Kathryn decided she and Alex should head back home and determine what to do next. As they walked along the park path they came to a wooded area and walked in since they were in no hurry to get home. Both Alex and Kathryn enjoyed the quiet solitude of the park, the autumn leaves crunching under foot, when they came across a young man, no older than seventeen. Alex walked over to him as though he knew him. The boy looked over, startled to see a large muscular black panther walking towards him. He then looked up at Kathryn.
"You have nothing to fear," said Kathryn, reassuringly.
"Is that your cat?" asked the young man.
"Yeah, his name is Alex."
"Cool."
"What's your name?" asked Kathryn.
"Nate." He replied.
"I'm Kathryn." She walked over and stood next to Alex. "You can pet him if you'd like."
Nate bent down next to Alex and started scratching him gently behind the ears. Alex began to purr as his tail swung back and forth.
"Oh yes, I can tell he likes that."
Kathryn sat down next to Nate. "So, tell me dear boy, what are you doing sitting in the woods all by yourself?"
"Oh, just hanging out. Thinking, enjoying the outdoors and the cool weather." Nate turned to her and smiled.
"Why aren't you with friends."
"I don't have a lot of friends. But that's ok. I've always been a bit of a lone wolf."
Kathryn smiled to herself, but stayed quiet.
"How are you able to have a cat like this?" asked Nate, changing the subject.
"He asked to be like that." replied Kathryn.
Nate looked up at Kathryn, confused. "What do you mean?"
"Alex asked to be a panther and I turned him into one."
"What, are you a witch or something?" asked Nate, jokingly.
"As a matter of fact, I am." a smirk crossed Kathryn's face. She felt like having more fun. "Shall I prove it to you?"
Nate decided to play along. "Sure. Go ahead and turn me into something."
"Okay, what will it be? A big cat like Alex."
Nate smirked to himself and then turned to her. "Can you make me a werewolf?"
"Ooh, yes, I like that idea. I could use a big, strong werewolf." She said the spell in her head.
"This is silly, there's no such th--" Nate then cried out in pain. He felt a burning tingling all over. He looked down at his hands and saw brown fur was growing in over his previously hairless arms. He let out a small cry of pain as his fingernails split open and large sharp claws grew out in there place. His shoes began to feel tighter and tighter until the stitching gave out and the shoes slowly tore apart, revealing two large digitigrade paws. The transformation continued as his back muscles reformed and his ears grew to large, lupine points. The fur grew thicker around his body. He could feel his teeth grow out into large, sharp fangs. The transformation finished as his face slowly grew outwards into a lupine shout.
Nate stood up and let out a loud howl. Kathryn stood up and smiled. "Come along boys, let's go home!"