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A Wolf at War: Chapter 5

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A Wolf at War

Chapter 5: The Way of the Wolf

I opened my eyes but there was nothing, nothing but darkness.  All the pain I had felt was gone, and for the first time since the war had started, I felt… relaxed.  It didn’t even feel like I was on any sort of ground but was floating in utter silence.  ‘I guess I actually did die, this isn’t so bad’ I thought reaching over to my once mutilated shoulder to find it was completely healed, no broken bones, no bullet holes.  My shattered left arm was also mended, I raised my hand but it hit against something only a few centimeters in front of me, making a loud ‘thunk’.  I began to feel the dark wall before me which was covered in ridges, as I slid my hands down they brushed against something metallic.  I cautiously felt the object, it was round but seemed to be attached to the wall… then it dawned on me, this is a door.   I gripped the doorknob firmly before slowly twisting it and pushing forward.  The door slowly creaked open and to my surprise, I stepped over the threshold into the living room of my family’s apartment in Warsaw, my home.  The room was demolished, all the windows were smashed to pieces and the furniture lay toppled and forgotten, but what immediately caught my attention was the gaping crater in the middle of the room.  I carefully made my way around the hole, which seemed to run the length of the building, to the hallway that lead to the bedrooms.  I crept slowly towards my bedroom, straining my ears for any signs of life but it appeared I was alone.  

The door was ajar so I strode inside, the room was very dark, the only light was a dim red glow coming through the smashed window but I could clearly the three empty beds where my brothers and I once slept.  I sat down on my bed and slid out the trunk from underneath, flipping it open I sifted through the old toys and clothes till a deep voice behind me made me jump.  

“The city is burning” it said, I slowly turned ‘Maybe this guy can tell me where I am…’ but to my horror the voice’s owner was not a person at all.  Gazing out the window, illuminated by the dim red light was a large, bear like creature just like the one from the forest, the monster that killed me.  It was massive, at least almost two meters high on hits hind legs, it turned its head to face me, its eyes burning in the light.  I scrambled backwards falling off my bed in my haste to get to the door, but it was closed.  My heart was hammering in my chest as I grabbed the handle and shook it violently, but it would not budge.

“Do not be afraid Jakub Jarosalw, I am not here to harm you.”  I whipped around backing into the door, and watched fearfully as the monster strode towards me.  The first thing I realized was that it was not the same monster from the forest, its fur his been pure white, this creatures fur was pitch black with patches of white on its midsection, its ears, its jaw, and the top of its head. ‘Even if it isn’t the monster from before, it could still be dangerous’ I thought but something about this towering creature seemed different, familiar even.  Its massive paws making loud thuds on the wooden floor as it approached, I began hurriedly thinking of ways to defend myself but the creature stopped a meter and a half from where it stood.  My eyes darted to its face and to my surprise its muzzle was turned up, not in a snarl but in what I could have sworn was a smile.  Its piercing golden eyes were gazing at me intently but in a friendly manner, but I was still uneasy.

“Wha-what are you?” I stuttered, it just cocked its head to the side, almost like a puppy then let out a growling chuckle.

“That is going to be a bit difficult to explain… perhaps you would like to sit down and I
will tell you everything.”  He said waiving his hand to my bed, but I stood rooted to the spot.  After a few seconds it frowned slightly and said.

“I can smell you are still fearful but it is unnecessary, if I meant to do you harm I would have attacked you when you were distracted, now please sit.” I thought it over and he did make pretty good point, so I warily made my way back to my bed and gingerly sat down ready to take off at any sign of trouble.  After I was situated it took a seat across from me in Sasha’s old bed which groaned under the creature’s immense weight and stared at me thoughtfully.  

“In case you were wondering, no, none of this is real.” He said gesturing to the dilapidated room.  

“Not real?  Then where are we?” I asked uneasily, it stroked its chin thoughtfully.

“Your soul is doing astral projecting, which is basically an out of body experience.  Right now you are on a spiritual plane of existence where your past, present, and future are all intertwined, which is why we are in your home.  Physically you are not really here, but your soul is….” My heart leapt in my chest and I leaned forward attentively.

“So I am not dead!”  I asked, my voice filled with hope, all fear for the creature forgotten.  It toothily grinned at my excitement.

“No Jakub you’re not dead… but you are kind of in a coma right now.” It said quickly, averting its eyes and rubbing the back of its head guiltily.

“I’m in a coma?!” I said stunned and it nodded its head solemnly.  

“Yea for a little over a week now, but that is to be expected considering the… unique circumstances.”  Deciding to leave ‘Two week coma’ issue for later, I felt a little uneasy about the last bit.

“Special circumstances?”  It locked eyes with me and slowly said.

“You may not be dead but… from here on out, you will no longer be entirely human.” I raised my eyebrow skeptically.  

“What do you mean by that?”

“Well, that brings us back to your first question ‘what am I’, well the truth is Jakub, I am you…”  ‘Ok this is too much’

“Bullshit” I said crossing my arms glaring at him.  He mirrored my motions before saying in a bored voice.

“When you were fourteen you broke Mrs. Malinski’s window and blamed it on the Wasko boy down the street…”  My jaw dropped, ‘I never told anybody about that… damn Kazmier’s mother gave him one hell of a beating for that’.  

“How did you…” I began, but it quickly interjected.

“As I said, I am you… well a part of you at least.”  I was still confused and it must have shown in my expression because the creature continued.

“If you haven’t figured out by now, that creature in the forest was no bear, it was a werewolf.  That creature had every intention of killing you that night but because your friend Magnus intervened it did not have time to finish you off…”  I snorted at that, making him give me a perplexed look.

“Magnus is no friend of mine, that skurwysyn has always treated me like crap, oh and he shot me!” I said bitterly but the ‘wolf’ gave me a stern look.

“What Magnus did was save you a hell of a lot of explaining to do when you wake up, and him being a jerk is not his fault it’s genetic, but getting back on topic… We werewolves have a special gland on the roof of our mouths which produces the lycanthrope virus.”  
He gaped his maw wide exposing dozens of razor sharp teeth, and pointed a clawed finger at the roof of his mouth.  Upon closing his muzzle his expression turned somber and his eyes bore into mine imploringly as he slowly continued.      

“The virus is injected into the victim through our front canines, which are hollow like syringe.  Once the virus is in the bloodstream it immediately starts to change the host, altering the nervous system, increasing white blood cell count, and reinforces the epidermis , thus ensuring the host survives to pass it along.  That is the only reason you survived your wounds. You would have died of blood loss long before you made it back to the trench.”  The full extent of what he was saying was starting to sink in ‘I’m a werewolf… dear god I am a werewolf.’ I buried my face in my hands on the verge of tears, ‘I’m a monster, I can never return home’.  Without warning the mattress I was sitting on dipped severely but before I could react, a large fur covered arm draped itself over my shoulders.  I was surprised to say the least by this act of kindness, but was too miserable to really care.        

“Come on, being a werewolf is not that bad.  Despite what you may have heard in fairy tales, you won’t become a flesh eating monster every full moon.  You will be stronger and faster than any human alive, your senses will improve tenfold, and best of all, you can control your transformations and if you so choose, never transform again… after your first time that is.  But I hope you do decide to embrace your wolfish side, even if it is scary at first. Think of it Jakub, you will finally be strong enough to protect your family! Besides, if you run into trouble, I will there to help you every step of the way.”  I raised my head.  

“So does that make you my guardian angel or something?”   The great wolf shook its head again.

“As I said before I am you, I am the lupine part of your soul that was introduced by the bite.  Think of me like a spirit guide, I can only retain form on this plain of existence but I will always be there to point you in the right direction.”

“Wait, you aren’t going to be speaking to me in my head like a radio broadcast will you?”  He let out another growling chuckle.

“Thankfully no, but something that you will soon discover is that the werewolf’s most powerful attribute is not its claws, or fangs, or speed, but its instincts.  Instincts will guide you when all else seems lost and will often mean the difference between life and death.  This is how I will communicate to you, through slight nudges and subtle suggestions that your mind won’t recognize but your subconscious will.”  This made me feel uneasy, I didn’t the idea of having someone else influencing my body.

“So you won’t be in my head but you will be controlling my body? Being a puppet doesn’t sound any better than having a radio in my head.” He rolled his eyes.

“Listen, I know you still don’t trust me but believe me when I say I have your best interest at heart.  You are in charge of your own body but the problem is your mind can only focus on so many things at any given time.  No mind could filter through the hundreds of smells, sounds, and sights that will bombard you every second, so that’s my job.  If a threat is coming that you haven’t noticed, I will try and make it aware to you… I’m like a copilot for your senses.  I’ll always protect you because we are blood brothers and if you die, I die as well.” I thought it over.

'If I die, he dies…he has been nothing but kind but this is too much! I never believed any of the fairy tales, even as a kid and now I’m expected to believe that I am one of those creatures that stalked the forest.  I hope this is all just some crazy dream and I’ll wake up soon in the trench… or better yet, back in Warsaw.  I will wake up and the entire war was just some crazy dream, I’ll go into the kitchen and everyone will be at the kitchen table waiting for me.’

“I’m sorry, it’s just that I-I’m still getting use to the whole ‘not human’ thing and, to be honest… I still don’t really believe it.” He sighted heavily.

“I don’t blame you for being skeptical, your whole world has just been flipped upside down and it will take a while for you to accept what you are, but I’ll let Magnus explain the details when you wake up.”

“Magnus? What does Magnus know about this stuff?”  It gave me a toothy grin as the dim red light outside the window grew slightly brighter.

“More than you think, but our time here is coming to an end and we have one more thing to deal with...” I did not like where this was headed.

“And that is?” I asked shakily as he stood up and turned to face me, beckoning me to do the same, which I did hesitantly.  His hulking form towered over me, illuminated in the now burning red light.  

“We are going to merge our souls together, it will bonds us forever as a single being and permanently changes you into a lycanthrope.”  The wolf moved closer and I started to panic.

“So I have no choice in the matter?”

“Oh you do.” He said scratching behind his ear, giving me an odd look.  

“And if I refuse?”

“We both die…” Well I guess I really didn’t have a choice ‘it’s either die a human or live as a… werewolf.  I’m only seventeen I can’t die yet, besides somebody has to protect the family.  So I guess it’s settled.’

“Ok-uh, what do we have to do?” The wolf moved forward until it was half a meter from me and placed both of its massive paws on my shoulders, gripping them firmly.  He lowered his massive his large furry head to my level.

“I’m going to have to bite you, in the same place you were bitten the first time.”  I thought it over for a minute then nodded and with a flick of his wrist, he tore my shirt, exposing my left shoulder.  He then opened his jaws wide, placing them gingerly over the same place the first wolf bit me.  I knew he said this was not real, and I knew deep down that this wolf was friendly, but I was still very nervous.

“Will it hurt?” I quickly asked and he paused, his razor sharp fangs just centimeters from my neck and said.

“It will a bit, but this will be nothing compared to the pain you will feel when you wake up.” Before I could respond he sunk his fangs deep into my skin.  There was a dull burning pain but it soon subsided and a pleasantly warm sensation that spread to every corner of my body.  The glow from the window grew brighter and brighter, until I had to clench my eyes shut from the blinding light.  A voice, which seemed to come from within my own mind whispered.

“Till we meet again” And without warning, the airy feeling of weightlessness vanished and
was replaced by the stomach dropping feeling of falling.  I started screaming, flailing my arms out to try and grab onto something but nothing could be found as I kept dropping.  Echoing voices could be heard, faint at first but as I kept sinking they grew louder and clearer but it did not stop my panic.  All of the sudden the falling sensation stopped and I bolted upright just to be pushed down again.  I quickly opened my eyes but my vision was blurry, but I could make out several figures dressed in white hovering over me, one of them was shouting.  

“Meidän rauhoittaa häntä, Olga saada morfiinia!”  I was drenched in sweat, my body was aching but my shoulder was on fire, I tried once more to sit up but one of the figures pushed me back and held me down.  A sudden rage welled up in my chest as my vision began to clear.

“LET ME GO!” I roared in a voice I could hardly recognized as my own, then with surprising speed grabbed the man who was holding me down by the neck and threw him backwards with enough force to crack the tile wall opposite my bed. I was shocked at my new found strength but before I could do anything I felt a jab in my leg, whipping around to find a frightened woman quickly backing away from me, an empty syringe in her hand.  I instantly felt more relaxed and my breathing steadied, but I was still on edge.  Looking around at my surroundings one word came to mind, hospital.  To either side of me were clean white beds whose occupants were eyeing me warily, in front of me the nurses were tending to the man I threw but my eyes were on a younger doctor who was edging his way towards me, a smug smile adorned his face.

“-Jääkäri Jaroslaw, are you ok?-“  He frowned slightly and turned back to one of the nurses.

“Hänen pitäisi olla tajuttomana jo.”  He was a very thin man with wire frame glasses and neatly slicked back blonde hair.  There was something about him I did not like, he seemed like the person who fully believed he was smarter than everyone and felt it was his job to let them know it.  

“-Where am I?-“  I growled, as he drew closer.  

“-You are at Diacor Hospital in Helsinki, you lucky to be alive.-“ He said patting the shoulder I had been bitten on softly.  It was now wrapped in clean bandages, clearly visible beneath my undershirt but I was sure that if I was not numb from whatever they injected me with, it still would have hurt like hell.  Without warning a low, animalistic growl rippled through my throat and the doctor’s hand recoiled and he began to back away, fear in his eyes.  I reached for my throat, surely that noise had not come from me, but it had felt so… natural.  It was then I noticed that my left forearm which had been shattered was also wrapped up in a clean white cast.  I sat up slowly making the doctor back away further and propped myself up against the cool tile wall, which took way more effort than it should have but felt heavenly against my burning skin.  I had many questions but first things first.

“-Water, please.-“ I asked realizing just how thirsty I was.  The doctor seemed taken aback by my request but quickly grabbed a pitcher off of a nearby table and poured me a glass.  I took it gratefully and swiftly drained it within seconds but almost choked when a familiar voice called out to me.

“Welcome back to the land of the living Jakub.”  My blood began to boil ‘Magnus’.  He stepped into view wearing a new dark grey army uniform and his trademark arrogant smirk, but he now had a large scar running from his ear to his chin.    I suppressed the sudden urge to throw myself at my ‘friend’ and tear his throat out for shooting me.  He leaned towards the doctor and whispered something, to which the doctor nodded and took his leave.  Magnus dragged over a chair from a nearby table and planted it near the head of my bed.

“You and I have quite a lot to talk about.”  He said as he dropped into the chair.

“You don’t say.” I spat at him, another growl brewing in my chest and I was happy to see his smirk vanish.

“Listen, I know you’re still probably angry with me for what happened in the woods last week but please let me explain myself.”  I crossed my arms, glaring at him.

“What’s there to explain? You shot me!”  He shook his head and pressed on in a hushed voice.

“I’m sorry but I had to! I couldn’t bring you back to the field hospital with a bite wound, it would raise too many questions.  It was hard enough convincing the surgeon that these cuts came from a knife and not a werewolf’s claw.”  He said pointing to his facial scar, my heart sunk.

“So it is true, that wasn’t some crazy dream, I’m a… I am really a werewolf aren’t I?”  He nodded solemnly, and that was it.  That was all I needed to hear, Magnus had just confirmed everything the wolf had said to me.  

“Yea… yea you are.  I’m sorry Jakub, I never meant for you to get involved in all of
this.”  I was surprised to see regret in his features.  ‘So that’s it, there’s no fighting it, I’m a werewolf.  It’s at this point in the legends that the hero hits their lowest point and then, when all hope seems lost, they overcome… to hell with that!  I’m not going to cry over spilled milk, I’m a werewolf and there is nothing I can do that will change that.  I am going to stand up and face this challenge like a man, like dad would have…  Now there’s only one thing left to do.’  I looked at Magnus, newfound determination rising in my chest and firmly said.  

“Tell me… Tell me everything, starting with what happened that night… No, starting with what exactly you are, because something tells me you’re not a werewolf.”  He gave me a strange look but then nodded and leaned in close.

“Yea I’m not a werewolf, I’m a vampire.” He then opened his mouth and before my eyes two fangs snapped forward, blending perfectly with his top canines.  When he closed his mouth I watched the fangs fold back onto the roof of his mouth.

“I’ll tell you more about my species later but I’m pretty sure you would want to know more about the night in the woods… and why I shot you.  Most vampires are too proud to admit it but… we are afraid of your kind.  We look down on werewolves but the truth is we are terrified, because you are stronger than us.”  From the expression on his face I could tell it was killing him to say this, but he pressed on.  

“When my father died my mother became very protective of me and my sisters, she didn’t want to lose another loved one.  So I rarely left the grounds of our estates growing up, my family also distains humans so we rarely mingled… unless it was to feed.  As the years went by I began to get restless, I wanted to see the world, I wanted to prove myself a man and I, like you, wanted revenge for my father’s death.  So I ran away from home and eventually found ‘Fenrir’s Revenge’ and bribed my way onboard.  That night, when the Russians were attacking I smelt werewolf’s blood and I wanted to prove myself capable of defeating a worthy adversary, so I went after him but unfortunately he smelt me first.  He had plenty of time to transform and wait for me, so I was taken by surprise… and it didn’t help that I have never fought a werewolf before.  As you saw I was losing pretty badly when you showed up and saved me... I had to shoot you to cover our tracks, any surgeon would know your wounds were from an animal but they were too large to have been a guard dog or even a wild grey wolf so they would have started asking questions.  Shooting you seemed the best way to cover the major puncture marks made by the canines, the surgeon blamed your mauled shoulder on the exit wound from a fictitious third round which ricocheted off your collarbone thus breaking it.  After you lost consciousness I carried you back to our lines and they patched us up but your wounds were more substantial so they shipped you here for surgery and I tagged along as your translator.”  I nodded my head, ‘He had it all thought out, clever bastard.  As soon as I get better I’m going to punch him but I think what he did was for the best.’  I had plenty of questions but I had one in particular which was burning in my mind.  

“You said you wanted to avenge your father, so he was killed by the Russians right?  But you said he died before you were born so did he fight in Poland during the War of 1920? He could have fought with my father.”  He smirked and shook his head.

“No my father did not fight in that war, he was killed by the Russians in the Crimean War.”  My jaw dropped. ‘He must be toying with me’.

“The Crimean War was almost one hundred years ago.”  He nodded.

“Vampires can live to well over 1000 years old, I was born in 1862.”  I couldn’t believe it, but with all the crazy things that have happened to me over the last month, I would have to accept this too.

“So you’re seventy nine years old? Wait, you said your mom never let you outside your home, so you’ve been pretty much trapped there for eighty years without contact from anybody but your family!”  He shrugged his shoulder comically and said.

“Well yea, so you can tell why I don’t interact well with humans.  That’s why I was so surprised when you talked to me that day on the boat, you were… are my first real friend.  But it wasn’t all that bad, I had plenty of time to learn and train in fighting.”     That explained a lot, but I still felt bad for the guy.  I had had plenty of friends growing up and couldn’t imagine a childhood without that experience.  
“So that’s how you know Polish?”

“I know Polish, German, Danish, Norwegian, English, French, Finnish, Italian, Russian, and Spanish.  Yea, I had a lot of time on my hands.  But so will you.”  I cocked my eyebrow.

“What do you mean?”  

“Vampires are not the only ones that live longer, because of werewolves’ enhanced immune system and overactive blood cells, werewolves can live to a little over 400 years old.”  My stomached dropped ‘the wolf never mentioned that!’ I thought irritably as Magnus continued.

“What do you think your body was doing the last nine days?  The werewolf virus was completely rebuilding your entire circulatory system, spinal cord, and nervous system which is an incredibly painful process which takes about a week.  From what I’ve read this is what wolves will call ‘Dormite luporum’ or the ‘Wolf’s Sleep’.  If they have not already blacked out from pain, a newly bitten werewolf will slip into a coma shortly after the virus is introduced which typically lasts a week give or take.  During which time, as I’ve said, the virus fixes up your body.”  He gave me a sweeping gesture.  But I was still in shock from the ‘living to 400’ bombshell Magnus had dropped on me.  He took my silence as sign to continue.

“I know this is a lot to take in but I must tell you everything before your first transformation during the full moon, which is two weeks from now.  But in the normal world I have good news and bad news, which would you like to hear?”  The choice was easy.

“Bad news?”

“The bad news is that skirmish we had was only the tip of the iceberg, the Russians attacked all along the Mannerheim Line and have broken through in every place except in Taipale. The Finnish government has sued for peace but the Soviets don’t care, they are at the city of Viipuri and if it falls it’s only a matter of days till they reach Helsinki.”  The war is closing in, it feels like Warsaw all over again.  

“And what’s the good news?”  I asked exasperatedly.  Magnus grinned broadly and then pulled three small boxes from his pocket.  

“Well, after I got you back to the trench I was debriefed by Captain Perälä who after hearing ‘what happened’, nominated you for a commendation.  His superiors upon hearing the story saw fit to award you the Medal of Liberty 1st class.” He handed me one of the boxes which I took gratefully and quickly opened the top, excitement building in my chest.  Inside sat a silver medal emblazoned with the Finnish lion and sword with the words ‘URHEUDESTA FÖR TAPPERHET’ overtop and the year 1940 on the bottom.

“It means ‘for bravery’ in Finnish” He said but I couldn’t believe my eyes.  I picked it up and turned the cold medal over in my hand and found an inscription on the back also.  ‘SUOMEN KANSALTA’ which I knew read ‘from the Finnish people’.  Looking up, Magnus was matching my grin as he held out another box which I took thankfully.

“What’s this one for?” I asked as I flipped open the lid to find a bronze medal with the same logo and inscription.

“Medal of Liberty 2nd class, it’s for taking a bullet for the Finnish Republic, I got one as well.” He said pulling out his own and clipping it to his uniform.  I just stared at the medals in my hand ‘I came here to get revenge for father but… did I get it?  I killed many Russians but why don’t I feel accomplished?’   I tucked the medals behind my pillow asked.

“So what now?  Where do we go from here ‘old man’?”  Magus seemed taken aback then grinned and punched me in the leg for the remark, he then shrugged his shoulders.

“Now, you rest.  Your body is still altering itself and despite the rapid healing
process, your arm still needs a day or two to heal but you’ll have to keep the cast on for show.  From what I’ve read, the next few days will be quite uncomfortable as your body adjusts to the changes, but considering you just brushed off enough morphine to knock out a small horse I’d say you can handle it.  The main problem for you is your bite, even though it is now fully healed it will burn pretty bad till your first transformation.”  I nodded, absentmindedly rubbing my bandaged shoulder as Magnus got up to leave but stopped.

“Oh before I forget.” He fished around in his pocket for a moment before pulling something attached to a string and tossing it into my lap.  Picking it up, it only took me a second to realize what it was.

“Magnus is this?”

“The fang of the wolf that bit you?  Why yes it is, keep it for good luck.  I’ll be back tomorrow.” And without another word he spun on his heel and strode out of the ward, leaving me with my thoughts.  The fang was tinted yellow slightly but was incredibly sharp and almost eight centimeters long.  I began to go over everything that had happened in the last few days, distractedly turning the pointed tooth over in my hand.  ‘To recap, werewolves and vampires are real, Magnus is a vampire, and I’m a werewolf …damn mom’s not going to be happy when I get home.’  I thought chuckling at the thought of my mother’s reaction to her son coming home a wolf.  I prayed her, Marko, and Sasha were ok… It made me think of what the wolf had said earlier ‘Think of it Jakub, you will finally be strong enough to protect your family!’ I reclined back till my head was resting against the cool tile wall again and closed my eyes.  ‘Maybe being a werewolf won’t be so bad after all…’

 I was released from the hospital the day before the full moon after a hellish two weeks of sheer boredom.  After the first day I was able to walk around the hospital but there was little to do, so I mostly talked to Magnus. True to his word he visited every day, telling me about our species history and aspects of our different cultures.  Turns out despite what the legends say, vampires and werewolves do not actually despise each other… that much anyway.  Vampires and werewolves originated in Europe and had been fighting since the start of recorded history.  In 1464 the great vampire and werewolf lords at the time called a truce and signed the Treaty of Innsbruck which laid down three simple laws for both species to follow.  First, there is to be no unnecessary violence between werewolves and vampires. Second, no member may willingly reveal themselves to humans.  Third, any human who is witness to either species must be either killed or turned, which Magnus pointed out he would have had to follow had I not been bitten.  It also established a Grand Council made up of members of both species that acted as the governing body for the non-human world.  Though some animosity still lingers and in rare cases, like ours, werewolves and vampires will find themselves on opposite sides of a national war.  This is one of the few situations where conflict is really permitted between the two species, and I was lucky enough to find myself smack in the middle of one of those rare situations.  

As promised my senses seemed to become slightly sharper over the two weeks which was not always the best thing being stuck in a hospital.  The strong smell of medicine was nauseatingly powerful, drowning out almost every other scent and the slightest noises would wake me up in the dead of night, but it was incredible nonetheless.  Magnus told me that it would take time to adjust and that the senses I was gaining would only increase after my first… transformation.  It still made me uncomfortable, knowing I was going to transform into a wolf and I could only imagine how it would feel for my entire body to alter itself into a different form.  Magnus seemed to keep away from the subject as much as possible and dodged the question any time I brought it up, but time would tell.  I also developed a powerful craving for meat but I was not too worried about it, I was a wolf now wasn’t I?  

The day of the full moon finally came and my body and mind were utterly exhausted. The bite mark on my neck, which was now an angry red scar had been prickling since I had woken up but in the three days leading up to the full moon it had been burning badly.  I felt jittery, like I was about to jump out of my skin and no matter how much I tired I could not sit still in one place for more than a few minutes before I jumped up and started nervously pacing once more. The plan was to get to the forest on the north side of the city, so I could transform without being a danger to myself or anybody else.  After what seemed like an eternity the time had finally come, I was pacing the army’s reserve barracks we had stayed at the previous night when Magnus threw me my coat and beckoned for me to hurry.  We quickly strode out into the cool winter air but the sun was falling rapidly and Magnus said we didn’t have much time.  As we reached the edge of the city and entered the dark forest my body began to revolt. I began to get overheated, my stomach became knotted and my chest felt like a furnace as the sun began to dip below the horizon but we pressed on.  

We reached a small clearing, completely surrounded by large pine trees on every side by the time the last few rays of the sun slipped beneath the tree line.

“This is a good place for you to shift… you might want to undress though, so you won’t rip anything.” Magnus said and I nodded shakily stripping down to my underwear and undershirt, freezing in the late winter wind. I had just handed him my bundle of clothes when a fresh spike of pain rippled through my torso, I doubled over in pain and threw up in the snow.  Magnus put a steadying hand on my shoulder and said.  

“Be strong Jakub, the pain will end soon.” But it was little consolation, the burning in my chest started to intensify and slowly spread itself towards the rest of my body.  I fell sideways into the powdery snow, gritting my teeth as tears of pain rolled down my cheeks.  Magnus rolled me onto my back and held a small stick out over my head.

“Bite on this so you don’t bite your tongue off.”  I snatched it quickly and gripped it between my teeth just as the first rays of moonlight peeked their way over the treetops, bathing the clearing in a milky glow.  My body jolted and convulsed, every muscle in my body tensed at once as the burning in my chest became overwhelming.  I cried out and my jaw clenched with enough force to splinter the twig I had been biting on, I could hear bones snapping and feel them shifting position under my skin.  The pain was too much, I clenched my eyes shut and curled into the fetal position as my body stretched and twisted itself into its new form.

After a few minutes all the snapping and popping stopped, the painful burning sensation also vanished and was replaced by an intense itching that spread its way down my body from the top of my head.  After a few minutes the itching vanished too but I did not open my eyes, I flipped onto my back my body aching all over, my breaths came out ragged and strained.  I knew the transformation was complete, I groaned but it came out as a high pitched dog like whine. My eyes snapped open and I got my first look at my new lupine form.

The first thing I noticed was that my face had elongated and was now a long canine muzzle covered in black fur, my mouth was now lined with dozens of razor sharp fangs..  I raised my hand to rub the new appendage but then saw the changes my hand had undergone. My fingers were very long and were tipped with dagger like black claws and like my ‘muzzle’ were covered in black fur. The palm and underside of each finger had rock hard yet smooth pads on them, but I wanted to see what else had changed so I braced myself and shakily raised myself up into the sitting position. I felt way taller than usual and looking down, I got a full view of my deformed legs which had a large crook in them like a dogs.  I was also amazed by how much my torso had grown, my chest was tremendous compared to my human self and was completely covered in jet black fur except for a white path starting at my bellybutton and running down.  I also seemed to have grown some muscle, not much but it was a drastic shift from my thin and lanky human self which my mother had said was ‘nothing but skin and bones’.   I tried to stand but fell forward landing flat on my face in the snow, ‘I can’t even stand, I’m so pathetic…’ I thought and I involuntarily let out another canine whine and put my hands over my muzzle.  The senses I was experiencing were overpowering, I was bombarded by hundreds of smells and my ears, which had migrated to the top of my head were twitching and moving towards any sound that reached them.  I could pick out only a few, the wind, an owl, crunching of footsteps… I turned weakly to see Magnus cautiously making his way towards me. My eyes were also incredibly powerful, I could see every detail in of Magnus’ face and clothes as he approached looking slightly worried.

“Jakub?” He asked uncertainly.  I let my head fall, I was utterly exhausted, the transformation had taken a lot out of me but for some reason, it also felt as if a great weight had been lifted from my shoulders. The crunching footsteps stopped and I felt Magnus’ gloved hand on my broad forehead.  

“Hey buddy it’s alright, the worst is over.” I raised my head again and gazed at him intently, I opened my muzzle and tried to speak but the deep rumbling voice that spoke was not my own.

“I can’t stand up..” Magnus seemed taken aback by this but after a moment said.

“Here I’ll help you up, come on.” I obeyed and slowly raised myself onto my oddly shaped feet, my hulking form dwarfed Magnus by over half a meter but he tried best he could to keep me steady.

“Jesus you’re heavy! Try standing on your toes.” I did as he said and took a step forward and to my surprise I maintained my balance.  After a few steps I found my footing and smiled, the best that a wolf could but then I felt something thwacking against my leg.  I twisted to see a tail…I had a bushy black tail, and it was wagging… damn this is embarrassing, but I was beginning to enjoy this new body, all pain was gone and now I felt almost invincible.  I looked over to Magnus who was trying his best to stifle a laugh, ‘he is laughing at my tail isn’t he? Oh he is so dead’ I thought, a wolfish grin splitting my muzzle as I stalked towards Magnus and said in the scariest voice I could muster.

“Oh Magnus…. Can you come here for a minute?”  Magus stopped laughing and looked to my delight, scared for a moment before he realized I was messing with him.  A wide smirk crossed his face as he took a few steps backwards.

“You’ll have to catch me first!” He said then turned and took off deep into the forest, me in hot pursuit.  It felt so natural to run in this body but Magnus was too fast, he was getting further and further from me.  The faster I pushed myself the more by body wanted to lean forward, then it clicked, my wolf wants me to run on all fours.   ‘Ok here it goes’ I dove forward in midstride, throwing my hands out to catch me but immediately face planted and skidded through the snow to a halt.  I raised myself up and shook my head like a wet dog to get the snow off, but just then Magnus’ voice echoed towards me.

“Come on Jakub, you’ll have to do better than that!”  I tried again to run on all fours and this time I did not fall, my instincts were guiding me on how to run in this form and soon it felt as natural as walking.  ‘Now to catch that little vampire’ I thought as I tore through the underbrush following the scent I knew was Magnus, my wolfish side loving the thrill of the hunt.  My sensitive ears picked up movement nearby and I sped towards it, weaving in and out of trees as I did.  For the first time in a long time, I truly felt alive.  Bursting through a low hanging evergreen branch, Magnus came back into sight, he looked back at me over his shoulder and I could have sworn I heard him say ‘uh oh’ before speeding up.  I was hot on his heels and had bridged the distance in a matter of seconds, diving forward I tackled him to the ground in an explosion of snow and dirt.  He tried to struggle but I had him firmly pinned by the back of the shoulders, I triumphantly roared.

“Got ya!” He bent his arm awkwardly and tapped my furry arm saying, in a muffled voice.

“Congratulations, now will you please get off me!” I rolled sideways and Magnus stood up, brushing show off his front.  I expected him to be angry but he retained his trademark smirk.

“I didn’t expect you to pick up running that quickly, how did it feel?”  I lay back in the snow with my hands behind my lupine head, staring up at the massive white orb in the sky thoughtfully.

“Incredible...” I said quietly as Magnus sat down, reclining back against a nearby tree.  We sat there in silence for several minutes, enjoying a true moment of peace in a world torn apart by war.  Magnus broke the silence.

“So uh Jakub, there’s something I’ve been meaning to ask you…” My ear twitched in his direction but I did not stir from my relaxed state.

“Humm?” I responded absentmindedly.

“Well… I’ve been thinking, you are going to need more training to hone your skills and considering Poland isn’t the best place to be at the moment…”  Now he had my full attention, I sat up to watch him and he looked very uncomfortable.

“I was wondering if you would want to come back to Denmark with me...  There is plenty of space for us on the grounds of the estate to train without worry of discovery. What do you think? I understand if you want to go home but…” I cut him off, it didn’t even take a seconds thought.

“Hell yea I’ll go to Denmark with you, what else are friends for eh?” He stood up and for the first time I saw a genuine smile on his face, not a grin, not a smirk, an actual smile… it was kind of weird.  

“Excellent! I’ve always wanted to have a dog.”  He then turned and ran without a moment’s notice.  It took me a second for the words to register but when they did a wolfish grin split my muzzle, ‘NOW he’s a dead man’ I then sprang to my feet and gave chase off into the night, thinking as I ran ‘Did he say estate?’
Well here it is, Jakub's first transformation into a werewolf! I really suck at transformation sequences so i kind of glossed but eh, you win some you lose some. Anyways thanks for reading, please feel free to comment, I would REALLY love reviews or critiques so I can improve on my writing.
For the foreign language stuff, the first sentence of finnish is basically the doctor yelling for a nurse to get him a sedative, the second is him telling the nurse "he should be out by now"

there is two things I would like to clear up,
First, Magnus is really really old but is still a child at heart. He was deprived of a real childhood and never had any friends so he is really grateful for Jakubs friendship
Second, after Jakub transforms he learns the ropes pretty quickly coz his 'wolf' is helping him. Also the pain and exhaustion goes away pretty quickly because of the werewolf's high metabolism and recovery time. But the entire time in the woods, Jakub is pretty exhausted but pushes it away coz he is having fun.

Thanks for reading, i hope you enjoyed :)
Cheers!
~Moonlit
© 2013 - 2024 Moonlit-Rebel
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Zerk-Dragon's avatar
i really really loved this chapter