By Sesshoru

He woke up to the sound of silence, seeing that it was as dark and gloomy as it always was. He had woken up to this every day for the past year. Every day, he woke up to the drab scenery and just wished that he could go home. But even if he did get home, though, how would he ever be able to lead a normal lifestyle? As far as he knew this was permanent, and he knew of no cure for the disease he held.

He raised a hand and examined it's smooth appearance. This was a nice change, he had woken up human this time. Most of the time he would wake up to find his furry paw of a hand wrapped around the shoulders of his lover.

He looked over and there she lay, Angelina, sleeping peacefully in the arms of her fiancé, Ambrose. All Ambrose wanted to do at that moment was sit quietly and hold her gently. It was rare when he wasn't a werewolf, he wanted to spend as much time as he could while he was still human.

His hand ran through her hair. Yes, this was what he wanted, to sit peacefully in the quiet of the night. A sigh escaped his lips, for he wasn't sure if he could ever do this kind of thing on a regular basis, or even at all. What if these changes became permanent? He closed his eyes, still brushing Angelina's hair. Her hair was soft, silky, and... furry? Ambrose's eyes snapped open and looked at his hand. It was quickly growing a coat of fur. He watched in fear as the fur spread like a disease, all around his body, his muscles growing stronger in correspondence with his physical appearance. He could feel his strength growing stronger than that of a regular human. His other side began to take over, causing growls to emit from the bottom of his throat. Actually, that wasn't necessarily true. He couldn't be sure what was his doing and what his wolf counterpart's doing anymore, and he hated it. He couldn't stand what he was becoming, and worst of all, it affected his ability to stay in control of the situation, but there was nothing he could do to stop it, especially not now.

Angelina stirred from her sleep nearby, looking up at Ambrose with groggy eyes. Her eyes began to grow wide when she say what Ambrose was becoming. She let out a stifled scream and quickly reached for Ambrose's rapier in case, in the worst situation, she had to protect herself from her partners attacks. She gritted her teeth in anger, cursing this land for what it had done to him. Every time she saw him transform, he became less and less of a man, and more and more of a monster. She knew that somewhere inside of his monstrous transformation, beat the heart of her lover, because whenever he transformed, he never went after her, that was proof he still existed. Although she could never take that for granted, she could never when he was and wasn't going to attack her.

Ambrose's face stretched outwards into a muzzle and his teeth elongated into sharp fangs. Snarls sounded as drool dripped from the monster's mouth. He looked around and laid his eyes on Angelina, looking her over carefully. Ambrose let himself drop down on all fours and slowly made his way over to Angelina, stopping a short distance from where she lay quivering, rapier in hand, ready to strike at any moment.

Angelina held the blade straight out in front of her monster of a fiancé. "Ambrose, stay back, I'll use whatever force necessary!"

The wolf man hesitated in front of the quivering blade, sniffing the air around the girl carefully. He knew the scent was familiar, he smelled it regularly, but it was beginning to lose more and more meaning each time he caught a whiff of her odour. Slowly, he began to back away, still growling at the supposed stranger. The girl stood there, slowly lowering the blade, but not so that she was defenseless, just enough so she could maybe try and talk some sense into him, it was all she could do in these situations.

She tried to keep her voice as calm as she could while trying to speak to the Ambrose that she knew lay dormant inside. "Ambrose, you know what you're doing, you know that you hate it, please, stop..."

The werewolf that was Ambrose flipped his hair away from his face and snarled once more, "don't say such things, dear, this lust for blood is a feeling so invigorating that you can't help but want to kill..." Teeth still bared, his mouth curved up into a large grin as he let out a low chuckle.

Fear struck Angelina, more than the malicious attacks, what she feared more was that Ambrose may one day eventually become consumed by his darker self. He had never talked before when he was in his wolf state, and the fact that he had formed words of such cruelty and disregard for life filled her with such uncertainty and fear that she could barely walk. She stepped back, nearly falling backwards because of her weak legs. "A- Ambrose... don't say such things. You know you would never want to intentionally kill anyone."

Ambrose laughed and brought up his claws, admiring them as he admired his blade when he was human. "Why wouldn't I? The weak should be put in their place, whether it be at the mercy of a better man, or in their graves. This... this power gives me control. Nobody defies me when I'm like this... I have control over any situation." He let out a maniacal laugh and slashed a nearby wall, leaving a deep impression the wood.

Angelina growled and stepped forward, giving Ambrose a stern glare. "Control? What about controlling what you're becoming? You haven't been able to subdue the monster that's growing inside you. How is that controlling any situation? What you're saying is all bullshit. It's all lies!" She took a stride forward and slashed at Ambrose, who caught the blade with ease, ignoring the blood that started trickling down his hand.

"Now, now, dear," he started. "I've been so kind as to spare your life time and time again when my craving for blood has become so strong, and this is how you repay me? Tsk, tsk, I thought you would be grateful that I wanted to keep you by my side. Whatever happened to the loyalty we both shared?"

She gritted her teeth and tried to force the blade further into Ambrose's hand. "You're a monster... How could such a vile heart beat so deeply inside you, my love? How could you allow yourself to say such things?"



Howling with laughter, Ambrose ripped the rapier from Angelina's grip and tossed it behind him. "Honey, don't you recognize your lover when you see him? I'm right here, in the flesh, I haven't disappeared."

Tears fell from Angelina's eyes. "Stop lying, it can't be you! You're not the Ambrose that I know and love!"

Ambrose gave a toothy grin. "I'm hurt. I was willing to share this wonderful gift with you and together we could have ruled the night."

"Stop it!" she screamed. She raised a hand and a lighting bolt broke through the roof of their shelter, giving Ambrose a mighty shock, causing his body to go limp and fall backwards, landing with a soft thud. Angelina fell to her knees and wept for her lover. She knew he was becoming overpowered by his other half, but there was nothing either of them could do.

She walked over and began to tend to Ambrose's wounds, wrapping up his hand and using some of the water they had in reserve to place a damp cloth on his head. She let out a sigh. He was human again, and hoped that he would stay that way for a long time. Dealing with what he had said was more than she could handle.

A groan could be heard coming from Ambrose as he stirred from his sleep and opened his eyes, laying them upon Angelina, They were tired and showed fear. "I know what I did..." he looked away from Angelina and rested his eyes, not wanting to say another word.

She wrung out his cloth and remoistened it, laying it on his forehead. "You really scared me..." tears were still running down her eyes from when she last broke down a few moments ago. "I really thought that I was going to have to kill you. Please, try to keep control. I don't want to ever have to bring up that thought ever again."

Ambrose grinned, "Do you really think that I'll be able to control it? It's been getting worse ever since we got here, but for you, I'll control it, or die trying." He knew that someday he might have to live up to those words, but he wasn't going to live this world or any other as some horrible beast.

Angelina put on a dry smile. "Don't say such things, you'll learn." She pulled a blanket up past Ambrose's shoulders. "Sleep, we'll worry about it another time..."