Catty squatted and peed in the dust at her usual spot in the park. The horizon hinted at the glow of a full moon, but the moon wasn’t visible yet. She knew her transformation wouldn’t occur until it fully breached the horizon, but she didn’t dally. With the mud puddle forming from her pee, she touched the chain that was fastened around her neck. It would transform into a dog collar when she transformed into a wolf. Her touch caused the two dog tags that had been invisible to appear. One tag was the rabies tag. Most people ignored loose dogs when they wore collars with that tag. The other had her home address on it and a phone number to call, just in case someone was crafty enough to catch her. Nestled between the two tags was the gem she always wore that was her talisman. The spirit trapped within guided her and provided her with a few powers she hoped gave her an advantage over any others. She knew there were others out there.
She felt the stretching and tingling that marked the beginning of her transformation. While her clothing dissolved into thick fur as white as her white blonde hair, she placed her hands on the ground, preparing to turn quadrupedal. Her eyes tingled, and she knew they were changing to yellow. She wiggled her jaw, feeling the canine teeth grow.
Her sense of smell heightened and she could smell her pee, and all the hormones she was secreting. She knew the smell would make her roll in it, which would dull down her brilliant white coat. A white wolf in Lincoln Park at night would stand out. She preferred to remain hidden.
Her nose also picked up the scent of deer just as the last of her human logic dissipated and the intense instinct to hunt and survive kicked in. However, the cautioned remained with her that with high hormones, she might attract the interest of the other wolves.
The sound of padded feet drew her immediate attention. She moved only her eyes toward the sound. A late night jogger passed her with a dog on a leash. The dog didn’t even register her presence since she had tucked herself well into the shadows. A faint breeze blew toward her, allowing her to smell the dog and jogger. The man was sweating and breathing hard. She sniffed again to catch the scent of fear, but it wasn’t coming from him.
“Hurry up. We gotta be out of the park.”
Two more men walked by fast. She had heard them coming, but hadn’t felt concerned.
“You ain’t superstitious, are you? Werewolves and vampires? Hee hee.”
“I don’t care what they are. There were four murders during the last full moon. All of them in this park.”
Both men broke into a jog.
Catty caught the scent of wolves. Her eyes focused on two gray wolves that were discreetly following the men on silent paws. She knew they were hardly visible to the human eye since they kept to the shadows.
Too late, she thought. You two didn’t get out of the park soon enough.
She felt disconcerted that wolves were already out hunting. The moon was hardly up. She knew they must have scoped out the park and found a target before they transformed, which must have been recent.
Now fully transformed herself, she slunk out of the shadows to the path to catch the wolves’ trail. Like a bloodhound on a scent, she followed it back. She learned long ago that when most werewolves transformed, their clothing shed off, which meant when they returned to being human, they were naked. This knowledge often resulted in a wallet or two if she could find where they shed their clothes.
She easily located the clothing in some heavy bushes. Unfortunately, these were experienced wolves. She found only shoes, shorts, and t-shirts. Her mind put together the thought that they were probably acting like joggers before they transformed.
Her canine sense of survival directed her away from pee marking the clothing. She needed to remain undetected. Without a pack of her own, she had no protection.
She padded out of the brush to head deeper into the park. If she was lucky, the other wolves would stay near the lake, hunting deer, rabbits, and unlucky joggers. Although wolves didn’t use to hunt humans. It was only this year that she had seen people become the target of wolves.
A hundred feet off the last paved path, she hit the dark woods. She sensed a rabbit, but passed it by. Musty earthy smells swelled around her. The city lights disappeared the deeper she went. When she reached the clearing in the center, she could see stars overhead.
“No, please.”
Catty stopped at the sound of the whimper.
“Kneel. Pray for me, you bitch.”
The first had been a female voice. The second a male.
Damn rapist, Catty thought, deciding to break it up. They were interloping on her night.
She approached the two people as if she was on a hunt, staying down wind. Only the sounds and scents of the two people hit her senses. She couldn’t see them yet.
She froze.
Two shadowy figures moved swiftly through the trees to the right of her. They weren’t human. Two more passed her on the other side. She couldn’t tell if they hadn’t seen or smelled her or if they were just ignoring her in order to get to the people first.
That didn’t matter to her. She backed up and went the other way and skirted around the clearing until she reached the south end, where she paused.
Screams filled the air.
Catty knew neither person would survive. The wolves would kill the man outright. The woman might become the object of lust for one or all of the wolves before they opened her throat.
She changed directions again and skirted around the woods. Fairy lights appeared around the trees in the form of glowing mushrooms. She ignored them.
Four deer almost cut her off, causing her to halt abruptly and drop to the ground. She knew something was chasing them. A moment later, three shadows flashed past. As soon as they were out of sight, she rose and ran.
The trees thickened into closely growing saplings as she neared the river. Closer to the bank, the reed beds started. She cautiously stepped into them. However, the sound of movement caused her to freeze again. She sniffed the air to determine what it was, but it was downwind from her. The sound didn’t register as another wolf. To her, it sounded like a deer.
She stalked closer.
A deer blew.
Catty kept going. The breeze shifted, and she smelled fear. A few steps further, and she could see it was a yearling doe, separated from the herd. The doe stamped down the reeds in a panicked show of defiance to frighten everything else away. She spun in a slow circle. Catty could see the doe had learned to hide in the reeds and thought it was safest. Not tonight, Catty thought. She took two more steps and lunged.
She landed hard on the doe’s back. The doe’s legs buckled, sending them both to the ground. Catty rolled with the deer and her teeth found its throat. Blood flooded her mouth, enhancing the adrenaline flowing through her body.
As soon as the deer breathed its last, she released its neck to tear into the belly. Her goal was the heart. If that was the only piece she could get, she would be happy. She knew she wouldn’t have the kill to herself for long.
Her entire head was inside the deer when she reached the heart. She savagely tore it out before pulling her head out of the body cavity. Between chews, she listened hard. She knew blood covered her entire head and shoulders, which muted her sense of smell.
She swallowed a large chunk, but caught the sounds of movement coming her way. Grabbing up the remaining chunk of heart, she bolted.
Catty ran hard until she was some distance away. She only paused a moment to catch her breath before she snarfed down the rest of her treat. While it was only a pound of meat, it was enough to satisfy her craving.
Her nose caught a scent beneath the odor of blood. She looked up to see two red, glowing eyes. That was all she could see. The body behind the eyes was as black as the shadows.
The eyes approached enough that Catty could see this was a huge black wolf. She backed a step, showing submission and tucking her tail between her legs. The last thing she wanted was a confrontation.
More red eyes appeared behind the black wolf. Catty backed up another step, calculating her next move. She needed a sound, a distraction. All she got was intense silence and more eyes. She bolted.
She knew heading back into the city was the safest, and she increased her stride. A short distance before she hit the first street, something came up alongside her. The black wolf had caught up with her.
Stride for stride, he matched her pace. Catty called on her talisman for help. Her paws hit the pavement. Sparks flew from her claws. Slowly, she pulled away from him. Traffic became her savior. She dodged around cars and lost him, but she didn’t slow. Instead, she called for more and more speed. Behind her, a howling wail rose. More than one wolf answered the call. The sounds echoed off the buildings, telling Catty one thing. She was now the hunted.
She knew she had only one option. Her scent was strong since she rolled in her own pee. She had to get rid of it. But what dog or wolf wanted a bath? She skidded around a corner with sparks flying as she headed for the one place that would help her: the car wash.
Usually on the weekend evenings, guys wet down their hot rods to make them shine under the streetlights in order to attract the girls. Thus, the car wash was always busy. However, this was Wednesday, and her hope to find at least one car using the car wash was low.
She continued to run between the cars on the street and those parked on the curb. Few people spied her. If anyone did, most would ignore her. This evening, even though it was an unusually warm October night, few people were out walking. People were traveling tonight in their cars. The surge of murders during the full moon was keeping everyone in.
Even Catty felt surprised by the number of wolves out. Usually, she could make her kill, gulp down a few pounds of meat, and get home with only a handful of wolf sightings.
She passed a dark alley. Blood curdling growls and the scent of blood flowed out. She avoided it. Turf wars between the packs were increasing. That made things very dangerous for her. She could only run. If caught, she could get raped and/or killed. She had no intentions of ever being caught.
Catty dodged through an intersection, almost getting clipped by a car. It tapped her tail. She flew down the next block and took a right turn. Half way down this block, she skidded to a stop within the confine of some shrubbery. Lights flooded the pavement around the car wash. Her heart sunk. There weren’t any cars in the lot or lined up to get washed.
She panted hard to catch her breath. Her mind raced to find another option. She couldn’t go home smelling like this. The word was already out. The wolves would easily smell and intercept her.
Her eyes followed two cars that pulled in. A man from one car spent some time vacuuming his car and chatting to the man from the second.
Catty impatiently waited, hoping no wolves showed up.
Finally, the man in the first car drove up to the car wash, making his selection. She wanted to go bite him to get him to hurry. He was taking forever. Finally, he pulled in.
Catty chose that moment to race into the car wash before the door closed. She knew where to stand from previous baths. Pipes weren’t the best and many leaked. She only had to stand by the worst one to get drenched. She couldn’t resist the urge to shake off the water. Mud and red water flew from her.
Even though this was an automated car wash, there was one attendant on duty. She could see him watching her through a glass observation window. He looked concern. She felt annoyed.
The soap phase started. Once she was coated, she rolled on the ground to work it in. She enjoyed the roll because the matting beneath her was knobby, so it felt like getting a body massage.
She had to wait for the rinse stage while the brushes worked around the car. However, the pipe still leaked. She enjoyed the warm drizzle of water. Then it gushed, drenching her. She shook, only to be drenched again. Two more times, she shook after being drenched to get the last of the soap out.
She moved toward the door, expecting the wash to end. Unfortunately, the man had opted for a wax finish. A faint mist of the wax reached her, which annoyed her, but the wax was to her advantage. The wax had a scent to it. She wasn’t going to smell like a wolf anymore.
She shook one more time while she waited for the door to open. When it did, she bolted out, almost running over the attendant who was looking for her.
Hardly half a block away, she heard the howl. They were on her trail, but she hoped it would end at the car wash. That didn’t stop her from running hard. She had to get home.
Too late, she passed a wolf she hadn’t detected until he veered into the street to take chase. She called for speed and again, sparks flew from her claws when they met the asphalt. The wolf chasing her fell back, but suddenly another came out from the sidewalk.
The howl traveled faster than she could and all the wolves were on alert. She could no longer travel as a wolf, but changing back took time.
Talisman, she thought, how quickly can I change back?
Of course, she received no answer. It was something she would have to do in order to find out. That was the way it has been with learning what her talisman did for her. At least when she transformed back, her fur would change back to her clothes.
She changed her course for a restaurant district. There would be more people there, so she could blend in. That district was busy any day of the week.
Catty caught sight of more wolves. She had the faint feeling they were directing her course. When she tried to make a turn, there were too many wolves to get around, confirming her suspicions. However, she circled back and surprised them, slipping through.
They started chasing her like a deer, in stages, swapping out those who were running after her, but she wasn’t going to get tired like a deer and give up.
She made one last turn down a street, knowing that she had to be human when she reached the end. The cross street already contained a steady steam of people who were heading toward the parking garage to get to their cars or heading toward the restaurants for a late dinner.
Now.
She thought of being human and gaped open her jaw to signal the change. The pain was immense, but she worked through it, stretching her body. She rose onto her hind legs, still running, and almost slid into a group of people.
“Sorry. Excuse me.”
She jogged off without having to worry, since she was back to being human. Because she had been running, she had dried some. Her clothes were only damp. She reached up to find her hair mussed, but she slicked it back and redid her ponytail.
She hurried along the sidewalk, thinking of her route home. Since she had to go out of her way to the restaurant district, she was further from home than she wanted to be. She knew she had over a mile walk to get there.
She broke into a jog when she left the restaurant district, wishing she could catch sight of a cab, but there were none. Her attire wasn’t that of a jogger. She was wearing a dress and sandals, but she wore nothing under the dress. Her attire would garner some attention if she kept jogging.
At least this wasn’t a bad area to walk, if it hadn’t been a full moon, she thought. This was the worse night to walk alone, especially being female.
“At least the rapist is no more.”
She had heard about the praying rapist for months. It was time the wolves got him. He had been lucky by not doing his rapes on moonlit nights, but chose the new moon times. His luck had run out.
She contemplated transforming back into a wolf so she could travel faster. The shadows that were appearing and disappearing concerned her. She strained her ears, listening hard. Even as a human, her hearing was acute.
A gang of young men on a stoop far ahead caused her to cross the street. She felt a tingle around her neck and took the warning from her talisman by stepping into a deep shadow. From her hiding place, she watched the four men coming down the sidewalk. They were clearly searching for something. One sniffed the air.
A wolf passed, trotting down the middle of the street. It growled at the men. The men broken into a jog, then seemed to fall to the ground. She knew they were transforming.
The breeze was in her favor. As soon as she could see the last of them trot off as a wolf, she hurried down the street, going the other way. She sniffed the breeze. All she could smell was a dryer sheet from someone who was drying their clothes. She felt the way was clear, so she broke into a jog again to hurry along her way.
A streetlight blinked out. Then another. The area suddenly became very dark. She stopped dead.
“This way,” said a voice.
A man stepped out of the shadows, pointing her way toward an alley. She heard more footsteps behind her.
