Never Say Change, part 1

Shadow Wolf Saga, Book Two: Never Say Change
written by Tiger Larcison.



One: Alpha-Wolf and the Training Beta:


February 10, 2151 C.E.

The sky above Tiger Hills, Virginia was only beginning to show the light of day coming in from the east, which was typical of winter. While the light from the sun slowly ate away at the darkness, several stars shone brightly in the night sky, including Rigel, Sirius, Procyon, and others. A very soft winter breeze blew in an easterly direction, picking up a few strands of powdery snow and dead leaves yet to be raked up by senior citizens.
Zack Hamilton rode on his electric motorbike down toward Storeker High School on the northeast side of town. Given the very low temperatures of the season - it was somewhere in the mid twenties - he knew it was smart for him to wear a three-layer parka. To be honest, he only needed one layer to protect him from the cold, given he was a werewolf. Since lycanthropes were originally from cold climates, this kind of weather didn't really bother him. Plus, his body temperature was around 105.3 degrees Fahrenheit. However, very few people even knew his true nature, so to avoid unwanted attention, he wore a three-layer type. It didn't mean he had to like the heat underneath this thing.
He made the final turn into the school's parking lot, finding his usual space over in the B-lot on the south side, close to the L-shaped building's main entrance. Since it was still only about six-fifteen in the morning, there was practically no one here yet, except for a few staff members. Which usually meant the place was still locked up. Zack, however, didn't mind, as he loved looking at the stars, even when the core of the town's main feature, the prototype orbital elevator, stood out like a beacon in the town's skyline from the starlight. At exactly three kilometers in height and supported by three 5-km-long cables in a triangular layout, it was currently the tallest structure anywhere on Earth, which sort of made Tiger Hills a tourist attraction, even in winter.
He heard the sound of a car approaching from at least two hundred feet away, thanks to his werewolf hearing. That was no doubt Sean Ringer, his best friend and newly-converted werewolf. Since Zack was the one who had personally converted him to save his life, that made Sean a Beta-Wolf, the second rank of leadership in the Pack, behind Zack's Alpha-Wolf position.
Sean drove his Hyundai Accent X into a close-by parking spot about fifty feet from Zack's bike. After turning off the hybrid car and getting out, he came over to his friend. He had on a grey parka, even though he obviously didn't need it because of his new nature.
"Hey, Sean," Zack greeted his friend with the knuckle bump Sean insisted on; personally Zack found that a bit clichéd, but who was he to judge?
"What up, Zack?" Sean replied.
"What's wrong?" Zack inquired. "You sound a bit nervous."
"It finally happened. The transformation." Sean had yet to undergo a full werewolf transformation, so to Zack this was surprising.
"Did anyone see it?"
"No, but I tore up my PJs during the night, and I woke up in werewolf form. It took me five minutes to change back, mostly because of the pain." Sean, needless to say, seemed worried by this.
"We both knew this could happen," Zack told him. "It's one of the side-effects of conversion into a werewolf. The first transformation can happen without warning, remember? We're just lucky it happened while you were asleep. Next time, you'll be in full control." What he didn't say was some uncontrolled changes could be triggered by nightmares, as Zack himself had discovered when he was around 7 years old.
"But what if I can't control the next one?" Sean asked.
"Relax," Zack spoke, putting a hand on his friend's shoulder. "You've managed to control the wildness in you so far. Considering you've only been a werewolf for about four weeks, you're doing very well. Since the first change has finally happened, that means you can now fully control it." He paused briefly, pondering over possible ideas, before settling on one. "I have an idea. After school today, why don't we go to the woods behind my house? There's a clearing a ways up the mountainside, and we can work on your skills there. My mom won't mind."
"Sounds good," Sean answered. Zack then noticed his friend give a weird facial expression.
"What is it?" he asked.
"Huh? Nothing," Sean replied. But Zack suspected he knew what his friend was trying to say. Sean might be better at hiding emotions, but even he couldn't hide them all.
"Do you regret becoming a werewolf?" Zack asked.
"What? No!" Sean stated. "I know there's no going back to being normal. And I've accepted that. I'm just worried my mom will find out what happened."
"Like I said, don't be such a worry-wolf."


"It has happened again?" one voice, a female, asked in the dark space.
"Yes, Herana," replied a deep male voice in an Australian accent.
"This brings the victim count to over twenty, with no witnesses," a third voice commented in his baritone Chinese voice.
"Do the normal humans know of this?" a second female voice inquired.
"They know as much as we do," answered the first male voice. "But they believe one of their own is behind it. Our secret is safe for now."
"Very well," Herana stated. "Concerning the Tiger Hills incident, has it been confirmed one of our own is truly behind these events?"
"That remains categorized as 'Unknown'," came the second male voice. "One of our Watchers reported seeing someone at the site in question, who appears to be a young man, roughly in his late teens in age. It appears he is one of us, and the one responsible. However, conflicting reports makes determining the exact course of events difficult."
"Who among us lives in that town?"
"Only one. The orphaned pup Zack Hamilton."
"He must be summoned to answer for these actions, if he is actually involved."


The extensive woods behind Zack's home covered nearly 100 acres of land. Normally, these woods would have a green color from the leaves, but not for now, given the winter season. Hardly anyone came back here these days, which made it the perfect place to train Sean in mastering the werewolf within him.
Zack walked through the forest with Sean right behind him, stepping lightly over the thick snow cover. Eventually he found the perfect spot for training: a large clearing from a forest fire over twenty years ago. The soil had been rendered partly infertile, so little could grow here.
"This looks good," Zack commented as he and Sean entered the clearing.
"Are we going to get started?" Sean asked, sounding tensed up.
"Right now." Zack took up a position in the center of the clearing while Sean went opposite him. "Let's begin. The basics of werewolf fighting revolve around harnessing the beast within you. Even in human form, werewolves must have a lot of control in a battle, especially when your enemy doesn't play fair."
"Basically, I keep my emotions in check, like a Vulcan," Sean spoke.
"Not quite," Zack corrected. "Eradicating emotions is impossible, even in vampires. What I mean is, you use the power of your emotions to give you strength and stamina. You don't let it all out, because that can cause a state of Rage. You channel the strength such emotions give you, and use it. But like I said, you have to be careful.
"First, let's see how well you fight." He paused before continuing, "Attack me."
Sean briefly hesitated before launching himself at Zack with a full fist, but Zack had time to see that one coming, and easily blocked it, forcing Sean back.
"Try not to hesitate," Zack recommended. "And don't use human speed; werewolves can easily block that. Try using your true speed."
"How?" Sean asked.
"Picture yourself moving faster than the rest of the world. Your body will do the rest."
This time Sean moved at much faster speed, nearly hitting Zack in the chest. Zack blocked it with his arm and countered with a leopard fist, catching Sean's acupressure point above the left breast. Sean recoiled with the impact, briefly grunting in pain.
"Much better," Zack commented. "Again." Sean went even faster, this time with a kick. Zack caught it, and tried to spin Sean around. Sean landed on all fours, and spun himself around in a martial art move to right himself. Again he went on the offensive, improving rapidly with each mock attack. After several fake attacks, Sean finally caught Zack's leg and tripped him. Zack came down on his spine, and was pinned down by Sean's leg.
"Was that too extreme?" Sean asked as he let Zack get up.
"Not in the least," Zack replied. "You're improving rapidly. Let's take a break. Combat training is very taxing." They both sat down on the log at the edge of the clearing. Zack briefly noticed his clothes were partially covered in snow, which he shook off.
"When do we begin transformations?" Sean asked, seemingly revved up. "I think I have the basics of combat training down."
"After the break. If you're up for a lot of pain," Zack said with a warning tone. "The first six changes, including the one you experienced last night, are very painful, but it becomes easier as you do it more often. By the seventh time, you don't feel it at all."
"Why is it so painful the first few times?" Sean inquired. He didn't sound anxious, but rather curious.
"I honestly never learned why, but my guess is the body has to get used to it first. If you think about it, the body is rearranging itself somewhat during a transformation, but not entirely. Overall, the body structure between the two forms is rather similar."
"I think I get it." Sean paused briefly. "Shall we get started?" he asked, standing up. He clearly was ready for this training, Zack noticed as he got up too.
"Okay, then," he spoke. "Let's take this in steps." He paused, concentrating hard. Immediately, his entire body changed into a more wolf-like humanoid form. Dark bluish-black fur with a slight red tint covered him from head to toe, and the now-black hair from his head reached down to touch a two-foot-long furry tail, just above the waistline. On his hands there appeared retractable claws, and his head now had a more wolf-like appearance.
"Why did you change into werewolf form?" Sean asked.
"To serve as a base line," Zack replied, his voice now much deeper and somewhat ferocious sounding. "Start with your right hand. Concentrate on changing it." He watched as Sean held up his right arm and visibly focused. His right hand started growing much more hair, which quickly spread to his upper arm but stopped at the shoulder. The arm also lengthened somewhat, by about five or six inches. Sean grimaced somewhat as his arm changed.
"That wasn't so bad," Sean commented, studying his arm's new form. "Should I keep going?"
"If you want to, but it only gets worse." Zack still wasn't sure if Sean really knew just how painful this was going to get for him.
"I can handle it," Sean said as he visibly concentrated. His entire body now rippled as the skin grew large amounts of fur, his head began changing into a more wolf-like form, and a tail erupted just above the waistline. Sean quickly removed his shirt before it was ripped up by his increasing body mass, but his jeans managed to stay untouched despite being squeezed from within. Eventually the painful motions stopped as Sean grabbed a tree for support.
"Sean, are you all right?" Zack asked, coming over to his friend.
"Yeah, I'm fine," Sean answered in a somewhat deeper voice. His new appearance consisted of red-brown fur, in contrast to Zack's black fur, and the hair from his head, normally short and dirty blond in color, now had grown somewhat, to Sean's upper back, and changed to a dark brown color.
"Now that was painful," Sean added in a pain-laced voice as he sat down on the log, being careful not to sit on his new tail. "Good thing my clothes didn't rip; otherwise, Mom would go nuts."
"Don't say I didn't warn you," Zack replied.
"Are you being sarcastic?" Sean asked, turning to face his friend with his new golden eyes.
"Not that I'm aware of," Zack replied in a steady voice. Much to his surprise, Sean burst out laughing; he actually bent over and nearly fell off the log.
"I'm sorry," Sean spoke after calming himself, "I couldn't help that. For some reason I found that hilarious."
"Don't worry about it," Zack replied. <Where the hell does he come up with this humor?> he wondered privately.