Dorian turned to once again see the terrifying monster in his room. The giant thing had leapt in through the window and was now in a low crouch. Its terrible muscles rippled with power, ready to be called upon if the need arose. The hands flexed, rising from their lowered position to reveal several inches of razor-sharp claws. They had left deep gouges in the wood of the floor when the creature had landed.
The abomination slowly stood to its full height of nearly three meters. The powerful hindquarters were wolf-like but also like those of a man—but as large as the extremities of an enormous grizzly bear. The pelt of the creature had turned mostly black with tinges of grey along the edges. The jaws and teeth had grown fiercer-looking and more deadly than ever. The snout had reduced in length somewhat, giving a decidedly more human appearance. The large eyes were now a deep blood-red, but were even more intelligent and savage than the last time Dorian had been caught in their gaze.
He tried, unsuccessfully, to hide the shudder that racked his body. He beckoned to the beast with a trembling hand to come to his side. The animal fell down to four legs and approached cautiously, as he had done when still a normal wolf. Dorian was careful to hide the knife, which he gripped with bone-white knuckles, well behind his back. The demon came to rest at his side and looked down in a show of submission. The massive head tilted towards Dorian's hand—inviting a scratch behind the ears as if it were some common dog. After a brief pause, he obliged the request and carefully scratched the spot between the ragged, enlarged ears.
The demon closed its malicious eyes to enjoy the pleasure of a scratch from its master. Dorian carefully raised the knife in his other hand, preparing to strike a downward blow. If done just right, he could puncture the eye and drive the blade deep into the demented brain of the wolf, ending the perverse life.
With all his might, Dorian slashed the knife downward towards his target—and missed, planting the knife deep in the large brow instead. Some keen animal instinct must have alerted the creature of the blow and it had moved, ever so slightly, and avoided the killing blow. Still, blood poured out from the wound and the creature reeled back while letting loose an enraged growl.
The animal flung up the massive claws to paw at the object embedded above its eye. For a moment, the enlarged eyes focused on Dorian and showed a deep and shocked hurt. Then the eyes clouded with a dark, red rage and a terrible howl escaped the throat of the beast. The walls shook with the deep rumble that culminated in a high-pitched blast of sound, nearly inaudible to human ears. It was a howl of challenge for leadership of the pack. With a roar, the lycanthrope hurled itself furiously at Dorian. Dorian screamed and tried to flee, but he was immediately brought down beneath the bulk of the animal. He was pinned and could do nothing to protect himself as the massive claws slashed wildly and with terrifying speed.
Dorian knew at once that this was to be his end. All his life had been an empty pursuit of pleasure. All the beautiful women he had humiliated and destroyed, the decadent displays of wealth, the many lavish parties, the terrible lies and deceit, the accumulation of so many superficial possessions, and reveling in so many atrocious sins—all of it was now completely empty. Now, at the moment of his death, the memories of his wasted life offered no help or comfort whatsoever.
Blood began gushing from his growing number of wounds. The massive jaws descended towards the soft skin of his throat. In his final moments, he was left with only regrets over his destroyed friendships and the waste that had been his life. Poor Sage, his dearest friend, would still be alive if they had never met. She had loved him so passionately and he had scorned that love and their friendship as well. How could he have been so cruel to his first love, Sibyl Vane? He realized now that he loved her still and it was only his vanity that had caused him to cast her aside over such a trivial thing. She must have experienced the same choking fear and unrelenting pain as she met her end at the hands of the very same vicious beast.
The wolf clamped down on Dorian's throat and with a mighty wrench of his head ended his Master's life. The beast was suddenly filled with an overwhelming hunger and began devouring the body. The action seemed fitting and cemented his place as the Alpha and pack leader. It was strange, but no other flesh had before tasted as tender and juicy as this. When he had consumed all of the flesh and even the bones, the monster licked the blood clean from the floor. His powerful hunger now sated, he looked out of the great window and saw the full moon in the night sky. With a great howl, he proclaimed his dominance of this territory. Then he surged forward into a run and soared out of the open window, landing once again in the garden below. He sprinted off towards his den in the deep forest. Perhaps he would find some sport to hunt on the way, not for food, but for the thrill of the chase and the pleasure of the kill.