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Since Natalie’s…transformation..her appearance has changed. Not too drastically, one could miss it, if they didn’t look hard enough. Scanning over her figure in the mirror, something she has done many times in the past, though this time is drastically different.
Body hair was never something of an issue for Natalie, she didn’t care too much. However, since her change, a happy trail has grown, leading from between her legs right up to her belly button. Her armpit hair is thicker now, more prominent. This doesn’t bother her, no, but the echoing thoughts of what others might think rattle through her brain. Her body hair is not the only thing that has changed, though.
From the happy trail, her abs begin, defined muscle leading up to her chest. Her arms are more toned now, although they were anyway - with soccer and whatnot. But now, her biceps are more prominent, a faint vein now bridging across them. Behind that, her triceps stick out, rivers of muscle trailing through her arms when she straightens them. It’s not like she’s massive or anything. Just more toned, like she’s put in a year or two at the gym. Her teammates will surely notice this sudden shift, though, having seen her change nearly hundreds of times now.
Natalie tries not to think about it. Her transformation was already daunting enough, and she can’t bear to think of her friends-but-sometimes-really-annoying-people gawking at her. The wolf stirs inside her, grumbling at the thought of attention, or maybe potential food, who knows. It seems to be just as anxious as her, which is almost a comforting thought. No matter, she’s got to stop looking at herself and get to school.
———
Her appetite has grown significantly. Natalie, who used to barely eat anything, now crams down more than her needed calories per day. She supposes you could say she’s eating for two, but she quickly erases that disgusting thought. It’s now lunch, and her wolf growls excitedly, eager to devour the questionable school lunch food. She takes a burger, and a few other items, conjuring the most calorific meal she can get.
Her tray clanks against the school tables, some of her friends looking up to greet her. She doesn’t pay them any mind, and moves to clutch her burger and tear into it. The sharper canines are a welcome addition. A few of her friends’ faces crumple into puzzled looks, and a voice starts,
“It’s not gonna run away from you, you know?” Van jokes, getting a few chuckles from the team. Natalie doesn’t mind, Van is a longtime friend, but she does mind that this will start a chain of jokes, and that means more attention on her. Her wolf stirs again inside her, and she suppresses a growl. Shut up, ginger, her wolf croaks in her brain.
Taissa pipes up from beside Van, her arm suspiciously under the table over Van’s thigh. Natalie almost gags, not because they’re gay or anything, Natalie just thinks all romance is gross.
“Yeah, you’re eating that like you’ve been starving for years.” More giggles ricochet through the table, and Natalie really hopes they’re done. Her canines rip through the bread of the burger into the meat, and while it’s not juicy at all, her wolf is loving it. More.
Natalie doesn’t hear the rest of their silly jokes, focused entirely on the meat. Not as good as the fresh stuff she gets during a full moon, when her wolf takes over, but it’ll do. She crams the last bite into her mouth, her wolf satisfied for now, settling inside her. She licks her lips happily. Will get better meat later.
Fuck. Full moon tonight. That’s why she’s so hungry.
At least she’ll be a beast during practice. Literally. Shut up, man.
———
Her locker slams with ferocious intensity, her wolf pulling at her chest more and more as the full moon gets closer. It’s 4pm now, but it’s nearing the end of autumn, and so the moon rises faster. Not good.
While ruminating on how to leave early, she starts changing into her practice gear. Since her transformation, she’s been appearing at practice already in her practice clothes. At first, she feared reactions and eyes clinging onto her figure, so she changed in the bathrooms 10 minutes before practice. This procedure began to get tiring, and questions began rising. Also, the bathrooms are just gross, and her increased sense of smell meant her eyes were watering every time. She thought she might as well get it over with.
She rips the bandaid off and removes her shirt. For a few seconds, there’s nothing. But then she feels eyes.
“Wow, Scatorccio, have you been working out?” Shauna starts, because she always notices everything. Damn observant people.
Natalie ignores her, and tries to put on her practice shirt, but a hand stops her.
Mari’s hand is fisted into the t-shirt around her arms, “Don’t just ignore us, come on, flex for us!” She giggles, eyes raking up and down Natalie’s figure.
Luckily, in her human form, she’s still significantly strong. Stronger than humans. Mari still gets what she’s asked for, Natalie’s arms flexing as hidden muscles ripple underneath her skin, moving to grip Mari and shove her away.
“Don’t touch me.” She growls, her wolf getting angrier. Natalie is always avoidant in terms of physical touch, but now it’s more of a warning. When close to a full moon, her wolf can take over her mind, hormones raging inside her. It’s like a period, but you turn into a bipedal wolf instead. So not like a period at all.
Whispers and giggles erupt around the room, but Natalie doesn’t care. She just wants practice over with. She looks away from her corner, and sees Lottie staring at her. Her body flushes under her attention, her erratic hormones certainly not helping with her crush on Lottie. She shakes it off like a wet dog, and finishes changing.
———
Practice is over, and Natalie has not become a 8 foot tall wolf just yet. Sounds like a win to her.
Teammates pile into cars, a ritual done every post-practice. Some people hang out, some get dropped home. Natalie, however, seems to have missed a memo, because after settling into the backseat of Shauna’s car, they set off in a direction that is not at all near Natalie’s trailer.
She babbles out a weak, “W-Where are we going?” To which she learns that there is a team party at Lottie’s house. Her wolf growls inside her, demanding trees and grass and deers to hunt. But Natalie can’t give that. She has to get out.
She considers jumping out of the car, but that would probably cause tragic injury, because Shauna is doing 50 on a 30 and Natalie would like to live, despite her new addition. Wiskayok is devoid of police right now, so no chance of getting pulled over. She supposes she might just have to book it to the forest when she gets to Lottie’s. Blood. Need blood. Fuck her life.
Natalie practically leaps out the car upon arrival to Lottie’s fucking mansion, and runs for her life. Her friends yell after her, and Laura Lee sports a confused look as Natalie sprints through the front door and out through the back. Akilah and Mari are already in the backyard and they laugh at Natalie as she vaults the fence. This is really not the time. Luckily, Lottie is rich and has a nice house and the forest in Wiskayok trails behind her house partly, making a perfect entrance for Natalie to disappear into.
Natalie would think this was hilarious if she wasn’t about to transform into a bipedal wolf monster in Lottie’s backyard, but Natalie’s life has been anything but normal so far, so why not add a little lycanthropy?
Jesus Christ.
Her wolf is howling just as she makes it into the curtains of the trees, and with her heightened sense of hearing, she hears her friends still yelling after her. Unfortunately, with the scene she’s made, her friends have taken it upon themselves to chase after her and start a Natalie scavenger hunt. Oh, good.
Under the canopy of the trees, as she’s running, Natalie’s bones begin to crack and contort, her body creaking with the shift. It hurts every time, and she can’t suppress the cries of pain that come out of her. Her arms and legs lengthen and bend, her other skeleton forming with echos of fractures and snaps resounding through the trees. Her mouth betrays a deep scream, fading and turning into a howl as her transformation completes. The pain turns into relief, her wolf ecstatic. She runs through the forest, not forgetting that her friends are looking for her.
Her wolf yearns for blood, and she isn’t about to let one of her friends become that, so she leads it to a denser part of forest, where deer congregate.
The wolf’s black claws reach out, its furry arm curling around an unsuspecting deer, before trapping it in something of a headlock, and sinking its canines into its prey. It seems half an hour might’ve passed, but Natalie can never tell, the transformation making time go faster for her. Her ears perk at the sound of distant voices, followed by some giggling. They never could keep their noses out of someone’s business.
She hears distant “Natalie!”s directed at her. Deducing where they’re coming from, she runs in exactly the opposite direction.
———
By now, hours have passed. Natalie has torn through the skin of a few deer, satiating her wolf. Her paws patter through the trees, she exercises her freedom, sprinting on all fours; and never tiring. Finally, she settles for a moment, beneath a tall tree. She curls into a comfortable position, and watches the leaves fall.
Moments later, she springs up at the sound of footsteps closing in. It’s one pair, a lone follower. She readies herself to run, hind legs kicking at dirt behind her anxiously. The follower appears in-front of her, and they recoil in fear, falling to the ground when her wolf growls and bares its teeth.
Wait.
It’s Lottie.
She wills her wolf to relax at once, closing her mouth, and whimpering. She stalks closer, and Lottie looks up at her with something resembling fear…and concern? She falls immediately in-front of Lottie, trying to convey something along the lines of “I’m not going to hurt you”, Lottie takes this well, sitting up and inching closer to Natalie. Natalie nudges her nose into Lottie, her wet muzzle meeting her neck and sniffing. Lottie’s lips twitch at the sides, and she lets out a breathy laugh, not before realisation washes over her.
“..Natalie?”
The wolf stops all movement, and Natalie’s werewolf eyes narrow onto Lottie’s face. Natalie brings her head to rest on Lottie’s chest, whimpering again. Lottie’s face flushes bright red.
“Don’t worry, I won’t tell anyone.”
Her hand comes up to stroke Natalie’s black fur, the thick strands slipping between her fingers. Lottie smells amazing, jasmine and vanilla filling Natalie’s sinuses. She could get used to this.
When Natalie awakes at dawn, she’s in a bed, which is unusual, and not naked, which is also unusual. She looks up to see she’s lying on Lottie, her head under Lottie’s chin. The same way her wolf was last night. She breathes in the jasmine and vanilla, and sighs contentedly, inching impossibly closer to Lottie and making a noise of happiness when she kisses the top of her head and plays with her hair.
The acceptance feels delightful, and a heavy burden is lifted off her shoulders with the thought of someone else knowing, and still loving her anyway.