"No! No nation can be trusted with the powers you're hoping to provide."
Caroline smiles at your defiance. She stands by you, as you hold hands.
The Doctor sighs. “Then you can expect to be our…guests…for a long time. We’ll fake your deaths, so that no one will be looking for you!” She nods to Hare. “Spray them.”
Hare produces a couple of perfume-like-containers from his lab coat, and – pressing the top – sprays Caroline with one. You get a blast from the other container. Then, making sure you’ve got enough fresh meat and water, they exit the cell ward – leaving you both alone. The other cells appear to be empty.
You slump to the floor of the cell. At least it’s clean and roomy enough – with a couple of extra-large bunk beds, and facilities for washing yourselves, plus a separate toilet. But it’s barren.
“Great,” you snarl. “Now what happens?”
“Well, my watch says evening is approaching. We’ve been out for hours!” Caroline declares. “I reckon we were prodded around during that time. I can still feel where I’ve been injected. We’re lab rats now, Neil.”
You find that you’ve been jabbed too. In anger, you slam your fist against a wall – wary of even touching the silver bars close by. “This is not right!” you yell. “We have to get out of here, Caroline!”
She smiles weakly. “That’ll be the pre-lunar tension working on you.”
“Pre-lunar…? Oh, wonderful. So what do we do now?” you ask.
“I start being your werewolf teacher.” Caroline gets you to sit besides her on the lower bunk bed, and she explains the techniques she uses for helping her reduce the pain of the changes into a wolf. Also, how to transform voluntary at night.
“What about communicating, wolf-to-wolf?” you put to her.
“It’s like telepathy, Neil. Just think your thoughts to me, when we’re both lupine and face-to-face. I’ll understand. And you’ll be able to ‘hear’ me, in turn.”
Feeling hungry now, you both eat the meat, pasta, and fruits that are later brought in by the guard. After your meal, you start to feel restless. Although you’re somewhere underground, in an electric-lit chamber, you can sense the moon rising, outside…
An attractive smell reaches your nostrils. You realise that it’s coming from Caroline. She, in turn, is inhaling your changing scent.
“The spray!” you croak.
“It’s reacting with our bodies, ready for moonrise!” Caroline exclaims. A smile spreads across her face. “You do smell good, Neil!”
“So do you…” Unable to hold back any longer, you snuggle yourself against your friend, and nip at her ear. As you both begin to nuzzle each other, you develop an erection. Dreamily, the two of you begin to undress each other, whilst your joint transformations kick in. Excitement, and desire, takes hold of you.
“Spray, or no spray, I think we both wanted this to happen… To make our long-time friendship…special.” Caroline grins as her russet fur starts to appear on her freckled shoulders. Meanwhile, blond-brown fur spreads over your flushed skin, cloaking you.
“Can’t argue with that, C…” You caress each other – delighting in the feel of fur upon wolf fur, as you lock both your lips and bodies together to satisfy a joint hunger that mere food cannot cure. You want to give yourself to Caroline – body, mind, and soul. And to take what she is offering you, in turn. Moans turn into growls – and in a matter of minutes, Caroline and you have turned into a perfectly-formed wolf-woman and wolf-man respectively. And, together, you are devoting your love in the most intimate fashion, even as you literally get your claws into each other.
Finally, you part – panting from your exertions. The claw marks heal rapidly. You nip at Caroline’s six petite teats - then you and she both tear into the uncooked meat left on the cell floor, to replenish the energy spent. Caroline’s ‘voice’ enters your mind, registering her surprise at both of you maintaining hybrid wolf forms.
‘It must be because of the injections,’ you think back to her. ‘They want us to be shape-shifting assassins! We now have three forms – not two!’
‘And Doctor Bright probably wanted us to mate, in order to provide them with cubs.’ Caroline curls her lip. ‘Wrong time of the month for me, for that to happen.’
You think about her ‘words’ and over what has just happened. Reaching out a half-paw, you stroke Caroline’s cranial fur. You stare into your companion’s amber eyes. ‘We’re not just friends anymore, now – are we? We’re…mates.’
‘Yes.’ She squeezes your half-paw in hers. ‘Neil - will you… Will you be my mate? For life?’
You nod eagerly. ‘I will be as loyal as a true wolf, for you. Will you do the same honour for me, Caroline?’
‘Absolutely. I love you, Neil!’ She gives your ear a playful nip.
You give a lupine smile, and gently nuzzle Caroline – grateful that at least one thing in your new life has worked out just right.