By Starlight

Prologue

Remember what Shuri said. No staying out until dawn.

"That was one time, and if I remember correctly, that was your idea."

The night was a warm one, as it often was in California, and he had been exploring for hours upon hours, only taking a few moments to rest here and there. The full moon had rendered him unable to go back into his human form for the night, but rather than spend it locked up in the Wakandan Outreach Center in Oakland, he had begged to be flown across the bay to the famous Redwood Forest, to run free under the trees. He had been training himself for the past few years to no longer be completely crazy in his feral state, and with Venom to help him stay calm, Shuri had relented and allowed the visiting Nakia to be his handler. Nakia had taken a liking to him and constantly talked with him about her expansive travel, which he couldn't help but envy, and a previous event regarding someone called Killmonger.

Then why did you disable our communication device? Nakia is probably looking for us, Venom pointed out, his head appearing out of Jack's black-furred shoulder to bore his pale white streaks into the werewolf's glossy red eyes.

Jack blinked up at him and huffed in the alien's head. "If she really minded, she would have tracked us down hours ago. Don't worry, we'll be gone before the morning hikers arrive."

With that, Jack continued his sprint through the forest. He didn't need music this time around, for the calmness of the night was enough for him. Running under the Redwoods was always a fun time, especially with the light of the full moon guiding his way. Venom would occasionally hum in his head, his calm nature helping to dampen the scarlet red haze that painted Jack's vision. It hadn't been long before Shuri had discovered the alien's existence and after a series of extensive testing, had decided that he was not a threat. Venom was, in fact, surviving solely off of Jack as his host, since his werewolf power was keeping the alien from completely killing him. Anybody with his hyper-advanced power could host Venom without much negative effects. Venom couldn't do anything harmful without Jack and Jack was simply too strong-willed to be overpowered by him. With the werewolf to keep him in line, Venom was free to live on Earth within Wakanda's special confidentiality.

Living in secret was nothing new to Jack. Ever since his disastrous run-in with Moon Knight that had gotten MJ killed, he had been living out of the public eye. Shuri had reiterated time and time again that he could return to New York whenever he chose, but he refused. He couldn't bear to face Peter again after what he'd done to completely uproot his best friend's life, like murdering the love of his life, and Jack didn't think he could ever look him in the eye. He didn't even watch the news or anything involving the wallcrawler, though he did catch wind of the hashtag #wherewolf, which started to trend after he went missing.

Whenever he looked back on it, he couldn't help but think about how stupid he had been. How daft he must've been to give himself such a platform beside Peter? His social media presence alone would've easily given his location to Marc Spector, a madman dedicated to hunting him. Why did he ever think he was safe, even for a second? But he knew he wouldn't go back and change it, even if he was able to. He would always choose to protect the city alongside Peter, even when it put a vibrant target on his back.

At one point, just to put distance between himself and his own grief, Shuri had him taken to Wakanda for a brief time to help heal his shattered mind, where apparently, someone else had gone to do the same thing. And while he never did meet the White Wolf, he had spied his hut during one of his morning runs through the hills. Shuri had cautioned him not to approach the old soldier just yet, since he was still in the middle of his own recovery process and a visit from a nine-foot werewolf would surely shock him. He had also been a victim of mind control, although for a far longer time, and needed all the alone time he could get after years and years of trauma.