Purgatory of the Werewolf - The Wolf of Dorian Gray (Book 2)

Chapter 28 - The Blood Moon Part 1

Thought and feeling returned as Dorian's brain reformed. His heart began beating again and his lungs once more drew breath. His sight came back last along with a searing headache.

Lord Crawley snapped on the last shackle just before Dorian threw himself against the restraints.

Dorian's muscles strained against the steel bonds around his neck, wrists, and ankles. But they were held deep within the stone. "You bastard. I'll kill you."

Lord Crawley smirked even as he moved back to a safe distance. "It wouldn't be the first time you've tried."

Shuvani Ingraham swept into the small cell. "Enough. The Blood Moon will rise soon. You must clear your mind of anger and hate, or the Vircolac will seize control.

Lady Helena entered and leaned the painting up against the other wall. She moved over to Dorian and patted his hand in soothing circles. "I am sorry, Mr. Gray. This is just a precaution for our safety. Now let us help you."

The chains slackened as Dorian exhaled and slowly slid to the floor. "It seems I have no choice. Let us begin then."

The old fortune teller produced a small knife from her bodice. She slit her thumb and approached Dorian. He sat still as she traced the blood from her finger in a circle on his forehead that mirrored the one on her own. He gasped in surprise as she drove an iron nail into his leg.

She walked over to the picture on the wall pushed another iron nail through the canvas. Finally, she used her blood to draw a circle on the painted Dorian's forehead. She closed her eyes and began chanting.

Luna de sânge a sosit,

prin fier și sânge,

și te voi numi 'Vircolac'.

Te rog să te întorci.

The Blood Moon has arrived,

by iron and blood and will

I name thee 'Vircolac'.

I bid thee come forth.

The change came upon Dorian faster than it ever had before. He felt like every muscle in his body was exploding simultaneously. He screamed and bled and pulled on the shackles as his body was disfigured and then healed in the shape of the wolf. Hair was still sprouting and claws still forming as the mind of the wolf rushed to take control in a ferocious hurricane of rage.

Shuvani Ingraham gasped and took a step back from the monster before her. She could still see some of Dorian's will within the werewolf and called out to it. "Dorian! You must fight against it. Do not let the Vircolac's will take over."

He heard her words as just as his being was about to wash away. He struggled against the onslaught of the wolf's will. He was being shoved back into that dark cage in his mind, but this time there would be no release. He threw his arms against the barred door of the cage as it was shutting against his mind. He yelled and pushed back with everything he had. It was just enough to keep the cage door from closing, but he was unable to force the door open.

The wolf stood to its full height. It moved to kill the man standing at his left but could not reach him. He looked down in confusion at the metal loops on his arms and legs. He opened his jaws to gnaw them off, but his head was also chained.

Lucious pointed to the painting with his Damascus dirk. "Keek at th' picture! It tae haes changed."

They all turned to look at the painting which had also transformed from the handsome face into the terrible demon now before them. The wolf whimpered in fear. This was too much like the cage he was kept in when the man ruled.

Lord Crawley lowered his raised pistol and laughed. "So, just a rabid dog after all. What's the matter boy, you don't like your leash?"

The wolf heard the challenge in the man's voice, and his whimper turned into a snarl. His claws shot out and froze—just short of the man's face. Lord Crawley snickered in amusement as the muscles in the wolf's arm bulged against the shackles. The werewolf saw the mockery in the man's face and strained all the harder. He pulled and pulled until his bicep tore and the muscles in his arm splintered. The wolf drew back against the wall, cradling his arm as he panted in pain. Something was wrong. The creature's arm did not heal as usual. The transformation had taken too much power.

Lord Crawley saw his chance. "It isn't healing. We can kill it once and for all." He raised his pistol and drew back the hammer.

The werewolf needed to feed. The bloodlust came on in a red haze. This time he struck without the limits of pain or rage. There was only the raw need for blood. The limestone fractured and split a second before a chain in the shackles broke, releasing the wolf's right arm.

Lord Crawley fired. The wolf lunged as the bullet went wide, tunneling into his pointed ear and passing through to lodge in his shoulder. The wolf's claws sunk into Lord Crawley's extended firing arm and pulled the man into his embrace. His right hand released the man and shot up, deep into the man's stomach. The claws continued to punch up into his lungs. The sharp fangs were not content to sink into one place but bit down and released over and over again as the man thrashed in his arms. Lord Crawley was screaming and begging for help from a motionless Lucious.

Lady Helena's hand was once again raised in a command that the Scotsman remain motionless. "I told you that you still had a role to play. Shuvani Ingraham warned me that an early transformation would steal the creature's ability to heal. Now that he is fed, he will be strong enough to survive what comes next."