Chapter Four: The Secret Revealed
382 Words
Scott woke the next morning with a pounding headache, his sheets tangled around him like restraints. The memory of the night before haunted him — claws, fur, the moon’s pull. He stumbled into the kitchen, hoping for normalcy, but his father was already waiting at the table, a mug of coffee steaming in his hands.
“Rough night?” Harold Howard asked, his tone calm, almost knowing.
Scott froze. “Dad… something happened. I don’t know how to explain it.”
His father set the mug down and leaned back, studying him with steady eyes. “You don’t have to explain. I know.”
Scott blinked. “You know? How could you possibly—”
Before he could finish, Harold’s expression shifted. His eyes glowed faintly, his jawline sharpened, and in an instant, his face transformed. Fur rippled across his cheeks, his teeth lengthened, and his hands curled into claws. It was the same change Scott had endured, but controlled, calm, almost dignified.
Scott stumbled back, his breath catching. “You’re… you’re one too?”
Harold nodded, his voice steady even in his altered form. “It runs in the family. I was hoping you wouldn’t have to deal with it so young, but the moon doesn’t wait for anyone.”
Scott’s mind reeled. The fear, the exhilaration, the wild energy — it all made sense now. He wasn’t cursed. He wasn’t broken. He was part of something older, something inherited.
“But why didn’t you tell me?” Scott demanded, his voice cracking.
“I wanted you to have a normal childhood,” Harold said softly. “To feel human before you felt… this. But now it’s here, and you need to learn control. The wolf is powerful, but it can consume you if you let it.”
Scott sat down heavily, his hands trembling. “I don’t want to be a freak.”
“You’re not a freak,” Harold said firmly. “You’re my son. And you’re stronger than you think.”
For the first time since the change, Scott felt a flicker of hope. The fear hadn’t vanished, but it was tempered by something else — the knowledge that he wasn’t alone.
The wolf was part of him. And now, he had someone to guide him through it.
- Writer
