Werelord Thal: A Renaissance Werewolf Tale

Chapter 2. Humanity

The wolf lifted his head. His pack mates dozed around him comfortably, except for the alpha male. His long legs and thick paws were twitching. The mighty pack leader grunted. His lips pulled back and revealed heavy canines.

The loyal subordinate watched with growing concern. The alpha's legs jerked harder. His head tossed. The other wolves awoke and blinked in the morning sun that warmed the meadow outside their den. They stared at their alpha male and then got up and sniffed toward him cautiously. The alpha female came out from the den, her teats swollen with milk. She licked his face. He grunted and then rolled away in a twisting seizure. His family circled him nervously.

A raven flew into a tall pine and screeched. The wolves glanced up at the dark sentinel whose abrasive voice warned of an intruder.

The alpha male writhed across the ground, tearing up the grass. The other wolves whined around him. With eyes rolling back, he flailed his legs. Garbled howls tumbled clumsily from his throat. His body distorted. The wolves jumped back. His howls turned to rasping screams.

He raised his paws over his face and rolled into a ball. The raven screamed. A strong wind blew through the trees from nowhere. The wolves fled into the den, except for the alpha female. She lowered her head and whimpered as the body of her mate changed. Fur fell away. Smooth flesh bulged with muscles. His tail retracted into his spine. Claws evaporated and soft naked fingers grew out. Painful yowling accompanied the wrenching transformation of the face. The snout and powerful jaws shrank. The back legs curled under his torso and then burst into new legs and feet.

At last his tortured screams ended, but the revered alpha male was gone. A man, naked save for an old wolf hide across his loins, lay shivering upon the disturbed ground.

He touched his face. For a long time he stared in disbelief at his hands with his many colored eyes. Then he ran his hands up his smooth arms. Each prickle of the relatively tiny hairs against his palms puzzled him with the absence of his luxurious coat. He brushed his fingers over his head. Here remained fur but the texture was different. He had hair.

He met the alpha female's eyes. Understanding remained but a gulf had opened between them. She tilted her head sadly, wondering at the alteration of her mate. The wind gradually quieted and the other wolves ventured out. They snarled and rushed forward to attack the man because all men were traitorous brothers, but the female intercepted them. Reluctantly the pack heeded her call to patience. With her tail up she padded toward the man while her pack growled unhappily.

The man reached out to her but when he saw the five-fingered evidence of his humanity he pulled his hand back. He looked down, knowing he was unworthy of her. How could he provide for her now? He was just a naked man in the forest.

Gradually she came closer. Her moist black nose sniffed at his altered scent. She sensed the agony of his heart and knew it was breaking because of her.

Her gentle whines were the essence of empathy as she edged closer. When the man looked into her eyes again, he wished he could give her an explanation.

She licked his cheek. He buried his face in her soft fur. She tensed against the alien feel of his arms but did not pull away.

The man tried to speak to her, but his throat and lips made erratic sounds and the attempt flung his mind into confusion. When she finally slipped out of his clinging arms, he looked at the pack. The guarded expressions on their familiar once-trusting faces terrified him.

Nervous little yips came from the den entrance. His pups! The man jumped up. When he came so abruptly to his full height, the wolves growled and the hair went up on their necks. The pups, sensing the alarm, hung back in the shadowy hole.

Unable to believe that his pack would harm him, the man took a step toward the den, but the alpha female jumped into his path. She doubled in size as every bit of fur lifted. She was majestic in her fury. Never had she defied him like this, and the man admired her power anew.

He knew why she blocked his way. No man must ever come near the pups. Men were death. Merciless hunters. Beasts without reason. Best to snoop only on the fringes of their mad domain than seek again the kinship of joint dominion of the land. A pup allowed to be curious about a man might ignore the elders' hard lessons of caution and be killed. Or worse yet, trapped by some circus traveler and thrown alone into a bear pit.

These awful truths twisted his guts and churned the raw meat he had feasted upon in the night. Sickened, he ran across the meadow and collapsed against a pine tree.

His former pack mates spread out around the den. The alpha female threw back her head and howled. Her lingering notes sang of apology. She would not let him enter the den, but she regretted the pain it caused him. The rest of the pack howled with her. Their sadness drew tears from the man. When the salty drip reached his lips, the taste forced him to recall his humanity. He had been a man once. Memories fluttered into focus. Images of people peeked into the blankness of his mind.

But how could he be a man? He had been given a choice, and he had chosen.

He clutched his head. The wolf music spoke to him. He heard their dismay but could give no proper response to reassure them.

Slumping to the ground, he petted the old wolf skin that had remained at his side after the transformation. Turning it over, he gasped. Dark designs were painted on the bare leather. Blocks of various shapes were lined up in rows. The alien shapes bombarded his mind. His eyes that were so adept at spotting movement struggled with the bizarre information. Finally, a small block of four little images took shape in his understanding. At the end of the last row, he saw: THAL.

He cried out and folded the fur to cover the lettering.

Thal stayed on his knees for a long time. The tree shadows crossed his body as they moved with the sun. His pack settled protectively around the den and watched him with sad eyes. His alpha female approached again and snuffled the wolf hide in his hands, seeking the scent of her mate. Gently he stroked her long snout and ran his hand up her cheek and behind her ears. To touch her this way was soothing to him. She pressed against his rubbing hand. He savored the affection, but his human hand against her silver pepper fur impressed upon him the fact that he was her mate no more. How unfair that some unexpected fate should seize him when she needed him most.

As if in agreement, she pushed aside his hand and licked his face. She slurped at the saltiness of his tears. Then with her swift silent grace she trotted toward the den. She looked back once. Thal had only disappointment to offer her. Resigned, she entered the den to nurse her pups.

One by one the other wolves crept up to him, but none let him touch. They whimpered and sniffed and then retreated. Last to come was his most dependable companion. The maturing male was clever and a pleasure to hunt with. He would have to guide the pack now. Thal dipped his head to him, and the sign of respect surprised the wolf.

The raven squawked. Thal regarded the dark silhouette in the towering evergreen. The bird was right. He had to go. He did not belong here anymore.

Thal needed space to think. The presence of his family was too distracting. He struggled to remember his life before the forest, but the blissful liberty of many seasons hunting with his kin blocked it out.

He flung the old wolf hide over his shoulder and walked away. Like his alpha female he looked back once, very wistfully. He hated to leave, but the world of humans had reclaimed him and he could not stay.

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