Lone Wolf.

I don't even remember gaining consciousness, much less getting back on my own two human feet, but I find myself already stumbling towards Serena's window, holding my side and trying not to bleed out.
At least I'd found my pants again.
She gasps when she hears the thud against the window and opens up, helping pulling me through.
"J-John, oh my god," she whimpers, her eyes filled with fear. "What did-oh my god."
I take a few deep breaths, trying to take control of the shakes and my body breaking out into cold shivers. "M'f-fine."
That's the biggest lie I have ever fucking heard," she squeaks, rushing to her bathroom and bringing back a cold wet rag. I cry out when she places it over the wound in my ribcage. She winces and looks around hastily. "T-Tweezers, where the fuck are my-"
"What do you - ah - need tweezers for?"
She rummages through things on her dresser, her hands knocking them over. "We need to get the bullet out."
My breathing grows ragged and I let out a weak chuckle. "Not sure you'll want to use them after."
She shakes her head ferociously with tears in her eyes. "Why would you do that? How could you do something so stupid?"
I look up at her as she kneels beside me. I focus my gaze and pant, "Y-You just got her back. I couldn't let you lose her again."
She meets my eyes and she looks like a mix of worry and sincerity before shuffling back to her feet. "Uh, c-cotton balls. Bangages...Alcohol. I need alcohol."
"Don't think you're the one in need of alcohol right now," I mumble with half ass humor. I could feel the blood trickling through my fingers as I applied pressure, only covering my hand in red. My breath comes out shaky and I prompt myself not to look.
"I need to get you a bigger towel," she says, pacing for things and going left and right.
I shake my head, not taking my eyes off her, willing myself to stay conscious. "You don't need anything. Just stay with me."
Serena frowns before reaching for some kind of kit near her dresser, then heading into the bathroom. She drops to the ground once she's back and presses something that feels like fire to the wound, making me cry out for a moment before biting down on my fist. It didn't help when I feel her prodding inside with the cool metal, sending a jolt of pain through me again. I yelp in discomfort as I hear a small clink of the bullet falling on the hardwood.
"Shh, keep it down, he might come back," she mutters, dabbing at the gauge. She pours more liquid onto the rag and I squeeze my eyes shut. Guess she'd found the alcohol.
"I can't believe this happened," she mutters under her breath, disbelievingly. "I shouldn't have ever-"
"You couldn't have stopped me if you tried," I wheeze, smiling a bit.
She stares at me hard before shuffling inside the kit. "I'm going to stitch you back up. It's not a surgical needle and thread but we need to close it."
"Where'd you learn to stitch wounds?" I ask as I watch her pull the thread through the needle. It was enough to distract me from the pain for a bit.
Her eyes move from mine. "I didn't. I know how to sew."
I feel my face go pale and swallow hard, sitting back to prepare. I was a second away from asking her if she had any real alcohol.
Ten excruciating minutes later, and she's pulling the last of the thread through my skin, making me wince and my head spin. To think I was even still conscious was beyond me.
"I feel lightheaded," I mumble, my eyes heavy, whether from the fatigue or the loss of blood I wasn't sure.
She rests her hand on my jaw to make me look at her. "Stay with me. I'll go get some water. I'm serious, John, you better stay awake so I can yell at you."
I chuckle and send her a weak thumbs up before sighing. At least the worst was over.
Or maybe it wasn't. As my mind started working, I could only think of the aftermath of all this. They were going to keep their eye out for us now, and my need to be free would be much more limited, and with a lot more risk. Where could I go without the police coming after me? I didn't need animal control gunning me down, either. I couldn't let them find out what I was before I could even understand it.
Huffing, I grab a hold of the edge of Serena's bed and pull myself up, grunting from my aching side. Fuck, some pain killers would feel really-
"John!" Serena gasps, rushing back into the room with the glass in hand and a bottle of pills. I really did love her.
"You have to stay still, you've got to be careful, I-"
"I'll be fine, darlin'," I assure her, shaking my head as I walk over to he her laptop. "If I'm lucky, I'll heal faster than most."
"What are you even doing?" she mutters and brings the water and medicine with her.
I open up the bottle and take two, throwing them back before opening up her browser. "I finally got to talk to your mom and I still know no more than I did before about our biology. There has to be an answer somewhere."
"You shouldn't be worrying about that right now," Ser retorts, her voice a bit shaky. "You almost got killed. I could have lost you."
I look up and see the disdain in her eyes. I bring my hand up to touch her cheek, Serena leaning into it and cupping it gently.
Okay," I answer quietly before pausing. "Wait, I...your mother. Fuck."
"It's going to be okay-"
"How are we supposed to know where she went? I have no idea what happened after I blacked out!" I shout as I stand too quickly, wincing instantly.
Serena frowns and helps me lower back into the chair. "Just take it easy. You already did your part. She had to have had time to run off. She'll know what to do, John. You saved her."
I grit my teeth, not convinced but needing to believe that she had enough time to get away when I took the bullet for her. If I didn't, it will have been for nothing, but I had faith in Accalia. Instinct and intuition were always on our side.
Our. It felt so odd to think there was more than one of me now, or whatever I was rather.
"We should go look for her," I try to convince Serena. Something told me she wasn't going to budge though.
"You're not going anywhere."
My lips twitch slightly. "And if your dad comes?"
"...I'll put you out."
My head instinctively nuzzles into her stomach and she pets my hair, somehow assuring me that everything would turn out okay. That her mom would be okay. That we'd be okay.
Because I'm too restless to sleep, Serena allows me to do some research to try and gain some peace of mind. But Accalia was right; these myths were no different from the things you hear in fairytales.
However, about eight pages deep in research, I stumble upon something a bit different. It was styled as an old archive, with a basic design but a list of resources and links. At first glance it doesn't seem reliable but at first click...
Pages and pages of information and scanned articles and short excerpts from books. I draw closer to the screen as my brows furrow, skimming through strange illustrations and myths and folklore. One of the passages included a story of man turning into 'sinful beasts,' whose transformation started with fire and ended with hair all over his body, and with the unquenchable thirst for human flesh. I automatically scratch that off the list of possibilities, next to other tails of sharp toothed cannibals and wild savages who could no longer walk on two legs. Nothing quite fit my...symptoms or description. I was growing weary and tired and if it wasn't for not being able to sleep, I would have done it long ago.
Just as my hope begins to dwindle, I give one last page a chance and read on, about disappearances, odd behavior, but again, it was most likely related to actual animal attacks. Until I look over on the next page and see a tribal old drawing that resembled an oversized dog, its ears pointy and slanted as its nose pointed to the ground. Next to it, it spoke of a man trapped inside one of nature's dog's bodies.
The transition is difficult for some, for others hell. Aside from the fevers that occur with this metamorphosis, an extreme loss of hair begins, as well as a raise in temper. In the last hours before the final form, a fire spreads throughout the victim's body, setting off the new gene and calling to awake the wolf inside, longing to roam the wild freely. It is believed for some of these half breeds to find true wolf packs and blend in with them, choosing to never return and remain in one form.
I suck in a breath, instantly searching for the name of the author or article, anything I could use to find more on this. It was exactly what happened to me when I shifted, and if I could find out how or why, then maybe there was a way to change it.
There's a sudden rustling and then a tapping against Serena's window and we both jump, the sound shaking Ser out of her sleep in her bed.
It was Accalia, draped in the same blanket from before, her face slightly dirty but smiling straight through it.
Serena quickly walks over to open her window and help her inside, remaining as quiet as possible.
"Mom, are you okay?" she asks worriedly, sitting her down.
"I'm fine, baby," she hums.
I swivel around as my eyebrows crease. "I...What happened?"
"You jumped in front of me is what happened. I couldn't stay to see if you were alright because Roderi...the sheriff was on my tail. I had to wait it out until they cleared the area. I thought the worst when I returned and you were gone."
I give a shrug. "Didn't have time to leave a note."
"I owe you my life, John."
I take a heavy sigh and chuckle. "Nah. Just your approval to date your daughter. Please. Your husband's already shot me."
Accalia smirks and looks over at Ser. "He's a smart one, is he?"
She smiles and her mother sighs. "Alright. I'll have to lay low for a while so I'm traveling north to Flagstaff. It won't be safe by the Lake for a few weeks, most likely."
Serena frowns. "But then when will I see you?"
Accalia stands and cups her daughter's cheek. "As soon as this all dies down. I'm not going to disappear again. I promise." Her lips brush to the crown of her head and Ser nods with a sigh, giving her mom a firm hug goodbye.
"Take care of my girl for me, John," she requests. "I know you'll guard her well."
I nod until she takes off, climbing back out the window and discarding of the blanket, shifting magically beneath it before disappearing into the stark night.
"So can we sleep now?" Ser mumbles sleepily, glaring at the computer I've been sitting at for almost three hours.
I chuckle and carefully make my way over. The wound didn't hurt as much anymore, and now that I had found something to mildly satisfy my curiosity, and knowing her mother was safe, I could rest easy.
"I don't see why not," I murmur, curling into her side and burrowing my head near her stomach. "You sure your dad's not gonna show up in the morning and throw me out using a broom? Or you know, a shotgun?"
She giggles and plays with my hair. "No, after this whole event, he's probably going to keep himself at the office all morning."
I hum and let my heavy eyes start to close, surrounding myself with all that was good and thinking of nothing else but her scent. "Good," I say under my breath before hooking an arm around her waist. It's quiet except for our breathing, until she quips, "I'm really glad you're okay and I'll never be able to thank you for what you risked to save my mother's life."
I feel myself smile softly and sigh. "Oh, Darlin'," I mewl before sticking my head beneath her hand again. "This is thank you enough."