Seth
The woods rush past me in a dark blur of green. My wolf eyes make it easier to dodge trees and avoid thick shrubbery. In this form I am almost as fast as the wind. I always enjoy the thrill of running through the forest, testing how fast I can go but tonight I am filled with dread.
I stubbornly cling to the hope that Spencer was actually bitten by a bear instead of a Varckolack but I know the chances of that actually happening are impossible.
I pushed myself to run faster. I am getting closer to Spencer's house and as soon as I find him I will . . .
I skid to a halt, dirt and fallen leaves flying in my wake. What can I do? Burst into Spencer's home, find him and demand to see the bite? Ask for a little of his blood so I can test it with fire? Tell him he is going to become a hideous evil creature? And what about his parents, how can I tell them their son is turning into a werewolf? And what if they wanted revenge from the Varckolack that bit their son. Will they rally the town to hunt down werewolves, Varckolacks and lykans alike?
I am acting rash and not thinking straight. This situation needs to be dealt with delicately.
Besides, I can't do any of the things above. I tore my clothes when I shifted and if I shift back now I will be but naked. I am close with Spencer but under no circumstances will I ever meet-
I stiffen, hackles raised. I hear something big approaching fast from my left. I stay alert and ready to fight whatever is coming my way. Just as I recognize its familiar scent and relax a blur of gray barrels into my side. To my surprise I am thrown across the forest floor and crash into a tree with a yelp.
I get up, dazed, shaking fallen leaves and twigs off of me and snarl at the gray wolf standing in front of me. Ryan looks guilty but he bounces once on his forelegs once as if to tell me 'get over it; I didn't know you would just be standing there'.
I spare him a low growl and we start toward Spencer' s at a reasonable pace. I can't personally see Spencer but I can confirm if he has been bitten by scent.
We reach the edge of the wood. From across the dark empty road I spot the back of Spencer's house among the other houses behind a tall wooden fence.
Fortunately for me Spencer's bedroom window is open. I try to catch his scent from here but I am too far away. I leave the cover of the trees and stand close as I dare to the edge of the road.
Ryan Huffs a warning but I ignore him. I know being spotted will give us the worst kind of trouble but no one can possibly be up at this hour. Right? Dawn is on the horizon and the world is in deep slumber.
I inhale deeply searching for Spencer's scent among the scents of the forest and the hints of rubber and gas from the asphalt road, but I don't find it.
A light breeze blows at my back and towards Spencer's house. I will have to get closer if I want to reach Spencer.
The roads remain empty and there are no lights turned on in the houses. Other than the constant chirping of crickets and the occasional scuttering of a rodent or the croak of a toad I hear nothing else.
I pad across the road. Ryan barks once to tell me he doesn't like the risk I'm taking. I give him a reassuring glance. I stop before the tall
wooden fence that separates the road from the houses.
I catch Spencer's familiar scent almost immediately. And it's corrupted with that foul stench I know all too well. Any lingering hope I have shatters like it is being crushed between the jaws of a ferocious beast. Spencer is turning into a varckolack and there is no stopping it.
I hear it right before Ryan huffs a warning bark. A car is approaching. I turn away from the house and swiftly cross the road. Just as I reach the safety of the trees, headlights flash across the road, illuminating where I was seconds ago.
Ryan and I don't turn back to see if we've been spotted as we run back into the woods. Dark clouds move across the pink stained morning sky, the signs of storm brewing. Ryan follows when i howl a long mournful note into the dawn, for the vengeance I swear; for the brother I lose.