✍︎Rᴇǫᴜᴇsᴛ ғʀᴏᴍ DanielaGrayson☕︎

Karl reloaded the crossbow with another silver-tipped arrow,aiming it precisely at the intended target.
He took a few deep breaths and closing his right eye,he aimed well.
1 breath...2 breaths...3 breaths...

No matter how many times he had already done it,anxiety and fear still held him in place. And that was just their normal exercise. What would happen when he would be in front of a real target? One who moved and ran after him with his breath on his neck in search of his dinner? He did not have to hesitate or feel anxious,it depended on his salvation and that of humans. The only thing he had to do was just hit it.

"Still undecided?"
"Mhm?"
Karl turned to the owner of the voice. One of his boyfriends:Quackity.

"Remember the teachings.Don't be afraid to wield a crossbow,not if you can save more lives."
He explained to him as she stared intently at the target in front of them,a few meters away.

"Alright..."
And the arrow flew away,hitting the center of the target.

"See? It is not that difficult.Remember never to hesitate,you're not aiming that weapon at anyone reasonable...werewolves are mercilessly dangerous nocturnal creatures. Once they surround you,you are done.Don't expect them to give you time to talk to ask for help or negotiate,they will end up right there on the spot,if they don't transform you first in one of them. They are despicable freaks of nature that shouldn't even exist."
Quackity spat out those poisoned words,lightly touching his now blind eye. Karl nodded at his words.

Werewolves.
Aggressive night creatures that track their prey via their five developed senses. Humans by day,wolves by night.They weren't failed results from a government experiment,or the result of a virus,they just existed.

The world was divided into several species:humans,witches,vampires,werewolves,fairies,zombies,sirens,any category imaginable. Usually they all live in peace,thanks to political rules. In fact,each species lived in its own habitat and in its own territories. You could only get out of them if you made a report to the authorities,to signal the exit from one's own borders into a domain of others.

When it comes to conflicts,it was usually rare for humans to get involved. The major conflicts were between vampires and werewolf,which have been going on for generations. And also among the fairies and the witches,even if the latter preferred to use magic to put things in place,rather than violence and war. Fights between vampires and werewolves were always bloodthirsty because one side wanted to have the upper hand over the other. This was another reason why they had created the new political pacts,which delimited the borders.

Nonetheless,humans and werewolves have never gotten along,due to ancient disagreements between the two species. And in recent years,there had been a high 25% mortality rate because of the werewolf. In the last decade they had,in fact,started to leave the borders in groups,invading human territory,and killing anyone they could find in the night. The reasons for this act were still unclear, although it was thought to be a political move.

Humans in response armed themselves in various training groups,representing hunters,to defend civilians. Still on the field,Karl,Sapnap and Quackity had met and fell in love,and always on it Quackity had lost an eye. In a fight against a werewolf he hadn't been able to shoot him before he was supposed to. His mistake had cost him an eye and he had left him with a bad scar. Since that day,his hatred of the werewolves has grown more and more.

"Boys! I have the hunting plan for tonight!"
Sapnap came to their sight with a brisk and swift step,waving a sheet of paper.

"Cool...our formations?"
Quackity asked as she watched him bend over to his knees to take small breaths.

Turning up his gaze,he look at the sun which was now about to set. The night was going to be hard,and they were also out on the watch duty. Worse than that could not happen to them.

"These will be our positions...me and Karl will guard sector B,from 21 o'clock to 3 in the morning,then another team will take our place taking turns"

"Wait...they hadn't said anything about the fact that these rounds would be done in pairs. We are usually in a group....."
Karl frowned thoughtfully, and Sapnap scratched his head awkwardly.

"Frankly,I didn't even know that until a few minutes ago. But our sector is the inner part of the city,so we wouldn't have many,or in general, problems....On the other hand,you,Lex,have been paired with Wilbur,your sector is the....sector A-1"
Sapnap explained,pausing and dropping his voice before telling the space of earth one of his boyfriends should have checked.

"The entrance to the forest...."
Quackity had never patrolled the forest entrance again after his assault. And 3 months had already passed since then. Returning to that place,full of memories and pain,made him want to scream.

"Are you sure you want to go? We can have the rounds swapped and the rounds changed,we still have time."
Quackity shook his head negatively at Karl's advice.

"It would only give problems to other teams...Besides,I can always feed them Wilbur if something happens."
He said jokingly,getting giggles from his two favorite people.

"HEY! I heard that!"
And an indignant Wilbur not far away,who was walking towards them,already with his equipment ready.

"Yeah,Yeah,let's go and don't make a fuss"
Quackity shuffled it with his hand,as he took his ready-made backpack,left there on the ground.

"Oh,excuse me,you weren't the one who was being considered to be food for the big bad wolf"

"If you keep talking you certainly will"
And arguing,they went to their post.

"Here block A-1,hunter Wilbur speaking. We are in position,we are in front of the entrance to the forest. If anything happens we will notify you immediately."

Okay,stay safe and let's avoid losses. In case of problems we will send you reinforcements from group A-3 and sector C. Over and out."

"Roger captain"
Wilbur finished informing them of their locations,with a walkie-talkie,while Quackity at his side positioned himself better in the bushes and loaded the crossbow,ready for anything.

"They should start their hunt at any moment from now. Put that thing away,we could be attacking any second from now."
Quackity reminded him,and Wilbur nodded,putting the communication tool away. Taking his crossbow,and adjusting his silver knife,hanging at his waist.

They remained in religious silence for a couple of minutes,with the tension growing higher and higher.

Until they heard it:a howl. The distinctive chilling verse of the werewolf.

"They started"
"Yeah,be quiet"

More sounds and verses were heard after the first, and Quackity had to pause for a moment to understand what was going on.

"Oh shit..."

The clouds present in the sky,which until now obscured the moon,revealed it in all its splendor.
Its rays reached the forest and space just ahead of them,illuminating the path they faced. It was a full moon. It brought about the transformation of the wolfwolves,who had become so,because they were bitten by others.

"They are transforming right now...some have been bitten..."
Wilbur sighed beside him,never taking his eyes off the path. Quackity nodded as he walked away a few inches,checking his hands frantically.

"Yeah...I-I know...I move a couple of meters to the side...so we can cover more ground...if you need to shout ahaha"
He told him nervously,as he moved with his stuff to a couple of distant bushes.

As he crawled between a bush or another,he adjusted his blue cap better,trying to cover his ears as much as possible,while his gaze was directed at his hands,and sometimes also to his legs.

"Fuck,fuck,fuck,shit,fuck..."
he swears under his breath as he settles into another bush a little far away from Wilbur's,as a precaution.

Memories from 3 months earlier began to come alive,as well as what he gained from that little suicide mission.

ᶠˡᵃˢʰᵇᵃᶜᵏ

[_3 ᴍᴏɴᴛʜs ᴇᴀʀʟɪᴇʀ-Eɴᴛʀᴀɴᴄᴇ ᴏғ ᴛʜᴇ Fᴏʀᴇsᴛ;Sɪᴅᴇ:Nᴏʀᴅ-Oᴠᴇsᴛ_]

"Charlie,are you sure you heard noises from here? We are getting very far from our sector…let the A-2 team take care of it from here on out. After all,this part is part of their patrol territory."
Quackity told him,trying to get him back,worried that maybe something had happened while they were gone.

"Man,I'm sure I heard something coming from here,I'm so fucking sure. Besides,the A-2 squads never patrol this area,it's too far from their center. Don't worry about ours, Wilbur is on guard. He will call us right away if anything happens."
Charlie reassured him,patting him on the shoulder as he continued to walk around.

"If you say so..."
Quackity gazed at the surrounding trees with a horrible feeling as he tightened his grip on the silver knife. The steady crossbow tied behind his back,ready to be drawn in every moment.

It was all too quiet and peaceful,if there was a werewolf nearby,they would already encounter damaged shrubs and trees,with scratches and claws,and see the path with the nature half destroyed. But nothing could be heard,not even a howl...as if they wanted to lure their prey and then trike them by surprise.

That was when he got there,and the next he was ready to pull the trigger to fire his arrows. And the second later,he saw the eyes of the werewolf who was slowly come out of the darkness...or rather,the werewolves.

"Charlie! Grab your crossbow and come here...we are surround!"
He yelled at him as he pointed his weapon at the first ones he could see.

"Wai-what?!...oh fu-shit..."
"tell me more"

Charlie walked over to the boy,already armed,putting himself back to back,as in training.

"4...5..6..no..7. There are 7 werewolves who have lured us into their trap...7 vs 2 doesn't seem fair to me"
Quackity said while with the crossbow,he began aiming the first arrow.

"To the last blood?"
"To the last blood"
They exchanged a couple of glances,before either side attacked first.

One of the werewolves catapulted on Charlie,but he dodged it by leaning sideways,and hitting him with the knife. Another ran towards Quackity,but its path was halted halfway by a silver arrow in its eye.

"Careful! On your left!"
Quackity gave directions to Chiarlie,who,with a slip at the last moment,missed the claw of another. Quackity hit the werewolf with 3 arrows each at vital points.

"Thanks man!...9 o'clock!"
Charlie warned him as he stabbed another werewolf. Quackity did a somersault and stepped sideways repeatedly to avoid his sharp claws,then cut off his head.

In a short time they killed them all,until only one remained standing.

"Charlie,distract him so I can finish him off with an arrow!"
"I can try, but I'm exhausted,I don't know if..ahhhh!"
"CHARLIE!"

Quackity screamed his name in panic as he saw his friend thrown off into some trees,who knows where,a few meters away. A defining feature of the werewolf was their inhuman strength,with their super hearing and inhuman speed. Sure a vampire was still faster than them,but they should never be underestimated or considered inferior.

"Fuck...no,hey,stay back! You peace of shit! I said:Stay back!"
Quackity crawled back on all fours as his enemy advanced towards him. The crossbow was a few meters away,he just had to grab it and aim it at him. Then it would all be over.

He just had to reach out a little behind him and take the crossbow. The silver knife had been lost during previous clashes,he didn't even remember where he had thrown it. The crossbow was his only salvation.

Just a little more...
And that was when it happened.

Before he could take the crossbow in his hand,now millimeters away from him,the werewolf rushed on him,making him bang his head hard on the ground,and with his fangs tried to pierce his body.

Quackity had to restrict the night creature's movements,placing a measly piece of wood in its jaws as a barrier between them. Which was destroyed as soon as it was placed in front of its mouth.

"Shit,shit,shit! Help! Someone! Please help me! Charlie?! Wilbur!? Whoever! Please don't leave me alone,I need help!"
He screamed trying to call successes, for any person around.

He looked in every direction,while try to repelled the wolf's bites with whatever things he had nearby,until he did notice one thing:the crossbow during the impact had been moved,and now he could get there without problems.
And that was exactly what he did.

He pulled dirt into the creature's eyes and quickly turned to take the crossbow,preparing to kill the beast above him.

The enraged werewolf hit him with his claw in the eye,making blood splatter,and showing the skin uncovered for how deep it was.

Quackity screamed in pain,while he brought his left arm—the empty one– to his face to protect himself from any attacks.
The left kept the crossbow now readyto fire,but before he could do so,another tragedy occurred.

The werewolf seeing,his uncovered state bites,him on the arm,causing him another desperate scream.

"Quackity!"
Charlie emerged from the forest,his clothes trapped and a few drops of blood running down his forearms and head. He was injured,but still alive.

At that noise the werewolf loosened his grip on his arm and looked around to see where it was coming from.

"Charlie! Help!"
Quackity yelled at him as he tried to see his injured arm.

Charlie rushed at the werewolf,knocking him away from his friend,and repeatedly hitting him with the knife.  Quackity gave him the final blow by firing an arrow at him that caught him in the head.

ᵉⁿᵈ ᵒᶠ ᵗʰᵉ ᶠˡᵃˢʰᵇᵃᶜᵏ

Luckily Charlie had not seen that he had been bitten,otherwise he would now have been isolated in who knows what experimental cell. That accident made him famous as a hunter,but at the same time he got wounds that were not superficial. And a big secret.

For the past 3 months he had done nothing but secretly exchange patrol orders,but only in certain situations:when there was a full moon.

When you are bitten by a werewolf,there are only two solutions: either you die from pain,or whoever gets over it becomes one of them. However,this process is only instigated by the full moon.

And guess what? This was his case.
Whenever there was a full moon,he transformed into a werewolf. For this reason he preferred to take places more isolated from others,and sometimes even go alone. It also happened that he pretended to be ill in order not to go to night drills or patrols during the full moon. He didn't want anyone to know.

Today,however,he had not taken into account the lunar cycle,and had overlooked an important concept:today there was a full moon. And he was and is in shit,big shit.

"Fuck...please..a little further away..."
Quackity whispered as he began to see his hands change and his nails getting longer,also feeling discomfort in the ears under hat,clear sign that they were starting to change too.

He did the only thing that went through his head:he ran. He ran away from sector A in search of a less busy and safe internal place. Any isolated place would be fine. Praying that no one would see or find him in this state. They would have killed him if that had been the case.

With a lofty leap he passed some recents and gates,going deeper and deeper. His ears were already pointed,and his hands were beginning to change,his teeth as well,were becoming more pointed.

"Come on man! I'm not even under the moonlight! How can it be so fucking fast!?"
he yelled in frustration,as he took a mirror from his backpack to check his eyes:the pupils were dilated.

His complete transformation was just a short distance away,he was already starting to feel itchy and his clothes were starting to be tight and uncomfortable.

He stopped in a completely isolated part,praying it was just him. He didn't remember which sector he was in,as he didn't notice where he was running.

"Just please,let it be just me here,please XD"

"Alex?"

Shit

"Is that you?"

Duble shit

Sapnap and Karl's voices were like a bucket of cold water,which stopped him on the spot. He had his back to them so they couldn't see him…and they couldn't see his transformation.

"Q? What are you doing here? Did something happen? Weren't you and Wilbur safe? Where is Wilbur? Did you really feed him to the werewolves?"
Karl asked worriedly as he walked towards him.

"Why didn't you warn if you were under attack? We would have sent reinforcements. Are you fine? You aren't hurt are you? Not even Wilbur right? Are you both alive....right?"
Sapnap asked afterwards,checking around that there was no enemy in the bushes,ready to jump at him.

Bad luck for Quackity,he couldn't speak. Once he has become a werewolf,or in the midst of the metamorphosis process,he cannot speak. The only thing you can formulate were verses,but sentences and letters of complete meaning were still a distant desire. But you could understand what was being said to you.

"Are you okay?...Why aren't you talking?...Quackity...what's wrong?"
Karl asked him,trying to take his hand,only after realizing what was happening,he released it.

"Karl? Why did y...."
Sapnap's words died in his throat once he noticed the state of their fiancé.

Quackity was shaking,not for anger or disgust,but for fear. He was terrified,and didn't move from his position. But that wasn't what worried him most. What worried him mainly was the fact that it was no longer him,but a werewolf. Or rather,in the process of becoming one.

"He was bitten...."
Sapnap whispered his words under his breath,observing the boy in front of them,now in his werewolf form...

His clothes were tight,and some parts were even torn,the backpack was destroyed and his eyes dilated,claws and canines long and sharp. He was a few inches taller and his fur was a lighter color than his hair,but still black. He turned to them slowly,not distracting his eye contact.

"Is bad that I found him awesome? He genuinely seems to have a soft fur..you think that I can sleep on it?"
"Seriously Karl?"
"Hey! I've been having trouble sleeping lately,it's not my fault"
Sapnap rubbed the bridge of his nose in exasperation,then glanced back at their boyfriend,who was definitely a couple of meters away from them.

He frowned trying to understand why,to then notice the movements of his body,and of his tail,and follow the gaze of the guy...no wait,wolf.

"Oh..."
He found himself staring at the silver sword in his hand,then shifting his gaze to the silver bullet pistol,which Karl had hung around his waist.

"Why did he is distanced from us?"
"Watch your waist...I think is obvious..."

Karl followed the lead by noticing his gun. So that was why...
He felt his heart die in his throat at the thought of this.

"He thinks...he thinks we want to kill him....He is shaking and moving away from us more and more because of this...."

He realized,looking at the situation from the Quackity's point of view.

"Yeah...not a chance"
Sapnap placed his sword on the ground,kicking it a little,a few meters further. While Karl beside him unloaded the gun,knocking his bullets and chargers to the ground,then throw the empty gun behind him.

"Love...we don't want to kill you,don't be afraid. Nothing will happen to you,we won't do anything to you...Can I get close?"
Sapnap tried,taking small steps towards the wolf.

Quackity in return growled at him,drifting further away as he continued to tremble visibly.

"Look,we have no weapons. No knives or crossbows,we are isolated and there are no traps nearby. Nothing will happen to you, you can trust us...we would never hurt you...and we don't want to hurt you now."
Karl began,walking a little closer to Quackity still scared.

"We love you,and the fact that you have been bitten doesn't mean that we have to kill you. We will be able to overcome it,and we will not let anyone take you away,we will protect you. Werewolf or not,we love you just the same. Don't be afraid and trust us...we will rather die than hurt you."
Sapnap finished as they approached their boyfriend together.

Quackity had been trembling with fear ever since he revealed himself to them. He had pretended for 3 months to hate the werewolf with all of his heart,when in reality he was one of them,and he had slowly started to embrace that nature. You had advantages after all. You could run for miles and not get tired,hear even the most distant conversations,see things accurately even from meters away,and lift more weights than others. If you looked at it from this point of view it wasn't too bad. Avoiding that it was easier to accidentally kill someone...

He had never thought,however,that of all the people who would find out,it would be his boyfriends.

When he first turned around,he thought he was subject to looks of fear and disgust,but that wasn't the case. Indeed, Karl had even asked him if he could sleep on his fur because it seemed soft...
But it could still be a trap...even though he had actually walked away because he didn't want to hurt them.

It would have been a tragic end worthy of Romeo and Juliet if they had pointed their weapons at him,but this was not the case,on the contrary, they threw them on the ground and reassured him. They reassured him when he thought it was over for him,and that his time had come.

But no,there he is still,breathing,living,and staying with the people who loved him,and he loved...it would have been too cruel if it had been a trap.

After interminable moments, he took the first step towards them, followed by other little ones, and then stopped insecure in front of them.

Sapnap held out his hand and Quackity brought his head closer to it,touching it.

"Awww,you're too cute in this form love"
Karl at his side,kneels beside him,and stroke his ears. Sapnap followed him and stroked his head.

He didn't look like a dangerous creature ready to kill you at all,but more like a helpless little dog. Or that was the Quackity effect.

"Everything will be fine,don't worry. Ok?"
"We are together now,no one can harm you."
And nodding to their words Quackity let go,after 3 months full of fear and anxiety,he relaxed under their gaze.

They were together after all,what could possibly go wrong? If something happened they would protect each other. This is how their relationship worked,and so it would continue to be. Werewolf or not,there were still people by his side who would love him. And that was enough for him.

"Quackity! Where are you?!...have you been eaten?!"
Meanwhile, Wilbur's voice echoed through the forest as he tried to find his teammate.

He took the walkie-talkie out of his backpack pocket to warn someone.

"Phil? I think that Q got eaten.What should I do?"
On the other side of the line, an exasperated sigh could be heard.

"Will,if he had been eaten,you would have heard his scream. Did you hear him?"
Phil tried to explain to him as he mimed his teammates setting a trap to catch the werewolf that was nearby.

"No...But he may have been quietly eaten"
Wilbur tried to explain his point of view to him.

"Wilbur please,this is not the time for this. You spent too much time with Tommy"
And Phil closed the call,still leaving him without a reply.

"So was he eaten or not?...or got only lost in the woods..."

"HE DITCHED YOU! GET A LIFE WILL!"
The voice of a boy, not far from him, echoes among the trees.

"YOU GREMLIN CHILD"