Okay, I want to apologize in advance for the deaths that are about to occur.

Chapter Eight- Paranoia Murders

The alley was narrow; there was barely enough space for Matt to walk down it let alone turn around. He had his gun out as he slowly and cautiously looked around. There were boxes, trash cans, and dumpsters lining the sides and Matt checked behind and beside each one. He soon reached a dead end and found nothing. He sighed and put his weapon away. "All clear, Elisa," he said. No response. "Elisa?" He heard a clicking noise and turned to see glowing red eyes coming toward him. A nearby street lamp exposed a four-legged black wolf stalking toward him. He knew it was Elisa; Chavez had told him that she had seen Elisa grow black fur before leaving the apartment.

"Elisa?" he said softly and nervously. Her posture indicated that she was going to attack and likely kill him. But, why?

She doesn't need a reason, he realized. She's gone dark and cruel. It doesn't matter who she attacks. It's also possible that she's thinking like a real wolf as it's not a full moon night. I don't want to shoot her, but maybe I can wound her enough to escape. Matt reached for his gun.

Elisa growled before lunging forward, locking her jaws onto his arm and twisting her head. There was a snap and Matt screamed: Elisa had broken his arm! The she-wolf released her hold, backed up a little, and then leaped forward, planting her forepaws on Matt's chest and knocking him onto his back. The fall knocked the wind out of him and the last things he saw and felt was Elisa leaning forward and teeth ripping away his throat.

Elisa growled in satisfaction as she licked the blood off the edges of her muzzle that had resulted in tearing away Matt's throat. That felt so good and it went perfectly. He's obviously didn't realize how fast I am. She looked at his corpse before going over to it and tore at it. She wasn't hungry and had no desire to eat him anyway. She did, however, want to rip and tear at his body. She did it with more fervor and brutality than her previous victims; most likely because he had become suspicious of her, thanks to Chavez. Once she finished savaging his body and cleaning herself and the crime scene, she howled in joy, returned to human form, left the scene, and drove away.

Elisa claimed Matt was sick for the next two nights, but she suspected that Chavez didn't believe her. She wasn't too concerned over that as her superior would die eventually. Heh, she scoffed. I spent years obeying authority figures: My parents, teachers, co-workers in a higher position than me, and of course government officials. But now? I don't have to listen to anybody. I'll kill and eat as I please and only one person suspects me. Soon, though, she won't be around to suspect me or boss me around. I love being a werewolf; I may even shift to full wolf form and stay that way when I'm not working.

Elisa was getting ready to eat an early dinner on the third night after killing Matt when a knock sounded on her door. She peered through the peephole to see Chavez on the other side. Hmm, perhaps tonight's the night to kill her.

She opened the door and admitted Chavez. "What's up, Captain?" she asked once the door was closed.

"We need to talk, Maza." She fixed her detective with a cold stare. "I believe you lied to me about your activities last month. You killed all those people, didn't you?"

Elisa affected a shocked expression. "Captain, why would you think that?"

"The evidence detective. All the attacks occurred during the full moon, no clear paw prints or trail, no attacks since then and no sign of any other wild animal. I have every reason to suspect you as the attacks were rather brutal and track with the way a wolf attacks."

"That's all circumstantial, Captain. It doesn't mean I'm guilty." Elisa sounded hurt and turned away from Chavez.

Chavez felt bad at seeing Elisa's reaction. Perhaps I was wrong to suspect her. I allowed my preconceptions of werewolves to believe Maza would succumb to a werewolf's dark, vicious nature. She put a hand on Elisa's shoulder. "I'm sorry, Maza. I shouldn't jump to conclusions without any hard evidence."

Elisa took another step away, stayed that way for a moment, and then whipped around and knocked Chavez onto her back, using her increased strength to keep the woman down. Elisa looked down with cruel gold eyes. "So, Captain, you want hard evidence? Well, here it is: I did kill those people and I loved every minute of it. I tried to fight back against the darkness but it was too strong and attractive to resist. I've recently learned to control the change so I don't need to wait for the full moon." She grinned, showing sharp teeth. "I killed Matt three nights ago as he was suspicious of me as you were." Elisa planted a knee on Chavez's chest before locking a hand on the woman's throat and started to squeeze, cutting off her air.

"I love being a werewolf and killing as I want. Your continued existence threatens that so, you'll have to die. Goodbye, Captain." Elisa's hand shifted position and she crushed Chavez's windpipe. Chavez, unable to draw breath, thrashed and writhed for several minutes before she died due to suffocation.

Elisa stood, spread a tarp on her kitchen floor, and dragged Chavez's body onto it before shifting to full wolf and ripping up Chavez's body as well as eating it. She gave that growling/snarling laugh. She couldn't believe Chavez had bought her act. That had been too easy, she thought as she ate the throat's skin to destroy evidence of her palm print. She intended to dispose of the body in about two days after she had eaten what she wanted. She licked her face and paws clean before shifting to human, draping the tarp over the body, and left for work, her mood light and happy. She had eliminated the only two co-workers who knew her secret.

She kept silent about Chavez's absence that night as well as Matt's. She knew Matt's body would be found and she made sure to volunteer to help look when it was reported that he wasn't at home. No one questioned it as everyone knew Matt was her partner. She kept tabs on where the other officers were searching before pretending to scan an area for him. She casually drove toward the area where she killed him, got out, and pretended to search the alleys. She then went down the narrow alley and stood there to savor and re-live the attack before returning to her car to report that she found her partner and that he was dead, making sure to sound stunned and sad about the discovery. She stayed until homicide investigators arrived and took her statement before being allowed to leave and continue her shift.

She returned home, uncovered her meal, resumed her wolf form, and began to eat. Her tail swished as she feasted; she enjoyed eating her prey raw and loved being in wolf form. She would be able to go on another killing spree in a couple of days as it'll be the full moon again. This time, no one will think I'm behind the attacks. Wait…a lot of people will think that. My family and the clan. But, they haven't spoken to me about the attacks, so they likely think another werewolf is around.

The phone rang and Elisa growled at the interruption before shifting to human and answering it. "Hello?"

"Elisa?"

"Sis! I didn't know you were back!"

"I'm taking a break from school. Mom and Dad have been telling me what's been going on lately. They said you're a werewolf now."

"It's true."

"You're not dangerous or evil, of course."

"Of…course. Why would I be like that?"

"It's just that most people that are bitten turn into dark, vicious creatures, day or night."

"Right, but I'm strong-willed enough to resist it."

"Right. So, we'll see you at dinner Sunday?"

"I'll be there. See you then."