My Best Friend was a Werewolf

Chapter 1: That's How I Met Carver

The trees were still mostly bare after a long and cold winter. Spring had only been around for a couple of days and had failed to bring any warm weather. I had already zipped my black jacket up and buried my hands in the pockets. I carefully stepped through the forest in my red and white rubber-toed sneakers. A full moon hung high in the sky above and was a constant reminder of what was to come as the sun continued setting.

"Are you sure no one will see us out here?" I asked.

I looked ahead at where Chase Hurst was walking. He was wearing a navy-colored jacket with the hood up and covering his head. His hands were at his sides in tight fists. He was only a couple steps ahead of me, but I was moving quickly to keep up with him.

Chase was my best friend. He had been since we were kids growing up in northern Arkansas. We had come from a little town that was tucked away in the Ozarks, but for the last three and a half years we had been attending college in Memphis. Our lives were pretty mundane up until the last month.

"We'll be fine," Chase said after he looked over his shoulder at me. He slowed his pace so that I could catch up with him. I caught a look at his eyes and saw the subtle shine that they were holding.

"This is a bad idea," I declared. I looked down and stepped over a tree root that was protruding out from the Earth. I came to a stop and pulled my hands out of my pockets. I leaned my shoulder against tree bark.

"This is fine," Chase said quickly. He turned around to look at me. His dirty blond hair was sticking out of his hood on his forehead. "I'm fine. I'm in complete control."

"If you're fine, I should probably just go back to the car and wait there," I said.

"Why?" Chase said with a frown.

"Because I'm cold, tired, and don't really want you to eat me when you turn into a wolf," I said simply with a shrug. "I also kind of want to graduate in three months as planned."

"I don't eat people."

"You've only been a werewolf for a month," I pointed out.

"And in that time, I have had no cravings for human flesh," Chase said. "I'm pretty sure that's more of a vampire thing than a human thing."

"Do vampires exist?" I asked.

Chase shrugged. "I don't know. Probably."

The biggest problem with Chase becoming a werewolf was that he was still trying to act like he was normal. I had known him my entire life and I was having a difficult time adjusting to the changes. At first, it was just his senses heightened. He heard better, he saw better, and he could smell better. With all that, he started to notice more things. It got easier when he learned to focus in and control his heightened senses. Then, things were normal again for a while. In a way, I believed Chase was ignoring it all himself. The full moon came around and thrust the term werewolf right back into his life.

In the days leading up to the full moon, Chase had grown agitated. On Wednesday, Chase accidentally broke his laptop while we were studying for our physics exam. Thursday was the day we got into an argument over the impending full moon. Then Friday came and Chase neglected to even show up for our physics exam. Now it was Friday night and we were in the middle of the woods at Meeman-Shelby Forest State Park.

"Chase, what exactly do you even need me here for?" I asked him carefully.

He had demanded I come with him. My senses screamed at me to lock myself in my room in the middle of the city. My heart sympathized with Chase and I hated for him to be alone during all the pain he was going to be put through. In the moment, my senses were warning about Chase in his current state. He was not himself. One wrong move could tip him over the edge. I knew staying with him was going to be putting myself in danger and I knew leaving could set him off. I was damned if I did and damned if I didn't.