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Chapter 17

A searing pain ran through the back of Darek's neck. He opened his eyes and saw a beautifully wood carved ceiling. He tried to raise himself up, but he fell back into his oblivion as the pain suddenly increased.

Later, he awoke in a dark grassy field. It was covered in a light fog that made everything seem gray and cold. Darek could feel only the warmth from the night's caresses.

He ran across the ground like he was flying. He knew that he wasn't because he could feel his feet pounding the earth below him. All four of them?

He reached the location where the fight took place. The hunter's bodies were still lying there. He took a hunter's leg in his mouth and drug him behind a tree. Using his paws, he tore off the man's clothes. He put his nose to the man's bare chest and felt the warmth that was barely present.

His senses were still heightened, but in a different way. More primitive. He used his paw again to rip open the cadaver's chest. The gases that escaped the exposed cavity fled into his nostrils. Dinner was served.

- 1 –

After his meal, which Darek found unappealing compared to his normal diet, he ran back to a huge house in the hills. It was like a mansion and very secluded. He entered through a back door and moved like lightening through the halls. Darek caught only glimpses of his surroundings through the blur of his speed.

He slowed as he neared a certain door. He arose to his biped form and opened the door. He stepped into a very large carpeted bathroom. All the decorations were in tones of gray and black. He climbed into the shower and cleansed himself thoroughly.

Without drying off, he went to a chair and sat in it. He picked up a clear plastic bottle near it and poured some of its contents into the palm of his hand. He covered himself with the baby oil until he was completely shiny. Darek felt the ripples in these muscles that were new to him. His whole body was very muscled now and it felt wonderful.

He stood up and strode across the room. Darek's mind was on the new sensations that his physique gave him. He had always been small and had been teased because of it. His gaze was directed at the floor that was steadily moving beneath him. When he stopped, his eyes slowly moved from the floor up.

He saw his feet in a reflection and realized he was looking in a mirror. His eyes moved up gradually, taking in the larger size in everything on this glistening, naked body. Where did it come from anyway?

His sight reached his head and Darek suddenly awoke in a large four-post bed with a shout! That man in the mirror wasn't him, it was the...werewolf!

He jumped off the bed and ran to the adjoining bathroom. He was relieved to find his own reflection. He put his hands on the sink and hung his head. He let out a long sigh and turned around. He was startled to find the werewolf, in human form, standing there. He was wearing only a towel that separated his glistening legs from his shiny torso.

"Did you bring me to your abode so that you could finish me off here?" he asked sarcastically.

"No," he replied. "I brought you here because you intrigue me."

What a reason thought Darek. "Did I intrigue you before or after you kicked my ass?"

The guy smiled and said, "I'm sorry that I lost control. I never do that," he assured. "But then again, I've never been attacked by a van full of men before either."

"I'm used to it," said Darek. He had totally left this man blameless for what happened to Tracy. He understood exactly what this person had gone through, in reference to the monster taking over and losing control. It wasn't necessarily his fault. The people who were to blame were the hunters. Why wasn't Rudy with them anyway! "You don't have to apologize to me. I understand completely. My name is Darek." He offered his hand.