His Fateful Choice

Home, sweet home

“This is fine. This is fine. Everything is fine.” I thought to myself as I made my way through the thickets in the middle of the dense forest that surrounded the western part of my pack’s territory. It was night and the sky was cloudy, so I can barely se my own feet. But it was still my best chance to get inside the territory completely unnoticed.

To make sure it stays this way I was wearing an enchanted amulet to block my scent. A present from another one of Bill’s friends. That boy is insatiable.

It was making me a little bit nervous. These amulets don’t always work perfectly, especially with werewolves. So I was just praying for this to be one of those instances, when I just wasn’t a werewolf enough.

At that point I was trying to get through the forest for good three hours, but I wasn’t sure if I was even going in the right direction. I couldn’t use my phone as its light might attract unwanted attention. I couldn’t use a paper map either, because it was so dark, I couldn’t se as far as the tip of my nose. And of course, my sense of smell, although heightened, was nowhere near being able to guide me through this jungle.  

Just as I began to put together my epitaph and tried to prepare myself for the rest of my life in the wilderness like that man from Jumanji, I noticed the quiet murmur of a nearby stream. Yes! I made it.

As I made my way towards the source of the noise, I started to recognize my surroundings. I knew it well, even in the darkness. It was place where I spent big part of my childhood. Me, Irene and Josh used to sneak out after dark and play here all the time.

That’s also why I knew there was a small and half-crumbling shed where the training equipment used to be stored. The shed would now become my base camp, while I was testing the waters. I knew I couldn’t just return as if nothing happened. I would risk being locked up in a dungeon or humiliated in public if I returned home. 

And honestly, I didn’t think I really had a home to return to anyway. Irene hated me and my parents liked to pretend I didn't exist even before I attacked that skinny little weasel. So who knew what my family status was now. But I couldn’t just stay away, that wasn’t really me.

So my plan was to stay at the shed now and when the day comes, try to mingle a little bit to find out what happened after I left. The fact that I spent most of my adult life away from my pack now gave me great advantage, because not many people knew how I looked like. To many of them I would look like another human who was probably mated to one of the pack members. Hopefully no one would find out.

Another brilliant thing about the shed was its location. It was close to the now long abandoned training ground. Our pack used it to train there but about twenty years ago a new modern ground was build near the lake and this one was left to its destiny. Nature certainly did its thing, but I hoped I would still be able to train there.

I stumbled through the forest for another five minutes when finally, my senses picked up an inconspicuous creaking sound of a peeling metal roof. The shed was boarded up from outside, but otherwise it seemed to be quite fine. Heat and drought were all I needed right now. And for this purpose, it would suffice.

As soon as I managed to break in, I barricaded the door behind me and sealed the largest holes in the sheet with cardboard. Once I was done, I dared to finally turn on at least a small light so I could look around.

And it was not bad at all. The small room was fairly cleared except for some training equipment in one corner. However, I didn't have a bit of energy for a bigger tour. So I unpacked my sleeping bag and laid it in the corner opposite the door. Before I went to sleep, I poured myself some soup, which I brought with me, and wrote a short message to Bill.

“I made it.”

Sleep didn’t take over me immediately. Every rustle of the wind and every creaking of a branch was a wolf circling hungrily around. Exhaustion, however, eventually prevailed and I fell into a deep sleep.