The moon had not yet risen, it still had a couple of hours to go, but Sofia had put on her huntress uniform again and had gone into the forest. This time, however, she wasn’t trying to frighten the white cinanthrope, but Rodrigo. Considering how angry he had been that morning, she suspected that he was also going to go into the woods with the intention of shooting down his werewolf. Killing a cinanthrope was not easy, their intelligence was human and they had an extraordinary healing capacity, but it was not impossible either. A shot to the head or heart resulted in instant death, so healing was not an option. If the projectile lodged in their body and could not be removed, they would still die depending on whether it had hit a vital organ or ruptured a major artery. They were not immune to poisons, and silver was absolutely lethal to them. A silver bullet caused a very powerful anaphylactic shock that could kill them in a matter of thirty minutes. Even is the bullet was removed there was no guarantee that the allergic reaction would not be fatal.

Rodrigo knew nothing about this, but he was a hunter and knew where he had to aim to bring prey down. The sensitive organs were precisely the heart and the lungs, and in both cases the hydrostatic shock of a rifle bullet intended for big game could kill a cinanthrope without too much trouble. Although proportionally to their size they were stronger and faster, they were still the size of a human, and a weapon like that was designed to shoot prey three times the average weight of a man. Sofia knew all this because her mother didn't teach her how to shoot against a practice target, she introduced her to the hunting culture and she had shot many deer, roe deer, fallow deer and wild boar, all of them exquisite. It didn't help that due to her predatory nature she enjoyed it, although she was not interested in trophies, she just wanted the meat.

“I wonder what it would be like to hunt with him,” she wondered as she moved through the woods as quietly as possible.

Sofia paused for a moment and looked up at the sky, at the stars that could be seen through the branches of the trees, a sky that would soon welcome its queen. She hadn't changed yet, and she wasn’t really in a hurry to do so. However, ever since she discovered that her friend was not human, that idea that had once frightened her no longer seemed so unpleasant. For a second she imagined herself hunting at his side, not as a human, but in her dog form, and she liked the closeness of sharing something like that with him. A word suddenly popped into her head; pack. Until that moment Sofia had not realized that she had been longing for a pack all her life. Not the idea of a pack that many people had, of different wolves that get together in a hippy commune and there is an alpha who rules over them, but the real one, that of a male, a female and their pups. A pack was a family, that’s it.

With a dejected snort, she looked down, and for the first time, she felt upset for not having changed. For all intents and purposes she was still human, and he was a cinanthrope, one who changed every full moon night, one who needed to change all the time, and who needed to go out into the forest often. She could hardly consider forming a pack with him when she hadn't even gone through her first change. Frustrated, she let out a coarse growl, which was the only dog thing she had, her behavior, and kicked a pebble sending it rolling several meters. She followed it with her eyes until it hit a moss-covered root. It was then that something caught her eye, something on the ground caught between some rocks.

When she approached, she saw that it was a tuft of white undercoat, and it smelled of him. This wasn’t so weird, considering Dave had to be entering the spring shedding period, but there was something strange. Normally they lost fur because it got caught in the vegetation, but that tuft was stuck between two small rocks in a very visible area. On closer inspection she saw that one of the rocks had been moved a little. That was not a natural track, Dave himself had placed it there. Looking around she noticed a trail of canid footprints leading off into the depths of the forest. Next to it was another set of footprints; the soles of boots. Sofia shivered. Rodrigo was after the cinanthrope, and he was being led towards an ambush. Dave wasn’t dangerous, she knew that, but Rodrigo had pissed him off, and he was armed. Surely her friend was only trying to give him a good scare to drive him away, but that psychopath won’t have qualms about shooting, and a wounded, cornered cinanthrope could become very dangerous

“Shit, I have to hurry. If he does anything to a human my mother will put him down, and my mother is not Rodrigo.”

Sofia used her night vision to move easily through the forest. Along the way she clearly saw the trail of footprints and strategically placed tufts of undercoat. Her classmate had to be really stupid for not realizing what was going on, because it was very obvious that he was being baited, and he was biting like a trout. The first mistake Rodrigo was making was treating that creature as if he were any other kind of animal like the ones he hunted. A cinanthrope was not a deer, nor a fallow deer, nor a roe deer, it was a weredog and was as intelligent as any human. It was capable of strategizing, planning ambushes, executing escape plans, and basically anything a human being is capable of. A deer would not lead you into an ambush. A cinanthrope would.

After about fifteen minutes she slowed her pace and began to use the vegetation for concealment. She had just heard footsteps, and that meant she was close to the hunter. As quietly as her soft slippers would allow, she slipped through the undergrowth until she managed to find an angle from which she could see Rodrigo without being seen. As blind as any human, the boy moved through the forest using only the light of a very weak headlamp. He held his rifle in his hands, ready to fire. He walked cautiously, keeping an eye on the tracks he was following, and on the surroundings. From the way he moved, in erratic circles, he seemed to have lost the trail. Sofia got ready herself. That was the ambush site.

Rodrigo found another lock of hair, another footprint, very close to a young tree that seemed strangely arched. The moon reflected on something that went unnoticed to the hunter. A gray thread, thin, hidden among the branches and vegetation, and practically imperceptible to any human. Sofia tensed and all her muscles got ready to spring into action. Her fingers caressed the handle of her silver dagger. She would use it, if they forced her, either on Rodrigo to protect her friend, or on Dave to make him back down. The hunter kept moving forward, following the trail like a bird after a line of birdseed. The leaves crunched under the soles of his boots. Maybe that's why he didn't hear the snap, but Sofia did.

The warped tree shot up like a catapult. The wire hidden in the ground rose up, catching Rodrigo's foot and lifting him about two meters. Seeing himself jerked from side to side, the boy let go of the rifle, which fell to the ground, but the trap was not set by any expert. It was a sloppy thing, and the snare did not close on his ankle, it just swung him around and tossed him onto a pile of ferns, which cushioned the impact. Dazed Rodrigo looked around, desperately searching for his rifle, but he was disoriented and his poor night vision was not helping. Sofia drew her dagger and prepared to spring into action. She didn't think it would stop there. He had gone through a lot of trouble to set up the trap, and seemed more than willing to throw the hunter out.

“But where are you...?” she asked herself, looking around.

The answer was not long in coming, but it did take her completely by surprise. The cinanthrope had climbed to the top of a tree, and dropped from it like a bird of prey. It was an imposing sight, as white as snow and as big as a mastiff. To mistake him for a common dog was absolutely impossible at that point. Rodrigo screamed as the creature landed about two meters from him, and Dave responded by standing as tall as he was. As a human, he was a meter eighty tall, but as a dog he stood on his toes, so he easily surpassed the meter ninety. Without any regard whatsoever, he threw something at the hunter, something he was carrying in one of his hands. The hunter covered himself, thinking he was being attacked, but when he looked around and grabbed one of those things, he saw what they were. The snares, all the snares he had placed hoping to catch the weredog. He had picked them all up to throw them at his face.

Standing as tall as he was, instead of on all fours as on other occasions, allowed Sofia to observe his appearance in detail. He looked like a Samoyed, but he wasn't, he just looked like one. He had a mane over his shoulders and a thick tail that curled over his back, but that was where the similarities ended. His body wasn't short and stocky, it was tall and well toned, with well-marked pectorals, strong arms and a sleek back that ended on firm legs. Again Sofia thought he was a very attractive cinanthrope, a thought that conflicted with her upbringing as a human. He was a dog, she shouldn't find him attractive, but she did, and that was because she was a dog too.

Suddenly, Dave bent down and grabbed the hunter by the jacket, causing Rodrigo to yelp and thrash about. Sofia got ready to jump. She didn't have to, all her friend did was get him up to his feet to look him very hard in the eyes, his tail very straight and a quiet growl rumbling in his throat. He didn't even bare his fangs, which had to be something truly menacing. He merely looked at Rodrigo, who was way shorter than him, and growled slowly to let him know that he was very annoyed with his constant interference in his wild life.

“You're real... this isn't a very elaborate costume or anything. You're a real werewolf....”

The cinanthrope growled louder and stepped forward, making Rodrigo flinch in fear. Not wonder, since before him was a formidable beast who was much bigger and stronger than him, and had been capable of ambushing him. However, the creature gave him no respite. From the ground, he grabbed some of the traps he had thrown at him and placed them on the hunter's hands. Then he pointed in the village’s direction with one of his fingers and growled again. He could not speak. Cinanthropes lost the ability to speak when they changed, but you didn't have to be very smart to understand what he was trying to say.

“All right... I'll leave and I won't bother you anymore...” said Rodrigo raising his hands and starting to move sideways very slowly, without looking at the creature in the eyes.

The cinanthrope followed him with his gaze, and Sofia was able to see his face as he turned to where she was. His expression was one of absolute annoyance, and no wonder. Rodrigo had not only filled the forest with traps, even trapping him on one occasion when he stepped on a foothold trap. The continuous incursions into the woods had forced Dave to adopt a low profile, which meant that he had had to change in some enclosed place, most likely his human home, or not change at all. Sofia still remembered the hard time he had during the months when he was forced to repress his nature, and how liberated he seemed while he rolled on the snow after changing. His anger was totally understandable, especially since all he wanted was to be left alone.

Dave suddenly tensed and flicked his ears forward. He had noticed where Rodrigo was moving to. Bristling, he leapt forward, landing on all fours, and ran towards the rifle. The hunter also broke into a run in an attempt to reach his weapon before the animal did. Naturally, the weredog was faster. He stood over the gun, and this time he bared his fangs and let out a hoarse, warning growl. Those four fangs were so terrifying that Rodrigo stopped abruptly, skidded and fell right underneath him. Dave could have done anything to him right then, but he merely snarled just a few centimeters from his face. That was his undoing. He was a pacifist, he didn't want to hurt his classmate, he just wanted to scare him so he would leave him alone. The problem was that Rodrigo also saw through the bluff.

This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

From his belt he drew a knife, one similar to Sofia's dagger but made of steel instead of silver. Hunters used to carry them as it was a very useful tool. It was used both to cut weeds or anything that might have become entangled, and to start skinning downed prey. Rodrigo used it to stab the cinanthrope on his side. The creature let out a yelp and staggered away from the hunter, clutching his side with one of his paws. Blood gushed from the wound, staining his white fur, but it took no more than a few seconds for it to close. It had been enough time for Rodrigo to pick up his rifle and aim at the unfortunate canid. The weredog, aware of his precarious situation, lowered his ears and whimpered.

“I'm sorry, but no one will believe me unless I show them your body,” said the hunter, who was trembling visibly.

The cinanthrope frowned and clenched his fists. There was fear in his gaze, as was natural, but also much, much more. A resentment that was brewing inside him, an inability to understand why he had to hide, why he had to run, why he had to avoid changing where he could be seen, why he had to pretend day after day that he was human when he was not. There he was, being held at gunpoint, about to be shot down as if he were a mere trophy, and the only sin he had committed was having been born a cinanthrope. Raising his head proudly, Dave bared his fangs and growled again, accepting his fate and showing his contempt. He was before a hunter who was obsessed with killing him, but he, who had done nothing, was the monster.

The shot never came because Sofia stepped in, and she was not a pacifist. She didn't want to send a message, she really knew how to threaten another until he pissed himself. The huntress emerged from the shadows, grabbed Rodrigo’s arm and pulled at it to divert the rifle’s barrel, while placing the dagger’s edge against his bare throat. This time she did not repress her instinctive impulses. She lowered her voice until it was no more than a dry, harsh whisper, practically unrecognizable thanks also to the balaclava, and growled menacingly against the hunter's ear. Satisfied, she felt him tense up and begin to tremble.

“Drop the rifle, turn around, get out of the woods and never come back,” Sofia whispered, surprising herself at how icy and threatening her voice had sounded, so much like her own mother's.

Still shaking, Rodrigo dropped the weapon and nodded to let the huntress know that he had understood her words perfectly.

“Good.”

Sofia pulled the dagger away and pushed him hard. The boy lost his balance and fell to the ground where he sat for a few seconds, staring in horror at the girl while rubbing his throat. The cinanthrope himself was an imposing sight, but a huntress dressed in her attire and armed with her silver dagger, now that was truly terrifying. Especially because those eyes that could see him with absolute clarity glowed in the dark, and they were hard and cold as glaciers. The cinanthrope had bluffed, but the huntress had not. Her whole body screamed that she would not hesitate about using violence to drive him out if necessary. So Rodrigo opted for the more prudent option. He stood up, hands raised so that she could see he wasn't going to do anything else, and began to run down the forest, stumbling and staggering with every step he took.

While still hearing the noisy hunter’s retreating footsteps, Sofia exchanged a glance with the cinanthrope. He was still lying on his side on the ground, but defiance had left his eyes and he had started to tremble and pant. He was afraid, it made sense considering what was in front of him, but by the way he was tilting his head to one side he was also confused. A huntress had saved his life twice, and that didn't make any sense. Sofia felt a growl rise up her throat again, a growl of anger and frustration. She was doing that to him.

“I'm not going to hurt you, I'm here to help you,” she said, and took off her balaclava.

When he saw her, the cinanthrope's blue eyes widened like saucers. His gaze swept over her body, taking in her attire, and landed on the dagger she was still holding in her hand. A silver dagger, a metal that burned them at the mere touch, and would kill them in a matter of minutes. Dave laid back his ears and, whimpering, looked into her eyes. Sofia bit her lip, and had to blink several times to control the tears that were threatening to flow. She had already imagined this would happen, but she hadn't thought seeing the disappointment in his gaze would hurt so much.

“I'm not a hunter, not anymore,” she said in a weak voice, and sheathed the dagger. “My mother is, she's the one who initiated me and... Fuck! I didn't know anything else! What did you want me to do?”

Dave sighed and looked away. Sofia felt the few still intact pieces of her heart shatter. Dejected, she dropped to the floor, and tears began to stream down her cheeks. She loved him, he was her best friend and no one, not even Angel, had ever made her feel so happy. She was going to lose him because of her mother. It wasn't fair.

“I never killed anyone, I never got to that point in my training. I'm no saint, I did terrible things. I tracked down several cinanthropes and left them at my mother's mercy, and you have no idea how much I regret what I did. When I learned the truth... when I realized that you are people, that you are harmless, that you are only being hunted because you are not human, I walked away from the guild and the hunt,” she hugged her knees and she cried even harder. “I understand that you are disappointed, and I would understand if you never wanted to speak to me again. I told you, I’m a monster...”

She looked down at her hands, barely visible through the blur of her tears, and began to shake. She heard a deep sigh, and then the sound of footsteps on the ground, and Sofia shut her eyes tight, thinking he was walking away from her. That was just what she had feared would happen, that he would reject her when he knew the truth, but she had not imagined it would hurt so much. Suddenly his scent hit her nose, that masculine musk mixed with the smell of pine, and hairy hands gently wiped away her tears. Surprised, Sofia looked up to find him sitting in front of her, looking at her so lovingly that she shuddered. Unable to stop crying, she threw herself at him and hugged him tightly, and he held her close.

“You're my best friend, Dave. I don't want to lose you...” she whimpered, her voice barely a whisper.

She felt him tense, and his breathing quickened. It was only for a few seconds, for almost instantly the tension seemed to melt into a quiet whimper, and Dave hugged her tighter. Sofia felt his hands resting on her back, and his muzzle’s vibrissae tickled her as he nuzzled her neck. Then he shuddered in her arms, and the fur disappeared, leaving in its place human skin, covered in thick body hair, but human skin nonetheless. The hands that rested on her back were no longer clawed, and the damp truffle was now a nose breathing against her neck.

“You're not a monster,” he whispered. “God, you're no monster. Not after all you've done to help me.”

“Dave...” Sofia whimpered, still crying.

“Shhhh, don't worry. You're not going to lose me,” the boy said.

Dave cradled her in his arms until she calmed down. Gradually, her sobs subsided, and finally there was only silence filled with the sounds of the forest. For a few more minutes Sofia lay against his chest, listening to his heartbeat as he gently nuzzled her head.

When Sofia felt a little better, she pulled away from him and twisted her lips into a small, apologetic grimace. After wiping away her tears, she looked at him discreetly, however he noticed and began to blush. He was naked because, when they changed, clothes didn't magically transform with them. Dave, embarrassed by that fact, covered himself with his hands and expressed his discomfort by licking his lips and looking away. Sofia tried not to look at him other than his face so as not to make him any more uncomfortable, but she couldn't help but notice his body, and not only because he had firm, well toned muscles under a thick clump of whitish body hair. What really caught her attention his furry white tail, still present even if he was in human form.

“Sorry, I didn't know that happened...” She murmurred and looked away.

“It's okay, I understand. It... it doesn't happen all the time, only when the moon is at its fullest,” he said, wagging his tail a little. “How long have you known?”

Sofia twisted her lips into a small grimace. She knew that question was going to come eventually.

“I've suspected it for a long time. I'd seen your eyes glow in the dark, and that's a trait only cinanthropes have, but I didn't know if you had already changed. I knew it for sure the night you stepped on the foothold trap. When you stopped right in front of me I recognized your scent,” she said.

“My scent?” Dave raised an eyebrow.

“My father was a cinanthrope.”

Sofia showed him her wrist. At the sight of the mark imprinted on it, the boy opened his mouth in a silent gasp of surprise, and caressed her skin in a shy brush of trembling fingers. So soft was that touch that Sofia shivered, and their eyes searched each other in the darkness.

“You're a cinanthrope,” he breathed.

“I haven't gone through my first change yet. Maybe I never will, but yes, I’m a cinanthrope,” she said with a shy smile.

Suddenly, Dave pounced on her, forgetting his nakedness, and hugged her so tightly Sofia couldn’t help but yelp.

“God, my best friend, do you even understand what this means to me?” he said, as he pulled away from her so he could look into her eyes. His lips had parted in a smile so wide, so spontaneous, so natural, Sofia could see his four fangs, and understood why he always held it back.

“I can imagine!” Sofia replied, her smile equally wide.

Their joy was interrupted by the sound of something approaching at full speed, something moving on all fours. Bristling, both Sofia and Dave raised their heads and sniffed the air. The scent that reached her was that of a person, a grown man, but not anyone she knew. She had no trouble deducing that it was another cinanthrope, because their scent was indistinguishable from that of a human being.

“It's my godfather. You'd better hide. If he sees you dressed like that, he might attack you,” Dave told her.

“Are you going to be all right?” Sofia asked.

“Yes, don't worry. He’s a good man, but he’s supposed to protect me and… you look like a hunter.”

Dave smiled and gave her a gentle squeeze to reassure her. Sofia nodded and stood up with the intention of leaving, but before she did, a silly thought occurred to her. Before she ran off into the bushes, she leaned over her friend and kissed him on the cheek. Dave gasped and rubbed his skin. A small, shy smile appeared on his lips, which lasted as long as it took for the boy to change. It was very different from the other time, when he had seemed to be in a lot of pain, perhaps because he wasn't under the influence of Sara's concoction. Dave took a couple of deep breaths, winced a little when he felt the pain, and within seconds he was on all fours in his white dog form. His tail, which normally rested curled over his back, was raised as straight as a flagpole.

From the undergrowth emerged a second cinanthrope, that one a husky with brown and white fur. The white cinanthrope responded to his presence by growling a little, more annoyed than actually in aggression, as if he were a grumbling teenager. He knew him, that much was clear, and for that reason alone Sofia relaxed and watched the scene with absolute fascination. Never before had she seen two cinanthropes interacting, a pack, or whatever those two were. In less time than the blink of an eye, the husky became a middle-aged man, as naked as the day his mother brought him into the world.

“What have you done? Have you shown yourself to a human?” The man asked, pointing at the chaos of traps, snares and the rifle still lying on the ground. “You can't do that, you know that! Are you aware of the trouble you just got me into? Now I'm going to have to recruit that boy, or call in a concealment unit, and how do I tell them that I need it because you willingly showed yourself to a human?”

Dave looked away sharply and ran his tongue over his muzzle.

“You knew perfectly well that you were forbidden to come near this area as long as those boys were around. You know you have to stay near the hut, which is where I can protect you. Why do you disobey me?” said the man, raising his shoulders.

Dave responded by tensing even more and stared at the other weredog straight in the eyes. His fangs were bared and a low, menacing growl rumbled in his throat.

“Put those fangs away right now and lower your tail. I will not tolerate you challenging me, pup!”

To Sofia's surprise, the white cinanthrope stood even taller and his threat became clearer. His whole body, from his tail held high, his chest puffed out, his ears forward and his fangs visible, clearly indicated that he was accepting the challenge. This was no mere pup, this was a sub-adult that was beginning to seek his own independence and was questioning his godfather’s rules. The adult responded by changing again and dropping down on all fours to adopt an identical pose in response. The adult was as large as the younger dog, but neither seemed intimidated by the other. They studied each other as they growled, baring their fangs as a warning to the other that they would have no qualms about using them, their gazes fixed and their whole body tense.

As neither submitted, they both charged at the same time and engaged in a violent combat that was more noise than anything else, although they did exchange a few bites that broke skin and drew blood. Those kind of fights were ritualistic, there was no intention to hurt or kill, only to subdue. The young one was stronger and more agile than the adult, but this was his first skirmish against another cinanthrope. The adult had years of experience. After a few minutes of fierce fighting, the white cinanthrope ended up on the ground, lying on his back, a move he initiated, accepting that the other was stronger. Growling, the husky positioned himself on top of him, tail held high and chest puffed out in triumph. Contrary to what people used to believe, the winner never forced the loser to lie down, it was the loser who graciously accepted the other's victory by exposing its belly and curling its tail between its legs.

“I know you hate this whole situation, that you don't understand why you have to hide if you haven't done anything wrong, but that's the way it is,” said the adult, changing back to the human form so he could talk to the pup. “Maybe someday it will change, but you won't achieve it by threatening and scaring hunters. You'll only achieve the opposite. You need to keep a low profile. If you find it so unbearable to change in a small area, go to another place and let go, hunt, sleep in the brush and behave like the dog you are if that makes you happy. You cinanthropes without humanity are complicated, I know, and I also know what a hard time you have when you don't follow your nature, but you have to be smarter, stay away from people and not let yourself be seen. If you want to continue living among humans you will have to accept the rules of the human world.”

Then the man changed and started walking towards the depths of the forest. Dave lay on the ground panting for a few minutes, and when he stopped hearing his godfather's footsteps, he sat up and shook off the stress. When Sofia was sure that the other male had left, she came out of hiding and ran to her friend. Dave wagged his tail and rose up on his hind legs, and when she reached him, they merged again in an embrace. Then she felt it, like an ethereal caress that brushed her skin and awakened the energy in her chest. Both she and Dave took a deep breath of air, and at the same time looked up at the sky. Above their heads hung the full moon.

Dave took a breath and howled. Sofia felt her nature react, and it awakened in her the need to join him with her own howl. This time she did not fight that desire. Their voices merged into a single song that reverberated through the forest, a song full of hope, promises and dreams.