A werewolf howl, more than any other howl, is impossible to ignore. Even with a headset on. It is loud and powerful, lower than a regular wolf howl but with an indescribable human tone.
It echoes in your bones and wakes up your most primal fears, the most ancients instincts you are made of. It brings back the prey you have buried deep inside and it paralyzes every fibre of your body. But at the same times, it is a beautiful sound, wild and free.
At least that's how Lucie perceived it when it rang behind her.
A few minutes ago, she had finally came back from this exhausting but sooo satisfying day of visiting, shopping, ferreting and admiring with her best friend Melissa the most beautiful pieces of art she had ever seen (but again, for her it seemed like any new piece of art was more beautiful than the previous one), and she'd immediately threw herself in the arms of her bed before immersing herself in the delights of her favorite form of art amongst all: music.
In terms of music as well of painting, she had a very large and varied range of taste. She could enjoy in the same extant a concerto from the greatest classical composer and an energetic guitar solo from her favorite rock bands, all of that before playing some variety from several countries around the world.
In a general matter, Lucie was very open to every new experience she could enjoy, including this road trip in one of her favorite country in the world: Italy.
And for this adventure, it had appeared like an evidence that the only person she would want to do this with, was Melissa. Sure, she didn't share her immoderate enthusiasm for art, sure she wasn't really fond of visiting something else than natural sites, but she was the closest person Lucie had ever felt of.
They practically grew up together, merely two houses apart from each other, same mid-school, same high-school, same class every single time and woe betide anyone who would have tried to separate her, as it would fatally end up with depression, tears and trauma. For the teachers of course.
They had shared their most intimate thoughts and experiences, and even when they went in different college they kept in touch every week at the very least. When they were together it was like two strings vibrating in harmony, for Lucie their friendship was more precious than any painting, any sculpture she could ever see here or elsewhere.
And if she had to be honest, she was feeling more for her than she did for half of her boyfriends.
The behaviour of her friend had seemed a bit strange today. She had always been distracted and scatterbrained, but never so much. Almost every time she had looked at her, she had been staring into space, biting her lips and a look of unease painted on her face, as if she was feeling sick.
Not to mention that last incident at the cafΓ©, when something definitely had been off. Her face had been all flushed, red like a sunset, answering the waiter had seemed like a huge effort for her and immediately after, she had rushed into the bathroom in a hurry, as if a tsunami was after her.
Lucie was getting very worried, and if Mel didn't feel better tomorrow, she would take her to a doctor, the hell with her protests.
But little did she know that the real cause of all this was not in the expertise field of a doctor, and that as she let the music sooth her while deeply ruminating those thoughts, Melissa behind her was feeling a lot better as her 'illness' was finally developing.
So when the howl rose behind her, scarily
close
behind her, she practically jumped on place and, as a rabbit in her hold, immediately turned around to spot the origin of this terrifying sound.
What the hell
was her first thought. A deep and forgotten terror seizing her, freezing her blood and her stomach was the second, if however it could have been be called a thought.
Between her and the wooden door, stood a creature of legend, a creature that possibly
couldn't
exist in the real world for the simple reason they were
myths
.
Long fangs glowing in the moonlight, a dark and thick fur covering a powerful and athletic body, clawed hands and big wolf-like paws...feet...paws-feet, more like paws, a deadly lupine muzzle that she was sure didn't have any equivalent on the planet even if wolves' were what looked the most like it, and amber eyes staring right at her.
A werewolf. There was a fucking
werewolf
in her room!
Her instincts were swirling as a hurricane in the tropical islands, alternatively screaming her to run with all the power of her legs, run as fast as possible away from the predator, run as if (and indeed) her life depended on it, and then suddenly telling her not to move a single muscle, to hide, to curl in her bed, and to not make the slightest sound that could give her away.
Both ridiculous options given she was in a locked room and the werewolf had already spotted her, but at the moment her brain was all but functional. Actually, every rational thought had deserted her mind, leaving her at the mercy of her mere impulses.
Β« What's the matter Luce? You look like you've seen a ghost... Β»
... ... ...It took a dozen of seconds for Lucie to process the sense of these words, and that again to understand where they were coming from. The werewolf... had just... spoken. And called her Luce... What. The. Fuck...
Before the situation was supernatural, impossible and horrific, but right now it had swung into a confusing, absurd and yet supernatural, impossible and horrific situation.
Finally, her gaze fell over the shattered clothes on the ground, the lack of Melissa anywhere in the room, and the big creature that had spoken to her by her nickname.
And even with all the pieces together, she couldn't admit that all of this madness was real. No... Just no. Your friend just doesn't suddenly turn into a monster during your holidays in Italy, that doesn't make any fucking sense.
She opened her mouth... and closed it. Then opened it again and almost choked because she had no air left in her lungs, which retrospectively, probably explained why her vision had become so blurry in the past ten seconds. After a deep breath, she made a third attempt and succeeded at croaking a few words:
- M-Melissa?? she asked in an incredulous tone, still unsure she wasn't going crazy. Is-is that really you?
Melissa laughed
- Phew! Thanks god. she replied with a relieved and yet sarcastic tone. I was getting worried, you almost looked like you were going to have a stroke or something.
If she had any remnants of doubt about the identity of the werewolf, this would have finished to scatter them away. It really was Melissa's voice that just came from that deadly muzzle ; well, not really