p data-p-id="fc7f51f7b2b9bcd86d3e844290a6a4fe"strongAll credit for "Hound" and whatever is related to him is completely credited to /strongstrongNoverMaC/strongstrong here on Wattpad! Be sure to read their stuff! /strong/p
p data-p-id="35dabc4569b6a1bed38b8282e236df58"strongThis is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events, locales, and incidents are either the products of the author's imagination or used in a /strongstrongfictitious/strongstrong manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental./strong/p
p data-p-id="8a7ab20ec0ab3262ce329c7dcb399a4e"***/p
p data-p-id="ea0849502d14ecd82825fea526ddb190"The city was a quiet place at night. For this particular city, though, had a downright ghoulish air to it. The rain pouring down didn't help./p
p data-p-id="e4a55664416373acf2a6ddf4323ca9db"It wasn't uncommon, after all, for muggings to happen this late at night, and even for people to "mysteriously disappear" only to reappear in a dumpster somewhere in the morning./p
p data-p-id="e25a3bb270f947fd819af5e9ce49dc5f"Simply put, no one with an ounce of sense should have been on the streets./p
p data-p-id="b3714aa0e22bc7708eca8b2aae431935"Then again, nothing made sense to Hound anymore./p
p data-p-id="8883c56f319f62d9b465b1b23a4aa60a"Rain soaked his coat and "fur" as he ran. He was still trying to accept the reality that he had emfur /emof all things. He looked like a emdog/em, of all things! All he was missing was a tail and big, floppy ears! People had even taking to calling him Hound, much to his displeasure./p
p data-p-id="fb10173c62b96dafc96f99309a286b45"Why couldn't whatever that stuff was that he had allowed to go into his body make him into a cat, or alligator, or maybe a snail?/p
p data-p-id="a8dc4a45643be2151213c5aef4f2401e"But no, it had to be a stupid dog. Was this really better than letting his own cells turn on themselves?/p
p data-p-id="40f6505772c618cbd35a2759b1d2e822"He had to move./p
p data-p-id="66f5bb4c16beb0dd21896047ccdb8d9d"***/p
p data-p-id="58f13dccaaee2132f859e71c597aad0c"He heard howling amidst the rain and thunder and froze in his tracks. His hair, or rather, his fur, stood on end./p
p data-p-id="59d6f64a5530c4a51d0e59ffb37f4da1"What was that?/p
p data-p-id="d4ee1a7c5e3542a2bc576cb15761ad20"What dog came out in this weather.../p
p data-p-id="49d6b018647780ea2750ed34c569f577"Unless.../p
p data-p-id="9c79855ba16ff8c50d10b0579a5707a3"That monster couldn't have been emreal/em, could it?/p
p data-p-id="9ae10304b02e38bda8df19d3e62f389d"Just imagining the look of the beast behind the recent attacks surrounding the city made his stomach turn. He had wanted it to be some bugbear used to scare kids into being nice to their mommies./p
p data-p-id="0c5a71622661d38ff693f0b49da236ba"***/p
p data-p-id="8d81ee497e78e8ac533d382cc598ae90"emGet home. Get home! /em/p
p data-p-id="4f96da7731c9addd5a548c14352c8c7d"He overheard what he thought was chatter through the storm. That smell... He could smell more distinctly than ever. Gunpowder./p
p data-p-id="68d7611007af31735aea465ddb436b98"His newly superhuman sense of smell disturbed him, to say the least./p
p data-p-id="8634916b6a7b0d9bb4a73c5eed22b26a"What exactly was he? Was he going to wake up one day relieving himself on someone's yard?/p
p data-p-id="4654ea2a1f6e3183662c2aec80af8869""How'd you manage that?"/p
p data-p-id="63340c9c5959b36940c4585630f9e5ce"An alley was barely visible through the pouring rain, which was the source of the smell and the voice./p
p data-p-id="e2fd771296457d33f66e60140b66c69b"He wanted to bypass this scene and run until he got home. It's not like he would get tired anytime soon. His feet had another agenda though, as they simply would not obey./p
p data-p-id="127a05eb4b9600add5f0b2dd1ebdde00"He found himself in the alley, hiding behind a dumpster. It murdered his senses, but the men with rather intimidating guns feet away from him indirectly dissuaded him from making any sudden movements./p
p data-p-id="742f392596e60850c012b4dc577ba628"He had always been the one running from bullies as a child. What was he doing here?/p
p data-p-id="6f3fe2ac2607771fc4ddee5f4142985e""Shipment came back in one piece... Mostly."/p
p data-p-id="bc15702fa1af02760b5ec329bd1789ee""Mostly?!" A bigger man clad in the same identity-concealing SWAT-style gear that his compatriot had roared as the storm raged on. He cursed. "What do you mean, emmostly/em?"/p
p data-p-id="e78785b81ff9aa89ecddc5fcb10b7879"The smaller man cowered, acting as if he'd misspoke. "Er, uh, I mean..."/p
p data-p-id="c73307a0ca3762abb9d3351460ed15e6""SPEAK!" As if to emphasize his point, thunder clapped loudly as the man spoke./p
p data-p-id="06f79e9a9d0241bf71412f122be8cd10""There was an...accident with a few of the samples. The WOLVES Project might just be in a little bit of..."/p
p data-p-id="b42ca81bf29aa26254a2cb161bf82bef""WHAT?" He grabbed the smaller man by the throat. "ARE YOU TELLING ME THAT YOU MANAGED TO PUT THAT FORMULA INTO THE WRONG HANDS?!" He threw the man into the very dumpster he was standing in front of, causing Hound to be knocked against the wall and collapse on the concrete. He was dazed, but he was more scared now than anything./p
p data-p-id="b9603d5f790963def54695c1e6a48d17"He was exposed. What was worse, the pair of troopers were part of a group that had stayed silent until now./p
p data-p-id="99ff9ddc7c2b929618345b5bdbe0810d"***/p
p data-p-id="ade585ef24a5455027ee4e171e041df4"He fought off dizziness as he retrieved his fallen ball cap, exposing pointed ears. He realized then that his claws had come out as well. As if things couldn't have gotten any worse.../p
p data-p-id="fd1aa228c1d8624844a8261f1c35d0d7"He needed to leave. emNow/em./p
p data-p-id="29da9b1df803006c88884901462bba13"The group trained laser sights on him./p
p data-p-id="dfd26725e5cd725d5a5e5b256a376427"The big man glared at him with an unseen smirk through his mask. "You're the one who drank some of our employer's formula..."/p
p data-p-id="1cf224cebf5dc36c6743876a5c880282"He had actually been injected with it, to be precise, but that wasn't the best statement to make right now./p
p data-p-id="97c7e6f8183ac10138f7532235054315""You're not leaving this place alive. Nothing personal. You just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time, and we don't need witnesses."/p
p data-p-id="e82777ead2d591a1bb581473dcf835ea"He tried to move away, but all aiming reticles stayed on him. He wanted to say something that might convince this man not to fill him with holes. His mouth betrayed him this time, managing only to fall open./p
p data-p-id="8193fc8b8099c4d27c933032d3d79d46"There was a snicker that came from the man. "You must be terrified. Don't worry, we'll make this quick. You might not even feel it."/p
p data-p-id="b5de51888fc90b9fc7365c31251c2010"He was so scared, he found his pants wet with something that certainly wasn't rainwater./p
p data-p-id="2ff7a6494358c5029d0478be24e9498e"The man held up his hand hand to signal Hound's execution. The young dog-man closed his eyes and waited for the end.../p
p data-p-id="cd7ff695437021f3904c45af35aa938e"***/p
p data-p-id="e84e5591bd0a4674513fbaa54650ce71"A howl, followed by a ferocious roar made his eyes snap open. He looked up just in time to see a blur rush down from the rooftop behind him. What he saw, he would never forget./p
p data-p-id="0fc4227aa1b8b7c0d369590a7ffc4be3"A werewolf, straight out of a horror movie, stood in front of the squad of fighters. He couldn't begin to process this./p
p data-p-id="00985218f90ac35dadea71a80e764874"The creature rushed its opponents and disarmed them. Shots rang out, but that didn't seem to bother the creature./p
p data-p-id="3515806ba80dfef06d2f1da3d1472365"The soldiers lost their guns, but not their arms along with them, as he would have expected. It punched out the enemies in its way with supernatural strength and agility./p
p data-p-id="f6fd6f5d1beceb8291a7f4f215796c27"Strangely enough, despite its clearly deadly claws, it didn't eviscerate its foes. It came close a couple of times, but it seemed to ball up its fists at the last moment. Was the monster... showing restraint?/p
p data-p-id="0483b84703e78e2feef22e5cfb0819fe"The big man was the last one up, and he fired wildly at it, roaring with a mixture of confusion and fury when what few shots would have hit dead on were dodged as if he had been firing in slow motion./p
p data-p-id="4e24a99fb639e982955a964e7f421574"Only now did the creature seem to get truly angry. It towered over the man, grabbing his throat as if she could pop his head off like a bottle cap./p
p data-p-id="8d0187aaef1eaa94ba8b195775a405f8"She probably could./p
p data-p-id="123b4f8d570d8d88c9f9c270fd9825e7"Hound stumbled back, crawling backward to get away, not wanting to be this creature's next meal./p
p data-p-id="c4eaa41555917405317ff14135680099"He made too much noise. Stupid whimpering. Why did he have to be such a scaredy cat? So much for the "brave Scotsman" stereotype./p
p data-p-id="2a10be516bba98cf16401a84af7ee9a5"The creature turned around and eyed him. There had been a sort of predatory gaze about her up to this point. Even under apparent restraint, it was still there. Now, for a second, there seemed to be something distinctively human about its look at him. Even with the glowing yellow eyes./p
p data-p-id="cec01baa8054c21b138de5e1d90dc73f"The creature seemed to go into a growling fit, as if some sort of inner turmoil had been triggered due to his appearance. It then tossed the man back on the ground, unconscious./p
p data-p-id="7fb084ce4aa4880e771c29fb3763f278"It rounded on him, and incomparable horror consumed him. It pounced on him, not killing him, but looming over him. There was conflict in its eyes./p
p data-p-id="bbb9c27a9a3a48561f5af30c452a96e9"Those eyes were the last thing he saw before his mind decided to quit, sending him into dreamland.../p