One week later.

Tao’s POV

“Hey Tiffany, can I ask you something?” I say as we’re cleaning up. She looks up at me and nods. “I was wondering if you want to have dinner with me?” I ask nervously.

“I’d love to, when we’re done cleaning up, right?” She says smiling brightly.

“Yep.” I smile back at her, once she turns away, I let out a sigh of relief.

“Ready to go?” She asks once I’ve put the shutters down.

“Yeah, lets go.” I say.

“Where are we eating?” She asks me when we’re out of the shop.

“It’s just down the road, I hope you like Italian.” I point to the restaurant. She nods.

Once there, I open the door and hold it for her.

“Thanks.” She says.

“Table for two, please.” I say just as the waiter comes to us.

“Right this way, sir.” He gestures to the free table in the corner. We sit down and are given the menus.

“Thank you.” I say to the waiter.

“What would you like to drink?” He asks. I look at Tiffany.

“I’ll have a tonic water.” She says. The waiter looks at me.

“I’ll have the same.” I say. When he’s gone, I look at the menu and I immediately find what I’ll eat.

“What are you going to eat?” Tiffany asks me.

“Spaghetti Bolognese, you?” I ask.

“Same.” She laughs slightly. The waiter comes and asks what we’ll eat.

“We’ll both have Spaghetti Bolognese.” I say. We talk a lot about our hobbies and tastes in things.

“I had a great time today, we should do this more often.” Tiffany says while we’re walking home.

“Yeah, I–” I start but am cut off when my head feels like it’s going to split open.

“Tao?” Tiffany says worried. I can barely hear her let alone walk because of the pain. Not letting her see, I open my eyes and see that my nails are starting to sharpen.

“Tiffany, go.” I force out.

“No, I’m not going.” She says.

“NO!” I snap, Tiffany doesn’t move. “Please, go.” I beg. She stands up slowly. “Quickly, please.” I almost shout. She turns and walks away. Knowing that something is about to happen, I sprint to the forest and jump over the fence separating the park and the forest. The moon is out and it’s full. I let out a long yell that turns into a howl as my nose turns into a snout, I grow fur, and my teeth sharpen. My vision turns red and I notice my mind is slowly going and my hunger is growing. While I’m still myself, I run to a lake and see my reflection in the moonlight. A creature from the Underworld greets me, the monstrous form of a wolf.

I hope you saw this coming :)