Kristianna's Story

The wound still stung, and the angry red edges where the beasts teeth had sunk in looked worse than ever. Connor knows he should go to the clinic, get the bite checked out. Or in the least put some ointment on it, an easy fix if he ever could remember to do so.

"Something wrong Connor?" Julia asks, two lanes away from him at the checkout counter. With four in total it wasn't a huge distance. The two of them were the only ones manning the counters. Only a few customers come in this late in the afternoon. Connor checks the clock hanging up above the atm.

"Bored," He answers honestly, drumming his fingers along the counter top. He must say it just a bit too sharply, because Julia turns away with a little huff and flick of her long brunette hair.

Theres a strange feeling in his skin today, almost feverish but not quite sick feeling. Antsy is the word he would use, like something big is about to happen but he just can't figure out what it is. Hes itchy too, but it isn't a normal itch that just goes away with a scratch. This itch is below his skin burning through his reserves of patience. He just wishes shift change would happen soon so he can go home and sleep off the feeling.

30 minutes to go, he knows he can't wait that long. Not when the sweating suddenly starts up, soaking him in an instant. Only it isn't exactly hot so Connor doesn't know why hes sweating. Its worrying to say the least, and when a pulse of pain shoots through his hip, where the damn wolf bit him his legs nearly buckle. He grips the counter and looks down at where the bite is, watching as the skin ripples, like something trying to claw its way out from within. He blinks in shock, and the skin returns to normal.

Consequences be damned, Connor needed to get home and sleep off whatever the hell this feeling is.

---

The end of his shift came faster than he expected, and thankfully so. He knew by this point that it wasn't safe to cut through the woods, but it was the fastest way to get back home. He needed to rest, take some aspirin and possibly a long shower. Maybe that would get rid of the strange feeling.

His focus on the feeling is so intense by that point that he doesn't even notice that he has gone deeper into the woodlands, nowhere near his home. But once he realized this his curiosity got the best of him, walking a little further in the direction he had been walking - until abruptly realizing he didn't recognize this area at all. Something that came as a surprise given he grew up in New Haven and spent much of his time in the woodlands.

"Well shit," He says to himself, settling down to take a quick rest against a tree stump. Its getting dark, and the feelings is only getting worse as time ticks on. Connor wills himself to move, to do anything but sit there.

As much as she hated it, Kris was off of work due to the damned wolf bite on her side. Not only did she have to spend three days in the hospital, but now she felt like complete and utter crap. It must have been the rabies shot they gave her a few hours ago because her skin burned something fierce and she could feel all the little hairs on her body stand on end. It was an awful feeling, like something was crawling around beneath her skin.

She knew she should just stay in her little apartment and lie down and go to sleep, but for some reason the idea of being in her apartment made her stomach flip and turn so, instead, she grabbed a light coat and headed out towards the woods. The danger was over, the wolf had already been killed, and it was so unlikely for there to be another wolf wondering around out there. It was safe.

Right?

Giving her head a quick shake, Kris dismissed the morbid thoughts that danced through her head as she beat feet out the door. It was necessary- she had to leave, now, go to the woods, now. The itching, burning, pulsating beneath her skin made being indoors unbearable, and so she headed up into the forest, not bothering to match her surroundings. This was New Haven, she’d been everywhere…

Or so she thought but, before long, she ended up lost, in a part of the woods that was not familiar but, upon first glance, she did not look to be alone…



Her stomach hurt and her head felt funny all of a sudden. Ten year old Lilly, who should not have been out in the woods – again – suddenly felt as if she were going to burst from her skin and die. It was worse than even the wolf bite that she had gotten a few days prior, and she thought –that- was the worst thing in the world.

Unfortunately for Lilly the change from human to wolf was coming way to fast. She was too young, she was too inexperienced, and she was so scared and so tired and everything was just too much!

She fell over and started to screech, her voice high pitched and shrill, ringing out through the trees around her. “Moooooooommmmmmmmmmyyyyy,” she shrieked violent spasms throwing her small body against the ground, the full moon hanging in the background. Something was happening to her! Fur was starting to sprout in patches.

“Help!”

Dex sat with his gang around him. They were talking. He was half listening. His arm was killing him. Right on the shoulder, The fucking dog jumped onto him. He had to deal with running away then, BAM, dog was on him. He emptied a full mag from a 9mm into it but it just ran off. He was only there for recruitment. Everyone in the room were talking about something. Dex stood up and walked out with his pack of cigarettes. Lit the cigarette and began to smoke. Enhale. Exhale. Time began to slow as he relaxed. Stress from the past year as other rival gangs got bigger and police got stronger. It wasn't looking good for him or his gang. His fingers started to burn. He thought he had smoked to the point of the flame. Dropping the cig and stepping it out his hand didn't feel better. Actually it was worse. His nails were getting longer. And sharper. His face began to burn, then his bite mark. He felt as if he was expanding. Arms became thicker. Back began to hunch. His clothes started to tear. "What the fuck?!?!" He practically screamed. It wasn't long before he was on all 4's not knowing what was going on. His clothes were ruined.

Something was wrong.
Meredith didn't know what it was but she could feel it. She felt hot and yet chills were running up and down her body and her ankle throbbed in time with her head. She wondered if she was coming down with something and she hoped that wasn't the case as she really couldn't afford to take time off right now. She was at a critical point in her studies as she was within months of qualifying as a veterinary surgeon. She took a deep breath, doing her best to ignore just how awful she felt, and bent back to her task.

It was late evening and she had been called to the clinic for an emergency, it was her turn on call, and she was dealing with a Terrier who had swallowed something and was choking. Luckily she had managed to remove it without having to involve major surgery and she was now getting him settled for overnight observation. Satisfied that he was settled she headed back to the reception where the night nurse was working.

"All sorted Merry?"

"Yep, the Terrier is bedded down for the night Sarah. I'm headed home." Meredith said doing her best to act as if everything was fine.

"You okay?" Sarah asked, her large brown eyes concerned.

"I'm fine. Just tired I guess. "Meredith said.

"Well go on home and get some rest then hon, see you soon."

Meredith said goodbye and left the clinic heading towards her car, but before she got there she felt pain flare up across her body. She gasped in agony as it felt as though her body was burning up from the inside. The heat was incredibly intense and was made worse by the throbbing pains in her joints and bones. She didn't understand what was happening to her but she knew that it was serious.

She took several tottering steps before falling to her hands and knees. Thankfully the clinic backed onto the local woodland and she did not have far to crawl before she was safely within the trees. She had no idea why getting into the trees was important only that it was. She lay there in agony unable to do anything but breathe through the pain, whatever was happening to her was not happening fast enough and the pain was constant.

A cry from nearby distracted her momentarily and she realised it was coming from close by and that it came from a child. The strong maternal instincts that caused Meredith to care for animals kicked in and she found the strength to stagger to where she heard the cries. A young girl lay on the ground violent spasms racking her small body, Meredith could see patches of fur sprouting from the girls skin. In the back of her mind Meredith was aware that whatever was happening to her was the same thing that was happening to the girl but she was in too much pain to do anything about it. All she could do was lay down beside the girl.

Through her own pain Meredith did her best to talk to the girl letting her know she wasn't alone.

"You're okay, I'm here." She said repeatedly as the transformation continued.

Angi pulled the worn blanket closer to her chilled body, the flame of her dying fire flicking up in a last ditch attempt to touch the sky before dropping back down to it original position. The wind swept through the trees and rustled them, causing her body to shiver and forcing her to curl into herself for a moment.

It had been little under a month ago since the bit she had received from that wolf, a little under a month since she had been forced to leave her home and start living rough in the woods. She felt her concern for the children growing each day she was away and they were left along with that man, but each day Thomas would come with food, telling her that everything was okay, that they were all okay and that she should just stay put in the woods for now.

Lost deep in though, Angi probably wouldn't of noticed the burning if it hadn't been for the fact that the cold no longer bothered her and she had to throw off the blanket because she had become to hot. There were other things as well, she had the desire to tear off her cloths and run, just keep running, to where she had no clue, but fortunately she managed to quell that desire, even if she couldn't stop herself from getting up and walking away from the small circle of light her fire cast.

It was dark, and late, and the full moon shone over head, illuminating her blonde hair so that it shone like silver and turned her skin milky white, her cloths were ruined from days spent sleeping rough and her hair is a tangled flowing mess. If any of the villagers were to have seen her that night, they would of sworn it was a spirit and not a girl that had walked through the woods.

As if in a trance, she moved a path unseen by the rest of the world to a location she had never been but knew all to well. She could sense others, a man, 2 women and a young girl, she could hear them, smell them, almost taste them on the wind, and yet that couldn't be possible...

Then the burning was back, and all thoughts were discarded from her mind as the pain started. Closing her eyes she couldn't stop the inhuman scream that erupted from her lips as bones cracked and her skin burst open, dropping her to her hands and knees. Then the pain was gone, and her once scream turned into a Howl, one that seemed to echo off the trees and drawn out the other noises of the night.

Lilly

Every bone in her entire body was breaking, the pains so intense she could not even scream anymore while she writhed. She was going to die, she was sure of it, all alone out in the woods. Perhaps she should have listened to her mother and her father and not ventured out..

And then there was someone else who was with her. A nice girl, someone who patted her, told her it was going to be okay, and for some reason she believed in it. Her body relaxed for a few moments, and that is when she sprouted fur. Having another person there – a nurturing presence allowed for the young girl, an omega wolf, to finally release the beast that was inside of her. A flash of light, a gush of fluid and suddenly she was a small, brown and blonde wolf.

She whined, panting harshly, her eyes wide. She was so afraid –but now she could smell…Others, like her and like Meredith, the one who had come and helped her. Released her from her human form and from the pain that she had been in (at least, that’s how Lilly connected it in her head).

“Arooo!” She called back to the scream, her tail starting to wag a little bit, the pain even now receding. Young minds, so easily distracted.

Kris

She must have passed out because the next thing she knew she was on all fours, her vision was different, strange- but he smells! It was a whole new world of smells and for a few moments Kris’ human brain tried to take over and be in the front, but it was too strange, too much for her to handle, so the animal brain took over…

And it was hungry. Her nose shifted up to the sky, sniffing. There was blood in the air, hot, from a deer. She began to trot towards the area cautiously – obviously something had to have killed the deer and she did not want to be the prey to that animal, but her stomach let out a horrendous growl, clenching, and she decided to risk it so that she could get some food, sniff around.

He can barely see her through the haze, but he can see enough to know she isn't a hallucination. He can hear and smell things now, that he shouldn't be able to smell and he can smell her. She smells...just like him, and he can smell that there are more out there like him as well. Before he can even begin to process this, or speak with her out loud the sensation of tearing skin rips a strangled scream from him. A noise he doesn't think he has ever made in his life before. He clutches the bite, feeling fresh blood gush from the wound, his fingernails suddenly digging right into the teeth marks. He howls again, ripping his hands away and staring at his fingers.

His bones are breaking, reforming just under his skin and he doesn't exactly know how he knows - he just knows that its happening. Fortunately between one breath and the next Connor blacks out, and when he comes to the pain has subsides. His body is strange and new, the scents in the air foreign. He notes wearily that he isn't really thinking, but rather feeling. He struggles to get a grip of his human thoughts. Realizing that he isn't exactly human anymore.

When he came to full awareness he realizes that the girl, the one who smelled like him had gone under the same transformation and had left. In an attempt to gain some sort of information about this sudden, and very confusing new change he trots after her. Quickly gaining on her, he moves to step in front of her. At first he doesn't think about the fact that both of them are covered in fur and on all fours. He doesn't even realize that hes looking her right in the eyes, teeth bared. Hes angry, confused and hurt. Even if he doesn't want to take it out on her he knows he won't exactly be able to get that point across to her without talking.

In the distance he can hear someone howling, instincts say he should go to the howl. But pure stubbornness keeps him rooted to the spot.