walking into view behind the back of the bus was Gary, chowing-down on his breakfast burrito, boasting a smug look over his face.

Aiden was about to call out to him, and then drew back instantly. Shouting out to Gary would draw attention to any passer-bys and increase the chances he would get spotted. But there wasn’t much he could do from this distance without Gary walking towards him on the other end of the road, or without a cell phone handy. Aiden looked left and right, somewhat more assured of his chances of grabbing Gary’s attention with the absences of other pedestrians.

“Gary!” Aiden shouted.

Gary’s eyes widened as he looked around, at first not noticing where the voice came from, if that was even what he was looking for. Another cry made Gary do a double-take straight across the road, Aiden certain he finally snagged him, extending a bit out of his hiding place and waving to him. Gary looked stumped as he leaned his head forward to better see what he was seeing, checking both sides of the street before he walked across.

“Aiden? Is that you?”

A heavy sigh exhaled from Aiden’s lungs, the jitters still creeping over him as it was time to explain himself without losing his dignity. “Damn sure glad to see you around here, Gary.”

“Yeah, the same,” Gary chuckled nervously, unsure what was going on. “What are you doing in there? Taking a hike?”

“Um…something like that. Listen, Gary, I need you to help me out here. I’m in a bit of a mess.”

Gary’s head tilted slightly to a side, taking another bite of his burrito. “What do you mean? Did things go south with Vivian last night? How did you manage to fuck THAT up?”

Gary laughed heartily, Aiden growling under his breath a realistic animal growl.

“Kind of,” Aiden agreed softly and irritably. “But that’s not the problem right now. Do you have your car?”

Gary took another bite, pointing behind him down the opposite path to the high school, spotting his Honda parked along the curb. “You get tired or something?” Gary asked, food spitting from his mouth.

“Well, uh…” Aiden scratched the back of his head, a momentarily spark of primal elation swimming inside as it reminded him of Vivian scratching between his ears the other night. Shaking off the feeling, Aiden looked down and grew nervous, in disbelief he had to show his nudity for Gary to grasp the situation. Aiden stuck his right shoulder and leg out in view, looking away shamefully.

Gary looked twisted, not saying a word…until he blew up into laughter, the most side-splitting sensation he'd ever had. Aiden kept his face away, secretly baring his teeth and snarling silently in frustration.

“HOW IN THE WORLD DID YOU MANAGE THIS!?” Gary shouted, looking to collapse to his knees from the intense laughing.

Aiden shushed him, gesturing to knock it off and listen. Gary composed himself, wiping a tear from his eyes as he smiled slyly, still letting out mild snickering.

“Please, Gary. I’m having a bad day as it is. Can you just get your car and park over here so I can get in?”

“Sure,” Gary said, another round chuckling breaking through his weak attempt to resist. “But could you come out a bit more and say Cheese to the nice camera here?”

Before Gary could finish his joke with rummaging out his Smartphone, Aiden’s temper flared, snarling furiously. It got Gary to stop laughing on the spot, backing away as his own set of goose bumps crawled up his skin.

“Ok, ok. I’m getting the car.”

Aiden waited behind his tree, shaking off the wild sensation that had spontaneously escaped through his angry voice, as Gary ran to his car, started the engine, and made a reckless U-turn. Adrenaline already coursing in his veins from his snarl, Aiden made a dash to the car, neglecting morally to hide his shame, as all that mattered was getting from point A to point B. His fingers clenched under the lever of the car door, gripping and pulling back several time before he realized it wasn’t opening. He could hear Gary resuming his laughter inside the car as if he were outside. An oncoming vehicle was quickly approach from behind.

“GARY!” Aiden screamed, hearing the doors click soon after and jumping head first into the backseat.

“Sorry, man,” Gary apologized, covering his mouth to repress anymore of his laughter. “You've got to admit though, this is pretty funny from my end.”

Aiden felt his throat wanting to let out another beastly growl, teeth even thirsting for Gary’s neck. All he could do was shake his head violently some more, waving his arm between the front seats, telling Gary to start driving.

“Your place or my place?” Gary questioned.

“Your place for now, I guess. I need to borrow some clothes. I’m not going to try walking back to my apartment with the super looming around.”

“Ok, ok.”

* * * * *

A sudden bleakness grumbled inside Aiden’s stomach as he pulled one of Gary’s shirts over his head, feeling unusually sully and awkward. It wasn’t from wearing someone else’s stuff though. It felt more like disgust for even wearing clothes. Aiden figured this was what the inner animal of his was thinking, moaning as he forced his arms to pull down the shirt over his stomach, his animal cock attempting to peek out under the denim jean waistline. Luckily, Gary hadn’t mentioned anything about spying his loins, his personal secret still safe. Sighing, he looked out his friend’s bedroom window and, feeling a moment of reprieve from the late morning sunlight basking over this house’s trees, Aiden walked out of the room and headed downstairs.

“So, you going to explain what the heck you were doing out in the middle of the woods…naked?”

Gary was waiting for him downstairs in the living room, his head hung back behind his sofa with a wide grin. Sitting behind the sofa next to Gary’s legs was Sophie, Gary’s family dog; a female grey-coated white Husky. Her eyes looked up to Aiden with wide-eyed fascination, her tail wagging frantically as she let out a friendly bark greeting him. Something about the way she was looking at him began to bother Aiden.

“Quiet, girl,” Gary commanded Sophie. Sophie whined and bowed her head, a very well trained pet ever since Gary’s family adopted her from the local animal shelter five years ago. Gary looked down on her, Aiden telling that Gary was giving her the evil stare. Sophie whimpered some more as she brought her head on top of Gary’s lap, her mood brightening again as she received affectionate petting over her head and neck. “That a girl.”

Aiden walked around the sofa heading for the lone Lazy Boy chair to the left of it, hands crossed between twitching legs, showing his nervousness. Sophie looked back often, looking curiously at Aiden. That awkward feeling crawled up his stomach and into his throat as if about to hurl.

“So-o-o-o-o,” Gary joked, “your explanation, pa-lease!”

“You mean about Vivian first, right?”

Gary smiled and nodded. “I definitely would like to know what happened with that too, yes.”

“Well, nothing happened.” Aiden took a deep breath. “I mean, I guess something did happen. We were about to…you know. In fact we were, really. But…it just didn’t happen, not because I didn’t want it to.”

“Uh-huh,” Gary exclaimed, sensing doubt.

“Seriously, I thought I was doing quite well. But…something weird happened. Something very bizarre that scared the crap out of Vivian. I don’t think we will be seeing each other again anytime soon.”

“Are you kidding, man!?” Gary shouted in a soft uproar. “Just two nights ago, the two of you looked like you were going to be multiplying like bunnies. What exactly happened that ‘scared’ Vivian away?”

“I…uh…”

“Come on,” Gary pushed, “did you come to fast? Did you get into some strange groove she didn’t like? Did you get preachy all of a sudden?”

“No, I didn’t,” Aiden growled, that wolfish voice mixed through. Sophie noticed it, ears perked high and staring attentively towards him. “It was…fuck, you wouldn’t believe me. But it’s the same reason I ended up in the woods this morning. Something is seriously wrong with me.”

“What the heck are you talking about, dude?”

Aiden finally turned his head and took another breath of air to help him through. “Gary, I think…I think I might be a…a…were…wolf.”

Gary stayed silent with a gawky look over his face, chuckling less intensely than before but still amused. “A werewolf? You think you’re a werewolf?”

“Well,” Aiden continued, “I’m just as skeptical as you are. But something very weird did happen to me last night, something monstrous. And that is why Vivian stormed off. Strangely, she was more pissed off than she was scared shitless.”

“Wait,” Gary stopped him, slapping his right knee. “You can’t seriously think I would buy this? Come on, nobody just turns into a monster while having sex, at least not physically.”

“Look, I can’t explain it, all right. And I’m not fucking lying. I did turn into a wolf…well, partial from what I could remember. But I saw it; the muzzle grew from my face, my ears as pointed as Sophie’s, and claws punctured from my fingertips. I don’t know what’s happening to me. What if I hurt someone last night after I got out?”

“Did you see any blood on you this morning?” Gary pointed out. Aiden scanned himself with his eyes briefly, shaking his head. “Then I think your soul is safe, dude.”

Sophie left the comfort of Gary’s lap to offer her friendly affection to Aiden, sensing his confusion and depression. Aiden extended his hand out over the Husky’s back, petting fondly. Sophie became more excited, leaping her forepaws onto Aiden’s lap and licking his face happily. Aiden tried to shoo the pooch gently away, overwhelmed by the K-9’s tongue licking, but ended up taking it as he found a odd elation from it.

Something…beastly.

“Well, if you are a werewolf, Sophie must sense it,” Gary joked, snickering as he flipped the living room’s 42-inch LCD television set on. “Just don’t get too chummy now, eh?”

Aiden ignored that comment, momentarily unaware that he had begun to return the enigmatic, hyper Husky’s affectionate licking without Gary noticing.

“Uh oh!” Gary bellowed, distracting Aiden from his spurge of animal behavior with Sophie.

“What?”

“I think someone must have been on Franklin Street besides us, taking photos.”

Aiden raised an eyebrow to Gary’s comment until he looked at the TV screen, his mouth agape. There was a news report on and the headline displayed behind the anchorman said “Wolf Man Spotted.” Under it was a picture of something blurry between the gaps of two trees. It looked like a nude person racing between them.

“Oh God,” Aiden cried, shoving Sophie off his lap and stepping closer to the television screen. The Anchorman was discussing how one of the townsfolk had spotted someone naked roaming the woods on the outskirts of town this morning, a hiker camping out. He happened to have a high-megapixel quality camera with him. Aiden’s color drained as he dropped to his knees, whimpering, as Sophie rushed to his side, sitting next to him.

“Wait, wait,” Gary exclaimed, “listen. I think they’re talking about someone else.”

Before Aiden could possibly imagine how there could be another lunatic believing to be a werewolf roaming the woods nude besides him, the anchorman confirmed Gary’s words. The hiker a reporter had talked to had described the person as a woman, not a man, somewhat thin but fit with silver, shimmering hair grown down behind her shoulders. The hiker said he had gotten pretty close to see her clearly before she realized she was being watched. He said she suddenly growled and bared her teeth, the hiker believing she had real fangs and that her eyes started to glow yellow and feral. The photo was the only shot he got of her before she disappeared into the woods.

“Huh,” Gary said, arms crossed in disbelief. “Guess you’re not the only werewolf around.”

Aiden barely heard Gary’s words, ears concentrating for anymore said about the wolf girl the hiker saw.

The whispers voiced their say, drowned out quickly by Sophie’s nuzzling against Aiden’s cheeks, wanting attention.

“Crap,” Gary groaned, looking at the clock on the Cable-box’s display. “I've got to get ready for work. You don’t mind waiting here for a ride until I get out of the shower?”

Aiden looked back dazed, distracted by the newscast and Sophie’s hyper nuzzling. “Oh, no I don’t mind waiting.”

“Ok, dude. Don’t tear up the furniture while I’m gone.” Gary waved as he raced up the stairs, slamming the bathroom door close behind him.

Give the jokes a rest already, will you Gary?

Aiden got back up only to sit down on the sofa where Gary was earlier, arms and legs sprawled out as he sighed. Aiden never believed he could have such a crazy morning like this, having to deal with question not easily answered with only more piling up. It might have been more reasonable to deal with if it wasn’t about werewolves. Aiden ran a hand down his face, groaning again.

Why is this happening?

Whines brought Aiden’s attention down between his legs, Sophie sitting restlessly gazing up at him, tail wagging once more.

“What do you want from me, girl?” Aiden asked frustratingly. He never minded Sophie being friendly, but her behavior seemed erratic and off the wall today. Aiden gave her all the petting and scratching any dog could want, but Sophie continue to whine more and more. “What!?” Aiden growled.

His nose began to dance around suddenly, twitching and sniffing alertly to a new smell that wafted in his nostrils. The smell was kind of pleasant, even kind of a turn on as Aiden’s body started to flush and grow hot, heaving a little, his current state of seating becoming uncomfortable. His loaned clothes started to bother him once more, those animal urges telling him he would feel better nude like before. Aiden began to grunt as he tugged at the bottom of his shirt, bringing it up occasionally until he finally gave in to letting his chest and shoulders go bare. He instantly felt better, knowing taking off his pants would make he feel even more wonderful.

Reaching for the button and zipper, he stopped himself, catching the abnormal behavior encroaching him before it got any worse, though it remained waiting on the surface to possess him again. Aiden hung his head back, mouth opened and felt his tongue trying to slither out again, clasping his jaw tightly to prevent it, only to start snarling annoyingly. He finally gave in as he realized the instinct to act out was just as overwhelming, panting from the thrilling sensation spreading all over his body.

His eyes bugged out as he felt something pressed against the closed flap of his pants, sniffing vigorously. Sophie’s nose had become attracted to the bulge formed against the fabric, Aiden knowing what it was. Before he could do anything, the bugle drew higher above the waistline, the tip of his manhood peeking against his abdomen. Sophie’s head rose back, staring curiously, and then began to pant as her mouth drew closer to Aiden’s loins.

At first, Aiden tried to wiggle his legs or move his arms to shoo Sophie off before she did what he thought she was going to do, but his limbs seemed unresponsive, not because they felt weak, but because they didn’t want to obey him. When he tried to command Sophie to go away, his voice strained, two voices fighting for dominance, until the animal one won, though growling and snarling in the same objection Aiden had. Sophie only paused, her eyes looking up in suspicion, only to return to sniffing at his erection. Aiden forced an arm to finally swing to his sides, a hand grasping the back of Sophie’s neck.

Aiden gasped and flopped back further against the sofa, eyes half-closed and forming a delighted smile, feeling the wet affectionate tongue of the Husky have her fill of tasting his Wolfish phallus. The objections and terror that once screamed in his head had been deafened out, primal thinking enjoying the adoring stimulation the frisky Husky was offering him, rekindling last night’s unsated lust. Aiden’s fingers grabbed the nape of Sophie’s, loosened gently and instead pulled her in closer, the other idly sliding under her maw to work the undoing of his pants. The flap opened, Sophie now had access to the sheath of his member, fondly lapping the contours while Aiden growled pleasurably.

The pressure against his face built up again, the pops and cracks sounding as he could feel his canines lengthen and his ears pull against the top of his head. His nose was getting moist and leathery, shaping into a lupine-like snout as his upper lip and jaw protruded, connecting. His ears pulled to the top and grew out into wolfen points, folding back immediately in an expression of pleasure.

Howl!!!

The bathroom door upstairs squeaked open, snapping Aiden out his beastly mindset for a moment. He looked quickly to see if Gary was coming down, looking back to Sophie gingerly licking his erection still as panic struck him. Finding energy in his limbs, Aiden pushed Sophie away from his loins, hastily doing the pants back together, struggling from the current bulge still lingering. He then snatched the shirt and put it back on just as Gary rushed down. Aiden smiled and waved wearily, Sophie circling him, and Gary waved back, turning straight into the kitchen…before he did a double take.

“Holy Shit!” Gary cried, pointing a shaky finger at Aiden’s face. “Either you’re one hell of a make-up artist or you weren’t joking about the werewolf thing.”

Aiden gazed confusingly at Gary before closing his eyes tightly in dumbfounded realization. He brought a hand around the side of his head and discovered his ears had once again traveled up the top of his head, grown into wolfish shapes. He didn’t need to feel his face to know the oddly looking short muzzle was back.

Gary approached Aiden cautiously, reaching out a examining hand to feel Aiden’s muzzle and ears as well, confirming that were the real deal. After having his fill, Gary brought his studying hand to his chest, continuing to look shocked and awed.

“So…” Gary stuttered, “Are you suppose to be some kind of reverse werewolf? Cause, I mean it's morning, not night time. It’s not even full moon central yet.”

Aiden sighed as he looked down to Sophie, still panting and eager to seek out his unusual manhood, barking in similar response. “I have no idea,” Aiden answered, looking back to Gary with a baffled and gloomy stare.

Chapter Three: Reconciliation

The ride back to the apartment complex was quiet, both Aiden and Gary spoke very little, making the concealed air inside the car feel almost spiny to the lungs every time Aiden took a heavy breath. He had rolled down his window for a bit, instantly feeling less claustrophobic once the passing breeze ran against his head, but the excitement instigated that beastly instinct to pant, making the moment more awkward than it already was. Coming up against the curb on his block, Aiden sat still for a minute more, trying to come up with something to say to help break the intimidating silence, leaving his mouth agape as he decided it was best to leave it be, before getting out of the car. Aiden tugged down hard on the random baseball cap he snagged from Gary’s house before they left, eyes darting left and right for any signs of mobile humans as the small changes from back at Gary’s place had decided to remain.

“Hey Aiden,” Gary shouted, leaping out of his side skillfully, resting his chin and crossed arms on the top of the car. Aiden jumped, not expecting this as he turned his head. “Listen, um…Let me know when the whole ‘changes’ thing clears up. I’m thinking about heading up to The Den this evening with Kal and Pratt. You think you might be down?”

Aiden’s stomach grew what he could only explain it as ‘light-headed’, but it was a good feeling being relieved that Gary was still talking to him and asking to hangout. He smiled, and then looked away with a perplexing frown. “Thanks Gary, but maybe I should just probably hold myself up until after the end of this week. You know…cause it’s almost a full moon…and I’m not sure how any of this works yet.”

“Right, right. Well, hit me up if anything changes…I mean, well you know what I mean, right?”

Aiden nodded and waved good-bye as he made his way into the parking lot, glancing back quickly as he watched his friend speed-off Fast and Furious style like he always did. Even nearing the stairway to the second level where his room was, his wolfish ears could pick up the distance, yet familiar, rowdy cry of Gary hollering thrillingly.

I guess some people do change, Aiden thought to himself, grinning. But some never do.

Aiden turned the sharp corner opposite his direction at the top of the stairwell just as a loud slam below froze him in place. Grumbling chattered as Aiden looked over the railing, catching the Super stomping off towards his car. His ears picked up multiple uses of the word “shit” and “bitch”, but nothing regarding anything hostile towards Aiden. Guess the Super hadn’t really checked in on any disturbances in Aiden’s room, allowing Aiden to exhale heavily and feel less concerned about any backlash. Despite the mystery with his sudden Lycanthrope, things seemed to be brightening.

Aiden reached out for the knob of his front door, pausing still as he realized the door was wide open. A surge of animal alertness crept down his spine and he was ready to bare fangs if necessary but shook it off immediately, believing this was all his doing from last night, recalling only fragments but enough to remember that he had suddenly stood outside his door on the second level walkway, just before finding himself soon after running in the woods. Aiden grunted; eyes shut tightly as he dreaded the possibility of some local asshole taking this moment to snatch any of his belongings for their own personal use or sell it off for cash. Sticking his head cautiously through the front door, his nose suddenly began to work on its own, detecting a second and familiar scent inside.

Shutting the door behind him made the intruder hiding somewhere in his bedroom gasp, the voice belonging to a female adult. Aiden removed his cap, less concerned about his current appearance and more with who was rummaging through his stuff. Instincts suggested making his presence known, to snarl and be made fierce and vicious in the intruder's mind. Aiden reluctantly agreed with his inner wolf, letting out a low but frightening snarl as his knees bent to a mid crouch, fingers flexed and clenched to make his claws look longer and more deadly.

“Aiden?”

Aiden blinked and recanted his animal instincts, standing straight and bashful as he leaned his body to see more of his bedroom, certain of whose voice called his name just now. “Vivian?” Aiden called to the intruder.

Having guessed right, Vivian stepped sheepishly into view, her hands clasped down between her thighs. She had trouble connecting her eyes with his, but something told Aiden it wasn’t because she was afraid of him. Her posture expressed she was feeling guilty about something. Aiden also took in the fact Vivian was wearing some thick clothing, a wool sweater covering her normally proud, milky skin with sleeves much longer than necessary.

“Hey,” Vivian said, removing her hands for the moment to greet him properly before crossing them back below her belly. Aiden replied similarly, only keeping his claw-tipped hands behind him as he fell back against his front door looking down to the floor.

“So…” Aiden spoke first after an unsettling minute of silence.

“So…yeah,” Vivian replied, now stroking and playing with the tail of her hair.

No one talked again for another minute.

“You’re alright, right?” Aiden finally said, stepping forward. “I mean your shoulders…”

“Oh, don’t worry,” Vivian interrupted, chuckling nervously. “No major damage. I’ll live.”

“That’s good. But…did the wound happen to…heal pretty fast or something?”

“Not sure. You really only broke the skin with those claws of yours but not badly enough to make me bleed to death or need stitching.”

“Ah.”

Aiden turned his head away, embarrassed to continue the awkward conversation they had started. How was there a good way to find out how well your blind-date was holding up after realizing she was getting screwed by a werewolf anyways?

“You wanna talk in here?” Vivian spoke up, pointing to Aiden’s bed behind her. A flash of memory played out over the non-made mattress, reliving the moment where he was turning more monstrous than he was now while in mid-coitus, Vivian frantically shouting for him to get off. “I needed to talk to you about last night,” Vivian continued, distorting the phantom scene as she sat down on the edge, patting the other side for Aiden to come sit with her. Gulping, Aiden joined her.

“So, how did you get in?” Aiden asked, his face cringing, already knowing that answer but unable to think of a better conversation starter.

“It was opened,” Vivian answered. Aiden mouthed the word “right” as he nodded and looked down, grinning foolishly. “It was only partly opened, so I thought maybe you were just letting in some fresh air or just didn’t close it all the way.

“Anyways,” Vivian continued, taking a deep breath, brows raised funny, “I wanted to come back and…apologize for last night.”

Aiden’s wolfish ears peeked from astonishment, looking towards Vivian awkwardly with one raised eyebrow. Vivian giggled, “What? Why the weird face?”

“No offense, but…I'm kind of surprised you’re apologizing to me. I mean after what happened…and that bizarre situation…”

“Well, yes!” Vivian laughed, courageously placing a hand warmly over one of Aiden’s claw-tipped ones. “That is one of the reasons I wanted to apologize to you about. I know you didn’t expect anything like that. You were just as shocked as I was. Though you got to admit, it’s not every day you have sex with another guy who starts turning into a monster midway.”

Aiden let out a weak chuckle, smiling. “Yeah, guess that’s true.”

“Have you…well, have you always been a werewolf or something?”

“I honestly don’t know. Up 'till now, the only thing I knew was wrong with me was…well, you know. My ‘package’. Other than that, I have never started growling and sprouting a tail or muzzle until last night.”

Vivian smiled brightly, and then looked out the bedroom door in a thoughtful trance. “Well, you said you never had sex before. Maybe all that pent up tension started taking form and by the time we were doing it, this ‘wolf’ inside of you finally got out. Then again, you shouldn’t listen to me. I’ve never been a psychologist or biologist or whatever; how would I know? You sure you've never been bitten or something?”

Aiden shook his head. “Not unless any bite marks from my childhood healed up pretty fast for me not to notice…or that dogs could transmit lycanthrope. Hell, for all I know, my real parents were werewolves or just fucking wolves. Would make sense for all this AND why I was born with my ‘package’ this way.”

“I suppose,” Vivian agreed. Aiden noticed out of the corner of his eye while still looking down, Vivian examining his current body.

“So…does this mean you’re actually comfortable with this?” Aiden muttered, his eyes straining to meet Vivian’s.

“I don’t know. It’s not because of you being a werewolf; I started having second thoughts about what I did last night. I have to admit, all the animal humping you were doing to me…kind of started growing on me. There wasn’t much passion in it, but it’s like you knew how to reach deep inside me while trying. You were probably more concerned with getting off quickly. Either way, I started trembling for more after I realized being fucked like an animal wasn’t all that weird. I’ve…kind of been craving to finish what we started last night. You know, just to see how it ends?”

Oh, I certainly left a mark on you, the primal whispers echoed in his mind, more and more sounding much like Aiden’s own voice, his nose picking up a sensual aura surrounding her body.

“You sure that’s not because…you could be turning into one; a werewolf? Your shoulders; I did kind of nick you with these claws of mine.”

Vivian giggled nervously. “Nah, I don’t think so.” She pulled off the thick wool sweater she was wearing, revealing a midriff tank shirt underneath. Aiden’s eyes began to study her exposed skin, rekindling the erotic feelings he had for her as those whispers begged him to help her remove the rest. “See?” Vivian said, breaking Aiden’s distracted eyes to her shoulders. “Still there,” she pointed, “Although, honestly, you only broke the skin, so there isn’t much to go by for damage. Anyways, I haven’t started craving human flesh or felt like barking and howling, whatever it is werewolves act like.”

“I can’t really be the judge on that either,” Aiden added, his eyes slowly drawing back to the exposed curves of Vivian’s slender belly and sides, trying hard to imagine the bottoms of her supple breasts exposed from under her shirt. “I have been having a tendency to growl and pant lately, but no craving human blood yet.”

“That’s good,” Vivian giggled once more, her left hand returning to Aiden’s lap, caressing his inner thigh.

Oh yeah, this bitch still wants to get it on, all right!

The words from his inner wolf, as vulgar as they were, rang truer than Aiden could ever believe. It was her body language and smell that was refining these beliefs. Her hand drawing closer to his manhood…his wolfhood, Aiden figured he should start admitting, the way Vivian stretched her upper body as she scooted closer and willingly displayed the flesh of her belly and arms, not to mention her scent was engulfed in that faint but noticeable human pheromone promoting her sultry behavior and Aiden’s own desires.

A Bitch in heat.

Blackened lips began to seek Vivian’s, finding she was leaning closer and closer to oblige. Heavy breathing masked both faces, Aiden close to allowing his tongue to loll out and pant once more in exhilaration, holding it back so he wouldn't turn Vivian away again from his animal behavior.

“So,” Aiden suddenly broke away, Vivian’s earlier words ringing back into his head, Vivian herself looking flustered at his retreat. “What are the other reasons you came back to apologize? You said the freaking out over the werewolf thing was just one of the few.”

What the fuck!? Those whispers snarled in his head. Are you trying to be your own personal Cock-Blocker???

Vivian gulped, pulling her lips back herself as she turned away, standing back up as she loomed by the bedroom doorway. “Right. Well, I do have another reason to apologize to you. You’re not going to believe me when I tell you, though.”

Aiden leaned back comfortably, hands crossed back between his legs as he nodded and listened, lupine ears erect.

“You see,” Vivian started, slowly pacing near the doorway, “after last night’s shocker, I was kind of hysterical. Before I realized how much of a jerk I was, and before I started realizing how much I wanted to finish our little romp, I actually tried going to the cops. First off, don’t worry; I was smashed, so they didn’t believe a word I was saying, more or less even pay attention. But you understand how skeptic I was at first that you weren’t gonna start stalking me and hunting me down like one of your victims, horror movies kind of making that very clear that the monster goes after the hot sexy woman the most, right?”

Aiden felt a little mortified at the profiling, though silently he thought the same way, having feared this morning he might have killed some innocent local in a ravenous bloodlust. Aiden nodded and gestured her to continue.

“Anyways, these cops were in the middle of another bust when I tried to tell them; this rich…and handsome and athletic…g-guy was being hauled away for driving into some douche’s car. It wasn’t his fault to begin with; the other guy was drunk off his rocker and shouldn’t have been driving in the first place. Luckily, he got taken away as well, but the other guy was being arrested because he deservingly punched out the idiot…that, and the cops found a small amount of marijuana in the backseat of his Chevrolet. One of his friends screwed him over, some pothead friend or something, and left some nugs lying around...”

Vivian paused as she realized Aiden was looking at her oddly, trying to figure out where this story was going.

“So anyways,” Vivian sighed heavily, “While that, and trying to tell the cops about you, was happening I got ticked off and started thrashing one of the officers to listen to me. I guess attacking an officer who doesn’t take a victim…well, a concerned citizen... seriously is illegal or something, so I got arrested for it. While I was getting booked, I got to know the other guy a little better. Well, I just blurted out how much, but...”

Vivian finally sat back down besides Aiden, her bi-polar smile fading into a frown as it became her who had trouble looking straight into his eyes. “I know I just met him, but we got to talking and chatting. Oh, I didn’t tell him about you. Figured if the cops weren’t going to believe me, why would this guy. But, he started telling me how he thought it was unfair for a girl like me to be treated that way and how beautiful I looked and…well, you know. After last night, I didn’t think any of this was going to work out. I mean, how could I even contemplate the possibility of having a werewolf boyfriend?”

That last comment tied a notch in Aiden’s stomach, and Vivian knew it.

“I’m sorry, Aiden. I didn’t want to hurt you, but I don't think I still have feelings for you after all this. It’s just…he’s a good man, a very strong and wealthy guy, that’s kind of a big plus. But, it’s also the connection we had while at the police station. And, we did get out of there at the same time and went for a coffee and talked about what our goals were. We really hit it off. He’s even thinking about scoring an extra plane ticket for me to come with him to Paris next month just because he wants to show me a great time. Aiden…I think he’s my soul mate.”

“Soul mate, huh?” Aiden muttered, his lips pulled back in an uncomfortable grin.

“Pretty much. Like I said, it would be hard to believe. Of course, it only took us two nights to get to the point we wanted each other.”

“Yeah,” Aiden agreed, “but that might have been my apparent ‘animal magnetism’ winning you over.”

Vivian giggled sheepishly, “…it still is.”

The two of them quickly looked back into each other’s trembling eyes; Vivian’s deep inhale shuddering as something about Aiden’s stare made her tremble in both fright and thrill.

“You really still feel something for me?” Aiden asked, almost hypnotically.

“I don’t know,” Vivian spoke, her voice twisted into a pleasing moan. “I mean, I really do like the guy. And, I think it might be in my best interest to pursue it and see if it goes anywhere. And, it really feels like I’m meant to be with him. But…I can’t be too sure until…”

“Until?”

Vivian’s breathing grew strangely erratic, her shoulders and chest expanding out as her own skin began to flush. Aiden grew captivated by her behavior, leaning in closer as it grew harder to resist tasting her lips and skin again despite the knowledge she was planning on leaving him. Aiden’s neck tensed and stretched out, bellowing a low whine as he felt Vivian’s idle hand start to fondle the buttoned flap of his jeans, aware that his ‘wolfhood’ had grown erect, the tip peeking out against his belly.

“I don’t know where our relationship is going to go from here. But…considering how much of bitch I was last night, and feeling like I’m stabbing you in the back with Jack, I figured the most reasonable thing I could do to make it up to you is…”

Their bodies leaned closer, lips hovering impatiently until Vivian committed to the hormones and feelings growing out of control, her mouth sucking his wildly. Aiden soon followed, returning her kisses as he reached under her arms, grasping her sides firmly and lifting Vivian on top of his lap, letting out a contented growl. Vivian giggled amusingly as they resumed their obsessive kissing, each helping the other out of their tops.

“Wait,” Aiden once again broke away, growling frustratingly. He couldn’t tell if it was because of the uncertainty of what he was about to do or if his inner wolf was mad again from stopping.

“What?” Vivian groaned, expressing her own frustration.

“Maybe this is a mistake. I mean not that I don’t want to. It’s just…I mean, maybe my claws didn’t transmit anything, but what if doing it does? You sounded pissed about becoming a werewolf. Maybe I should grab a condom or something.”

Vivian laughed. “I don’t know if the store has anything for werewolf dicks.”

Aiden smirked, “Well, what if I’m really fertile? What if this one night, well day, is enough to get you pregnant? How would feel giving birth to a possible wolf child like me? Or, what would your Jack think about…”

Vivian placed her index and middle finger over Aiden’s swollen lips, stopping his ranting. “Just shut and fuck me already,” Vivian commanded with a sly grin.

Ladies first, Aiden thought, the wolfen instincts mixed in his true thoughts, smiling widely with a pleasant growl.

A primal force took over him that instant, something foreign but at the same time his own, pulling Vivian rashly but passionately back to his lips, sucking hard; tongues dancing harmoniously between them. Dainty and clawed hands explored each other’s upper bodies, grinding furiously for stimulation. Aiden’s lips trailed away from Vivian’s, down to her neck and then to her breasts, licking and suckling hungrily. Vivian moaned; her head swung back smiling as she absorbed every taste Aiden had and every touch Aiden transmitted.

Wetting the side of Vivian’s breast, Aiden realized his bedroom door was still open, the blinds from his living room folded open so anyone could peer in and watch the show. Already so deep in their passion, Aiden could care less now if anyone watched; if they noticed his face deformed. He actually felt turned on to the prospect of having an audience, boosting secretly his stud status; overconfident that he could prove to the world he could mate with any woman and leave them breathless, craving for more.

Vivian had admitted before how her body trembled to finish what they had started.

“Yes,” Vivian gasped, her face lit up and filled with astounding ecstasy. “Oh, yes! Fuck me, wolfboy. Fuck me hard!”

Be careful what you wish for, Aiden though proudly, growling excitedly as he flung Vivian onto her back on the mattress, clawed hands propping him over her legs as he looked down to her face, fangs bared in a fiendish smile. For a moment, he thought his actions and smile would have scared her, making her reconsider what she was about to do and run off again to that so-so human, Jack. Instead, he found Vivian taken back, letting out a pleasurable “Oh” as she tilted her head against the covers, her giddy face only stretching farther.

Another bulge formed suddenly from the back of Aiden’s pants, both bulges now too much to bear. Hastily, he undid the flap and pulled down his borrowed jeans, no underwear or boxers to deal with on account of how gross that would be. Naked, he leaned back over Vivian’s legs, pulling one knee over the edge to crawl further down until his chin was above her belly. Vivian lifted her head slightly to look down, her hands caressing the midriff of her belly. Aiden grunted as he lowered his head, fangs clenching gently but firm over her pants flap, snapping off the button and pulling the zipper down with his front teeth. Vivian moaned delightfully as her legs helped Aiden slide them off, lunging back up to snatch her panties and pull them down as well.

They had now returned to their similar place from last night, Vivian on her back waiting for her lover to consummate and ride her, her lower body tensing to feel Aiden’s unnatural but powerful animal loins penetrate her once more, this time sticking around for the whole attraction. Aiden began to crawl completely onto the bed, distracted for a moment by the second bulge that had formed behind him. A short length of flesh wagged and curled, obvious to him that it was his tail trying to grow back, excited by the erotic sensation and tension building between him and Vivian. Strangely, believing he should have been more shocked and disgusted, his smile grew wider again, and returned his attention to his waiting mate, ready to copulate.

Instincts nagged him to penetrate now and achieve the release his loins craved, but Aiden had a little more control over his actions than last night. He felt the same lust and animal urges, slowly caving in to submit and get it over with, but he wanted to make this moment at least somewhat special, seeing how this could be the last night he and Vivian would sleep together. He restrained the initial urge to hump her ravenously for relief, taking his time filling Vivian with her own pleasure as he resumed his kissing and suckling, growing fond of Vivian’s movements underneath and her delectable cries and moans.

It only took a few minutes before Vivian seemed to be listening to Aiden’s inner wolf, her hands reaching behind his rear as best as she could, pressing them down. “I know you want it, wolfy,” Vivian groaned. “Hump me, wolfy. Hump me dry.”

Her request eroded any patient and passionate action Aiden tried to reserve, lifting his upper body off Vivian slightly as he rubbed and positioned his pelvis against hers, the two crying out the moment they became one, only Aiden’s cry was more like a snarling howl. Immediately, Aiden couldn’t control himself any longer, thrusting feverishly into Vivian’s sex, the pace quickening along with his deepening. A mixture of painful and pleasurable cries bellowed from Vivian’s mouth, hands grasping Aiden’s sides as her legs tucked in, all her muscles growing tense and on fire. She never believed she could achieve orgasm so quickly like this, only five…maybe seven minutes into their fornication. But the pleasure was real; being fucked by a half-human, half-animal being was working wonders for her. It was so intense that she was the first to orgasm, writhing euphorically as the feeling washed and spread all over her. Only a few seconds after did, she felt Aiden explode inside her, adding to the sexual satisfaction she was feeling. Her body remained locked as she was, until the sensation slowly ebbed, her tucked legs flailing back down and her body resting, almost lifeless if not for the heavy breathing and thumping heart beat.

“My god!” Vivian gasped, trying to control her breathing. “That…was something else. I mean…wow! I never thought I could enjoy having something dog-like fuck me. You really are an animal, Aiden…and that is a good thing. More than good.

“…Aiden?”

Aiden slumped down with her on the bed, too exhausted from their romp, with animal panting to show it. But his face didn’t show the satisfaction Vivian had. It almost looked as if Aiden was starting to regret it.

“What’s wrong, baby?” Vivian asked, running a hand over Aiden’s hair to pet. “You weren’t bad, wolfy. Not bad at all.”

“I know,” Aiden finally spoke, repositioning himself on top of her so their eyes could be face to face. “And you were great too, seriously. It’s just…”

“It’s just what?” Vivian questioned curiously.

“Well…I just…”

Vivian brought both her hands around the back of Aiden’s shoulders, hugging him gently and affectionately. “That’s right; it was your first time. I felt a bit awkward the first time I was laid. But whether it was from someone I liked or not, I do remember gradually how fun it still was. It was probably a little different than what you were expecting after masturbating all these years, right?”

Lady, I didn’t even know how self-gratification felt until early this week.

“No, no. That’s not it at all. Like I said, I really enjoyed it, and I don’t doubt that I did anything wrong. It’s just…maybe you should go with that guy, Jack.”

Vivian looked surprised. “Are you sure? I mean, to be honest, the werewolf thing really is growing on me. In fact, if this does infect me and turn me into one, I got a really good feeling it just might make all our future ‘matings’ pretty damn incredible.”

Aiden looked to the side briefly. “I don’t think I can infect you. I don’t think I’m that kind of werewolf. But, even then, I just don’t think this is going to work out.”

“Why not?” Vivian pouted.

Aiden closed his eyes, Vivian having noticed how feral and wolflike they had gotten in the course of their romp and still were now, as he brought a hand up curled half way into a fist, like he was about to point something out. “You know how you have this feeling between you and Jack, about being soul mates?”

Vivian nodded attentively.

“Well that would mean you feel this powerful feeling of love, real love. I don’t know if that’s what you would really describe, but for me I was hoping to feel that. I felt extraordinary gratified making out with you. But, I think that was just something my inner wolf was happy about. And…even then I think, both the wolf in me and I agree that…well, I didn’t feel ‘love’. Not the one I wanted, anyways.”

Aiden began to hide his face against her chest, whimpering shamefully at breaking the news to Vivian. Luckily, he was relieved to find her stroking his cheeks, grinning.

“Guess I’m not the one then, huh?” She said sympathetically.

“Guess not,” Aiden said, sighing along with Vivian as they rested in place on his bed for a moment longer.

“So…when do you think we can get off each other?” Vivian asked.

Aiden chuckled wearily, looking down between where their pelvises remained locked. His phallus was still swollen at the tip like any dog's or wolf's would be after sex, keeping them stuck together for the time being.

“I think maybe about five or ten minutes. Give or take.”

The two of them shared a much need round of laughter, switching to lying on their sides as they let time slip by, Aiden listening to Vivian’s dreams for her possible future with Jack.

It wouldn’t be until that night, Aiden would have one last joy ride with Vivian, if only in his dreams. But, it would be this night where he would discover his true soul mate.

Chapter Four - Visions

The rest of the day had passed pretty quickly after Vivian left, eager to meet up with her apparent “soul mate” at the impound lot the guy’s car had been towed to the other night. As noon vanished fast into evening, Aiden had kept himself preoccupied mainly with one of the few creature comforts most people turn to when they were bored or wishing to pass the time…Television.

Aiden had received a call from Gary earlier that evening checking in on his buddy. Seeing how Vivian and he were split, Aiden didn’t mind divulging on the details of their final intimate relationship. Well, as much as Gary was allowed to know anyways, leaving out most of the descriptive, private, or abnormal parts. In the end, it was only a clean version but it was enough to make Gary start praising Aiden for his tenacity and accomplishment on finally getting laid. Their conversation ended short as a hefty woman started shouting sensually in the background noise of the phone, Gary mentioning how he was about to take care of his own business. Aiden chuckled and let his friend go, bellowing a weary “Whoo” as he sunk into his couch, a mild depression setting in.

It had been fun with Vivian, getting to conquer that one elusive mountain that had defeated him once before amidst his moment of triumphant. The sex was wonderful, but despite slaking his lustful appetite, Aiden had discovered a void that had been left unfilled. Considering Vivian and the particular differences between each other, he once had a brief sliver of hope that she could have been the one, how Vivian had put it between her and that supposed rich and athletic guy; her “soul mate.” But the spark he was looking for didn’t light, the fireworks having been lit and lifted off into pleasurable space but without the big bang of amorous gratification.

So, who is suppose to be my soul mate? Aiden wondered, flipping channels occasionally once he grew tired of one show. Who would love a freak like me?

Bringing that fact up in his mind, Aiden had been curious about one thing ever since his little romp with Vivian, looking curiously over the hand holding the remote. Yesterday, he had been normal like everyone else on the planet, a perfect example of an average-looking human being…with the exception of his private anatomy. Last night, while consummating for the first time, though, Vivian had brought to his attention the horrifying reality that he wasn’t normal at all, discovering that his body had been changing in the middle of sex, transforming into a half-man, half-animal beast right before their eyes. That night, his face had taken on a close to completely lupine form, nearly-grown muzzle and all. His own hands and feet had been deformed to a canine-like paw shape; his rib cage had barreled out slightly and physique realigned as if becoming forced to drop onto all fours like a real animal.

So why didn’t that happen today? After achieving release within Vivian, Aiden had realized that nothing had changed; the small portions that had transformed earlier back at Gary’s house thanks to his Husky Sophie remained the same. Aiden had been sure of the possibility he would have transformed further again in the middle of sex, being turned into a full fledge werewolf. Could it had something to do with the fact Vivian didn’t satisfy his longing for a lasting intimate relationship? Was it because they had done it too soon before night? Did he do something wrong?

Aiden looked out his living room window, the shades somewhat more shut than before, but he was still able to see out the thin open lines revealing the outside. Night was hastily approaching, bringing with it the third night before the full moon. Maybe moonlight was a factor in transforming into a wolf, though it didn’t explain how it was possible to change just a little from Sophie’s curious licking at his wolfhood during the day. And there was now also the issue of the small changes staying in place, Aiden still walking about his apartment with his mouth and nose pushed to the point of connection and baring fangs, his ears stretched and shaped into real furless wolf ears, and claws replacing his normal nails on his hands and feet. Aiden did take notice at the two new changes that had occurred while making out with Vivian; his eyes now had an uncanny resemblance to that of a real wolf and a springy, wagging, short, fleshy tail. In a way, the new changes had grown on him, and he admired his current form starting to take a truer appearance of a wolf. The tail, as short as it was, had to take some getting used to, having to lift his behind off the couch numerous times and resituate himself so his tail didn’t get crushed; suffocate. But, the growth and its added purpose in balance and expression did feel almost liberating, contented with its existence as if it was always meant to be.

Maybe I really am a wolf, the thought replayed in Aiden’s mind. Why would I feel happy to be an animal? Was being born human a mistake?

By the time the sun had finally gone down, Aiden had become frantic, anxious in regards to a phantom need that wasn’t so easily explained. He wasn’t hungry; he realized he hadn’t had an appetite since this morning. He could drink water but it wasn’t thirst that gripped him. His body temperature fluctuated often, going from hot to cold back to boiling. He wasn’t able to stay seated on his sofa much longer either, growing tired of watching television, yet he had nothing better to do. He felt like he had to be somewhere but didn’t know where. It began to feel like the symptoms of Cabin Fever, which began to make sense, considering he had locked himself inside his apartment all day from fear of anybody seeing what he looked like or doing something completely animalistic and embarrassing. But, the lack of space and activity was becoming mind-numbingly difficult to stand, Aiden sounding his frustrations in wolfish growls and snarls as he paced the living room.

Aiden was lucky he decided to stay nude since Vivian left; otherwise he felt he would have torn the clothes off his body this moment just to help relieve the tension and heat.

Dammit, this is too much! What am I suppose to do? I can’t stand this; I need to get out of here. I don’t care if I get caught anymore; I need to run. I need to roam. I need to…to…hunt! Kill! Feed!

A sharp pain ran down his spine suddenly, feeling each vertebra snap and pop down his back. Aiden snarled, clenched fingers against his palms brought close to his chest as his knees weakened, dropping heavily onto all fours. His voice continued to drone on in vicious, beastly growls and groans, contorting and shaking violently as the moment he had feared, and anticipated eagerly, had come.

The pain swelling and spreading throughout his body was immense, but his attention was focused more on the surfacing of baser animal thoughts and instincts flooding his mind, repeating over and over what he needed to do once his transformation was done.

Consumed by these goals, the pain of Aiden’s shifting body became bearable, almost thrilling, to the point of sexual pleasure. Every stretch of bone and pull of muscle was like a stroke to his phallus, demanding more and more of his body to change, wanting it to grow more intense to make the stimulation to his wolfhood incredible. Barreled rib cage and flatten bulging shoulders locked against it brought him to the Plateau. The wildfire of fur beginning to sprout over his reddening skin brought the pleasure to the highest level. The growth of his full muzzle and the reshaping of his hands and feet into true fore and hindpaws maxed it to the climax. With his body flourishing with thick fur and his form now nothing but that of a monstrous giant wolf, Aiden the beast howled triumphantly, the belly of his animal body sticky as the process had achieved his orgasm.

Eyeing the door with purpose, the beast snarled furiously, charging the frail wood until it shattered beneath his weight, as he burst out of the apartment. That moment several heads stuck out their doors to see all the commotion, retreating back into the safety of their homes as they were greeted with the wild barks of a monstrous wolf. The complex’s Super had run up the stairs to see the ruckus himself, only to stare down palely at the monster, screaming his last as the beast leapt and ready its maw, its tongue tasting the human’s hot perspirating flesh.

Aiden’s eyes flew wide open at the last second, finding himself back in his apartment, sitting down on his sofa watching television. His body was shivering, cold sweat dripping from his face and shoulders, rubbing his eyes as he snickered insanely.

“That was just a dream!” Aiden laughed, flinging back his head over the sofa with a relieved sigh. “God, what a crazy nightmare. I don't even remember dozing off.”

“…and our top story of the night…”

Aiden’s channel surfing had turned on the news, the anchor finishing up one story and moving on to what seemed to be a more pressing matter for the town. His attention to the piece grew when he read the familiar headline, “Wolf Girl Sighted!” Subconsciously, Aiden crawled off his sofa onto his hands and knees, getting closer to the TV screen as he sat and listened attentively to the Anchorman. Apparently, the Wolf Girl sighting had become the talk of the town and, despite the blurry photo taken by that hiker as the only source of evidence, three other people had approached reporters with similar sightings. None of them sounded life-threatening, but amazed none the less to have witnessed a naked girl racing across the woods, growling like a dog or wolf. Each eye witness account mentioned the flowing long hair of gray-silver and the amber glow of her eyes. The image of this girl was stuck in Aiden’s head, fantasizing what she would look like if the two ever crossed paths. It would be nice meeting a woman like that, seeing how two abnormal people like them would miraculously fit. He figured if she behaved like a wolf, then she most likely would mate like one. Aiden’s eyes began to shut softly, whining as his body swayed back and forth, his wolfhood growing erect. He imagined the wolf girl underneath him, yelping and barking happily as he humped lovingly inside her sex, a panting smile across her face to match his own. When the moment came, the two of them achieving orgasm simultaneously, they would howl together, two songs merged into one as they cried out to the wild of their union and bliss.

Soul mate.

“And finally, we have the weather forecast from Dan Brinklin…”

The change in the programming managed to knock Aiden out of his wild fantasy, looking stunned as he was mildly surprised to find he was still held up in his living room, the woods and night sky and beautiful wolf girl gone. Aiden let out a fierce snarl, his body tensing onto all fours as he felt the need to verbally express his growing aggravation. Barking and snarling, Aiden could feel his body begin to burn, feeling his bones ache and grind as if ready to pull apart and realign. A small itch of fuzz began to form over his cheeks and shoulders.

Pounding from the next door broke his beastly verbal rage, sending him whimpering back into a corner.

“Hey! Tell your fucking mutt to shut up, will ya!?”

Aiden’s mind began to clear of the fog of animal emotions and instincts, and he clamored back to his feet as he rubbed his head.

“This is getting out of control,” Aiden muttered to himself, grabbing the remote from his sofa and switching the television set off. “I'm losing my mind, I know it. I feel like I won’t be me anymore if I really turn into a real wolf. What if I go on a killing spree? Or worse…what if I start fucking every woman, or dog, I see?” The thought was nauseating, though secretly in the back of his mind, a wild orgy seemed exciting. Still, he pushed that idea out of his mind, wanting to keep his sanity as much as possible.

Looking to the cable box’s clock display, Aiden realized it was later than he thought; it was 10:57pm. As if instigated by the time, Aiden let out a tired yawn, smacking and licking his lips as he looked to his bed, still unmade from his intimate moment with Vivian. The prospect of sleep was tempting, he walked into his room almost in a daze as he first took a detour to the bathroom to be relieved. A lingering erection proved to make it difficult, though trying to simply go from his deformed member was always a challenge, he'd had to devise different methods and positions for his aim; techniques that made him feel silly, but it was either that or cleaning up a mess afterwards. Finished, the toilet flushed, the lights went off, and Aiden lunged onto bed, crawling in a circle as if judging the best spot to get comfortable and lay down, disowning the bed sheets tonight as his own rising body heat provided the warmth he needed against the night chill, and fell asleep soundly.

* * * * *

There was no heat or chill but Aiden could feel portions of pale moonlight streaming over his body. Like an allergic reaction, his skin began to itch and flush; lungs rapidly expanding; feeling his heart race with heavy thuds. Even in his growing restless sleep, he was aware of this, aware of whining and growling uncomfortably and excitedly, his fanged mouth opened wide as his tongue lolled into a familiar animal pant. The sensation was beginning to play on his loins even, his penis slipping out of his sheath into a throbbing erection against his belly.

Those words, those commands from his earlier frightening daydream echoed profoundly in his mind, letting out short muffled howls in his frantic state, yearning to abide. Rational thoughts fought to make these commands go away, reminding Aiden he was human. He had a human life, a human job, and human friends and family…what were loyal anyways. He wasn’t a wolf; not a wild animal. Where could he escape to that felt like home? Would Aiden have the stomach to actually kill a living creature just to feed? Who could he turn to slate his lustful desires?

“She?” Aiden muttered, waking, shooting up like a rocket over his bed, standing on his hands and knees. Panting continued as he scanned his bedroom, expecting someone or something to be lurking in the shadows. He shook his head foolishly, sitting up on his knees and wiping off a coat of fresh sweat from his forehead and cheeks. Aiden looked down at his mattress, groaning as he discovered claw marks raked over the bed sheets, one mark deep enough that the cotton from the mattress bulged from between.

Aiden bellowed an animal-like chuckle, shaking his head disbelievingly until his eyes darted to the pale moonlight pouring from behind him, through the small window over his bed. The view was a mess, with tangled branches and vines from an unattended, wily backyard, the Super never taking the time to call a landscape crew to trim and beautify. Most of the fellow occupants complained, considering the overgrowth a hazard, not wanting their view obstructed. Aiden hadn’t cared until now, lost in a mild trance as he peered closer to the window, captivated by the close-to-full moon’s presence and glow, the brush and branches parted almost coincidentally for the moon to loom into perfect view.

…You don’t belong here…

The primal whispers constant nagging was starting to grow annoying, Aiden growling as he rubbed one side of his temples with his palm. Refocusing, his eyes did a double-take on his fingers, bringing his hands in front to view as he marveled at a new change that must have occurred in his sleep. It wasn’t much, but was still astonishing; the skin under his fingertips and his palms discolored in a brownish hue, almost black, and feeling thick and padded to the touch, like long-time developed calluses. The way they were spread and formed, Aiden realized instantly that these were lupine paw markings. A quick observation to his feet revealed similar growths, and another familiar change. Along with the calluses, his toes had become swollen again, proportionately shaped into animal paws, with the exception of the smallest toes having vanished mysteriously. The arches looked stretched, if only by an inch, but enough to send premature signals to his brain that when Aiden decided to stand, he would be doing so on the tips of his toes.

Aiden began to whimper, crawling up the back of his bed against the wall, tucking his legs into his chest in an awkward fetal position. Dread filled his mind and heart at the ominous uncertainty of his future. Turning into a monster, a wolf, didn’t quite feel wrong; a part of him had grown to wait anxiously for the moment his body would lose control and shapeshift completely. Something about roaming and traveling through the woods, living off what nature could provide him, and seeking other wolves, were becoming dominating desires. He wanted to stop feeling so uncomfortable when he valued walking on all fours instead of his own two feet; when he verbally barked and howled his emotions; when he favored the taste of a warm kill instead of processed and chemically tainted trash. Aiden was being converted to his inner wolf’s ideals, wanting to live in the wild, to hunt and feed contently, to mate like an animal proudly, to be liberated and free.

But this primal notion of freedom was just too scary. Thinking about abandoning his human life for a beast’s lifestyle felt to him like cursing God. He was never that religious, but Aiden believed in the faith that there was someone, or something, watching over us; some kind of higher power, if not GOD him or herself. Aiden wanted to believe in the idea that all beings had souls, and that there was a place where souls go after our bodies could no longer be sustained on Earth, hopefully a better place until we were ready to start again, renewed and refreshed. Beliefs like these were why Aiden struggled to be a good, honest and helpful person, wanting to sustain a cleansed soul, just in case.

Of course, with the idea of Heaven also came the idea of Hell, and the higher power that ruled it. Aiden believed in an evil force that also watches us, hoping all beings would slip and walk down a darkened path, tempting us to commit sinister or unruly deeds. Could this be one of that power’s tests? Was Aiden cursed by the Devil or God to see how he would fair? Was the wolf surfacing more and more a servant of darkness, corrupting poor Aiden to favor the fruits of evil, than stay in the graces of good? Even now the shadows looming in the corners of his bedroom played on his psyche, one taking the form of an angel while the other, a horned devil, both watching and judging.

Stop thinking like that, Aiden, his thoughts interrupted. Don’t start thinking religiously about all this. Be honest; do you actually feel any despicable or horrible intent from this wolf of yours? It’s not evil, not a curse. As long as you remain who you are either way, living like a human or wolf, you’re not committing any real sin, right?

It was hard to answer his thought's attempt in comforting. Maybe it’s right, though. All Aiden felt was an incredible urge to be released into the world, to enjoy life while it could. Ignoring that nightmare he had earlier, this inner wolf of his only desired the basic needs most animals have when living in the wild. There was no insatiable bloodlust gnawing at him, no monstrous, vicious intent in randomly killing and mutilating innocent people. There was him and the wolf, and the longing to live like one only, a wild animal…not a monster.

But…could I really live like that? Would I ever be given the chance to return to normal, if being a wolf didn’t work out?

“Ai-den.”

A sweet, haunting voice suddenly echoed within the room; Aiden scanned wall to wall for the source but found no one hiding within the shadows. At first, he thought it was his own thoughts again, or even the primal whispers that belonged to his inner wolf. But the voice sounded feminine, and even seemed vaguely familiar. His mind tried to filter out other faces and voices that could belong to this one, but with the thickening cloud of animal urges fogging up his mind, it was hard to form a clear recollection.

“Over here, Wolfy,” the female voice sounded again just as eerie and mesmerizing as before. Aiden focused his gaze out through the bedroom doorway, his ears having picked up the voice coming from inside his living room. His hair stood on end when he caught the sight of a curvy silhouette standing gleefully in front of the window blinds, the intruder waving her fingers in greeting. Several things struck Aiden as odd as he cautiously crawled out of bed, eyes examining all he could of the mysterious entity in the living room. First off, it was indeed a she, luminescence from an outside light source exposing bits of her creamy peach body and the contours of her supple breasts, revealing that she was nude. Second was her hair, long and shimmering in a pale sliver glow similar to moonlight. Aiden was almost speechless as he continued to crawl on all fours, feet struggling to stand on the padded balls in a proper posture, believing he was in the presences of the elusive Wolf Girl the news reports had been documenting. It wasn’t until he approached close enough within the room, and his feral eyes adjusted to their fullest quality, that he could see her face, bringing about the third item of astonishment.

To his surprise, the face belonged to Vivian.

Vivian giggled, covering her mouth as she leaned forward, dropping to her hands and knees as she crawled to Aiden. Amber eyes swam hypnotically into his, his body frozen in place as Vivian’s face drew closer until she literary ran into him…only instead of heads bonking, Vivian simply seemed to phase right through, as if a ghost. A cold chill, both frightening and wild, shivered throughout his body from head to toe respectively. Only when the stun faded could he spin around, looking to see where this alluring primal version of Vivian disappeared to. He found her, standing a couple a feet from where he kneeled, only where his bed would be in his bedroom, had been replaced with brush of moist and dry grass and soft earth, an array of trees surrounding the area behind Vivian. Aiden looked back and discovered his living room and entrance was now the other half of a wide open clearing within the middle of the woods. To his left, light flickered and heat wafted, a small fire pit burning where the center of the clearing was.

“Fire helps warm lost travelers in dark places,” Vivian spoke. She brushed back her borrowed long silver hair, Aiden knowing full well this was not her own, yet the look and setting was convincing him of how sexily she was mimicking the likeness of the Wolf Girl…at least of what he imagined in his mind. But why was Vivian here and why had her appearance changed? How did they suddenly end up in the middle of the woods from within his apartment? Why did this scene look strangely familiar?

Vivian grinned slyly, twirling a finger towards Aiden, gesturing him to stand up and come to her, Aiden doing so in a subconscious daze. It felt like a magnetic force pulling them together, almost impossible to break. The two stood face to face and hip to hip as Vivian combed through Aiden’s hair, playfully sensual fingers sliding down his back side, while her other hand tenderly grasped his arm.

“But fur is what keeps us animals warm at night,” Vivian said softly, her nose twitching as she took her time sniffing around Aiden’s swollen face, moaning pleasantly once she had her fill of his scent. “And more heat can be found in coupling,” Vivian added, pressing her body against Aiden’s gently but firmly, rising on the tips of her toes to help guide her sex over his, both throbbing achingly with their own heat pulsating between. “This is a bond we share, Aiden. This is a bond most wolves share together. Animals mate more than humans because it’s instinct. Dogs need release while Bitches need to be mothers.”

Aiden’s pelvis began to help Vivian’s seeking vulva, rubbing his erection against her but not finding the access as easily as before. He could feel it though; Vivian’s sex burning close and waiting to be penetrated. As he searched, they began to kiss, passionately and steadily, while their hands explored and groped more eagerly. They began to drop to their knees, holding each other close as they continued to bathe in their kisses and occasion animal licks, growling and yelping in elation.

“But mating is more than that,” Vivian resumed in a tone that reverberated more in his mind than in his ears, pulling Aiden’s head beside her shoulders, letting him kiss, lick, and nip fondly. “There is pleasure in the release, but an indescribable bliss when two truly linked souls finally become one. This is love, Aiden. Love wasn’t present earlier because it was not meant to be. Your inner wolf lusts for carnal bliss, but your heart yearns for love, as all creatures do. And you will never reach your full potential, never become a real wolf, unless you find your love and remain by her side.”

Vivian pulled her head back, resting a heated hand over one side of his cheek, her voice continuing to speak but her lips not really moving. “You will have to sacrifice, but you will never feel complete unless you are with her, your soul mate. She’s waiting for you, Aiden. Let go of your fears and accept who you are, and who you will be.”

Vivian pulled away, escaping Aiden’s grasp as she dropped back to all fours, her rear raised and split apart. Aiden was awestruck at the sight of Vivian’s vulva, both glistening in a swollen heat and pulled closer behind just below her anus, like a female wolf’s would. Vivian stretched out her body and glanced back, smiling as her amber eyes once again mesmerized Aiden, as if he was becoming a puppet to her will voluntarily.

“Let out your inner beast. Go wild!”

Being invited to do so, Aiden’s rationality became non-existent, panting wildly as his mind followed the thoughts and behavior of his inner wolf's craving to mate. His nose sniffed the back of Vivian’s rear ravenously, his slobbering tongue coating her sex with his saliva. She whined pleasantly as she rocked her body against him, sticking her behind into his mouth and nose as her yelps and moans signaled him to cease his teasing and mount her. Aiden stretched a fanged smile, climbing swiftly on top of Vivian as he balanced and postured himself as best as he could in this form. Hands and arms caressed against one another, Aiden’s head resting behind the back of Vivian’s shoulders. Snarling gasps sounded as Aiden made contact and pushed in deep, Vivian trembling in ecstasy while Aiden began to pace his thrusts, thrusting faster and harder as the time passed.

Sweat drenched and smeared between their bodies, minds lost in their primal carnal moment. The joyful sensation of climbing to orgasm was as wonderful as sex could be, but something about this round was different. He felt that empty void from earlier today, yet it only appeared to show how it began to fill. The sensation was both intense and euphoric, a feeling spreading all over that was recognizable but…also indescribable. Was this the love Vivian spoke of? Why was their moment together here so different that he now felt something for her?

Then again, it wasn’t Vivian, not really. This creature wore her face and talked in her voice; pelted in her peach skin. But her scent and aura, her touch and warmth, her sexual potency, was someone else’s. Whomever these qualities belonged to, her impact upon him was astounding. His wolf side relished at how phenomenal the sex was going, but Aiden himself felt as if this was, for the first time, right. The connection he felt for this being was nothing like he ever thought real love would be; it was better. This was love in its purest form; Aiden loved this wild woman.

Aiden’s body began to contort and spasm, feeling a familiar sensation overtaking him like last night; the surge of energy working its way throughout his body to transform him into the beast. But the sensation was less painful this time, only immense pleasure flowing all over. Even then, the pleasure was little caused by his changes; it concentrated in the moment he was sharing with the wolf girl that resembled Vivian. And even then that was slowly passing. Dazed, weary eyes looked down over his partner, watching silver fur blanket her skin, with bone and muscle stretching and realigning underneath, as the same occurred over him. A tail rubbed against his belly, lengthening until it slithered out from under him to the wolf girl’s side, while his own grew fully, wagging in his extended excitement. Limbs, hands and feet elongated and swelled as they took the more feral shapes of forepaws and hindpaws. Chests barreled and neck muscles toned and lengthened, their faces pushing forward into true wolfen forms.

Two giant wolves, a brown-furred male and a shimmering silver-furred female, howled softly together as they sung of their love for each other, muzzles trying to kiss and lick in their locked position. The brown wolf’s forelimbs and barreled chest rubbed affectionate over the back and sides of the silver wolf, wanting to comfort his mate as much as he could passionately. His thrusting speed had even steadied back to an even pace, looking to extend the carnal moment further for his mate’s sake, yet each thrust remained rough and deep. The silver wolf took immense delight in her mate’s actions, yelping happily as the shift of both her form and his rocking brought her closer to orgasm while the soft yet firm stimulation was just as pleasurable to experience.

She waits for you…together to fill your hearts with love. Only then, and willing to commit, will you two ever be whole and free. Your place is in the wild with her. Your true life begins with her. She will come, but it will be you that has to go to her. Help release each other from your shells. Let your inner beast out. Go wild!

Vivian’s voice rang in the brown wolf’s head as the climax finally came, stretching his upper body and raising his head high to the sky. The silver wolf mimicked his body's tension, their voices ready to explode in an orgy of howling, restraining it for the right moment. Desperate snarls huffed from panting maws as finally the brown wolf’s member trembled, erupting inside the silver wolf with his pungent and potent juices swimming feverishly for her womb. The restraints cracked and eroded away then, the two howling triumphantly and amorously in their union. The brown wolf knew the pleasures of sex, but this was the first time he had ever felt whole and fulfilled; no other female able to elicit this feeling inside him but the silver wolf. This moment sealed his fate with her, craving nothing but to be by her side always, to comfort and love, and slake her needs when they came. She would be his mate, the mother of his pups, his entwined spirit.

The silver wolf was his soul mate.

The brown wolf, Aiden, lowered his head against his chest, exhaustion gripping him as he remained where he was, eyes closed. Heavy panting exuberantly pressed on as he thought about the future with his mate, the lands they would travel across together and the sights they would see, whether or not they would cross a wandering pack and be accepted into their fold, how his pups would look the day they were born. His body began to weaken as he prepared to collapse forward on top of his beautiful mate, ready to sleep off their lustful exhaustion together. But once he did, it was not a warm, furry body and soft earth and grass he fell upon, but the tattered and wrinkled sheets and lumpy mattress of his bed. Eyes wide open and darting back and forth, Aiden sat upon his hands and knees as he frantically searched for the woods and fire pit for the wolf girl that bore Vivian’s face but wasn’t really her.

But she was gone, and so were the woods.

Another dream!? Aiden thought frustratingly, a low, lengthy snarl sounding from clenched fangs to outwardly express those feelings. That was all another fucking dream!?

Aiden leapt off his bed, landing on all fours but prying himself up to stand on his own two feet, shifting his weight to the balls of his toes as he knew his body desired to earlier. A primal fury burned in his chest, its fire felt over his clawed hands and swollen face. He wanted to howl madly in protest, not wanting to believe all that he just experienced was a mere dream. A harsh howling roar bellowed instead, its cry not as deafening, but retaining a monstrous menace. Feeling slightly better and in more control, Aiden held his hands against his temples, stumbling toward the dresser with the vanity mirror hung above it, slamming his hands down on the dresser's surface to prop his slouching posture. He took deep calming breaths, working extra hard to soothe his rage until he was at a level of clarity and control. But it didn’t make him feel any better emotionally.

Aiden finally looked up to the mirror, finding it difficult to see himself because the room was still sitting in the dark, with the exception of moonlight cascading through the window. Before long though, his feral eyes adjusted to the night light, and he was able to examine himself quite well. At first glance, it would appear that nothing had changed once more. Then, Aiden noticed the light fuzz that had started to form over his shoulders earlier. The fuzz had lengthened into thin patches, darkened in the same hue as his brown hair and grew around the front of his neck and chest. Twisting his body to see his back, he saw the same small patches were forming over the back of his shoulders and down his spine. Only at the base of his now longer tail did the hair sprout thickest, helping in his tail’s fuller appearance as it wagged and flagged. Continuing his examination, there were more patches over the backs of his hands and over his stretched feet, and the hair…or fur…that traveled down his back to the tail still spread for a while around his rear and parts of his thighs, until it faded close to his knees. Finally, back to his face, Aiden turned and lifted his chin, noticing a small mane forming at the back of his cheeks; folding his animal ears, he found more brown fur covering the skin.

The intensity of his dream must have caused his furthering changes into a werewolf…or so he believed.

First an American Werewolf in London nightmare, and now a Howling sex scene dream? Guess that makes sense. Still, I gotta say, as a werewolf, I’m starting to look pretty dashing.

Making stunning and fierce animal poses in the mirror, Aiden caught the reflection of his clock, surprised to see that the time was around 1:30am. It was still so late, and yet now, after all that, Aiden no longer felt tired. The excitement and anticipation from his dream had rubbed off on him, and he was anxious to follow what his inner wolf desired, even if it meant submitting to animalistic simplicity and mannerisms. Aiden actually felt eager to leave his apartment and return to the woods, willing to give real hunting a try and experience consciously the thrill of taking down prey to feed, to simply race on all fours through the forest and valley just for the joy of it. But what he was most eager to accomplish was to find the Wolf Girl, the silver-haired human roaming his territory. He needed to know if she was like him, a human changing into a wolf, looking to be whole, like him. He needed to know if her showing up in town at this exact point of time was a sign, if she was indeed looking for him. If she was…his soul mate.

Aiden reluctantly shook off this notion, as much as it pained him. The horrible reality of the next day reminded him that he had work to return to later today, though he was uncertain how he was going to pass off most of his current deformities to his boss and co-workers. What he was certain of was that if he was going to keep his strength up, he was going to need all the sleep he could get. He would have to look into all this fantasy nonsense later after work.

Can you truly call turning into a real wolf nonsense, Aiden?

Aiden finally pried himself away from the mirror, gloomily crawling back into bed, once again forgetting about snuggling under the covers as the night chill blended well with his hot body. As he began to lay his head down over the opposite end of the bed, forcing his eyes closed, a soft thump shot him up to his elbows and knees, his eyes staring directly out the doorway into the living room where the source of the thud was heard. He didn’t see anyone inside the room, no mysterious apparitions of ex-girlfriends/wolf girls. A tiny squeal brought his eyes to the window of the living room, but he was unable to see what was causing the sounds with his blinds nearly shut to draw away the outside. Cautiously, Aiden crawled back off the bed and began to approach the window, again standing on the balls of his feet.

His mind alerted him to the possible danger of a random person or occupant walking by his window, fearing more than just modesty if someone were to look at him now in his state. Aiden stood silently in front of the blinds for a moment, unsure whether to take a peek or leave it be. Another dull thump sounded over the glass; Aiden’s curiosity now heightened immensely as he leaned forward and separated two flaps.

“No way!” Aiden whispered, completely befuddled and astounded at what he saw, as he quickly but careful pulled at the string to bring up the blinds. He was now the center of attention to the world outside, but not from just any late night wandering pedestrians or inhabitants of the apartment complex. The eyes that gazed through the glass examining Aiden’s being, Aiden himself drawn up to the glass in disbelief and alluring curiosity, was of the amber eyes of the silver-haired Wolf Girl herself.

Chapter Five - Fate

Was this another fantastic dream he was under? After all the sudden daydreams and nightmares Aiden had experienced in the last few hours, it was uncanny to believe that he was now standing face to face with the mysterious news-reported Wolf Girl, only a thick sheet of glass parting them from touching one another. But attempts to prove he was still asleep failed, shaking his head wildly or pinching his cheeks and arms. This wasn’t a dream; the wolf girl was standing outside his apartment.

I don’t believe it.

Aiden felt frozen where he stood, only inches away from the window and his being ached to be next to her like a bad addiction. The fact that she was nude only instigated primal lustful thoughts, but her true appearance made it the most appealing to want to be close. From what glimmer of yellowish light from one of the apartment doors outside, showed that the wolf girl was incredibly beautiful, a petite and curvy figure that nearly stole his attention from the athletic build underneath. Her bare skin glistened a tan brown; along with the features of her gorgeous face, she bore a resemblance to a Native Indian. Red bumps, like bug bites, dotted over the top and bottom of her belly, but was barely noticeable to consider a second glance. Her shimmering hair devoted the most of her tantalizing appearance, long, flowing, silver hair dazzling even under a fabricated light source.

She’s very pretty, Aiden thought, face and body flushing red.

The wolf girl stepped closer against the glass, feeling the glossy surface with studying hands. While dazzled by the see-through shield into the den, her eyes constantly darted to Aiden, heart fluttering wildly each time her alluring golden eyes looked over him with intriguing curiosity. She soon began to rake desperately upon the window, the sharp tip ends of her nails causing a minor screech that squealed on both sides. Aiden realized she was trying to get in.

And if he let the wolf girl continue her frantic animal behavior, she was bound to wake one of his neighboring occupants, or even the Super.

Changed hindpaw-like feet shuffled Aiden over to the front door, as he hastily turned the knob and let the door fly open, holding the knob tight so he wouldn’t let the door slam outside. The force and speed made him stumble halfway out the doorway, catching his balance with a heavy step planted. Aiden almost let out a meshed bark and whine of fright from nearly toppling over, sighing in relief after recapturing his balance. His reprieve soon dissipated, as looking upon the alertly beautiful wolf girl reminded him of why he hurriedly gone outside his apartment, where unknown possible passer-biers could take notice of two nude people, one beginning to look like a monstrous beast. But would she understand why?

“Uh…hi there,” were the first few words he was able to say, stretching a crooked smile, his ears fully erect. When the wolf girl didn’t respond except glaring at him with innocent interest much like a dog, Aiden struggled to reform his greeting, finally ending shamefully with another wider meek smile, only this time chuckling nervously and waving his other hand. The wolf girl suddenly smiled blushingly, mimicking Aiden’s hand greeting. Aiden had half expected the wolf girl to not show much human intelligence, recalling some of the eye witness encounters and her earlier animal behavior behind the window, thinking she didn’t know what a glass window was.

Of course, dummy! She’s still pretty wild like an animal, but there is some human in her after all.

“Are you…the wolf girl everyone’s been talking about?” was the first question that blurted out of his stuttering, fanged mouth, groaning immediately as he knew it was a moot question to begin with. Still, he pressed it. “There have been news reports about you today. You’re kind of famous around here now. You know, when they first aired the headline as a Wolf Man sighting, I thought they were going to talk about me.” Aiden began to laugh, dying down quickly as he noticed the wolf girl looking at him strangely. He cleared his throat. “Well, because of the fact I ended up naked in the woods this morning…and that I’m, I’m guessing, a werewolf. You see that, right? The fangs, the ears, the claws, everything?”

Aiden grinned sheepishly, looking out over the railing of the second level walkway disappointed. He felt really idiotic from all the dumb things he had just said, not performing his best in entertaining and attracting one of the sexiest women he may ever see in his life. But what could he say or ask that would make sense to a mostly primitive creature?

You’re not so human yourself anymore, wolfboy. Stop thinking so human-like and introduce yourself on her level. What do you think a wolf would do first to greet each other friendly-like?

Unusual sense occurred to Aiden, gazing back to the wolf girl with hungry intrigue. His body began to take over slowly, instincts guiding him on what felt appropriate for two fellow animals to do when meeting for the first time. Before Aiden made his move, though, the wolf girl had already begun to walk up to him, no shame in hiding her nudity, as if willingly displaying her body to him. Aiden’s body temperature rose higher, skin searing hot along with the wolf girl's as the two stood together, only inches apart and panting breaths expressing a heightened arousal between them.

The way she moves, the way she behaves, the way she stares at me; she is so stunning. I feel like I might lose it if she doesn’t let me touch her. And her smell…

Noses flared and twitched among the curious wolves, the wolf girl leaning in over Aiden’s chest as she trailed up to his shoulders. Aiden gave in to the animal instinct, copying the wolf girl’s exploring sniffing around her neck and back, clawed hands outstretched over her shoulders, before dropping around her hips. His fingers wanted to touch her so badly, and the scent the wolf girl was emanated was only making it worse. There was her human scent, a sweetness that could best compare to a maple sapling from a tree, and an animal scent, an aromatic musk similar to a distinct female wolf. Aiden became consumed with drinking in her scent; the wolf girl showing equal obsession, circling each other in place as they tried to explore in more hidden regions, collapsing onto their hands and knees, making their behavior completely animal-like.

…her smell…she’s in heat…she’s ready…

As the two stood in place, noses to rear ends, Aiden sniffed contently between her legs, detecting the intoxicating pheromones many animals give off to signal their desire to mate. He could feel the heat of her vulva singeing the tip of his leathery snout, his tongue lolling out into an excitable pant. A short wave of stimulation followed up his spine through his wolfhood, feeling the wolf girl’s nose sniff attentively at the base of his sheath, hot and heavy panting sounding from her own mouth as the surface of her tongue teased. Animal thoughts manipulating his already overwhelmed psyche whined delightfully, believing that if the wolf girl was indeed willingly to taste his member, he could extend the same courtesy. A brief objection wailed in his mind, human rationality fighting to retain dominance over Aiden’s actions, but the wolf stood its ground and pushed him on to extend his slobbering tongue and coat her sex.

The frisky wolf girl began to retreat from Aiden’s legs, slowly arching her upper body and raising her head high, panting happily as she produced soft whines and growls. The fact that she hadn’t retaliated was proof enough she wanted this from him, his tongue licking ravenously as he now had an unquenchable taste for the wolf girl’s sex. A small warning flagged once more but he pushed it aside, having too much joy in stimulating the wolf girl’s sex and mentally preparing to take it further. He wanted nothing more than to mount her like in his earlier daydream, to make what happened in his dreams a reality. Something about her matched what Aiden had felt in his dream, mating with the she wolf that looked like Vivian. Whether it was her alluring looks or her willingness to be mated, something about the human shewolf echoed Vivian’s haunting message in his head.

She waits for you…your soul mate.

A muffled cry caught the attention of Aiden’s ears, distracted, he peeked and turned to focus on a new noise coming from downstairs. He pulled back hastily in alert, eyes staring out beyond the railing as he listened carefully for any further developments. The wolf girl began to mutter calls of her own, her voice deepening into frantic and almost vicious snarls, her body shaking violently. Aiden returned his attention to the wolf girl, fright gripping him as he was uncertain why she had begun to act so furious and from the unknown source of that sudden cry. He took a step beside the wolf girl, whining softly in his animal distressful response. She looked back rashly, teeth and fangs bared as she continued to snarl, amber eyes intensely burning. Her cold and monstrous gaze gave Aiden chills, making him step back with his head lowered. Seeing this, the wolf girl’s expression changed, her face still contorted from whatever was causing her body to convulse but authentically repentant of her behavior towards him.

Her furious mood was frightening indeed, but there was an enticing shroud of arousing thrill to it. Aiden was afraid to try to approach her again, but something about her aggressive and wild behavior was sensually amusing, a hidden turn-on. It had been the same response from Vivian, admitting that Aiden’s animal actions and energy had stirred her senses to unusual heights, finding pleasure in being treated like an animal and aroused from Aiden behaving the same. The wolf girl’s ferocity elicited the same response, he was sexually attracted to her wolf-like posturing and calling, secretly beginning to fantasize about the possibility of the wolf girl taking a more dominant role and letting her have her way with him.

Don’t get comfortable with that idea, the whispers of his inner wolf spoke. She can be as firm and rough with you all she wants. But remember who supplies the ends of your needs. She can’t be truly satisfied if you don’t fill her. Remember that, Aiden.

Aiden understood what his beast side was getting out, a hidden reserve of pride and confidence surging within as his tongue slipped back out into a horny pant, a crooked smile stretched across his face. The wolf girl, her body still reeling from uncontrollable spasms, began to pant in mutual anticipation.

“What the hell is going on out here?”

The muffled cry from just a moment ago suddenly shouted once more and this time was clearer and identifiable. Aiden’s lustful pride crumbled as the earlier warning his mind tried to tell him washed over him like drowning in arctic waters. Footsteps echoed below, the floppy slap of sandals he knew belong to the Super, following the clap as it headed for the stairway up to his floor. Uneasy scenarios began to run through his head as Aiden remained frozen in place, head moving along the floor as the footsteps clamored on the metal steps.

Crap, I’m dead!!!

“Frank?” another new voice, feminine and shrill, called out, “Shouldn’t you call animal control to take care of this?”

The clank and slap ceased somewhere halfway up the stairs.

“It might not just be some stupid mutts, Tildy. I could of swore I heard someone talking out here first. Now pipe down, will ya!?”

“Well then, why don’t you have your bat out if you think its burglars?”

The Super groaned, Aiden hearing his footsteps drop back down to the first level. “Shut up,” the Super whispered harshly, “I’m losing the element of surprise here with your constant shouting.”

The female, possibly the Super’s wife, smirked. “Well, you’re not doing a good job of it, what with the storming out of the building and grumbling to yourself so loudly.”

“OH-ho-ho-ho. I swear, Tildy, one of these days…”

This is crazy! Aiden thought, a awkward, gapping smile beaming. It’s like I’m pinned with unnatural luck.

Realizing time had given him an extra minute, Aiden brushed the icy chill off his hands and feet, swiftly and quietly standing back on digitigrades and swinging his apartment door open. He turned back as he entered, waving his hand for the wolf girl to follow, whispering, “come on, in here.” But the wolf girl wouldn’t budge, planted firmly where she was as her quivering body continued, her panting shifting back to wild snarling. Aiden frantically persuaded harder, but the wolf girl wouldn’t listen, or what was happening to her hindered her ability to do so.

“Wait,” Frank the Super’s voice bellowed, “You hear that?”

“Jesus, Frank,” the lady Tildy gasped, “that sounded like one nasty dog. I’ll get the bat.”

Crap, crap, crap!!!

Their luck was about to run out if the wolf girl didn’t move soon. Patience fleeting, Aiden did the only thing he could do now, lunging at the wolf girl from behind and hooking his arms under hers, pulling the wolf girl up to her feet. What he had expected as retaliation, flinching nervously for her fangs or claws to strike him for his unruly embrace, was instead welcomed with the wolf girl staring thankfully in his eyes, trying to lick his face as she resumed panting.

“Thank me once we’re inside,” Aiden grunted, although giddy from the positive response, semi-dragging the wolf girl into his living room, dropping her back down to the floor tenderly as he leapt agilely back to the front door, carefully closing it without too much noise just as his wolf ears heard the Super running up the stairs as Aiden’s door shut. He leaned against it, heart pounding and body perspirating from exhilarating fear as he heard the Super walking franticly about the walkway. There were some vulgar comments Aiden could hear, silence following afterward until he heard a heavy metallic pound from something heavy against the railing.

“Whatever it was, it’s gone,” Frank the Super called out, the slap of his sandals retreating to the stairs. Concentrating a little longer on the noise outside, Aiden finally heard nothing but quiet, convinced the Super had gone back into his apartment room. An exhausted sigh, mixed with a canine-like whine, exhaled out his fanged mouth.

“That was close,” Aiden panted, leaning the back of his body against the door as he inhaled deeply, calming his racing heart.

His attention returned to the wolf girl crawling along the living room floor, stumbling even on her hands and knees for balance as she brought herself next to Aiden’s sofa. Concern finally set in more than lust as she stepped forward, Aiden reaching out to offer any help he was able to give her.

“Are you alright?” He asked, kneeling down behind her as he placed his hands gently over the back of her shoulders.

The wolf girl’s mood had once again shifted, barking back at him with a furious snarl. Aiden froze, eyes widened in both shock and awe, but her sudden relapse in aggression wasn’t what had stolen his surprise. As the wolf girl bared her teeth, looking back with the same intense animal rage, Aiden noticed how the structure of her face had changed, looking similar to his even. Her mouth was now slightly protruded and her nose was shaped and discolored into a canine form. Her ears were wiggling free from under her silver hair, fixating into wolfish points as they grew a little longer, if not fully like Aiden’s, a small matte of silver fur covering the flesh. Her face had now transformed into the premature facsimile of a wolf, much like how Aiden’s was now.

Aiden didn’t need to hit the lights to witness the other bits of changes overtaking the wolf girl, his feral eyes adjusted finely to the darkened apartment. The wolf girl pulled herself on to Aiden’s sofa, whining from the constant sensation continuing to make her shudder and spasm. Knees climbing onto the cushions, she paused, arching her torso in sharply, the sickening crack and pop of bone down her spine echoing within the living room to Aiden’s ears. The vertebra pushed against her back in a column of small swells, immediately followed by the hastened growth of tangling, coarse silver fur lightly covering her shoulders and down the center of her back. Lying as she did, clawed hands gripping the top of the sofa tightly, Aiden watched in amazement as the base of her spine lengthened, giving form to a small nub that attempted to grow longer but stopped after only three inches, a light coating of fur fluffed over her newly-sprouted wagging tail.

“You really are a werewolf,” Aiden mouthed silently, romantically transfixed on her new lupine features to see if she displayed any hint of fright.

The wolf girl, living up to her nickname now, appeared to have weathered the convulsions, her body calm but still excited. She turned her head back towards Aiden cautiously, withholding her panting as she looked to him. Shy, at first, the wolf girl began to smile warmly as she crawled off the sofa. Aiden spotted cotton stuffing bursting out from the wolf girl’s clenched marks but damaged furniture was ephemeral to his concerns, more interested in the mildly-changed lupine beauty approaching him. Her tan colored skin appeared radiated under the dim light that kept his apartment lit, the same luminescence adding the mesmerizing sheen to her hair and fur. Such an appearance made Aiden feel as if an icy chill would freeze every nerve and muscle just trying to touch her. The wolf girl’s tender brushing of one of her hands over his chest contradicted such notions, Aiden moaning pleasantly as her body’s natural warmth was soothing against his skin.

Aiden cautiously held the wolf girl’s feely hand with his, caressing the now paw-like structured form gently and lovingly. He pulled it to his face, whining affectionately as he loosened his hold and rubbed his cheeks across the palm. The wolf girl let out a human giggle, taking joy in Aiden’s primal interactions, stepping closer so the two of them were almost hip to hip, bodies heaving and rocking as the intimate attraction could be felt intensely.

“Would it be rude or flattering to say how warm your hands…urgh, paws are?” Aiden muttered softly, his small tail wagging excitedly along with the wolf girl's. She seemed to respond with a smile, still showing no signs that she could speak English or any words, but apparently understanding most of what he said, at least the intimate parts.

“I should warn you,” Aiden continued, releasing the wolf girl’s hand as he slowly wrapped his around her waist, “I’ve been in a sexually hyper mood for the last few days. I might be killing my chances by telling you this, but the wolf in me is growing restless…and I’m starting to feel really horny again. Just giving you a heads up if you want to avoid being taken advantage…cause, well…I think you’re too beautiful and sweet to be ravaged unintentionally. I’d really hate to spoil this moment if you weren’t…really ready, you know?”

Smooth, Aiden, his own voice mocked sarcastically in his mind. Very smooth.

The wolf girl’s head tilted curiously, beaming her smile as she brought her hands back over Aiden’s chests, her own small tail wagging excitedly.

Of course you don’t know, Aiden thought dismally. I have no idea how much you know about being human, seeing how you look and act like you were raised by real wolves. Then again, maybe you’re lucky. At least you’re comfortable with it already. I don’t know if I can be.

And yet, the more Aiden thought about it, the more he realized she didn’t have to be highly intelligent for them to understand each other. Despite a few awkward and confusing gawks and glares, the wolf girl’s body language managed to convey enough information to him about what she was feeling or what mood she was in. The wag of her small, furry tail, coupled with her innocent smile and wide-eyed fascination, showed how friendly and interested she was of him. The gentle caress of her pawed fingers rubbing across Aiden’s chest and her body generally grinding lightly against his expressed a physical attraction. Steady spurts of heaving breaths, feeling the nearly phantom vibrations of her thumping heart and streaming boiling blood signaled her exhilaration and thrill being around him. Many things about the way she moved and swayed told Aiden she was immensely infatuated with him.

And then there’s her scent, Aiden’s animal whispers reminded him, his discolored, leathery nose twitching uncontrollably as it seemed the wolf girl’s own body odor was growing stronger suddenly, the smell so pungent that his mind became easily wired to remembering her unique scent and the effects it had on him. It was the pheromones silently masking her true scent that slowly was setting him off again, whining softly as his hips began to press against the wolf girl, his apparently perpetual throbbing erection brushing against her belly.

“So many things I wanna do to you,” Aiden began to blurt out subconsciously, his voice mixed with a tense animal growl. “I want you so much it’s hurting me.”

Talk like that, Aiden’s rationally mind occasionally reminded him, normally came with a slap to the face and an end to a relationship…unless he was with a woman that actually liked hearing kinky stuff like that. The wolf girl turned out to be one of the few that did, either that or her lack of human slang and language hindered her from understanding. Either way, Aiden’s horny behavior continued to increase hers, pelvis and chest brushing rhythmically as her hands trailed up Aiden’s shoulders, hugging around his neck. Gazing into each other’s feral eyes, half shut and mystified, their dazed lust-drunk faces became an open book to the future of their union.

“I-I’m Aiden,” Aiden muttered weakly under heavy breath, licking dry lips as he attempted his small talk one more time before he would allow himself to give in to his inner wolf’s desires. There was one question he had to try and ask before he took this sudden relationship further. “Do…do you have a name?”

The wolf girl’s grinding didn’t cease, but her face showed she was thinking about Aiden’s question. It seemed like a difficult task to remove herself from their embrace, even when her arms felt unresponsive, but she finally broke free and took a step back, still smiling as she nodding towards the doorway into Aiden’ room, dropping on all fours in a quick dash until she leapt onto the far end of his bed, her upper body propped on top of the mattress as her hindpaws stayed planted on the floor. Aiden was stunned by the wolf girl’s lithe movements, captivated by her animal posturing and mild human physique as she was bathed by the moonlight shining down through his bedroom window. Everything about how this girl acted and looked was something both his inner animal and personal self fell in love with instantly. She was like an innocent child, or hyper puppy, unhampered by the corruption of human society, beaming wild and jubilant vibes around those in her presence. At the same time, she was fully matured, physically and sexually, aware of the arousing urges felt between her and Aiden and being complacent to the overbearing call of sex. Her short tail flagged and legs spread slightly apart to once again present her swollen sex as proof of her willingness.

Can it really be this easy? Aiden thought, joining the wolf girl inside his bedroom while admiring her sultry posture over his bed.

The wolf girl looked back, amused at the wilyness Aiden continued to express, her eyes locked on his as her head nodded up to the window. Aiden was mildly confused until she did it once more, reminded of the question he had asked her a moment ago. He looked out the window to see only the navy blue night sky, the twinkling starlight, and the nearly full moon. He looked to the wolf girl again curiously, now inches behind her as she hastily nodded to the window again, whining. It looked as if she was pointing to the moon.

“Your name?” Aiden asked, the she wolf nodding approvingly. “So…your name is…moon?”

The wolf girl giggled, shaking her head as she rolled around to meet Aiden face to face, lying back slightly with her arms holding her up behind as she sat over the end of the mattress, legs still spread apart. She nodded again but Aiden was still perplexed at what she was trying to tell him. She grinned, head lowered as she started to whine, or growl; it was difficult for Aiden to tell. Her head bobbed as her voice strained, as if attempting to talk. Rough muffles that only sounded like barks or short howls bellowed, but Aiden’s ears managed to decipher a “L” in her voice, possibly a “U” after.

Aiden chuckled nervously, holding back its intensity so as to not offend the wolf girl. It was hard not to admit how funny it was to watch a grown woman try to say her own name, but the fact that she couldn’t only strengthened the possibility even further that maybe she had only lived an animal’s life; raised by wolves. Unfortunately, this made it harder for him to discover her name, the wolf girl trying desperately, if not with a sense of playful joy, to tell Aiden what her name was. All he could pick up was “Lu…” The only other clue that didn’t seem to help was her pointing to the night sky. Aiden thought it could be something in the sky, but nothing out there started with “Lu.” All there were was the scattered twinkling of stars, the fluffy, thinly stretched clouds, and the brilliant glow of the moon, closer than normal, to view the lunar surface.

Wait…lunar…lu?

“Lunar?” Aiden stuttered, his ears folded shyly.

The wolf girl smiled and nodded, but brought one of her hands up, clenched with her index out waving, telling him he was close. She stretched out all her fingers and her thumb, then curled her thumb back into her hand leaving only four. Aiden was stumped at this for a moment, until his own rational human thoughts solved this puzzle for him.

Think Aiden. Lunar has five letters. She’s eliminating the last letter in the word. Besides, not too many people would be named “Lunar”, right? What sounds more reasonable for a female?

Aiden smiled, lips locking in a muffled chuckle as he said, “Luna.”

The wolf girl smiled widely, panting happily as she nodded genially.

“So your name is Luna, huh?” Aiden asked, slowly dropping to his knees as his nose became attracted once more to the sweet and musky smell deriving from the wolf girl…Luna’s… still swollen sex. Aiden’s eyes trailed up Luna’s body, fascinatingly caught off guard by the bumps over her belly, originally having been just tiny bug bites now took a more defined shape of teats. His eyes pressed on until they meet Luna’s, seeing her look down over him with that warm smile as if anticipating Aiden’s lustful behavior. Her face, though, was authentically full of innocent awe rather than horny lust. He was feeling that same spark burning away the void that lingered from his coupling with Vivian, the same feeling from his dream early where she had taken the guise of the wolf girl. But, he remembered realizing the she beast wasn’t Vivian at all.

It was Luna…

Aiden’s lips craved instantly to taste Luna’s, but his tongue demanded more from her sex first. Luna gestured it as she laid back further, resting her upper body on her elbows as she kept her legs unfolded, tucking back a bit as if to give Aiden a better vantage point. Conflicting actions bombarded his mind gazing over her vulva, the erotic rump of the dream coaxing him to climb on top of her and fornicate wildly while the sensual introduction outside the walkway told him to lap away until she howled. The once helpful human rationality returned with an annoying vengeance dictating how rude and inappropriate it would be to jump to sex immediately after just meeting Luna in one day.

But it didn't feel like ‘one day’, his personal and animal thoughts concurred. It feels like I’ve known her for a lifetime. And I know what she wants…

Aiden started warily, limbs and muscles tensing readily if tasting her hot and throbbing sex did end up infuriating Luna. Instead, she gasped and sighed, light pleasant whines passing her swollen fanged lips as her chest heaved in a delightful spasm. Seeing how excited she was, Aiden’s fears were dashed as he persuaded her body further and more vigorously, enjoying the sweat flavor her vulva produced on his lapping tongue as he stuck it deeper. His nose poked between, inside the opening of her temple now, his tongue bathing and caressing the inner walls. Luna let out a wild bark, tongue lolled beside her lips as her smile stretched its farthest. Aiden’s ears followed each gasping breath exhaling and refilling her burning lungs, each rapid pound of her drumming heart, her body’s posturing and contorting aiding the indistinguishable fact that he was doing a terrific job stimulating Luna to an unfathomable level of pleasure. He grinned wolfishly at his personal accomplishment as he continued passionately licking and brushing his tongue as deep as he could go.

Luna’s legs began to cross around his neck, pulling herself closer to him and using his body as leverage. He could feel her clawed, callused hands caressing her inner thighs, fingertips combing the sides of his hair. Concentrating so much on licking her sex, Aiden only took brief notice of how fuzzy her locked legs were becoming around his neck, or how his own body began to feel the same way. Luna’s tail became a mild distraction, whipping under his chin and neck, although it soon became quite soothing. All that mattered to him was pleasuring Luna, performing to his fullest until he made her howl, made her body quiver with fiery joy.

Luna’s legs began to clench tightly, pressing more firmly with her feet behind Aiden’s shoulders, her entire body tensing, her head bobbed back more and more behind her, the room echoing with whines and yelps growing higher and higher in pitch. A sticky coat began to seep through her sex, developing a human discharge some females make when reaching the peak of sexual thrill. Aiden sensed it; her internal valve was about to spin out of control. Even her body, feeling furrier than before, resonated with a powerful heat almost steaming off her skin. Aiden licked ravenously before it was over, taking in as much of her feminine cum and fleshy flavor as he could.

“Aarrrrooooo!!!” Luna howled, body arched, as she cried blissfully, intense pleasure flowing all over her body. Aiden slowly removed his panting maw from her vulva, lapping up any leftover juices attached to her furry pussy and his lips. Pride filled him as his erect ears focused on the lingering echoes of Luna’s howl, elated in her euphoria. Luna’s wagging tail whipped at his face then, Aiden laughing as he playfully fended off the fully-grown tail.

Wait…fully grown?

Aiden’s eyes focused on her tail for a moment, realizing how long and bushy it was now, remembering that it had only been short and lightly-fuzzed when she came inside his apartment. He then turned his gaze to Luna herself, toppling onto his digitigrades as he towered over her belly. Luna had gone through changes again, her skin more engulfed in her sliver fur than ever, nearly consumed fully. Her hands themselves, resting on top of her breasts, were shaped more anatomically as forepaws, the thumbs receding down her wrists as dewclaws. Her face no longer resembled anything human, only the feral and beautiful form of a female wolf; nearly grown lupine muzzle and snout, etched over Luna.

And she still looks sexy, Aiden thought admiringly, her werewolf-ish appearance not hindering his deep infatuation for her. In fact, looking over her now, a human that was almost more animal, his arousal had never been this intense. And with Luna gazing up to him, exhausted from her orgasm but beaming with excitement and warmth, he was also filled greatly with the one emotion that he hungered for.

I really do love you…

“I SAID KEEP YOUR FUCKING MUTT DOWN, YOU ASSHOLE!!!” Aiden’s neighboring occupant shouted, pounding at the living room wall. The two of them looked out the bedroom doorway, Aiden’s lips snared as a low snarl formed, angered at his neighbor’s interruption. The thought of raiding his apartment and luring the idiot into a corner, barking furiously as the man failed attempts to shoo and defend himself seemed the best course of action. Luna, though, sat up and pulled Aiden’s attention back to her, nuzzling fondly against his shoulders and neck. Her affection cooled Aiden’s temper as he grinned, wrapping his arms around her hips as he returned her nuzzling.

Her cuddling kept him calm, but there was still the matter of relieving his own sexual tension, and that would be impossible now unless he wanted to encourage the occupant’s wrath or chance the Super revitalizing his dog-hunting mood.

Luna brought her eyes back to his, licking his nose, the tracing of her tongue making Aiden realize his mouth and nose felt more pushed out since his oral fixation. Her tongue rolled back out into a thrilling pant as she rocked and nudged him to let her go, letting her drop onto all fours, her changes making her posture appear more refined and correct as she scampered into the living room and by the front door. She looked back, Aiden watching amusingly as she did her nod and guess game, grinning.

Distractions here, the animal whispers filled his head. Follow her…to the woods. It’s where you two belong.

Aiden froze near the bedroom door, his smile faded back into a nervous frown. He had known this was bound to happen sooner or later, going back to the woods. But, the fear of losing everything he had lived for as a human weighed heavily in his conscious. There was no real guarantee this would be it, that human life would end here and now. But there wasn’t much of a guarantee it wouldn’t. And yet it didn’t take his inner animal to help convince him anymore, though it was still playing its role. Something more than his animal instincts spoke to him that following her into the wild was right, that this was meant to be. He felt that if he left with Luna, his life would be exponentially better, fuller. He might miss some of the minor human comforts, but as long as Luna and he were together, it wouldn’t matter.

He would happy.

The frown turned upside down, panting excitedly as he joined Luna by the door. She climbed back to her hindpaws, for the moment looking taller than Aiden from her changes, the two of them staring deeply and lovingly into each other's eyes, not wanting to break their gaze. He fumbled with the knob until the door creaked opened, shutting it gently and quietly behind, perhaps for the last time. Aiden searched around the walkway for any signs of life, nodding to Luna to follow him as they headed for the stairs, rushing down quickly. He toppled forward on the last step purposely, standing on all fours. His posture wasn’t nearly as perfected as Luna’s, though even hers was not one hundred percent, but he still felt his limbs and muscles proportioned enough to run like this. Luna walked back to his face, nuzzling and licking once more, barking joyfully as she turned and raced off into the streets. Aiden barked back, following, as they sprinted down the street, heading for the park he knew would be the quickest way back to the woods.

He never looked back once, transfixed on Luna the whole way.

Chapter Six - Union

A flash of white light blurred over Aiden’s face, brow and nose scrunching from the sting as the illumination threatened to stir him from a peaceful and dream-filled slumber. Being hit by the intruding light again only jump-started a lucid memory within his sleep-ridden mind, brought back into the construct of his unconsciousness of being deep inside the woods, trailing behind a hand- and paw-imprinted path the wolf girl Luna left behind in her jubilant dash. The memory played in his head as if in real time, believing he was once more following her into the forest outside of his human hometown, pausing only for a time to reassure he was traveling Luna’s trail, sniffing the paw-like formations along the earth for her specific scent. When Aiden was satisfied, he would howl to Luna, comforting her that he was still close if she would worry.

Another flash of light over his shut eyes edited out the rest of his tracking, moving on to the next scene where he found Luna sitting on her knees with her clawed hands caressing the top of her lightly-sprouted, silver-furred thighs sensually, amber eyes hooking Aiden’s weary sight with promises of mating soon after a brief rest. She nodded her head to her right side, her muzzle’s blackened snout touching the front of her shoulder, leaning forward after that with her forelimbs propping her upper body; a human postured on hands and knees like a patient and energetic animal. Aiden walked up to her first, fixed on his own ‘all-fours’ stance, nuzzling affectionately across her maw and checks before he looked down to what she was pointing out.

It wasn’t much of a surprise what she wanted him to see, Aiden’s wolfish ears having detected the flow of a streaming river midway to where Luna had headed. Yet, still, he found himself marveling at its presence and natural beauty, standing close over the bank to feel the chilly spray of the rushing water’s mist against his hot and furry body, a pleasant whine taking the place of a sigh as his feral eyes looked down the left where the river flowed busily onward, and back to the opposite end where the water came from. Most people might not feel the same awe as Aiden did, even though he would have been one of the many that would claim as quoted, “you see one *insert noun here*, you've seen them all.” Was it because this particular river stood out from others, feeling as if this river was special in his mind, or was it because this was the first time his inner wolf could see it?

Sitting down in a similar way as Luna did, Luna herself began to crawl beside Aiden, pressing her body and muzzle against him as she yelped and moaned. Her continuous pheromones were provoking lingering sexual desires so great it was causing Aiden to grow impatient, wanting to pin her to the ground and mount. But, this moment they were having was not sexually driven, as much as their animal instincts craved to fulfill. The spark that faded the earlier void inside him was burning brighter, a giddy and euphoric sensation that could only be described as a fraction of true love reverberating under his skin and bones; a emotion he would fight to hold on to and knew it would stay and brighten more intensely every minute Luna and he were together, side by side or connected.

Aiden turned his attention to Luna, eyes diving deep into each other’s souls and back again as he admired the rest of her form. Her face, which had only been human a moment ago, was meshed and molded into lupine features, a wolf’s face, and yet there were some unfinished spots to this masterpiece. Despite her feral eyes, her wolfish ears, and her fully lengthened muzzle, parts of her structure remained torn between what was human and what was now wolf. A mane of fur flourished at the back of her cheekbones; thickening around her neck and shoulders, but elsewhere over the skin of her face and muzzle stayed bare, reminding him that there was once a human being underneath these animal changes. It was both beautiful and ugly; Aiden finding he was more inclined to her wolfen appearance than her human side, and yet being frozen in a hybrid state, did little to smolder his attraction and sexual appetite for her.

The same could be said for Aiden, if Luna was picky, turning his head back over to the rushing river and catching his reflection, the moonlight aiding his sight. If wolves were what they were destined to be, then Luna was fortunate, closer to the thralls of transforming into a full-fledged wolf. For Aiden, though, he still had a long way to go. His entire body was only covered in a light fuzz of brown fur, at best only ten percent furless by this point. His forepaws retained most of their human shape, while Luna’s had become defined and beautifully monstrous, the use of her thumbs nearly extinguished where Aiden’s stayed unchanged, if not for his nails cracked away to be replaced with claws. His face was the most concerning, sporting only a smaller mane behind his cheeks while the center of his face was furless. His own muzzle hadn’t even formed fully yet, stuck short at the length of a common housecat. Aiden was the one that retained most of his human features.

The consenting nuzzling and grinding from Luna though, helped ease Aiden’s guilt and fears of his attraction, stealing back his attention on to her as all he desired now was to be closer with Luna, to cuddle and share warmth with her, love her. There was also that lingering need building back quickly from their intimate fondling, their nuzzling between short and long snouts shifting more and more into deep kissing, blackened lips trying to reenact the beginning basis of sexual intimacy on a human level.

Another white flash interupted the tender scene, edited further as Aiden was taken away from the river and deeper into the wild, into the woods he would soon call home. They didn’t travel far, feeling the renewed strength after their run to the river not wasted. Wherever they went, they had space, a clearing encircled by tall and constricting trees, yet their branches thin and scarce for the moonlight to cascade its shower of pale light upon them. Luna walked slowly into the center, stopping as she laid on her belly, forearms tucked beside her chest as she sat on her knees, tail flagged as she presented Aiden with a visible view of her vulva winking back at him.

This will be… was the place they would be joined for the first time.

A switch turned on in his mind, creating a similar energy and noise as the animal whispers constantly speaking in his ears and mind. Aiden became instinctually drawn, almost hypnotized beyond his will as his body moved with purpose, knowing exactly what to do and what came next. The act of sex had never felt more perfect in his mind right now than it did as a human, silently, his instincts telling him what to do. He approached Luna from behind, her vibrant lupine face panting as if already exhausted, anticipating his advances. Aiden’s snout twitched and flared, sniffing adventurously at the perfume of pheromones motivating his behavior, pressing his lips against the furry labia, licking carefully and ravenously. Luna’s moan stirred into a short howl, head cocked back with her ears erect, her flagged tail wagging spontaneously to each stroke of Aiden’s slobbery tongue coating the swollen walls of her sex. Her howling grew loudest once Aiden’s tongue penetrated her internal lips, focusing at the top of her vulva where the stimulation doubled, Aiden listening in a dazed delight to Luna’s verbal cries of pleasure.

By the time he could taste her juices lubricating her sex, Aiden’s instincts pressed to move on to the main course, growling in an early triumph as he took a step back, leaving Luna to wither from the momentary rapture, until lunging forward, climbing behind her back. His furry chest rubbed against her back, forepaws planted firmly beside her tucked arms, balancing his awkward position as his erection poked and prodded her rear, seeking entry. It appeared more difficult than Aiden would ever have thought, aiming his shaft for Luna’s vulva, but the struggle ended quickly thanks to the guidance of Luna’s rear pushing against Aiden’s pelvis. He was already accustomed to the hot sensation of penetrating a woman, but this was incredibly different. After the first few seconds of interlocking, it was like their sexes had melted under the sweltering heat-wave between them until his rod adapted and hardened back, a feeling that would seem uncomfortable at first, but gradually it only increased each other’s arousal. Both Aiden and Luna were unable to form any howls or yelps from the sensation, their breaths taken from their very maws. The moment passed soon after, leaving Aiden trapped with only one thing to do to relieve the tension building up inside his loins, ensnared within Luna’s sex.

Mate…fuck…copulate…

His rhythm started slow, rocking into her gently, attempting to make each thrust count, making sure he was stimulating Luna’s insides well. He could see she took some appreciation for this, looking back amorously with heavily panting maw, working movements in her own legs and rear to help Aiden thrust deeper into her sex while encompassing as much of his member for Luna to stimulate. They shared mutual concerns to being careful and tender while also achieving the most intense pleasure and orgasm.

Mate…sex…pleasure…

As the melted sensation between sexes shifted, Aiden’s wolfhood engorged and formed the knot while Luna’s sex tightened and constricted, removing any chance of escaping, his animal instincts pressed him on even further. His speed began to quicken, his gentleness abolished into roughness as he pumped harder into Luna, forgetting briefly the act of love, as all that seemed to matter was the release. His cock trembled and throbbed, screaming to be stroked to its fullest until he could break that internal dam.

Despite his motions being fueled by instincts, out of the gritty, wild humping, Aiden was lost in bliss. Whispering silently in the back of his mind, he realized there was still passion in this other than simply sexual relief, his body blushing in a hot bashful heat as he thought about how wonderful not only this simple carnal feeling was but also how thrilled and elated Luna was under him. Her rear helped push against him as best in rhythm with his thrusting as possible, creating stronger pleasurable stimulus to their sexes. Aiden’s rocking body brushed roughly atop Luna, but he found himself finding a moment to keep himself from crushing or suffocating her, not wanting to hurt his love too much. His head itched to rise to the sky and ready to howl when the climax came, but instead he forced his head to rest behind Luna’s neck, nuzzling fondly when he could. She would reach back, returning his affection, he feeling one of her forepaws rest upon his, holding it amorously. Regardless of their instincts seeking only copulation and release, the two managed to fit in a sense of real romance, to remind each other that they weren’t mating just out of instinct.

…fuck…mate…love…

This was the sensation Aiden felt in his dream, the moment his heart and soul elevated to new heights and where he felt truly loved and needed. The dream had given him a taste of it, ridding that void that made him feel incompatible and lonely. But now the sensation was here, and it intensified wildly within, almost tripling what he felt in his dream. Personal commandments were beginning to etch into his mind the closer they came to orgasm, the more they held each other as tightly as they could as animals. These commandments sounding in his head felt wolf made, but carried some aspects of human emotion to better suit his new life. They talked of claiming territory out in the wild, to hunt and roam to his fullest, to seek out a pack to help take care of him and Luna. They also spoke of sharing these experiences with her, to comfort her and protect her, and to love her everyday as she would to him. Simple methods; such is the life of a wild animal, but satisfying enough as long as Aiden and Luna were together.

…love…protect…cherish…

Aiden’s thrusting speed began to decrease a little, reestablishing passion into his copulation as the climax had been reached, wanting this to last a little longer. Luna growled frustratingly, looking back at Aiden with irritated curiosity. Aiden felt mortified to see his mate give him an unusually cold glare, wondering why she was angry all of the sudden. But, then a glimmer of human knowledge hinted at her disdain, and he grinned as he resumed his quicken pace, pumping into Luna wildly. Luna’s expression beamed with incredible content again, panting as she continued helping with her furry rear. Aiden figured this was what she wanted; a brief human lesson in satisfying your partner speaking in his head about how some women liked it gentle and others liked it rough and wild. Considering the kind of creature Luna was, of course she would prefer it rough and wild.

The short, steady reprieve he elicited though, had garnered a few more minutes before his phallus could no longer sustain the powerful rush of stimulation, the dam cracking as the tip buried inside Luna quivered, crying droplets of cum. Heads brought back high to the moon above them, short huffs of barks and howls climbed from their throats, bodies tensing in place as they ceased their rocking. It was enough, the cracks grown out of control, crumbling apart as the sea behind it burst through, the volcanic waters flowing rapidly down the canals the metaphorical dam protected. Trembling from this sensation, Aiden and Luna howled deeply and melodiously, a bone-chilling, beastly song most people would jump and coward from, none knowing but the two wolves united that their song was filled with bliss, passion, and love.

The song from their completed coupling rang harmoniously in his pointed ears, leaving Aiden anxious and eager to wake from his half asleep reminiscing, to let his eyes greet the morning sun and Luna’s alluring hybrid form. A deep yawn squealed from his mouth as his eyes began to part, running his forepaws along…

Air?

Eyes wide open and piercing, Aiden shot up to his side, upper body propped by his arms as he gazed disbelievingly into the empty space next to him where Luna should have been. He scanned his surroundings hastily, feeling an invisible weight come down on him as he began to dread being left alone in the wild. Animal instincts bubbled inside but his mind was running at human capacity, plagued with conscious fears that everything he sacrificed had now been in vain. The main reason he had caved in to accepting his inner wolf was because of her, and without Luna what was the point? Hell, what was the point of living, if the one you loved skipped out on you like this?

No…she didn’t leave me. I can still feel her. Our souls are bound together now. She needs me as much as I need her.

Instinct flooded his panicky thoughts, snarling to himself to calm down and concentrate. He lifted his weary head high, letting the glimmer of sunlight seeping through the branches of the tall trees bask over his face. The morning sun had never felt so good, bringing back pleasant vibes as he postured on all fours, his tail, longer and fuller than last night, flagged and flailed excitedly. He brought his nose to the ground, impressions and shed silver fur marking where Luna rested beside where Aiden awoke. Her scent was pungent, images of her riddled in his mind as he sniffed ravenously, inhaling deeply on his last sniff to record it. Aiden looked forward, catching large paw prints trailing ahead, each with the same musky perfume smell of Luna.

She’s not far, Aiden thought, panting as his limbs sprang to life, dashing towards Luna’s trail, eager to reunite with her.

Aiden discovered she hadn’t gone far, spotting her drinking from the same river they had passed last night. He paused without making a sound, waiting and watching before he made his presence known as he took in Luna’s captivating appearance. Her entire body was coated in thick, luscious, silver-gray fur, glistening from the rays of sunlight that broke over the edges of the trees following up and down the riverbed. As she turned to gaze up to the sun, Luna revealed her nearly-flawless lupine features, her fore and hindpaws shaped and toned to the closest facsimile of wolf paws, her body stretched and aligned to best fit an animal physique with some minor human posture remaining to let her stand like one, her head and face all wolf with her human hair beginning to blend with her pelt and wolf mane. She was a wolf, one whose size remained equivalent to a human and retained certain structures to stand like one if necessary, along with a feminine extremity barely formed but visible over her chest.

My mate, Aiden thought, smiling widely as his body blushed in arousing awe. His stealth was ruptured once Luna’s snout began to sniff inquisitively, her head turning and spotting him from between bushes and grass. Aiden looked down bashfully, feeling he might have broken a special calm between Luna and her personal space with nature. She instead grinned and barked gleefully for him to join her at the riverbed. Tail wagging once more, Aiden walked confidently to Luna, brushing his face and head under her muzzle and neck affectionately, receiving similar advances and sweet licks to his ears and forehead.

The two spoke little to each other, though it was not necessary, as their body language and behaviors spoke all their feelings clearly. He wasn’t even sure if they could still speak, much less want to. Aiden took a playful moment to trace his nose and tongue over parts of Luna’s upper body, eager to feel fully grown fur and shewolf contours against him. Luna panted jubilantly, barking as she made it difficult for him to do what he wanted, though not as if she fought aggressively. They began to roll and tackle about, Aiden attempting to pin Luna to claim dominance but finding she was slippery and lithe, escaping his grasp easily. Fangs began to snap between them but never trying to maul or wound. Claws were never swung fiercely but did scratch and dig. What some people might see as a fight was merely their way of play, their barks and whines always singing giddily and lovingly.

Aiden eventually became victorious, pinning Luna on her back, his growling both vicious and elated. Luna continued to pant from exhaustion, her maw pulled back into a visible grin as she tilted her head to the side, exposing her furry neck. Licking his lips, Aiden took his prize, sniffing and nuzzling the spot she revealed to him, licking and nipping fondly while he began to reposition himself over Luna. Their waists began to grind into each other, Aiden’s erected wolfhood seeking to reenter his mate’s furry temple. Luna showed no signs of resisting, wolfen forepaws embracing his backside as she spread her legs apart, hindpaws wrapping around Aiden’s legs, helping guide him so they could be connected again.

The moment that familiar hot flash of pleasurable heat encroached his member, Aiden brought his head up high and howled wildly, uniting with his mate in such primal passion incredibly invigorating to his senses. Luna’s forepaws urged him back down, wanting Aiden to focus on their mating, whining pleasingly at how much she wanted him to once again copulate. He looked into her feral eyes and expressed a savage smile, beginning his rocking rhythm as his wolfhood plowed deep into her, the wolfish grin widening as he relished in Luna flinging back her head over the bank of the river, panting and howling blissfully in short spurts.

Aiden leaned forward, resuming his nipping and primal kisses around her neck and shoulders, feeling the knot beginning to form as he started to quicken his pace. But the pace suddenly began to decline, coming to a halt as Aiden ceased his kissing, looking beyond Luna into the river. The morning sun had shined its light enough to catch his reflection in the water, and what stared back at him was something that both perplexed and worried him. Aiden was still aware he was becoming a wolf, aware he had given up his humanity last night to become an animal with Luna. What was astonishing to him was his appearance, the brownish fuzz having grown more thickly over his body finally, but not enough to hide his human nakedness, his contours and posture still relatively more human than wolf, and even more surprised to find there had been little change to his face; his wolf mane thick and full but still bearing a short, furless muzzle.

I’m…I’m still not complete, Aiden thought grimly.

Looking to Luna, whom was beginning to grow concerned, Aiden felt happy for her. Her inner wolf was completely released, if not hundred percent. Whether or not they were to soon become real wolves was a question, though his inner wolf hinted within him that it would be his fate, but even now Luna was blessed with her lupine body and beauty. She was more wolf than he was now, and that was what bothered him. Wasn’t the whole point of choosing to give in to his inner wolf and joining Luna in the wild to submit to transforming into a wolf? Why was he still this way, a mixture of two species, caught in the center, unfinished and ugly? Why was he still so deformed?

Luna began to sit up, brushing Aiden’s mane and hair as he looked away, embarrassed. She looked over him and then to herself. Aiden glanced back briefly until he kept his gaze on her sultry, grinning face, nodding as if she understood a fraction of what was eating at him. Luna began to rock and nudge Aiden off her, releasing their link before their own sexes made it too late. She rose on all fours and nodded her head, suggesting that Aiden follow her. They didn’t move far away from the riverbank, only a few feet towards a random tall tree. He was stumped as to the change in location, dumbfounded more as Luna circled behind him, feeling her forepaws hook under his armpits, pulling him up to his hindpaws until she gently pinned him against the tree. A little forcefulness turned Aiden on, his hips thrusting a bit as his erection was renewed. He started to slide his clawed hands around Luna’s waist, pulling her back to his body and preparing to stick his rod back in. Luna panted, licking his face and chest but prying his hands away for a moment as she began to kneel.

Aiden seemed confused at first until he realized what Luna had planned, his now trademark wolfish grin creeping over his face as he watched her kneel down to where her maw met his erection, her forepaws riding up his thighs. She looked up once, smiling, her eyes not moving from their locked gaze as she started to run the tip of her tongue up Aiden’s phallus, slow to start. The stimulation was immediately intense, Aiden’s claws gripping the bark of the tree as his head cocked back like Luna’s had over the riverbed, astounded at how pleasurable this felt. Luna's tongue paraded and danced over his shaft, delicately concentrating on bathing the hood of his penis. Glancing down, his teary eyes caught her as she straightened her body, making her appear taller, as she brought his wolfhood inside her maw, clasping it cautiously as her tongue continued to wrap and twirl inside.

How the hell does she know all this? Aiden thought briefly, understandably skeptical at Luna’s knowledge of human pleasuring. How does a wild girl who lives like a wolf…who is a wolf…know how to perform Fellatio? But the question was moot at this point, Aiden caring less of the why and more of how long she could keep this up before he popped.

Aiden’s red hot body grew brighter, even underneath the fur that had grown, his hands trailing up over Luna’s shoulders as one wrapped behind her head, caressing her fur with his fingers as he occasionally pulled her closer, seeking deeper penetration from her muzzle. Luna obliged as her lupine lips met the base of his shaft, nipping at the rim of his sheath, as she began to suck. An amused cackle bellowed from Aiden’s voice, quite taking back from Luna’s erotic tenacity, her gentle fondling growing more wild and rough, seemingly working to make him come quickly.

The climax was approaching; Aiden began to feel overwhelmed. His instincts howled for this to stop, wanting to return to coupling so his seed had a course to flow, but he was too well situated against the tree to move. He would spill here…and Luna would taste it. Aiden’s body tensed, shuddering as he remained still as his phallus could no longer restrain itself. Luna lifted her head away just as Aiden’s white juices began to rocket, dabbing his tip and shaft while the rest matted over his stomach and sheath.

The orgasm from this came and slowly began to drift away, but other sensations stayed and grew, Aiden’s body beginning to spasm and shake. The feeling was both aching and exhilarating, and he was overcome with a familiar sensation but something he wasn’t accustomed to yet. But, the pressure building over his face and hands and the sudden tickle and itch over what bare skin lasted revealed only one possible, and tantalizing, fact.

It’s happening…I’m…changing…

Through uncontrollable spurts of fierce snarling, his tightened lips managed to stretch back to a smile, if only for a moment. The strain forming over his face was tremendous, feeling each tiny crack and pop forming around the front of his skull, especially around his mouth and nose. But once the bones and muscles began to pull and stretch out, the pressure became alleviated, replaced with animalistic thrill as Aiden roared, his lengthening muzzle agape and wide. So focused on the pain and pleasure over his muzzle, Aiden barely realized how much more realistic his forepaws were or how much furrier his body had become. However, feeling those changes, along with the growth of his muzzle, helped add a vote of confidence and admiration to his self-esteem and pride. Aiden didn’t need to explore his face or body to tell his transformation had improved his appearance.

Wolf.

The word repeated in Aiden’s mind over and over; each time it rang, it made him snarl deeper and louder, body slouching as he ached to drop back to the earth, stand on all fours and feel good about it, to feel right. But Luna barked happily for him to hold still, forepaws keeping his waist pinned to the tree as her snout sniffed feverishly around his shrinking member, stirring awake once more from her sensual sniffing. Her tongue lolled beside her maw until she brought it back to his sheath, tentatively cleaning Aiden’s wolfhood of his sticky juices. Aiden pressed back against the tree, whining in discomfort from his soreness and pleasingly from Luna’s wet caressing. Strangely, he began to notice the pain ebbing little by little, dumbfounded at how soon his member was recovering from his earlier release. By the time Luna had groomed his wolfhood efficiently, Aiden realized his loins and body was ready to go again.

Arms having been tucked in like a dog, Aiden slowly began to drop to his knees in front of Luna, panting as he put his fully-formed muzzle to use, nuzzling her voraciously. Luna yelped as their muzzles brushed between passes, giving in easily to Aiden’s wily advances as she fell onto her back, Aiden crawling on top and grinding stomach to stomach. The two of them gazed amorously into each other’s eyes, equally sharing their undying love and perpetual lust, planting human-like kisses upon the lips of each other's muzzles as they worked together to become one once more.

“Aiden!”

Ears stood on end as Aiden’s head turned immediately towards the direction of the cry, surprised that someone was calling out his name. Luna began to growl frustratingly, wrapping her forepaws around Aiden’s neck and pulling him back in, wanting him to stay focused and mate. Luna’s frisky mood brought his attention back solely on her, smiling as his maw went for her shoulders, nipping passionately as he resumed rocking against her pelvis, seeking her temple.

“Aiden! You here, buddy!?”

He paused again, only now he was certain whose voice the disturber was. Luna again whined desperately, acting more friendly as she begged for Aiden to leave the voice alone and tend to her. But Aiden had become too curious, wondering what his human friend Gary was doing all the way out here in the woods. Regrettably, he climbed off of Luna, nuzzling her cheeks and neck as a show of apology before he trailed towards Gary’s voice. He looked back once, barking to Luna if she would like to come with him and stay together. Luna sat up but looked skittish to the idea, yelping weakly at how she was afraid to be seen by a human. Aiden looked down, unsure what he should do. He didn’t want to leave his mate alone, but he felt compelled to at least see what Gary wanted from him. Amidst his thinking, Luna was now beside him, licking his maw and growling affectionately as she nuzzled, letting him know she would be waiting until he returned. Aiden grinned, mimicked her affection and then walked towards Gary’s trail, picking up into a dash.

* * * * *

“Aiden! Where the fuck are you!?”

Gary’s throat was getting dry quickly, coughs straining from his mouth. Despite how early it still was in the morning, the sunlight beaming down on him was already hot enough to make him sweat. Could just be the environment he was in, how humid it felt around all the foliage and such. But he felt he had only strength to shout one more time before his voice would give out. Gary frowned with a sneer, wishing he had brought along a bottle of water or something. Instead, he only brought a small wooden bat for protection. Protection from what? Aiden might be a werewolf but the poor guy didn’t come off as much of a threat.

He had been out here for almost an hour now, looking for his friend. Considering he had disappeared again and how it turned out his best friend was a werewolf, the woods sounded like a good spot to check first. The commotion from Aiden’s Super at the apartment complex about some wild dogs disturbing the area last night only solidified the fact. Gary began to wonder though how far gone Aiden was, clenching the base of the bat nervously at the thought. Aiden had seemed authentically spooked at what was happening to him, just as much as Gary, but this whole thing was completely new and crazy. How does somebody deal with werewolfism, or whatever people call it? If Gary did happen to come across Aiden again, would he still be himself, or nothing more than a snarling monster ready to kill?

Can anybody tell me how stupid I am? Gary thought, feeling inept on a subject he never thought he would run into for real life purposes.

Barking echoed within the woods, making Gary jump like a cat as he tried to pinpoint where exactly where it was coming from. The miniature wooden baseball bat he held in one hand was brought up and ready in case of a possible attack, not sure who or what was going to come at him at any moment. He started to hear grass and leaves rustle to his right, and turned sharply with his bat swung behind. A shaggy figure froze behind a tree, poking its head out cautiously as it stared straight at Gary with sad yellow eyes. Gary began to shake, realizing it was some kind of wolf…a really big wolf. But something was off about its face; its muzzle and center of its face was furless. It looked like the beast had hair once, a bland hairstyle beginning to hide within its own coat. As it stepped out further to where Gary could see the entire body, Gary's eyes widened over the contours and forms, noticing, despite how wolfish it really was, how some of it features looked…human.

“Aiden?” Gary muttered quietly.

The human-shaped wolf began to approach him, its head hung low as if cowering. Gary began to drop his attacking arm to his side. The wolf known as Aiden glanced at the bat the hand held and began to tense, ears folded back and tail straightened out, beginning to snarl.

“Hold it, hold it there, Aiden,” Gary shouted, putting his hand out in attempt to keep Aiden back and calm. He leaned down to his right and let the bat drop to the ground, taking a step back as he continued to wave his hands out. Aiden’s mood changed drastically, going from furious to confused, and then elated as he began to pant happily, tail wagging excitedly.

“Good boy,” Gary cried, forcing a smile as he wiped his hands over his shirt and worked to maintain a non-threatening posture. If he knew anything about dogs and wolves, it was to not show any signs of fear or threat. These mutts can sense it well; experience garnered from Sophie back when she was just a puppy. “It’s you, isn’t Aiden? You do recognize me, right buddy?”

Aiden cocked his head in confusion, Gary beginning to fear that his friend might not be completely in there anymore. Aiden approached closer, showing no signs of aggression as he stuck out his head, trying to reach for one of Gary’s hands. Immediately, if not nervously, Gary gave him one, letting Aiden sniff to his heart’s content, hoping his body odor would be enough to help Aiden remember. The wolf looked up to him suddenly; the two frozen in place, anxiety beginning to creep up Gary's back.

“Grr..grra…roooey,” Aiden growled, trying to form the words in his muzzle.

“Yeah, it’s me dude!” Gary said, relieved as he kneeled down and slowly ran a hand down Aiden’s neck and back. Aiden moved closer, allowing Gary to pet him as much as he wanted. Gary chuckled as he started to scratch and rub all around Aiden’s body. It was kind of strange and creepy petting his best friend like a dog, but if it kept Aiden calm and happy instead of snarly and dangerous, he’d go with the flow.

“Listen dude,” Gary started to speak, retreating back to Aiden’s face as he scratched his ears, “I don’t know how well-suited you’ve become to all this, but maybe you should come back with me, into town for just a bit.”

Aiden flinched, looking at Gary oddly.

“I mean, well maybe we can find out what exactly is turning you all hairy and animal, you know? Remember my cousin from Portland? I called in a big favor from her last night to come into town and do a check-up. You know she’s a big-time doctor…physicists…bio…whatever. All I know is she’s good with blood work. You think you can stand going back to my house for a little bit just to get a quick examination, please?”

Aiden darted his eyes a bit, beginning to step backwards. He looked uneasy by the idea.

“Come on, buddy. I think it would just be nice to know why you started wolfing out of the blue like this. At least it would give me some peace of mind. I’m not saying you have to stay in town. If you want, when my cousin is all done, I’ll drive you back here and you can roam and hunt all you want…if that is what you want?”

Aiden didn’t react too much then. His curious puppy dog gaze was beginning to irritate Gary. Sophie did that a lot too, mostly when she didn't understand a single word he said. Gary sighed, believing his friend was too far gone, until Aiden began to bark. It made him jump back, holding a hand to his chest as he watched Aiden spin around in place, tail wagging once more.

Can I take that as a sign you’re coming back with me? Gary though hopefully.

Suddenly, Aiden began to race back into the woods, leaving Gary shouting once more for him to come back, gagging as he grasped his throat. Despite the moment of reprieve from shouting, his throat was still too dry for it.

Fuck…where is he going?

* * * * *

Aiden skipped and darted around the trees coming at him, keeping his speed constant as he headed back for the riverbed where he left Luna. He would go back to town for only a little while to amuse Gary’s ideas, using the time he had left to figure out how to appropriately say good-bye to his best friend. He could unearth the science of werewolves for all Aiden cared, Aiden had made his choice last night and his bond with Luna was too powerful to break. But he wanted to make sure Luna was aware of this, make sure she knew he was coming back. He had already made his decision once, and he wasn’t going to leave her alone again.

Reaching the riverbed, he barked happily, eager to be next to Luna again, but he discovered the area was empty. He searched with his eyes and nose, picking up her scent quickly but realizing how difficult it was to detect how far she had gone. Aiden felt baffled, wondering why Luna had left the area so soon and without warning. The situation only grew more uncomfortable as his nose detected a second scent unlike his, but it was too weak to decipher who or what it was. He did know, however, that it was male.

Where did you go, Luna?

“Aiden!” Gary’s voice bellowed, followed by chronic coughing after.

Aiden looked back towards his friend’s voice, and then around the riverbed and the tree he'd shared with Luna a moment ago. The situation felt ominous but somehow Aiden wasn’t completely worried. Luna was still here in the woods, hunting or such, until he returned as he promised. Their union had left its mark, their love sealed and bound. She would wait for him and save herself, whatever this new male scent had planned. That scent though; he wasn’t concerned about it being another male wolf trying to stake his claim on Luna. It had a hint of dominance to it, as if someone to both fear and admire. What was this scent?

“Come on, man. Don’t bail on me.”

Aiden looked back once more, his muzzle displaying a smirk at Gary’s persistence. He looked back out to the river, head rising as he howled to Luna.

I’ll be back…

* * * * *

Luna watched from afar, aching badly to respond to her mate’s call, her body hollow from sorrow as she could do nothing but watch her mate turn back and race into the woods to meet his human friend. Luna whined, head lowered depressingly. It was bad enough she and her mate didn’t finish their earlier copulation, her sex still demanding penetration to sooth her heat. But she wondered why they had to remain apart for now, to let her mate return to the human world.

“You must understand, Luna. You have to give him a day to clear his head.”

Luna looked back as the man in an uncomfortable red-plaited wool jacket dropped down, sitting beside her, his hands clasped together in front as he nodded and looked to Luna with a rugged wisdom, his yellow eyes unintentionally weighing her down into submission.

“I know he is one of us, but he just found out. And your intervention has only influenced his inner wolf rather than his own will.”

Luna wasn’t quite sure what this man, this outdoorsy human that smelled like a powerful and intimidating wolf, was trying to teach her, more agitated at him pulling her away from her mate. But she dared not challenge his wisdom, no matter how pointless it sounded, even if he acted calmly and gently about it to make him feel less dominating. The man cooed, combing Luna’s fur behind her head and neck.

“I know you don’t understand; being a wolf is how you were raised, so this lifestyle is natural to you. But your mate was once human, and some of us aren’t ready to leave that all behind. Give him until tomorrow night. You may see him again then.”

Hearing those words, Luna’s spirits were once again lifted, panting jubilantly as she nuzzled the domineering man out of respect. The man mimicked her affection as best as he could with his human face, rising back up to his feet as he brushed off the dirt matted behind his jeans.

“Just remember, Luna,” the man spoke up, “whatever he decides is his decision. Unlike some of us, your mate deserves the right to choose which life to lead, not let his instincts run rampant and choose for him.”

Chapter Seven - Dilemma

A multitude of various thoughts had been running through Aiden’s head ever since he got into the back seat of Gary’s car, driving away from the woods and back into the center of their suburban neighborhood. Among them was the curiosity of his suspicious human friend, wondering who exactly was this cousin of his and how exactly Gary believed he could help Aiden. That question fueled a secondary one the more Aiden pondered it; why did Gary think he wanted help? Aiden had already come to his decision; he was fine with becoming an animal, adapting to the behavior and mindset quickly and willingly. Despite knowing his human intelligence remained intact, the clueless jester and play he put on for Gary back in the forest had been real, proof he was easily becoming nothing more than a wolf…a very friendly wolf at the moment, but a wild animal nevertheless.

Another thought that had been bugging him was Luna’s sudden vanishing act from the riverbed. Her disappearance mattered less to Aiden’s paranoia and concern, she was a wolf after all, Luna was allowed to roam and frolic freely. What had been bothering him was the third scent among his and Luna’s at the riverbed, another male that left an unusually domineering mark, a strong and proud creature. It smelled like a wolf but it lingered with a familiar musk humans emanate. Who the heck was at the riverbed with Luna? Was this one of her possible pack mates, or a lone animal trying to capitalize on Aiden’s embarking? It would be one of the many things he would look into, once he returned to the woods.

An everlasting thought stirring in his lupine-specific mind focused on Luna the most. Hoping that she would be safe and that the mysterious animal he detected would stay far away; Aiden couldn’t stand being this long apart. Luna had dug into his heart and soul, igniting an undying fire that was unquenchable. His paws trembled to caress through her silver fur, his maw to lick, nip, and kiss at her lupine face and neck, his body aching to tumble and mesh with hers. What was most nagging was his inextinguishable lust, wishing Gary had been less punctual in interrupting the two of them as they were thrown back into the thralls of mating. Luna’s gift to Aiden in bringing out more of his true inner wolf, her method having comforted a momentary sexual satisfaction, only instigated further cravings to repay her love and kindness, to fulfill their goals together and eventually become full-fledged wolves. It had only occurred to him finally that all the sexual stimulation had been what brought out his inner wolf to the surface, and now it had become an addiction. Maybe it advocated most of Aiden’s decision to join Luna in the wild as wolves, his beastly carnal lust the reason why he was taking such a big risk and leaving his human life behind. Lust or not, Aiden assured himself this was his choice; he wanted this. Becoming a wolf, being an animal, never felt wrong even now, and he was going to be sure to express it to Luna once he returned to the wild.

At the mean time though, only one thought plagued him enough to push back all the others until this question was answered…

Are we there yet? …I need to go…badly!

Having been rushed by Gary back at the woods, Aiden had forgotten to relieve himself and was now paying for it, whining as the pressure in his bladder became unbearable. Instinctively, Aiden felt he shouldn’t have to wait, his legs ready to lift and fire whenever he could. His respect for his friend repressed that urge, knowing full well Gary would have a fit if he peed in his car. The constant rumble and swerving also made it difficult to hold still and balance anyways, yet bouncing added to it to worsen the need. All Aiden could do was pace the backseat, yelping and whining. Occasionally, he would pop his head between the driver and passenger seat, barking and prodding Gary to hurry up and drive faster. Aiden felt like he could still sound out some of his human voice if he wanted to, but with his mindset switching to a animal one, his wolfen calls and behavior felt natural and normal.

Gary would look down upon him with an annoyed, droopy sneer, Aiden pulling back between the seats sheepishly as he sensed his friend's eagerness to whack him with something just for being rowdy. He slouched back against the seats for a moment gloomily, until the horrible pressure squeezed again, causing Aiden’s pacing to be renewed.

“You’re either fucking with me and enjoying it,” Gary began to mutter, snatching Aiden’s attention from his frantic pacing, “or you’re really not there anymore, are you Aiden?”

Of course, I’m still here, Aiden thought, pulling back a slyly amused grin as he panted, taking in some enjoyment from Gary’s exasperation. Just you try being me for one moment and see how long you can stand not peeing in your own car.

Aiden could hear Gary sigh as he sat back down between both seats, clenching his legs in response to his painful bladder. The car began to rock, their speed decreasing as it made a sharp turn, and soon after became elevated. Aiden rushed to his forepaws and knees, looking out all the windows he could until he could spot the familiar two-story brown and tan house that belonged to Gary and his family. Another car was parked on the drive way, a modern-day crimson-red Honda with a low to the trunk spoiler flagging the rear. It was a car Aiden had never seen parked at Gary’s house before; he wondered if it belonged to Gary’s doctor cousin. Aiden slid and stumbled over the edge of the seats as the car was parked, nearly whacking the chin of his muzzle over the space between the front seats. Gary looked back, seeing Aiden tied up and disoriented from the stumble, and chuckled.

“Ok, Aiden,” Gary began to speak, “wait here. I’m gonna open the backyard gate. When I come back, you run straight for the gate so no one outside has a chance to see you. I don’t want to be the one to explain what I’m doing with an oversized humanoid wolf…though I guess I’ll have to with Lindsey. But that’s a different kettle of fish. Just wait here.”

Aiden nodded, though his lips cringed from being told to wait inside the damn car for another minute longer. Gary looked unsure at him, possibly wondering if Aiden had understood a single a word he said. True, he had become less inclined to caring about understanding what humans said or wanted nowadays, but that didn’t mean Aiden had forgotten what human words meant.

Gary quickly jumped out of the car, shutting the door behind him with a loud metallic thump that made Aiden jump a bit. Aiden paced to the opposite end of the car as he watched Gary sprint up the front yard, checking his surroundings for possible signs of wandering pedestrians that could cause a commotion. As Gary disappeared around the right side of the house, Aiden was left stranded with a view of the luscious recently-mowed grassy green yard, silently calling out to him, welcoming Aiden to be allowed to do his business. His forepaws pressed up against the tinted window, panting out of desperation as his voice crackled into soft whines. Claws scraped at the glass, the pressure in his bladder so great now that he was about ready to fuck waiting and smash the window out. His spirits brightened, tail raised and wagging, as Gary began to descend down the mildly steep front yard, his sneakers squealing as he hit the brakes hastily before running right into his own vehicle.

“Hurry up, hurry up!” Gary whispered harshly as he opened the door.

Gary was knocked back a bit as the car rocked, Aiden leaping out into the sidewalk, landing unbalanced on all fours but quickly picking himself up after as he began to dash around the grass of the front yard, barking joyfully. Gary tried to quiet him down, putting his finger against his lips and shushing, but Aiden was too preoccupied with the overwhelming satisfaction of being outside again in the fresh air and under the noon sun. Gary began his second climb along the edge of the front yard, waving his hands to motion Aiden to follow. Aiden didn’t pay attention, he had business to take care of. His snout sniffed voraciously at the soft grassy earth, detecting any smells he could and searching for a decent spot. Gary’s frantic words drowned in Aiden’s ears as he came across a familiar scent. Mind clouded with instincts and needs, it was hard to remember what exactly the smell reminded him of, but it was his instincts that told him it belonged to an animal in heat. The image of Luna came to his mind then, Aiden wishing he was next to her, once more ready to mate. The arousal hit his loins then, only it seemed to add to the pain already being inflicted by his bladder. Aiden shook it off, passed the scent, and finally found a spot he was comfortable with, circling until he lifted his leg and let his body do the rest, whining in relief.

“OH, COME ON MAN! Not on my yard!”

The pain and pressure gone, Aiden trotted up the yard and stood next to Gary, panting excitedly as he looked up and waited for his next instruction. Gary wiped his face with his hands, grunting as he enclosed his fingers on one hand into a fist, shaking it towards Aiden. Sensing his friend's rage, Aiden’s tail halted all wagging and curled around one of his legs, his ears and muzzle lowered, as he gave Gary the sad puppy-dog look that worked all so well in the cartoons, hoping it would do the same.

“I guess if you had to go, you had to go,” Gary said, scratching his stubble cheeks. Aiden snickered under his breath, a part of him aware at how fun it was to torture Gary like this. Gary began to push Aiden inside the alleyway to the backyard, Aiden jumping once again as the wooden gate slammed behind him. Aiden looked up over the gate, catching the top of Gary’s hair and eyes. “Just be glad it was a number one. If you do a number two on my yard, so help me…” and with that, Gary stormed off.

So help you what? If I gotta go, I gotta go. I’m an animal after all.

Aiden’s ears perked back up to the sound of a screen door opening, stepping cautiously towards the end of the alleyway that headed into the main section of the backyard. He overheard a feminine voice cooing as the screen door sounded again, shutting closed. Aiden stuck his head out of the alleyway, discovering Sophie, Gary’s female Husky, standing on the grassy part of the yard staring back at the door whining. Aiden sensed by her body language and cries she had hoped the woman inside the house would have come out to join her, wanting company. Aiden finally walked into view, barking lightly to greet Sophie. At first, she stood petrified until she dashed across the yard hiding behind one of the outdoor lounging chairs. Aiden stuck out a forepaw to stop her but retracted and looked away, realizing it was his monstrous appearance that was scaring her. He lay down, rolling onto his back into a submissive pose, yelping desperately for attention in hopes this would coax Sophie out and show her he meant no harm.

Sophie eventually began to approach Aiden, remaining cautious of any potential threat this abnormal creature might bring her. Sticking her snout carefully around the beast’s neck and shoulders, Aiden chanced a playful lick at her muzzle, baffling Sophie as she sat back and eyed him strangely. Aiden rolled back onto his belly panting playfully as he inched closer, lowering his head to present it to Sophie willingly. He held still as Sophie resumed her attentive sniffing. When she was done, Aiden waited patiently for her decision, whether she considered him a threat or a friend, hoping some part of his human scent would remind her of him. Whatever it was, Aiden was relieved to see Sophie begin to pant along with him, nuzzling and licking his ears and cheeks affectionately.

For a while, the two of them chased each other around the field, tackling and pouncing playfully, Aiden being careful to not overwhelm Sophie with his size and strength. The chase was incredibly thrilling, enough to feel content without the help of gadgets and mindless television to elicit such responses. The simple joy of trying to out-do one another felt perfectly fulfilling. Eventually, Aiden proved to be the better match, five out of nine times being the one to pin Sophie in victory.

Tongues lolled and drooled as they took a breather, exhausted from dashing back and forth so much under this heat. As Aiden rolled back onto his back to relax, Sophie began to circle behind him. He wasn’t aware of what she was doing, head cocked back as he concentrated on replenishing his lungs with air. It was with a sudden, hot tingle tickling from his wolfhood up and down his spine that he finally lifted himself up onto his elbows, looking down between his legs. Sophie’s tongue decidedly wet the sheath of his loins stirring his animal member from slumber. The moment the pink sensitive flesh slithered out of its casing it became the new focus of Sophie’s tongue, lapping feverishly.

Aiden’s elbows began to unlock, his upper body slowly falling back towards the grass as his thoughts scattered and fogged, leaving out everything but the primal stimulation being inflicted upon him his animal side grew hungry for. His panting tongue lolled all the way to the back of his lips, eyes half shut as soft whimpering mixed with his rapid, heavy breathing, claws digging into the earth beside him as the internal pleasure began flooding within more and more.

Eyes snapping open in fright, Aiden hastily clamored away from Sophie, dragging his furry body across the yard to distance himself. Sophie didn’t quite understand Aiden’s reaction, gingerly rushing up to him, her forepaws climbing onto his chest, her maw licking his face and tail flagging and wagging excitedly. Aiden pulled back a weak wolfish smile, reaching out with one shaky forepaw as he stroked the back of Sophie’s fur. Underneath his mixture of sparingly short to thick long fur, his skin was red with embarrassment as he realized how close he came allowing Sophie to make him come. His body continued to beg him to finish, but it no longer felt right. Not only did he wish to reserve any carnal delights with his mate Luna, but Gary would certainly disembowel him for any sexual contact between him and Sophie.

Despite those walls, not once was the notion of mating with a dog part of the embarrassment. Was Aiden truly beyond being human to care who or what he mated with?

Let her finish, The familiar whispers of his inner wolf echoed into his conflicted mind.

Aiden was stunned at what his animal side asked of him. His loins were now throbbing to complete what Sophie had started, but he was still afraid of how far and weird this could go, or if this would be a travesty towards Luna. While pondering, though, Aiden began to feel another familiar sensation starting to wash over him, a sensation that was both painful and pleasurable, something that sucked away at his energy, yet simultaneously endowed him with new raw strength and vigor. Immediately, Aiden’s maw opened wide with a freakish smile, his steady panting growing more wild as he fell back against the yard fully, yelping happily as he whined for Sophie to resume her lapping, realizing the end would produce more than just a simple moment of sexual satisfaction.

I understand now, Aiden thought as he lay peacefully still, a forepaw grooming the back of Sophie’s head as her snout trailed over his erection once more. I'll allow this for you, Luna. When I return, I will be like you…a true wolf.

Sophie’s wet tongue met his throbbing flesh once more, a rough gasp bellowing from Aiden’s maw as he stared up to the sky, the late noon sun hiding behind a bushy round tree as his amber eyes swam in the sea blue sky, tracing out a phantom image of Luna’s form only he could see. His body began to tense and shudder as the climax approached, feeling that wonderful supernatural sensation increasing, already feeling the itch over his skin and the strain building in his bones, longing to complete his transformation into a wolf.

Aiden let out a premature howl, one that was meant for Luna to hear, filled with immeasurable love and promise. A second came the moment Sophie’s ravenous licking completed its intended job, filled with triumph and gratification as his juices coated his phallus.

Minutes earlier…

Gary shut the front door behind him, exhaling sharply as he rested against the door, wiping his face of any sweat rolling down his forehead and cheeks.

This is beyond insane, Gary thought, turning around and peeking out of the eyehole to be absolutely certain no one had been watching and gawking. This must be cosmic payback for all the crap I did to him throughout the years. Couldn’t the cosmos pick a realistic punishment instead of an unreal one? Owing money could have been an ok punishment. Giving one of my kidneys or something would have been big but real enough. But a Werewolf?

Loud tapping behind him in the kitchen echoed throughout the house, warning him his cousin, Lindsey, was fast approaching. He turned around with his half-cocked sly smile, to keep up appearances, and came face to face with the curly, blonde haired, southern-turned-Californian glaring scornfully at him with her arms crossed and postured in a “you’re in a lot of trouble” way.

“Hey Lindsey,” Gary greeted weakly and waved.

“Hey?” Lindsey questioned, storming into the small hallway into the living room and entrance. “Is that all y’all got to say to me? You called me up in the middle of the night, going on about some story I couldn’t make heads or tails out of cause you were drunk, blackmailed me with that incident we swore we’d never speak of again, and dragged me down here half a day’s way from home and work. I have a decent mind to just say F! U! and move on with my life, but your fragmented sob story managed to hook me to the point I had to see what all the commotion was. So you better have a good explanation of why you needed me so desperately when I had a five o’ clock dinner plan with my boyfriend set up and ready, or so help me god…”

“Look,” Gary interrupted her ranting, holding his hands up as he walked to Lindsey in hopes it would get her to cool down. “I’m sorry for dragging you out here. I know you’re busy and have a whole other life to get to. And I’m sorry for dragging out the past; you can kick in me in the jewels later. But…” Gary paused, gulping on the words he was about to say, knowing full well Lindsey would either laugh hysterically or slap him across the face. “…I don’t know what else to do.”

Susan scoffed, looking away as she combed back her golden, curly, maintained hair as she started walking slowly back into the kitchen. “What do you mean, Gary? How do you think I can help?”

“'Cause you’re a doctor. And something is seriously wrong with my friend, and I needed someone in this particular field to take a look at him.”

Lindsey moaned, “Gary, I told you a thousand times I’m not a doctor. I’m a Hematologist.”

“Well, yeah! A blood doctor, right?”

“Well, it’s a little more complicated than that. Anyways, second, why can’t you just take your friend to one of the hospitals in town if he’s sick? What’s with the Cloak and Dagger stuff?”

Gary let out a lengthy “uh”, looking past Lindsey through the kitchen window looking out into the backyard where he'd left Aiden outside, hoping he was not creating anymore problems.

“What!?” Lindsey questioned, losing her patience more and more.

“I…really don’t think it would be a good idea to bring him to a hospital,” Gary answered, clasping his hands together in front of his stomach.

Lindsey stared at Gary, waiting for further explanation. “Because?”

“Be-cause,” Gary stuttered, now resting his hands behind his head as if trying to stretch. “Because there is something really, REALLY wrong with him that I don’t think would be a good idea to stir up any attention.”

Lindsey’s eyes squinted at this response, shaking away the daze, her face beginning to flush furiously. “Look Gary, either you start telling me what’s going on right now, or I’m gone. I’m getting really tired of this bullshit secrecy.”

Gary’s mouth opened and closed again several times before he let his chin drop against his chest, unable to come out with the fantastical explanation. Lindsey shook her head and muttered, “whatever,” as she stormed past Gary, reaching her hand for the doorknob.

Dude! Gary’s subconscious screamed just as Lindsey opened the door. Who gives a fuck if she laughs in your face if you tell her? Show her right after, dammit, you have proof right outside your back yard. Gary inhaled deeply, spinning around just as the front door slammed shut. In a panic, Gary rushed after her, crying “no” several times until he slipped in front of her and blocked her car door with his body. Lindsey sighed heavily and rested her clenched hands upon her hips waiting for Gary’s next excuse.

“Ok,” Gary exclaimed, “you want the truth?”

Lindsey nodded, her scowl holding.

“My friend, Aiden…” Gary started, taking a deep breath and eyes beaming full of purpose and seriousness, “…Aiden is a werewolf, and I need you to run some kind of test to tell us why.”

Lindsey’s blue eyes began to look as if they were going to bulge out of her sockets, her lips quivering with a muffled voice forming what was about to be uncontrollable laughter. Gary brought a finger to Lindsey’s face, grabbing one of her arms as he forced her to follow him around the house.

“Where are you taking me?” Lindsey cried, spurts of laughter attempting to break through her red lips.

They stopped at the backyard gate, Gary’s hands grasping the sides of her arms to keep her still and focused. “Right outside this door is my friend, Aiden. What you are about to see is some kind of lycanthrope in progress. I promise you he isn’t much of a threat, but he has been kind of wily lately, especially around women.”

Lindsey gulped back some giggles, unable to keep a straight face as Gary opened the gate, splaying out an arm like a guide welcoming her in. “Hold on, genius. If your friend is a werewolf, then wouldn’t that mean he’s back to normal now? It is noon after all…well past noon now.”

Gary stuttered and hissed in rambling confusing and frustration. “I don’t know how it all works! All I know is my friend is back there covered in fur and looking more like an animal than a person now.”

“Well, then,” Lindsey giggled, “better get Sophie back inside. Wouldn’t want your monster friend to chew her up like dinner.”

Gary glared at Lindsey, confused, until his face took a pale complexion, his eyes darting nervously down the backyard alleyway.

“Come on,” Lindsey chuckled, “it was a jo…”

Howling bellowed within the backyard suddenly, both Gary and Lindsey staring down the shaded path into the yard with startled curiosity. A second howl sent shivers up Lindsey’s back and neck, having never heard a dog howl like that before…unless it really was Gary’s ‘sick’ friend acting out this abhorred fantasy. Lindsey’s preoccupied daze was broken as Gary grabbed her hand and pulled her inside as they followed the path into the yard. Lindsey’s smile was still wide as she prepared to see what was most likely the most ridiculous attempt to fuck with her Gary had ever tried in the ten years they’d known each other.

Her smile faded into a jaw-dropping stun, her eyes widening at what she saw.

Gary face did the same, only reddening into rage at the sight of his own dog, Sophie, licking at his werewolf friend’s animal junk.

“Aiden! Sophie!” Gary ran right up to them as Lindsey stepped slowly into the yard. He pulled his Husky away, nearly getting nipped by Sophie herself until she recognized her master and began to pout as Gary kneeled beside her, hugging her tightly.

“Oh…my…god,” Lindsey cried, inching closer to Gary and Sophie as the scene she had walked into, along with the fact there was a man-sized, mildly-furred wolf-like creature laying on the ground, growling and panting wildly, had been horrifically disturbing. “That’s your friend?”

“Yeah,” Gary huffed, scratching the fur around Sophie’s neck, “a soon to be dead friend. Aiden what the fuck…”

“Wow,” Lindsey gasped, “Gary you weren’t kidding. Your friend is really sick. Does he do this often?”

“Do what? Turn into a werewolf?”

“No. I mean dress up in an ugly fursuit and get his jollies off by letting dogs lick his dick?”

Gary began to laugh, though it was more forced. “Fuck no! And I swear that’s not a fucking suit.”

“Oh, come on!” Lindsey cried. “You still don’t expect me to believe that your friend is an honest to god Were…”

A loud pop and crack caused Lindsey to shriek, as she looked down at the thing Gary believed was a Werewolf. As the sickly pops and cracks of bone continued to sound over Aiden’s body, and what those noises began to produce around him, Lindsey was slowly becoming a believer.

Aiden snarled madly as his forepaws felt around his chest, which had been protruding earlier, but now his rib cage was beginning to expand wider. His forepaws, having kept some human features, like his thumbs, now receded up his wrist; his shoulder blades folded into his body as they semi-locked into place, leaving only some ability to spread his arms out. His legs bent and contorted, the length of his calves shortening as his huge hindpaws began to compress and shape into real animal legs and paws while retaining a muscular tone. He rolled onto his stomach, struggling to stand on his paws as the back of his neck began to swell and bulge down his spine, sticking his head out as his neck appeared to stretch out an inch or so farther than before. What remained of any thin coating of fur finally thickened, the longer strands thickening more until his fur looked complete. Fur now covered his entire wolfish face, which in turn, molded and formed into a perfect lupine head.

Lindsey, having witnessed Aiden’s transformation, toppled behind the wall of the house, dropping down to her knees with her hands clasped over her mouth. A shiver of terror chilled her entire body, petrifying her further as the wolf turned its sights on her and Gary, those amber animal eyes looking almost menacingly at the two of them. She was about ready to book it and leave this unnatural dilemma to Gary; she wasn’t going to have her life ended this way by a snarling monster, but her legs wouldn’t budge even as the creature began to walk towards her, ignoring Gary and his dog as it bared its sharp teeth and growled.

Please God, please dear God! Don’t let me die this way!

The beast grunted, huffing out its hot breath; Lindsey turned her head away and closed her eyes, praying she was having a bad dream. Its leathery nose began to press against her cheek and neck, sniffing as if taking in the fearful smell of its next meal. Lindsey was about ready to scream.

As she started, though, she froze in shear astonishment as the beast began to lick at her face…less like a hungry monster and more like a playful puppy. When it was done bathing her in its saliva, Lindsey wiped off her face with her blouse, spitting as she tasted some its slobber on her lips. She finally looked up to the animal with more of a scowl, in disbelief as the monster now sat on its hunches and began to pant happily as if amused. She looked back to Gary who had been holding back his own spurts of laughter, his cheeks puffed red.

“Told you he was harmless,” Gary said, laughing silently to himself; Sophie barking along with him.

“Harmless, huh?” Lindsey moaned, still frozen in place as she gazed back at the werewolf named Aiden.

* * * * *

“Sorry girl,” Aiden heard Gary coo to Sophie in the other room, “You can play with Aiden after he’s normal again. No way am I leaving you two alone together again.” He heard Sophie whimper as the screen door shut, feeling a bit sorry for her being locked out of the house while he was inside. Secretly, though, he mentally thanked her. As bizarre as the moment was, if it wasn’t for Sophie’s heat cycle and current interest in him, Aiden would still be a misshapen wolf. Now he felt complete, as close to being a true wolf as Luna was back at the woods. And when he was done entertaining Gary and Lindsey, he would escape back to her, show Luna his full form, and be able to live the rest of their lives together.

Lindsey’s hands rubbed around the right side of his muzzle, turning his sights back to her as he watched her eyes closer, detecting a newfound fascination and awe in Aiden’s wolfen form. She was doing a physically examination of him, much like how most doctors would with their patients, though it was a little different and odd, given the situation. Nevertheless, Aiden was enjoying Lindsey’s exploring hands over his animal body, beginning to understand how dogs and cats relished being petted by their owners. Strangely, Aiden noticed how sensual Lindsey’s touch was at times, surfacing earlier memories of his night with Luna. The thought was growing maddeningly; Aiden wanted to be by her side again soon.

“Uh, should I be worried if his…well…” Lindsey muttered, her eyes looking to Gary across the room but nodding her head down to Aiden’s stomach. It took him a moment to realize his intimate memories with Luna were causing a resurfacing of his wolfhood, and he immediately lowered his head shamefully and laid down to hide it.

I’ve already caused enough problems with Gary. Don’t need to add anymore.

Aiden darted his vision to Gary entering the kitchen, Gary looking down upon him with a stern grin. “I think he understands now that he’s got to keep IT in his pants…or sheath…whatever.”

“Ah,” Lindsey cooed, rubbing a hand over Aiden’s neck and back. “I've got to admit, he’s kind of cute like this.”

“Great,” Gary groaned, “but I’m trying to find a way to fix this, not keep him like this.”

Aiden barked, jumping to his paws and looking up at Gary with concern.

Dammit, I wish I could still speak. I’m not changing back, Gary. I want this.

“Can he still understand us?” Lindsey asked, getting back onto her feet as she brushed off any shedding brown fur from her hands.

“I think so,” Gary answered, “but it’s hard to tell. I think he’s just a dumb mutt now.”

Aiden snarled softly, ears pulled back and tail straightened.

“I think that means he understands,” Lindsey pointed out, watching as Gary stumbled back against the kitchen counter.

Aiden turned his head back to Lindsey, panting with a wide smile.

At least someone gets it, Aiden thought as he walked over to Lindsey, pressing his body against her legs and waist as he circled.

“Then you can keep him, I guess. He seems to like you more than me now.”

“No thanks. I’m not allowed to have pets in my apartment. Besides, Aiden’s a wolf. He should be roaming freely in the wild, not kept in captivity.”

Aiden licked Lindsey’s hands, receiving a gently scratch between his ears as she giggled. Gary, though, suddenly swore under heavy breath, kicking under the counter hard as he walked off into the living. Lindsey was flustered, not understanding why Gary was being so pessimistic and rude in front of his friend. Then again, not everyone had to deal with their own friend becoming a wild animal out of the blue.

“Wait here, Aiden,” Lindsey told him. Aiden barked as he sat back down on his haunches and watched her follow Gary into the living room, sticking his head out with his ears tugging to listen in curiously at the following conversation.

“Ok, Gary,” Lindsey cried, and, entering the living room, she saw him sulking near the fireplace across the room. “What’s up? What’s with all the sudden anger issues? It doesn’t look like there’s anything seriously wrong with your friend, I mean, other than the whole lycanthrope thing. Be thankful he’s not going on a killing spree like in the movies. You want to tell me what’s going on? Are you still mad at what he and Sophie were doing outside? Tell me!”

Gary looked back briefly, finally turning around as he stuck his hands in his jean’s pockets, kicking the air lightly as he looked down. “Ok, I’m sorry alright? I know I’m overreacting. It’s just…well…”

“Well what?” Lindsey questioned desperately.

Gary brought out one of his hands and scratched his sideburns. “Look, I don’t know a whole lot about werewolves. But like you said earlier, he should have turned back to normal. But this morning, he was looking wolfier than ever and now he is in the kitchen looking like a real wolf now. I’m also getting this distinct feeling he does not fully comprehend everything anymore, despite what you think. I mean he was jumping off the walls in my car on the way over like a hyper mutt. Hell, I wasn’t even sure if he understood why I wanted him to come back with me when I found him in the woods. It’s like the Aiden I know is slowly disappearing and this stupid animal is replacing him.”

“Gary,” Lindsey said softly, walking into the middle of the room towards him, “Your friend was trying to tell you something just now, and he growled at you for calling him a stupid mutt. I think he’s still in there.”

“Maybe…but I don’t think he wants to be anymore. The scary part is I don’t know if he is willingly melting his own brain or if it’s the lycanthropy doing it. It's possible Aiden’s trying to fight this and he’s losing. That’s why I want you to do whatever you can to figure out what’s causing this and find some kind of cure, or at least a control agent or something you docs can do.”

Lindsey frowned remorsefully, looking away briefly. “I told you, Gary, I’m a…”

“I know!” Gary yelled, “You’re a Hematologist, a fucking blood doctor.”

“That’s right,” Lindsey squeaked, shrugging low to the floor in fright as if Gary were about to strike her. “All I could do is take a look at what is running through his veins. And even if it was blood-related, I doubt I would catch the problem right off the bat. Lycanthropy has been a mental illness in the medical field, nothing ever physical like this. I wouldn’t even begin to know what to look for. I’d have to get some of my colleagues involved, and I don’t know how much help they would be. Plus, if there were any results, it would take a week or two at best, and that’s after finding a way to sneak this into the blood lab.”

“He may be gone by then,” Gary moaned.

“What do you mean?”

“Aiden…I told him after you met him I would bring him back to the woods. He looked excited when I told him that. I think he really wants to stay there. Either that or he mistook what I said for…”

Gary flinched at the sudden hand of comfort resting on his shoulder, looking directly into Lindsey’s blue eyes and suddenly feeling calm and relaxed even though the fears were still there.

“Well,” Lindsey spoke softly, “if you can convince him to stick around a little longer, maybe I can try and talk to one of the Hematologists here in town into letting us have a private examination. Don’t know how your friend feels about hospitals, but it’s either that or I gotta take a blood sample now somehow and keep it under ice until I can take it back to California.”

A sudden knock at the front door distracted the both of them, Gary shaking his head and brushing off Lindsey’s hand gently as he walked up to the door. He looked back towards the hallway, noticing Aiden’s head peeking around the corner. “Dammit, Aiden, hide,” Gary whispered sternly. Aiden retreated back into the kitchen just as Gary looked through the peephole. A tall, rugged man in an uncomfortable looking red, plaited wool jacket and a generic green and red baseball cap hiding his eyes stood at the door, stirring an ominous feeling within Gary.

“Who is it?” Gary asked.

“Sorry to bother you, sir,” the rugged man spoke, his voice deep but kindly, “but I believe you have a man by the name of Aiden in your stead. It’s imperative that I speak with him.”

Gary’s brow rose in suspicion, looking back into the kitchen where Aiden’s muzzle and eyes looked out with a similar confusion. “Can I ask who you are? I’m Aiden’s friend, and I’ve never seen you before.”

“I reckon you haven’t. He doesn’t know me either, but I believe we have a couple of similar common interests and a quick talk with him would be beneficial to the two of us.”

Aiden didn’t know who this man was, but even behind a closed door, his nose was beginning to detect his scent, pungent and strong. Aiden’s eyes lit up then as he recognized the scent; the creature that had been around Luna before she disappeared into the woods. Aiden’s fangs tightened, a low growl beginning to work its way from his maw.

Gary could see the fury building up within Aiden. Whether he realized, just as Gary did, that something wasn’t right with this guy, or that Aiden’s possibly monster-like tendencies had begun to show themselves, Gary wasn’t about to chance having someone getting mauled on the steps to his front door today.

“Look,” Gary spoke firmly, “I don’t know where he is right now, and if I did, I’m not telling you. So, get off my property or I’m calling the cops.”

Gary could see the rugged man sigh and shake his head disappointedly through the peephole. “Listen, son, I don’t have a lot of time for this. I’m trying to be polite here, and I don’t mean any harm at all. All I want is to talk to your friend Aiden before you let him back into the woods. He deserves to know what he’s getting himself into.”

Both Gary and Lindsey looked at each other with surprise. Still, something didn’t feel right about this guy. For all he knew, it was possible this guy was some kind of hunter and somehow had found out Aiden was a werewolf and was looking for a trophy. The hick looked buff enough to take down a bear, and his mannerisms were just plain creepy. He wasn’t chancing having anything happen to his friend either.

“I’m heading for the phone,” Gary sang, leaning away from the door as he prepared to make good on his word. Gary turned to the kitchen, seeing Aiden look curiously at him…and then heard a massive crack of wood and bolts as he suddenly felt a heavy thud against the back of his head, before everything went black.

Lindsey screamed as she tumbled back, dropping to the floor. The petrifying fear she had earlier from Aiden’s unknown behavior towards her came back and intensified as the rugged man stepped into the house looking down over his handiwork. He kneeled down and tossed the broken door aside; Lindsey only seeing the top half of his face. The man’s eyes were what both chilled and astonished her, bearing the same golden amber glow as Aiden’s, only without the blackened whites that completed his wolfish look. Strangely, Lindsey could see the yellow-eyed man shaking his head, muttering a swear as he lifted his cap and brushed back his black hair, almost ashamed at what he had done.

Aiden finally revealed himself in front of the entry way of the hallway looking shocked at the sight of Gary lying motionless on the floor, smelling blood drenching the back of his hair. Over him was the man with the domineering scent shaking his head and swearing, almost regretting what he had done. It wasn’t enough to cool the fury burning inside Aiden, his fangs fully bared and snarling madly at the rugged man. A mild chill crawled up his spine as Aiden’s eyes met the rugged man’s, displaying the same wolfen amber eyes as his. Could this man be a werewolf like him?

Doesn’t matter, Aiden thought. And I don’t give a shit how threatening this guy smells. Gary’s hurt and it’s his fault. Who knows what he did with Luna. Bastard!!!

Aiden lunged right towards the rugged man, jaws agape, ready to snare his neck and tear it apart. Out of an unforeseen twist, the man did the same, shoving Aiden back into the kitchen, displaying an unnatural strength that could only confirm he wasn’t human. Aiden struggled to fight back but was pinned heavily on his side, the man holding down Aiden’s muzzle to the floor. He repositioned himself over Aiden’s body using his legs and body weight to keep him down, freeing up a hand to reach into his pocket, pulling out an unusual powdering substance in a ziplocked bag.

“I’m sorry about your friend,” the rugged man grumbled as he reached back into his pocket again, this time pulling out nose plugs. “Didn’t mean to hurt him, but this kind of can’t wait unless you really want to stay a wolf forever. Now, just take a quick whiff of this. I’m not trying to kill you; I just need you to sleep for a bit.”

Fuck you! Aiden snarled wildly, trying to pull his snout away from the man’s powdered hand. You think I’m going to trust you after what you just did? I’m gonna kill…you…

Aiden felt a sharp prick stick behind his rear, suddenly feeling drowsy and weak. He tried to look back, but with the man holding him down, he couldn’t. He did notice, however, that the man was equally surprised and was looking back, still holding the powder in his free hand. Whatever it was, Aiden no longer cared. Sleep suddenly sounded good just now.

Lindsey’s hands trembled as she pulled out the syringe she had stored in her medical kit in the purse, the needle having been filled with a small vile of sedative that now coursed in Aiden’s body. When the rugged man with the eyes looked back to her, she stumbled back, low to her knees, holding out the syringe like a defensive weapon. The rugged man reached, using the hand that had been clasping Aiden’s muzzle shut as he slowly and carefully grabbed the top end of the syringe.

“You should be careful with that, miss,” the rugged man spoke to her serenely. “Wouldn’t want a pretty thing like you accidently stabbing anyone else or yourself even with an empty, dirty needle.”

Lindsey was reluctant at first to let go of the syringe but felt as if it was already too late to take back what she had done, letting the rugged man gently pry it away from her hands and place it on top of the counter next to him.

“I have to say,” the rugged man continued to speak, “I thank you for helping me sedate your friend here. I’m still gonna have to make him sniff this stuff up, but, like I just said, it won’t kill him. Just needed him to stay under for a while until the effects wear off. By then your friend should start looking moderately human again and hopefully with a clearer mind. I have to ask though, why did you help me?”

“You said you’re trying to help Aiden with his werewolf problem, right?” Lindsey calmly asked, gulping down the hint of uncertain terror still clinging to her psyche.

“It’s not much of a problem as it is more of a life-changing decision, but yes.”

Lindsey nodded, looking out around the hallway as she noticed Gary flinching out of his comatose state on the floor, alive and generally well. “Ok. Just promise us you really aren’t here to kill us…and that you’re not going to eat us after your talk, and you can have a moment with Aiden.”

The rugged man smiled and nodded. “I still don’t understand how you can be this calm after what you’ve just witnessed.”

“Believe me,” Lindsey said, “I’m still just as freaked out about this whole werewolf thing as before. But if you know how to make Aiden talk again, then maybe Gary can get some of his own questions and worries out of the way.”

“That’ll depend.”

“On what?”

The rugged man looked back to Aiden sleeping peacefully in his sedated state. “On what your friend’s answers are gonna be.”

Chapter Eight - Choices

The first thing Aiden was aware of as he was coming to from a drowsy slumber was a splitting headache, feeling the throbbing cross a line over his forehead from ear to ear. Along with the headache, his entire body felt numb, yet as he tried to move his limbs around, he could distinctly feel some soreness in his joints. It felt like he had been squeezed by a bear or a vise and something was keeping his nerves numb from the pain, but not by a lot.

The second thing Aiden was aware of, before his eyes would willingly open, was muffled chattering somewhere in the distance. Lindsey’s voice, Gary’s cousin he had managed to drag all the way from California just to check on Aiden, was the only voice he recognized. The other sounded deep but carried off with a sensitive tone. He didn’t hear Gary…but he could smell his blood. Fractured images of memory swarmed in Aiden’s head, making him recall a scene where the front door had been kicked in and Gary was lying on the floor with the door resting on top, spotted crimson red blood matting the back of his black hair. Someone had invaded the house; Gary could be dead.

Aiden started to stir, fighting off the grogginess intruding his strength, wanting to make sure that Gary was alive and that Lindsey was ok. Rolling to his stomach, Aiden suddenly felt air and dropped with a heavy thud onto a carpeted ground, yelping as he held his battered arm with the opposite forepaw. The painful surprise brought Aiden’s eyes wide open, as he realized that now he was in the family room connected to the kitchen. His eyes stared up at the ceiling for a while, taking a moment to put back together the missing pieces of the event that had caused him to blackout suddenly.

It was nighttime now, the day having drawn to a close. Strangely, all the lights inside the house weren’t on, the moonlight shining outside the only source illuminating parts of the room. Aiden began to sniff frantically where he lay, detecting Lindsey and Gary somewhere close in the house. There was another too, belonging to the domineering scent from back in the woods where he last left Luna. It must belong to the new voice that had been talking to Lindsey, of whom now Aiden could hear her footsteps rushing into the family room.

“Aiden?” Lindsey cried, dropping to kneel as she held Aiden’s head in her hands. “You alright?”

“I feel like I’ve been hit by a truck,” Aiden said, laughing a little as he could see her face more clearly, relieved to see Lindsey was perfectly fine. His face froze in shock as he clasped a forepaw over his neck. “What the…I can talk again?”

“Suppose so,” Lindsey said, helping Aiden back to his hindpaws, only to end up gently dropping him back on the couch he had been sleeping on. “You sniffed up some weird powder. He said it would speed up the reversion process while keeping you under.”

“Reversion? What do you…” Aiden realized what Lindsey meant as he began to notice something odd about what he was seeing in front of his eyes. His snout wasn't visible anymore, prompting him to feel his face with his forepaws, making him realize that not only was his muzzle flat again but his own paws were hands once more. Aiden began to study the rest of his body, discovering he was now physically human again. Only certain appendages or features seemed to remain: small patches of his brown fur covered parts of his skin while his shoulders and waist retaining most of its thickness, both fore and hindpaws were human hands and feet but his claws and padded calluses stayed put, and his nose was still flared and coated in a brownish leather while his fangs remained settled inside his mouth. What appeared to have stayed permanently unchanged were his wolfish ears and tail. Aiden hugged his tail around his waist, stroking softly as he silently whimpered, feeling a part of him had been stripped and what stayed could only ease the depression swelling in his heart.

I’m ugly again, Aiden thought, beginning to wonder if he could show his face to Luna now.

“Aiden,” Lindsey spoke softly, brushing lightly over Aiden’s furry shoulder, “he said you needed to be human for this, so your inner wolf wasn’t distracting you to what he had to say.”

He? Wait…that man…

“You’re talking about the thing in the living room, aren’t you?” Aiden said sternly, halting Lindsey’s petting from fright. “I can smell him. He was in the woods. He’s the same guy who hurt Gary, isn’t he? Why are you listening to him?”

“Cause apparently he has some answers to our pressing questions, buddy.”

Aiden’s wolfish ears perked eagerly to that voice, spinning around on the couch and sitting on his knees, tail wagging like an excited puppy dog as the gut-wrenching fear that Gary might have been dead obliterated happily with him walking into the kitchen, boasting his signature sly smile. “You’re ok!” Aiden shouted, tongue rolling out into a pant.

“Down boy,” Gary snickered, turning his attention to Lindsey. “I thought he said that powder shit was supposed to make him normal again. Aiden’s still wily like Sophie.”

“At least he's talking again,” Lindsey said, “and he does seem to still be thinking like a human again on some level. It should be enough.”

Aiden, baffled at the one-sided conversation, shook his head and barked, grabbing both Lindsey’s and Gary’s focus. “Damn, Aiden,” Gary groaned, “can you not act like an animal for two seconds?”

“Sorry,” Aiden spoke, a light whine carrying in his voice, “but I’m getting a little confused here and you two sound like you made some kind of pact with the asshole that tore down your front door and banged the back of your head.”

“Yeah, true,” Gary agreed, rubbing the back of his head carefully without pulling at the bandage dried with his blood. “Don’t worry about me, though. Lindsey took me to the hospital early after all that shit. Got four shots and some staples; the shots hurt the most.” Gary turned back to the kitchen, “And Mister Outdoorsy-kicks-peoples'-doors-down guy is gonna pay for both my medical bills and a new door, just so you know!”

“He said he was sorry already,” Lindsey defended, looking back to Aiden. “The guy is actually sweeter than his appearance and actions leads on. He says he felt rushed and needed to see you immediately.”

Aiden looked away from the two of them, staring down at the floor, contemplating the situation. It seemed strange after what this stranger had done that his friends were suddenly buddy-buddy, especially now that he was remembering the stranglehold that bastard managed to put on him even when he was still a werewolf. Then again, he could remember the amber eyes and fangs, and his scent was lupine too. That meant he was like him, a werewolf. But something about the way he smelled annoyed him. Lindsey said that guy was actually sweet and innocent, yet he smelled like a wolf that had gotten into many fights and had shed enough blood in his day, that domineering smell which made him think the stranger was a foreboding boss or leader.

An Alpha?

“You guys said he wanted to talk to me?” Aiden finally spoke.

“Yeah,” Lindsey said weakly, both her and Gary shuddering from Aiden’s calm, yet chilling, tone. “He’s waiting for you in the living room. I think you really need to hear what he has to say.”

Aiden nodded and stood up, tumbling a little bit, prompting Lindsey and Gary to rush to him and hold him up by his shoulders. “Guess that powder stuff hasn’t gone away yet,” Aiden attempted to joke, though it came out more like irritation.

“Actually,” Lindsey hummed sheepishly, “you’re probably feeling the effects of the Morphine…that I…kind of...”

“Liz stuck you in the ass with her needle,” Gary blurted out with a laugh.

Aiden looked to Lindsey with wide-eyed shock. “Sorry,” Lindsey apologized, “but this might be the only time I will ever get to learn about werewolves. That, and at the time, I thought helping him keep you calm might work into some kind of negotiation to spare our lives if it came to that.”

“Yeah, real smooth cuz,” Gary smiled, earning a slap to the back of the head from Lindsey. “Ouch! Dammit Liz.”

Lindsey giggled teasingly.

Gary and Lindsey continued to help Aiden into the kitchen and down the hallway, Aiden noting the front door lying next to the wall with the hinges snapped off, a thick green blanket nailed to the entryway to keep out the breeze and bugs that could slip in. Across the living room, the rugged man in the red-plaited wool jacket sat on a small chair near Gary’s unlit fireplace, the open window left of them cascading pale moonlight to help illuminate the area. Aiden’s feral eyes could see everything clearly, the moonlight only adding more detail he couldn’t see before. The rugged man was just sitting there slouched over with his hands clasped together between his legs, almost as if he was asleep. For a werewolf that smelled threatening and powerful, he sure looked harmless and ridiculous.

“I see you're finally awake,” the rugged man suddenly spoke, leaning back against the chair, showing his face and amber eyes. “Good. You look better. Why don’t you take a seat there on the sofa and I’ll try to be out of your hair, or fur, as quick as possible.”

Aiden gazed fiercely at the stranger as his friends helped him over to the sofa. As gentle as this guy sounded, his scent still left an unnaturally authoritarian mark, keeping Aiden aggressively alert. Brightly colored cotton sudden whipped at this face, starling him for a moment. It was a towel thrown by Gary, clearing his throat as he motioned his hands around his waist. Aiden nodded, getting the hint as he covered his waist to look less nude in front of everyone, prying his tail out from behind and resting it next to his leg so to not be crushed.

“Comfortable?” The rugged man asked politely.

Aiden said nothing, eyes piercing the stranger.

“I can understand why you must be angry at me,” The rugged man began leaning forward as before, “and I sincerely apologize for getting your friend hurt. He said he was heading for the phone, so I thought he’d be away from the door by then.”

“Well, you thought wrong,” Gary grumbled, arms crossed as he and Lindsey leaned back on opposite sides of the wall corners leading upstairs.

“And I will fix your door before I leave,” The rugged man replied to Gary humorously, “but you might have to wait awhile before I can repay you for the hospital bill.”

“Don’t worry,” Lindsey said, “I can take care of that.”

“I see you've all gotten so chummy after you all ganged up on me,” Aiden growled, the room silent after that for a bit.

“I was just as surprised by Ms. Pillar as you were,” the rugged man continued, “and I’m actually thankful for her assistance. For a human, she understands the seriousness of the matter.”

“That’s what she has been saying,” Aiden said while looking to Lindsey, bringing his fixed furious gaze back to the stranger. “So who are you exactly? You smell like a wolf, but you’re still human.”

The rugged man began to laugh softly to himself, removing his cap to scratch his head. “I’m starting to think we need to let you rest a little longer until you’re completely human again…unless I’m talking to Aiden and not the wolf.”

Aiden’s head cocked back, confused. “I don’t understand. I know who I am.”

“Do you?” The rugged man answered back. “Are you truly aware of what is happening to you; what this is doing to you?”

Aiden snarled, “You said you had something to tell me, right? Well what is it?”

The rugged man sighed and sat straight in his seat, his face molded into a strict complexion that demanded to be taken seriously. “Before I tell you what I need to, you need to promise me you will listen and thoughtfully think about any decisions you’ll need to make later. I also would like it if you could tone down your voice. I’m trying to be friendly.”

Aiden suddenly shot up from the sofa, snarling wildly with fangs bare and claws flexed, his ears folded back and tail erected straight behind. “You nearly killed my best friend, you asshole! And what did you do to Luna? Where is she!?”

“Aiden!?” Both Gary and Lindsey shouted, ready to leap in and try to hold Aiden back as best as they could regardless of what he could do to retaliate. Aiden’s rage suddenly vanished the moment the rugged man stood firmly and glared menacingly into his eyes. It petrified him, enough to make him feel lowly and submissive, whimpering as he kneeled back down to the sofa with his tail whipping between his legs. Gary and Lindsey were astonished, a mild sigh of relief escaping from their lips as they leaned back against the wall.

“How did you do that?” Lindsey asked.

“Because your friend can sense it,” the rugged man spoke slowly, sitting back down in his chair. “As much as your friend wants to put his claws and fangs to good use, for understandable reasons, he knows now that would be a bad idea.”

“Because you’re an Alpha, aren’t you?” Aiden spoke up, calm but still rigid. “I’m not that stupid; I learned about stuff like that back in high school. But I guess it is my animal side that’s recognizing it.”

“Well now that we’ve gotten that out of the way,” the rugged man, now known as the Alpha, began, “will you be a little more considerate and listen to what I have to say.”

“Kind of feel like I don’t have a choice anymore,” Aiden muttered, throwing the towel that had fallen off him during his rage back on his lap.

“Ironically,” the Alpha chuckled, “that’s exactly what this is about.”

Aiden’s head tilted in curiosity.

“As I said before; first off, I’m sorry for my rude entrance. I mean no harm and didn’t mean to get anyone hurt. On that note, I’m sorry I had to be a bit rough with you. I wasn’t sure how far gone you were into your lupine nature and didn’t feel like I had enough to time to coax you into taking a whiff of my special little powder. It just has the same effects as Ms. Pillar’s shot, only less with the loopy and numbness and more with helping suppress your hormones so your body can natural change back to its human form.”

“Suppress my hormones?” Aiden questioned, ears erect.

“I’ll get to that part in a bit,” the Alpha smiled. “Second, Luna is fine. She’s a part of our pack, so no one is harming her. And don’t worry about anyone taking her either; she seems to be reserving that for you only.”

Aiden couldn’t help but grin proudly; his love for Luna increased ever further knowing she was waiting for him.

“Wait,” Gary interrupted, “Who the heck is Luna?”

“My mate,” Aiden replied, looking back to Gary with his grin still stretched over his fanged lips. Gary looked back at him funny, raising an eyebrow.

“Now Aiden,” the Alpha resumed, “Can you tell me if there was anything different about you that you knew from the start: feeling out of place, behaving abnormally, or possibly born with a particular deformity uncommon to humans?”

Aiden’s eyes gradually dropped down to the towel, the originally sign that he wasn’t born normal.

The Alpha grinned and nodded. “How long have you been aware that you were a werewolf like us?”

“Not until two nights ago,” Aiden replied. “I guess I should have figured that out once I found out what was wrong with my…well, you know. But, I just took it as a genetic anomaly…that and I was scared and embarrassed of what doctors might do to me.”

“So the changes started only two nights ago. That’s how you discovered you were one of us?”

“I guess. Technically, I suppose I started acting different than normal the day of my twenty-first birthday. I’m not normally a sexual guy, never really cared about going out and fucking any woman I saw like Mister Stud behind me.”

Gary’s face stretched into a macho-styled smile; Lindsey scoffed, shaking her head in disgust.

“It wasn’t until that night,” Aiden continued, “that I started smelling something. I think a couple of stray dogs were outside the complex’s barren backyard. All I remember was that I smelled this potent odor. It…set me off. All of a sudden, I was horny as hell and, well…after that night, I got obsessed with going out with someone, anyone who was pretty eager to mate.”

“I helped set that up,” Gary gloated. “I just didn’t know it would all go freaky and nuts.”

Aiden shrugged at the comment, blushing harder as the Alpha let out a quiet laugh at Gary’s remark. “I guess,” Aiden went on sheepishly, “I smelled pheromones, didn't I?”

The Alpha removed his cap and brushed the back of his hair, smacking his lips. “That would about do it in most cases. Thing is, with my pack, our inner wolves aren’t as responsive with mating with human females. Of course, that all depends on tastes and all, but that’s just how it seems to work. With you, most likely the prospect of mating for the first time was enough to set off your inner wolf to surface. But now that it has, it will be mainly interested in mating with its own kind, even sometimes our animal cousins. The bottom line though is, with our pack anyways, our transformations are linked to our hormones.”

“You said you were born with a lupine cock?” Lindsey asked, face cringing awkwardly from asking.

Aiden looked back and nodded weakly.

“Well,” Lindsey started, first looking to Gary, “I’m not a full-fledged doctor,” and then turned back to Aiden, “but I did have to study about human physiology and biology to get my degree. This is just a guess, since I’ve never heard of a case of a human being living with a healthy, workable animal phallus, but maybe the reason you’re changing into a wolf is because of all the sexual stimulus surrounding you lately, which in turn could be creating lupine hormones to balance out your genetics. The more you're sexually aroused, the more your physiology and genetic make-up becomes overridden until you take a full form.”

“And how do you know this,” Gary mocked, “Ms. Expert on Werewolfism?”

Lindsey sharply turned to Gary with a cold stare. “Like I said, it’s just a guess. For all I know, everything I just said is complete bull-shit.”

“Actually,” the Alpha spoke, scratching one side of his temples, “that’s about as close to a reasonable scientific explanation as I could ever come up with.”

Lindsey’s eyes beamed surprisingly, and then she boasted a victorious smile at Gary, to which he responded by letting out an irritated groan.

Aiden held back his laughter.

“So, your friend is pretty close,” the Alpha resumed. “Though there is one thing that tends to be random in our pack. Some of my pack mates began to discover their own inner wolves only after they became eighteen to twenty-one. In human standards, that is the age of adult maturity to most. Equivalently, it would be similar to a wolf’s age of maturity. And, it’s around that time that wolves are within breeding age and when shewolves become susceptible to heat cycles. Although, we had a few members that became sexually aware and curious earlier in their youth and even then unlocked their inner wolves. Like I said, we are apparently a breed created entirely out of randomness.”

Aiden, Gary, and Lindsey all looked a bit perplexed by the Alpha’s possible attempt at a metaphor.

“What should be clear is that it wasn’t just by chance you just became sexually active. You turned twenty-one right in the middle of our mating season. Your own inner wolf has been responding to it, which is why you may feel like you have little control over your actions and might believe that this is all natural, and, technically, it is in a way. But, in order for you to understand what will happen if you give in completely, I needed to bring you back to a clearer, non-instinctual state.”

“Why?” Aiden questioned. “I was still here. I could still understand what everyone was saying.”

“Not as much from my perspective, buddy,” Gary muttered.

“That’s because you were too busy freaking out to pay attention,” Aiden rebutted.

“I couldn’t chance it,” the Alpha answered. “Trust me, sometimes it’s not that easy to know when it’s you talking and when it’s the wolf.”

“Why is that so bad?” Aiden protested further. “I know I’ve been acting and thinking like a animal more and more, but I haven’t yet felt like I was being completely stripped of my freewill. In fact, I’m becoming quite fond of being a wolf now. I even prepared too…”

The Alpha brought out a flat hand stopping Aiden mid-sentence. “I have a feeling I know what you’re going to say. Before you do, now would be the time I should tell what I wanted to go over with you in the first place.

“I want you to be aware, Aiden, that changing lifestyles might not be the best idea. Just so you know, if you do choose to live as a wolf, you are welcome in our pack. But be aware; life as a wolf is not all glamorous.”

“Well, it’s not like he has to stay a wolf, does he?” Gary asked troublingly. “I mean, you guys are werewolves; you can shapeshift back to normal anytime, right?”

“Generally, you would be correct. And it is possible; I’m living proof. However, in some cases, members of my pack for example, going back to a human life isn’t that easy. Some of us become so enthralled or enamored with our changes, that they don’t want to go back. Others, having lived the life of a wolf for so long, do pine for it, but have forgotten how to be human. There are exceptions, lucky exceptions. Some of us that can’t change back completely can at least take a humanoid physique but remain in the form of a wolf, like in some movies. But the fact of the matter is, once you go wolf you might never go back.”

The Alpha paused for a moment, judging Aiden’s gaze towards him. His amber eyes kept a frightfully firm lock on him, showing he was at least paying attention attentively. But he sensed that Aiden’s lupine side remained the most dominant, wondering now if it was already too late, or if this boy truly was comfortable with his new life.

“Let me tell a short story,” The Alpha un-paused. “There was once a man who was as confused as you were when he realized he wasn’t particularly normal, especially with his package. He eventually met and became close friends with others with the same condition. Not long after they became mature enough, they all soon fell victim to their animal side’s baser instincts and soon drowned in the conquest for sexual gratification, looking to mate as much as they could. I believe it was around the mating season as well.

“In time, these boys began to discover what was happening to them, turning little by little into werewolves, yet their animal sides kept them pretty preoccupied with the need to mate that, before long, it felt as if all these instincts and urges their inner wolves had, were theirs as well. It only became worse once they tracked down female werewolves born with the same condition…as well as roaming pureblooded wolves. Flung into the mating cycle of the season, they all soon became so drunk with the need to oblige their animalistic baser instincts that many of them became almost oblivious to the fact they were no longer human, believing being a wolf was their sole purpose in life. And, for a while, they were all happy and proud of what they had become, forming their own pack and tending to any young born from the mating season, progressing onward with simple goals. Roaming, hunting, feeding, and mating. There were, of course, a couple of pack members that mated out of love.”

“Not to be a buzz kill,” Gary cut in, “but I’m guessing this story is about you, isn’t it?”

The Alpha gave Gary a detested look for a brief moment, fading into a grin. “Kind of blew my twist ending there, kiddo. But, your friend is right, Aiden. Those men were me and my friends. It practically took us a year or two to realize how much time had passed since we became wolves, and then some of us started to miss what we'd left behind. Albeit being human has its own cons, but it can be the little things that can start to eat you up. Missed loved ones in the human world, for example, can be quite devastating.”

If I had anyone to miss, Aiden thought to himself. My step-parents never really seemed to care about me. I doubt they barely miss me. Gary really is the only friend I have and kept all these years. I hope…he won’t hate me for my decision.

“Question,” Lindsey jumped in, raising her hand as if back in a classroom wishing to be noticed by the teacher. “Out of curiosity, can you transmit this kind of lycanthropy by bite or blood? Or is this only heredity?”

“To my current knowledge,” the Alpha addressed her, “we’re not considered infectious. I’ve never heard or seen anyone we may have bitten or possibly mated with become a werewolf like us. This was something we were born with, our unique anatomy the sign.”

“So then, Aiden’s real parents could have been werewolves?” Gary added.

“Yes, or at least one parent, though the likelihood of that happening is pretty uncommon. And considering how my pack hasn’t really put that theory to work, I can’t honestly say.”

“Is it also uncommon to have werewolves in your pack that have remained human physically but wolf mentally?” Aiden questioned, having looked down over himself for a bit until he brought back his feral, stern gaze to the Alpha.

“You’re referring to Luna, correct?”

Aiden nodded. “Not that it matters to me that much, but Luna came off as someone who has been living a wolf lifestyle for a long time now. But when we met, she was human. Has she always been stuck that way or does she possess the ability to shapeshift?”

The Alpha leaned back in his chair, hands clasped back, resting on his stomach. “Luna, like you, is a unique case with little answers to go by. You see, Luna didn’t become part of our pack until we found her. She was…wounded, not badly, just apparently had the wind knocked out of her. But when we found her, we also found her old pack…slaughtered.”

Aiden could hear Lindsey gasp behind him and sported a similar shock in his eyes but kept his body generally unchanged.

“Luna was about in her preteens when we found her and her fallen pack. We also found the group of hunters that had shot them all down. After we took retribution for our slain cousins, we brought her back with us and tended to her until she regained her strength. When it came time, we immediately discovered how well adapted she was to a wolf’s lifestyle, moving and acting only as an animal. From her scent and sex, it was clear she was one of us, not much less an oddity than if a pureblood wolf pack had raised her. She took it hard once she realized her pack was gone, but she slowly assimilated into our family and became one of our sisters.”

“I figured as much; she was literary raised by wolves,” Aiden said, “but she does possess some human intelligence. She managed to hint at her own name even when she couldn’t speak. And she knows…other things…pretty well.”

“The pack and I taught her some human knowledge,” the Alpha answered back, “only minor things, simple things. Sometimes though, it doesn’t really stick; took me two weeks to get her to understand where the name we picked for her came from and how to pronounce it. As for the ‘other things’, you can blame some of my pack mates for that. As it’s somewhat made clear, our breed is highly sexual in nature. It’s not rare for all of us to have ‘pleasured’ each other at one point in time and not pick up on certain techniques remembered and displayed from our human lives.”

“Shit!” Gary exclaimed, “You’re saying your pack has wild werewolf orgies!?”

Lindsey slapped his arm hard but similarly showed the same bizarre astonishment. Aiden, though, began to look uneasy.

“It’s only explicit during the mating season,” the Alpha bashfully replied, “though most of the first members have learned some self-control by now. But, in some cases, our baser instincts and human sense of sexual attraction tend to lead to situations like that. For Luna, she’s no stranger to it. In fact, she is one of the few members that have shown signs of her inner wolf physically manifesting before she reached human maturity. Let me also put it this way; sexuality to us is like a drug, a bad habit that’s too difficult to kick. And Luna, believe it or not, is a very sexual being.”

“So,” Aiden moaned, “you’re saying she’s had multiple partners.”

“Well, that now lays into another unique thing about her; she’s never been mated. It’s been tried, I assure you. There is no male in my pack, that hasn’t already found their own mate, that hasn’t once tried to court Luna into mating and succeeded. She’s gone as far as willingly presenting herself to an anxious wolf, but just as they appeared coupled she stirs up into a mighty fit and thrashes the wolf off her. We had no clue why she acted this way for the longest time. The only time she's allowed herself sexual release with another wolf was merely by stimulating her sex orally or, from the few that could shift back into humanoid forms, by using forepaws. And also, of course, by her own means. That much has allowed her to bend the cage keeping her animal self physically locked in, but never as much as to take a truer lupine shape.

“Not until now,” the Alpha said, pointing at Aiden. “Not until you showed up and came into her life.”

“Me?” Aiden asked, his tail wagging against the sofa.

“For some reason, Luna chose you. Of course, you helped aggravate that decision when you apparently appeared in the woods two nights ago. Your scent was all over her, and just in case you want to know, her jubilant mood the next morning made some of the other males jealous.”

We were together two nights ago? Aiden thought, searching frantically in his memories of any such event. But…I don’t remember anything at all about that night, not after Vivian stormed out of my apartment and after getting a decent look at what I was turning into.

“It didn’t appear the two of you had mated yet,” the Alpha continued, “having not smelled any signs of copulating. But whatever you did, you left an impression on her. Luna may not talk but her cheery and sultry behavior expressed her feelings for you that entire day. It wasn’t until last night I finally got to get a good look at whom she had become so infatuated with. I was surprised that it was another wolf like us, but I was further surprised at how she seemed to like you the most out of all the males she had grown up with in our pack, and so quickly.”

That proud smile crept over Aiden’s face once more and felt a stir in his wolfhood at the thought of his sexual prowess with Luna.

“Is it weird that I’m starting to get curious about werewolf porn from all this?” Gary half-joked. Lindsey once more looked at him funnily, shoving Gary a bit playfully.

“Is she waiting for me?” Aiden asked.

“She is,” the Alpha answered. Aiden cocked his head back slowly, eyes closed, that same smile widening. “But, I asked her to stay away from you at least until tomorrow night.”

The smile broke into a frown. “What? Why?”

“Because, if you see her now after this conversation you might fall back into your lupine lustful mindset again, forgetting everything I had told you about in pursuit of sexual conquest. Similarly, it is so she can’t influence your decision.”

“My decision?”

“Yes, which brings us to the climax of our little chat. I would like for you to let everything I have told you about our lifestyle, its pros and cons, sink into your head for at least one day. Hopefully, that will be enough time for you to come to a rational decision that will be your own and not the wolf inside. As I have said, if you do choose to let yourself become a wolf completely, you are welcome to join our pack. Be warned though, we plan to move east after tomorrow night. There is no telling when we will turn back west to this town. Luna will be coming with us; it would be too dangerous for her to hide out in your woods for too long without guidance, even if you were there for her. I couldn’t risk possible exposure.”

“Wait,” Lindsey squeaked distressfully. “Then…what will happen to us?”

The Alpha laughed heartedly. “Don’t worry. I believe I have your trust that you will keep our pack secret, for your friend’s sake.

“Aiden,” the Alpha resumed, “I’m not trying to keep you from becoming a wolf. If it is really what you want, then so be it. But, I’ve gone through all this so I made sure You had the choice, not the wolf. It’s hard to let go of a life you might possibly never come back too. I want you to be absolutely sure you can be mentally and emotionally prepared to move on. If not, then I would suggest learning to cope with your urges to an extent. And, I would also suggest trying to forget about Luna, if that were the case.”

The room fell silent for a while, the moonlight from outside beginning to sink away from inside the living room. The Alpha soon after rose from his seat and tipped his cap to everyone with a grin.

“I believe that’s all I had to say. Mr. Richter, I need to run out and finish up some last minute errands. I’ll return shortly to guard your house until the morning. The hardware store in your town should be open by then. As promised, I’ll make sure your front door is fixed up before the end of the day.”

“It better,” Gary said, “or my mom’s gonna have a fit when she comes back from Las Vegas this week.”

The Alpha chuckled, turning to Aiden who was still sitting silently, deep in thought. “If you chose to join us, meet us at the river where you and Luna visited yesterday and this morning. If you don’t show up after dawn, my pack will head out. Can’t say when we will return. Until then, goodnight brother.” Aiden didn’t respond or flinch, leaving the Alpha to smile, believing Aiden was taking his words to heart. He walked up to both Gary and Lindsey, shaking Gary’s hand firmly and Lindsey’s with a gentleman’s kiss to the hand. He soon headed for the blanketed front door.

“Wait!” Aiden shouted, jumping from his seat to face the Alpha, who looked back just as he parted the blanket away. “I want to thank you for telling me all this…for letting me know I have a choice in all this.”

The Alpha nodded, beginning to lean out the door.

“But it doesn’t change my decision,” Aiden cried. The Alpha paused, stepping back fully into the house as he crossed his arms and listened. “I understand becoming a wolf isn’t going to be glamorous. I understand I might miss some things about my human life.” Aiden turned to Gary and Lindsey after his last sentence, display a guilty smile. “Some bonds can never be forgotten.” He turned back to the Alpha. “But, I don’t need my inner wolf to whisper in my ears that being a wolf is right. I was scared when I first started transforming, even worse when I didn’t recall anything from the other night. But after last night, being with Luna, I felt something I never thought I would feel while I thought I was becoming a monster. Acceptance. Love. Wholeness.”

“Are you sure that’s how you really felt?” the Alpha asked. “Or was it was just your hormones seeking her out?”

“Maybe it started like that at first. But I remember everything from last night with Luna. I remember the awkwardness of being so aroused around her, the timid feeling of being fawned over by a beautiful woman, the thrill of racing into the woods alongside her. When we made love, when we mate, yes, it’s incredibly sexually gratifying. But it’s with her I feel whole. Something about her fills this painful void that struck me after mating with Vivian. Maybe I am growing an addiction to her; it feels maddening being apart. All I know is I can’t abandon Luna. I know she would be torn in two if you forced her to leave me behind if I stayed. I couldn’t move on without her either. I love her. She’s mine and I am hers. She’s my mate.”

The Alpha shook his head, lightly scratching his stubble chin. “You must be some kind of hopeless romantic, aren’t you?”

“I remind him of that every day,” Gary spoke up, sulking back against the wall.

“I guess I am,” Aiden said, “but I feel like it’s more than that. Last night, I had a dream where we were together. It was technically Vivian’s face but everything else was her, from scent to fur and behavior. In that dream, her voice was Vivian’s but she spoke of me needing to look for her. She said she was waiting for me. As soon as I woke from it, she was standing outside my apartment. Maybe my mind was trying to piece together our time between us the other night, but it felt more like a calling, fate maybe.”

“Interesting,” the Alpha muttered.

“I’m sorry if it sounds like I’ve wasted your time,” Aiden continued, “but I made my decision last night, and I stick by it even knowing what I know now. I will happily become a wolf if it means being with Luna. I already feel like I’m better suited for it.”

“Sure,” Gary grumbled, looking away from the gang. “Just take off and leave everyone who actually gives a shit about you behind.”

Aiden’s stomach churned but he inhaled deeply, keeping in the pride he was feeling from his speech as he walked to his best friend, laying a hand over Gary’s shoulder.

“I told you, Gary. Some bonds can’t be forgotten. I’m gonna miss hanging out with you, seriously. Hell, even he said I don’t have to stay a wolf forever.”

“But you will,” Gary slowly began to sob, forcing down the tears in attempt to retain his macho demeanor. “You said it yourself. You'd rather be a dumb mutt. You’re not gonna want to change back again.”

“Of course I will. How else am I going to come back and bug the heck out of you like you’ve done with me, huh?”

The two stared at each other, an icy chill forming between them, until they both suddenly burst into laughter. It was a hard blow to Gary knowing he wasn’t going to have Aiden to kick around with as much anymore, the two of them having been best friends since Elementary. But he started to finally believe, as much as Aiden did, that this wasn’t going to be a final goodbye. Aiden would be back to help stir up a ruckus. It was the "not knowing when" that plagued Gary.

“You really love this wolf chick, do you?” Gary asked sincerely.

“Pretty much,” Aiden chuckled awkwardly.

“Aiden,” the Alpha called to him. “If this is your wish, then remember the meeting spot, by the river from last night. We will all be waiting.” Once more, with a tip of his cap and final haunting glare of his own amber eyes, the Alpha ducked under the blanket, leaving the house. Lindsey waved good-bye as she joined Aiden and Gary.

“So, you feel any better, Gary?” Lindsey asked.

“Not really. But hey, who am I to get in the way of true love…even if it is pretty bizarre. Hey, Aiden?”

“Yeah Gary?”

“You sticking around for the night?”

“Suppose I should. It will be the last night we hang out for a while, right?”

“Yep. So…any chance I can convince you to put your clothes back on until tomorrow?”

Aiden went wide-eyed and laughed weakly as he lept over the sofa behind him, snatching the towel and wrapping it around his waist. “Any chance I could borrow more clothes from you?”

Gary rolled his eyes back and grunted, all three of them laughing after.

“Hey, why didn’t we have any of the lights on? Was that weirdo sensitive to them or something?”

Final Chapter - Mates

Twilight colored the dusky horizon as the sun sank over the hills, the little rays of sunlight left beaming through the window of Aiden’s bedroom slowly darkening. All the knickknacks that sat on the dresser, counters and shelves cast their final shadows once the apartment became voided of daylight. The full moon steadily rose opposite the complex, looming over the edge of the woods, Aiden’s new home to be. His wolfish ears stood erect, his head cocked to the ceiling and eyes closed, posed in quiet content. He could feel his inner wolf climbing to the surface already, without Luna or primal stimulus to physically stir him, though his thoughts flooded with them. Was this the full moon’s role over his kind, never being an absolute trigger but a temptress luring his inner beast out to be freed?

I’m ready, Aiden thought calmly, clenching his fangs and letting out a low, jubilant growl.

Lights came on in the living room, illuminating the apartment in its orange glow. Aiden’s animal trance broke briefly, as he looked out his bedroom doorway to see Gary standing by the front door.

“You’re not going to wolf-out here, are you?” Gary snickered. “May be night time now, but it was still a pain just trying to stuff you in my car last time, being all hyper and furry and such.”

Aiden smiled, forcing down the growing animal urges wishing to surface as he stood back up from his bed, briskly walking out into the living room. “I’ll try and behave as long as I can,” Aiden said. “But I think I’m feeling something from the full moon. It’s getting harder to ignore my beast side now.”

“Whatever happened to ‘it’s your choice’ then?” Gary questioned, stuffing his hands in his jean pockets all cool-like.

“Alpha said it would be my choice if I wanted to join his pack and live as a wolf with them. He did say if I don’t, I would have to cope on my own. I guess, one way or another, I’m a werewolf forever.”

“Well,” Gary muttered, turning his head away nervously, “if that’s the case, do you really have to go with them? Can’t you just be a werewolf here, in town…and stuff?”

Aiden chuckled, feeling a small knot of guilt in his stomach as he approached his long-time human friend. “I could. But…you already know why I want to go.”

“Right,” Gary waved a pointed finger in acknowledgement, “your sexy shewolf. Gotcha.”

“Yes, Luna is pretty much one of the main reasons,” Aiden nodded. “But, it’s more than that. I couldn’t explain it better than I already tried. I just feel ‘real’ being a wolf.”

“Even though you’ve only gone through this whole second life experience in less than five days, right?” Gary joked awkwardly, sounding more serious.

Aiden was speechless for a moment, noting how Gary had a point how he could be so comfortable and willing to be an animal so quickly. Some people might consider a month or so before accepting certain changes in their life. Maybe it was these ‘animal hormones’ pushing the decision on him. But by now, it no longer mattered. Aiden wouldn’t miss humanity all that much. The only thing he would miss was his best friend.

“Hey,” Aiden spoke, “just remember I made a promise earlier. I’m not going to be gone forever. Even if I become one of the wolves that can’t change back, I’ll find a way to visit.”

“Heh…kind of hoping for the latter, but I suppose I'll take what I can get, right?”

“Look at it like this then; you owe me this for all the crap you put me through back in school.”

Gary and Aiden said nothing for a moment, until one of them burst into laughter, the other joining soon after.

“DAMMIT! Shut the hell up in there, will ya!?” the grouchy voice of Aiden’s next door neighbor shouted.

“I am definitely not going to miss that,” Aiden pointed out, the two of them sharing a second round of laughter as Gary opened the door, the two of them outside the second floor pathway now. Aiden shut the door firmly, locking it with his key and then handed it over to Gary. “I won’t need this anymore. I already paid the Super what was left of the rent. I told him you would be back soon to collect my stuff, anything you want to keep or hold on to. And then, of course, items I post-it that I'd like to have around when I come back. Anything else you don’t want, tell the Super to donate it or something.”

“That’s probably not going to happen,” Gary smiled, snatching the key, “since half the stuff in your room, I wanted anyways. But I’m probably going to burn the bed sheets. Wouldn’t want anyone to be sleeping on a blanket soaked in wolf sperm.”

Aiden’s face flared in embarrassment, scratching the back of his head with a silly smile. “Yeah, good idea.”

* * * * *

The aromatic smell of the woodland surroundings sparked a mild surge of primal energy within Aiden, never this pleased and eager to be entering the woods. Mixed with the full moon’s light cascading through thin openings of the tree branches, the strength to suppress his inner wolf was becoming nearly impossible now. His hands gripped and flexed, feeling raw power flowing in his fingers and claws. His tail wiggled wildly in his pants, begging to be freed. His nose busily sniffed about, taking in the rustic, earthy scents of the forest, partially hoping to catch the scent of his fellow wolves…maybe even his mate, Luna. He let out fierce, yet jubilant, growl, his voice tensing to let out a howl and call to his pack and mate, announcing his arrival.

Aiden took in a deep breath, calming himself for a moment, as he was aware Gary was still a short distance behind, watching his friend shed his humanity. He looked back, seeing Gary's smile oddly wavering; Aiden’s body blushed underneath his clothes and patches of fur.

“I suppose you’d want your clothes back,” Aiden spoke.

“Nah, you can keep them,” Gary answered. “Or rip them to shreds in good, old-fashion, werewolf-transforming fashion. Either way, I don’t think I’ll been wearing them again anytime soon.”

Aiden laughed, “You know, you could wash them.”

“Yeah, but…guess it would be weird, wearing clothes my own friend, a werewolf, wore.”

Aiden grinned, shaking his head. “Then I guess I’m going now. Tell your cousin I said goodbye, will you?”

Gary nodded, “Sure. Enjoy your new life, dude.”

Aiden smiled, looking forward into the woods, trying to remember where to go to get to the river. It wouldn’t be that hard now; his ears could pick up the rushing stream and his nose could detect any signs of wolves waiting. The thrill of chasing down his new pack mates crept over him, as he kicked off the shoes and socks he was wearing, relishing the feeling of real soft earth under his feet. A soft growl sounded from his lips, the urges becoming too much now, he decided to hastily remove the rest of his clothes, tossing them aside as the night’s cold chill cooled Aiden’s burning body.

That’s better, Aiden thought, adrenaline coursing in his veins, eager to give in to his lupine nature.

Aiden’s face twisted into excited panting; he looked back one more time to Gary. “I’ll see you later,” he cried, holding a clawed hand up in a peace sign as his farewell, before turning back ahead to the forest and sprinting forward.

“Hey, Aiden!” Gary shouted, stopping Aiden in his tracks to look back curiously. “I’ll let her down gently for you!”

“Who?” Aiden asked confusingly.

“Sophie!” Gary answered, laughing as he began to make his way back into the park connected to the woods, returning Aiden’s peace sign farewell before he was gone.

Always have to have the last laugh, don’t you Gary? Aiden thought, smiling. Inhaling deeply, he decided to give Gary one last goodbye, howling proudly in accustom with his new life. He then bellowed a wild snarl, shaking his head, feeling his body burn with raw primal energy and a rush of exhilaration as he raced forward into the woods, ears listening and nose smelling for his kin and mate.

* * * * *

The rushing stream of the river was music to Aiden’s wolfish ears as he slowed to a trot. It was almost unsettling to have come to the meeting place so quickly, astonished at the speed his own human legs was able to carry him. Then again, he wasn’t human, not for a long time now, his own body beginning to return to its animal form little by little. Whether it was his animal hormones reacting to the run and the wild or Aiden’s own acceptance in becoming a wolf, he had sensed changes coming over him in the middle of his dash.

Walking into the clearing where the river ran through, he approached the water as his feral eyes darted side to side for any sign of his wolven kin, the glossy surface and the moonlight shining over the river helped paint a picture of his current appearance. Though there was little difference to his overall physique, Aiden’s limbs were slightly toned and muscular. The outlines of his rib cage pressed against his torso, urging his chest to barrel forward. He appeared taller than he normally was; looking down to his feet, he saw he was now standing on the tips of his toes, the arches elongated slightly, while he could feel the callused pads of his paws pressing against the earth. Looking over his hands, they too wore his padded paws, the palms stretched like the arches to better help his future quadruped stance. His face remained unchanged, his mouth and nose only connected into a short muzzle. As small as the physical stages of his metamorphosis were, what surprised and appeased Aiden the most was his fur, his animal coat having sprouted more fully than before in this state, leaving only light bald spots of his human skin visible, the biggest, of course, over his face.

Won’t be long now, Aiden thought, smiling over the reflection in the water.

Breaking his attraction to the river’s mirror, Aiden frantically sniffed about, hoping to pick up any trail or sign of the other wolves of Alpha’s pack, longing still for Luna’s scent. He could smell her; she was close by, but he began to detect a massive amount of musky odors, all wolf-related with hints of pheromones wafting in the mix. Aiden was aware of his sudden reaction and arousal by those scents, growing curious in wanting to meet the other shewolves. But it only worsened his longing to be with Luna again, to hold her in his arms and kiss her, lick her, nip her passionately, until they couldn’t fight not being one anymore.

I’m here Luna. I’m here to be with you.

Aiden inhaled and released a triumphant howl, calling to the pack and singing to his mate, letting them know he was here. Licking his lips afterward, Aiden realized how parched his throat had become, his tongue dry as sandpaper. Looking back to the glistening river, Aiden went into his usual pant, dropping to his knees along the bed. He briefly thought about scooping up the water with his hands, a human instinct most anyone would do. But animal knowledge ran through his mind now, Aiden instinctively leaned forward, hovering his head over the water, lapping up as much as he could swallow. The water was fresh and cool tonight, perfect to soothe a dry mouth.

Distracted by his thirsty needs, he didn’t catch the phantom hand coming in time, splashing a good amount of water into Aiden’s nose. Aiden pulled back, shaking his head and sneezing the droplets out, brushing off his wet face. A feminine giggle sounded next to him, stunning Aiden as he recognized that laugh. Turning to the giggling voice, his being radiated in excitement, eyes gazing over the wolfish figure of his future mate, Luna. Her own appearance had reverted back to a humanoid form as Aiden's had been, but not by much. With the exception of her beautiful lupine face and muzzle gazing back at him amorously, Luna was now where Aiden was. In any case, wolf or human, Aiden was overjoyed to see her again; the two of them leaped at each other where they sat, embracing and exchanging animal kisses.

“I missed you so much,” Aiden gasped, his voice growing deeper and rougher but not enough to stop him from talking. “I’m sorry for taking so long. You can blame my friend…and your Alpha.”

Luna giggled once more, grinning, letting her tongue out into an eager pant as the only concern apparently on her mind was to be close with Aiden, nuzzling him affectionately over his cheeks and neck. It was enough of an answer to do away with his worries; Aiden returned her affection.

“I see you two have been reacquainted,” a deep, but friendly, voice called from within the woods. Turning towards the voice’s direction, Aiden was aware who it was, feeling intimidation growing as the Alpha approached them. To Aiden’s surprise, as the Alpha stepped out of the forest’s shadows and into the moonlight, the Alpha no longer wore his seemingly uncomfortable wool jacket, having exchanged human clothing for his inner wolf’s pelt. As Aiden was, the Alpha had gone through the same transformation, his body nearly animal with humanoid features left, the idea of some werewolves in horror movies. Only his face retained some human attributes, enough for him to still speak in their tongue and boast his gloating, fanged smile.

“What happened to that jacket of yours?” Aiden asked, laughing.

“Oh, it’s tucked away safe and sound until I need it again,” The Alpha answered, looking oddly confused as Aiden gave him a ‘really?’ look. “What? I love that jacket. Fits my self-image, so to speak.”

Aiden silently chuckled as he took notice of another creature joining the Alpha by his side, another wolf. This one looked like a pureblood, except it was as big as a human, as the three were. Sitting down on its haunches, lifting its head up to the Alpha as he petted and nuzzled with the grey and white furred wolf, Aiden’s eyes traced the contours of round shapes peeking from under its chest fur. Only after his nose detected a second pair of pheromones other than Luna’s, did he realize it was a shewolf.

“This is my mate, Cassandra,” the Alpha announced, Cassandra nodding respectfully to Aiden, seeing a human-like smile pull back over her muzzle lips.

“Is she…”

“A werewolf like us?” The Alpha finished Aiden’s question. “Yes. This is what you’ll become once you completely allow your inner wolf to be unleashed. Be aware though that we welcome pure wolves into our pack too, seeing how some of our breed find love and companionship with them. Hope you don’t get too confused.”

“Don’t think that will be a problem,” Aiden said, rising on the balls of his clawed feet, helping Luna to hers. “I guess I’m just still wondering why you’re changing again. I know you’re the leader, but you didn’t seem so eager to go back to being a wolf.”

The Alpha sighed as Cassandra rose to her hindpaws, hugging his arm within her grasp and nuzzling his cheeks tenderly. “I do miss it, of course. Being able to control my shifting and urges for a while is like a vacation, getting to see the old world in a new light after living as a wolf for so long. Strangely, for me, the more I try to go back, the more I start to feel homesick for my pack. And, like you, I got lucky and found someone like us, someone to love and cherish in the wild. Doesn’t mean I still don’t miss being human again for a while, just means I have a reason to stay and protect my pack.”

“Lucky us, then,” Aiden said, looking to Luna with her glowing amber eyes amorously gazing back.

The grey and white shewolf, Cassandra, broke away from her mate, walking up to Aiden as she circled him and Luna, her eyes studying him thoroughly. Aiden’s shoulders tensed, feeling Cassandra’s forepaw brushing over his fur and muscles, chuckling nervously as her snout poked between the two lovers, sniffing attentively over his chest and neck. Luna looked upon the shewolf with a cold stare, Aiden seeing her lips snare back a little, wanting to snarl but suppressing it, looking back to the Alpha with worry and fear.

“Don’t worry,” the Alpha assured, “she’s just summing you up is all. The rest of the pack will do the same shortly once they meet you.”

“No wonder you held out this long, child,” the shewolf Cassandra exclaimed calmly to Luna. “Your mate is enriched with a powerful potency. I’d be careful how many times you two mate; he’ll give you many pups if you let him.”

As Cassandra began to walk back to the Alpha, glancing back at Aiden with a lusty stare, Luna’s face beamed with a wide smile, her voice unable to hold back a round of delighted giggling. Aiden, however, was still stunned.

“You…we can still talk like that?”

“If you practice hard enough,” Cassandra addressed him, winking as she continued past the Alpha, nuzzling before so.

“I said it was hard to become human again,” the Alpha stated, watching his mate walk into the shadows of the woods. “Didn’t mean it wasn’t impossible to still act or talk like one. It’s time to meet the pack. After that, we’ll let you and Luna have the night together.” He nodded towards where his mate had gone, catching his face beginning to grow his muzzle and his body thicken further with his black fur as he dropped to his paws and raced after her.

That would have been good to know earlier, Aiden thought, face still baffled at the new fact.

Luna whined for attention, licking his face to snap him out of his shock. Aiden shook his head and realized he wouldn’t have to worry about talking for a while, not when his actions spoke volumes to Luna. Sharing warm smiles, she began to make her own way towards the woods, looking back with longing flooding her eyes, her tail flagged to remind him that they had unfinished business from the other day. Aiden bellowed an exhilarating snarl, dashing after Luna as she lead the chase, calling to one another as they followed their leader and mistress.

The woods suddenly exploded with lupine cries and smells as Aiden and Luna tumbled to the ground nearly a mile from their run, pouncing the other in victory. The calls were silent in their ears for a brief moment; Aiden and Luna’s entire world condensed to this one spot they lay upon, swimming in each other’s eyes as their lips and tongue craved to touch. It was with a triumphant howl that the two’s attention turned to the black wolf, the Alpha, and his mate standing feet away.

As Aiden and Luna clamored slowly to their feet, the sounds of leaves and grass rustled and snapped all around, soft earthy footsteps encircling the area. Moonlight cast over the bushy trees, rays scattered within the spot the two couples were encased in. Glowing eyes floating in the shadows revealed themselves under the fractured moonlight, wolves of various size and colors swarming in and tightening the barricade they made around the couples. Aiden became petrified, knowing these were his new brothers and sisters, but the sheer number and stern gazes looking back at him was wearing on his confidence, afraid if any of them had a problem with his presence, that they all could jump and slaughter him.

Aiden glanced back to Luna, her face showing no concern as she grinned, her tail wagging excitedly. He smiled nervously, in disbelief that his mate was this calm around what appeared to be half a baker’s dozen assortment of wolves and werewolves alike, already catching a few of them in the midst of judging him with their feral eyes and expressions.

Didn’t Alpha say some of them seemed jealous about me and Luna?

The Alpha took a step forward, waving his forepaw for Aiden and Luna to stand next to him. Aiden found it difficult to make his legs move under this amount of pressure, finding Luna to be the one to drag him to the Alpha, almost like a caveman would after clobbering the head of his victim.

“My friends and family,” the Alpha started, bringing a shivering Aiden into the center of the circle, “brothers and sisters, tonight we welcome a new member to our pack. He is a wolf born of the human world like many of us, only recently had he discovered his animal heritage. He has accepted his role as a wolf willingly and wishes to follow us. He understands the risks and yet he stuck by his decision. He is indeed a wolf, and I welcome our new brother, Aiden, into our family.”

The circle of wolves raised their heads to the sky, barks and howls sounding off one by one. Aiden’s nervousness slowly began to dissipate, his wolfish ears making out the emotions and meanings in their calls. They all greeted him, each with their own flare and voice, some less thrilled, while many authentically eager and excited. It made Aiden comfortable and proud, nodding back to all the wolves he could in return for their welcome.

“And,” Cassandra continued for the Alpha, pushing Luna gently next to Aiden and forcing them close, into each other's embrace, “It is to be known that our new brother, Aiden, and our loving sister, Luna, have found each other in his awakening and have been declared mates. These two, who have been unbearably apart without ever knowing it, have formed their union once before and have come to realize that they are bound eternally in love. Let us congratulate their everlasting bond and wish them strong and beautiful pups.”

As Aiden’s modesty flared, Cassandra and the Alpha raised their heads, sights beyond the trees to the full moon hovering above, howling in unison. The pack shortly joined with them, each howl echoing throughout the woods in a balanced and harmonious chorus. Aiden’s heart pounded in relief and joy, his blissful mood increased as Luna’s body hugged around his side, her short muzzle rubbing affectionately against his shoulder. As the pack sung once more, Aiden turned to face his mate, brushing back the short remains of Luna’s human silver hair as he leaned in and kissed, their lips remaining sealed until a third wave of howls faded into the night.

Cassandra stood behind them, resting her forepaws on the back of their shoulders with a saintly posture. “It is a fantastic night for mating,” she spoke to both of them. “You find not only will you blossom into your true forms completely tonight, but your stamina and potency will be unlike anything you can ever image as a human. I’m sure you both will look forward to many more moons like this.”

With that, she nodded and joined the Alpha, breaking up the gawking wolves wanting to see more of their new brother and their younger sister. Aiden laughed, the most lighthearted he had ever sounded, as he watched his new family disperse back into the woods. His attention for Luna was recaptured as she pulled at his arm, tugging him to follow her, dropping back to all fours as she ran, heading deeper into the woods like the rest. Another chase, Aiden was overjoyed as he fell forward and sprinted after her, barking jubilantly.

* * * * *

The full moon was now settled over the night sky at its highest, the forest floor decorated in pale leafy patterns as Aiden and Luna made their way to a clearing that was housed around a cylindrical wall of redwoods and oak, the branches above thinned, letting in the moon’s pale curtain of light. Luna leapt to her feet as she walked into the middle of the clearing, her head flung back, combing her glistening silver hair and fur, howling softly to herself as she smiled to the moon above. Aiden rose to his own feet, recovering from his brisk run, panting as he approached Luna, sliding his arms around her belly and holding her close. She whined pleasantly as she felt around Aiden’s forepaws, the two of them beginning to rock into a mild swing as if beginning to dance.

“I wouldn’t be here right now, if it wasn’t for you,” Aiden whispered into Luna’s ears. “I was anxious for a while, knowing what I was becoming. I felt like my life was going to become extremely difficult trying to hide what I am from everyone, from humans. If I had tried, I would be miserable. And even if I decided to go at this alone, I would be lonely. You’re my reason why I can bear my decision. Ever since you appeared in my dream, stood behind my window, I instantly started to feel comfortable becoming an animal. The moment I held you in my arms, I knew my life would change, and for the best. The night we mated…I was whole. I hope I at least impacted you the same way; that you’re in love like I am with you.”

Luna cooed as she twirled in place within Aiden’s grasp, facing him eye to eye as her arms tucked in against their chests, her forepaws pressed at the top of his. They stayed this way, silently swaying to a uniform rhythm, as all they did, while the moonlight appeared brighter than ever above them like a spotlight over a theater stage, was gaze into each other’s eyes and smile. Their lips slowly began to reach, eyes half shut, Aiden’s forepaws climbing behind the top of her back as Luna stood taller on her hindpaws. Tails wagged furiously, the two exchanging short sensual gasps as they once again sealed their lips, their salivating tongues exploring the other’s mouth.

Luna’s forepaws slid lovingly over Aiden’s shoulders, crossing around the back of his neck to better balance and suit herself. The couple began to teeter as Luna’s body pressed hard against Aiden, her hips riding his belly. Friction sizzled between her crotch and his wolfhood, causing his erection to throb all the more exasperatingly.

Good night for mating, Aiden’s animal whispers teased in his mind, Aiden now realizing it was only his voice now instead of the unfamiliar animalistic entities.

The two collapsed to their knees, their embrace unbroken as they continued to kiss, switching eagerly to animal kisses in the form of licking and love bites. Luna began to climb onto Aiden’s lap, rising above him as she licked and nuzzled his forehead and ears, grinding her lower body against his belly and thighs. Aiden’s forepaws fondled and held under her rear, helping guide her onto his phallus as he sniffed and licked her supple, furry breasts and animal teats. It wasn’t until Aiden had to lean back a bit to help posture Luna correctly, that the two yelped blissfully in stunning pleasure, feeling her internal heat blanket his erection.

After a minute of Luna riding him, it became apparent that Aiden wouldn’t be able to balance himself much longer without her weighing him down to keep his wolfhood inside. Understanding this as well, Luna began to shift about, escaping their union briefly as she turned her back to him, sitting back on to his lap as they once again guided each other to be connected. This time, they succeeded with ease, feeling the outstanding shock of bliss once more the moment they were entwined. Their pace remained steady, the couple synchronized in their movements as Aiden’s thrusts matched Luna’s. Their chests swelled with carnal elation, blood and hearts racing as their pace began to increase, instinctually working to achieve their own personal gratification while still barking and whining passionately in their love. Luna went into an excited pant, wrapping a free hand back behind Aiden’s head, keeping him close as he nuzzled, licked, and nipped at her neck and shoulders, his own hands groping Luna tightly.

The knot in his member became engorged, her vulva and vaginal walls swelling around Aiden’s wolfhood, imprisoning them completely as the climax fast approached. Sensually content smiles washed away as their mouths were left agape, expressing the immeasurable intensity of their mating, heads slowly climbing to the sky with wails and whines muttering instead of howls and barks, speechless. The two soon began to fall forward, Luna laying on her forepaws and knees as Aiden fixed his posture above her, mounting her properly like animals. Her hindpaws clawed into the earth as she stood fully on all fours as they coupled, the fingers of his forepaws floating half an inch off the ground from time to time.

Fluids from both sexes intertwined, their bodies tensing and arched as they felt the end near, losing restraint over their bodies to withstand anymore stimulation. Heads still gazing up to the sky, their frantic, blissful cries mixed with wild snarls, a new sensation washing over them, electrifying their bodies with a familiar energy.

Yes…change me. Change us. Let our animal selves be free. Let us go wild!

Aiden’s face ached delightfully, his skull sounding a sickening crunch as his mouth and blackened nose stretched out into his muzzle. His spine lifted and lengthened; he could feel his body grow longer. His limbs and paws pulsated, changing shape into animal-like appendages, making his fore and hindpaws more complete. His chest barreled further and shoulder blades pressed in against his back, helping him ease into a quadruped posture.

He could feel the changes affecting his mate under him as Luna rocked and quivered, feeling the contours of her form over his forelimbs and paws. He could feel her silver fur flourishing, thickening into a fuller coat than before, feeling the same spreading over his body and face.

Wolf…Wolf…Wolf…

The thrill of being in their true forms ignited their voices prematurely before their orgasm, howling proudly to the moon above them. The couple immediately sung once more, overly ecstatic, as they finally reached their peak of sexual gratification. Aiden’s wolfhood pumped his seed feverishly inside Luna, thrusting deeper a few more times to make sure he gave her everything he had. Once the rush of sexual bliss ebbed away, the two wolves collapsed onto the ground, rolling onto their sides as Aiden kept his embrace over Luna. There was little fear of her escaping, his knot and her swollen sex entrapping them for a while longer as his juices continued to inseminate inside her. Then again, that fear was irrelevant, Luna proving so as she pressed her body back against him, holding his enclosed forepaws over her belly as they had done once earlier.

Aiden's fur stood on end from her touch, a heavenly sigh escaping as he hugged Luna lovingly, his forepaws sensually rubbing over her belly.

I can feel my seed flowing within, Aiden thought. I can feel life streaming inside her to be born.

Nuzzling tenderly against Luna’s neck and shoulders, Aiden’s mind began to wander into a dream-like scenario, the two of them sitting side by side near a grassy cliff overseeing a vast valley and endless woods and mountains. The sun rose before them, basking them in the warm rays while they exchanged their own heat from their fur and flesh. Their pack raced across the open valley, heading east as they searched for new territory, a new home for the season. The black wolf and his mate stopped to glance at the couple watching their brothers, nodding as they howl for them to join their trek. Tiny yelps and barks sounded behind Aiden and Luna, finding themselves tackled and pinned by young pups, greeting them with loving hugs and affection, nuzzling and licking. Aiden laughed as he held one up in the air, the young pup howling playfully. Two more stuck by him, eager for Aiden’s attention while Luna took the others around her, stroking their fur and kissing them, one by one.

Our pups, Aiden believed, the family moment playing in his mind stored away as his sight returned to the present, cooing in Luna’s ears softly. She began to stir and roll to face him, freed from their trap, yet Luna was not eager to be disconnected. Pinning Aiden onto his back, she crawled on top, licking and nipping to arouse his sexual appetite once more, accomplishing it as his wolfhood throbbed and became erect despite the previous strain. Immediately, she rocked against it, letting him penetrate her again as she let out a growling moan of ecstasy, keeping her pacing as she performed for Aiden, letting him rest. Aiden locked his gaze to her lupine face, watching her expressions and body language attentively, savoring her carnal bliss. His forepaws grasped her rear, yet again guiding her body onto him as they resumed mating for a second time.

We will have many pups…and we will be whole.

Encased in the full moon’s pale light, they made love, their thrusts quickening, yearning to burn the flame of passion brighter and hotter between them. Their intimate solace was joined by the many cries of elation and pleasure of their kin, howling deeply into the night. Luna cackled joyfully, her own howl climbing to her muzzle until she could no longer contain her zeal. Her wild and jubilant radiance shined within the outline of the moon’s light, Aiden lost in dreamlike awe as he listened to Luna howl once more with her pack so proudly.

I guess we made honest wolves out of each other, didn’t we? Aiden thought, finally joining her and his new family in their primal song, their pitch heightened as they swelled with carnal pleasure from their second orgasm.

Five Years Later

Gary shivered under his jacket, teeth chattering as he cautiously walked through the forest, the park only half a mile away now. His arms were crossed over his chest tight to keep in as much warmth as he could, swearing to himself for not bringing a blanket like he originally planned. He hesitated pulling out one of his arms until he was too anxious, looking to his wristwatch for the time.

7:04 a.m.

“School kids get up at 6 a.m.,” Gary grumbled, sticking his arm back under the other as he looked beyond the trees around him. “Old people get up at 5 a.m. for Christ sake. Why the hell did he tell me to come out this early in the morning?”

Gary could feel the glossy card’s corners poking inside his jean pocket as he turned about in place, seeing if Aiden would make his appearance. The note card told him he would be coming back to town today and wanted Gary to be here at seven a.m. At first, Gary thought it might have been a joke, having believed all these years Aiden would never really keep his promise; having too much fun as a wolf to care about being around humans. It wasn’t until he had received a call two weeks after the card arrived, hearing Aiden’s voice over the phone, that the hoax was real.

“Well,” Gary shouted, “its past seven, man. Where the hell are you?”

Rustling echoed behind him, Gary turned in anticipation to greet his old friend. His hopes ebbed as he watched a flock of birds fly away, the branches they had sat upon waving about. Gary sighed, rubbing his cheeks to warm the chill creeping over his face, a chilly gust not making it easier to accomplish.

“Sorry. I ran kind of late.”

Gary jumped but immediately smiled as he recognized that voice.

“Frickin’ Procrastinator,” Gary mocked, turning to his friend. For a moment, he became confused as, in place of what he expected to be Aiden back as his human self, was a giant brown humanoid wolf sitting on its haunches, panting excitedly. “Aiden?” Gary asked, seeing the wolf nodding in response. “Huh. Guess I need my ears checked, but, man, is it good to see you again, dude.”

The brown wolf stopped panting and grinned. “It’s nice to see you again too, Gary.”

Gary’s head spun, eyes widening as he glared shockingly at Aiden’s muzzle opening and speaking words. “What the fuck? You could talk this whole time like that?”

Aiden laughed. “Not at the time, no. Took me a few years to finally learn again.”

“Ah,” Gary sounded. “So…I guess this means you’re not changing back anytime soon?”

Aiden looked away sheepishly, leaning forward to his forepaws as he stood back to all fours. “You didn’t happen to bring a pair of extra clothes, did you?” The two shared a nostalgic chuckle over the inside joke between them. “I can shapeshift at will now, but if its alright with you, I'd rather remain as I am. It’s just more natural for me now.”

“Whatever,” Gary said, grinning as his attention focused on a silver-furred wolf beginning to timidly approach Aiden from behind.

Aiden looked back and smiled, letting out a reassuring whine as he nodded his head for the wolf to join him, the silver wolf doing so as its eyes remained alert on Gary. “Don’t worry,” Aiden said to the both of them, turning his attention back to Gary. “She won’t bite, not unless you try dragging me away from here again.”

Gary laughed nervously as he kneeled down and reached out for the silver-furred wolf’s head. The wolf looked to Aiden for approval before it walked closer to the human, sticking out her head.

“Gary,” Aiden said, “I'd like you to finally meet my mate, Luna. Luna, this is my best friend, Gary.”

It was breathtaking as Gary felt the shewolf’s neck caress under his trembling hand, finally working his fingers to scratch her mane and ears once she seemed to warm up to him. “Hello, friend-stealer,” Gary joked somewhat, as he rubbed her chest, carefully making sure he wasn’t touching any inappropriate places he shouldn’t. She didn’t seem to mind though.

High-pitched yelps and barks echoed within the woods, starling Gary as he leapt back to his feet, only to be tackled back to ground a second later by small furry torpedos licking his face. Aiden and Luna laughed as they watched the three pups play with him, amused at Gary’s mixed shrills of fright and giddiness. Aiden barked commands to the younglings, the pups looking to him at his demand and returning to his and Luna’s side. Able to sit back without being pinned by the tiny wolven furies, Gary looked upon this living portrait of a family of wolves.

“I’d also like to introduce to you our children,” Aiden boasted, rubbing a forepaw over the nearest pup’s head.

“You could of warned me, you know?” Gary grunted.

“What would have been the fun in that?” Aiden responded, smiling as he resumed his excited panting.

“Har-har! So why the heck did you want to hang this early in the morning? You remember I like to sleep-in right?”

“Still?” Aiden exclaimed, beginning to trot pass his mate and the pups as they followed, “After five years? Don’t you have a day job yet?”

“I do. It’s called ‘pleasing your girlfriend 24/7’.”

“Finally found a mate of your own, huh? Follow us. There’s this beautiful river that runs through here we can talk and catch up on things.”

“And we could’ve done this later?”

“The sunrise will show up the north stream this month. Even you can appreciate that.”

Gary smirked as he ultimately followed them into the woods, heading for the river. It was still somewhat bizarre walking along side a pack of wolves, werewolves in fact, with the one keeping by his stride once being his human friend. But it was great being able to finally talk with him again, human or wolf, getting to know what life had been like living as an animal, while Gary could guilt Aiden on all the new movies and games he’d missed out on. He knew it wouldn’t phase him, though, telling by each glancing exchange between Aiden and Luna that their company and love was all the thrill in life he needed. Maybe in a few years, Gary could coax him out of human retirement once the date was set on his future marriage to his current beau. Until then, they had all the time in the world for now, just to hang out again, at least before Aiden and his family had to return to their pack in the wild.

“By the way,” Aiden asked Gary, “Did Sophie take it well?”

Gary looked at Aiden funny, laughing hysterically. “Not at first. But she got over it once she found a new dog, oh, let’s say after a few days.”

The two laughed together, Aiden’s pups barking playfully as they circled their parents, and Luna smiled vibrantly as the morning sun crept over the hills, awake for the new and everlasting day.

The End