THE UNTAMED

TO SEE IS TO BELIEVE

"A wolf?!"

Dad and I both reacted.

“Yes, you’ll hear voices,” he said gently. “Not madness. Not hallucinations. Telepathy. Emotional threads. Wolves don’t just communicate with sound... because we feel each other. You’ll sense pack bonds. Threats. Loyalty and even someone who betrays you"

My chest felt tight. "I really don’t want to hear people’s thoughts.”

“You will, that is part of you being a human-wolf,” he corrected. “You’ll feel it. And sometimes… you won’t like what you feel.”

Silence fell stretch and heavy.

“If I.. can turn into a wolf, can I be back to my human form again?" I asked.

Marvin stepped closer. “Of course. In your wolf form, You’ll still be you, but stronger. Faster. Your bones will be denser. Your muscles will regenerate faster than human tissue. Wounds that would kill a human will close on you in minutes.”

Joel cleared his throat, who's preparing something at the dining table. “There’s only one way to make you understand it fully,” he said. “You need to see it.”

My stepdad stood abruptly. “The backyard, it's an open space” he said with excitement, I can feel that he cannot wait to see a wolf, in reality.

Marvin exhaled slowly. “Alright.”

The backyard looked different at night. The moon hung in peaceful, casting silver across the grass. The air buzzed... charged and alive. Marvin stood at the center of the yard in his barefoot, shirt already discarded. Joel approached him with a syringe filled with clear liquid.

“Adrenaline catalyst,” Joel said. “It accelerates the shift. Forces the body past resistance.”

Marvin nodded. “Do it.”

I grabbed Marvin's arm. “Are you sure this is safe?”

“No,” Marvin answered honestly. “But it’s necessary.”

Joel injected the syringe into Marvin’s neck.

At first, nothing happened.

Then Marvin gasped.

His fingers curled violently, knuckles cracking with sharp, sickening pops. His spine arched as if pulled by invisible hooks, and a guttural sound tore from his throat, half scream, and half growl.

“Oh my Gosh!"

His skin began to move. Not a tear, it stretches!

Muscles bulged unnaturally beneath his flesh, rolling like something alive beneath a thin sheet. Veins blackened, spreading across his arms as his shoulders widened with brutal force.

At the same time, his bones shifted. I heard it, snapping, and grinding. The re-shaping of his body continued.

Marvin dropped his knees to the ground, hands clawing at the grass as his jaw elongated, teeth pushing forward through bloodied gums. His scream fractured into a roar as his face contorted, and his skull reshaping inch by inch.

Fur burst from his skin in wild patches of deep black, coarse strands rapidly spreading across his body as his ribs expanded, ripping apart what remained of his human form.

“This is impossible,” my stepdad breathed, awe overtaking fear. “I can't imagine his restructuring body at this form!"

Marvin’s spine extended with a violent crack, vertebrae multiplying, forcing a tail to erupt from his lower back, slick with blood before fur swallowed it whole.

Minutes passed. Finally, the movement slowed.

The creature before us rose onto four massive legs. Tall and powerful, a black wolf like the size of a horse, muscles rippling beneath midnight fur. Golden eyes snapped open, burning with intelligence.

His claws dug into the soil.

He lifted his head, and growled.

The sound rolled through the yard, deep and ancient, vibrating in my bones.

My heart pounded, yet something inside me responded. I recognized him.

Marvin turned his head slowly… and looked at me.

And somehow, without words..I heard him.

This is what you will become, his presence said.

And you will never be alone.

My knees weakened. Because deep down…my soul already knew. He is my soulmate, and this is my destiny.

Marvin as a huge wolf, looks at us and that makes Dad frightened. "Stay right there, Marvin. Don't come near me" he said as he raised his hands and get back up himself.

Marvin as a wolf now, head is up and growls.

"Ho.owwl"

When his head down. Dad, inspects his wolf by touching him. He really amazed on this kind of animals.

"Wow, okay, I had to see it to believe it." Dad said.

After that, we went inside the house. While Marvin left from the outside. I waited for him to change his form from wolf to human and wear his proper clothes. Jade assists him.

"Are you okay, Dad?" I asked.

"Yeah, I am. It's still going to take some getting used to. I can't wait to see your wolf, the same with Tagi," he tells me with a hug. Tagi smiles, and she hugs Dad too.

"Next week, we are going to start having them do some training to get their bodies ready for the change. The first time can be hard if you aren't prepared. So, don't be surprised if she looks so tired." Marvin reminded my parents.

"It can't be any worse than separation exhaustion." Mom said.

"No, nothing is quite like that." Dad agreed.

Jolina starts serving more food. There is nothing like good food to dispel an awkward situation. I have never felt quite so exposed. And also, I don't know if I even told Tagi how much I care about her.

Then I heard a whisper from the twins. "Tagi is also pretty hot"

Joel nodded. "Yeah, but Abby Jezz is prettier and more sexy"

I looked at them both, they looked at me like they didn't say anything, and instead they turned their heads.

Then, it happens that Marvin passed the plates around. He looks at me, a blush on his cheeks is absolutely visible. Then he turned to Dad to explain.

"The reason that we are in pain, it's because when we aren't together, that is we called the "pull" or the sickness, because of separation. Our bodies alert us to the fact that our soulmate is near. When we are in their presence, we feel a sense of calm and contentment. But when we are apart, our bodies start to ache and not work properly. Our minds aren't clear, and concentrating is too difficult. So, we instinctively want to be near the person who will make us feel completely better. That is how we ensured the preservation of our kinds. There aren't many of us, so we need to find each other somehow."

"The process takes time for the couple to get to know one another. The more time they spend together, the more they need to be near one another. But we have learned over the years that the process is greatly sped up by touch. At the beginning, the separation is much easier. It gets harder as time goes on, and then it is the strongest once you touch it." Jolina added.

"But if that's true, why are her symptoms so severe after such a short time? same with Tagi; the only difference is that Jezz needs Marvin, while Tagi needs Jezz." Dad Asked.

Marvin and Jolina looked at each other. They were both silent for a moment.

Then Jolina continued, "It's because Abby Jezz already found her mate. And Tagi is not there yet. The moon goddess, our creator, maybe has another plan for Tagi. It's a mere kind of sickness though, but the most important thing is.. we are here for Tagi."

"Jolina is right. Like what humans said, we can't predict the future" Mom interacts in that silent mode.

"When I was pregnant with Jezz, After Robert died, I believe his soul and my souls were linked. But before he died,, when we saw each other for the first time at school, our bodies already recognized one another as soul mates. It was a very fast process from that point on. We already felt the separation sickness that first day. Most people wouldn't notice it for about a month." Mom says. But I think there is something wrong.

"OK, that makes sense. So, if the process has already been sped up, why not just go ahead and touch her? Could it really get much worse?" Dad asked.

I think Dad regretted his question the moment he said it. "I mean, not that you two should start touching each other. I just wondered if it would make any difference at this point."

Then I see Mom laughing a little behind her hand. Marvin's face was totally in blank.

I overheard Marvin explaining to Dad how much he cares about me. This werewolf hearing really comes in handy sometimes. Okay, maybe I was listening in on purpose, just a little. It really meant a lot to me. I teared up just a little bit. I think Jolina knew what I was doing. She gave me one of her sweet smiles.

"Well, Mr. Urdanzo, I respect your wishes, not to get any closer to Jezz until she turns 18, if that is what you think is right." Marvin clarified.

"I would just ask that you be respectful and not do anything intimate, like kissing, until she is 18. I suppose that holding her hand is acceptable."

Dad concedes.

My cheeks flush in red, when dad talking about kissing. But my heart surges at the idea of holding Marvin's hand. He simply smiles at me, they didn't know that Marvin and I had already made it.

"I'm going to go grab the dessert. Jezz, can you help me, please?" Jolina suddenly requested as she stood.

"Ah. sure!" I nod and followed her.

"I thought you needed a moment." Jolina tells me when we get into the kitchen.

"Thank you, that was so awkward. I would rather not talk about kissing in front of my dad. Auntie Jo.. do you think Marvin and I...?"

I asked her as I scooped some macaroni salad onto each small plate. This woman really can cook delicious desserts. She stops what she's doing and takes my hands in hers.

"Jezz, my son wants to hold your hand more than he wants to do anything in this world." then she slowly whispered to my ear "I know both of you already did it."

"Huh?! Ahmm."

I was shocked, did he really used to tell his mom regarding private things like as a secret?