"It's time", I whisper.

In front of me, he already started to change. I keep my gaze firmly trained onto his, as he grunts in pain. He begins straining against the silver chains I locked him in. They're just a precaution for the changing progress, as I know that tomorrow I'll have to go to the silversmith again. It's become a monthly meeting, and walking into that shop tomorrow morning, he will raise his hand, grunt a good morning and take the chains, not even bothering to question what happened.

"Maya.", he growls. "Undo the chains." He now has a feral, wild expression stuck on his face.

I refrain from rolling my eyes and answer, like always: "Will you bite me if I come close, doggy?"

He has a pained grin on his face, obviously biting through his pain. "I just might.", he spits out through his teeth.

"Elias, Elias.", I sigh. "It hasn't really sunken in yet, has it? If you want something from me, best asking it _nicely_."

He shakes his head, hair flopping in his face. Chuckling, he scolds: "Manners are not something _you_ can start teaching me, shadow girl."

I raise a hand, my fingernails long and black, a complete contrast to what they looked like ten minutes before, hot pink and glossy. Looking down at my body, I scan the rags covering it, sighing in pleasure. "Refreshing. Really refreshing." No. Maya, no, not refreshing.

I shake my head to clear it from the malicious thoughts and raise it again to stare Elias straight in the eyes, which are starting to become red and menacing. Now they're like that, but after the change I know they'll change back to their usual gold color. The only difference is that then he'll also be covered in fur, have a snout, walk on all fours, and have sharp claws which could kill sheep. Or pigs. Or a fellow werewolf. Or a human. And when he'll have killed that human, maybe I'll kill him, so that I can feast, after which I'll hunt down its entire family— Maya, stop.

"The. Chains." The words come out strained, the last word ending in a growl. I need to undo the chains before I'm fully transformed, my will bent by the night-deity part in me. I inhale, and grab the key from around my neck, where it always rests on my collarbones.

Elias' face splits in half in a ferocious half-grin, half-snarl. "There you go, witch. Finally."

I grin, dangling the key in my hand. "Well, time to let the dog out, isn't it?" I jump, closing in, unlocking the chains, and jumping out of reach in one swift motion. Before he can even growl at me, I'm gone, becoming one with the shadow and hiding from his bloodthirsty, unfamiliar eyes.

He howls, his whole bending and reforming, bones crunching, skin ripping. His face elongates, his fangs grow out, his ears fluff out and grow. He gets down on all fours, shaking, and slowly his fur begins to grow.

I scoff, recalling the days when I would be so bothered that he was in pain, but now, I _revel_ in his pain. I _love_ seeing how his face contorts and his teeth grit together, hearing how his bones snap and crunch. I shudder with pleasure, and let out a cackle. As soon as the change is done, I'll go out and hunt down a tasty little human to rip apart. I thirst for their blood, long for their flesh. Oh, how very delightful it is to hear their screams of agony rippling through my veins as I tear them apart.

The wolfie snarls, the last of his changes ending. Sadly, his agonies are over, which means it's time for me to go. I travel from shadow to shadow, until I reach the well-lit hall of the building. I condemn myself as I recall it was me, the other me, who installed all the lights, to prevent me from exiting this building. That door is the only way out, and currently there's a wolf pounding on it, unable to open it without thumbs.

I cackle as he hilariously tries to break out that door, knowing that the other me took safety-precautions for that door too.

I untangle myself from the shadow, and step out in the open for Wolfie's eyes to see. I open up my arms, and make a proposal. I'll open the door, he won't attack me, and we'll both be free. Of course I don't say that as soon as I'm out there, I'll just close the door in his face.

He growls, seeing through my deception. Well, then there's always Plan B.

Rip 'em apart.

—————

I groan, squinting my eyes against the bright sunlight. My limbs ache and my head hurts. Something is moving beside me. I feel a fabric gliding on my arm. I move my head, lifting one hand to shield my eyes from the sun. Elias is beside me, pulling his pants on.

I chuckle. "Who undressed you, big boy?"

He chuckles back, and hits me with his shirt, before pulling it on. I roll over on my side, and, eyeing me, he says, laughing: "You're not much better, Midnight Princess."

I groan, already knowing what I'll see when I look in the mirror later. My hair is a bird's nest, on my face there will be smears of makeup, my eyes bloodshot and dark circles under my eyes. I sit up, noticing the ragged clothes hanging on my body. My shirt is so torn up, it doesn't provide any coverage. By some miracle, my bra is still intact. My grey sweatpants are not as messed up as my shirt, but still irreparably torn.

As I look up at Elias, he shoots me an apologetic smile, shrugs and throws me a bundle of clothes. "Sorry for the clothes."

I sigh deeply, rubbing my face, and lying back down. "I can't stand up like this. Won't you lie down and sleep some more?" I hold my arms up and open, inviting him to cuddle with me.

He doesn't say anything, just gets down and snuggles me close to his chest. We're lying on the cold and hard floor, but I don't mind. Suddenly being what I am, is not so hard anymore, because I'm not alone. One day, we'll get the hang of it, and we'll be able to live a peaceful live, but for now, this is enough for me.

"See you next month, Wolfie.", I whisper him goodbye.

"Next month, Shadow Girl.", he whispers back.

Even though I know she'll come back, I close my eyes, which are still locked onto his, and smile.

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Elias' POV coming soon!!