Yep, I've already got Chapter 2 ready! It's only a little longer than the last one, but I can feel the momentum returning. The support of all my readers has made it all worthwhile, but even beyond that, this has been fun to write so far.

I would greatly appreciate if you guys leave feedback, but let's get into the chapter!

Current music: The Human League - Don't You Want Me

CODY HARVARD, 14

The instant the head doctor nodded at me, confirming my worst fears, I felt all the blood leave my face. Had I not been in bed already, I would have collapsed to the floor; I was simply that shocked.

"Now, calm down, Cody."

"What is there to be calm about?" I found myself gasping. "I'm going to become a were-Lycanroc, aren't I? That's what you just said, isn't it? My life will never be the same!"

The green-haired nurse next to him spoke up. "Now, there is some nuance here. Just because you're a were-Lycanroc now, that doesn't mean you can't live a relatively normal life. We've made advancements in treating lycanthropy since the condition first started."

"That is correct," the head doctor replied. "We'll get into what those advancements are later, but you'd probably like to see your mother now. She's just outside the room."

"Yes, please! Tell me I'm not doomed" I all but shouted, hoping that my mother would be able to soothe me. I might have been an adolescent now, but that didn't mean I didn't have anxiety sometimes. Isn't it normal to feel anxious when your life is turned upside down?

But then something occurred to me, and I slumped back in bed. "I just realized something," I said aloud.

It seemed like the most obvious thing in the world, and yet I hadn't grasped it until just now. If the moon was still in its full phase, and I had become a were-Lycanroc, didn't that mean…

"I'm not just a Lycanroc, I'm the dangerous type of Lycanroc! So why aren't I going crazy right now, determined to bite everyone in my path?"

With every word I uttered, my heart began aching more and more, and I desperately hoped I was wrong. But how could I still be a human right now, unless last night had been the last night of the full moon?

The nurse without green hair shook her head. "We're giving you wolfsbane intravenously right now, which is why you're harmless for the moment. But in most cases, the transformations do not begin occurring until the next full moon, about a month later. Make no mistake, though; you will be dangerous sometimes."

"Wolfsbane?"

The head doctor spoke up. "It's a medication that you will have to take for a week every lunar month around the full moon. While you'll still become a Lycanroc during the full moon phase, you won't be able to infect others as long as you're on the wolfsbane. And it's in liquid form only."

Liquid? Ugh, that really sucks. I remember...when I had an ear infection as a kid, I had to take that gross sickly sweet liquid for two weeks. That was the worst thing ever!

"And how long do I have to take it for?" I asked, dreading the answer to that question. So why did I ask it?

The head doctor sighed. "For the rest of your life, I'm afraid. Lycanthropy cannot be cured; even with all the innovation in this field, all the advancements in medicine, we still haven't figured it out. But science will get there, someday."

Even in my current physical and emotional state, I was able to find something to joke about, even if it was a rather pathetic one.

"Hurry up, science" I blurted out.

"Research takes time, Cody. Anyway, I'll let your mother come in now, she's been waiting for news on your condition. She was worried sick about you last night when you didn't come home from your walk."

Great, so is he trying to blame me now?

Regardless, I was very happy when the head doctor got out of the way. The door opened and a middle-aged woman with brown hair of average length, as well as a relatively average overall build, entered the room.

My mother.

"Good morning, Cody" she told me quietly as she walked over to my bedside. There was a smile on her face, but a certain sadness in her eyes that made me feel rather guilty.

"Morning, Mom" I replied, trying not to sound like I was groaning.

"Let's get the lecture out of the way first. You probably shouldn't have been out in the woods at such a late hour; you know what kind of creatures come out at night."

My mother was a loving woman most of the time, but I understood her slight anger with me. I could tell that she wasn't furious, just disappointed, and if anything, that was even worse. I felt as though I had let her down.

"No," I replied quietly. "I definitely shouldn't have been out in the woods that late. Did the doctor tell you what bit me?"

Her eyes widened. "No, what was it? They found out?" Some would have been relieved to know that the medical professionals had found an answer, but my mother didn't seem to be in that group.

The green-haired nurse nodded. "It was a Lycanroc bite. That's what the blood tests confirmed. And believe me, it was very easy to get a sample, which was another red flag."

It looked as though all of my mother's blood had been drained out and replaced with almond milk. She grabbed the edge of my hospital bed in order to steady herself.

"So he's...he's going to be a…".

"I'm going to be a were-Lycanroc" I replied, confirming my mother's worst fears. "Every full moon, I'm going to become one, and I'm screwed. My life is over."

My mother shook her head. "This can't be happening to me. It seemed like everything was almost perfect, and then this had to happen."

I'd been freaking out earlier, but now there was something of a role reversal. It was my job to comfort my mother, whereas for most of my childhood, it had been her job to comfort me. I just wished I'd known what to say.

"It's going to be fine, Mom" I told her, reaching out my right hand (the one that didn't have the IV in it) for her to hold. "You still have me. You still have Dad. We still get to live in beautiful Skylock, Sinnoh."

She sighed. "Count my blessings, yadda yadda. Well, does it really matter? Every month, you're going to be a danger to yourself and others. Are we just going to lock you away every time you transform?"

"The wolfsbane serum will make him harmless," the head doctor told my mother. "He just needs to remember to take it every month, for three days prior to the full moon and during that lunar phase. He'll still be a Lycanroc, but he won't be able to curse others with his bite. And he'll still have his mental faculties, so he's a lot less likely to bite."

"I hope", my mother said, turning to me with a stern expression. The implication was that she feared I'd bite someone else even if I did possess my mental faculties.

Right away, I was determined that no matter what, I would not forget to take the wolfsbane. Not next month, not the month after that, not ever.

One of my worst fears in this world was of harming someone I loved when I wasn't in my right mind. When you're extremely angry or scared, you can do things you'd never normally do, things you'll certainly regret later.

If I condemn my mother to the same fate as me, how could I live with myself? I couldn't.

"Anyway", the head doctor continued, "feel free to visit for a bit. I don't think you should be here for longer than fifteen minutes or so; can't let Cody get too excited."

This again. Do they think I'm going to bite her right now, when I'm still human?

The head doctor left the room, leaving the two nurses still there. This was supposedly so that they could respond if anything bad happened, but I was fairly certain that this wouldn't be necessary.

"So they told me", my mother said, "that you had surgery to repair the wound on your stomach. I never actually saw it, though."

I raised an eyebrow. "You want to see my wound?"

If I'm being honest, part of me wanted to see it as well. Whatever scars I had from being bitten would provide a hell of a story to tell the ladies when I got old enough to date.

Except I'll never get a date, will I?

My mother shrugged. "Only if you want to see it too. It's hidden underneath the covers; does it still hurt?"

There was a mild stinging sensation coming from the outside of my stomach, but it wasn't particularly painful. This was likely due to the heavy doses of painkillers they were no doubt pumping into me at this very moment.

"Only a bit" I said, and then my mother pulled back the blanket to reveal my wound.

If I weren't sitting there alive and...well, not sick, but not entirely well either, I would have had a hard time believing anybody could survive the bite. The whole area was red and inflamed, with ugly black stitches all over it. There seemed to be no rhyme or reason to where the stitches had been placed, as though the job had been done rather hurriedly.

I grimaced; not from pain, but from shock. If the injury looked bad now, I could only imagine how it must have been while I was still in the forest, or in surgery.

I shook my head. "Maybe I didn't want to see that after all." I laughed a bit, but it came out more like another grimace.

My mother smiled. "Well, I'm really glad you're okay. And with regards to your condition, I'll let your father know. He accepts you for who you are, though, and you know that."

There's a difference between sexuality and the like, and being a werewolf. The former doesn't harm anyone else.

For the most part, the rest of the visit from my mother passed in relative silence. She seemed pleased just to be in my company, which made me wonder if parental love was different from the love children had for their parents. Maybe one day, if I became a parent myself, I would understand.

And then the cold hard truth hit me, which was that my chances of ever having offspring were slim to none. Even if I found someone to...mate with, would it even be a good idea to father children?

Would I pass this condition on to my kids?

Regardless of the ethics of having kids as a were-Lycanroc, I knew that it was too early to worry about this. There were more important matters to attend to.

Eventually, after the nurses told my mother it was time for her to leave and said that I needed rest, I started feeling drowsy. My eyelids were heavy and my vision was blurry, so I closed my eyes.

It didn't take long to fall asleep. Sweet dreams, some would say. But sadly, my dreams were anything but sweet.

I found myself strapped to a cold, hard slab of what felt like stone, looking up towards the ceiling. I couldn't see too well, but I could tell that I was in a cavern of some description.

And, of course, there was the lamp on the ceiling. Even though the light was covered in stained glass, it was still blindingly bright, and my eyes were killing me before long.

"Yesss", a hissing voice announced as it drew close to me. "Cody Harvard, you will be one of usss before long."

I was taken back to last night in the woods, and how much pain I'd been in, how much terror I'd felt.

It couldn't be happening. Not again.

"Ah. Cody Harvard, fourteen years old. Wearing only a pair of boxer shorts...this means we won't have much clothing to tear through. Fresh meat, just the way I like it!"

I was shivering, and not just because it was cold in the cave. My heart was beating so hard that it threatened to burst out of my chest, and I could barely breathe.

"Yes, we are going to make mincemeat out of you. Isn't that right, boys?"

Boys? Oh no, this can't be good!

All of a sudden, there were four Lycanroc all staring into my soul. The white fur on the tops of their heads, the crimson red fur around their eyes, their bright scarlet eyes themselves...just about everything about them made my skin crawl.

"We are going to have a feast!" one of the other Lycanroc announced, grinning as he did this. His fangs were extremely sharp, far more so than the most powerful knife you've ever seen, the type children are never allowed to use.

"Aaaaah!" I yelled, because I couldn't think of anything more eloquent.

The Lycanroc all moved in for the kill, and I braced myself to feel them devour me alive, when…

My eyes opened again. The sun was shining through the window, but the light was orange, suggesting that it was either early morning or evening. Before long, I realized what had happened.

It was just a nightmare. You're safe here, in the hospital. They can't get you.

I saw that there was a call button on my hospital bed, so I pressed it. There wasn't a real emergency, but if the nurses could do something, anything, to console me, that would go a long way towards calming me down.

It didn't take long for the green-haired nurse to enter the room, looking rather worried. But as soon as she got a glimpse of me in bed peacefully, she frowned.

"Just so you know, Cody, you're only supposed to use the call button in case of emergency. It doesn't seem like there was an emergency here; I guess you were scared?"

It would be pretty embarrassing to admit that I'd experienced a nightmare, so I didn't do that. Instead, I simply gave her a slight shrug.

"It's not uncommon for patients to wake up frightened when they don't recognize their surroundings. But the were-Lycanroc that bit you isn't going to get you here; we have security for a reason."

She was right, and I knew it. But for her to simply assert that everything was okay didn't do much to make me actually believe that.

And then something else occurred to me. If the Lycanroc that had infected me had intended to kill me, it could have done so right then and there. Quickly losing my strength, I would not have been able to mount much of a resistance.

So why didn't it?

In my dream, that gang of beasts had seemed eager to finish me off. Of course, it had only been a dream, but sometimes it's hard to believe that they have no significance at all.

As the nurse checked my vitals one more time before leaving the room with a stern warning not to call her again unless I really needed her, I found myself alone in my bed, looking up at the bright lights on the ceiling.

For some reason, I didn't like those lights. They reminded me of...ah, let's not go there.

Of course, when you try not to think about something, it's unavoidable that it'll be the first thing to enter your mind. That's just Murphy's Law for you. It shouldn't be a surprise that the next thing I thought was…

The full moon. Those lights are almost as bright as the full moon, and almost as bright as the lamp in that cave.

I'm going to see those things in my dreams every time I close my eyes. And I'll be sleeping a lot here, because there's nothing else to do.

Sitting up in bed, I sighed deeply and looked around the room. It wouldn't be much longer before the sun went down, since the analog clock against the wall suggested it was evening rather than morning. Once the moon came out...but I was safe until next month, wasn't I?

I shook my head. "Why do things have to be so complicated?" I wondered aloud.

And there we go! My Discord tag has changed, so if you want to chat with me there, check my profile for the updated information.

I will see you guys next time for Chapter 3 of Werewolves of Sinnoh!

EDIT 11/20/21 - Fixed a bit of dialogue here and there.