A rabbit was hopping on the grass, and it seemed to be lost and looking for a safe place near where Frank was standing. When he smelled its scent, he prepared himself to attack it. He then jumped on it and bit on its back, making it weak and causing it to die on the spot. While Frank was busy, the heard a rustling of leaves and dropped the lifeless rabbit because he sensed that there was another intruder there. He then picked up the rabbit and hid behind a tree before devouring it. When he was done, he licked his big claws.

When Frank was done devouring the rabbit, he sensed that there was another werewolf like him nearby. He dropped the meat that was left on the ground and checked the coast. A big werewolf like him appeared in front of him, and a big echo of howling sounded from far. He wanted to run, but the werewolf fell on him, pinning him to the ground. It kept growling and showing its big teeth and weird, strong eyes.

While he was lying on the ground, Frank felt frightened that he would be eaten to death, but the werewolf licked him, then got off his body. There was some connection he felt with it, but he wondered why. He then stood still, wondering why the werewolf had let him go. It made signals for to follow him, and when another echo of howling sounded in the distance, Frank began feeling worried.

While walking in front of Frank, the werewolf kept wagging its tail and looking behind him. Frank followed it until they met a pack of other werewolves. At first, the group growled at Frank, but they later licked him and wagged their tails, sensing his scent. Frank felt the same connection with the pack as the one he’d had with the other werewolf.

While everything was happening, Ruby was watching from a distance, and she didn’t notice a thorn flower near her feet. She stepped on it and yelled in pain, and on hearing the scream, the werewolves went silent, sniffing around in between their breaths.

The leader of werewolves scanned the place, and he knew there was a person nearby. He then attacked Ruby from where she was hiding. She had a horrified look on her face when she saw the werewolf’s teeth shining with saliva, much like a hyena being seduced by its prey. The other werewolves followed until Frank stood in front of Ruby, protecting her. She had covered her face in shock, and she was screaming for help. When that happened, the leader of the pack strolled right and left, hoping Frank would let them devour the human.

Suddenly, light appeared in the horizon. The sun was slowly rising, and they all turned back to their human form. Ruby saw the light, and she looked through the fingers covering her face. When she finally looked through them, she was shocked to see humans instead of werewolves, and Frank among them.

“Frank,” Ruby muttered.

The people standing there were all naked, and one of the, who appeared to be younger than Frank, rummaged through a backpack. Frank laughed hysterically because he had to hide until the coast was clear and go back home. No one cared about his laughter, except for Ruby, who was looking at him from the trunk of a tree while on the ground. She then sat up and leaned her head on the tree. After a while, the young girl pulled out cloths from backpack and handed them out to each person, who then took it and dressing up quickly. When they were done, a middle-aged woman wrapped Frank in a coat. Ruby couldn’t believe her eyes, but looked away because she felt uneasy about the whole scene.

“Son, why were you protecting her? She must become like us,” a tall, middle aged man with a beard shouted.

Frank noticed that there were three men and three women in the group, and he had never seen any of them in his life. He wondered why the man was calling him son, and he was dumbfounded by the situation. Ruby was tongue tied, and she didn’t know what to do, but she knew that she did not want to be there. She felt uncomfortable because she was still digesting the fact that her boyfriend was an animal. She wasn’t sure what type of animal he was, but the fact he had changed in front of her terrified her, and she stared at them with watery eyes.

“I know her,” Frank mumbled. “And you? Who are you?” he continued, pointing with his finger at all of them, from left to right.

“I’m your father, these are your cousins, and that’s my wife, your mother. Those others are your uncles and aunt,” the man replied, pointing to everyone, and they all waved their hands when he told Frank who they were. There were two men older than the middle man, and Frank thought he was the leader of the pack.

“My father?” Frank asked confusedly.

While all that was taking place, Ruby was trying to regain her composure so she could run away. A woman the same age as Frank’s father walked toward him and kissed his cheek. He stood numb in shock and speechless.

“Yes, I’m your father. I left you at that man’s house. I’ve been watching you as you gre …” the man said, but Frank interrupted him with a scream because his head was buzzing.

“I don’t get it,” Frank shouted with his hands on his heads. Ruby then ran in a flash, and two of men wanted to follow her.

“Please let her go. She’s my girlfriend,” Frank muttered, gesturing with his hand, and they stood still.

When the men obeyed him, Frank looked at them with a surprising air of pride, and he buried a smile underneath it. The man who claimed to be his father nodded his head to notify them men that they should listen to him. Everyone then surrounded Frank like bees buzzing arout honey. The woman rolled her eyes towards Frank’s father, as if she was begging him for something with her eyes.

“She will tell people about us, and that’s why I wanted her to be one of us,” Frank’s father said while facing a tree.

Frank was still in shock, but he heard sirens from the other side of gravel road. He then remembered that he had exams that he needed to write, and that he would rather get failing marks than be absent.

“I have to go,” Frank announced, but when he tried to walk, his father held his hand tight.

The woman hung her hand on Frank’s shoulder as if she didn’t want him to leave, and when they heard an echo of an engine humming nearby, they went silence for a moment.

“You have to join the pack,” Frank’s father whispered.

“Let him go, Gerald,” the woman said, breaking apart the two men’s joined hands.

“We have a lot to talk about, so please come back later,” the man whispered, and Frank nodded in response.

Frank realised that he looked like a crazy lunatic in a robe with no shoes on, but all his shoes had been torn by his transformations, and he needed new pairs. He then headed in the direction leading towards the scorching sun. After walking for a short while, he looked back and leaned against a tree while lost in thought. He wasn’t sure if he had to return, but he rushed out from the bushes and walked into human residence. As soon as he got to the human residence, the air suddenly became disturbing, and the hollowness sought shelter in his heart again.

***

Tell us: Now that Frank knows the truth about who she is, do you think he should join the pack and leave everything behind, including Ruby?