The Lycan

Chapter 9

Katie woke up to the sound of pained whines and growls. As drowsy as she was, she could make out Nero, still a beast, stumbling towards the door, hunched over and trembling.

"Matthew?" Katie called to him, who had just begun to wake up as well. As soon as Matthew realized what was happening, he quickly got his shoes on and followed Nero, who had opened the door and stumbled out onto the grass on two legs. The werewolf roared and dropped to the ground, digging his claws into the dirt in an attempt to stabilize himself.

Katie, who had just got her shoes on and ran up next to Matthew, watched as Nero curled into himself. The morning sun had risen, and he was turning back.

The large wolf roared in pain as his body began to contort and shrink, the fur receding back into his body. His claws shrank back to their smaller length, and soon enough the yelps and whimpers melted into choking and moans of pain.

Matthew knelt down to Nero's level, whispering words of comfort to him. "It's okay," Matthew muttered as he leaned him up against him. "It's almost done." One final crack sounded from his body, causing Nero to let out what sounded like a choking cry. He was trembling and covered in sweat, cracking open his purple eyes.

"M-Matthew...?" He said weakly in between gasps, his voice broken and raspy.

"Yeah, we're here," Matthew said with a small smile. "Katie, can you help me get him on the couch?"

"Of course," she said as she held Nero's arm over her shoulder, with Matthew doing the same. Nero, still racked with pain, shakily stood up with their support, and limped back into the cabin, before collapsing on the couch, losing consciousness.

Katie covered him with the blanket, and put the back of her hand on his sweaty forehead. "He's burning up," she said. "Is he supposed to be like this?"

"I guess so," Matthew answered, propping the werewolf's head on a pillow. "I'm sure he won't take too long to recover though. We just need to let him rest."

Katie looked upon Nero with deep pity.

"Is this really what he goes through?" She asked quietly. Matthew sat down on the floor.

"Three nights, every month," he said. For the rest of his life.

...

Nero groggily opened his eyes. He was still on the couch, covered in a blanket. His body still sore, he slowly sat up, and saw a steaming mug on the low table in front of him.

"You're awake," he heard Katie say, as she emerged from the kitchen. "How're you feeling?"

"I... guess I'm fine?" He said quietly. He looked at the tea in front of him in confusion.

"You drank that last night, remember?" Katie giggled. "It was really cute."

"I drank...?" He picked up the warm mug. He hesitantly sipped at the chai, and his eyes actually seemed to shine for a moment. "...oh my god," he muttered.

"Yep!" Katie said, drinking her own cup of chai.

"First drink you ever had aside from water, huh?" Matthew chuckled, who had his own mug.

"What happened last night? I didn't hurt anyone?" Nero asked.

"Nope, you were actually a really good wolf, aside from swallowing that rabbit whole," Katie said. Nero cringed at the last part of the sentence. "If you're feeling better, I got my shower ready for you," she said. "You've been living in the wild for so long, I figured you'd like to freshen up." Katie looked down at the floor awkwardly. "I also kinda can't have muddy paw prints on the carpet and floors, sorry. Took me a while to get those out," she added, slightly embarrassed of saying it.

"Um... sure, sure." Nero said getting up from the couch. "Sorry."

"No worries! The bathroom's upstairs, you're gonna love it," Katie said, sipping at her tea with a smile.

Nero nodded, and climbed the stairs up to the bathroom. He locked the door behind him. He was thankful he didn't hurt anyone, but he still couldn't understand why they were both so nice to him, especially Katie, who had just met him. The tile felt cold, yet familiar under his feet. He suddenly thought about his time at the laboratory, but instantly shut it from his memory.

It's in the past, Nero inwardly told himself. You're not there anymore. He turned the shower handle, and jumped back as water shot out of the head from above. It reminded him of rain.

Nero removed the animal hide from his waist and prepared to step in, before noticing a full length mirror leaning against the wall. He looked into it and openly snarled at it, before realizing it was his own reflection. He stepped forward, examining himself.

Nero remembered being a lighter shade of grey, with short, bluish-black hair. Now he couldn't even recognize himself. His hair was long and wild, reaching down to his middle back. He ran his claws through his short, yet fluffy facial hair, going down to the tuft of fur on his chest. His body had grown tall and muscular, opposite of his short, scrawny frame from when he was created. His body was a dark shade of charcoal, which he could only assume was some sort of "tan", and was covered in scars, small cuts and dirt, his hands and feet calloused and almost blackened from constantly treading on rough forest terrain.

Nero backed away slowly. Even his eyes seemed to have changed, having become somewhat narrow. He finally tore his stare away from the mirror and stepped into the shower.

It took him a minute to get used to the hot water, but he slowly sat down, bringing his knees up to his chest, wincing as the hot water seeped into his cuts. He watched as the dried blood and dirt washed off of his body and down the drain. After looking at his clawed hands one more time, he buries his head in his knees, letting out a shuddering exhale.