This is how Lea changed her dreams.
For as long as she could remember Lea always wanted children. As she worked and lived in her chosen career as a biochemist she thought she had time. Get everything together, find the right man, a home, the yard, the whole white picket fence dream.
Then one day it was too late. Her husband of six years decided he didn't want her anymore. They had married in their 30's. She was now 43 and divorced. Oh she got the house, but who cared about that when it was just her.
Lea's last check up found out the reason why she never got pregnant from her ex. She physically couldn't get pregnant. Her uterus is tilted to a degree that it's impossible for those little guys to reach her eggs.
Her emotions bottomed out after that. She just stayed home and cried for days. One day she was just zoning out. The tv was showing some horror movie about werewolves. It had come to a climax were you can finally see the monster transform from its human form to the wolf.
She huffed and went yeah right. Then something clicked. What would the molecular needs have to be in ordered to actually change your form that way and survive it? The wolf form could heal itself. Maybe, just maybe, it could change what was wrong with her own body.
So she went back to work. She researched wolf genetics and worked to see if the human genomes could be altered to accept the foreign DNA. Her colleagues began to look at her like she'd lost her mind. Even a janitor was looking at her strangely, no doubt someone had told him what she was researching.
Eventually she had to move her lab to her home as she was drawing too much attention. The last thing she wanted was to be institutionalized for what she was attempting to do.
What she didn't know was that she had already drawn attention to her work. She was being watched so closely that if she sneezed she probably would have been handed a tissue. She worked from the time she woke to the moment she passed out from exhaustion.
It took her more than a year, and then it happened. The right sequence just came together like glue. The 2 DNA's melded and became one, the new variables slid together, then moved apart so gracefully it was like watching a ballet on the slide. They were still separate, but not. They moved so seamlessly it was perfection.
She needed to test it. But on what? Then she thought, what else, me. Her excitement had alerted her watchers. They watched as she moved to her bedroom with the loaded vial. She thought, "At least I could be comfortable." She looked one last time at her reflection in the mirror, not that she expected anything to change, but you never know in any experiment what the ultimate outcome could be. She has a fair complexion, hair a dusty blonde that she kept short. Her 5'6" frame was maybe a touch too thin due to her work hours and focus on the science rather than good nutrition. Shaking her head she moved to the bed and laid back after wrapping a rubber band around her arm to prep the vein. She took a deep breath and then inserted the needle, pushed the plunger and the altered DNA was introduced. She removed the needle then took off the band and waited.
After 10 minutes Lea still hadn't felt any different. She got up and went to the kitchen and got some water. She was working out what could have gone wrong. Suddenly she felt like she was burning up, it came upon her so fast she gasped. Then the pain started, it hit hard and fast, and she dropped the glass in reaction.
The next thing she knew four men came running into the kitchen through the backdoor. Two of them grab Lea, she was in so much pain she couldn't fight them off. The other two went to the lab and started taking her research and notes. They grabbed everything, then as the first two pulled her out the others set fire to the house.
They loaded Lea into a van with her work and held her down as she writhed in pain from the changing process and the shock from the kidnapping.
She lost track of time as it felt like every one of her cells were being torn apart. They arrived at where ever it was they were taking her. She was thrown over one of the men's shoulder and carried into some sort of large cabin, and taken down to a basement. Once there she was shackled to a wall with enough give she could sit or lay down comfortably on a mattress that was on the floor.
They left her once she was secured and shut the door. Her transformation was ramping up. She watched as her fingers start to change, then her vision changed. Everything was getting sharper, she could hear the birds outside as if they were right next to her.
Hair was suddenly everywhere on her body, the same color as that on her head. So many changes were happening at once she lost track. Then when she went to scream at the last wave of intense pain it came out as a howl. A new voice was suddenly in her head. She was telling Lea it was ok, that she was her other half. That she would protect them both. She didn't know why but she trusted her. She told Lea to rest and she'd be there if Lea needed her, that she would stay forward for now. Lea was so tired she agreed instantly.
As her protector paced, she growled at the chains on her and as to why they were there. She was aware of the men on the other side of the door. She could smell them, and doing so she felt as though she should know what they are.
****
"She's strong," a man said as he looked at the monitors. He turned his head to acknowledge who had just came into the room. As soon as he saw the visitor he immediately bowed his head.
"I see her experiment worked," the visitor said.
"Yes sir," the man answered.
The visitor watched as the new wolf paced and tried to shake off the chains. "Where's her research?"
"On your desk sir."
"And her lab?"
"Burned as instructed sir. No one will find a trace of her experiment."
"Good work," the visitor said as he watched the monitor for a minute more. "Alert me when she changes back to her human form. Make sure there are clothes ready for her. I'll be in my office until then."
"Yes sir."
The visitor left and the man turned back to the monitors.
***
Lea awoke slowly, her memory of the night floating in and out like fog. When she lifted her head she saw that she was chained and naked. She became aware of the sounds outside the door. Someone was talking just loud enough to hear, but not understand the words.
Panic crawled through her quickly as she began to remember, the experiment, the men, the fire. In her mind she heard the voice again.
'I will protect us,'.
'Who are you?' Lea asked.
'I am your other half, I am your wolf.'
'My wolf?'
'Yes, I will be here to guide you, to help you, and protect us when needed.'
A knock on the door brought her out of her conversation. She looked over and quickly tried to hide her nakedness and backed away as a man walked into the room.
The man stopped just inside the door. "I won't hurt you."
"Why am I chained here then?"
"That was to protect you, and us."
"Protect you? What could I do to threaten you? I'm the one that was kidnapped, my work destroyed!"
"My boss will explain the reasons. Here," he said as he tossed clothes on the mattress. "Those are for you. He'll be here in a few minutes to speak with you."
He turned and left Lea to get dressed. She grabbed the clothes and quickly tried to dress. The major problem she had was that she was still chained. All she could do was slip one arm through the shirt then button it as best as she could. The pants were easier.
Ten minutes later the door opened again. The same man walked in and moved closer to her. Suddenly a loud growl erupted from behind the man, Lea's wolf reacted and began the change. Her fresh clothes ripped away as her wolf came forward to protect. The next thing she saw was a giant amber wolf rush into the room. The man from before stepped between Lea and the other wolf. She didn't know if it was bravery or what, but he stood his ground.
"Sir, you must be calm. I don't want her," he was saying to the wolf. He looked over his shoulder at Lea as she growled low in her throat.
Lea's wolf told her something was off, different. She took a deep breath, scenting the air. 'Mate!' she screamed at Lea.
'What?' Lea asked her as she became agitated.
'He's our mate!'
