The Shy Wolf

Chapter Twenty Five

I woke up to an empty space beside me. The blanket was neatly tucked over the side of the bed, me lying atop of it. A gown was neatly folded at the end of the bed, just beside my feet.

With a groan, I sat up as I rubbed the sleep out of my eyes, scanning the room for a certain blonde haired female. It was empty ... until the door opened.

My eyes snapped shut as my head started to pound.

"Look who's finally awake." I knew that voice. "Took you long enough." She laughed when I threw a pillow at her.

"I don't understand why I'm so tired," I yawned. Astrid came over as I swung my legs over the side of the bed. She then stood in between them, her hands on my regular but broad sized shoulders.

"What did I tell you?" Astrid sighed when I didn't respond. "I told you not to stay up!"

I smiled. "My mistake," I said and yawned again.

Astrid linked her arms around my neck. This gave me a chance to look her up and down. "So." I glanced at the shattered window. "You're fully healed."

Astrid raised an eyebrow. "Of course I am! I heal quickly just so you know."

I grabbed her waist. "That's good," I whispered. Smirking to myself, I pulled Astrid into my lap and tickled her, laughing at the squeals she kept releasing.

"Okay, okay!" Astrid shouted after a few minutes. "Enough!" She grabbed my hands and surprisingly I immediately stopped.

"You secretly love it," I mumbled.

"Yeah, well, nobody else knows except you," she said.

I yawned again as Astrid stood up. "Why are you so tired?" She laughed.

I didn't laugh back. My head continued to pound with pain and I groaned, holding my head in my hands. I stumbled as I got up and luckily Astrid caught me by the shoulders before I fell. "Harry?" Her voice was distant. She repeated my name a few more times. "Hiccup? What's wrong?"

I fell to my knees groaning with pain. "Ahhh!" I screamed, my voice half growl, half roar. My fingers scraped across the floor, leaving scratch marks. I roared again, the pain starting to become unbearable.

"Hiccup!" Astrid shouted. She knelt beside me, gripping my shoulders.

Then it stopped. My breathing was ragged, my fists clenched so tight it was painful. I looked up slowly into Astrid's eyes. She gasped.

"What? What is it?" Her eyes drifted over my face then down my arms.

"Your eyes Harry ... and your teeth." I stared at her before getting up quickly and heading to the mirror. Astrid was right. Instead of being a green emerald colour, my eyes were a bright dazzling blue colour, much like Astrid's. My wolf eyes gazed right back at me.

My teeth, mainly my canines had elongated, sharper than a knife. I ran my tongue over them and tasted blood after a few seconds. I tried to revert back to my normal human self but it didn't work.

"What's happened?" I growled, my speech mangled slightly. I turned back to see Astrid gaping at me. I looked down and saw I had claws instead of fingernails. I clenched them into fists, roared ferociously and smashed the mirror. Breathing heavily, I punched it a numerous amount of times before I came to a stop.

I sniffed the air. Somebody was scared. Fearful in fact. I spun my body around slowly, seeing Astrid stare at me with horror. I glared down at my hands, soon realising what I had done.

My face softened, my fingers extended slowly and my breathing eased. I held out my arm to Astrid. She took a step back, still uncertain.

"Astrid... I'm sorry." I let out a low but soft growl. "Please... I'm sorry."