Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Grady's POV

I can't believe my family had to take a vacation around the FULL MOON, I thought. I mean, come on! The hotel's security is RIDICULOUS! I don't know if I'll be able to make it back into the room before the sun rises! As scientists, my parents had strange sleep schedules. They normally woke before dawn, and went to late at night, since they study both nocturnal creatures. I glared at the path in front of me, wondering how I was going to avoid disturbing my parents. I still couldn't believe they had agreed to go on vacation, leaving their precious deer behind in Florida. Well, maybe it was being invited to talk at the first annual

I was glad though. My human side appreciated being able to be in a more crowded environment. Normally, we were stuck in the middle of NOWHERE, the closest town about half an hour away. Who thinks to build a neighborhood that far away from town? However, my parents had thought it was the perfect place to live, to observe the deer they had brought from South America. Both Emily, my sister, and I didn't like it there. Of course, that was before I met Cassie and Will, and our parents got Emily a phone with text on it. Now, all she does is text her boyfriend in New Hampshire. I get to hang out with my new friends.

Cassie, my werewolf obsessed friend, was sad to see me go. She complained, "I'm going to be all alone! I mean, Will left, and now you're going to be gone too. Seriously, who am I going to talk to?" I gave her my phone number. My cell buzzed every five minutes on the road with her theories about the werewolf who she claims stalks Fever Swamp, behind our houses. I have been careful not to give her too many revealing hints. At least she says it isn't dangerous anymore. I mean, who wants to be called dangerous?

After all, I'm the werewolf.

I know, I know, "werewolves are dangerous," "get away," "eeek." I'm not dangerous though. Not like Will was. He turned homicidal, while I stick with scaring people. I was turned by him, and the only reason I survived was my dog, Wolf. I wished we could take him with us, but I had to leave him with Cassie. She loved him, despite the fact that she thought he might have been the werewolf. I quickly changed her mind by letting her keep an eye on him one night, then did my patented howl in the swamp. When I returned for him in the morning, she nearly whacked me with a bat. She had freaked out, realizing that while Wolf wasn't the werewolf, that could mean it was something a lot scarier than the friendly dog. I calmed her down enough to not brain me. Then I had to calm her down more when she realized that I could be the werewolf. She calmed down after I convinced her that was impossible- Wolf attacked Will. I didn't say it in those words, but she now thinks I'm not the werewolf. I-

Wait. What was that? I sniffed around, the fur on my shoulders rising. Human. I dove behind a bush just as he walked by on the path. I berated myself for walking on a path- of course a human might be on it. I stared at him, memorizing his scent. There was something strange about it- chemical, but it seemed natural to him. He smelled slightly fearful, and he looked around, as if expecting something to jump at him. I decided to mess with the boy.

I slithered around, clacking my claws on a nearby tree. He jumped, looking towards the spot. I whizzed across the path, and he spun around. I snapped a twig, and he spun even more. I repeated this until I knew he was dizzy. Then, I leapt in front of him, growling as loud as a bear. I breathed into his face with what I knew was horrible breath. He screamed at the top of his lungs, turning tail and running as fast as he could. I ran after him for a bit, waiting until he was out of breath. Then, I tapped my claws onto him, just enough to have evidence of claws in his shirt. He screamed again, and ran faster. Then something surprising happened. He tripped on a rock, flying forward, and hit the ground hard. Somehow, he spun around, putting his hands up.

"Don't kill me!" he yelled. I was surprised he still had the strength to yell. I stopped, putting my arms down. I decided to speak to my one of my victims for the first time.

"Don't worry." I said. I was startled by how gravelly my voice was. I realized I had never spoken in werewolf form, even though it had been three months since I had been turned. I kept going, not sure why. "I'm not going to hurt you. I was just messing with you." The boy seemed to calm down a bit, but he still seemed scared.

"W-what are you? Some kind of demon?" he stuttered, still staring at me with eyes the size of saucers.

I was confused at his query. A demon? I was a werewolf! How could I be mistaken as a demon?

"No," I growled, kneeling to his eye level, or close to what kneeling is, anyway. "I'm a werewolf. Why did you think I was otherwise?" I mentally scolded myself at my nerd-speak; I sounded like my parents. However, it seemed he understood.

"I-I got attacked by a witch, once. She looked a bit like you did, at one point." he stuttered again, although he seemed to be gaining confidence.

A witch? I thought, quirking an eyebrow. Hmm… must be a local thing. I smiled, and spoke: "What's your name?"

He seemed startled at the question, but he quickly regained his senses, and threw it right back. "Well, why should I give you my name when I don't know yours?" he said, bravely. He leaned forward, and I leaned back to keep the distance between us. I was taken aback by the question, as I had never needed to tell my name. I knew I couldn't tell him my name! So, I decide to buy some time.

"I could say the same of you." I shot back, giving him a smug look. However, it was met with one of his own. It had a retort in tow.

"Well, you're the one who attacked me; it would be impolite of you not to introduce yourself first."

I was startled for a moment, and paused, wondering how I should proceed. however, the boy seemed patient; I could think of something. I made myself appear to be thinking of what to do, when I knew what to do; I just had to come up with something to say. I remembered something we were studying at school, and decided to use it.

"My name is Anubis."

Chapter Text

Evan's POV

I stared at the strange creature in front of me, claiming his name was Anubis. Anubis? I thought, my brain somehow still working. Isn't that the Egyptian God of Death? It- no, he- seemed to be grinning. I realized he had kept his end of the deal, and now I had to keep mine.

"I-I'm Evan." I stuttered, then cursed myself yet again. Why do I keep doing that? I thought, glaring inwardly, even though I was almost frozen on the outside. I had to deal with Sarabeth! I should be able to go without stuttering in front of a… a werewolf! I was still incredulous to the whole werewolf thing. I still thought he was a demon, like what Sarabeth might summon. It was then I realized he was speaking again.

"So, what's a kid like you doing, wandering around this late?" I shuddered at the horrible voice, that sounded like he had been gargling rusty nails and hydrochloric acid for a few hours. I knew this thing had to be evil; nothing looks and sounds like that without SOME evil in them. However, he did seem concerned. I decided I should give him an answer.

"I had to go home late because I… was avoiding a classmate." There, that was some truth. After all, I was avoiding Conan.

"Hm. Bully problems?" he said, sounding smug. Darn. Was this guy telepathic, or just perceptive?

"Uh… yeah, I guess." I said, backing up a bit. I remembered the insane thing I had done earlier: get into his face. He backed off a bit, but I must have gone temporarily crazy, to enter a monster's personal space like that. I was jerked out of my thoughts by a sudden lump under me. I didn't know what it was, and it was bothering me, so I reached under, and… Yes! It was Monster Blood! I had forgotten that I had it in my pocket! As I messed with it, to see if I could open it without the werewolf noticing, I realized he was talking again.

"Well, I suggest getting home now. I mean, if I'M here, what else do you think is out in these spooky woods?" he said, a smile on his face. However, I realized it wasn't smug anymore. It almost seemed… kind. I eased the monster blood back into my pocket, realizing I didn't have to bother with it. Anubis seemed like a nice enough guy, for a werewolf. And, actually, aren't werewolves supposed to only be monstrous looking on the full moon? Did that mean he looked like a normal guy any other time? It was then I noticed his hand out to me.

"Huh?" I said blankly. What was his paw doing right under my nose?

He grinned again, suddenly very happy looking. "I said, I can take you home. Surely you don't want to walk home in this?" he said, gesturing around him. I blushed as I realized I had gotten lost in my thoughts. I looked up, to see what he was talking about, and realized it was raining. Hard. A flash of lightning revealed why I wasn't getting wet: he was leaning over me, and despite the fact that he had a slim frame, he was still a werewolf; he was huge. Combined with the fact that I was really tiny, he blocked the rain quite nicely. I was startled out of my thoughts again when a clap of thunder rang out, catching up with the lightning.

I realized that I really didn't want to be out in this, so I took his hand. That was a mistake. I was jerked up as he pulled on my hand, then slammed against his chest. I had the wind knocked out of me by this, so I couldn't call out before he held me, bridal style, and ran.

By run, I mean he was going almost 50 MPH! I almost couldn't take the wind pressure, nearly passing out. However, he slowed down a bit, suddenly shouting, in that horrible voice of his, "So, where do you live?"

I realized we were on the road my home was on now. I looked around at the houses passing us by, and shouted back, "At the end of this road!" I didn't know why I trusted him, but I did. At the time, I didn't realize that I was somehow sensing that he was still human, on the inside.

Grady's POV

As I ran along, looking for where the street ended, I wondered why he trusted me now. Oh well, I thought, sparing a glance at Evan, it doesn't really matter. I was glad he wasn't just out in the forest, in the rain anymore. I didn't understand why I wanted to help him; I just did. It was the same with talking to him. Even Cassie didn't know that I was a werewolf, and would probably kill me in my sleep if she found out I was. So why?

Chapter Text

Evan's POV

I was looking around the best that I could, but I was in danger of blacking out. Then, I recognized my house. "THERE IT IS!" I shouted, making Anubis jump.

"What?!" he griped, sounding kind of whiny. However, he skidded to a stop. I sucked in air greedily, gasping noisily as my lungs finally could move their own air. He seemed to notice, and gave me a look that could be called apologetic.

"Sorry," he said, looking away. "I'm used to speeds like that… I didn't think about how you might not do so well." I glared at the back of his head, covered with his ears. The only reason I hadn't complained was because I COULDN'T- I did mention before that I wasn't able to breathe, right? Then I heard Trigger. He was barking at Anubis! I HAD to calm him down before he got my parents out of the house. If they saw Anubis… I leapt out of his arms as best I could, staggering over to my dog. My legs gave out beneath me, but fortunately, I was right next to Trigger.

"Whoa, hey boy, this guy is ok." I said, trying to calm him down. What else could I say? It wasn't like the werewolf had hurt me, at least on purpose. I decided that I could at least tell Trigger what he understood.

"Yeah, you don't have to yell at me like that." I heard behind me. I was surprised.

Did he just call Trigger's barking and growling… yelling? I turned back, confused. He looked like he was glaring at Trigger, but it didn't seem like he was being mean about it. His tail and ears were all over the place, as if he was… communicating?

I looked back at Trigger, and while he was still growling and barking, he was doing the same thing with his own ears and tail. He WAS communicating! I looked back and forth at the almost silent conversation between them. Finally, I couldn't take it any more.

"WILL SOMEONE TELL ME WHAT'S GOING ON?" I shouted, then slapped my hand over my mouth. I was really going to get Mom and Dad if I kept doing that! However, it did get them silent. When my parents didn't appear, I wondered again how they never noticed this stuff.

Anubis stared at me, then barked out a laugh. When he did, it was surprisingly smooth, not gravelly, like the rest of his voice. He said, "I guess you wouldn't really understand him, would you?" He was wagging his tail and smiling at me, but unfortunately, it was really toothy. I flinched at the sight of so many sharp fangs.

He seemed to notice that, as he stopped grinning at me. "Geez, first you give me a non-answer, and then you give me a scary look… you said you weren't bad, but that doesn't seem as true as you told me." I spoke, glaring at him. Hey, what can I say? I still didn't trust him that much.

He stared at me for a moment more, then spoke. "Well, how do I explain this…?" he put his hand- paw- whatever to his chin, while looking up at the sky. I followed his gaze, noticing the full moon. I wondered if he was like the werewolves in the books I had read, the ones that changed with the full moon, or if he was different. I realized he was speaking again. Geez, I had been thinking WAY too much tonight! "I can… talk to other canines. It's not quite like talking, but you get my meaning, right?" I nodded slowly, knowing that he had been talking, but not with barks and growls… just with body language. Then I was suddenly curious, wondering something more.

"Um… if you can talk to canines… what was Trigger saying?" I asked tentatively, hoping I wasn't being rude.

He stared at me for a moment, before his tail started wagging again. Thankfully, he didn't smile this time. "He was yelling at me to get off his territory, and he was asking why he smelt two wolves." His tail started windmilling now, and he seemed to be suppressing laughter. "I spend way too much time with my dog, Wolf." Now it was a flat-out belly laugh, and I quickly shushed him.

"Hey, be quiet! I don't want my parents out here!" I hissed, causing him to go silent. I was surprised he had heard me over his own laughter.

"Oh, right... " he said quietly. I was glad for it, but he seemed sad.

"What's wrong?" I asked, standing up. He gave me a strange look, unreadable, but he seemed to be thinking. He turned away from me, falling onto his front paws- hands- whatevers. I realized he had been holding himself in a awkward position for a long time. I was startled as a thought raced through my head- that he was standing for my benefit. I shook the thought from my head as he began to speak.

"My parents- they don't know about me. We're visiting- on vacation. They're here for a convention. The only reason I haven't told them is because I'm afraid that they'd experiment on me, or something. Or else, lock me up, thinking I'm crazy." he whispered.

I gasped, realizing that he still had a life, outside of being a werewolf. I wondered how I couldn't have thought of that before. Then I gasped again as a light flicked on.

"Honey? Is that you? You're late!" my mother called from the porch.

"Evan, is there someone with you? And why was Trigger barking?" Dad called out as well.

I flicked my head towards Anubis. "GO!" I hissed, shooing him away. "They're going to find out otherwise!"

He stared at me for a moment longer, before he turned and ran. I sighed, and smiled at his retreating figure. If he doesn't want his parents to find out, I thought, about to turn back to the house, why should mine?

I was about to head back in when I saw a small slip of paper fluttering around my head. I snatched it up, and looked at it. My eyes widened when I saw what was on it.

It said, [email protected]