WARNING: The following chapter deals with the subject of sexual assault. Though nothing is described in any detail, it is still a part of the story. Reader discretion is advised.


Chapter nine- A Werewolf's Purpose (part two)


"Alright, stay calm." said Anna. "We don't know for sure that Poppy went off with those two. We need to stay rational here."

"I know." said Kisa. "Damn, I'm such a terrible friend... How could I have let this happen?"

"You want us to form a search party? We'll look around town for her."

"What's going on?" asked Alice.

"Poppy went missing last night." Anna replied. "Kisa has a bad feeling she went off with those two men from the night before..."

"Then what are we standing here for?" said Amy. "We need to find her, and fast!"

"Thanks, everyone." said Kisa. "I just hope she's okay..."

"Okay, then. We'll start searching right away." said Anna. "Alice and Steve can go ask around in town, and Amy and I can meet you outside the pub you were at last night? Maybe we can find something out there."

Suddenly, the doorbell rang.

"Who's that?" said Steve.

"I'll go see." said Alice, who then went downstairs to answer the door.

"Okay, sure." said Kisa."“We were at The Admiral & the Siren last night. Do you know where it is?"

"Should do. I'll look it-"

Before Anna could finish her sentence, Alice came back into the living room- with Poppy over her shoulder. She was in an awful state and was crying.

"Uh... Hold that thought. Poppy's just walked in. Guess we can cancel that search."

"Really?" said Kisa. "I-is she okay?"

"She doesn't look it. I'll have to call you back shortly, okay?" Anna replied, ending the call and walking over to Poppy.

"My god... What happened?" said Amy. "You look terrible."

Poppy remained silent as Anna gave her a hug.

"Poppy... Are you okay?" said Steve, about to hold Poppy's shoulder.

"N-no!" she said, batting away his hand. "C-can you keep your distance please, Steve?"

"Why?" said Anna. "What happened?"

"There's no easy way of saying this..." said Alice. "She... was raped last night..."

Everyone looked at Poppy with their mouths wide open.

"She was... No..." said Amy, as Anna set Poppy down on the sofa. "Was it the two guys Anna and Alice met before? Did they do this? Can you remember what happened?"

"Hey..." said Steve. "Maybe we shouldn't force her to say anything right now. She's still in shock."

"I... I don't remember very much." said Poppy, shaking. "I know I was at the pub with Kisa, and then I wandered off. I just barely remember two men calling me over to their table."

"What did they look like?" said Anna. "Can you remember that?"

Poppy shook her head.

"No... Wait. I think one of them was Indian, but that's only because..."

"Shit... So it WAS them." said Alice.

"I don't remember anything else in the pub... The next thing I knew, I was in a room I was unfamiliar with, and had no idea how I got there. And then..."

Poppy broke down in tears. Alice put her arm around her.

"It's okay." she said. "You don't have to say anymore."

"I must of blacked out again afterwards, because I then woke up in an alley an hour ago. I walked around until I saw parts of the area I recognised, and then came here, as I knew it was close by."

"Those... fucking pricks!" said Steve. "So they just abandoned you in an alley when they were done? I don't even know what to say."

Anna remained silent as Poppy told her story. She was enraged by what she had heard, and she could tell it was making the beast inside her threaten to come out. As a result, she had put all of her focus on keeping her anger under control. Transforming in front of everyone was not going to help the situation in any shape or form.

"We have to go to the police." said Amy. "I know Anna went yesterday, but now these people have actually attacked someone... We can't let them get away with this!"

"She's right." said Alice. "We'll all go with you, Kisa included. Everything'll be okay, I promise."

"I-I don't know. What if the police can't do anything?" said Poppy.

"That doesn't mean we should do nothing." said Steve. "I'd rather we at least tried to get justice done than let these people do as they please..."

"I'll call Kisa back, then." said Anna, still trying not to let her anger overcome her. "And let's just hope something comes out of it."



The group, now with Kisa at their side, sat in a small room in the police station. Anna didn't think she’d be back here so soon...

"You'll be interested to know we had a look at that sample you gave us yesterday." said the WPC who was talking to them. "We can confirm that there was an illegal substance known as Neuro-Lite in it. It's known for causing the victim to black out and experience short term memory loss. We have reason to believe this is what happened to Miss Smith."

"So, what can you do?" said Amy. "Anna here told you what these people looked like, right?"

"That's right." said the officer. We'll make these descriptions public and appeal to the public for any information that could lead to their arrest, and that's about it."

"Really? That's all?" said Anna in an annoyed tone. "You're not going out to actually look for them? Question people on the street, or go to the places they've already been to look for clues? Nothing like that? I spoke to DCI Cunningham yesterday and he said-"

"I understand your concern, but we're sadly hard pushed at the moment. The crime rate here is pretty high right now, and it's hard to spare the officers needed to conduct a search. We'll try to dispatch a few people to look into it, but you must understand this isn't as easy as you think, no matter what Cunningham said."

"That's not good enough! Poppy here is a wreck thanks to those bastards, and all you can do is appeal to the public and maybe get someone to investigate? You have the sample, you have our testimonies and you have their descriptions. You have a case. What more do you need?"

"Anna, please calm down." said Kisa. "Getting mad won't solve anything."

Anna stopped and sat back down.

"You're right. I'm sorry. It's just..."

"I know. It's not easy for us, either. To be fair, we do have our hands tied, both in people and resources. I'd like to see these people caught too, and we'll do everything we can, but we can only do so much."

"C'mon, Anna." said Alice, putting her hand on Anna’s shoulder. "Let's just let the police handle this, okay?"

"Is there really nothing else you can do?" asked Steve.

"There is one more thing." said the officer. "We would like Miss Smith to have a check up at the hospital, if that's okay with her. We want to make sure she didn't catch any STDs. While we're at it, we'll take a DNA sample for evidence in case these people do get caught."

"O-okay." Poppy said meekly.

Anna remained silent and could only think to herself.

"Yeah. IF these people get caught..."



Everyone had gone to the hospital so Poppy could get her check up. While she was doing that, everyone else was in the canteen having something to eat.

"I don't know about you guys, but I feel so helpless right now." said Steve.

"I know." said Alice. "It pisses me off thinking that those dickheads are still out there, probably feeling untouchable."

"No one's untouchable." said Amy. "The police aren't incompetent. Those two may seem good at covering their tracks, but they do say pride comes before a fall..."

"Let's hope so." said Anna, who then looked over to Kisa. She was looking especially glum. Out of everyone at the table, this incident seemed to have hit her the hardest.

"You okay, Keese? You seem out of it. Even more than the rest of us."

"No, I feel awful. I still can't believe I let this happen. I should have warned her about those two. I should have stayed with her. This happened because of me. It's all my fault..."

"None of that matters now." said Alice. "What does matter is that it never happens again..."

"But it will if they don't get caught." Kisa replied, just as Anna's phone started ringing.

"It's Kelly." Anna said, looking at the screen. She answered the call.

"Hey, Kel. What’s up?"

"Hi, Anna. Just wanted to say I've been doing a little digging over this whole Neuro-Lite thing. You aren't going to like this. You said those two guys told you they'd just arrived in London from Birmingham, right?"

"That's what they said, yeah."

"Well, I looked over some news stories from the last week and found a few articles related to sexual assault. Two of them caught my eye- the women involved had little memory of the previous night, and couldn't even remember what their attackers looked like. In both cases, they woke up in an alley with no idea how they got there. Both of them were in Birmingham. I doubt that's a coincidence."

"Shit. Just like Poppy..."

"Wait, what?"

"They got Poppy last night. She said she woke in up an alley afterwards, and she doesn't remember very much either. We've gone to the police again, but it may still be a while before they're caught. If they ever are."

"Fuck... Then you're going to like what's coming next even less. I looked into similar cases, and found a pattern all over the country. Women waking up in alleys with no memory of how they got there, but they felt as though they'd had sex the previous night. Now, my theory here is a little scrappy since I'm only going by the cases that were actually reported- there may be even more- but I think there's enough of a pattern to figure out what I think is going on. Our two friends have been going from city to city, spending a few days in one town. Each night they go to a different pub looking for their next victim. They find her, gain her trust, offer her a drink then spike it. I'm sure you can guess what happens next. Then, after about three or four days, they move on. Not to another town, but another city. Then they rinse and repeat."

"And no one has ever caught them?"

"Nope. They keep moving to keep the heat off. Since their victims don't remember what they look like, the police don't have much to go on, but they move on just to be on the safe side."

"Damn. Steve told me there's three pubs in this part of town, and they've already hit two of them. Then that means... they'll go for the last one tonight and then leave tomorrow. They'll have slipped through the net again. And then what? What if they go to Essex next? My mum likes the occasional drink with friends. What’s to stop them targeting her? What if they move on to actually killing people?"

"Whoa, there. Try to stay calm, okay?. Panicking won't get us anywhere. Did you give their description to the police? That'll make things harder for them even if they escape."

"I did, yeah."

"Well, there you go. Let's just hope they get caught eventually. Anyway, that’s all I know. I need to head off to work now, so I'll call you later. Give Poppy my regards. She didn't deserve this."

"I will. Bye."

"What did Kelly have to say?" said Steve as Anna put her phone down and buried her face in her hands.

"Basically, those men have been using that drug on people all over the country." she replied. "They go to a different pub every night, then go to another city after three or four days. There's only one more pub around here they haven't been to, and if they aren't caught tonight, they'll leave town and get away with it again."

"Ugh. It just keeps getting worse." said Amy. "Steve's right- I do feel helpless..."

"Yeah." said Kisa. "I feel so weak. God knows what’s going through Poppys head right now."

Anna thought to herself about her friend's words.

"Weak... Yeah, I know how that feels. Being weak sucks. Not being able to fight back... Knowing you can't do anything about it... Always being trapped in that corner. Not being able to act."

Anna looked at her hands and clenched them into fists.

"But... I'm not weak anymore, am I? I actually do have the power to do something now. I WILL do something. Tonight, those monsters will get what's coming to them!"

Anna stood up, making everyone look at her.

"Guys, I'm going for a walk. I need to clear my head."

"Right now? You want me to come with?" said Alice.

"No, I need some time to myself. I'll catch you all later."

Anna picked up her backpack and left.

"Anna..." said Kisa.

"Let her go." said Amy. "This has been hard on all of us, and I don't know if you’ve noticed, but she's been really pissed off all morning. Let's just leave her be."



"Here you go! Have a nice day!" said Amanda as she handed a big bag to the customer at the till. As she left, Anna walked through the door with a serious expression on her face.

"Oh, hi Anna. We were just about to close up shop for the day. You want to join us for lunch?"

"No thanks, I'm just here to buy that Ninja costume if you still have it, please." Anna replied.

"We do, but I don't think it'll fit you."

"Well, you did say it might when I transform. I'm buying it for tonight."

"Oh, okay. So, will you be hanging out with us then?"

"Sorry, not this time. There's something else I have to do. Something important."

Lucy came in from the back room as Anna was talking. She had overheard the conversation.

"Something important? You do look rather on edge. Is something wrong?" she said.

"Yeah. How can I put this? A friend of mine was raped last night. By two men who tried to do the same to my friend Alice and myself the night before. They tried to drug us, but I managed to get myself and Alice out of there before it was too late. My other friend though... She wasn't so lucky."

"Oh no..." said Lucy, her hand over her mouth in shock. "I'm so sorry."

"Wait a second..." said Amanda. "You're not seriously going to do what I think you are, are you?"

"I'm not going to attack them, if that's what you mean. If I did that, I'd risk biting or scratching them, which would turn them. The last thing we need are two werewolf rapists on the loose. I'm not THAT thick. No, I just intend to scare the living hell out of them. Maybe to the extent they might give themselves up. I can't just stand by and let them carry on doing this shit."

"I still don’t know... Are you sure this is what you want? What if you get seen?" said Amanda.

"Don't worry. I'll make sure that won't happen, I promise. But... I have to do this. If I don't, they'll get away and even more people will be in danger. For the first time in my life, I have the power to fight for the people closest to me, and others as well. I have the power to do what's right. I have the opportunity to stop more innocent people from suffering like my friend has. Like all their other victims have. So... Amanda... Lucy... I ask you. Please let me do this. I don't want to stand by and do nothing."

Lucy stayed quiet for a minute or two, then walked over to the ninja outfit and removed it from the mannequin.

"Amanda, can you get the gloves and leggings from the back?" she said.

"Lucy..." Amanda replied.

"It's not our place to tell her how to use her gift, remember?" Lucy said. "If she wants to use it to catch some bad guys, we should respect that. We should trust her judgement."

"Y-you're right. But, Anna... Be careful, okay? We don't want to hear you've been caught or killed out there."

"Don't worry, I'll watch my step." said Anna. Amanda went to the back room as Lucy bought the costume to the counter.

"That'll be ninety pounds, please."

Anna handed over the money and took her costume. Now all she had to do was go home and wait...



Anna spent most of the afternoon in her room, looking up a map of the area to find the pub James and Trevor hadn't yet been to. It was a place called The Barnowl, and it was a little further out than the other two pubs in the area. She knew they'd be there tonight, and she'd be waiting for them. Once she knew where she was going, she took a look at the costume she'd just bought. It came with a pair of white gloves that went up to the elbows, and knee high black leggings which also had leg guards attached to them. As much as Anna liked the costume though, she knew she would have to modify it a little so it would be more comfortable in her wolf form.

"Sorry to have to do this to your work Lucy, but needs must..."

She took a pair of scissors and cut away the toe area of the leggings so her foot paws would have room to wriggle about. Then, she took the main costume and cut a hole at the back big enough for her tail to fit through.

"There we go. That should be perfect for tonight. Now to wait for the moon to rise. Think I'll leave an hour before sunset, grab something to eat, then head to that clearing I went to last time so I can transform in peace. Then it's go time."

With her plan thought out, there wasn't much left for Anna to do but put her costume into the backpack Kelly had given her, pushing the button so it would compress into its smaller form. She then spent the rest of her time listening to her iPod until it was time to leave. Once the time had come, Anna threw on her backpack and headed downstairs to say goodbye to Alice.

"Right, I'm off. I know this isn't the best time to go out to dinner, but..."

"Don't worry about it. Just try and have a good time, okay?"

Anna nodded and headed for the front door before Alice stopped her.

"Say... Anna? I remembered what we were arguing about that night. I just... wanted to say sorry for the way I acted back there. You were right about those two."

"You were right too, in some regards." said Anna. "I do need to be more trusting. I'm doing better than I used to be, but I still have a long way to go before I can really improve."

"That makes two of us. We still have a lot to learn, huh?"

"No doubt. But that's what makes us human, right? We make mistakes, and we learn from them. I just hope Kisa realises that too, and stops beating herself up over what happened to Poppy."

"Yeah. See you tomorrow, then? Since you said you'd be home late."

Anna chuckled slightly.

"Yeah, see you tomorrow."



The sun was setting as Anna arrived at the same forest clearing she'd passed out in during her first full moon. As it was a place no one ever really went to, she figured it would be the best place for her to transform in. She had briefly stopped by at McDonald's to get something to take away, and as soon as she had arrived at the clearing, she tucked into her food. She had ordered quite a lot- so much so that she got a few funny looks from the people around her. But she needed the extra burgers due to her higher metabolism, and she was going to need it for tonight. Having finished eating, Anna noticed it was nearly night- and nearly time for the full moon. She hadn't experienced any of the strange symptoms she had last time around, so she wondered if those only occurred on the first night.

"Alright, best get ready..."

Anna placed her backpack on a rock and then stripped off. She then placed her clothes on top of her backpack and waited. Though the temperature was warmer than it was earlier in the year, it was still just cold enough that Anna felt a chill in the nude. Then she saw it, glowing in the distant sky.

"There's the moon. Let's do thi-"

Before Anna could finish her words, she felt the same wave of pleasure she felt during her first transformation. Her body started to change as it did last time. Her finger and toenails became claws, her hands and feet became paws, her ears grew pointed and furry, her nose and mouth became a muzzle while her tail grew out and fur washed over her entire body. The transformation seemed to be shorter than it was the first time, though a little longer than it was when Miyuki forced the change out. Before long she was fully transformed, and she let out a mighty howl at the moon.

"Mmm, I don't know what feels better, the transformation or howling." said Anna. However, she knew this wasn't the time to appreciate her new form. She had a job to do. She immediately walked over to her backpack and pulled out her ninja costume.

"Wow. Even after being compressed in that backpack, it's in perfect condition. Kelly did good with this thing."

Anna quickly put the costume on, and saw that it fit perfectly. It hugged her figure nicely and gave her now larger bust good support. Amanda was certainly right that it wouldn't have fitted Anna as a human, but as a werewolf... it was perfect.

"Feels nice." she said, swinging her arms to get a feel for her attire. "Seems to give me good mobility, too. Too bad I don't have time to look at myself and see what I look like. I need to get to that pub as soon as I can."

Anna packed her civilian clothes into her backpack, compressed it to it's smaller size and put it over her back before setting off.



Though The Barnowl was further away from the other two pubs, thanks to Anna's agility she made it there relatively quickly. She had mainly stuck to the rooftops to get there, and kept herself hidden in the shadows at all other times. She found somewhere to hide in a large tree close to the pub and made a quick survey of her surroundings. The pub itself was a fairly large one- two stories in fact, which was unusual. It was also in the middle of a large clearing, with the left, right and back sides of the building used as a car park. There also a large forest at the back. Anna could see a few cars outside already, but she wasn't sure if James and Trevor were already here. She focused her ears on the inside of the building in the hope of pinpointing their voices, but she couldn't hear them. It was most likely they hadn't arrived yet. With nothing else to do for the time being, she sat down and looked inside the smaller pockets of her backpack. In one of them she'd packed her 3DS, and in another she had a couple of Wispa bars. Even as a werewolf, Anna had to have her chocolate fix. She turned on her handheld and started playing, while swivelling her ears around so she would hear her prey coming when they arrived. Several hours passed, and they still hadn't shown up.

"Huh." thought Anna, now munching on her second Wispa. "I actually got a couple of Streetpasses. Wasn't expecting that. Wait- I think I just heard something..."

Anna's ears had suddenly caught two familiar voices in the distance, and getting closer. It was them, driving down the street. Anna listened more intently...

"I still can't believe she woke up like that." said James. "That's never happened before. Normally they're still out when we dump 'em. Did we give her a smaller dosage or something?"

"We shouldn't have done." said Trevor as he pulled into the car park. "There wasn't any less in that packet than normal. Should we use two this time to make sure the next one doesn't wake up in the middle of the night?"

"Good idea. Also, I think your idea of having an individual target instead of going for multiple people did us good last night. That bitch from the night before was obviously onto us, and we went home empty handed because of her."

"Think she went to the police?"

"It's likely. We need to start being a lot more careful from now on... Still, let's try and make the most of tonight, eh? Then we can move on."

"Where do you want to go next, then?"

"I dunno. I'm thinking Kent. You?"

"I got no issues there."

Anna got off her foot paws and peered over to the car park. She saw James and Trevor get out and go over to the boot of their car. Trevor seemed to take something out of it and put it in his pocket before the pair walked into the pub. As she looked at the car, another thought crossed her mind.

"Bugger. I was so hellbent on bringing these guys to justice I didn't actually think of a plan. Guess I'm just gonna have to play it by ear. Hmm. Let's start by cutting off their escape route. The best place to make 'em shit their pants will obviously be in the forest, but I need to make sure they'll go in there. No need to do that if they have a car. So, let's sabotage it. But how? Should I cut the fuel line? That'll be easy with these claws. Then again, that'd make a big mess. Not to mention it could catch fire. I could also get some petrol on myself, which could make it easier to give away my position. Besides. I'm already extra flammable in this state. Don't need something like that making it even easier to catch fire. So, that's a bad idea. What about the tires, though? I can slash those. Then they can't drive away! Okay, that sounds more reasonable."

After making sure the coast was clear, Anna dropped down from her perch and sneaked her way over to the car. As she approached it, she heard another car about to enter the car park. She hid behind James and Trevor's car as the new one parked itself. A smart looking business man came out of it. Anna waited for him to enter the pub before leaving her hiding place. Before she could do anything else however, her ears picked up James' voice in the pub...

"All alone tonight?"

"Yes I am, actually." said an unfamiliar female voice. "I have a week off work starting tomorrow, and I thought I'd celebrate with a drink."

"Lucky you." said Trevor. "Need some company? James and I would be happy to stay and chat. Oh, and my name's Trevor by the way."

"It's always nice to have someone to talk to. I'm Elaine. Nice to meet you."

"Shit." thought Anna. "They've already found their next victim. I need to think fast and actually come up with something before they drug her..."

Anna immediately stuck out one of her claws and ran it along each of the car's four tires, causing them to lose air. With all four tires out, there was no way James and Trevor would be escaping by car. But then Anna's attention turned to something else. The boot. She already had a good idea of what was in there, but she was curious to find out for sure.

"Wonder if these claws will come in handy again?" she thought as she looked at the boot and thought about how to open it. She stuck out another claw and stuck it in the keyhole. After jigging it about a little, she heard a satisfying click and the boot opened.

"Aha! Master of Unlocking! Also, way to not have a car alarm, guys. How old is this damn thing? Still, at least it makes my job a bit easier."

Anna opened the boot and found only a duffel bag inside. She looked inside it and found it full of small packets. They were unmarked, but Anna could tell it was the Neuro-Lite James and Trevor used to drug their victims. She opened one and emptied the contents. It was a thick powdery substance, pink in colour.

"Kind of looks like strawberry sherbet, as it goes. So this is the stuff they use. Not that it's gonna do me much good. I need to think of a way to get them out of the pub before they make their move. But what can I do? I could hide near the window then claw at it while making scary noises. That'd get their attention. Unfortunately, that'd also get EVERYONE'S attention. So no. I'm trying not to get seen here. I could wait until one of them goes to the toilet, then try clawing at the window there. That way I can get them alone. But for that to work, one of them would have to go to the toilet. Not to mention I don't even know where the toilet in this building is. Or even if the toilet even has a window in the first place. Agh, come on! Think, Anna! Think!"

Anna heard more voices, this time coming from just around the corner. Fearing they may be going to the pub too, she quickly retreated to one of the nearby trees. Sure enough, a young couple were walking into the car park. As they approached the pub, they stopped.

"What's wrong?" said the woman of the couple.

"The boot of that car's raised up, and there doesn't seem to be anyone there." said the man, who Anna assumed was either the woman's boyfriend or husband. "I think someone may have tried to break in."

"Oh god. Let’s check it out."

As the couple made their way towards Anna's handiwork, she turned her attention back towards the inside of the pub, where she heard the words she was dreading...

"So, how about a drink Elaine? Our treat."

"If you're offering, how can I refuse?"

"Oh no, that's not good." thought Anna. "She'll become their next victim if I don't do something. Not that they can really drive her anywhere, but they can always take her to the forest... I don't know what to do!"

"Jesus, what is this?" said the man from the couple who had now been looking in the boot of James and Trevor's car. "Some kind of drug?"

"There's so many of these packets, too." said the woman. "Don't tell me they all contain whatever this is?"

"I really don't like this. Maybe we should call the police. This is definitely suspicious..."

"Good, call the police." thought Anna. "That'll make things easier. Maybe I won't have to do much after all. Of course, I would have preferred to have scared those bastards, but I'll settle for them being caught. As long as they don't get away..."

Before Anna could relax, she overheard Trevor's voice...

"Here you go, love. One drink on the house."

"Thanks. That's very kind of you." said Elaine.

Anna knew she was running out of time. She knew that drink was spiked, and she had to make sure Elaine didn't drink it. Without thinking, she stealthily made her way down from her perch, grabbed a large stone from the ground and threw it at one of the nearby cars, hoping it would set off it's alarm. It worked. As the alarm blared out, Anna immediately bolted a little deeper into the forest so she wouldn't be seen. The noise was playing havoc on her ears, but she knew it would get everyone's attention.



"Here you go, love. One drink on the house." said Trevor, handing Elaine the drink James had just spiked.

"Thanks. That's very kind of you." she replied, unaware of the true nature of what she was about to drink. She was just about to put the glass to her mouth when she was interrupted by the sudden sound of a car alarm. Everyone in the pub stopped what they were doing and wondered what was going on.

"Christ, sounds like someone's trying to break in to one of the cars outside." said James. "Better make sure it's not ours..."

"But we don't have an alarm on ours." Trevor replied.

"I know, but that doesn't mean whoever triggered that alarm didn't try and break into our car too. And if they did, we could lose our stash! If that happens, we're out of business. I'm going out just to be on the safe side."

"H-hey, wait up!"

James rushed out the door with Trevor following quickly behind.

"Huh. Now, what you both up to?" said Elaine as she got out of her seat and quietly followed them.

Outside, James and Trevor went to their corner of the car park and saw a man and a woman standing by their car with the boot wide open. The man was speaking into a phone.

"No, we're not the ones who set off that alarm you just heard. I think someone threw a stone at it, but my wife just checked and there wasn't anyone around. Look, can you please just get here as soon as you can? Alright, thanks."

"Oi! What do you think you're doing?" said Trevor. "Stay away from that boot!"

"Sorry, it was like that when we got here." said the wife. "We didn't do anything."

"You looked in there, didn't you?" Trevor shouted angrily as he walked to the boot. Sure enough, the packets of Neuro-Lite were all scattered, and one had been opened.

"You- What is this? WHAT IS THIS?!" Trevor continued to shout while holding the opened packet. "YOU FUCKING CUNT! YOU'RE ASKING FOR TROUBLE, AREN'T YOU?"

Meanwhile, Anna was back in her perch in the trees watching the scene unfold. She could tell things were about to get ugly. Trevor immediately punched the husband, sending him onto the floor. He then started laying more punches into him as his wife screamed. Suddenly, James crept up behind her and grabbed her, covering her mouth.

"Alright missy, here's what’s going to happen." he said, pulling out a knife from his pocket and pressing it against his victim's throat. "My friend is going to give me two of those packets, then we're taking you to the forest. If you try anything funny, I'll slit your throat. Got that?"

The woman sobbed as Trevor stopped attacking her husband and took two packets out of the boot. They then started dragging their hostage into the forest. It was clear what they intended to do to her... All the while, Anna was still watching.

"Fuck it! This just got a whole lot worse. They're desperate now. I gotta do something, right now!"



James and Trevor made their way deep into the forest with the woman still trying to scream under James' hand. They eventually came to a stop in a particularly thick area of trees and their victim was thrown against one, sobbing. James continued to press his knife against her throat while Trevor opened up the two packets of Neuro-Lite in his possession.

"Open wide." said James as Trevor came closer with the two packets. "Once you've had your little midnight snack, you won't remember a thing about what we're about to do to you..."

He forced opened the woman's mouth, and Trevor sprinkled the contents of the packets down her throat. James then forced her mouth shut and made sure she swallowed. Meanwhile, Anna was watching from a distance. She knew that if she was going to act, it was now.

"It's now or never..." She thought as she took a deep breath and howled as loudly as she could. Her howl echoed through the forest, catching the villains off guard.

"What the fuck was that?" said Trevor, who started to look worried. "A wolf?"

"Can't be." said James, also starting to feel uneasy. "No wolves around here. Don't think even the zoo has any. Didn't you bring a torch? Maybe we can see what that was!"

"I didn't. I never even thought we'd be going anywhere dark in the first place!"

They looked around nervously, hoping to see what made that howling sound. However, they could see nothing but trees. It wasn't long before they heard something else not too far away. It sounded like an animal growling. The woman could also just about hear it, though due to the Neuro-Lite she was feeling increasingly tired.

"T-there's something here!" said Trevor, now starting to shake. "I dunno where it is, but it's definitely here!"

"Got that right..." thought Anna as she carefully approached the pair on all fours. "Let's just hope I can pull this off..."

Anna continued to growl, making it louder as she got closer. Once she got close enough- though not close enough to reveal herself, she stopped. James and Trevor tracked the growl until they saw something- a pair of reflective yellow eyes in the shadows. The growling stopped, followed immediately by a series of vicious sounding barks.

"Holy shit! What is that?" said James, now in full panic mode. "An animal?"

"Of course it's a bloody animal!" said Trevor."What else has eyes like that? Oh god... It looks hungry. And mad. I think we need to get out of here!"

James didn't need to be told twice. The two ran away, leaving their increasingly drowsy victim behind. Anna had them scared, but she wasn't done yet. In the distance, she could hear another set of footsteps. She could tell it came from another three people wandering the forest. Focusing her ears some more, she could hear one of them talking on the radio. It was the police! They'd shown up, but James and Trevor were getting away, and they were running in another direction entirely. Anna had to either slow them down so the police could find them, or chase them into their hands. Meanwhile, just as the woman lost her consciousness, she saw another figure approach her. It was Elaine, who had been watching the unfolding events from a distance.

"Hey, are you alright? Can you talk?" she said to the woman. However, all she could get from her was one word...

"W-wolf..."

"A wolf?!" wondered Elaine just as she caught a glimpse of something in the trees. It looked like an animal, but much bigger than anything she had ever seen.

"I-is that a wolf? Definitely not an ordinary one..."



James and Trevor had run a fair distance in the hope of losing their pursuer, but they soon realised hey had no idea where they were. There was no exit in sight, just more trees. On the plus side, there also didn't seem to be anything chasing them anymore. They decided to stop and take a breather.

"You okay?" said Trevor. "Think we lost that thing?"

"I don't see it around anywhere." James replied. "We must of done. But how do we get out of here?"

What they hadn't suspected was that Anna was in the trees, still keeping her distance. She had only let them think they had escaped, and was about to make her next move. She started jumping from tree to tree, making sure to rustle the leaves as much as possible as she leaped towards her prey. The rustling leaves caught the attention of James and Trevor, and they froze in place.

"Y-you've gotta be kidding me!" said James. "It found us?"

Suddenly, right in front of their eyes, they saw a figure jump from one tree to the next. The look of fear on their faces increased when they saw it again, this time in the trees behind them. They turned around to try and find whatever was hounding them, only to be turned back around by the same familiar growl they heard earlier. Anna had literally run a circle around them, jumping around the trees in a circular fashion before dropping down a small distance in front of them, hidden in the darkness. On all fours, she slowly walked towards the terrified pair before lifting one of her front paws out of the shadows.

"I know what you've done..." said Anna in the scariest voice she could muster. "You've been very, very bad."

"I-it spoke!" said Trevor, even more scared than before. "What kind of freak is this?"

"A freak who likes to give scum like you their just deserts. I'm feeling hungry tonight... And you look awfully tasty..."

Anna gave out one last set of barks, causing James and Trevor to freak out and start running the way they just came from. Anna gave them a ten second head start before giving chase, snarling and growling as she did. In the meantime, she was also listening out for the footsteps of the police. Her plan was to herd James and Trevor right into their path, or at least keep them busy until they arrived.

"L-leave us alone!" James shouted. Anna wasn't listening- she ran around them and jumped right in front of them, snarling. They turned and ran in another direction, but Anna simply blocked them again. This repeated until finally, Anna could hear the police not too far away.

"Okay, this is it. Don't blow it now!"

Anna gave one final snarl and ran towards her prey, who started running exactly in the direction she wanted. As she heard the police get even closer, she came to a stop. She didn't need to do anything more. Before long, James and Trevor had run straight into the hands of the three officers who had been tracking them down.

"Y-you gotta keep that thing away from us!" said a panicky James to one of the cops.

"And what thing would that be?" said the officer.

"A fucking wolf!" said Trevor, the fear high in his voice. "No ordinary one, either! The bloody thing spoke! You gotta help us! I-it wanted to kill us!"

"Can't say I blame it." said one of the other officers, fishing out a pair of handcuffs. "After all, you're wanted for the kidnapping of that woman we found in the forest, as well as assault and being in possession of an illegal substance. You're both under arrest."

Both he and one of the other officers handcuffed James and Trevor and marched them out of the forest. As they did so, the pair kept screaming and shouting about the wolf, still scared it was coming to get them. All the police could do was humour them, not believing their words. Her job finally done, Anna sat down next to a tree and leaned on it.

"Whew! I did it! Fuck me, did I make a mess of that, though. That couple will be in hospital now because of me. Not to mention I had to dent a perfectly good car belonging to someone who had nothing to do with this. Having said that, those monsters are behind bars now, which is great. No one else will be hurt by them ever again..."

Anna looked up at the moon and sighed.

"Well, what's done is done. I still got plenty of time to kill before I change back. Can't really go home right now, so what can I do? Ah, I know!"



Anna had been to The Lucky Fox several more times since her first visit, and she still wasn't quite used to seeing it’s anthropomorphic inhabitants. They were as lively as they were last time she was here, perhaps even more so. She smiled a little and sat herself at the main counter, where Ethyl was cleaning a glass.

"Anna! Nice to see you again. Um... Interesting outfit you're wearing there."

"Hi, Ethyl. Haha, like it? I got it from Lucy's shop. It's a bit revealing, but then again I like outfits like that. I feel a bit more confident wearing it when I'm covered in fur, I guess."

"Well, you do look rather fetching. If you're here to see the mistress, I'm afraid she's not here. She's currently out investigating something, though she didn't say exactly what."

Anna grabbed a packet of crisps from the nearby rack and handed over the money for them.

"Nah, I'm just here to lay low for a while. Don't want to be a stranger, either. It's been a pretty long day, actually. A lot of shit happened."

"I can tell. Your voice sounds a bit croaky. What did you do?"

"A bit of growling, a little snarling. A creepy voice on occasion too. I was trying to scare these two rapists who hurt a friend of mine. Thanks to me, they got caught. It didn't go as well as I'd hoped, though. An innocent man got beaten up, and his wife nearly became their next victim. I feel things wouldn't have escalated quite as much if I'd been more careful. The thing is though- when the police came along and arrested those bastards, it felt exhilarating. Like I had actually done something to make London- the whole country, in fact- that little bit safer. I think... I think this might be my calling. I'll need to work harder to make sure things don't get as bad as they did back there, but I genuinely think I can use my abilities to do some real good around here. Yeah. I think I just found my purpose."

"You want to be a hero, huh? I'd say the streets could use a good clean up for once. But are you sure that's what you want? I can't see that kind of lifestyle being easy."

"Yeah, but it's also what I've always wanted to be. I have the power to do so, so why not? It'll give me something to do every full moon, too."

"Well, don't let me stop you. Just don't be reckless, okay? Anyway, would you like something else to eat? You look like you could use more than just some crisps. I can recommend something from the food menu if you like."

"That'd be great, thanks. What do you have in mind?"

Ethyl handed Anna a menu.

"The steak platter. Ideal for those who need a lot of meat in their diet, like you. It's a good price for what you get as well."

Anna looked at the menu and checked out the steak platter. A plate of no less than four big juicy steaks, along with some chips as a side dish.

"Hell yeah! Hit me up with that, please. Anything you can recommend on the drink side? I don't feel like anything alcoholic right now..."

"Then you'll want the Elderflower Blast. A mix of lemon, lime and orange with a hint of strawberry and a shot of elderflower. Very refreshing, especially in the Summer."

"Sounds perfect. I'll have one of those as well then, please."

"Alright. Coming right up!"

Ethyl took the menu from Anna and left for the kitchen to prepare her food. She was definitely feeling hungry after all that action. Aside from eating, all she could now think about was what she managed to accomplish. Because of her actions, two dangerous rapists were now behind bars. And she could tell this was exactly what she should be using her abilities for. For the first time in her life, Anna had found a true purpose. But for now, she was just going to sit back and relax. She'd earned it.



It was well past midnight, but Kelly has still hard at work putting together a big machine in the main testing area of the Solstice Technologies building. The machine was still some considerable time from completion, but progress was coming along nicely thanks in no small part to Kelly's contributions. She had just finished her work wielding together a panel when a man walked in wearing a lab coat and black trousers and carrying a plastic bag. He was Dr. Brian Ellis, the project leader, and effectively Kelly's boss.

"You're still here?" said Dr. Ellis. "Have you ever heard of sleep?"

"I should say the same about you." replied Kelly, lowering her blow torch.

"Haha, the difference between me and you is the fact I've only been here a few hours, and you've been here since the afternoon."

"Touché. Honestly? When I'm working on something I tend to forget about silly things like sleep. Having said that, I think I'm done for tonight. I did what I wanted to."

"Very good. Are you hungry, by any chance? I thought you could do with a midnight snack, so I popped over to the chip shop to get this."

Dr. Ellis pulled a container out of his bag and gave it to Kelly. She opened it to find it full of chips, as well as a few chicken strips on top. There was even some ketchup over them.

"Awesome, you shouldn't have. I could do with something to eat right now. Thanks!"

"You're welcome." said Dr. Ellis, taking out his own chip meal and sitting down next to Kelly. They started eating. Having not eaten since lunch, Kelly found the food extra tasty.

"Man, I needed this so bad."

"I can tell. It may sound like I was complaining back there, but I can't doubt you’re a very hard worker. Just don't push yourself too hard."

"I won't. But at the rate we're going, I’d say this'll be ready in the next three months. I'm getting kinda excited about it, to be honest. I mean, a new, clean and limitless energy source? It's gonna be so awesome."

"If it works, yes it will be. We've put a lot of money and resources into this research. When we're finally ready to show the world what we've been working on... I think it'll be all worthwhile."

"Yeah. Especially with the Red Sun Corporation trying to outdo us right now. When we unveil this though... They won't know what hit 'em!"

"Yes. It'll put this company on the map for sure. And it'll serve Red Sun right for trying to take us out. They'll learn that they can't control everything in this city."

"Too damn right." said Kelly as she finished off her food. "Anyway, I'm done now, so I think I'll be off. G'night!"

"Good night. Have a safe journey home!"

Kelly picked up her belongings and left the area, leaving Dr. Ellis to tap away at a computer looking at some complex graphs and calculations. She went downstairs to the storage room, a large room holding many important parts and equipment. It was also a crafty shortcut to the stairs leading to the exit. Kelly often used it to save a little time on her way home. Tonight would be no different. Kelly made her way through the room as usual and turned the doorknob on the door on the opposite side. To her surprise, it didn't open.

"Huh. Locked. That's weird. We rarely keep either of these doors locked. Well, that's shitty. Guess I'll have to take the long way around..."

As she turned away to make her way back, she suddenly heard the other door door close in the distance. The sound made her jump. She made her way back to the door and tried to open it, only to find it too was locked.

"H-hey!" Kelly shouted, banging on the door. "You do realise I'm in here, right? Unlock the door! Guys? Anyone?"

Kelly's attention suddenly shifted to a sound from behind her. A paint can had been knocked over. She walked over to it and had a look. There was no way it could have fallen over on it's own- she quickly realised she wasn't the only one in the room.

"If this is some kind of joke, it's not a very funny one!" Kelly shouted as she looked around for the other person in the room. She couldn't help but feel a chill down her spine as she searched around... Suddenly, the lights dimmed for a few seconds before going out completely. Now in complete darkness, Kelly was starting to freak out. This had gone far beyond a mere joke. She tried to feel her way through the darkness, but all she could do was stumble through. She ultimately tripped on the paint can that had been knocked over earlier and she fell, losing her glasses in the process.

"Shit... Where are those damn glasses?"

Kelly felt around the floor for her glasses before she finally found them. She put them back on, only to come face to face with a pair of terrible yellow eyes. Her heart stopped for a split second, and before she knew it she felt a horrendous pain as sharp claws slashed away at her body, splatting blood over the nearby shelf...