A Wolven Embrace (Full length short): By Devin J. Meaney

A Wolven Embrace

By: Devin J. Meaney

It was already 7pm and in a matter of moments my date for the night was going to be at the door. The problem with this is that something that could be dreadful was clawing beneath the surface. As much as I tried to maintain the mask of normalcy I wear every day, some "thing" more primal and animalistic was brewing and ready to jump out from just beneath my skin. As I stared on and smiled into the bathroom mirror I could see the glimmer of a change to come in my eyes.

I thought to myself with dismay.

This is not good…

A handful of moments passed, and soon enough there was a knock at my door. Her name was Emily, and I had met her at a zine fair. She had long dyed blue hair, colorful contacts, she wore cartoonish yet intriguing jewelry and she smelled of fresh lilac. As this was our second meeting I already knew she was a wonderful person and as I whisked her into the kitchen of my apartment my mind was splitting in two different directions. Was this going to be a night of casual board games and movie watching? Or was this going to be something more fiery and explicit? As I was unsure if she would like my "other side" I didn't know how this night would go. All I could hope is that everything went ok, in whichever direction the night leaned.

As she sat at my kitchen table I offered her the basics.

"Coffee? Wine?"

She smiled, he cheeks red and blushing and her eyes warm and vibrant.

"Do you have any tea?"

I went to my kitchen cupboard and grabbed a box of orange pekoe and a box of hibiscus fruit tea. I shook each box in her direction. She grinned.

"Fruit tea please…"

This was my usual choice so to go along with many other reasons I felt as if this woman was definitely going to end up being my special lady—providing she didn't opt to run from the sting of my bite and the animal that hid behind my eyes.

We decided to watch some movies, and after going through my VHS collection we picked out two classics, Dog Soldiers and The Howling. It seemed as if she also had a love for analog media and cheesy old-style horror. Yet again my heart jumped within my chest, but also—I could feel the heat rising in my brain and my desire to tear her to pieces nearly consumed me.

Half way through Dog Soldiers I sensed within the heat of the moment that she wanted me to make a move, so being the cliché sap that I am I yawned and put my arm around her. She seemed to like my embrace, and she giggled at the same yawn that most girls would find cheesy and bland.

We continued to watch movies, and after The Howling we decided to watch one more.

*

The night continued and my mind kept splitting. One minute I wanted to kiss her softly and the next I wanted to bite into her jugular and tie her to my bed. I did really like her though, so I tried very hard to continue being the soft soul that I am at least half of the time. Half way through the third movie, The Wolf Man, she looked over at me and gazed into my eyes. Then she questioned me softly.

"So what's up with you anyway? Sometimes you seem—different."

I wasn't expecting this, but after a moment of contemplation I decided to tell her the truth.

"I've been diagnosed with split personality disorder. Sometimes I can be hard to handle, so if this is too much and you don't want to see me any longer, I understand."

She put her head down, and she seemed sad. I questioned her.

"Are you ok?"

She smiled weakly.

"I'm ok. But I thought it was something else. I guess now I need to say sorry for what comes next…"

I was confused.

"What comes next?"

Just then, the shine of a very full moon came through the window and permeated the living room of my apartment. I looked over at Emily and she started to tremble. As I gazed on, my curiosity soon turned to horror and I saw specks of fur start to sprout from her flesh. Her nose was soon turned into an elongated snout, and then she looked into my eyes. She had the eyes of a wolf, and just as I turned to flee out of my living room window she lunged at me, sinking her teeth into my neck. They pierced my throat like vicious bone knives and I yelped. I screamed for help—but it was too late. She pinned me to the ground, and in that moment—everything went black.

*

When I woke up, Emily was still there sitting on my couch. It was day time now. It felt like I was desperately hungover. I questioned if everything that happened was all just a dream, but upon close inspection with my fingers I did indeed have bite marks on my neck. I looked over towards my couch and Emily smiled at me.

"Coffee?"

In that moment I was no longer afraid, and the realization of what had happened struck me like a load of bricks to the face. Emily was a werewolf, and now—so was I.

Now, when my mind splits, it is something more. She had chosen me, and for an eternity she would indeed be my special lady. For the same eternity, I would be her special man. She genuinely loved the way my mind could turn in different directions—and I quickly learned to adore her warm and loving wolven embrace.