Chapter 12 – Aniya’s change

Nick kept on staring at Aniya, and he then slowly nodded. He took a bite of the food on his fork after blowing it and asked, “You helped her? Like you did with me?”

“Yes. She even said I have a strange ability because I was glowing as I was ordering her to pick up the floor and to smell it and that my voice was enticing and it calmed her. She said it could be because I never changed.”

Nick made a slight smile as he was munching. “I felt the same when you told me to smell the flower. My mother also had that ability. She and my father were the leaders of our small community. There were only ten Werewolves in that community, some couples, and some that were single. They all obeyed my mother and my father. My mother was a calm leader, always worrying about everyone. I am a bit like my father. I act before even thinking about my actions. He was also a good leader, and one heck of a fighter! When someone in our community tried to go against their recommendations, my father wanted to hit that idiot, but one glow and one shout from my mother, and everyone searched for a place to hide.”

Aniya blew at the food on her fork and said, “That’s still one weird ability. Why the need for this? It seems I can use it to make other Werewolves get used to the wolf’s bane, but besides that…”

“Wolf’s packs also have something similar, you know? The leader is known as Alpha, and his female is called Luna, and she shares his power over the pack. Their word is law, and none of the pack members disobey them. The ones that are foolish enough to do it get a few good bites from either one of the leaders.”

Aniya frowned while munching, and she pointed her fork at the smiling man in front of her. “Did you just compare me to a wolf? Because if you did, I want to be the Alpha, and you can be the Luna! Considering you can cook and take care of house chores and such…”

Nick bit his lower lip not to laugh. “Did you just mock me because I can cook and take care of a house? Shouldn’t you be ashamed of not knowing how to do any of that?”

“That is where you are wrong, my dear Nick. I know how to do all that, and much more. This food you made is edible, but if I was the one who did it, you would be crying with happiness by now!”

Nick grinned with his green eyes shining, “It’s my impression, or did you just call me dear?”

Aniya turned bright red and grabbed another piece of pasta with her fork while avoiding looking at him, “Shut up and eat, it’s getting late!”

“You look rather pretty, all flustered like that. I wonder if I can make you even redder…”

Aniya pointed an accusing finger at him. “Stop mocking me, you bloody idiot! Eat it up and shut up! I don’t want you to go all wolfy and ruin my house because you lost time babbling instead of getting ready to be locked up!”

Nick grabbed her finger and leaned over the table to kiss the tip. “Going all wolfy? Where did you hear that? It’s rather funny, actually! And sexy!”

Aniya retrieved her finger and slapped his hand. “Lisa said this when she was teasing me! That crazy redhead is far worse than you! I bet you two would make quite a pair!”

“And why would I want another woman near me if I already have you?”

That remark earned him another slap in his hand. “Have manners! I am not a toy for you to owe me! You have a long way to go for me to even think about wanting you near me, you fool!”

“That’s strange. You didn’t seem to mind much when I kissed you in that pretty office of yours. Or did I imagine things? I could swear I saw you trembling and falling on your knees before that young girl closed the door.”

Aniya took another piece of food and mumbled, “I felt weak because I only ate a slice of bread for breakfast. It had nothing to do with you or your kiss.”

With a disguised smile, Nick approached his glass to hers. “Well, I guess we can at least toast to the beginning of something between us, whatever it may be.”

Aniya raised her glass and said as they tingled, “That I can do. Me, the powerful Alpha, and you, the girly Luna! Leaders of our amazing pack!”

“That’s a nice thought! The pack, I mean, but me as a Luna? Never going to happen!”

Aniya answered as she was taking a sip, “Yeah, keep convincing yourself of that. You might believe it!”

They both burst into laughter and talked about everything and nothing while they finished their meal.
…

After eating and cleaning everything in the kitchen, with Aniya teasing Nick about how girly he looked as he washed the dishes and she was drying them with a kitchen cloth, Aniya guided Nick to her secret panic room. As she was going down the ladder, she felt dizzy, but took that as a sign that Nick’s cooking wasn’t as great as he advertised it.

When Nick joined her in the small room, he whistled, visibly impressed, “Weetwoohweett! How did you build this here? Not to mention how the heck that huge safe door went through that opening in the closet!”

Aniya answered, feeling her stomach trying to spill the contents of the dinner, “The contractor took out the floor of the bedroom upstairs, made all this, and then made a new floor. He told me he used the smallest machinery he had so that my farm neighbours didn’t notice. I wanted all this to remain secret, remember?”

Nick blinked a few times, trying to keep his stomach steady as he looked at his wristwatch. “It’s about time. Better if I go to-“

Then he noticed Aniya was completely pale and had her hand covering her mouth. He approached her and asked, with a worried expression, “Aniya! What’s wrong? Are you feeling alright?”

“No… Your stupid cooking did this. I was feeling dizzy as we were coming down the stairs. Now my stomach is trying to come out from my mouth…”

“Aniya… I don’t think it was my cooking. Come with me. We need to go inside that room and close the door quickly! “

Aniya frowned and stumbled to a nearby wall. She hesitated between the several guns and blades she had on the shelf, and she took a katana, removing the sheath in a continuous movement. “You either go inside and close the door, or I will chop your legs and drag you there. No way I am going inside that room with you!”

Nick approached his chest to the tip of the katana that she was pointing at him with trembling hands, “You will have to kill me because there is no way I am going to leave you here for you to change and go out to kill someone.”

“How… burp… do you know I am going to change? It’s just food poisoning from your cooking! You are a lousy cook and you don’t want to... burp… admit it!”

In a quick movement, Nick grabbed the blade, pushed it to the side, and punched Aniya’s hands on the hilt, disarming her. He then carried her, holding her legs and back, to the panic room. He sat Aniya on the floor and closed the door. The lights turned on automatically, and he rolled the enormous wheel to lock the door, returning to Aniya, who was now lying on the floor on her left side, holding her stomach.

In a low, calming voice, Nick helped her to sit again and said, “Breath slowly, Aniya. You will feel better in no time, but this is just the beginning. The next step is a tremendous pain in your entire body, and you will lose your conscience. When that happens, you will change, and you won’t feel a thing.”

“Nick… I swear… If I don’t change and you try to eat me… I am going to be pissed… and I will go for your eyes first, and your balls after… And if I change and you try something funny when you change, I will tear you apart… You don’t want to mess with me… Mister...”

Nick was biting his lower lip, trying to hold back the pain he was feeling. “I will keep that… in mind. I… am going to that corner... It’s starting... Hold on, Aniya… I will see you again… tomorrow morning…”

Aniya clenched her teeth and closed her eyes because her entire body was hurting. “If you are still… in one piece tomorrow morning… that is… Come to me with those claws… and teeth… and you will see… what happens! Argh! This hurts so much!”

Then, after what seemed like an eternity of pain, suddenly and inexplicably, Aniya stopped feeling anything, as if her body had suddenly disconnected. She frowned because there was only darkness in front of her eyes. She heard bones cracking and felt her body moving strangely, but only that, no pain whatsoever, as if her pain sensors were overwhelmed and her brain shut them down. The feeling was awkward because she felt as if she was inside a tight rucksack, like when she was little and her father sent her for the first time to that awful summer camp.
She went to her face, and felt something soft and squishy, as her head was tighter and tighter against something. She used the fingernails in one hand to take that weird softness away from her eyes, while her other hand went to her stomach and legs, to make room for her body that was becoming bigger by the second.
When she could see the light in the ceiling, she looked at her hand covered with white fur and screamed, but instead of her normal high-pitched scream, a weird howl came from her mouth, or long snout. Her fingernails were now long and sharp claws, with fresh flesh on them, still dripping blood. She looked down as she was standing, and saw that she was coming out of a pile of bloody, warm human meat and skin. She kicked her hand, that was open in half, lying on the floor next to the pile.
Aniya lowered her tall and nightmarish body and picked up one foot, still with the sneakers on it, but even that was ripped in half as if her now bigger and furry foot destroyed the sneaker as it was growing. Next to it, Lisa’s white sweater and ragged jeans were in the pile, covered in red blood and flesh.
The once-Aniya put her left hand on her chest and felt two breasts covered with white fur still there, but they were bigger. In between her thighs and under all that fur, her womanhood felt weird to the touch. A quick check, and yes, there it was behind her, a tail covered in white fur as well, pointing upwards. She walked to the nearest wall, leaving her human remains on the floor to her right.
A quick look to her left to check from where that slurping sound was coming, and there he was. Nick’s dark Werewolf form, eagerly eating his Human remains. Aniya’s snout frowned, disgusted at that sight, and she made a low growl. The sound was enough for the dark wolf to turn to her, and he slowly approached, walking on his muscular back legs and sniffing the air. Aniya immediately lowered her body and pointed two clawed hands at him, as she was growling. The dark Werewolf came to a halt and turned to face the once-Aniya flesh on the floor.

Aniya made a big growl as she was thinking, “|… Where do you think you are going, you ugly thing? Don’t you dare eat me! ...|”