There isn't anything sexual in this part but there will be in chapters to come. I decided to divide it up instead of finishing it in one fell swoop. It was just taking to long. So please enjoy this.
(Anything in parenthesis is meant as the mental communication between them.)
*PROLOGUE
The resonance of their screams linger but I do not hear them, the impression of their faces weigh heavy on my mind but I do not see them and despite my best efforts....I can still taste the warm rush of their blood across my tongue. Brain numbingly sweet and addicting I know that even if stopping were an option I couldn't even if I wanted to. I am to far gone and the pain grows by the day. My soul screams after every night of the full moon, silent and profound as it slowly starts to wither away to nothing.
'I've killed again!' My mind screams in agony even as I slowly suck the remnants of their deaths from my hands. 'I am a monster!'
Standing upon the edge of eternal darkness, I stare intently into the abyss that threatens to swallow me whole. Even as it's luring siren song calls to me I resist with what is left of the shreds of my humanity.
I know I am no longer the human I once was, but if I were to fall into the darkness I would loose myself...and the beast would fully emerge.
I can't let that happen.
Darkness falls beyond the tree line, blanketing the sky with the black curtain of night and the effervescent light of stars. There is to be no moon tonight, but even without the seductive pull of the moon I feel the first stirrings of the change tingle through my body. Not enough to change me from my human visage but enough to heighten my senses in anticipation.
My mind cringes even as my body comes alive and welcomes the change. The fine bones of my human body ache as they try to lengthen and twist into my beast but can not and a sheen of invisible fire licks at the surface of my skin. I felt as if I were an over ripe peach begging to be split by the divine edge of a blade.
I hated the feeling even as I relished it.
I could hear every animal scurrying through the trees, smell their fear, and taste the scent of their blood. Not nearly as sweet as a humans but satisfying enough to tide my beast till the dawning of the new day.
There was more than enough natural game to hunt but that was not why I had chosen this place. I was more than two hundred miles from the nearest town...and far away from the temptation of human flesh.
Hopefully this was to be my final stop in my quest. I am ready to make my last stand here. I want to live in peace but if I continue with my downward spiral...
"Death is the only option."
*CHAPTER ONE IOLE'S POINT OF VIEW
Silence echoed throughout the tiny cottage as the first bright rays of morning peered around the edges of the closed curtains, adding illumination to the darkened kitchen. I winced slightly as my eyes adjusted to the change, the weariness of another sleepless night burning them as my body made it's demand for sleep finally known.
It was the night before the full moon. My body trembles as I fight the urge to crawl out of my own skin. My metabolism slows to a crawl to preserve the energy I would need and my body stretches to condition itself for the change. Its always much worse as the full moon approaches. My body goes into overdrive as it begins to make demands for the night ahead.
It craves food to support the energy that would be required. I gorged myself on, at least, twenty steaks during the night. Medium rare as my beast demanded. It would have preferred that it had been rare and bloody but there was no way my human side would have allowed such a thing.
Now it was time to rest. Sleep drags heavily upon my aching body as I stumble toward my bedroom and collapse upon the bed. I take a minute to relish the coolness of the fluffy comforter beneath my cheek. I have no doubt that when I wake up the next morning that I'll be in a different situation than this. I usually wake up on a cave floor or the cold hard ground but on the rare occasions that I actually wake up with my body pillowed with the dead carcass of my prey I try to block it out with the memory of how good it feels to be in my own bed.
I have no fear of the sleep ahead because I know that I'll be consumed in a dreamless sleep. There will be no nightmares to plague me as they usually do and I am thankful for that small blessing.
*NIGHTFALL
Anticipation and dread swirl through my veins as I shed my cloths and throw them carelessly around me on the forest floor. My bare feet move soundlessly as I pass among the trees, my presence as a predator already noted among the wildlife as they scurry to flee in fear. They know what is coming.
My heart begins to accelerate as the moon moves higher in the sky, illuminating the world around me. Its almost magical to see everything gilded with silver light; almost as if a new world had descended to swallow the Earth for a short time. When I had been human I would always escape the tight confines of my country home to bask in its glory. Wanting to revel in such beauty was what afforded my current existence as it was. If I had known what was to occur that cold October night, I would have stayed home....but I hadn't and this was the path I was fated to follow.
Suddenly a cramp seized my stomach, the severeness knocking me to the ground. Pain radiates throughout my body as the originating cramp begins to crawl through me, the muscles desperately trying to stretch and accommodate the new shape of my twisting bones. My accelerating heart thuds ever faster as my spine begins to elongate beyond my body's boundaries, growing out of my tail bone and breaking through the fine layer of skin as my beast's tail begins to emerge. I arch my back to try and alleviate the pain as the rest of my body begins to emerge into it's destined shape. My ribs lengthen and push out to broaden my chest, my breasts flattening out as hair begins to mist over me. My knees collapse backward even as my arms and legs lengthen under rippling muscles, but the most painful transformation is in my face.
The bones in my face feel as if they've shattered as my jaw and nose grow to the lengths of a wolf's snout. My forehead broadens as my eye sockets enlarge themselves and my long ebony hair recedes to a fine downy fir. Lastly my feet, hands, and ears lengthen. The bones of my hands and feet stretch and widen to resemble paws as my ears move to the top of my head.
I have a moment to relax as the pain fades, my human mind slowly sinking away as the beast takes over. I once likened it to the transformation from Dr. Jekyll to Mr. Hyde. I am still there in some respects but a new personality takes over. Every inhibition and fear dissipates as a volley of other needs assault me. I become the very thing that lurks in the darkest recesses of my mind.
I hate what I become, but what I hate matters little as I sink into darkness.
*WOLF POINT OF VIEW
The heady rush of freedom soars through the beast's veins as she runs through the dense forest, the chill of the Autumn wind barely registering under her dense onyx fur as it howls around her. Her lithe form flits through the shadows, her heightened senses reaching into the world around her, searching for prey.
The empty chalice of her stomach yawned awake as she finally caught a scent that appealed to her. It wasn't nearly as sweet as her favorite meal but it was far better than the others she smelled. It was the musky scent of a cougar. From the smell of it she could tell that it was a juvenile male, fresh from it's mother's care. New to the world, it was an easy target.
She followed the scent to an open clearing surrounded by trees. She could smell and hear the rushing water before she saw it, knowing that the cougar had come to drink from it's depths. Her paws were silent as she slowly tread though the trees surrounding the clearing, her silvery blue gaze never wavering from her prey as it lapped thirstily from the river.
Positioning herself at the cougar's back, she was careful not to make any sudden moves that would reveal her current location. She hid behind a dense bush, steadily watching her prey as she crouched in a sprinting position. Her muscles trembled as she fought to control her impatience, hunger gnawing at her belly as she waited for the perfect moment to strike.
Suddenly the cougar's head snapped up, its sharp golden gaze scanning its surroundings before dashing off into the woods on the other side of the clearing. But as she lurched forward to follow she was suddenly hit from the right side, the blow knocking her five feet to land on the outer edge of the clearing. She landed in an inelegant sprawl, the breath momentarily knocked from her lungs as her mind raced to catch up with the situation.
As she was about to regain her feet she became aware of the low growl behind her, increasing in volume as whatever attacked her approached. Her first instinct was to run, but she knew that it would only make her resemble the prey that she had been mistaken for. So she waited quietly as her attacker approached, her muscles tightening in readiness.
She sniffed quietly trying to identify the species of her attacker....but his scent was like nothing she had ever encountered before. He had the distinct smell of a male predator but the other smells left her confused.
He smelled like a human but he wasn't...
It was almost completely overshadowed by a lupine smell much like her own and an almost spicy fragrance...it was so familiar...
Her drifting mind was more than he needed to effectively capture her completely, his massive body covering hers from behind. She struggled in panic, wiggling to get out from under him as she fought for freedom but he was careful to apply more weight upon her; not enough to crush her but enough to subdue her. It was then that she became aware of the hardness pressing against her backside.
