Broken to prowess

A new day

"Adolph, are you even listening to me!" I could still hear Alexandro yelling, even in the depths of my thoughts. As I turned to face him, the redness in his bulging eyes intensified, and his face was etched with rage. “Could you give me a rundown of the five things I've said in the previous 20 minutes, Adolph?” I must admit that I haven't been listening; I've been preoccupied with my own thoughts.

"Alexandro, I can't tell you what it is, but I keep getting a mysterious beckoning." The only person I discuss issues like these with is Alexandro, my best buddy. “It's normal for werewolves to feel a connection to the paranormal, you know, so there's no need to be concerned.”

We made our way to the wonderful forest of Encantro, which is the most serene location in Geaoon. Since we were kids, Alexandro and I have loved spending time here together. I discovered I was a wolf for the first time right in this forest; my shapeshifting was seamless. It felt as though I had always been a wolf because I experienced neither difficulty nor pain. Alexandro relaxed and took his seat. On the carved wooden chair, I was restless and unable to sit down. Something was calling to me; I could feel it. “Perhaps it's your Luna calling to you," he grinned widely.

He seemed to be relishing my annoyance. "You know how much I don't give a hoot about having a Luna or whatever it is," I stated clearly.

“Tell that to the moon goddess, Alpha” I grinned when he called me that.

“My father is not dead, Alexandro.”

“And may he have a long life, but when the time comes, the Rusard pack will be very fortunate to have you as our leader.” He approached me while I was still standing, reaching out to place his right hand on my shoulder. "I'll be your beta, and I'm pretty sure the moon goddess would pick Melissa to be your Luna," he said as he took two steps back.

"Can you please stop saying that?" I dislike having conversations like that.

"Your mother would have her reasons for leaving you, Adolph; you can't punish all women for her errors; you need to let go so that you can know what true love is like."

"Love doesn't exist; it’s a myth; women are just a diversion." I grabbed the firearm and fired at the wooden targets. "Women are tiny pieces of the moon's creation who are moved by emotions for short-term purposes; they're only in your life for what they can get or for their immediate gratification." I fired another one, and this time I struck the mark: "Do not waste your strength on women; Chanel it into a long-term investment, my friend."

“Who did this to you, Adolph?" I smiled; being in love with a woman is not one of my firmly held beliefs about them, which I have always known. “We ought to go back to the lair, maybe.”

He took the rifle from me and said, "Not yet, Alpha; it's my turn."

The bullets he fired at the wooden target missed it but travelled past it and struck a werewolf that was running in our direction. It roared and fell to the ground. "What the heck?" Face turning icy, Alexandro shifted out of fear and ran innocently towards the flattened werewolf on the ground, thinking he had killed it. “Keep your distance from it, Alexandro.”

"What are you talking about? I just killed a werewolf; I need to check to see if it's still alive.”

“It's not dead, Alexandro; heed my warning." My sixth sense began to detect danger as Alexandro drew nearer to it; I knew he wasn't dead. I had to shape-shift as quickly as I could. As soon as Alex got nearer to him, he splayed out to attack him, but I was quick enough to jump between them and push him off the cliff. Alex was trembling like a leaf when I turned around. I frightened him in my wolf form.

The werewolf attacked me again right away, knocked me to the ground, and was going to stab me with its claws. I twisted his arms and let him use them to pierce himself. He grunted loudly before scuttling away. It tingled more when I shifted to my human form. I searched everywhere for Alex before finding him cowering behind one of the large trees.

“That was awesome.” He came out shouting, as if he hadn't been hidden from me just moments earlier. “I warned you to keep away from him because you could have been killed.”

“I assumed he was gone."

“Werewolves do not die in such a manner; please

Alexandro understands that we are not fully human. Let's leave this place now.”

“I also want to turn into a werewolf.” I put an end to what I was doing and looked up at him. My entire face was twitching in shock. Although I was aware of Alex's many talents, this was not what I knew my best friend for.

"Funny,” I said, “can we leave at this time?" He wasn't smiling as I walked past him while toting the rifle and my rucksack.

“I'm serious, Alpha; I'm not joking." Although I enjoy the label "alpha," it annoys me in this situation. I was not going to let him have this since I knew he was simply trying to get to me.

“Let it go; I’m not turning you into a wolf, and first off, I’m not the alpha yet.”

“Why on earth don’t you want me to be able to defend myself?”

"I’m here to defend you."

In a quiet, melancholic voice, he said, "You won't always be here to defend me, Adolph.” He sounded dejected. "If I were in your position right now, I would do this for you." He turned and headed for the town road.

“Okay, I'll do it, but I can assure you it won't be enjoyable; it will hurt." I could see the quick rush of blood in his swollen veins because he was so ecstatic.

“Yes, I'm totally prepared for this, man”. He raised his hands, stood still, and then closed his eyes. I was baffled by what he was doing as I stared at him. What are you doing? He blinked open one eye and cast a glance my way. "Waiting for you to do your supernatural thing and turn me into a werewolf." That made me chuckle.

"First of all, turning you is not a supernatural thing; I would have to bite you." His eyes suddenly widened in terror as his lips fell open.

“No way in hell am I going to let you bite me, man.” I had trouble controlling my laughter.

“That settles it then; nobody is becoming a wolf now." He appeared to be thinking about changing his mind as I sincerely prayed he didn't. "Let's do it." He once more raised his hands, breathed deeply, and then shut his eyes. "Hell!! Man, would you mind stopping that?"

“What should I do in that case? Should I lie on the floor in front of Africa instead of just lying on the floor?

We'll wait till the full moon because it is the only time you can transform; you don't need to do anything. He seemed dissatisfied.

He crossed his fingers and extended his hand for our friendship shake as he remarked, "I'll hold on to this promise." I didn't realise we had been strolling for more than an hour until after the handshake. When we arrived in town, I noticed that everything seemed particularly noisy.

What might be the problem?

Was this a positive or negative omen?