A werehog's mate 2: chapter 4

Shadow's POV

I sighed in agitation as i searched for my dad after mom had decided to let Sonic stay for a few days. It wasn't that i disliked him, but i just didn't want him to stay for the night. Especially not at night.

I trudged through the thick layer of snow and made my way into the stables of the sheep and pigs. I stepped through the wooden gates and saw that my suspisions were correct. As i thought i had found my father closing the hole that some killing beast had made late at night.

"still busy closing the hole?" I asked as i approached him. My dad turned to look at me.

"Shadow, yes i still am." He said and turned back to his work on the wooden wall.

"Sonic is staying for dinner tonight." I said.

"Sonic's here?" He asked as he replaced another broken wooden board with a newer one.

"yeah, mom is allowing him to stay for a few nights since his parents are on vacation for this week." I said and expected my dad to dissagree with mom's decision.

"i see, it's nice to have visitors." He simply said and somewhat agreed to my mom's decision.

"wait! you agree?!" I said in disbelieve.

"of course. Sonic seems like a nice guy." He said.

"b...but." I said, but i wasn't given a chance to explain myself properly.

"Shadow, Sonic is diferent then the others because of his family." He said.

"diffirent? because of his family? how?" I asked.

"let's just say that he knows more then you give him credit for." He said and used his hamer to fasten another wooden board to the wall.

I confused by what he meant. Does he mean that Sonic knows of our secret? Or does he have any suspisions? I hope he didn't. Else i would be losing the only friend i have. After all, who would want to hang out with me after finding out my family's secret about a 'curse' that was caused by our family's DNA. Which, back in the day, poeple thought was actually caused by God punishing those that had sinned. But what they didn't know is that it was a just a DNA abnormality with some huge side effects to go with it. But i wasn't going to contemplate upon that now.

"mom's done with lunch." I said with a curt tone and left the stables. I walked back to the house and made my way inside. I looked around and saw that mom and Sonic were already sitting at the table talking to eachother. They acted like could've been related to eachother. I joined them at the table and a little while later my dad came aswell.

A few hours passed. It was now almost 11 pm in the evening. My mother had asked me to show Sonic the spare bedroom. I walked inside as he followed and made up his bed with fresh thick covers and pillows.

"thanks, it seems quite comfortable." Sonic said and laid down upon the covers of the guest bed.

"no problem." I muttered and walked to the heater. I turned the knob of the heater so it won't be as cold in here anymore and walked to the door.

"are you sure you wanna stay?" I asked as i halted in the doorway and turned to him.

"of course. i don't see why i wouldn't." Sonic said with a smile across his muzzle as he crossed his arms behind his head. My eyes narrowed and i left the room.

I made my way into the livingroom and heard my parents talking. They were talking about guarding the cattle and see what exactly had been attacking our farm animals. I walked in on their conversation and they both briefly glanced at me before continueing.

"can i help?" I asked, but they didn't seem so certain.

"why? it's dangerous." My dad said.

"don't worry i can handle myself." I said and walked outside to the stables. My dad sighed and followed me.

"Shadow, this is not a good idea. who knows how dangerous whatever the hell that thing is can be?" He said as he followed me to the stables.

"i can handle it!" I said with confidence.

"no you can't! you're still a child!" He said, but i persisted. I stood my ground stubbornly and stayed outside. My father, not wanting to harm me, only sighed and walked before it was midnight. So he wouldn't risk any outsiders to spy on us and see something horrific.

I stayed outside at the stables. I didn't want to be inside. It was to risky with Sonic being there. Not that my dad really cared about him being there. I yawned as i felt myself becoming tired. I looked up to the moon and watched it's position.

Midnight was arriving.

I sat down onto my knees as i felt myself becoming disorientated and nauseated. My head pounded in my skull as my jaw started to hurt. I whimpered as i felt my teeth changing to be even more abnormal and threatening then they already were for a mobian hedgehog.

'my clothes.' I thought as i quickly pulled them of. I couldn't risk ripping them to shredds as my, how should i call it, other self didn't particular liked wearing clothes. After stripping down i felt my fur grow to make a thick winter coat to replace my thinner one. I felt my rational thinking mind slipping, but desperatly clung onto it to keep it. The small claws on my finger tipes grew to be even sharper than they already were.

I whimpered out of relief. The pain of my jaw and the throbbing headache was fading away. I strungled to keep myself from falling victim to my instinctive mind, but i managed to fight it. Even if it was with difficulty.

I know that i didn't change much at all. That was some sort of a birth deffect that i had been, of course, born with. My parents thought that i didn't change at all at night. They said i was one of the luckier ones in this family. But the little change didn't make me any less terrifying. My eyes reflecting the light of the moon. And my fur being enlighted by moonlight made me seem terrifying as if i didn't have some sort of birth defect that would even be rare for a werehog such as myself.

This 'defect' wasn't as much as a blessing as my parents thought it was, however. While I didn't change as much during the night, unlike other lycanthropes, I didn't look as normal as I should during the day. That was the downside.

I panted with my ears glued to my head and looked around. I had to focus on protecting the cattle against whatever beast that had been killing them. I laid down on the ground like a canine could on it's side and rested for a bit.

I sat up when i was startled by a noise. I looked around and moved my ears into certain directions to try and find the noise again. I heard it. It sounded like the crunching of snow beneath something heavy. I kept myself from growling. I knew something was coming. I could even smell it lurking around in the crops, waiting to attack it's next prey.