The woods lay in silence

just like every other night

, save for the owls that hooted, chanting their sacred songs — a rite which they always observed

even in this full moon

. Everything was as it should be

and have always been

, except for the distant growls and roars and snarls and whimpers of treacherous beasts that disturbed it now. These beasts as we have come to know are creatures of the dark! Creatures who possess unfathomable strength! Creatures that have the ability to shift, into both man and deadly beast — werewolves. A long generation of men cursed by Zeus himself.

    In an instant, a wounded man fled through the woods; twigs thrashing madly against him. He limped, favoring his left leg. He was bathed in fresh scars, and streaks of blood flowed freely from a wound above his head, blurring his vision. He ran with all his might trying to evade what was after him. It was a creature like him but stronger, and sinister. Not seeing clearly, the man tripped over a boulder and fell flat on his face, thus allowing the creature that was after him to catch up to him. Knowing fully well that he was done for, he tried to pull the last card up his sleeve, but it failed him too. He tried to shift into a werewolf, but his mind was severely wounded and so he couldn't concentrate.

"Please don't do that. You're making things difficult for me and I don't like it!" The man after him sighed in exasperation.

This isn't an ordinary man, as you know by now. He was a creature of the dark too, but stood six-feet tall, like any normal man, except for the fact that his eyes glared red like a fiery furnace seeking to devour anything that stood in its way; his canines protruded abnormally into fangs, and his fingernails were grown into blood-stained claws

. He moved gracefully taking his precious time as he walked towards his whimpering prey who was still struggling to shift but couldn't.

"Stephan, please! Please don't!" the man pleaded, calling him by his name

an indication that they knew each other well. Judging by the wounds each man had, it was obvious they had brawled earlier, with Stephan standing tall as the stronger formidable opponent he was

. "Have mercy! I have a little girl, please!" the older man begged once more, but his pleas seemed to fall on deaf ears as there was a slight change in Stephan's countenance before it was swiftly replaced by a menacing smirk

"Friend, I want you to understand that this is not personal!" Stephan apologized, and with one hand he pulled the man's head off his body

a mere exhibition of raw strength!

"Now your power is mine!" He grinned menacingly at the lifeless body of his prey, and in an instant, an energy surge coursed through his body. It came with full force that he groaned in pains before it stopped, and then he dropped on one knee, visibly shaken by the changes that had taken place in his body. His red eyes were more darkened now, and his hide toughened up. Truly, his prey's powers were now his!