Wolf

The wolf howled and his call echoed across the moonlit valley. He
tried again but there was still no answer. Trotting through the forest
he made his way to a clearing where there were signs that a human had
recently stayed, a tent was still erected. He walked round the camp
site; sniffing at he cold grey ashes of the dead fire. He looked up at
the moon and howled again. The full moon shone down on him highlighting
his silver-grey fur. As the moon began to set the wolf moved away from
the clearing to find shelter for the day.
The next night was overcast and the waning moon obscured. The wolf was
wet and bedraggled as he made his way back to the clearing. He knew
that he would not be making the journey many more times. During the day
he had lost some of his hair, he looked as if he had a bad case of
mange. Again he patrolled the clearing; but this time when day was
dawning he crept inside the tent and curled up to sleep sheltered from
the incessant rain.
The morning came and the wolf resembled a wolf no longer. His back legs
had elongated and his fur had been reduced to a light covering on his
legs and arms and body, while his head remained covered. The man-wolf
looked in his backpack for his clothes and dressed He wasn't quite
ready to go back to the rest of humanity; another night in the forest
would see him restored sufficiently to pass unnoticed.

Driving back home he thought about the curse, which drove him back to
the forest every twenty-eight days. He had read books on lycanthropes
but none had seemed relevant to his case. As a child there had been no
sign of the changes he now experienced, it was only with the onset of
puberty that he had started changing once a month. Two days before a
full moon he felt the effects begin. He started to change the day
before the moon turned full. It took longer for him to change back
unless he was unduly stressed.
Earning a living had been a problem but now he wrote best-selling
books. Fantasy books about werewolves and vampires were in great
demand.
"If I wrote about it as it really is on-one would believe me," he
thought as he parked his car in front of his house.
"Hello Colin how was the camping trip?"
It was his nearest neighbour
"Hi Tania, what are you doing here? It's not as if this house is
anywhere near yours."
"Don't be a grouch. I popped over to see if you wanted to come for
dinner tomorrow but you weren't in. I was just leaving when I saw the
car."
The thought of cooked meat revolted him most of the time but just after
the change it was particularly bad.
"Thanks but no thanks Tania. I'm behind with a book I have to get it
finished soon, like last week."
"But you went camping." Tania pouted.
"I went to get refreshed, to get inspired and it worked. So I'll be in
front of my computer for the next few weeks. Then I'll have to go and
meet my agent."
"You're always away." She moaned at him.
"You've got your family and husband to look after. I'm surprised that
you notice when I'm away."

After she had gone Colin realised that he had become lax about his
monthly excursions into the wild. His whole way of living had become
predictable and that could lead to problems. He had bought his house
because the nearest one was just over a mile away but he hadn't
bargained for someone like Tania. Her curiosity was insatiable and when
she found that Colin was a young, unmarried man who wasn't bad looking
then she became a regular caller. He decided that when the book was
finished he would go away perhaps to the forests of Europe. While he
was away he would try to find a more isolate house. He had heard that
Canada was full of wide-open spaces and forests. He phoned his agent
and asked him if he knew of anywhere remote, isolated from the prying
public.
"You live a mile away from anybody"
"It's the anybody I want to get away from; she interrupts my work," he
knew if he said that Fergie would do his best to get him moved. Fergie
made a good living from having Colin as a client; he wouldn't want him
to have his working day disturbed. Colin told him that after finishing
the book he would go around Eastern Europe to research more of the old
legends and myths.
"I'd really like somewhere to move into when I get back and it must be
near or in a forest or wood."
"You'd be isolated in New York, everybody's famous there."
"If you ever want me to write another book then forget you ever said
that."
"Ok, ok I'll see what I can do for you."
"Thanks Fergie, you're a pal."
He finished the book and dropped it off at Fergie's office. He left him
the key to his house.
Fergie said, " I've been making enquiries and I think I've found just
the right place for you"
"That's great. I'll leave everything in your capable hands then. I have
to go I have a plane to catch."

The forests in Europe were wonderful, the wolf roamed about them
smelling the damp earth and howling at the moon. He was lapping water
from an ice-cold stream when he felt a sting in his shoulder, as if a
bee or wasp had stung him. Taking no notice he continued his drink,
then slowly he was overcome by an irresistible lethargy. His legs
refused to move and he collapsed on to the bank of the stream. He heard
voices coming towards him, surprisingly speaking English.
"He's magnificent; I've never seen a wolf this big before. He will be a
great asset for our breeding programme."
"Let's hope so, shall we move him now?"
"Yes, he's as fully sedated as he'll ever be."
They placed the wolf in a crate in the back of a Land Rover and they
drove back to their base camp there were other wolves there who all
started to howl as the crate was placed near them. The nearest wolves
to the crate were snarling and snapping.
"What's wrong with them?"
"It would seem that they don't like the newcomer. It's probably why he
was alone. Come on, let's go back and see if we can get another male,
in case this one doesn't work out."

They left the wolf in the crate and drove off back into the forest. The
sedative was wearing off and the wolf staggered to his feet. He looked
around him; for the first time in his life he was trapped. He panicked
and started to move about in the crate, which had not been securely
fastened. Seeing the crate begin to open the wolf calmed down and the
man within thought about the problem. The combination of wolf and man
soon procured their liberty and the wolf ran away into the forest. He
knew that he had a very limited time left to find his way back to his
camp site, his highly developed sense of smell was blunted when he
changed. Running with a ground-covering lope he arrived back at his
tent two days after the full moon he was already beginning to change.
By the following morning he was almost fully human and he heard a
familiar voice.
"Hello, is anyone there?"
Colin came out of his tent.
"Can I help you?"
" I thought that we should warn you there's a massive savage wolf
roaming the woods."
"Wolves don't usually bother people."
"This one is different, he's an outcast, and they can be
unpredictable."
"Thanks for the warning, I was going to pack up today anyway."
They went their way leaving Colin to pack up his tent. He walked out of
the forest to where he'd parked his car. He would have to return home,
this had been too close a call.
Arriving back home he was met at the airport by his agent.
"I have great news for you. Very isolated, no nosey neighbours. There's
even a wood in the land with the house. And it's very cheap."
"Why?"
"There's rumours that something strange goes on there. Once a month, as
regular as clockwork a wolf parades around the property."
"Sounds interesting."

He could smell the wolf when he walked around the wood. It wasn't a
male, he was sure of that. For the first time in his adult life he
looked forward to his change with excitement rather than dread.

The wolf loped into the wood, scenting the air. The full moon lit his
way to the clearing in the middle. He sat down and howled and for the
first time ever in his life he heard an answer.