Chapter Six- Werewolf Revelation

Syrus raced through the underbrush, following Chazz along a parallel path as the black werewolf chased after a large, fat rabbit. He saw that Chazz's claws were exposed and seemed to give him more speed as they gripped the ground. Syrus spread his claws and almost immediately noticed that he was covering more ground. He was still no match for Chazz's speed and strides, but he was moving faster. I just need more time as a werewolf in order to have the speed and strides that Chazz has.

Chazz suddenly coiled back and then sprang forward, teeth and claws bared. Syrus slid to a halt and watched, his eyes easily seeing Chazz sail through the air. The black wolf planted his forepaws on the rabbit's back, pinning it down before he locked his jaws onto the neck and bit down.

Syrus emerged from the bushes. "Wow, you're fast."

Chazz released the rabbit. "Well, I've had four nights to learn."

"Four? How did you do four nights?"

"I found out that if I become very angry outside the full moon, I instantly change and stay a wolf until morning."

Syrus thought back to two weeks ago. "Did you change that time I asked if you were coming to dinner?"

"I did. At the time, I had never changed in daylight and wasn't sure if I would be able to change back. I was afraid my anger had trapped me as a wolf forever."

"What made you angry?"

"Three first-year Obelisks shoved me and called me names. I don't want to change out of anger again. I'm learning to stay calm."

"Sounds like a good idea." Syrus' stomach growled again and Chazz tilted his head at his kill.

"Eat, Syrus. It's delicious, trust me. I've had rabbit before."

Syrus licked his muzzle as he approached. He awkwardly laid down; he had been on his paws until now. He lowered his mouth to the corpse and tore off a piece. He chewed, swallowed, and licked his chops. Chazz is right: It's delicious. He feasted for a few minutes before looking up. "You want some? You probably spent a lot of energy chasing it down."

"I did. Thanks." Chazz laid on the opposite side and the two wolves ate their fill.

"Well, now that we've eaten," Chazz said later. "We can focus on your senses. Actually, we already did the eyes during the chase."

"Yeah, I saw you clearly even though it's dark."

"I found our eyesight is useless in pitch-black."

"Oh." Syrus lifted his nose and took a deep breath. "Oh, wow! I just smelled a lot of different scents!"

"I did too last month. It might take another night or so to adjust and filter them out. Now, how about the ears?"

Syrus yawned as he curled up and his eyes slid shut. His first night as a werewolf had been quite a learning night which made sense. There was a lot I needed to know and thankfully Chazz was willing to teach. I'm glad I decided to let Chazz bite me. Aside from the primal anger, being a werewolf is definitely cool.

Syrus awoke to his shoulder being shaken gently. His eyes blinked open to see a human Chazz. "Time to get up and get some breakfast before school." Syrus sat up, yawning and stretching before standing and following Chazz out of the woods. "Jaden's gonna want to know what happened," the shorter boy said.

Chazz appeared thoughtful. "I don't know him like you do. Is he likely to believe you if you tell him the truth? I was going to say that we had a long talk at my place and I let you sleep over."

Syrus tilted his head. "That would work for last night, but what about tonight and all future moons?"

Chazz sighed. I clearly didn't think this through when deciding to turn Syrus. "You have a point. Do what you think is best. In any event, I'll meet you in the woods tonight."

Syrus nodded as he bounded upstairs for fresh clothes and his school bag while Chazz went to his room to do the same. If he tells Jaden, he wouldn't need to sneak away to the woods. I don't know if Jaden will believe him and if he wants proof, he may follow us to see our change. Well, I'll see what happens.

Syrus looked at his hands as he headed upstairs. They looked no different from yesterday while Chazz's sported long nails. Maybe that'll happen between moons. I think I'll ask Chazz about that tonight. He stood in front of his dorm door and debated on what he told Chazz he would do: Tell Jaden.

Should I tell him? The reason I gave Chazz makes sense, but what if Jaden stops being my friend? If I don't tell him, he's bound to find out and then he really won't be my friend because I lied and kept a secret from him. Syrus shook his head and ran his hands over his hair. Agh! Now, I don't know what I should do! He sighed and opened the door to see Jaden and Chumley awake nad dressed for the day. He gave them a shy smile as he grabbed fresh clothes. "Morning, guys."

Jaden stared at Syrus' discarded clothes. There were grass stains on them. How did that happen? "Sy, I thought Chazz just wanted to talk. What's with the grass?"

"We did talk and Chazz had something to show me in the forest."

"Yeah? What was it?"

"The reason he had been acting weird lately. Chazz said a group of strangers grabbed him last month and performed a ritual on him. This was the day when Chazz was really angry and an angry person was required for the ritual to work."

"What ritual? What did they do to him?" Chumley asked.

"It turned Chazz into a werewolf."

Jaden and Chumley exchanged stunned looks and the former snapped around to Syrus, the stained clothes and the fact that the full moon was last night drew a picture for him. "Sy, did Chazz attack you? Did he…bite you?"

"He didn't attack me, but he did bite me. I let him bite me," he added quickly at Jaden's shocked and angry face. "He gave me a choice. He thought if I was a werewolf I would become more confident in the month after the full moon is over."

"You let him? You're a werewolf now?"

"Uh, yes. My first night was cool. I learned a lot and I hope to learn more. It's not that bad," Syrus said defensively. I admit, I was scared when I saw Chazz change, but once he explained it to me, I thought he looked cool as a wolf. That's one reason why I let him bite me. I also want to be more confident and give Chazz some company. He saw the scared look on Chumley's face and the unreadable expression on Jaden's before grabbing his bag and running from the room.

Chazz had just sat down with his breakfast when Syrus came in, looking upset. He watched as the short boy got breakfast and sat across from Chazz. He kept his head down as he started to eat. Chazz looked around to see Jaden and Chumley enter and shoot odd looks at Syrus as they got breakfast and sat at a different table. Something tells me the confession didn't go well.

Once Syrus was done, he returned the tray and left the room. Chazz followed after him. "Syrus, talk to me. What happened?" he asked as they walked to school.

"I told them about both of us and I made it clear that I chose to be bitten. I think that's what they find difficult to understand and why I allowed it."

"I thought you let me in order to be more confident."

"That's one reason. I also thought it would be cool to be a werewolf and I would ease your loneliness.'

"Ah. It is nice to have someone with me to enjoy being a werewolf. So, how exactly did they react?"

"Well, Chumley looked scared and Ja…I couldn't really tell."

Chazz gave a low wolf-like growl. "They shouldn't be acting that way. I mean, you're still you."

Syrus nodded. Yeah, I'm still me, at least right now. I hope they come around soon.