A Lycan's Legacy: Chapter 66

There wasn't much to talk about on the flight back to Redbank; the previously fatal and potential triggers to my overwhelming transformations on board the plane proving insignificant to faze me in my quest to return to the town that needed me - the people who had treated me like dirt for all of my life as a werewolf inexplicably unleashing the protective and nurturing side of the wolf with the thought of an imminent danger threatening my pack. And I wasn’t going to let anything hurt them…

*****

The first thing on my mind upon touching down once the plane had landed was getting to Redbank as quickly as I could - a feat only possible when resorting to the fastest mode of transport…

Running on all fours.

Of course this resulted in me having to fully turn. But strangely enough the transformation was quick and painless like it had been for the last couple of shifts, only this time with the added bonus of no longer feeling fully exposed upon morphing, granting me more confidence going into the Change in the form of the new clothing my dad had provided for me; a specially designed 'werewolf-proof' set of extra baggy and stretchy trousers which allowed for my otherwise torn and destroyed underwear to be accommodated by the massive werewolf who wore them with ease, feeling my proud and roughed up tail fit perfectly over the elevated stump in the rear in order to force it out and over the fragile fabric as I howl out loudly into the surrounding forest. Making the presence of the Big Bad Wolf known for all to hear.

*****

The first thing I noticed upon entering Redbank was just how quiet it was. Sure, it wasn't a noisy place to begin with, given its tiny population of lazy residents who would rather remain inside all day, but I was at least expecting to be greeted by the sound of the various car horns blaring in the background, the arguing pedestrians littering the streets, and the voice of the eccentric policewoman constantly in my ear. The policewoman who was nowhere to be seen.
I had never expected in all of the time that I had spent in Canada to turn up in the town I thought I had just grown used to and find it completely changed. I couldn't quite put my claw on it, but it felt as if something drastic had happened here. Something that was out of the people's control; out of the police's control; and ultimately, out of my control.

"Amber?! AMBER?!" I bark out sharply from outside the usually frantic police department, half expecting to see the cocky Sheriff barging through the door with yet another falsely arrested victim. But instead, there was nothing. No cops, no prisoners…

And no lock on the door.

"SHERIFF RAE?!" I shout out in concern, kicking the door open with my overwhelming werewolf strength as I stand in confusion of my surroundings.
There was physically nothing or nobody around, with all of the doors and security having been abruptly forced open as if from the outside. That and the entrance to the cell that I found myself running into in a desperate attempt to locate the previously locked up criminal scum that I had helped arrest all those weeks ago.
"Oh God… Where the hell is he?! WHERE'S BROOKS?!" I bark out in a blind panic, oblivious to the midget brute's escape many days prior and the completely new identity he had undergone - the alias of the intimidating new blood werewolf who had originally threatened me and my town back before I was mutated into the monster that I was now. A monster that was genuinely afraid for the safety of all of his friends as I find myself running around frantically in search of the missing individuals that I had to find on my own accord. Not that the incompetent police force would have been of much help even if they hadn't of disappeared into thin air…

*****

“I’m sure they’re just out somewhere… There’s nothing to be worried about” Logan says somewhat hesitantly as he continues to follow me blindly, trying his hardest to calm his distressed son after getting no response from his best friend upon banging on his door relentlessly, the Big Bad Wolf almost feeling like blowing his house down in search of his missing pack member as I begin pacing backwards and forwards across the pavement in despair.
“No… No, no, NO! I can’t believe this!” I bark out sharply as I hold my head in my hands in unadulterated anger. “They couldn’t have just all disappeared! Somebody would have had to take them… KIDNAP THEM!!!” I roar out angrily into my gradually elongating clawed hands as I struggle to keep my inner rage contained along with the wolf inside in the form of the frail and confused human who found himself slamming his fist into the nearest light pole, intending it severely as my inhuman strength only helps to complement my fragile state of mind, sending all of my feelings and thoughts into a spiralling heap of unreadable emotions and plans as I try desperately to figure out what the hell happened to all of my friends – a motive not quite shared by my side tracked father as he looks off into the distant forest beyond. A look of urgency and determination on his face.

“Look son, as much as I would like to help you… I’m afraid I’ve got to be going now. I’ve got a… ‘Friend’… That I really ought to go and talk to” Logan says somewhat hesitantly as his obviously pissed off and frustrated werewolf offspring turns back to face him sternly, staring coldly into his eyes before turning back all of a sudden to the task at hand.
“Then go. It’s not like I need your help anyway… I can find them on my own” I say firmly as my hesitant father decides to retaliate with some extra back up, only to end up being swayed by his better judgement. And the set of pearly white daggers flashing in his face.
“JUST GO!!!” I bark out unexpectedly, sending the older lycanthrope staggering backwards in fear of the beast that was just inches away from decapitating the unhelpful grey haired man who quickly made his exit towards the forest on the outskirts of town, his blurred image becoming lost in the darkness in the eyes of the agitated wolf as I start murmuring to myself almost deliriously, barking out deranged thoughts and ideas under my breath as I try to put all of the pieces of the puzzle together. That is before suddenly remembering the least valuable member of the pack that I had completely forgotten to check on in my fruitless search. “Norwood!”

With that I instantly start running towards the rundown apartment at the end of the street, skipping three steps at a time as I quite literally jump all the way up the steps to the newly renovated, and heavily reinforced, front door.
“Come on Doc! I know you’re in there!” I bark out sharply through the tiny mail slot in the door as the lack of lights and delighted old man in my face leads me to assume the worse, my heart sinking to the lowest of lows as I slump lifelessly against the stone steps outside before burying my head in my hands in complete and utter despair, the thought of imagining all of my lost friends in my mind breaking me down into tears as I howl weakly to myself in overexaggerated grief.
“Where are you guys?” I cry softly into my hands, wondering where on Earth they could have all disappeared to…

And why the hell I had a gun pointed in my face.

“I’m pretty sure you’ve got the answer there, dog…” the cold voice says mercilessly as I hesitantly lift my head up to the sight of the noble police badge worn by the equally proud cop as the world’s most incompetent Sheriff directs his aimed pistol directly in between my eyes; not at all feeling outgunned or outclassed considering how he was threatening a genuine werewolf – one of which wasn’t in the mood to be taking shit from anything or anyone. Even if that someone was once considered a friend.
“And what makes you say that…?” I growl coldly under my breath before slowly getting to my feet, spurring the unprepared and, rightfully terrified, policeman to clumsily flick back the safety switch on his only form of defence against the accused lycanthrope who exceeded him in both size, strength, intelligence… And eagerness to kill.
“What do you mean? Isn’t it obvious?!” the headstrong Englishman shouts out sharply, instantly directly his furry friend’s attention towards the door he had been knocking on for the past ten minutes. And the subtle claw marks running all the way down them.

“Y… You seriously can’t be accusing me of such a thing? They’re my friends! I would never hurt them! I…!” But just as I shout out those very words I come so close to going back on them completely as I find myself withdrawing my clawed hand from the helpless Sheriff’s face; claws of which mirrored the almost identical ones slashed down the door before me as the threatened human barks back sharply in response.
“How can I know it wasn’t you?! You’re a werewolf for God sake! You’re not exactly the most… Trustworthy” the bold copper says much to the hesitation of the aggressive growl in his face as the mildly offended lycanthrope stares deep into his eyes with a glare that promised nothing but a painful and prolonged death. And a sudden idea that would help prove the murderous beast’s innocence.
“Well, if you don’t believe me… Then I guess I’ll let the claws do the talking” I say somewhat patronisingly as I walk over to the engraved door once more, carefully channelling a full transformation down my arm as the awe struck Sherriff watches my entire hand begin to violently mutate and enlarge, my fingers breaking and lengthening effortlessly along with the razor sharp claws that thickened and elongated in perfect, yet excruciating painful, coordination – my fully transformed hand acting as the one outstanding piece of evidence in my defence before holding it up to the door eagerly, my abnormally massive, and comparatively huge, right hand proving incompatible with the significantly larger claw marks on the door despite its still overwhelming size - ultimately proving my point that I wasn’t the one responsible for the kidnappings. But most importantly…

That there was a much larger wolf in town.

“See, Rae? It wasn’t me…” I say coldly as I slowly sheath the claws of my subtly hidden hand, holding it to my side as a means of intimidating and deterring the overly confident police officer from making any more false accusations before growling aggressively in his face. “Now… Are you going to help me find my friends or not?” I say coldly as I stare deep into his soul menacingly, my eyes flickering a violent yellow as I quickly notice the look of approval and acceptance on the once terrified human. And the infamous item he held in his hand.
“I was going to ask you the same thing…” the smug Sheriff says with a smile on his face, chuckling silently to himself as he pulls out what appeared to anyone else as an oversized dog collar. But to me? It was torture in portable format.

“Oh no… I am NOT wearing th… That THING!” I bark out sharply at the item responsible for so much of my suffering as I growl defensively in regards to the slowly approaching cop who was holding his hands out around my neck, eager to plant the electrified tracking device on me like his own personal sniffer dog all of those weeks ago as he looks back at me sternly.
“Now come on Callum. You’ve already transformed your hand for me… You might as well transform the rest” Alex says almost mockingly as he flinches in fear at the sight of the offended werewolf who slashed his claws towards his face. And the collar that it held hesitantly in its grasp.

“I swear to God Rae… Don’t you even dare get to thinking that I’m doing this for you,” I growl coldly before slowly strapping on the werewolf specific collar, “I’m doing it for them”.
And with that I let out a strained sigh of despair at the feeling of restriction and confinement from the rather uncomfortable strap around my neck. Something that became the least of my concerns at the sight of the sly smile on the Sheriff’s face…

“Oh, don’t worry. I am too” the cocky and arrogant policeman says smugly…

His finger pressed firmly on the trigger.