Love Beyond Human

“A NEW CHAPTER”

“The Next Chapter," revolves around the next generation of Ethan's family. Hunter, who is now 12-year-old, struggles to fit in as human due to his inherited werewolf genes. His younger brother, Spencer, 10, exhibits excessive hair growth, but his behavior is less animalistic than Hunter's.

Hunter wakes up from a vivid dream, groaning in pain and panting heavily. He feels extremely thirsty, so he goes to the kitchen to get some water, so as he grabs a glass he gulps down three glasses of water, but his thirst only intensifies, he drank another, still not satisfied. So he gets ready for school, he goes to the bathroom and began to take his shower, he notices a pool of blood draining from him in the shower. Frightened, he tries to calm himself down, convincing himself it's just paint. After the shower, Hunter approaches the mirror, feeling uneasy. As he gazes at his reflection, he's shocked to see a large, eerie figure staring back, growling at him. The beast emerges from the mirror and attacks Hunter. He jolts awake, realizing it was just a dream. It's 7:03 AM, and school starts in 27 minutes. Hunter was late. Hunter rushes to the kitchen, where his parents, Ethan and Emily, have already prepared breakfast for him and Spencer. "Hey, Mum," Hunter says, “Hey sweetie, how was your night.” His Mum, Emily asks, “Oh-Umm, it was fine, I guess.” he said gulping down his cereal. "Okay, Mom, I'm heading to school now, bye," he says, grabbing his bag. “Wait, you forgot your lunch," Emily reminds him, but Hunter slams the door shut, interrupting her. "Can I have Ethan's lunch?" Spencer asks, but Emily declines. "Where's Dad?" Spencer inquires, concern etched on his face. "He's hunting," Emily responds. “Ohh.” Spencer replied

At school, Hunter is known for being shy and quiet, with distinctive features like dark hair, blue eyes, and pale skin. Despite this, he's often mocked by his peers. Meanwhile, Spencer is popular and smart, mostly made fun of for is hairy look, he has blond hair, grey eyes, and a confident demeanor. During break time, Hunter's mom brings him lunch, he runs towards her asking why she's here."Mom, what are you doing here." "I came to give you your lunch, silly." She responded playfully. "Ohh Thanks mum” Hunter said, grabbing the food. "Hope your good?" Emily asked intently. "Yeah I am, I'm sorry for shouting at you." He said, with sincerity. "No it's fine, just wanted to know how your doing. Alright sweetie I'll be heading out now." She said waving at hunter. "Bye." "Bye Mum." Hunter said waving back at her. So he decides to take his food to the cafeteria. However, Angela, a classmate, teases him. “Hey, isn’t that the dog boy eating.” One girl taught.” “What do we have here, Awwn our class pet is eating, steak. Ha! This never gets old.” The girl continues to taught, grabbing his food and throwing it to the ground. "Why don't you go fetch, doggy?" she says, laughing with her friends. "Please leave me alone, Angela," Hunter requests, but she continues to mock him. “Why the hell would we leave you alone, your an animal Hunter and animals do not belong here, you belong in the woods, where you’ll meet all sorts of lousy creatures, ohh I’m sorry, can I put that in a way dogs can understand, “ruff ruff ruff” Ha ha!” She said as Everyone laughs at him. Hunter felt ashamed and embarrassed. He had no one to talk to, nobody to hang out with, he was always alone, because of the mockery. After the incident, Hunter heads to class, where he's intercepted by three bullies. They call him "Dog boy", this prompts hunter to say; “Dog boy I guess that’s better than your attitude.” “Excuse me, what did you just say” one boy getting provoked asked, “You heard me, your not deaf!” This angers the boys so much they started to attack him, but Hunter overpowers them. A teacher intervenes and the boys retreat. "Get to class this instance!" She yells.

The class begins and the teacher introduces a new student, Ella, who joins the class. "Hello everyone, nice to meet y'all." She greeted. "Go take your seat." The teacher instructed. As she searches for a seat, one student suggests she sit next to Hunter. "Don't worry, he won't bite," the student jokes, and the class erupts in laughter. Hunter feels embarrassed. Ella takes the seat next to Hunter "Hello" she greeted. "Hi." Hunter said with a stolid look. As class continues Ella notices he's not writing. "Hey, you're not writing," she says, handing him a pen. "Yeah, I don't have a pen," Hunter responds turning to look at the pen she's hands. “Ohh, thanks” he said, grateful. As the class continues, Ella helps Hunter, and they start to bond. When the class ends, Ella and Hunter began talking and conversing with each other about what they share in common, what favourite meals they like and what movies they've watched. " Ohh my Gosh, is that what I think it is, Star wars?! I love that movies, but have you watched this watched this horror film “Friday the 13th” that movie was so killer, literally.” She said excitedly. “Yeah, well I haven’t watched it.” Hunter said, disappointedly. “Wait really…Awwn so sorry about that Hunter.” “No don’t worry about it, it’s fine Hunter said. When they got to the cafeteria, Ella asked Hunter to join her for lunch. Hunter agrees, and Ella offers him cookies she baked herself. As Hunter devours the cookies, Ella receives a call and has to leave abruptly. “Sorry excuse me.” Ella said leaving the cafeteria and approaching a corner. When she was done, she went back to tell Hunter, the news. “Hey, Hunter? I'm sorry, I have to go home now. There's an urgent matter I need to attend to," Ella says, waving goodbye. “Wow, your leaving so soon.” He said waving back at her. Hunter watches her leave, and a ball is thrown at him from behind. "Oops, sorry boy, hope we didn't disturb your love life?" one of the boys teases. Hunter throws the ball back him.

As school closes, Hunter wants to head him then suddenly, Hunter starts to feel uneasy again. His senses become heightened, and he experiences excruciating pain in his body and ears. He falls to the ground, crying out in agony. As he looks at his hands, he notices nails sprouting from his fingers. “ Ahh what’s happening to me……Arghhhh.” He shouts. As he rushes home, Hunter stumbles home, seeing his Mum, he runs upstairs, his mother calls, but no answer, he enters his room, and locks the door. He collapses to the ground, groaning, overwhelmed by the pain. As Hunter collapses, he hears his Mum, Emily and Spencer talking in the living room. "Spencer, I'm getting worried about Hunter. He's been acting weird lately ," Emily says, concern evident in her voice. “I know, I've been noticing it too. I think it's time we take tell him," Spencer responds. Hunter overhears their conversation and feels a mix of emotions. He's scared and unsure of what's happening to him.

Meanwhile, Spencer looking concerned asked "Mom, what's wrong with Hunter?" he asks. “He's……probably just going through a phase, sweetie. We'll be fine," Emily reassures him.

As the night progresses, Hunter's condition worsens. He's torn between his human and werewolf sides, struggling to control as the night wears on, Hunter's pain intensifies. He tries to distract himself by watching TV in his room, but the sounds and images only seem to amplify his senses. He can hear every creak of the house, every rustle of the wind outside. He covers his ears trying to cope with the pain. He cries. Suddenly, he feels an overwhelming urge to get out of the house. It was only 7:30 PM and the full moon was out already. He tries to resist, but his body seems to be moving of its own accord. He gets up, unlocks the door, and slips out into the night. Emily was in there bedroom, she had no awareness of this.

The cool air hits him like a slap in the face, and he feels his senses come alive. He can smell the trees, the grass, the night blooming flowers. He follows the scents, his feet carrying him further and further away from home.

As he walks, the pain in his ears subsides, replaced by a strange, tingling sensation. He feels his body shifting, his senses heightening. He looks down at his hands and sees that they're changing, morphing into claws. He’s face contorts, his back bulges, his body enlarged, his arms elongates, his teeth grew into fangs, he cries, he was no longer himself. He tears the cloth off him, trying to relieve the pain. But it was to no avail. It felt endless.

Hunter realizes that he's transforming into a werewolf. He's both thrilled and terrified by the prospect. He doesn't know what's happening to him or how to control it. As the transformation takes hold, he’s voice changing, Hunter feels a sense of freedom he's never experienced before. He runs through the woods, his paws pounding the earth, his senses on high alert.

As Hunter heads on roaming the night, he can't shake the feeling that his life is about to change in ways he can't even imagine. He's struggling to control his werewolf side, and he knows he needs help. Little does he know, help is on the way in the form of Ella, the new student who's taken an interest in him. But as Hunter continues to roam the night, he's unaware of the adventures that await him, or the secrets that Ella might be hiding.