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Wolfhood: Reborn

Chapter Four: Surprises

*by TimidTabby *

I'm a Werewolf. I'm a freaking Werewolf!

Aiden's thoughts have been repeating this mantra ever since leaving Gary's house, unable to fully accept the reality of his supernatural situation despite what his eyes; his now feral-like shimmering golden-yellow lupine eyes, observed. For the longest time; Aiden's gaze became transfixed on the eerie animal changes that had once again returned much like from his hallucination from last night. Only now wide awake and seemingly sane, and with Gary confirming that what was happening to him was indeed real, it was difficult for Aiden to convince himself that this was nothing more than a trick of the mind.

_I'm a Werewolf..._Aiden's thoughts continued to chant, turning over his changed hands over and over as he thoroughly examined the thick blacken tips of predatory canine claws replacing his fingernails and the darken calluses padding under his swollen digits and misshaping palms. He clutched them into a fist then splayed his fingers over and over feeling knots in the muscles and joints needing relief as well as simply finding some unusual fascination with how his deformed paws felt as they were. Fantasies (or memories) rushed into his mind, running through the woods as he felt his paws pound the earth in his all fours sprint, relishing the animalistic thrill of tearing into his prey with both fangs and claws, raking his ivory boney weapons gently through coarse yet soft silver fur.

The last thought brought Aiden back from his primal fantasy, confusion setting back in as he wondered briefly why the last image seemed so provocative and sensual for such beasty characteristics. Then again; gushing embarrassment flushed over his body as Aiden remembered where these urges had almost led him a moment ago, recalling the scene in the living room...and with Sophie. Even the scent of the Husky's existence and eagerness was still trapped within his protruding canine nostrils making it even harder for him to ignore the lingering bulge occasionally trying to reanimate within his pants.

Oh god; quit that! Aiden consciously demanded, shifting uncomfortably in his seat in some possible way to make the arousal go down. It's bad enough that I let Gary's dog give me the animal equivalent of a blowjob...Geez; I can only imagine how badly he would flip out if had caught us, or if I ever tell him.

Aiden glanced over to his buddy Gary keeping his head sheepishly lowered as he studied his strangely calm but quiet friend. It was surprising how quickly his friend managed to compose himself after discovering Aiden's sudden relapse into transforming into a Werewolf, his wide eye shock replaced with a curious astonishment. Not that it appeared any better than freaking out like other people might; despite agreeing to give Aiden a ride back to his apartment Gary appeared distant and silent concentrating a bit too heavily on his driving than producing follow-up questions to Aiden's condition or cracking jokes. The only time the silence between them had been broken up for the moment was from Aiden requesting to have the rock music playing over Gary's car radio turned down, the loud music a bit too sensitive for his newly formed lupine ears.

A stoic mood, the lack of jokes or conversation, driving like a sane considerate law abiding citizen for once; this wasn't like Gary at all. This felt like it was an omen; a sign that Aiden's lycanthropic abnormality was weighing heavily on Gary's mind as much as it did Aiden's, revisiting earlier fears that he was going to lose his only friend; be castrated and outcast as a freak.

I don't blame him if he's afraid of me Aiden admitted, his spying eyes turning to the passenger seat window, gazing at the reflection of his face. Look at me...I'm changing again without warning and I don't know if I'm going to stay in control if it will get worse. But...

His thoughts drifted as Aiden ran his fingers carefully over the protruding structure of his short lupine muzzle, examining the contours of his snout and the texture of his darkened animal nose. An odd exhilaration crept within as he continued to study; admire his beastly appearance. Aiden thought it was the wolf inside expressing its excitement, but these emotions felt oddly like his own. Maybe it was both. What was puzzling was why the human part liked it.

_This is crazy. I can't actually 'like' this, can I? I am...sure; I do feel a lot more energy and strength since the wolf came out. And the wolfish features do look kind of cool. These claws, these fangs, this muzzle and ears; I feel like I want it to look proper, to look more wolf. I...I want to be more wolf. _

A warm wave of drowsiness washed over Aiden as his thoughts shifted; altered in a way that he knew didn't feel right, yet he let it slip in lapping up the emotions eagerly. His nostrils flared and his mouth slowly unhinged feeling the urge to pant; adrenaline pumping and heart pounding building up this primal exhilaration he didn't want to fade. Was this the wolf attempting to break free again? Were these really his thoughts and feelings?

I look ugly like this, stuck in-between being caged and being whole. I can feel it, this wild; primal sensation. It's escalating; howling. If I don't change soon I'm going to go crazy. Why can't I change more? Why can't I be...me?

"You two should get a room."

The random joke from Gary brought Aiden back to his senses, staring back at his friend confusingly seeing Gary sport a smirking grin. A mild sense of dread crawled up his spine the moment Aiden realized what his friend had said; panicking that the deed between Sophie and him wasn't a secret.

"The way you were looking at yourself in the window, you look like you're about to kiss or give it a slobbery lick."

Aiden felt his cheeks flush red, sounding a very realistic animal whine nervously grinning ear to ear, relieved that it was a narcissistic joke instead. His soft canine cry had Gary weakly suppressing a laugh.

"You are such a puppy dog right now, you know?" Gary chuckled.

"Better watch what you say," Aiden finally spoke flashing his fangs with a grin. "I could go bloodthirsty beast if you keep this up."

Gary's laughter quickly went silent clearing his throat as he kept his eyes on the wheel, hands gripping tightly. His color looked like it was becoming pale. Seeing this, Aiden frowned with a heavy sigh turning away back to the door side window. "Sorry; I didn't mean to make it sound like I..."

"Dude," Gary snickered with a smile, "You don't need to apologize to me. You can be an easy target when it comes to making fun of you, man. Honestly; I'm just trying to keep you from being a big furry mope right now so you don't start thinking about going off in some animal rage mode or contemplate doing something nasty to yourself. But I guess I can go a bit far sometimes, man. You know I mean well, don't cha?"

Now Aiden was really worried. Gary was actually trying to have a "real talk" moment and it feels sincere.

"Who are you and what did you do with the real Gary?" Aiden questioned with a light chuckle.

"What? I can't be serious? I'm always serious, dude. You know me better than that?"

Aiden had some words to contest that logic, but he swallowed them back down shaking his head amusingly. Laughter filled the car again as the black clouds that had hung over them seemed to disperse and fade.

"So," Gary hummed wittily, "Did you want me to hold your hand?"

Aiden's feral eyes bugged out at the unusual question, baffled further turning his sight back to his friend with his hand extended. "I...um...wha?" was all he could muster.

"Well; you've been staring at out the window for the last few minutes since we got here. Either you're afraid of running into any of your neighbors or the Super having to explain your looks and what else you may have done last night, OR you really were about to kiss your own reflection."

His puzzled expression had yet to relax until Aiden looked out his window again, muttering a resounding "oh" as the two-story apartment complex was indeed right in front of him. A chunk of time must have skipped again whilst being enthralled with his lupine features.

"And when did we get here?" Aiden asked unenthusiastically, some truth towards not wanting to encounter any of the tenants weighing on his mind.

"Not too long," Gary ambiguously answered. "I was just having too much fun watching you fawn over your beastly image. Seriously; were you about to kiss the window?"

A low growl emanated through Aiden's clenched fangs, becoming annoyed by his friend's constant running gag.

"Ok," Gary exclaimed throwing up his hands in defeat, "I'll shut up."

Shut up he did, the whole car in fact returning to its awkward silence as Aiden sat sullen and ashamed. After another minute he finally summoned his courage to open the door and exit the vehicle sluggishly, taking his time shutting the door as softly as he could to not make too much noise. His heart was pounding again, only this time it was due to the uncertainty of the rest of the day, not knowing if his wolf side would hide itself back inside eventually or if he would really change again soon...and what possible havoc he could cause from it. And what if his tenants or the Super pops outside at the worst possible time; how was he going to explain his appearance?

_Where in a million years did I ever foresee myself going through this shit?_Aiden lamented, toppling back against the side of Gary's car, breathing so heavily and hastily it nearly looked like he was hyperventilating.

The driver side door swung open with Gary leaping out and twirling back around as if in a sauve or cool fashion, glaring at Aiden suspiciously. "Dude; you really going to be alright?" Gary asked.

Aiden nodded, though there wasn't enough confidence behind it. "Ye-yeah; I'll be fine. I just...getting past the Super...wondering what to say..."

Gary's hand wiped out towards his wolfish buddy sliding a blue baseball cap over the roof of the car for Aiden to reach and examine.

"You can hide your ears at least," Gary suggested with a snicker. "You're on your own explaining away your hideous face."

A weak chuckle bellowed from Aiden's maw, appreciating the thought and the bad joke. Fixing the cap over his head tucking in his wolf ears within it did help increase his confidence, if only by a little. The helpful gesture from his friend was what improved his spirits and calmed his thumping heart.

"Thanks Gary," Aiden said. "I guess I could just tell them you socked me last night too."

"Oh your date punched your lights out; you could with that too you know?" Gary exclaimed, laughing with Aiden joining in.

"Hey Aiden," Gary spoke up, breaking the short silence between their laughter, "listen, um...let me know when the whole 'changes' thing clears up. I'm thinking about heading up to The Den this evening with Kal and Pratt from work. You think you might be down?"

Aiden smiled weakly looking away to the country road. "Thanks Gary, but maybe I should probably just hold myself up until after the end of this week. You know...cause it's almost a full moon...and I'm not sure how any of this works yet."

"Right, right. Well, hit me up if anything changes...I mean, well you know what I mean right?"

Aiden nodded again turning his attention back to the apartment, eyeing his door. A heavy sigh sounded as he thought about being cooped up in his own den for who knows how long, alone.

"Guess I should hurry inside before...you know," Aiden groaned, shuffling his swollen feet waving goodbye to Gary as he scurried towards the stairs.

"Hey," Aiden heard his friend call back to him half way up the staircase, surprised to see that Gary's face had grown stern, or was it concern? "I'm serious, buddy. If you need me, to talk or come over or hide the dead bodies, you can hit me up alright? You don't have to go through this alone."

Aiden was stunned; he always knew Gary was a good friend to him even though his loyalties were always questionable, but this was the rarest time he ever received genuine validation. It was almost too difficult for him to suppress a tiny tear from forming in his eyes.

I wonder if this means wolves CAN cry too? Aiden pondered amusingly as he waved back once more grinning warmly.

Flashing an animated smile and comically saluting farewell Gary hopped back into his car, blasting his stereo as his engines roared and tires squealed speeding off Fast and Furious -style like he always did. Aiden finished waving as his friend's vehicle disappeared down the slope-end of the road, his smile much more vibrant than bleak.

A much needed wave of respite eased the bloating uneasiness Aiden had been feeling contorting his insides since earlier this morning. Gary's resolve in offering an ear, hand, or company despite knowing that Aiden might potentially be a walking furry killing machine was proof enough his friend still had his back. Out of the many 'enduring' traits that made Gary the unruly selfish jester Aiden had come to know, it was uplifting to know that loyalty to his friends and family was one of them. Knowing he still had someone to rely on, wanting to still be friends with a monster; Aiden's future looked less lonely than he had imagined.

I guess some people do change Aiden thought as his wolfish ears wiggled under the baseball cap picking up the distance yet familiar rowdy cry of Gary hollering and howling.

And some things stay the same.

A loud metal clang and hard slam caused Aiden to flinch halfway up the stairway, shuffling feet rushing out into the parking lot followed by incoherent grumbling. He didn't need to take a wild guess to know it was the Super; sounding annoyed as ever most likely from the noisy commotion from Gary's yelling and reckless driving. Aiden fixed his eyes forward, a light tremble shaking is being as he tried hurrying up the steps carefully and quietly as to not alert the landlord of his presence.

"You!" The Super shouted; his Londoner accent deep and fierce freezing Aiden in his tracks as he just turned onto the second floor.

Crap Aiden cursed mentally, fangs clenched and chattering nervously as he prayed the Super was calling out to someone else.

"I'm talking to you up there, smart guy," the Super bellowed, feeling the cold piercing glare penetrating Aiden's back.

Caught; Aiden kept his face hidden away from the railing only nodding back briefly each time he had to speak. "Oh, hey Nigel. W-what seems to be the trouble?" he asked, cheeks tight from a silly frown sensing he was this close to instinctively adding 'officer' to the end of his sentence (not that Aiden has even been in trouble with the law before; blame the movies).

The Super named Nigel truly appeared in a grumpy mood, though this seemed to be the only expression other than rage or horrific surprise he tended to show often. Standing peeved with his hands gripping the cotton belt of his maroon-ish red robe wearing nothing else but a stained white wife beater shirt and dark polka dotted boxers, you almost think the ruckus had woken the Super out of bed too early in the morning. Aiden; however, had grown accustomed to this seeing Nigel didn't seem to have any other outfits other than a bathroom nearly every time he had the unfortunate pleasure of running into the Super.

The scene would normally be laughable if none of the tenants weren't afraid of getting pummeled by his household protection device; a steel bat. Aiden had only seen Nigel brandish his weapon of choice twice as nothing but a warning to unruly past tenants or an unwelcomed trespasser stirring up an unpleasant situation. But he remembered coming back home one evening passing by a heavily damaged and beat-up car driven by a long-since fled occupant, later hearing that Nigel had gone into a temperamental rage smashing in as much of the vehicle as he could scaring off the frightened sap. A similar torrent of destruction happened a month later in one of the apartment rooms, Nigel having gone through the occupant's room like a tornado breaking almost every possession with his bat.

How he got away with all this was due to the fact that both tenants had criminal records and had amazingly been caught after committing a new crime or an act of total stupidity. Absolute luck. Unfortunately; both of them were also young guys near Aiden's age. This was why Nigel had preferred housing older people near their fifties and why it had been a hassle convincing this somewhat beefy gentleman from renting Aiden a room.

He had Nigel's wife (or long-term girlfriend?) Annabelle to thank for that. Middle age having wrinkled a lot of her physical luster, as well as some bizarre make-up choices, Annabelle managed to smooth talk or charm her way into giving Aiden a chance, reminding her tubby boy toy that his records were clean and that, in her words, "How could you say no to that sweet innocent face? He does remind me of some other once young handsome stud I use to know." Half the time; Aiden would see them fighting or hear them in shouting matches complaining about the gripe of the day between the two love birds. But on rare occasions, including that day, Nigel somehow became puddle in her chin stroking hands easily agreeing and eventually working out the contract.

Maybe if the Miss's was home today she could hurry outside and calm Nigel down quickly for Aiden to make a hasty retreat back to his room, or at least start a new argument as a unintended distraction. Still; knowing Nigel's temper a heated argument was not something Aiden was in the mood to be caught up in, especially if it turned sour leading the Super to move violently towards him...and the wolf deciding to fight back.

"I know you," Nigel loudly insinuated, Aiden's glances catching the stout complex owner waving a finger. "You're that young fellow in 2E, right?"

"Y-yes sir," Aiden replied in stutters.

"Well; lad, you mind explaining to me what kind of wild party you were throwing last night?"

Oh no Aiden panicked, looking past the walkway to his apartment noticing the door left ajar. What did they hear? What did they see?

"I'm really sorry about that," he apologized, formulating some kind of passable excuse. "My date and I were both kind of drunk last night. We weren't throwing a party or anything, but..."

"What's your name again, mister Party Animal?" Nigel abruptly requested.

"A-Aiden," he responded, a soft growl sounding through gnashed fangs feeling frustrated that the Super hadn't learned his name yet...though in this case it could be a godsend if Nigel's memory petered again later.

"Could you show me a little respect and face me when I'm speaking to you? Show some manners to the one that's letting you rent out my housing, mind you?"

"I...uh..." Aiden's right hand reached for the railing of the walkway, hesitant to honor the Super's demand. Unfortunately left without much options, he kept his face hidden as much as he could covering the left half with his left hand, fingers curled to hide his lupine claws.

"What's all this then," Nigel questioned stomping a few steps forward to get a closer look at Aiden from below. "What's wrong with your face? You look like someone beat you with an ugly stick."

Ugly Aiden's thoughts growled, choking back an audible one as he nervously forced a laugh to drown it out. "Yeah, that. Allergic reaction...to...the drinks I had last night. Guess there is something in the beer that doesn't agree with me."

Tense eyes studying the Super noticed his brow furrow suspiciously, Aiden's afraid his poor excuse was stuck on thin ice. "I've never heard of anyone having allergies to alcohol before. Kidney failure from excess indulgence; of course, but blowing up your face? That's a bit of an anomaly."

"Y-yeah...just my luck, right?" Aiden chuckled, his anxiety inflaming wanting to run away and hide in his den already.

Nigel smirked crossing his arms against his chest, one eye squinting from a personal tick. "I figured maybe it was that cheeky red head what walloped you for whatever all that commotion was last night. You didn't try to do anything perverted to set that little minx off, did ya? You know I don't tolerate tenants with unsavory perversions renting out my establishments, amongst other criminal activities, right?"

"No; of course not," Aiden shook his head quickly to clear the air. "I wasn't doing anything sick to...wait. How did you know my date was a red head?"

"One of our 'neighbors' overheard the little minx yelling, said they saw a red head coming down the second story and storming off babbling on like she was in a fit."

"Oh...right." That makes sense. I was afraid her exit may have created some attention. Hopefully that was all this 'neighbor' saw.

"Our 'neighbor' also mentioned he heard some wild animal growling around the place shortly after too," Nigel continued stroking his unshaven chin, giving off this 'high and mighty' complexion that felt unsettling to Aiden again feeling the wolf within react restlessly. "Heard heavy patterin' on the walkway and peeked out his window in time to see some unusual beastie leaping off from the railing and dashing off into the woods. Couldn't tell what animal it was; thought it might be a large dog."

Aiden's heart resumed pounding rapidly, feeling sweat forming underneath his cap trickling down his cheek. "R-Really?" he squeaked out timidly, the knot in his stomach reforming to the news. "That's...crazy. Kinda wish had I seen that."

"Right," the Super agreed inquisitively. "And what exactly were you doing after your 'date' left you hanging high and dry, I gather? I found some paw prints and claw marks near your spot, and the door was left opened. You not lying to me about the unnecessary kinky stuff, or any other illegal notions are you mate?"

Nuts Aiden screamed in his mind, looking again to his apartment door, and then the area around it over the walkway. Nigel's evidence of claw marks scratched over the wooden walkway and dirt paw marks trailing from his ajar door to the stairway were accurate leaving Aiden petrified unable to think of a plausible excuse. If only Gary's dog had as large paws as Aiden apparently did; he could have blamed it on Sophie. But the 'neighbor' said the beast had leapt off the walkway to the ground, not that the wolf had trotted off down the stairs. Were these made the night before the blind date and no one, nor even himself, had noticed? He must have been in a rage after he had transformed, still unable to recall any memory of leaving his apartment. He just remembered ending up on the street, and then the woods.

Surprisingly; his front door suddenly swung open, and Aiden was baffled to see Vivian stepping out. She immediately froze by the door; eyes widened scanning Aiden's appearance as she got a good glimpse of his short muzzled face. It was undeniably perplexing to Aiden why Vivian would come back here after what happened last night, frightened that seeing him in the state he was would make her scream and warn Nigel about his 'Lycanthropic' condition.

So it came as a shock to Aiden as he witnessed Vivian grinning warmly as she approached the railing of the walkway.

"Trust me," Vivian talked back to Nigel, "the only kinky stuff went on in his bedroom, and that's really none of your business."

Is she...defending me? Aiden wondered, mystified; his cap lifting off his head slightly as his lupine ears went erect in similar astonishment.

"You're right," Nigel grumpily nodded. "I really don't need to know the details. Then why was Charles complaining about some animals making such a racket then, coming from this lad's apartment?"

Charlie Aiden growled silently, remembering his crotchety next door neighbor that always complains about every little sound that came from his bedroom, even if it was just a cough. The walls between rooms were apparently paper thin, or the old man had extremely sensitive ears. He could have sworn Charlie was out of town this week.

Vivian smirked, turning her head to Aiden with a smile. "You're right; you really don't want to know the details. But if you're complaining about any wild animals, there were only two in Aiden's room last night." She winked at Aiden giggling.

Funny Aiden chuckled mentally, uncertain how to take Vivian's remark.

"Right; I get it," the Super scoffed. "So then you don't know anything about any beastie clawing up the Walkway up there only a few minutes after you stormed off, do ya?"

"Sorry, didn't see one. I was too busy helping Aiden catch a taxi so we could get him to a doctor."

Both Nigel and Aiden shot gawking glares at Vivian.

"Well; you see his face, right? The moment I realized how bloated it had gotten during...well, you know. I was a bit hysterical myself; I've never seen anything like that before with any of my dates. I had to help him walk into town before a cab finally showed up."

"Funny," Nigel huffed crossed arms squeezed tighter, "I wasn't told the boy was with you when you were leaving."

Vivian snorted shooting back a stern glance. "Well you're 'neighbors' should mind their own business too, or at least get their eyes and ears checked."

Aiden watched the two in a stand-still, Nigel's eyes darting back and forth between him and Vivian before he threw up his hands and sighed. "Alright, alright. No need to bark, miss. Just making sure the peace is kept around here. I got other tenants to worry about and appease than just the boy here."

Vivian smiled widely expressing her victory as she approached Aiden and took his hands, unfazed by his claws and pawpads as she held them tight and nudged him to follow her. He took the hint while glaring back to Nigel frustratingly.

Stop calling me boy Aiden growled in thought, his lips urging to flare and flash his fangs before being tugged away.

"Just one more thing," the Super called back up stopping the couple from slipping into his apartment. "Try to remember to lock your door. I understand the bizarreness of the situation, but anything of value that gets snatched up or property that gets damaged because of a lapse in judgment is on your heads. I'm not going to replace or fix anything on account of your faults, right?"

"R-r-right," Aiden stuttered, his voice carrying an animal tone left over from his urge to growl as the two finally entered the apartment and shut the door hearing the locks snap into place.

Nigel shook his head as he walked back into his office/home. "These young kids these days," he said, scratching the side of his head.