Bride of the Wolf

Chapter XV: A New Hope

Chapter XV: A New Hope

Larry/Larissa was startled awake as the beast let out a frightening roar. Larry sat up quickly and snapped his hand through the bars, then scrambled back from the cage. He pushed his long, black hair away from his face with one hand so he could better view the spectacle before him.

He watched in horror as the beast writhed in its confined space, straining at its chains. The beast howled, but the howl changed, becoming a soft, human cry. Larry finally understood what was happening – the beast was changing, returning to its human form. Larry must have slept by the cage all night.

Larry stared, fascinated, as the beast's hair receded, its ears shrank to the sides of its head, its jaws pulled back. Its front legs and paws twisted and turned until they were long, muscular arms and hands. Feet appeared from the cuffs of the pants which the wolf had retained, not having room to get out of them in the small cage.

Finally the beast was gone, and Marko remained. He lay on the floor of his cage, still chained, panting from the effort of his transformation. He looked up and his surprise was evident at seeing Larissa, the beautiful gypsy girl of his dreams.

"Good morning," said Marko after a brief awkward pause.

"Uh, hi," Larry replied.

"Could you, uh," asked Marko, indicating his shackled hands. "The keys should be somewhere nearby."

Larry looked around the small room and spotted a ring of keys on Zolfina's dressing table. He handed them to Marko, who unlocked his shackles, then reached through the bars to unlock the cage. He opened the door and was free.

"Did you stay here, with me, all night?" Marko asked the young gypsy girl in the small confines of the wagon. He stepped out of the cage as he did up the belt of his pants, his chest still naked.

"Uh, yeah. I suppose I did," answered Larry, feeling a bit nervous. This guy was looking at him more like a wolf than the beast ever did.

"Thank you," said Marko, pulling Larry into his bare chest. "Thank you, beautiful lady!"

"Sure, sure, no problem," replied Larry. He patted Marko on the back a couple of times, then shoved him away.

"You have been injured!" shouted Marko, noticing for the first time the bloody shirt Larry still wore. Marko pressed on the wound saying, "Did I do this to you? I am so sorry, please forgive me!"

"What, this?" asked Larry, looking down at his shoulder. "It's nothing. Just a bullet. It healed hours ago." Larry was feeling more and more uncomfortable the longer he remained alone with Marko. "Look, I'm just going outside for some fresh air, okay?"

Larry bolted for the door before Marko could speak. Outside it was still very dark, but the carnival seemed lively for such an early hour. Larry was surprised to see Madam Zolfina seated at her table, but he was even more surprised to find Gwen standing nearby.

"Larry!" cried Gwen, running to greet him and throwing her arms around his neck with a smile.

"Gwen?" questioned Larry. "Did you stay here all night?"

"What are you talking about?" Gwen laughed. "It's not quite midnight yet. I just stuck around for the past couple of hours. Madam Zolfina has been telling me the most interesting stories!"

"But I thought...?" said Larry. He was interrupted before he could complete his sentence as Marko appeared at the wagon door, putting on his shirt.

"God help me, he looks good," thought Larry to himself as he watched Marko covering his arms, and his shoulders, and his chest, and his abs. He mentally slapped himself, saying, "Stop it! It's just the hormones talking! Do not listen to them!"