Free Changeling by Steve Feasey

in bewildered disbelief. ‘Yeah, yeah, of course I am,’ he said eventually, his voice dripping with sarcasm. ‘I’m a werewolf, you and her are vampires, and I suppose old Tom over there is a zombie or something, eh?’
    ‘Zombie, indeed!’ Tom responded, ‘I wouldn’t wipe my arse with zombies. Dirty, stupid, foul creatures they are – too stupid to know that they should stay dead. I’m one hundred per cent human and just you remember that. And less of the old, you cheeky little git.’
    Lucien looked over at Tom, stopping the other man saying more before continuing: ‘It’s true, Trey. You are the child of werewolf parents. That makes you incredibly rare. We believe that you might be the last hereditary werewolf in existence – meaning that you inherited the condition, as opposed to those that actively seek to become werewolves or those that survive an attack. As such, you have tremendous inborn powers, but now that these have become manifest there are huge dangers that threaten your very existence, and—’
    ‘Madness,’ Trey interrupted, still shaking his head. ‘If I was a werewolf – which I am not – how do you explain that I have never run out in the middle of the night and howled at a full moon, or woken up in a forest somewhere after tearing out the throat of some poor unsuspecting virgin? Surely even a very young werewolf must be a bit of a handful when he is growing up?’
    ‘A male lycanthrope can only transform from the human form to the wolf form when the levels of testosterone in his body rise above a certain level,’ Alexa said. ‘Before that, there are very few signs of what he will become. In changing from a boy to a man, the wolf that has lain dormant inside you for so long has been released.’
    ‘Last night you transmogrified for the first time,’ Lucien explained. ‘Luckily you were alone in your room at the time, or I shudder to think what the consequences might have been. As I have explained to you, Trey, I have been keeping a careful and watchful eye on you ever since your parents died, and had hoped that I might be able to intercede before this moment came. Unfortunately that was not possible and I am deeply sorry for what happened to you yesterday evening. I take full responsibility and hope that you can forgive me.’
    ‘What did happen to me?’ Trey’s voice sounded thin and papery inside his head. ‘Please God, tell me that I didn’t kill anybody.’
    ‘No, of course you didn’t.’ Lucien reached out a hand to touch the boy, but instinctively drew it back, aware of how fragile he seemed. ‘We would not have allowed such a thing to happen to you, Trey. Tom’s people have had the care home under constant surveillance since you were moved there three years ago. Our man was alerted as to what might happen yesterday night by Alexa – she has certain gifts that allow her to “tune in” to unusual occurrences – werewolves, vampires, demons, all nether-creatures produce a signal when they are on the human plane, and Alexa picked up yours. Tom’s man witnessed the whole thing and ensured that no harm came to you or anybody else. You simply broke free from your room and roamed around for a few hours before returning a little after four in the morning. We were able to keep track of you throughout – Tom’s people are very thorough.’
    Lucien took a deep breath and went on: ‘You should know that there are two states of lycanthropy. The first, and by far the most dangerous to the shapeshifter himself, is the Wolfan. When the lycanthrope changes into this form, all vestiges of his humanity are lost to him. He becomes a giant wolf, an incredibly powerful monster with an evil desire to kill, often hunting down his prey and murdering it in horrific fashion. Each time the lycanthrope adopts this form his beast aspect grows in power and influence until it consumes him. He is then cursed to be subject to the control of the full moon forever and to obey the evil that has