Marcel was nineteen. And if he were being honest, he hated parties. Too many people. Too much noise. Too much pretending. But that night, being alone in his apartment felt worse. The silence wasn't peaceful ,it felt like it was choking him. Like his own thoughts were screaming in his ears.
So when two random guys at the gas station mentioned a party in the woods, he nodded and said, "Yeah. Cool."
He didn't ask for directions. Just followed their car down a narrow dirt road until the bass got loud enough to shake the trees.
He parked under a crooked pine tree, way before the main clearing. The sound of music still thumped in the distance, but it was muffled by trees and brush. That far back, it was quiet , private. Maybe that's why no one saw what happened.
He sat in the car for a second, gripping the steering wheel.
"This is stupid," he muttered.
But he got out anyway.
The fire was the first thing he saw when he pushed through the trees. Then the people. Dancing, shouting, drunk off their faces.
He walked over, shoulders tense, hoping no one noticed how out of place he felt. He grabbed a plastic cup and went back to his car,
He leaned against his car .still parked way out of sight,keeping his eyes low.
Everything was too much. The smoke, the heat, the music. It made his skin itch like something inside was trying to claw its way out.
"Hey! You lost, or just creepy?"
Marcel turned. A tall guy in a red hoodie was walking over, grinning like a jerk. He looked barely older than him, maybe twenty, but carried himself like he owned the whole damn forest.
"I'm good," Marcel said calmly. "Just chilling."
"Yeah? You always chill at other people's parties like you're doing surveillance?"
Marcel didn't answer. He stared into the fire. His jaw clenched.
The guy stepped closer and nudged his leg. "C'mon, say something, Batman."
"I'm not here for trouble," Marcel repiled, staring at the cup in his hand.
The guy scoffed. "Yeah? You look like trouble. Weird-ass loner showing up outta nowhere."
And then bam.
A punch. No warning. Fist straight to the jaw.
Pain burst through Marcel's face. His body staggered, but something in him stayed still. Something cold.
"What the hell?" he barked, touching his lip.
"You don't belong here," the guy sneered, like he had been waiting to say that all night.
Something flipped.
Marcel saw red. Literally.
He lunged. Tackled the guy to the ground.
The world became fists and dirt and breathless shouting. The guy tried to swing again, but Marcel moved faster. He pinned him, knuckles slamming into his cheek, again and again.
"You think I'm scared of you?" Marcel yelled. "You don't even know me!"
The guy gurgled something. Blood spat from his mouth. Then… silence.
His chest didn't rise.
Marcel froze, panting.
"No," he whispered. "No, no, no…"
He backed up, looking at his shaking hands. Blood. His shirt. His knuckles. All of it.
"I didn't mean to…"
No one came running. No one shouted. The music kept playing like nothing happened. The party was too far, too loud to hear a thing.
Then movement.
The trees moved,Marcel turned just in time to see a shadow step out from behind a thick trunk. It moved weird. Like it didn't walk, it glided. And it was dragging something.
The guy's body.
"What the"
He ran. He didn't even think. He just ran. Away from the music. Away from the lights. Into the dark.
His legs burned. His lungs screamed.
Then it hit.
A pain like nothing he had ever felt. Like his bones were trying to explode out of his body.
He dropped, screaming, grabbing his chest.
"Somebody help! agh"
His fingers twisted, claws breaking through skin. His jaw cracked sideways, teeth growing longer.
"What's happening to me?!"
His scream became a howl.
Muscles stretched. Bones snapped. Skin tore. Fur burst out like wildfire.
Then everything went still.
Where Marcel had been, a huge black wolf stood, trembling under the moonlight.
Inside, the boy was still there. Nineteen. Confused. Terrified.
I killed someone.
I changed.
What the hell am I?
But the wolf didn't care. It sniffed the wind. Smelled something.
Blood.
It moved before he could even think to stop it.
A Lady walked nearby alone, maybe leaving the party. The wolf launched.
No warning. No mercy.
Teeth sank in. Flesh tore.
And Marcel? He was buried inside, screaming with no voice.
He wanted to stop. But the wolf didn't.
It wanted more.
Rabbits. Birds. A fox. Whatever it found, it killed.
He wasn't Marcel anymore.
He was a monster.
####
Morning came slowly, like it didn't want to be there.
Sunlight filtered through the trees, soft and golden,too soft for what lay on the ground.
Marcel woke up with a sudden gasp, eyes snapping open.
His whole body hurt. His mouth was dry and sticky. He looked down and saw he was naked, covered in dried blood and dirt. Scratches ran across his arms and chest. His hands shook.
"What did I do?" he said, voice rough and quiet.
Then he heard footsteps.
He sat up fast, panic rising.
But it wasn't someone dangerous.
It was a girl. Around his age, with long brown hair and sharp eyes. She looked calm,almost too calm to be standing in front of a naked, bloody guy in the woods.
Without a word, she held out a bundle of clothes.
"Here," she said like it was normal.
Marcel blinked, still trying to figure out what was happening. Slowly, he took the clothes.
"Put these on," she said, turning around to give him some privacy. "Then come with me. You need to learn a lot."
He pulled on the clothes, still shaking, still confused.
Then he followed her.
They walked for a few minutes without saying anything.
When they reached a clearing, Marcel stopped.
There were bodies.
Torn and broken, scattered on the ground.
His breath caught. He stepped back.
"No… this can't be."
"Why do you look so scared?" she asked, voice steady but cold. "You did this."
He stared at her, shocked. "No. I couldn't have."
She raised her eyebrow and said, "New wolf."
Marcel shook his head. "What do you mean?"
"You changed," she said, walking around one of the bodies without flinching. "The full moon came, you turned for the first time,You weren't ready. The beast took over."
"I killed a guy," he said, voice breaking. "Last night. Before I even changed… How can this be real? How can a person turn into a wolf?"
She looked at him without blinking. "It is real. You're a werewolf now.You activated your curse by killing that guy."
"Oh no,his dead,I don't know who dragged him into the woods,no..no,I didn't want this," he whispered.
"It doesn't matter," she said, folding her arms. "You're a wolf. If you want to survive the next full moon or the ones after that,you need to understand what that means."
She turne
d and started walking.
"Come on, Marcel. Before someone else finds the bodies."
He froze. "How do you know my name?"
She smirked over her shoulder. "Like I said… you've got a lot to learn."