Chapter 18.1 - New Werewolves for the pack – part 2

Aniya put her index over his lips and slowly shook her head, “Not possible. I am the unsuspected daughter and heir of a very long Hunter’s bloodline family. I have been training since I learned how to walk to fill my role in their organization, and I will do just that. I intend to learn everything I can about them so that when needed, we have the upper hand. They seem to have way too many resources and people working for them, considering the huge list of people suspected to be a Werewolf that my father showed me, and for a businesswoman like I am, that can’t happen. My rivals can’t know more about me than I know about them. I learned this with my mother, and this situation can be addressed as a business. A mortal one, but still a business, and I am very good when the matter is business.”

Nick gently grabbed her hand and kissed the tip of her index finger with a kind smile, “At least promise me you will be careful, and the moment you sense something is wrong, run away as fast as you can.”

“That I can do, my cute Alpha.”

Nick grinned, “Now you call me Alpha? What changed? Moments ago you were still mocking me and calling me Luna!”

“Because you said Luna suited me better, and I was level-headed and always in control, while you were strong and more reckless than you should be. You already proved how reckless you are when you went so casually to visit me in my company, almost bumping into my father and getting yourself killed.”

As he was speaking, Nick got up and kissed Aniya’s forehead. “He wouldn’t be able to kill me just like that, you know? These muscles are not only for show, I am actually very strong. I will be right back with the food because we must eat, talk some more, and go to the panic room to wait for the change. Lisa, care to help me bring the food?”

“I am right behind you, Alpha!”

Everyone looked at her, and she shrugged with a big smile. “What? Might as well get used to calling our leader like that, no? I will be right back with your nourishment, Luna!”

With a final wink at a surprised Aniya, Lisa rushed to follow Nick to the kitchen.
…

After cleaning up everything in the kitchen, Aniya guided everyone to her room and opened the disguised entrance to her panic room.

They all followed her down the ladder, and Lisa looked around the secret room, with her mouth half-open, “Ooh! This place is amazing! You even have weapons here! Is that the panic room? Such a thick door!”

Aniya pointed to the table that was near the corner and the chairs around it. “It’s better if we take out our clothes and put them here. Last time I didn’t have time to undress, and I ruined my clothes. I even lost my rings, earrings, and belly button piercing among all the flesh that was left behind.”

Without waiting for anyone, Lisa quickly took off her clothes, while Anna Kent was glancing at Jack Holland with her face all red.

Lisa put her hands on her waist and looked at them in all her glory. “What are you waiting for? Chop, chop! Take your clothes off and let’s go to the panic room! I am already feeling a bit dizzy, and you all know what that means!”

Aniya and Anna turned their backs to the men, and they both quickly took off their clothes and followed Lisa to the panic room. Nick and Jack Holland undressed as well and met them inside, with Nick locking the door and turning the big wheel to block it. Lisa and the others went to one corner, with John facing the wall so that he didn’t look at the women while Aniya was near Nick on the other extreme of the room, and already panting from the increasing pain.
As the seconds went by, the pain got bigger and bigger, and while Aniya and Nick sat on the cold floor and pulled their knees to their chest, Lisa, Anna, and John were screaming in pain, curled into a fetus position, and contorting on the floor.
Aniya closed her eyes and felt her body changing. Strangely, the pain diminished, even with the cracking sounds and her insides shifting into position. She opened her eyes a bit, and saw Nick at her side, taking quick breaths as his body increased in size. She saw him scratching his chest, and his fingernails turning into thick, sharp claws that began taking pieces of his flesh with each scratch.
Without even realising it, Aniya was scratching her body as well, and she only looked at her hands when she felt them wet. Fresh blood was dripping from her now furry white paws, and she went to her legs next, removing the flesh and skin that were covering her increased body as if she was removing a shell.
Her head felt squashed, and Aniya grabbed her face and the top of her head and ripped it apart, letting two pieces of her once blond head and pretty face fall on the ground, next to the remains of her former human body. She kept on peeling her body, as if she was simply cleaning herself, when in fact, she was dropping meat, blood, and skin with each movement.

Aniya looked at Nick, who was already standing, taking from him the last bits that were from his former body. She questioned him, still unsure if he was there or not, “|… Nick? Are you with me? ...|”

“|… Yes, I am here. Is it just me, or did this time hurt less? And it was so quick! ...|”

“|… I also thought it was weird because yesterday I felt like dying from pain, but today it was still excruciating but didn’t last that long. ...|”

Nick pointed one dark paw to the others, and his voice reached Aniya’s mind, “|… They are already eating the flesh. How do you want to do this? ...|”

Aniya grabbed Nick’s dark paw and took one slow, deep breath, and her voice reached Nick’s puzzled mind, as they were both glowing, “|… Focus on me and our light and remain silent. Yesterday I didn’t need you to do anything, but it’s better if you get ready just in case I cannot control them. ...|”

“|…You will, Aniya, don’t worry. Don’t doubt yourself or our bond. My mother could control so many Werewolves with only her light and a shout because she never, for one moment, doubted she could do it. ...|”

Aniya growled at the same time she shouted in Nick’s mind, making him flinch, “|… Did you just compare me with your mother, you bloody idiot? I will remember this next time I catch you staring at my boobs! ...|”

Nick had his head stuck to his shoulders as if he was being pressured by Aniya’s light, and he pointed to the other side of the room, where three Werewolves were looking at them and growling, “|… Can you point all that anger at them? They finished the meat, and it seems they didn’t like to see us! ...|”

Aniya looked at where he was pointing, and she could easily recognise Lisa McCarty, the only one with copper-coloured fur and a curvy figure, way more than her slender Human body used to have. Anna Kent and Jack Holland had similar dark brown fur, and Anna was also curvier and had the same eight as the other two next to her. They were all looking at Aniya and Nick and growling, scratching the floor with their back paws and the nearest wall with one front paw, as if the sound they were making with their claws was meant to scare their targets.

Instead of becoming frightened, Aniya got angry, and as her light increased to a blinding level, she made a loud growl, and her voice shouted inside everyone’s minds, “|… Stand down this instant! Don’t make me use your bodies to wipe this floor! Silence! I said silence! Sit down this instant unless you want to get your asses whopped! ...|”

To Nick’s surprise, they immediately sat on the floor and looked down, as if they were too embarrassed to face Aniya. Then, Lisa’s voice reached them, a little hesitant at first, “|… A… Aniya… I… am here! I am here, Aniya! This is so cool! Look at my hands! So big! I have big boobs! Aniya, my boobs are huge! ...|”

Right after her, Anna and Jack spoke, hesitant in the beginning, and then, also not believing they were in full control of their scary new bodies.
Anna Kent looked back and made a low growl, and then everyone heard her voice. “|… Did… Did I really eat my Human body? That is so disgusting! My parents told me I always did that when I changed, but actually seeing the pool of blood and no flesh... it’s disgusting! Why do we do that? What’s the point? …|”

Nick explained, and hearing his voice in their heads, sounding so confident, made them all look at him, Aniya included. “|… I was once told that this could be a defensive mechanism. Getting rid of any proof of the change makes a Werewolf more difficult to find. And when he changes back in the morning, the Werewolf body turns into dust, leaving no traces behind. Since Aniya and I didn’t eat our Human flesh, give me a few minutes to put all this in two bags while you get used to your new bodies. It’s tricky at first to control because it’s so different, but you will get the hang of it really quickly. …|”

Nick caressed Aniya’s head with his long snout and went to the big wheel to open the door. Aniya approached the others and sat on the floor in front of them. “|…It seems it worked. I guess you don’t need to fear the Hunters anymore. If they test you with the wolf’s bane, you won’t feel any pain, and next time you change, you won’t need to be restrained or fear you would kill someone. ...|”

Lisa was opening and closing her enormous paws, and her voice said inside their heads, “|… I think it would be better if we came here on the next full moon, just to be sure we could still be awake. This change sure was painful, but as usual, I passed out in the beginning, and then I heard Aniya shouting in my head, and I immediately knew I did something bad. I have no idea what it was, but you sounded furious, Aniya! ...|”

“|… Of course, I was angry. You were all getting ready to attack me and Nick! Not that you would be able to, but I didn’t want to beat you guys! ...|”

“|… Oops! Sorry for that! So, what do we do now? I am not tired, but I still need to find out if I can walk like this. ...|”

Aniya pulled her up and explained, “|… It’s not that hard. Yesterday I was even able to run on four paws. Three, in the beginning, because I was carrying a bag with the remains of my Human flesh. By the way, Nick! Come here, I remembered something! ...|”

Without looking back, Nick was leaned over the pile of flesh that used to be Aniya’s body, scraping it with his claws to the bag he was holding, one bag already filled with his remains, and his voice reached them, “|… What? I am cleaning over here! You thought about something weird, right? ...|”

“|… That is an awfully rude thing to say, you bloody idiot! I think we need to dig a hole to hide the flesh you are cleaning, and we could put it in the same place we went yesterday, and while we are at it, search in the bags already buried for my jewellery! ...|”

Nick stopped scrapping the floor and looked back to face the tilted and angry snout of Aniya. “|… Do you really want to search among the already rotten flesh for some jewellery? Really? ...|”

“|… Of course, I want to! Do you have any idea how much all that jewellery is worth? I may need to pawn it so that we have funds and no one suspects where I am spending my money! ...|”

“|… You are planning so far ahead? We just got three Werewolves to join us, and you want to have funds? For what? ...|”