The Dark Side of the Moon

Chapter 30: Kyle

-Kyle’s P.O.V-

“Everything is okay, just be calm.” I told her in the softest tone possible. In front of me right now was about 65kg of wild animal, a deep brown coloured female wolf; or werewolf, if you look at the big picture.

This was a first for me, and my brain was wracking itself for how to take care of the situation. I remember reading somewhere as a boy that animals responded best to the tone of your voice, so if you spoke calmly then they would be calm also. But the book never mentioned how to take care of a newly turned, freaked out werewolf.

She had chased her tail for a minute like a common house dog, until she turned her gaze to me. She was obviously assessing me, but I doubt that she recognized me in that form yet, I had to tread carefully. Her ears were flat back against her skull and she whined, looking confused and scared. I held my hands palm up out in front of me, a gesture of peace and harmlessness, but that didn’t really go down well with her.

After a low, startled growl, she bolted past me, narrowly missing crashing into the ottoman to the side – which was fortunately holding an expensive vase that didn’t topple over, thank god – and skidded into the kitchen. The flooring was tile, and her smooth claws were unable to take purchase, causing her to slip and slide into the counter. She looked wild, her head swinging back and forth, looking for an exit. She jumped back up and skittered out of the kitchen, making her way to the living room and crashing through a few chairs in the process. It wouldn’t hurt her of course, but I was more worried about what her brothers would think afterwards. Because she was newly turned, it would be hard for her to run and walk as smoothly as I would, she needed to get used to the feeling of four paws.

I ran ahead of her and began to unlock the front door, but then thought otherwise. What would the neighbours think if a wild wolf was let loose on the street, what if she harmed someone? On second thought, I ran back to the living room and searched for a back door to open instead.

The laundry proved to have a rickety old flywire and wooden door, and I hunted around for a key. I found one in the drawers to the left, all the while cringing while thunderous noises could be heard from the back of the house. I had to get her out fast; she was creating a tornado of destruction in here.

I propped the flywire open with a nearby doorstop and let the wooden door swing out into the night. It was a clear passageway into the backyard, which also lead onto a thin strip of the nature reserve. She would be safe as long as she could make it that far.

I whistled. The noises stopped. I had no idea how to get her out of the house; this wasn’t really my line of expertise. I was no animal handler, but I’d try with treating her like a domestic dog for a start. “Here little wolf!” I hollered into the silence. “Come on, come here!”

A growl pierced the silence and I spotted two beady little eyes watching me from the shadows, near the stairs to the second level. They were narrowed and hostile, but an underlying fear was there. The poor thing, she probably had no idea what was going on.

“Come on, it’s okay. Follow me,” I spoke kindly, slowly backing out the door and gesturing for her to follow. She took a few hesitant steps, and then barrelled through the small door and whizzed past me in a flash. The air swirled, unsettled where she had just been and the back door flapped back and forth with the breeze.

I was in two minds. Do I follow her and make sure that she didn’t cause any harm? Should I be there in case she shifts back? Or should I lock the house quickly before I chased after her, making sure that no one could come in?

I still held the key in my hand, so I ran inside and locked the front door, then sprinted back out into the fresh air. There was no reason for me to lock the back door, she would shift soon and would have to get back in somehow. Pocketing the key, I took off at a sprint that would impress even the fastest Olympic runner. The trees rushed by in a blur of dark green and my nose guided me, following the scent of a musky female wolf.