Artemis and the Bluedust pixie

Becoming Werewolf

Artemis was around 14 years old when she was bitten. It was a peaceful full moon night as she was sound asleep in her room at the orphanage. A light wind blew in through the open window that overlooked the edge of a huge forest.

Artemis wasn't allowed to keep that window open at night because of its proximity to the forest. But it was summer and her room was stifling hot without a breeze.

The clouds that hid the shining round moon, shifted, letting the bright moonbeams fall on earth. Somewhere in the forest, a wolf let out a muffled howl.

Artemis suddenly sat up straight, her sixth sense tingling. There was something in the room. Her eyes still wasn't adjusted to the darkness, yet there was a funny smell in the air. The smell of...dogs. She looked around the room. The moonbeams couldn't fully illuminate the whole room. She got up, having decided to close the window incase any wild animals are prowling about.

And just as she was about to close the latch, something in the corner of her eye moved and came hurtling at her so hard that it knocked her over. The smell of dogs got even stronger. The creature turned back and sank its teeth into Artemis' hand just as she was trying to get up. She screamed but her voice got stuck in her throat in fear.

The creature, hirsute, yellow-eyed and having a dog-like muzzle, started to drag Artemis by the arm towards the window. She tried her best to resist but the creature was abnormally strong.

At last, with great presence of mind, Artemis took out her pocket knife and thrust it into one of  the creature's eyes. It howled in pain and immediately let go of her hand, escaping into the jungle through the open window. Artemis was left on the floor with a bloodied and mangled left arm, half unconscious till when in the morning her friend came into her room to check on her and raised an alarm.

She was rushed to a hospital, where her arm was treated but the bite changed her forever. The doctors informed the managers at the orphanage that she received a werewolf bite and since then every time the full moon night came, Artemis was locked up in a small room where cleaning supplies were stored to prevent any moonbeam reaching her.

She was never calm when she was locked up during full moons. Although she didn't transform, Artemis had the frequent urges to bite something or sometimes she killed a rat or two just for fun. She was horrified by her own behaviour but nobody bothered to explain her what had actually happened with her.

This continued for nearly two years, and when it was her 16th birthday, a full moon night, she escaped the orphanage. The moment the moonbeams hit her, she felt her skin prickling as if pins were forcing themselves out of her skin, which was actually fur. Her teeth fell out, getting replaced by thicker and sharper ones. Nails got longer and more like claws.

Before she knew it, Artemis had become the creature who had bit her two years ago: a werewolf.

She killed her first prey in the jungle: a boar. As she was hunting, a pack of werewolves, known as the Moonshades by the werewolf world was watching her closely. They accepted her and she soon became the third youngest cub in their pack.