The Lone Wolf

Chapter 4

I stood frozen for a few moments, before terror washed through me.  What the hell?!? My mind was screaming.  I started backing up, though that didn’t help me get away from what were now my legs.

“Riley…” I heard Jackson say.  My head shot towards him, and I could tell he could see the terror in my eyes.  “It’s… it’s okay we’ll figure it out.”

Of course Jackson’s still trying to comfort me.  He just watched me turn into a freaking wolf and should be running in fear from me.  But instead he stayed here and was trying to keep my calm.  It made me want to cry, how caring he was, but all that came out was a whimper which just made the fear come back.  I took another step away from Jackson and looked towards the woods.

And what I saw shocked me.  Again.

It’s not that the woods were physically any different, but the way I saw them was different.  I definitely didn’t see in black and white.  Instead everything seemed to jump out at me with color and brightness, even though it was in the middle of the night.

I also noticed I could hear every small ruffle that came from the forest.  I could hear a bird moving in a tree over 50 feet away.  And not only could I hear it, but when I smelled the air I could also smell its scent.

That should be impossible, a small voice in my head said.  Even a normal wolf probably wouldn’t be able to do that…

But at the same time, it somehow seemed right.  Even though this body terrified me, when I moved the muscles in my legs to walk it felt right.

I let out a deep breath, watching as it puffed out in the cold air.

I took another step towards the woods and I could feel my new, powerful legs itching to start running.  It was hard to resist.

I took a look back at Jackson, trying to convey to him that I was going into the woods.  I don’t know if he understood, but I didn’t have time to really make sure because my legs were off and running into the woods.

The frigid air hit my body, but I didn’t feel how cold it was.  I wasn’t leading myself anywhere, but just let my legs run and go wherever they wanted.  I don’t know how long that I did that for, but somehow I ended up in my backyard.

By then I was clam, having enjoyed the run I just went on.  But as soon as I saw my house I was reminded of how absolutely crazy this whole situation was.  I just turned into a freaking wolf!

And Jackson… he saw me turn into a wolf.  I can’t even imagine what he’s thinking right now.

Stop, I told myself harshly.  Just figure out how to turn back, get inside, and then go to bed.

Crap, how do I turn back?  I shuddered, just thinking about the pain I went through to become a wolf.  I definitely didn’t want to go through that again.

But how do I change back?

I took a few breaths, trying to push all my worried thoughts away.  Maybe I should just think about being human and then I’ll become human.  It was a long-shot, but all I had at the moment.