(GORE WARNING toward the end of the chapter, just brace yourselves.)
It was around six in the morning when Emilia awoke, she had barely gotten any sleep the night before. The throbbing, burning, and stinging pain in her rear hadn't ended and she was sure she had bruises. If only The Kid Protection Department was still active these days, they might be able to help. But conversing with them would brand her a traitor to the Count. What was Asenath's plan? Why wouldn't She let them fight the Count? Maybe She wanted to wait until they were at full strength, when they turn into werewolves, whenever that'll be. Surely then She'll let them tear into the vampire with tooth and claw. Thirty-five werewolves would be more than enough, even if they were mainly pups.
Emilia picked out her clothes for school, something that wouldn't break the outdated and sexist school dress code, and packed her bag. She got dressed and walked, with a limp to her gait as the bruises hurt when she moved, out of her room toward the bathroom in the hallway. She saw Liam practically limping to the bathroom as well from the opposite end of the hallway. He looked just as exhausted as she did.
"Morning." Liam mumbled; eyes half closed.
"Morning. Did you sleep at all last night?" Emilia asked.
"Maybe a few hours. I have to try not to fall asleep in class today. I'd have an energy drink, but everything still tastes like soap. I almost puked when drinking water last night." Liam said.
"Everything's going to be hard for the foreseeable future. But letting it get to us is what the vampire wants. We have to stay strong." Emilia said.
Liam nodded. "We will find strength within our pack. Riley texted me last night saying to come meet him at the dog park base tonight. He has rations of homework for us and meat for the weredogs who are made to be vegan. Devon made sure we were fed after all."
"How kind of him, but I can't go. I'm grounded for months. Father never specified how many." Emilia said.
"I'll tell father and dad that we have an after-school club for extra credit, surely they'll let you go then." Liam told her.
"Let's hope that works." Emilia said, slipping into the bathroom to use it first. She washed up and tried to use a comb instead of a hairbrush to do her hair. Something about touching a hairbrush seemed… Frightening to her. After trying to brush her teeth and gagging because of the taste, she spat out globs of toothpaste into the sink, cursed under her breath and rinsed her mouth. Water was a bit more bearable than toothpaste and maybe other things. She loathed how this foul vampiric magic worked, everything it did caused prolonged pain. She had just started to do her makeup when she was startled by a loud knock at the bathroom door.
"Emilia, hurry up. Liam needs to use the bathroom too." Came Kurt's impatient voice.
"Father, I'm fine. She can be in there as long as she wants." Liam argued.
"Do you realize what time it is? You're going to be late for school. Back talk again and-… Wait, not again, because you're not going to get that chance! I'm going to teach you a lesson about back talking!" Kurt said.
Emilia opened the door and ran out to see Liam being hauled away by their father, he had his arm in that painful grip again. "Father, wait. I'm done. He can use the bathroom now. Spanking him will just make us even more late." She argued, as politely as possible.
Kurt stopped and looked at his daughter. "Spanking him will remind him not to talk back to his father. Don't try to stop the master's will, Emilia." He warned her, before dragging Liam to his room and shutting the door.
Emilia's hand balled up into a fist as tears formed in her eyes and she gritted her teeth. She knew how to bring down a six-foot-tall man easily enough, she coul-… No! She couldn't hurt him… Is there any way to save them? She walked back to her room to continue getting ready for school. She prayed silently that her father would use just his hand and nothing else.
'Master? Is that what he is to them now?!' Liam thought in disgust. His arm was released, and he watched his father sit down on his bed. Somehow, he didn't think this would be their regular father son talks. "Father, I-" He started to say.
"Liam, not another word. Come here." Kurt said, sternly and pointed to the floor beside himself.
"Father… This isn't you…" Liam said. He knew his real father was somewhere in there, under that brainwashed abuser that wore his father's skin and spoke with his voice.
"Liam, we told you things are going to change, and it starts here! Come here now!" Kurt commanded, sounding angrier.
With a deep breath, Liam walked over to his father and stood by his side where he pointed. When his father patted his lap, he knew what he wanted. Liam took a deep breath and laid himself across his father's lap. He flinched when his hand cupped his side, with the intent to keep him still. And then, a few seconds later, his father's hand came down on his rear. Liam shut his eyes and gritted his teeth in pain. The swats kept coming and it wasn't long before the tears and the yells of pain came with them. When he started to struggle, Kurt stopped spanking and adjusted his grip.
"Stop that! Unless you want me to remove these!" Kurt warned, tugging on Liam's pajama pants. He waited a few seconds to see if his son would comply before raising his hand again, his hand started to shake as he heard his son sobbing. Kurt helped his son to his feet and stood up. "You will not talk back to me again, is that understood?" He asked.
Liam nodded, tears in his eyes. "Yes, sir." He had never called either of his fathers 'sir'. They weren't those authoritarian parents with a god complex, well, they probably were now…
"Good. Now, go get ready for school and come down for breakfast. Your dad is taking you and your sister to school." Kurt said and left his room.
Liam stood there for a few seconds, it just hit him that one of his fathers had hit him. Kurt still spoke like himself sometimes, the loving father was still there, Liam could see it. But when it came to discipline, he just became cruel, strict, unreasonable. One thing gave Liam hope, he saw that his father was merciful, perhaps he's fighting the mind control. There had to be some way to help them fight it. But would snapping them out of it be seen as betrayal to the Count? Why were they even pretending to be slaves to the Count anyway? It made little sense! There was no use dwelling on it now, he had to obey his fathers and do as they asked. He went to the bathroom and washed up, not bothering to brush as his mouth smelled of soap and would for a week if the Count was right. He got dressed, putting on some baggy pants that wouldn't touch his bottom too much as it hurt even more now. He made his way downstairs and joined Emilia and their fathers for breakfast. Their dad had made eggs, bacon, and toast. Judging by how Emilia was grimacing every time she put food in her mouth, he guessed eating wouldn't be enjoyable. He sat down as carefully as he could, wincing a bit at the pain, and he began to pick at his food.
"Is there something wrong with my food?" Harry asked, sounding offended.
Liam shook his head as he uncontrollably shivered in disgust while swallowing his food. "No, dad. It's not the food. It's the taste of soap still in my mouth. Nothing can get it out and everything still tastes like soap and wet rag." He answered.
"Well, what am I supposed to do if you two kids upset our lord with your lying and your cursing?" Harry asked.
Emilia suddenly stood up, her chair making a scrapping sound against the tile. "I'm not hungry. May I wait in the living room?" She asked her dad.
"No, you will sit back down and finish your food." Harry said, pointing at her barely touched food with his fork.
"Young lady, your dad didn't wake up half an hour early to make you breakfast just so you could not eat it." Kurt said. "Sit down and eat." He added, pointing to her chair.
Emilia slowly sat back down and picked at her food some more.
Harry got up, went to a kitchen drawer and fished around for something in there. He picked out a wooden spoon and set it down on the table so the teenagers could see it. "If you two don't finish your food in ten minutes, that's what's waiting for you!" He said, sitting back down.
Liam just looked down at his food and continued trying to eat, eating bigger bites at a faster rate, trying not to gag. He noticed Emilia was looking at their dad, her hand clutching a fork and shaking. "Emilia. Are you ok?" He asked.
Emilia looked at him, seeming to calm down after her predator-like gaze was off dad. She took a deep breath and exhaled before responding. "Yes."
Harry reached over and touched the wooden spoon, shifting it a bit and looking like he was going to grasp it. He smiled in satisfaction when the teenagers started to eat again, practically wolfing down their food.
Liam and Emilia got their bags after finishing the most disgusting breakfasts of their lives and followed their dad out of the house. They both sat in the back seat while their dad drove. Liam leaned in close to his sister. "Are you really ok?" He asked.
Emilia pretended like she was holding a phone and texting, as a signal for her to borrow his phone. When he handed it to her, she began texting. She showed him what she wrote. 'I felt the anger boiling up inside me, ready to burst. Our instincts don't understand.' She had written.
Liam wrote something and handed his phone back to her. 'You wanted to hurt dad?' He had written.
Emilia's voice shook as she sighed, trying not to cry. She wrote something down and then handed the phone back. 'Yes. And father. I was thinking about how to bring him down quickly and save you.' She had written.
Liam texted with one hand and used the other to grasp his sister's hand. He showed her his phone. 'I don't need saving. Our fathers do.' He had written. When Emilia responded with a tearful nod, Liam texted again and showed his sister. 'Devon spoke about meditation, how that would calm our need to kill. Maybe that would help?' He had written.
"I tried." Emilia whispered.
Liam texted something else and showed his sister. 'Maybe his beta, Riley, knows? He seems to be telling his friend group everything while we know shit!'
Emilia nodded. "Maybe." She whispered and just distracted herself with staring out the window.
"So, Liam. You had that math test on Monday. How did you do?" Harry asked.
"I think we'll get our tests back today." Liam answered.
"Alright, you shouldn't have trouble bringing home another A++, right?" Harry asked.
Liam tried not to be offended, but the worst insult you could give a homework eating weredog was to ask if they'll bring home anything less than an A. "I've never brought home anything less than an A, dad. I'm not going to start now."
"Good, that's what I want to hear! Emilia, I hope your English teacher can read your homework from last night, it looks like you may have gotten some drops of water or something on it. If you fail because of your clumsiness with your drinks, we're gonna need to have a serious discussion." Harry said.
"I'm sorry, dad. I'll be more careful." Emilia said, emotionlessly. Those weren't drops of water that fell on her homework last night, they were her tears.
"Emilia, your father and I stayed up late last night talking to the school principal about the incident with Ms. Graussam. Normally that would be grounds for expulsion or worse. But we pulled some strings and convinced him to let you stay. You'll be spending the rest of the semester in detention, lunch, after school and weekends, starting today." Harry told her.
"Yes, dad." Emilia said, hollowly. She didn't care much for detention, but she had this fear that detention will involve more pain than usual. She just knew that either a new disciplinarian would take Graussam's place or it'll be Graussam herself that'll take her revenge and make Emilia's life in school hell. She looked at her brother, who had a look a concern and pity for her, though he couldn't express it verbally. For the rest of the ride, she just looked out the window and tried to compose herself and not let the fear consume her. She put her backpack on as they drove up to the student drop off area and got out of the car as soon as it stopped.
Liam said goodbye to their dad and followed his sister, his backpack slung over one shoulder.
Emilia turned toward her brother when she saw him walk beside her. "Liam go find your friends or something. I need to find Lisa." She said.
"Alright, but don't be late. First period starts in fifteen minutes last time I checked my phone." Liam said.
"I'm already in trouble for punching a faculty member, I doubt a tardy is going to end the world." Emilia told him and went into the school, walking to Lisa's locker. She saw her organizing her books for the day in her locker. She was dressed in clothes that wouldn't violate the dress code today, but she still looked better than Emilia.
Lisa saw her and looked happy to see her. "Hey, babe. How are you toda- Oh my Goddess, have you been crying?" She asked, concerned and walked over to her.
"Is it that obvious?" Emilia asked and laughed nervously.
"Your eyes are puffy, and your makeup is running. What happen?" Lisa asked.
"That monster… That undead bastard that calls himself our beta, he-" Emilia started to say, but couldn't finish as she started sobbing again. She was pulled into Lisa's embrace.
"What did he do? Did he hurt you?! I'm about to get some garlic and-" Lisa started to threaten, but Emilia broke their embrace, gripped her by the shoulders and looked her in the eyes.
"Lisa, no. Don't go after the Count. You're not equipped to fight him. You're a civilian weredog, not even a Teen Ninja weredog." Emilia said seriously, and then she pulled her into an embrace again. "But thank you for threatening him for me." She released her again after a few seconds. "The Count visited me last night. It… It was pure torture what he did to me and Liam… But, he did something to our fathers… He brainwashed them, made them spank first and ask questions never… Father spanked Liam this morning and dad… Dad threatened us with a wooden spoon…" She said, starting to cry again.
"Sweet Harry threatened you with what?! He'd never hurt a fly, let alone you." Lisa said in astonishment, not believing what she was hearing. She hugged her girlfriend, letting her cry.
"The vampire said that all weredogs will join his cult that worship him. Your mother isn't safe from him, none of us are." Emilia told her.
"What?! He-… He can't be allowed to do that! The queen would-" Lisa started to say.
"The queen doesn't care about us!" Emilia shouted, breaking the hug. "If the vampire were to turn up with a whip made out of werewolf hide and with silver hooks on the end that are dipped in wolfsbane and planned to use it to strip all the flesh from our backs I don't think Queen Thompson would bat an eye!" When Emilia saw that the imagery made Lisa go a bit green and woozy, she instantly felt bad. "I'm sorry about that, Lisa. But you know it's true. And don't even get me started on our prince, if he even is still our prince. Besides providing homework for us and meat for the vegan weredogs, he's all but abandoned us! He uncovered our true destiny as werewolves, barely explained anything, lead a vampire to our House, weakly defended us from his rule, failed to kill him, and then I think he left us, cause he seems too scared to talk to us himself and gets random humans and his beta to do it for him because his mommy will get the mean vampire to smack his butt until he cries! Coward!" Emilia shouted, panting in rage after she finished.
"Emilia, I hear you and it's frustrating me too. But Devon might have a lot on his shoulders, Asenath may have tasked him with a lot, too much. And he wasn't living with his brainwashed parents, he was living with Count Spankulot. Who knows what he might have gone through, how broken he must be? He's not a god." Lisa said and took her hand in hers. "We'll get through this together… Ok?" She said, having to stand a bit taller to kiss the taller girl's forehead, earning a tearful smile from her. "Now, come on, let me help you fix your makeup." She said, leading her to a nearby bathroom.
Meanwhile, Liam had made his way to the back of the school and outside to some steps where some weredog friends of his came to hang out before school. Sure enough, three of them were there, sitting on the steps and one of them was smoking an anise joint rolled with strips of good homework. He greeted them and stood on the bottom of the steps, not even entertaining the thought of sitting down.
"Man, Liam, you look rough." Toby, a sixteen-year-old weredog said, blowing out some anise smoke. He offered him his joint. "Want a drag?" He already sounded a bit high.
"Goddess yes, after the night and morning I've had, I need something to calm my nerves." Liam said, taking the joint from him and trying to take a hit, he immediately took it out of his mouth and coughed profusely.
"Toby! You said you didn't buy it off the street this time." Luna, a sixteen-year-old weredog, scolded her friend, looking up from the textbook she was studying.
"I didn't! Sweet Asenath, I bought it from a pet store!" Toby retorted.
"No, Luna… It's not the joint. Everything tastes like soap." Liam said, clearing his throat and handing the joint back to Toby. "The vampire visited Emilia and I last night and put a soapy rag down my throat for saying fuck-" He was interrupted with a foul soapy taste that was suddenly assaulting his mouth. He turned away from his friends, doubled over and gagged, trying not to puke.
Luna got up and patted Liam on the back. Toby got up and looked at his friend with concern. "Holy fuck, Liam. Are you ok?" Toby asked.
Liam stood to his full height and breathed in sharply. "Yes, yes, it stopped tasting grotesque and just went back to tasting nasty… Don't ever curse in front of the vampire. He'll wash your mouth out with soap that you'll taste for a week. And don't try to attack him either, he'll leave you with the pain of a belting for a week as well. It feels like he's just got done beating my as-… Butt with a belt…" Liam told them.
Ruby, a fifteen-year-old weredog, stood up from the stairs. "Whoa, Liam. Slow down and tell us what happen. It seems like you've had one hell of a night."
Over the next few minutes, Liam told his friends what happen last night and this morning. When he was done, his friends were left in stunned silence.
"Holy shit, dude. That's rough." Toby said.
"He turned your sweet fathers into spank happy monsters. And they refer to him as 'master'?" Luna asked, cringing at that.
"What can be done to snap them out of it?" Ruby asked.
"I ate a library book about spellcasters a few months back that said any curses dispel with the caster's death. I had one bad case of the munchies." Toby said.
"That's for warlocks and witches, how do we know it'll work with vampires?" Luna asked.
"We're gonna kill him anyway, right? That might as well do it." Toby argued.
"That's just speculation. But it makes sense that it'll work like that." Ruby said.
Liam heard a car pull up into the teacher's parking lot, which they were close to. "Speaking of killing undead creatures…" He said, seeing that it was Ms. Graussam. As she got out of her car, Liam heard Toby stamp out the new joint he had lit during his recounting of last night's events.
Graussam saw the four teens. "What are you four doing out here? The warning bell is about to ring! Get to class!" She warned. She then pointed at Toby. "You get that beanie off your head! People will think you're in a gang!"
"But I am in a ga-" Toby retorted, but got interrupted when he got his beanie snatched off by Luna, who shoved it into his hands and started pulling him up the stairs.
Liam gave Graussam a death glare when she was too busy taking her stuff out of her car to notice. He then followed his friends into the school.
"Idiot, you don't tell her that you're in a gang. And our pack is not a gang." Luna scolded Toby. "You're too high to think properly." She told him, releasing his arm.
"So, what do you mean by 'speaking of killing undead creatures' as you stared at the school disciplinarian?" Ruby asked Liam.
"I overheard Devon saying something about going off to kill a disciplinarian at the last meeting. Why should he get to be the only one with that right?" Liam questioned.
"He shouldn't." Luna said.
"So we're really going to kill her?" Toby asked.
"Yes, and anyone who gets employed to hurt us or any of them." Liam said, looking at the other students walking the halls. The warning bell rang.
"Let's get to class before the lady who is employed to hurt us hurts us." Ruby said, rushing off to class.
"Oh man, I gotta run to the other end of the building." Toby said as he started running.
"Toby! Wrong way!" Luna hollered after him.
"Right!" Toby said, sprinting in the other direction.
Liam headed to his own class. He had a look of determination on his face. He wasn't going to let anyone hurt his sister, and he sure as hell wasn't going to let some creepy old lady whip her with a stick for the rest of the school year!
It was eight in the morning when Devon awoke, he got dressed, got a meal at a discount at the cafeteria, and then went to Professor Bob's lab to start his collaboration with the scientists.
"Good morning, Devon! I hope you slept well." Professor Bob said, picking up a large manual from a counter and bringing it over to him. "I hope you didn't eat a big breakfast, because I made a copy of our plans that you can eat." He said, handing the book to him.
Devon looked at the book and then back at Bob, looking nervous. "Bob. I can't eat information anymore. Something happened to my powers. I can't tell correct from incorrect anymore. I can't even transform into a werewolf."
"So, yesterday when you were handed Professor Mishap's notes-" Bob started to inquire, but Devon finished his sentence.
"I faked pain, yes. I lied, yes. But you do know it's better to err on the side of caution." Devon argued.
"You're absolutely right. But, promise me, no more lies or keeping things from me." Bob said, when he received a nod from his former student, he spoke again. "How did you lose your powers? Did you get struck with a weapon that neutralizes supernatural powers? The GND have such a weapon." Bob asked.
"No, I made the Goddess who created my race angry." Devon answered.
"Hmm... I don't really know much about the gods. Head to the med bay, there's a witch who specializes in healing injuries as well as curses. Maybe she'd be able to help. Her name is Agnes." Bob said, taking back the book.
"Do you think she can reawaken my powers?" Devon asked, sounding hopeful.
"It's worth a try." Bob said.
Devon made his way to the med bay. It was a really large room filled with beds and advanced pod-like chambers that can perform surgeries and heal patients. There was also an area with dried herbs, potions and crystals on shelves and on a counter. That's where he needed to be. He saw a woman there, she was fairly young looking, perhaps in her twenties, and wore a dark robe with the hood down, she also had a wooden wand in a scabbard-like holder at her left side. That's who he needed to see. He walked toward her. "Good morning Agnes."
"Devon? Huh, so the leaves in my tea were correct after all, something unexpected would happen today! You, the weredog who trusts in technology more than magic would grace me with his presence." Agnes said.
"Right? Well, I have this problem that Professor Bob thinks you can fix. My powers… They're either gone or dormant, I'm no expert in magic but I think it's the latter because I still feel something, a negative aspect of my powers. Can you reawaken them?" Devon said.
"I can certainly try." Agnes said and patted the exam table that she used. "Hop up here and let's take a look."
Devon's stomach churned when he saw that her exam table had straps on it, straps to hold patients down. Those days spent in Doctor Shot's 'care' gave him new trauma to deal with.
"A little frightened of exams, are we? I can give you something to calm your nerves." Agnes said.
"No. Well, sort of. I recently had a bad, unwanted, non-consensual trip to the doctor and… This won't involve me being strapped down and stabbed with pointy objects, will it?" Devon asked.
"Oh no. There won't be any of that, not for this process anyway. And you can remain standing if that is your wish." Agnes said and turned toward her counter, she opened a cabinet and pulled out an old looking book. She set the book down on the counter and magic flowed out of her left hand, she waved her hand over the book and said. "Pagina reperies." The book opened by itself and flipped through hundreds of pages before stopping on a page. She read through it and started gathering more things, a small bowl with a pestle, some herbs and a bottle of water. She started adding herbs to the bowl and crushed them into a fine paste, then she added a bit of water and mixed everything together. She took the bowl and offered it to him. "This'll taste foul, but it'll help me detect the magic within you, or lack thereof. I have to see if the magic really is there before I try to reawaken anything."
Devon took the bowl and downed its contents, leaving his face a bit contorted in disgust for a few seconds.
"I'm going to be chanting and waving my hands over your body. You might feel slight tingling sensations. Stay still." Agnes said, holding her palms near him and starting to chant. "Odonata lepidoptera magicae." She chanted this over and over again while light shone from her hands and she waved her hands over him.
Devon felt the tingling sensation she spoke of all throughout his body and light emanated from him, it looked like moonlight. The sensation and light disappeared as soon as Agnes stopped chanting and put her hands down.
"You still have the magic within you. But it's locked, dormant." Agnes told him. Then something changed in her demeanor, she looked shocked or scared. "I… I also felt something else… Something I hadn't felt in a long time… The document keeping your kind tame, harmless, preying on children yourselves… That bumbling fool got it destroyed somehow!" She said.
"I have no idea what you're talking about." Devon said glancing toward a security button and then back at the witch. Adrenaline started to pump through him. She knew! She knew how werewolves were before and she knew what the document did! He probably couldn't take her out on his own, he didn't know what powers she had, he needed more fire power, he needed to get to that security button.
"Your kind had the same magic aura when they slaughtered my coven… All we wanted was a bit of child tears, blood, souls… Maybe a bit of flesh for our cannibalistic coven members…" Agnes ranted, her hair slowly beginning to change color from a black to gray and her skin starting to change from young and fair to old and wrinkly.
Devon dashed toward the security button, he heard Agnes scream "Iacto!" and he felt himself being picked up by a force and slammed into a wall. That knocked the wind out of him and dazed him.
"You werewolves not only slaughtered my sisters but killed and ate my familiar! Alister was a good kitty!" Agnes screamed, her voice sounding like that of a very old woman. She continued to shift from a young woman to an old, decrepit one. Her skin sagged, her hair grew white and fragile, but her most distinguishing features were the scars on her face. On one side of her face were claw marks, from her forehead, going over one eye, which was all white and revealed that she was blind in that eye, and ending at her chin. "Volant!" She said, magic swirling around her and she began to float off the floor and high into the air.
Devon stood up and pressed the security button. Alarms blared; security guards would be here soon. He activated his armor, set his weapons to kill instead of stun, made an arm cannon appear on his right arm and fired a shot of energy at her.
"Clypeus!" Agnes said, raising her hand in front of her and summoning a magic barrier in front of her, blocking the blast. "Iacto!" She yelled, trusting out her other arm and tossing Devon back again.
Devon was slammed back first into a medical pod, the force cracking the glass. He shakily propped himself up on his elbows and looked up at her as she floated above him.
"I was just fine with letting some weredogs live and breed, they were weak and harmless, they left me well enough alone. But werewolves, they were another story!" Agnes said before starting to laugh. "It's a shame you can't take your lupine form. I created so many potions requiring werewolf and weredog parts to make… Particularly puppy parts…" She said, cackling even more.
Devon's eyes went wide in shock, he felt rage start to consume him. He stood, groaning in pain but growling in anger. "You monster… I'LL KILL YOU!" He screamed and activated all of the cannons in his armor, aimed and fired continuous blasts of energy. They hit her magic barrier and sent her backwards.
"That's right! Show your true colors, wolf of Asenath, scourge of vampires, protector of children! Show your villain allies what you are!" Agnes yelled. She flung her arm to the side. "Iacto!"
One of Devon's arms was pulled to the side as an arm cannon and a chunk of his armor broke off and was tossed away. He was knocked off balance, causing his weapons to blast a wall and some medical equipment. He shut his weapons off.
Agnes took her wand out and pointed it at him. "Fulmen!" She yelled, a bolt of lightning shot out of her wand and struck him.
Devon was tossed into a wall on the other side of the med bay. All he could hear was ringing in his ears and his vision was blurry, his muscles twitched, his breathing ragged. How was he still alive? Was that bolt just weak or did she intend to torment him first? If those guards didn't come soon, he was dead.
"This is almost too easy. What a shame. The mighty race of pure beasts are this pathetic. Has all your bite left you after just two centuries? It's been a while since I've had werewolf ingredients... Perhaps your powers just need a little nudge…" Agnes said, pointing her wand at him. "Expergiscere magicae!" She said, shooting magic from her wand that struck him.
Devon started to scream in pain and convulsed. Everything started to get tighter, the clothes under his armor started to tear and his armor started to break. He saw that his bare arm was starting to grow, more hair started to cover it and his fingernails started to turn into claws. As he transformed, he saw Agnes fighting with the armed guards who finally arrived, she was screaming something about having to kill him. He had enough mental power to command his armor back into his tank top. He made a sound between a yell and a yelp as he felt sharp fangs nip his tongue. They were HIS fangs! He gained enough control over his arms to tear at his clothes with his claws, he couldn't get them to shift with him this time. His body grew, brown fur covered him, a wolf tail sprouted from his human tail bone, his legs took the shape of a wolf's back legs and his face elongated to a wolf's snout. Soon the transformation was finished, and Devon laid there, panting in pain, panting like a wolf… He was a werewolf again! The witch really reawakened his powers! He slowly stood up, standing on all four paws. He saw what was happening around him, guards lay either dead or unconscious around the room. The able and live guards were still fighting the murderous witch, taking cover behind walls and beds. Their energy rifles doing nothing to penetrate the witch's barrier, a barrier that she only had in front of her…
"You're firing at the wrong person! Your real enemy isn't even a person. It'll kill you all! It'll undo everything we've built here!" Agnes raved on as she shot lightning at the guards.
Devon sprinted to a medical pod and used it to launch himself, front paws and clawed digits outstretched, jaws open, aiming for her.
"He knows his true pur-" Agnes' words were halted when several hundred pounds of muscle and fur slammed into her, claws dug into her side and back, and sharp teeth and hot breath touched the back of her neck. The force with which she hit the floor knocked the wind out of her and broke her frail bones.
Devon wasted no time; he clamped his jaws down on the back of Agnes' neck and bit down until he heard a loud crack. She didn't even scream as her neck was broken and she fell limp. Humans can survive with a broken neck, but what about a shattered skull? He had to make sure she and her knowledge died! He grabbed her head and bit down until he heard a crack and felt blood flow into his mouth and felt the gooey center of a skull, the brain. He gave her a few shakes, a deep, primal growl rumbling in his throat, before finally releasing her. He shook his head, jaws open and tongue flailing to get bits of skull, brain, and human hair out of his mouth. He then stared at some of the guards looking at him, nervousness emanating from them, he can smell it. "I called you here. She had gone mad, tried to kill me and she killed several of you as well." He said, just so it removed any suspicion placed on him, he had killed a staff member before.
The guards lowered their weapons, and one guard approached him. "Commander Lincoln will want a report of what happen here regardless." He told him.
"Tell her that she has my full cooperation." Devon told him and went to the piles of fabric that were once his clothes.
"Mr. Thompson? You need to come with me, I can't let you walk off after you killed a staff member, even in self-defense. This needs to be done by the books, sir." The guard said.
"Very well, I will go with you." Devon said, he nosed around the pile of scrap and found his wallet, still intact, and grabbed it with his jaws. He walked up to the guard, ready to follow.
"Uh, sir, no offence, we accept all races, species and creatures. But do you mind changing to your normal form?" The guard asked, nervously.
Devon took his wallet out of his mouth and held it in his hand. An overwhelming sense of joy broke through as he said his next words to the guard. "This IS my normal form." His tail wagged slightly. "That and my clothes got shredded in the fight, so unless you want to see me nude." He explained.
"No, that won't be necessary. Please don't report me to H&CR… You can come as you are." The guard said. He had to wait as more medical personnel rushed into the room to tend to the injured and dying, before walking out and down a corridor.
Devon followed the guard after placing his wallet back into his mouth, walking on all four paws was more natural to him while in this form. He realized that he was completely healed, being thrown against walls and shocked with electricity should have at least left him banged up and burned, but he didn't even have any aches. He felt better than he's felt in days, stronger, and more confident. So much so that he raised his tail straight up, a wolf's way of showing confidence. They were crossing the enclosed bridge now and he looked at the lunar landscape. 'That punishment of making my powers dormant could have killed me today, I hope you realize that. What was that supposed to do anyway? Teach me to appreciate my powers? You'll be happy to know that I do. Nothing to say, I see. Is being on the moon itself not enough to have instant communication? Busy with other things? Ignoring me? It doesn't matter. We both learned a lesson here today, my Goddess. You learned that it's a bad idea to take away one of my greatest defenses and I learned that we have more enemies than just vampires and the humans that do their bidding. I will destroy all our enemies as I see them, it is my duty after all. No vampire will be killed yet, that command I will obey. But the rest of our enemies are fair game. And what game they will be…' He prayed internally. If Asenath heard him, She gave no indication of it. If this was the silent treatment, it didn't matter. He didn't need Her to tell him anything. Funnily enough, Agnes did him a favor, in her overconfidence and arrogance she gave him what he needed to kill her. And what was even funnier and tragic was that she was right. Every single evil man, woman, and non-binary person, beast, or creature was in danger from him and his kind. They don't even know it, and they won't until it's too late…
(So, here I am doing impulsive decisions with the plot again. I just decided that Agnes was going to try to kill Devon and she was going to give him his powers back WHILE writing this chapter. I don't like stories where werewolves seek a cure or have to suppress their powers, just give in and be furry killing machines! So, there you go.)