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Summary: In which Carl is adopted and has a secret: he's a werewolf. So when it comes to the lineup with the Saviors, he's more than surprised to see someone just like him. With no other options, he shifts.
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In Carl's defense for not telling anyone about his secret (minus Maggie, but that wasn't entirely his fault), he figured everyone was already stressed. He didn't want to fuel the fire. Besides, it's not like he couldn't control himself. He wasn't going to hurt anyone anytime soon!
Sure, he stole that raw deer Daryl caught. And yes, maybe he scared a couple kids when he flashed wolf teeth at them. But hey! At least he's got enough control not to shift in the middle of the street, right?
Carl had known something was up the moment he hit age fourteen. It was back at the prison, just after they cleared out the first cell block. It began with little things, like growls and whimpers. Then his teeth and nails ached and would unintentionally grow into claws. Then his hair lengthened and had to be cut quickly before anyone noticed how quickly it was growing. Next his eyes flashed red - which scared the hell out of him when he got out of the shower and saw it happen for the first time.
When the time came for Lori to give birth to Judith, he had been struggling to keep himself together. He wanted nothing more than to tell his mother what was happening to him before she died, but with Maggie there, it made everything more difficult.
He told her anyway. Carl used his story to distract his mother, but it also distracted Maggie. He would glare at the woman every now and then to remind her to stay focused.
Lori had smiled weakly and murmured, "That sounds amazing, Carl. You're going to grow into something special." And the light faded from her eyes...
Maggie didn't tell anyone, but confronted him the moment they were alone and Judith had been taken care of. Carl confessed all he knew, and she was satisfied with his explanations. Then she vowed not to let anyone else know and offered him to come to her if he needed to talk about it or anything else.
The first time he began shifting was when the Governor was introduced. His teeth would grow into fangs and a low growl would escape his throat unwillingly. Next came his hands, which occasionally changed into brunet paws. Then his eyes, his legs, and eventually everything else.
One day, Carl sneaked outside of the prison while Maggie was on watch duty. He pleaded for her to not tell anyone, and she agreed, but only if he returned in a certain limit of time.
When Carl reached the forest, away from the walkers by the prison gates, he let out everything hidden within him.
His first full-body shift was very painful. He had to grit his teeth as to not scream and draw attention to himself. His bones shifted and realigned in a frenzy of agony, and his senses were so enhanced he was unable to focus on one thing at a time.
Carl found a creek to examine himself. He was a wolf; a large one at that. He stood at four feet tall from paw to shoulder, and he knew he'd only get bigger. His eyes were the same blue as when he was human, but as he noticed when he was frustrated that they would shift and glow red.
His fur was the same as his human hair; a medium brown. As a wolf, though, his fur was soft and silky. Faint muscles could be seen under his hide as well. He moved clumsily at first, unused to his new form, but adjusted quickly.
Carl felt powerful in his wolf form, especially when his eyes glowed red. Was he some sort of alpha? Like the ones he'd read in his comic books? This was all so strange to him.
But now, at almost eighteen years old, Carl had adapted and grown. His wolf form now stood at five feet from paw to shoulder, and with his head raised, it heightened him by at least another foot. Strong muscle rippled beneath his brown fur, which had grown slightly.
The most amazing thing, in his opinion, was how thick his hide was. When Lizzie - damn he hated her - had stolen a gun and somehow managed to get a hit on him, the bullet only struck him, caused a surge of pain, but did not penetrate under his skin.
Carl kept his wolf form to himself, though. Not even Maggie knew what he looked like as a wolf. He didn't admit he could fully shift until a year after he first did it. Needless to say, she begged him to let her see. After a while, he guilt tripped her to make her stop asking, and she gave in. She still hinted at it every once in a while, however.
One time, Carl did, in fact, stumble across another of his kind. He supposed "werewolf" was a good term to call it. Anyway, he met another werewolf while he and Rick were recovering at a neighborhood house after the fall of the prison.
Carl was surprised he didn't even sense the other werewolf. He always imagined that if he met one, he'd immediately tell the person was like him. Nope.
Instead, he found the fellow werewolf in human form, appearing completely human. After a couple threats, the man laughed deviously and shifted into a large caramel-colored wolf. The wolf-man obviously expected Carl to be surprised, and oh he was, but the boy had quickly reacted by shifting as well.
Despite being more than a foot shorter than the other werewolf, Carl had won the dispute. They'd roughhoused for a few minutes, but when they'd backed away for a split second, Carl gave a wolfish roar and his eyes flashed a vivid red. The other werewolf whimpered on instinct and crouched submissively.
Well, Carl certainly got his answer as to if he was an "alpha" or not.
Carl had only ever used his wolf form in a fight three times, including that one. The other two revolved around walkers. One of them was when the majority of the prison group reunited and were engulfed by walkers. Carl had hidden himself, stripped his clothes (damn he hated that shifting destroyed his clothes) and shifted as quickly as he could. Then, he'd jumped into the chaos and slayed as many walkers as he could to protect his group.
When Carl returned to the group as a human, he was more than grateful that only Glenn and Carol had noticed him as a wolf. The pair were ranting about him, but the others just laughed it off. Carl expected Maggie to spill his secret to Glenn, but the woman just grinned at him, nodded, and turned to Glenn to try convincing him it was something else.
The second time was when Daryl and Rick were out hunting and tracking. Although Rick wasn't either of those, he wanted to learn, and Daryl agreed to teach him.
Carl had been racing around as a wolf just for the fun of it before he heard the commotion. He hurried over, and once he realized what was going on, he hopped into the fight and began defending his father and friend.
After the walkers had been taken care of, the two men had turned and stared in complete awe. Both had weapons aimed at him, and Carl felt a prick of hurt.
The wolf bowed his head respectfully, then raced off, swerving here and there to dodge bullets and arrows.
Maggie had even come up with an idea for a code phrase in case they needed him to shift. It was simple, just the word "sprout" to let them both know Carl needed to shift. It was a pretty good technique, they both agreed.
So yeah, Carl had quite an eventful life. Even after he lost his eye, he still spent time as a wolf. His wolf form had lost an eye as well and sported the same disgusting scar. But unlike when he was human, it couldn't really be covered up.
Anyway, Carl found himself rethinking his werewolf ability and the code phrase as he sat there on his knees in a line with his group. They were surrounded by their enemies, called the Saviors apparently. The man in charge was named Negan, and from what Carl had heard, he was more than sadistic.
When an RV pulled up, Carl's heart began racing, because he knew that Negan would be there. His hands clenched as he struggled not to panic. He wanted to whimper, growl, and roar, but he couldn't. And even if he could, he wasn't sure which he would choose.
Negan had stepped out of the RV, and right after he had, Carl knew something was... off. The man strode so powerfully around the area, a bat with barbed wire slung against his shoulder. His eyes wandered, pausing on someone every now and then. When they landed on Carl, they narrowed suspiciously, but the man gave no sign of understanding anything. Then, Negan moved to Rick.
The night went on as Negan taunted all of them. When his attention had been focused on Carl, the one-eyed man felt another surge of bewilderment. There was something different about Negan...
"Shit, kid," Negan chuckled darkly. "Lighten up. At least cry a little."
That was minutes before Negan was leaning over Abraham, bat in grasp and drenched in blood. There was sobbing throughout the group, and Carl couldn't help but let out a few tears as well.
But then, it all came to Carl.
When Negan turned to his men, they'd bow their heads submissively. Maybe no one else noticed it, but Carl sure did. And when Negan had been killing Abraham, the brunet swore the man's eyes tinted red for a split second. Also, while Negan talked, his voice would shift when it became angry and threatening. It even made Carl shiver, which was uncommon with his secret Alpha status.
Negan was a werewolf, and an Alpha too.
It all became clear to Carl what he could do. He'd never be able to take Negan on without a weapon, but if he got the man away from that damn barbed bat, the likelihood of his victory was much greater. Even if Negan shifted into a wolf bigger than Carl, the chances were still great.
Yes, Negan's men would be shooting at him, but when the two werewolves engaged in a fight, it'd be difficult for any of them to get a good hit. And even if they did, Carl's hide was still thick enough to ward off most bullets.
If he was lucky, maybe Carl wouldn't have to fight at all. If he was just able to overpower Negan, be the stronger Alpha with a stronger will, then he could end this all.
Carl's eye darted around as his plan clicked into place. He had to get his group to know the plan too, and to fight once he took on Negan alone. If they were frozen in shock, everything would fail.
Another idea came to mind as Carl's gaze landed on Maggie. She looked horrible, and it made his heart ache.
Then, Negan was approaching Glenn. The man was raising his bat, preparing to strike the group's favorite Korean. Maggie cried out in the background, and the others were struggling to breathe properly.
"Stop!" Carl exclaimed.
Everyone froze the moment he spoke. The barbs of Negan's bat were so close to Glenn, almost grazing his black hair. The man himself stared at the eighteen year old in surprise.
"What's that?" Negan asked, a smirk coming to his face. "I could've fucking sworn you just tried giving me a fucking order."
Negan came striding over, twirling his blood stained bat mockingly. He halted in front of Carl, smirk broadening when he heard Rick's choked breaths, prepared to plead for his son's life.
"You've got some balls, kid," Negan chuckled. "Anything else you wanna share with the class?"
"Yeah," Carl ground out, fighting the urge to submit to this killer. He glanced over to Maggie and spoke, "Sprout."
The woman seemed to forget all her lack of energy at the single code word. She nodded while everyone else was confused and outside the loop.
Negan opened his mouth to give some sort of remark, but was left speechless when Carl's eye flashed red and a smirk replaced his solemn expression.
"Impossible," Negan breathed. Carl glared and let his soothing blue iris be replaced by the crimson iris he wielded as an Alpha.
"Not quite," Carl retorted, then let out his own beast.
Carl jumped to his feet and snatched Negan's leather jacket in the process. Before bullets could shoot through his human flesh, he was giving a loud, feral growl and shifting into his wolf form.
As his human hands transitioned into a wolf's, he flung them forward to shove Negan far across the clearing. His clothes ripped in all places, too tight for his ginormous build. His bandage fell from his face, leaving his scar exposed, framed by brown fur. His eye remained red, full of fiery anger and a promise of revenge. His human teeth grew into hazardous fangs that bared instantly.
The transformation took no more than a couple seconds. It was as though Carl had erupted into a wolf, not simply shifting into one.
Shock was no doubt coming from all the bystanders. Everyone's breathing hitched, even Maggie's, because she'd never gotten a look at Carl's full werewolf form. Rick was crying out in surprise, attempting to stand. Maggie gathered the energy to grin and call out, "NOW!" to the rest of the group.
Carl paid no mind to anyone but Negan, who had regained his footing and was staring at Carl in awe. The man recovered quickly, though, and was soon dropping his bat and shrugging off his leather jacket.
When Negan shifted, it was in a manner even faster than Carl's. He transitioned into a giant wolf with fur resembling pepper and salt. He stood a half foot above Carl, with both eyes a dull red. Both of them would glow brighter once they began challenging each other, though.
Carl shook himself from the amazing sight of werewolf Negan. He gave a strong snarl, teeth bared and spit flying. One paw lifted off the ground then stomped back down in an act of fury.
Negan returned the snarl, although louder. His tail lashed in warning, like he was telling Carl to give up, but they both knew he wouldn't.
They both moved for the first attack at the same time. They zoomed forward and reared up, claws lashing and teeth snapping. Negan was stronger and larger, which caused Carl to be shoved onto his back. He recovered quickly, though, by giving a harsh swipe across the other werewolf's face and then kicked his belly. The brunet wolf managed to slide out from under Negan and then ram into his side, bowling them both over.
Gunshots rang out, and Carl realized they weren't towards him or Negan. His group was fighting, just like him.
Carl gave a nearly inaudible whimper when teeth sunk and tugged painfully at his ear. He kicked the older werewolf away, then followed it up with clamping his teeth down on Negan's leg.
The fellow Alpha made a noise of pain, though not quite a whimper or whine. He retaliated by biting into Carl's scruff and yanking him away.
They reared up and collided again, spinning in circles as their claws and teeth flew everywhere. Carl got a good bite at Negan's shoulder, but was then clawed harshly by his cheek.
The fighting werewolves pushed off each other, putting a few feet of distance between them. Snarls and growls rang out as they circled each other.
Negan's eyes flashed a bright red, displaying his power. Carl refused to bow down, and so his remaining eye began brightening into a more intense red, slightly stronger than Negan's.
This time Negan made the first move, shooting forward towards Carl's throat. The younger Alpha ducked as quickly as he could, his teeth then lodging into Negan's chest.
They collided with the ground and rolled in a frenzy of chaos. Negan was able to weigh Carl down and pin him. His teeth were bared dangerously as he practically roared in Carl's face, eyes a flurry of red.
Carl almost thought he was done for, until instinct kicked in and his head lifted to bite Negan's muzzle.
Negan whined unintentionally, withdrawing himself and loosening his grasp on Carl. Carl took the perfect opportunity to shove the other off of him, then roll them over so he was atop.
It was Carl's turn to take control. He didn't hesitate with arrogance like Negan and instead dived right down towards the fellow Alpha's throat. He felt claws swiping against his belly from Negan's struggling paws, and although it hurt, the determination to end Negan was more important than the pain.
Blood trickled from the gray and black wolf's neck. Before Carl could continue, he was thrown off.
Again, they both stood with a small distance between them. Carl felt liquid on his cheek and realized it was blood. Several other parts of his body ached, and he was sure clumps of his brown fur had been torn out during the fight.
The fur on Negan's throat was stained crimson, but not by much. He wouldn't be dying from Carl's attack anytime soon. And yet the other Alpha's eyes were a weaker red.
Carl felt a wave of pride and relief over him when he noticed Negan's eyes were dulling from red. The younger werewolf stepped closer, standing tall and intimidatingly, despite the other's bigger form.
Carl gave a dominant roar as he leaned forward, wordlessly demanding Negan to bow. The Savior leader seemed to have no control over himself, because his head tipped downwards. It wasn't much of a bow, but it would do.
Carl snapped his jaws beside the gray and black wolf's forehead, then let another demanding growl out. Negan rumbled in a mix of anger and defensiveness, but nonetheless began lowering himself.
The brunet werewolf stood proudly in front of Negan's lowered figure. His eye was a glistening red, practically glowing in the night. A vibe of power radiated around him, even effected the humans.
The thought of humans crossed Carl's mind, and he was snapped from his daze of victory when he remembered his group.
His red eye darted around, searching for anyone he knew. He was scared. He expected bodies, blood, fallen weapons, lifeless eyes...
But instead he was met with the sight of his group staring at him from the edge of the clearing, all worn out but nonetheless awed, shocked, and relieved.
Carl released a heavy exhale when he did a silent role count and realized no one had been killed.
He began stepping away from Negan, but gave one last snarl just for the fun of it. Hey, he won a fight against another Alpha, he should at least be able to get an extra snarl in!
Carl ambled towards his family, unsure of what their thoughts were. There was a little pain in his foreleg, giving him a small limp. And it was probably noticeable too, with how their eyes spent a split second inspecting that leg in particular.
"...Carl?" Rick croaked.
The man sounded so shocked and unsure, as though this giant wolf in front of him had somehow replaced his son and left nothing of Carl.
Carl bowed his head, his eye fading from red to blue. His tail lowered and he let his legs relax from when he'd been standing as tall as he could. A little rumble answered his father, and the ginormous wolf halted a couple feet from the man, head lowered to where his eye was equal to Rick's two eyes.
"Holy shit," rasped Daryl, who was leaning against Glenn.
"That was amazing, Carl!" Maggie gushed. "And your wolf form-"
"Is anyone else thinking maybe the Saviors drugged us?" a voice spoke up, but Carl was too busy paying attention to his father to care who it was.
Turning to Maggie, Rick asked, "This - this is really Carl?" Maggie nodded with a smile. Rick returned his eyes to Carl's giant wolf form. "You're Carl?"
Carl huffed and dipped his head in confirmation. He slowly stepped forward to rub his cheek against his father's affectionately, then leaned back in hopes that Rick understood.
"My son is a... what, a werewolf?" The leader struggled for words.
"And so is Negan, apparently," Maggie muttered nonchalantly.
"We need to go," Michonne reminded them.
"Right," Rick agreed. He turned back to Carl and smiled unsteadily. "We're having a long talk later, Carl. As for now-"
Daryl interrupted, "Mind giving me a lift?"
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