Chapter Five- Aftermath

Elisa clipped her nails short so that if she needed her gun tonight, she wouldn't have trouble getting her finger on the trigger. She then eyed her image critically. Yes, eyes were completely brown and her ears were round, no slight points. She looked just like she did before being bitten. She was ready to go back to work. She left her room and put out food for Cagney. She had just set down the bowl when she heard wings and a small thud on the roof. She turned toward the sound and her face lit up: Goliath!

She opened the window and stepped outside before being hugged by her mate. She hugged back, mindful of her strength. She breathed in Goliath's leathery and earthy scent and loved how it suited him. Eventually, the two parted and Goliath gently brushed her hair back. "Xanatos gave me your message two nights ago. It seems we were both wrong. This must be hard for you."

"Not at all," she replied. "I spoke to Captain Chavez and she's agreed to give me time off during the full moon and I keep to myself. Although Cagney doesn't come near me anymore." She looked back to see her cat eating. It hurt that she could hold and pet her cat, but surely he would adjust to her new scent and come over to receive her affection once again.

An hour later, Goliath left and Elisa headed to work. He was lost in thought as headed for the castle. It seemed like her being a werewolf wasn't a bad thing; she had a good handle on it. When they had hugged, he sensed the new strength in her that she had restrained and her scent now had a whiff of wolf to it, but it was pleasant. All that aside, she was still the same Elisa Maza he loved.

"So, no problems the entire time?" Matt asked.

"Aside from my cat not liking me right now, no problems," Elisa lied. She didn't want to admit to killing that man. She had thought about it since learning about it and came to a couple of conclusions: She had been in complete control during the attack, despite her hazy recollection and she was proud over what she did since it was protecting her friends. There was no wolf side that was separate from her: She was the wolf and the desire of attack had simply awoken. She knew she was guilty of murder but she didn't care and as long as no one suspected her, she was fine.

Matt kept an eye on Elisa as the night wore on. She was calm and focused on her job. There was no hint of the anger or confusion she had exhibited prior to the full moon. Perhaps they were simply symptoms of her body preparing itself for the changes. They may resurface as the moon draws closer, though. I'll wait until the week before the moon.

Matt was true to his word. He put watching for signs on hold but he had asked if her family knew what happened. She said yes when she had Sunday dinner with them and had told her brother at the Labyrinth. "There was initial horror and sympathy until I said it's not so bad and it's really not," she had said.

"I believe you. It's great that you're handling it so easily."

"Of course it is. I could bite you and you could join me," Elisa said with a teasing smile.

"I'll pass. Besides, if we got too friendly, it would anger Goliath," Matt answered; Elisa had told him the news the night after accepting Goliath's proposal.

"You're right." Elisa glanced at her hands before focusing on the roads. Her nails needed trimmed again; they grew so quickly she had to clip them every three days. It was irritating, but it was a minor one. She knew she would stop clipping as the moon arrived. She also wondered what other signs would resurface. Would the amber return to her eyes? Would her ears be slightly pointed again? I'll eventually find out, she thought.

Elisa ran up the stairs the night before the full moon, eager to see her friends and also feeling that burning but comfortable anger again. It was buried deep in her, but there nonetheless. That wasn't the only thing that returned. Her eyes were two-toned again and her ears were slightly pointed. She had stopped trimming her nails two nights ago and they were pointed at the tips as well.

I'm ready to change again, but for now I'll be with my friends. She reached the top, not feeling at all winded even though she had run all the way up. My endurance and stamina has gotten better, she realized as the sun vanished and the gargoyles greeted the night. Goliath hopped down, gave Elisa a hug, and was about to kiss her when he paused and took a good look at her.

Elisa was confused for a moment, but then she smiled in understanding. "I know. This happened last time." She casually brushed back some hair, exposing an ear which more closely resembled a gargoyle ear instead of a wolf ear at the time.

"It's a little unusual," Goliath said.

Elisa felt a flash of anger at Goliath's comment, but reined it in. Instead, she let him scoop her up and glide down to where the rest of the clan waited.

"Whoa, Elisa," Lexington gasped when he saw her nails. "They really look like claws." He grinned at her. "Very cool."

Elisa nodded in appreciation, but after that the conversation turned completely normal. She enjoyed hanging out with the clan who didn't comment further on her unusual features. They also didn't comment whenever Elisa used her enhanced senses. It felt like old times, something Elisa loved; after the novelty of the past month this was a welcome change of pace.

Elisa opened her window and stripped the following day, watching the sky slowly darken. It was finally the full moon again and she intended to spend all three nights outside. She leaned forward as the sun vanished and she saw the moon already in the sky, its white light spreading across the area.

Elisa felt a pleasing tingle go through her body and looked down to see herself covered in fur and her reflection in the glass showed her with wolf ears. She scratched behind them before falling on all fours: Her feet and hands had become paws and her spine couldn't keep her upright. She didn't mind, she wanted to go to full wolf form. A howl and a shaking out ended the transformation and began the fight against her dark thoughts.

She had felt bad about attacking someone. She was a cop, after all; sworn to protect and serve. But, she was a werewolf when she attacked. She had been doing what werewolves did: They killed and ate humans. There was no reason to feel the least bit guilty. It didn't matter if the human was a Quarryman or a law-abiding citizen; both were eligible to be her target. These dark thoughts made sense and were so strong that resisting them was impossible. Elisa leaped onto the roof and then down the fire escape to the ground before sprinting through the alleys as she headed for Central Park. I want to kill as many as I can. Maybe even eat one. She licked her chops at the thought.