Loup-Garou

10 years earlier

'“How do I know it worked?” asked Henry quizzically

“Just wait a few moments and you will have everything you’ve ever wanted.” growled Muhtal his sinister smirk seemed to grow more malevolent by the second

Before Henry could ask any more questions, a searing pain scorched his body; a pain filled howl ripped from his throat. Henry looked down at his hands, his hands grew larger, his nails became dangerously sharp claws! The pain overtook his body, he sank clumsily to his knees; Henry looked up at the genie, his eyes grew wide with pleading. Muhtal began to shriek with laughter as Henry’s body continued to shape-shift into a horrific beast!

Terrified, Henry looked into the pool of water, the reflection he saw horrified him. Staring back at him was a creature with cruel yellow eyes and sharp white fangs, black fur replacing his skin. He could feel a thirst for vengeance filling his veins.

“Did I forget to mention that you needed to state that you wanted to remain human?” sneered Muhtal, “Every night when the moon reaches the highest point in the night sky, you will become this beast; you will have an unquenchable thirst to wreak havoc on all who have ever done you wrong…you know what the best part is: you won’t be able to control yourself.”

Henry glared at the genie, he opened his mouth to scream at him, however the only sound that came out was a blood curdling howl! He prepared to leap on the genie, to force him to remove the curse.

“This curse will last an eternity Henry…there is no turning back.” snarled Muhtal his eyes narrowed with pure hatred, “The first life you claim will set me free from this prison! I will turn back into my human form once and for all…unfortunately you will remain a monster to never again be human, a werewolf with a hunger to kill, a lust to feed on your enemies, because that is what you wanted, isn’t it, Henry? To defeat your enemies?”'

Henry's eyes flew open, his body jerking upright; the sound of chains rattled violently as it tightened around his wrists. His face glistened with sweat, a sigh of relief escaped his lips when he realized that morning had finally arrived and the full moon was over. Henry grabbed the key and quickly unlocked chains; he slowly stood up and stretched the kinks from his body. It seemed that no matter where he went he couldn't escape his past. Muhtal's treacherous lies had left him cursed since that fateful day at the beach; Henry fought against his curse everyday, wishing he had simply thrown the bottle into the water and moved on.

'After ten years you'd think I'd have complete control over changing,' sighed Henry frustration quickly building in his veins, 'I should count myself lucky to have killed only one person...'

When he had first changed into a werewolf, he fought as hard as he could but the thirst to kill had overwhelmed him and he was unable to hold back. His victim was the football captain, a kid who'd bullied him in high school; after he'd killed the bully, Henry knew he had to figure out a way to get control of himself. Henry had dived into the history of Werewolves, and had learned much about the beast he had become. His family had noticed that something about Henry had changed, he tried to answer their questions as best he could without actually telling them that he was now a wolf. Henry told them that his disappearance once a month was because he was working on building a cabin deep in the woods.

'I wish I was back at the cabin now,' Henry thought glancing around at the piles of boxes that littered his new house.

Henry had been unsure of moving to the suburbs, however, his sister had convinced him that he needed a change in his life:

'“Henry, your a brilliant writer but you need to get with the times,” pleaded Emmy pushing a wrapped rectangular box into his lap, “I got you this but you only get to open it, if you move...Henry, I'm worried about spending so much time at the cabin. I know you had a difficult time in high school, but you've come so far and you need to show the world who you are.”

“If only you really knew...” murmured Henry sadly

“Please tell me,” begged Emmy grabbing her brothers hands, “you've changed...I know that your keeping something from us and I know I can speak for the rest of the family, that whatever you're dealing with, we can help and we will always love you.”

Henry sighed and looked at his sister with a heavy heart, “Emmy, I promise I'm not into anything that needs to be worried about...I just have some demons that I need to conquer.”

“When you're ready to tell me, I'll be here!” assured Emmy with a soft smile

“You're the best,” replied Henry quietly before adding, “Alright Em, I will move to the suburbs just for you...but you're helping me find a house!”

“Deal!”'

Henry had been searching for Muhtal for ten years with no success, but he was determined to make the genie pay for what he had done.

“Where on earth did I put my books?” muttered Henry quickly rummaging through one of the many boxes in his bedroom

He was so focused that he didn't hear the doorbell ringing; out of frustration, he threw a box across the room. The power flowing through his veins felt so satisfying that he longed to transform and go into the woods to hunt. The transformation started, his nails started to grow dangerously long and sharp; his clothes began to rip as his body twisted into the shape of a large wolf, however, before he could fully transform, a flowery smell met his nostrils, his mother's perfume was followed by a casserole.

“Henry?!”

“I'll be down in a minute.” called Henry his voice hoarse as his quickly returned to his human form

As he ran down the stairs, Henry could hear his mother muttering to Emmy about the packed boxes. Smiling, Henry shook his head as observed his mother placing the casserole in the oven; he looked over at Emmy who teasingly rolled her eyes.

“Mom, I've only been living here for a few days,” chuckled Henry folding his arms across his chest, “I promise I will find time to unpack.”

“I just want to help you,” sighed Louisa, “you've been so busy with your career and when you have a house warming party...what are you going to do when you meet a lady? She isn't going to want to come to your house...”

“Mom!” interrupted Henry firmly, “I'm not having a house warming party and by the time I actually meet someone, I am pretty sure I will have unpacked every single box.”

Before Louisa could say anything, Emmy quickly stated, “I think it's fine to not have a bunch of people over to see the house, I mean after they leave, Henry is going to have to clean up after them...”

Louisa shook her head in exasperation and fussed over the kitchen boxes. Henry followed his sister outside, standing beside her on the deck; 'I shouldn't have said anything...I want them over but I can't let them find out about my curse.' Henry thought miserably, shoving his hands into his pockets

“Henry, she's okay.” said Emmy quietly, “Mom just wants to take care of you because you're one of her kids...will you ever tell us what you're hiding?”

Henry thought about his sister's words for a few moments before replying, “I can't Emmy...it's not something I can just blurt out and hope for the best...if any of you find out, I can guarantee that you'll run from me. This is the only way I know how to protect you guys.”

Emmy wrapped her arms around her brother and whispered quietly, “I will never abandon you, little brother.”

Later that night...

Henry tossed and turned, sweat dripped rapidly down his forehead; his claws began to shred his blankets as the nightmare intensified:

'The moon rose to the highest point in the sky, the deadly desire to kill surged through his body, he was lost to the beast he had become. With his newfound strength, he launched himself full speed towards the beach, adrenaline pumped rapidly through his veins; the power was intoxicating, Henry didn't want the power to end.

As he charged down the beach, Henry could hear the drunken laughter of the football team and their friends. He skidded to a stop and observed the crowd of teenagers laughing and having a good time with no worries about the danger lurking nearby. Rage poured into his veins as he watched them; Henry could hear their conversation: “You should've seen his face! He's pathetic!”, “We're doing him a favor, it'll toughen him up for the real world!”. The more he heard, the more he was filled with resentment; a horrifying growl rumbled from within as his yellow eyes glared at them.

Unable to help himself any longer, he slinked into the shadows, the urge to kill grew more and more powerful. His eyes stayed glued to his victim: the captain, his tormentor. Saliva dripped heavily from his razor sharp fangs; he would bide his time until he could take down the cruel footballer. Henry knew that when he had destroyed his enemy, the urge to kill would haunt him for the rest of eternity. He could never go back to the life he once knew; his future had been destroyed and now he would live the rest of his days as a beast that everyone would hate and fear. This was his curse, his punishment. No one would be able to stop him.

He watched as the football captain staggered away from the large bon fired, a half drunk beer bottle slipped from his hand. Henry inched closer, waiting for the right moment to strike; the teen continued to stumble through the sand, completely oblivious that he was being hunted. Once Henry determined that the captain's would be unable to help him, he readied himself. A thought floated through his mind, begging himself to stop before it was too late; however, the beast quickly shoved the thought aside and overtook the young teens mind and soul completely.

Henry pitched himself forward, charging the drunk teenager with an inhuman speed! He saw the captain turn just as he shoved the teen to the ground; the captains eyes widened with fear as he tried in vain to get the beast off of him. His shrieks for help went unanswered as vicious teeth sank deep into his shoulder, claws ripped into his abdomen. “Help! Help me!” Blood gushed from the open wounds, Henry continued to maim his victim with wild abandon. It wasn't long until the teen stopped moving and once the last gurgled breath squeezed from the captain's shredded throat, Henry stopped and slowly backed away from the lifeless body.

Depraved laughter filled air, Henry quickly found the source of the sound; Muhtal stood watching him from the trees'. Evil shone brightly from his eyes, he sauntered forward with arrogance. A sneer formed on his face as he spoke:

“Many thanks boy!” thanked Muhtal glaring at the werewolf, “Your display of violence was impressive...the urge to kill came naturally to you...”

Henry growled and focused his attention on the genie.

“Now that I am free,” explained Muhtal gleefully, “I will be able to use my powers without restraint...you should probably leave now before you change back.”

Henry lunged at Muhtal but the genie disappeared before Henry was able to sink his fangs into his throat.'

A roar ripped free from his throat as he bolted upright in his bed; his chest heaved as he gasped desperately for air. He rubbed the sweat from his face and made his way to the bathroom to shower and change; after a few minutes, Henry headed downstairs as he remembered that the movers had placed his books in the den. Turning on the lamp, the room flooded with soft yellow light; he opened the boxes one by one, looking for his books on genies. Henry finally found the large, ancient book he had purchased when he had visited Saudi Arabia four years earlier; this book gave him the most information on genies...including how to kill them.

He flipped through the pages slowly, his eyes devouring every word; he read through the rest of the night, not realizing that morning had arrived and noon was fast approaching. Henry finally reached the end of the book when he noticed a small inscription in the Safaitic dialect; he quickly grabbed his phone and typed the phrase into his translator app. He read and reread the translation, this was the answer to his prayers; after ten years, Henry could finally destroy Muhtal. He wrote the incantation on a scrap paper, shoving the written words into his pocket and raced out the door.

“How did I miss this?” growled Henry placing the book in the large wooden desk, taking care to lock it, “I have to find the lamp...”

Forty minutes later, Henry sprinted down the beach to the spot where he was cursed. Barely out of breath, he swiftly manoeuvred his way around the rocks; once he was out of sight of any human, Henry stopped and allowed his power to surge through his veins. He hoped that it wouldn't be too difficult to find the wretched lamp. Dozens of scents filled his nostrils all at once, he eyes tightly squeezed shut, Henry allowed himself to think of that fateful day.

He could see himself sitting on the rocks, the genies lamp in his hands; he watched himself rub the lamp in vain hope and tossing it into the small of water at his feet. His eyes snapped open, he quickly made his way to that specific spot. He knelt down and began to frantically dig into the sand; anger grew steadily as his search began to prove fruitless. “You've got to kidding me!” screamed Henry furious

“You didn't think I'd just leave my lamp there did you?” snarled Muhtal glaring at the young man

Henry whipped around, coming face to face with the Jinnī; he could the beast inside of him begging to come out and rip the genie to shreds.

“Where is it?” barked Henry his body tensing for a fight

“I've watched your progress Henry,” taunted Muhtal cruelly, “I'm impressed that you've only killed one person since I gifted you with power all those years ago. You may have grown stronger than any other werewolf I've ever known...however, you will never defeat me without my lamp!”

Henry knew catching the genie off guard wouldn't be easy, however, he had only one chance to kill him. 'I can't mess this up!'

“Even if you do somehow manage to kill me,” bellowed Muhtal furious with Henry's lack of fear, “you will never be able to reverse your 'gift'...once a wish has been granted it can never be undone!”

“I know,” replied Henry quietly, “I've done a lot of research the last ten years...I'm faster and stronger than you're giving me credit for Muhtal.”

His body slowly began to change, as he continued, “At this point, I could care less about turning human again...I'm a werewolf and I've accepted that. I just want to rid the world of your evil.”

Before Muhtal could say anything, Henry lunged at the genie with speed that could not be matched. He pinned the genie into the sharp rocks with one of his large paws, the other pressed heavily into Muhtal's throat. He snatched the lamp that now rested on the rocks beside the genie.

“Imposs...” choked Muhtal his eyes wide with surprise, his words cut off quickly as Henry put more weight on his throat

Picking up the bottle with his teeth, Henry pressed his canine teeth into the glass bottle; the beast inside of him enjoyed seeing the fear in Muhtal's eyes. The genie realized that he had vastly underestimated Henry as his eyes stayed glued to his life source, the glass slowly began to crack. Henry's powerful jaw suddenly snapped shut, shattering the glass lamp completely! Without a seconds hesitation, Henry turned his sharp teeth to the genie's throat, the smell of blood was intoxicating; Henry kept himself in control as he transformed back into his human form. He quickly uttered the incantation that would prevent Muhtal from resurrecting in the future; he repeated the incantation three times as instructed. With every word spoken, Henry watched as Muhtal began to fade from underneath him; within minutes, the genie was dead.

A small part of Henry continued to mourn the fact that he would continue to be a werewolf for the rest of his days. 'I think I finally found a use for my 'gift',' Henry smirked as he stood and put on his spare change of clothes, 'I can rid the world of evil...after all I've got nothing but time.' Henry slowly walked down the beach, a satisfied smile on his face; for now Henry would revel in knowing that he had finally defeated his enemy. Tomorrow he would begin his hunt for evil.