Luke watched the night-darkened colours of the thick forest fly past him, a tunnel of greens and browns that only his eyes could see. A break in the canopy revealed a full blue moon overhead. For a moment he stepped out into a silver glade, the unexpected light piercing his eyes, and then he was back in the safety of the foliage where his vision could refocus. He knew that if he concentrated he could speed his mind up so that he could pick out the exquisite details of any and each of the leaves and wildflowers he sped past but tonight he could not exult in this keen sense. He was on the hunt, and there were some things that he did not want to witness in full clarity.
A peculiar scent filled his nostrils. It was nothing he had ever smelled before but it had the fragrance of nostalgia about it. He was sure he should know what was giving off the smell but he had been chasing it for a half hour and he still could not place it. He had the feeling that it was this frustration that drove the beast that controlled his body - a beast that had little patience for puzzles and none for anything unnatural in its territory.
The scent led him down to the falls, where he could nearly taste the trail. He raced alongside a stream and jumped over the edge of the cliff to land in icy water. Climbing out on the far side, he shook his fur dry and the beast paused to study its reflection - trapped inside his own body, Luke could only endure the ghastly visage that looked back at him, which gabe the beast a cruel, smug satisfaction.
Had he been a normal human he could perhaps have dismissed the monstrosity that taken over his body as a wolf or a bear; but between the eerie moonlight and his acute eyesight he could not hide from himself. He stood six foot seven, hair covered a body that he know was all taught, wiry muscle, and his face was dominated by a slightly protruding snout and two pointy ears. The first time he had transformed his clothes had ripped and the sharp claws that had become his fingers and toes had gouged his bed as he thrashed through the painful process but since then he had learned: he wore nothing now but fur and he had walked out into the forest long before sunset. That first time he had not been able to discern where he ended and the beast began. When he had killed that first full moon, he had enjoyed and relished it as much as the beast had, waking in the morning to find his nightmare had been true. Fear and guilt had been the two main contributing factors to his current ability to maintain his self, even if it meant he could no longer control his body. It was a victory that the beast made him pay for each full moon, using his body to hunt, to kill and mutilate while it forced him to watch.
The terrifying face in the water curled up into something like a smile, its very human eyes filled with glee, and then it was off on the chase again.
The tunnel of green returned and the scent grew stronger until at last the beast let rip a rapturous howl as it approached another clearing. In the center was a log cabin, its windows lit by the lanterns on its sills and the chimney still releasing smoke. Oh no. It rushed forward and with one great kick it broke through the door.
Luke had expected screaming but only the crackling fire answered their intrusion. The beast growled its confused irritation and began to sniff. This was definitely where the owner of the strange scent was meant to be; its fragrance was cloying and thick in his nostrils. The townspeople had all heard the horror stories of the beast of the woods but Luke could not imagine that many knew the sound of its howl or had the means to secret themselves in the span of the three heartbeats it had taken the beast to cross the glade. The beast started to move through the house.
The kitchen was empty, a cook pot was filled with water in preparation for a scrub, and a book lay open in a big red armchair in the living room. It was as if the residents had just vanished. He moved on. The cellar was empty and so was a room with a small bed. They approached another closed room and heard a floorboard creak ever so slightly.
The beast in Luke's body pushed open the door. It delighted in the suspense it created for both victim and hunter and growled triumphantly as it stepped into the room. Inside was the strangest and most horrific scene that Luke had ever seen.
A shrouded figure stood over three white bodies. Looking down at the bleached forms, Luke realised that they looked peaceful and serene despite the two puncture holes in each of their necks. It was nothing like the deaths that he had witnessed as the beasts captive, but the willingness on the young girl's face made him want to claw out of his own body before running as fast as he could.
The beast's hackles rose and a low snarl rumbled from his throat. It took a step back but then the figure turned.
Under the hood of a dark cloak was the most beautiful face he had ever seen. Her eyes were a complex web of browns, each glowing golden near its iris and pitching into darkness at its border. The face was pale and soft and yet magnificently defined; the bones underneath must have been chiseled to be so perfect. And her lips were lush and red, parted slightly in a silent invitation. The scent that had until now been interesting or at the most pleasant, was now fragrant and intoxicating. With each breath he drank her in and his super senses fed a new addiction that hollowed his belly and emptied his mind of all reason.
The beast was also taken aback. A quiet, sane part of Luke's mind wondered if the beast felt things stronger than even he could as its silent passenger or whether he would also be so incapacitated had been him who had been in control. The snarl turned into a pining whine that gave away his adoration for the woman and a smile tugged at her luscious lips.
"Come. You have come a long way in the cold night and there is a warm fire in the lounge." ...And this room has already been soiled, the quiet voice finished for her.
She led them back into the living room where she indicated for the beast to sit. It took some maneuvering to get its tail comfortable but soon the beast was sitting in the most humanlike posture that Luke had ever known it to effect. The woman left the room taking air with her and when she returned she had a clay cup of blood red wine, which she handed to the beast.
"You will need to change your form if you wish to drink that," she said in a husky voice.
The beast put the cup down and growled but then remembered whom it was talking to and it trailed off into a begging sort of whimper.