Emily was dreaming. She was flying through the forest, towards the mountains. It was quite dark now, and she couldn't see the sun. Trees and bushes swished by at high speeds to either side, the wind was howling in her face . . .

She turned over and soaked in the warmth of the fireplace. The crackling sound of the burning embers was very comforting. How lucky she was to have this cabin with this lovely open fireplace. She opened her eyes.

Emily gasped and sat up with a start. She wasn't in the cabin. She was in some sort of cave, with a fireplace, and she wasn't alone. Hunched down next to the fire was a naked man. He was very muscular, very hairy, and had a really wild look about him. Emily looked up at his face and saw his blue eyes. Suddenly it all came back to her - the hunter, Jack, and that creature, that beast with the bright blue, human eyes. Emily screamed. She tried to crawl backwards, away from the monster, but behind her was solid rock. Trembling with fear she looked up at him - he looked hurt.

She had expected to see anger in his eyes, but there was only sadness and pain. "Shit, I don't want to upset this . . . thing," she thought to herself, and tried hard to seem less frightened. It wasn't easy though, with the image of that monstrous creature ripping Jack to pieces still fresh in her mind. She wondered why it had killed Jack and not her.

Emily flinched as the man stood up. He was holding something in his hands, arms stretched out towards her, like he was going to give it to her. Slowly he came closer, averting his gaze from her. Emily relaxed a little, she didn't think he was going to hurt her. He got to within a meter of her, then stopped and held out his offering. Emily took it. It was a sort of plate, made out of some big, green leaf. On it were berries, mushrooms, a few smaller leafs, some sort of root and a piece of grilled meat. Emily realized how hungry she was, her stomach was practically screaming at her. She eyed the food suspiciously, then looked up at the man. He made a nodding motion with his head and sat down.

Emily picked up one of the berries from her plate and put it in her mouth - it tasted heavenly. In a blink of an eye she forgot all her suspicions about the food - and that she was sitting in a cave with a monster she had seen kill a man - and dug in. She stuffed her mouth with berries and mushrooms, and sank her teeth into the meat - it tasted very gamy, and the lack of seasoning surprised her sense of taste, but it wasn't bad.

Emily ate and ate, scooping up food with her hands, unloading it into her mouth and chewing noisily. When she finally looked up the man was looking at her with a weak smile on his lips.

"Emily," he said.

Emily looked surprised, "You . . . you can speak?"

He looked down, "Yes."

Emily sat quietly for a moment then asked, "Do you have a name?"

He seemed a little confused, like he hadn't quite understood the question, but answered, "Daniel."

"Daniel?" Emily was surprised again. She hadn't really expected him to have a name, much less something ordinary like Daniel. But she was feeling less scared now. Daniel seemed kind and gentle enough, even shy.

"Well, thanks for the food, Daniel, I needed that," she continued.

"You're welcome."

Emily didn't know what to say next. She was afraid she would say something stupid and anger him, and that would probably be a very bad thing to do. She had to get out of here somehow, away from this creature, back to her cabin, then back to the city.

Daniel looked at her, "Are you afraid of me?"

"No . . . I mean . . . uh . . . should I be?"

"I won't hurt you."

"Like you hurt that hunter, Jack? That was you, wasn't it?" Emily blurted out, regretting her words right away.

"Yes, that was me."

"Why?"

"Because he was going to hurt you," Daniel said, looked away and continued, "I've been watching you since you got here."

"You have?" Emily was feeling faint. This creature had been watching her for three days? She gasped. "The pond?"

"Yes," Daniel answered with an embarrassed look on his face.

Emily was embarrassed, too. He had seen her naked, playing with herself. She blushed.

They both sat quietly for a long while, Daniel obviously feeling uncomfortable about having spied on her. He stood up, again making Emily jerk back.

"I'll be right back, wait here," he said and walked away from Emily and the fire.

"This is my chance," Emily thought, but found she didn't dare get up and try to run away. If he caught her she would be in trouble for sure, and she had no idea where she was, or where she could go. She surveyed the cave. The roof was high enough for a tall person to stand straight, and the walls seemed a little too smooth to be natural. Could it be a mine? She didn't think so, since the cave seemed to end just behind her back. The smoke from the fire drifted away in the same direction Daniel had walked off. She sighed, and then almost laughed at the surreal situation she was in. She looked into the fire.

Daniel didn't stay gone for long. He was back within a couple of minutes. He looked pleased when he saw she hadn't moved.

"Here," he said and handed her a glass bottle containing some clear liquid.

Emily unscrewed the cap and took a swig. It was cool, fresh water. She drank deeply, enjoying the water that tasted so much better than the stuff she got out of the tap back home in the city. When she had drained half of the bottle she replaced the cap and sat it down next to her on the floor.

"Thanks," she said and looked at him. She had been too afraid to really look at him before, but now she felt more relaxed and looked him over intently. He was quite handsome. It was hard to tell his age, but she estimated he was about 35. His face was attractive in a rugged sort of way. His wild, dark hair looked full of life, and his bright blue eyes were expressive and incredibly intense. His body was rippling with tough looking muscles. His muscular chest was covered by a thick mat of hair, which thinned out down towards his abdomen. Emily's eyes drifted lower. "Oh, my, God!" a voice in her mind exclaimed, as her gaze landed on the limp penis dangling between his legs. To say that he was well endowed would be an understatement. Emily couldn't help but stare. Suddenly a hand obstructed her view. She looked up and saw an embarrassed look on David's face, evidently he had seen where she was looking. He was blushing, and it looked mighty strange on his masculine face.

Emily blushed too, and said, "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to stare. Why don't you wear any clothes?"

"Well . . . I've never really had anyone around before, and they get in the way when . . ."

"When you transform?" Emily finished.

"Yes," he admitted, after a short pause.

"What are . . . uh, I mean, who are you?"

David smiled another weak smile and asked, "What do you think I am?"

Emily hesitated, it wasn't that she was afraid of how he would react anymore, she was afraid of admitting to herself that she really thought he was . . . "A werewolf?" she said out loud.

"Yes, that is what I am. A werewolf, a shape shifter, a lycanthrope."

Emily was starting to forget about her fears by now; she was fascinated and very curious. "So . . . you turn into a wolf?"

"Not quite. I turn into something in between man and wolf. I . . . I still walk on my hind legs, and . . ." he paused, "God, I've never talked to anyone human about this before." He looked as if he was about to start crying.

"I'm sorry, if you don't want to talk about this . . ."

"No, I do," he interrupted, "it's just that it's been so long since I've talked to anyone about anything." He had a very sad look on his face.

Emily saw the pain in his eyes; she wished she could do something to ease it, but she didn't know how. She thought for a moment, then asked, "How did you become . . . what you are?"

"I didn't," he answered, "I was born this way. It's not like in the movies; you don't become a werewolf by being bitten by one. Both my mother and father were werewolves. It's like a genetic disease; you inherit it from your parents"

Movies? Genetic disease? Emily thought this man looked far too much like a savage to know about such things.

Like he could read her mind he smiled and said, "I haven't always been living out here. In my youth I lived with my parents in the city. I even went to school like an ordinary kid."

"But . . . how? People didn't know about . . ."

"No, of course not. It's not too hard to keep it a secret. I mean, can you tell by looking at me that I'm not a normal human being?"

"Well . . ."

"Imagine me with clothes on," he smiled.

"No, I guess not. But . . . what would you do when there was a full moon?"

Daniel laughed, a nice warm laugh, "Now there's another thing from those movies. The full moon doesn't affect me in any way. You didn't see a full moon tonight, did you? The . . . transformation takes place when I want it to take place, most of the time anyway."

"Most of the time?" Emily asked, feeling a tingle of nervousness curse through her body.

"Yes. Sometimes, when I become very angry or scared, I will change against my will. But relax, that hardly ever happens anymore. It was worse when I was younger." He gave her a friendly smile, "Besides, even if I did change, I wouldn't hurt you."

"Okay, I believe you," Emily said and smiled at him.

Daniel opened his mouth as if to say something, then closed it. The he opened it again and said, "You are very beautiful."

Emily blushed, her smile broadening, and said, "Thank you, you're quite . . ." then she stopped and blushed deeper. What the heck was this? Exchanging compliments with a werewolf?

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to . . ." Daniel began saying.

"No, it's okay, that was a sweet thing to say, thank you," Emily interrupted and kept blushing. Changing the subject, she asked, "So, why do you live here now?"

Daniel's smile disappeared from his face. "I had to move away from the city. My . . . my parents were both killed." His head sank and he stared at the ground.

"Oh Daniel, I'm so sorry," Emily said, reached out and took Daniel's hand in hers.

Daniel looked up, surprised. There were tears in his eyes, but he smiled and squeezed her hand gently, "It was a long time ago now. I was just a boy when our flock got into a conflict with another. We were defeated, and, as far as I know, I was the only one who got away. I've been living here ever since."

"Flock? Does that mean there are many like you out there?"

"Not that many, but I am far from the only werewolf in the world. We seldom live alone, like I do. I am an outcast, because I belong to a defeated flock."

"But can't you go live with some other flock?"

"No, they wouldn't accept me. We seem to be extremely suspicious and hostile towards strangers by nature. The males don't want the competition of a new male in their flock. The pecking order of a flock is very emphasized, and I wouldn't fit in. I am quite strong, and my status in a flock would be in accordance with that. That means I am a threat to the high-ranking males in the flock, so they would unite against me and either drive me away or kill me. In a way I am free, since I don't have to concern myself with the strict social rules of flock life."

"But you must be lonely . . ."

"Yes, lonely I am," he looked into her eyes, "but you're here now."

Emily wondered what that was supposed to mean. Did he expect her to stay with him? "I guess I am . . . but why? What do you want with me?"

Daniel sat thinking for a while then answered, "I'm not sure. Please know I will not hold you here against your will. If you want I will take you back to the cabin and leave you there."

Emily felt relieved. Maybe she would get out of this mess alive after all.

"I guess I became fascinated with you from the moment I first saw you," he continued, "I heard your car when you drove up to the cabin, and I went to check who the visitor was. I was very surprised to find it was a beautiful woman, and that she was alone."

"I saw you sitting on that bench in front of the house, with the most blissful look on your face. You looked like you had seen heaven. You just sat there, watching, as I watched you. To me you seemed just as amazing as the miracles of nature must have seemed to you that first day."

"When you finally stepped inside, I sneaked up to where you had been sitting. Our sense of smell is very sensitive, and I could feel your scent. A lot of human women tend to wear far too much perfume for our sensitive noses, but you wore just the right amount - just barely discernable from the background smells and the scent of woman."

"I stayed by the house all night, wanting to be close to you, this amazing person that had come to my realm. That night I decided I was going to keep watch over you during the remainder of your stay. I could almost pretend it was with your safety in mind I made that decision, but really, all I wanted was to be close to you."

"And when you came out the next morning I fell in love with you. Your long, beautiful hair was down, and you were only wearing your robe. You were the most beautiful thing I'd ever seen. And then . . . well, you know what happened next. I was watching you from the tree line and, God, I wanted you so much. I tried to sneak closer. I could hear you . . . and then you felt my presence, and I got all nervous and started backing away, you must have heard me."

"I was devastated. I thought I had really scared you and ruined your time here. Then you came back out and got your robe and your shoes. What a relief! I kept my distance during the rest of the day, not wanting to scare you again."

"This morning I saw you packing your backpack and head out. I followed you. When you started going the wrong way I had the strongest urge to reveal myself and show you the right direction. But I knew that would probably scare you. I kept hoping you would find your own way home. Then you got to that dead-end trail, that's when I decided I'd have to help you out. You heard me and started running."

"When that man found you I was relieved. I thought he would show you the way, and everything would be okay, but then I noticed that something was wrong. The next second you were fighting. I went berserk and ..."