Chapter Three- Transformation

Isis brushed Thoth's arm from her shoulders as she stepped away from him. "Do not touch me like that," she said. "I do not love you and such a gesture is to be shared between lovers."

"You speak truly but I love you and until I have earned you love again, I promise not to touch you that way again." He let Isis take the lead but noticed that she kept glancing around. Ah, she is experiencing a werewolf's paranoia. I knew she would and she likely has no idea why…or does she?

"Is something wrong?" he asked in concern as Isis looked around once again.

"I feel like we're being watched but I don't see anyone," she said. "I've felt this way since leaving the palace. Is it a werewolf thing?"

"It is our paranoia. It is strong in the newly-bitten before they change, most likely because their senses have not become sharper yet."

"So, my paranoia will diminish with the change?"

"That's correct." He followed her in silence for a few minutes before asking, "Where are we going?"

"A nearby oasis. We will need water after all."

"Yes, of course." Thoth lifted his nose and inhaled deeply. A faint scent of water was detected before it got stronger. "We're nearly there. That's good as it is almost dark."

Isis nodded at this observation before resuming her walk to their destination. She still felt uneasy but now she knew what it was and felt relief that her paranoia would diminish with the sharpening of her senses which would occur with her change.

The oasis came into view and it was alight with a glowing sunset. Isis sensed the coolness of a desert's coming night and told herself that her fur coat would warm her. "Thoth, am I right in saying I will have no physical signs of my condition?"

"Actually, you will have two on the full moon. Every werewolf and wifewolf have pointed ears and nails from the morning of the first night and go back to normal the morning after the last night."

Isis approached the pond and turned to face the sun that was nearly gone. The sun dipped beyond the horizon, the colors flaring before the sky turned black. A pulse went through her and a burning was felt in her stomach. She went to her knees, moaning in pain and gasping from the burning. She forced her eyes open to witness this event.

She blinked as the night became brighter and she leaned forward to the water to see that her blue eyes were gold and wolf-like. Her face was covered in black fur and her headdress had faded away to reveal that her hair had turned to fur and a pair of black wolf ears sat on the top of her head. She stared at her reflection as her nose and jaws pushed out into a long elegant muzzle and her tongue felt that all her teeth were sharp and new teeth were filling in the gaps in her longer mouth.

A pins and needles sensation made her gasp and groan before she looked at the source to see her nails grow out and hook into sharp claws as her fingers shrank away and her hands formed paws that concealed the claws and were covered in fur which spread up her arms. A warmth flowed over her body and she surmised that all of her fur had grown out.

She felt her torso altering, the bones crunching and rearranging. She opened her muzzle to scream at the pain but a howl of pain emerged instead. She then panted as she felt something push out behind her and her legs popping and crunching. Her vocal sounds were a series of whines and yelps as she continued to transform.

The pain abruptly ended and Isis panted as she waited for the residue to fade entirely. She whined as her muscles throbbed. She heard footsteps approach and then a muzzle moved across her cheek: Thoth had transformed.

"I know," he said soothingly. "Your muscles hurt, but it will pass."

"You're…talking. I'm talking," she said in surprise. "But, I was whining and yelping earlier. I even howled."

"Yes, that was your two sides joining together. You are officially a wifewolf."

"So, I can talk as a human and a wolf now. What of the full moon?"

"I seem to recall speaking only as a wolf. I am just a wolf during that time. Speaking of which, you are a lovely wolf."

Isis staggered to all fours and looked into the water. A black wolf with gold eyes stared back at her. Her ears were long and elegant as was her muzzle. Her clothes were gone, but the Necklace was still there. She turned to the side and looked to see a slender but muscular body and long strong legs. A long full tail hung behind her. "I don't know if I agree with your opinion. I mean, I see a wolf. Nothing more."

"Of course. My feelings make me see more than just a wolf. In any case, let's focus on your senses, starting with your nose. That is the sense that will lower your paranoia as you'll be able to smell if anything is nearby."

Isis lifted her head so her nose was in the air and took a deep breath. A flood of smells entered her nose and tickled it, making her sneeze. She shook her head and then took a normal breath. She picked up smells that she couldn't identify at first and then what she could only call instinct, told her what the smells were. "I smell…water, grass, and you, Thoth. That is, I smell a wolf with a scent unique to you."

Thoth nodded. "Good, very good for your first time. You will have plenty of opportunities to use your nose as well as your eyes and ears."

"My eyes?"

"Yes. You will be able to see further, with more detail, and a little brighter while human. If we had the full visual acuity of a wolf, the sights would have been too much."

"I imagine you learned that from the one who bit you."

"Yes. He taught me everything he knew. The effects of our silver weaknesses I found out on my own. He told me we were allergic to it but not how it would affect us."

"Perhaps because he did not know."

"That makes sense."

"So, what about my ears?"

"That's easy. You'll be able to hear everything around you from whispers to shouts. There is a distance limit just as your nose and eyes have a limit. All three senses will be sharper all the time, human and wolf."

"I don't like the sound of that."

"I didn't either at first, but I grew accustomed to it."

"I imagine you would as you have been a werewolf for a century."

"I believe being a werewolf is the best lifestyle there is. We can survive practically anywhere in the world and exist in any city or village unnoticed."

"In the future, yes, but not at present, at least for me."

"Ah, yes. Your position as a priestess to the pharaoh. Yes, you cannot go unnoticed. Eventually though, you will have to move on as you will not age and it will draw suspicion."

Isis nodded as Thoth sliced open a clothed bag he had been carrying all this time to reveal the meat of rabbits. "I know your training forbids the eating of fish, so I hunted earlier. Believe me, eating raw meat is not disgusting. As wolves, we are carnivores and we consume raw meat with no problem."

I have no doubt of that, Isis thought as she laid down to enjoy dinner.