Nate was poking around the basement of an old church in his new neighborhood. He had just moved into the area and was intrigued by the building. There were services going on up above, so he had the lower level to himself. Nate was not one for organized religion, but was intrigued by old buildings, so he decided to check it out.
Along the back wall, there was an area that didn't seem to match up with the rest of the wall. He walked over to it and found there was a tiny crack that went all the way around it. He pushed on it and found, as he suspected, that it was a door. It opened inward to a set of stone steps that led downward. He slowly climbed down the steps, realizing that no one had been down there in years, perhaps even decades. Part of him wanted to turn back, but even more of him was curious.
Nate used his cell phone to dimly illuminate the room until he found a light switch. People had been down here since the invention of electricity, at least, although the wiring and lights were ancient and shoddily put up. Nate was stunned to find a large empty room, ornately decorated with stone and woodwork, covered with decades worth of dust and cobwebs.
At the far end of the room, there was a glowing cloud of smoke and light, which in another instant dissipated, revealing a gorgeous, middle aged woman in a flowing white gown.
"I am Kia, the Goddess of Changes! Who calls upon me?" she asked.
"I...I'm Nate," he replied.
"Come to me," said Kia, holding an arm out to him.
Nate slowly walked over to the strange woman. He was decked out in a simple white dress shirt, slacks and black dress shoes, so he would fit in with the church crowd. Over the dress shirt he wore a simple black leather jacket. He also wore wire rim glasses on his face.
"Now then, what can I do for you?" she asked, looking over the twenty-something, overweight young man before her.
"Do for me? What do you mean?" asked Nate.
"Why, I am the Goddess of Changes. I can grant you any sort of transformation you may desire," replied Kia.
"Anything?!" asked Nate, suddenly getting excited.
"Anything your heart desires," replied Kia.
Nate's mind reeled at the possibilities. Any transformation he desired. There was only one that he wanted more than any other though.
"Could you turn me into a werewolf?" asked Nate.
Kia started to chuckle. "I knew you would be interesting the moment I laid eyes on you. Most people I meet want fortune, fame, good looks. But you, I knew you were going to be fun. Of course, I can turn you into a werewolf!"
"Oh my god..." said Nate, his heart beating rapidly from excitement. All the years he has wondered what it would be like, all the deep desire. It was finally going to happen. He started jumping around the room, fist pumping in the air.
"Goddess, actually but close enough," said Kia. "There's just the matter of my fee."
"Fee?" replied Nate, turning back to Kia. "What sort of fee?"
"I'm a collector of talents. What sort of talents do you have?" she asked.
"Well, I'm a fairly decent cook, I'm a decent writer, a decent singer and a decent dancer," replied Nate.
"That's a good range of talents, I would say. I'll make it easy on you, which one would you give up?"
"Dancing. I only do it by myself. I'm too shy to do it in public," replied Nate.
"Very well, that will be the one I shall take."
Twin swirls of smoke worked their way around Nate as he looked them both over. After a moment, they moved over to Kia, absorbing in to her.
Nate looked over to Kia. "Is that it?"
"That's it. You are now a full blown werewolf."
Nate started to shake with excitement. "How do I transform? Do I have to wait for a full moon?"
"No, no my silly boy. You can transform any time you like. Clearly your so-called popular culture has buried what a true werewolf is. There are three stages of a werewolf transformation. The first is more man than wolf. The second is perfect balance between the two and the third is a full quadruped werewolf," replied Kia.
"Cool," whispered Nate. He looked down at his hands, trying to visualize his nails growing into claws and fur growing over it. But yet nothing was happening. He turned to Kia, with a worried look on his face.
"I see I will have to jump start your first transformation," said Kia. She brushed her hand across his cheek. "You should head home now, before the transformation really gets going. I don't think I werewolf loose in a church would be a good thing."
"Okay!" exclaimed Nate. "This is so amazing!"
Nate tried to do a small celebratory dance but wound up tripping over his own feet and landing flat on his face. Nate got up, gave Kia a wave goodbye. "Thank you so much," he replied. He caught sight of his hands. His nails were already longer and little hairs were growing on the backs of his hands.
"It's about time this town had another werewolf. There hasn't been one around here in over 200 years," whispered Kia, smiling.
Nate ran up the stairs, closed the stone door behind him, ran through the basement, up the stairs and out the main door. He ran through the slushy snow and quickly unlocked his car. He checked himself in the rear view mirror. His ears were at a bit of a point and his canine teeth seemed a bit longer.
"Not yet...not yet," he whispered. He jammed the key in the ignition and started up the car. He drove straight home, trying his best to pay attention to the road, while also taking stock of his ongoing transformations. His vision suddenly became blurry and he pulled off his glasses. He looked in the rear view mirror quickly and saw they had changed from their usual blue to a dazzling amber yellow. He dropped the glasses on the passenger side seat and kept driving.
As he pulled into the complex his condo resided in, he was relieved to see none of his neighbors were out. But now he was starting to feel itchy all over and knew that was his fur growing in. He quickly parked his car in the garage, leapt out of the car and ran out of the garage, hitting the close door button on his way out.
He ran across the parking lot towards his building when he slipped on some ice. He landed flat on his face again. He laid on the cold pavement for a moment, feeling the changes continue. He looked at his hands. Grey and Black fur was growing in and his nails had now grown out into sharp claws. He started to hear the unmistakable sound of tearing fabric as his muscles grew and reformed.
Knowing he didn't have much time left, he leapt back to his feet and ran for the building. He quickly unlocked the and went through the main door. A sudden wave of pain hit him in the main entry way, causing him to cry out. His head began to ache along with the rest of his body. The major changes were coming. Nate stumbled to his front door, unlocked it and dashed in, closing the door behind him. He locked the door and quickly pulled off his jacket, tossing it on the floor. His back muscles grew and reformed again, causing his shirt to strain and tear.
Nate stumbled into the bathroom and flipped on the light. Staring back at him was himself, but far more bestial. His teeth were growing out into sharp fangs until they jutted out of his mouth. His lips had turned black and his nose looked decidedly lupine in nature. His ears had grown pointed and furry. Nate ripped open his shirt, pulling it off. He ran his fingers through the dense gray and black fur with his clawed hand. He pulled off his shoes and socks, revealing two clawed and furred, but still humanoid feet. He slid down his slacks and tossed them aside, revealing himself as a full wolf man. Nate admired his new, transformed self in the mirror on the back of his closet door. He let out a fierce growl, startling himself. He looked suitably fierce.
He was amazed though, all his fat was gone as if his body had used it all up to fuel his transformation, leaving him with a firm, muscular self that he could vaugely make out under the dense fur.
"Yes!" growled Nate, in triumph. He looked over more of his transformed body.
"Thank you Kia! Thank you, thank you, thank you!" growled Nate.
Nate waited a few long hours for darkness to fall, and then quietly slipped out his back door into the darkness of the night. Time to enjoy being a werewolf for the first time.