Lone Wolf.

My spine crackles as the wave hits me, sending me on my four legs to a crouched position. I feel my ears prickle, then stand up like flags as I heard the breaking of a twig on the ground. They only rise further when the smell of food hits me and I tilt my head to the side.
"Down, wolf boy," Serena giggled. "It's just me."
I lick my snout as she holds out a loaf of bread, dangling it before me. I approach but when I try to take it between my teeth she raises it over my head. "Ah ah ah," she scolds playfully. "Manners."
I whine disapprovingly as I turn, kicking up dust at her. She better not expect me to sit-
"John," she sings and slips something out of her purse. Shit, that's more than just bread.
Her eyebrow arches knowingly, a smirk growing on her lips. No way. I would not fall to her feet. She couldn't make me.
I stick my nose defiantly in the air, sniffing at the ground as my way of ignoring her. I'd eaten earlier anyway. I was used to not eating while I was out here so I didn't mind it when my stomach felt empty.
Serena sighs and plops down as she crosses her legs. "I was just kidding around. Here." She parts the bread in half, holding the first out to me. I walk over and prop my paws up on her bare leg in shorts, the pads of my feet feeling tender against her skin.
Before I could finally take a bite, she rapidly takes one of my paws in amazement and presses her thumb into the center, giggling. "Oh my God, it's so squishy."
I shoot her a look before at last being able to knock the bread out of her hand. God, she treats me like a fucking puppy.
I'd start letting her hang out around me for the mere fact that she'd show up anyway even if I were to try to refuse her. She'd discovered my reserved go to spot and has come ever since we'd bumped into each other. Nothing could stop her from joining me, even if it was just to watch me.
"D'ya want some more?" she asks as she reaches into her bag again, pulling out a small ziploc. Are those fucking doggy treats?!
I growl, snapping for the other half of the bread. I wasn't going to be reduced to being treated like a pet.
"Geez, no need to get offended," she mumbles as she gets what she was really digging for, looking down at her feet. "I brought human food too. I wasn't sure what you preferred. Those were my dog's favorites."
My gut suddenly pangs with guilt at the fact that she had even bothered to think of me. I was so ungrateful. I hadn't thanked her for the bread either.
Letting out a soft sigh, I nudge her cheek with my nose, licking it softly. It brings a smile to her lips and she runs her fingers through my coat of white and gold. My face makes its way into her own dark hair, giving her the small luxury of actually coaxing me. I suppose if she was going to do something as considerate as bringing me things to eat, I could at least allow her what she wanted.
We sit there in silence for a while before she presses her forehead to mine, scratching behind my ears. "Your nose is cold."
I shake my head, amused and wanting to laugh. My nose was always cold. And wet.
Her eyes stay on mine until she smiles. "Here, since you're so touchy about food. You like beef jerky, right?"
Oh now we're talking,I think as she holds a stick out for me. I happily bite into it and chew, resting my head in her lap. She places her hand on my back, stroking my fur and sending an involuntarily chill down my spine.
"Can I ask you something?" Serena asks. "I don't want to pry but I'm curious."
I look up at her, trying to translate that I wouldn't exactly be able to answer properly.
"It's a simple question," she chuckles, playing with my ear. She loved to do that, and she loved that it irritated me.
"One wag for yes, two for no?" she suggests as she lightly pulls on my tail, causing me to flinch. She may as well be tugging on my-
"Is it hereditary? Like, is your family like this too?"
I unenthusiastically flick my tail twice, dust floating into the air. She had no idea how much I'd rather communicate with her through words, instead of pulling tricks for her to understand. It was easier than having to find ways to comprehend. Then again, my natural awkwardness would probably get in the way of anything else I'd try to say.
She bites her lip. "Your parents...do they know?"
I hit the ground with my tail twice again. If they were aware that their son was part wolf, I'd probably locked away in some research lab.
"Am I the only one that knows?" she mutters, holding my gaze.
I move it once in a wagging motion in her direction. Sadly, I'd never had the courage to tell the truth to even my closest friends, in fear of them being unable to accept me. Or at least that side of me. They'd just think I was a freak.
"Have you always been like this? When did you turn wolf? In your teens? Or when you were little? Or did it come with puberty-"
I whine, turning my head to look up at her. That was more than just one question, and definitely not simple ones. They were ones that took deeper explaining and required being vocal. Not that I necessarily wanted to talk about it.
She suddenly pulls my muzzle into her chest, leaning down to rest her chin on my head as she kept one arm securely around my frame. I couldn't help but close my eyes from the comfort she offered. It's the first time I've ever felt...safe. I truly believed that she was the only one with that effect on me.
I lean up to lick her face appreciatively, causing her to giggle. "And you say you're not a puppy," she teases.
The sun began to set not too long later and she sighs. "I should probably get going before it gets dark."
I nod, moving off of her and sitting on my hind legs. I watch as she rises to her feet, brushing off the back of her shorts before turning to me. "Same time tomorrow?"
Giving her a wolfy grin, I flick my tail once as I hit the ground.
She couldn't keep away if she tried, but I don't think I could either.
~
I can't help but laugh at the confused look on Serena's face when she finds me at the lake as usual, though not with big floppy ears and a tail tucked between my legs.
"Do you really dislike me that much as a human?" I ask playfully, smirking.
She shakes her head. "I just...wasn't expecting to see your real face, that's all. I brought crackers."
I chuckle before seating myself near the lake, slipping my bare feet into the first treads of the water. My toes curl beneath to move the rocks, causing little ripples to stir.
Serena sits beside me, her proximity making my hands sink a bit deeper into the damp dirt. It was so strange having her this close and not touching me or reaching for my ears.
I guess that only worked as a wolf.
"So, is there a reason you're gracing me with your humanly self?" she chuckles, tucking her feet beneath her. She holds out a pack of crackers and I take one.
I look out over the lake, watching the breeze shake the branches on the other side of the lake, the woods that I would scavenge in the early mornings and sometimes into the late night. "It's easier to talk this way," I explain before looking at her. "Answer those questions."
Her eyes widen slightly, not tearing away from mine. Like a moth to a flame, I couldn't escape the flicker in her illuminating blue eyes. It made my brain buzz. I was sure that if I had come as a wolf and she looked at me like that, my fur would be standing on edge.
I clear my throat and look back to the trees, placing my hands in my lap, rubbing my thighs nervously. "No, I wasn't always like this. I had a normal childhood, nothing weird-well, nothing out of the ordinary or supernatural," I add with a chuckle. "I was a normal kid just like anyone else.
"It didn't really hit me until after my teen years. I think it was maybe when I was 20, 21 years old that the signs started to show. They were the weirdest symptoms. I'd wake up in a cold sweat at random times of the night, and I'd have scratches on my arms." I run a hand through my unruly hair as I remember those days. "People must have thought I was suicidal or something. It was terrifying; I thought maybe I was going crazy. But then my hair would fall out in the showers, then grow out the next day like it was nothing. My appetite got bigger and so did my temper. I didn't know what the hell was going on.
"Then things got better. The weird symptoms seemed to disappear and I felt fine. I was more energetic, and stronger. I started working out and gained muscle faster than I had before. I could hear better, smell better, see better. And I already had 20/20 vision but...it's like everything around me was so much more vivid and I was aware of everything happening around me."
Serena listens intently, and even without my instincts as a wolf, I could feel her watching my face closely. As if she were searching for cracks on a perfect pavement. Of course the story eventually had its climax.
I take a deep breath as I get to the hard part, the part that I liked to push to the very back of my brain, suppressing the painful memories of when I first turned.
"One night, the cold sweats came back and I couldn't stop shivering," I mutter softly as I stare down at my hands, upturning them so my palms were facing me. "I remember how I could hardly grab a hold of anything...not the door, not a phone to call for help, nothing. I stumbled into the backyard eventually, but everything felt too bright. Everything that I could hear and smell and see better....I could all do it too well. I covered my ears to try to stop it, but it wouldnt go away. So I tried running away from it, as far as I possibly could.
"I ended up somewhere in the desert, or that was as far as I got anyway. Before I knew it I was collapsing to the floor and my body was burning. Every inch of my skin was scorching. It wasn't just some fucked up fever. It felt like...like someone was ripping me open, tearing me limb from limb and somehow putting a fire inside me, trapping it there. And as much as I tried, I couldn't escape it. I couldn't even move. I laid there and screamed. I screamed until it finally happened. My bones were different, my body was different - I was different."
I didn't realize I'd been fixated on the water remembering the relief of finally becoming a wolf until I felt her hand on top of mine, squeezing gently. I bite my lip as she leans into my side. She kept her face warmly in my neck, and we don't say anything more. She understood and I think that had always been there from the start. Since the moment our eyes met, the connection didn't break, even when we looked away, and even when I wasn't me. Everything always just translated without having to say a word.
"It doesn't hurt anymore, does it?" she asks beside me.
I smile softly. "No. No, it doesn't."