Dreaming the Wolf - Prologue and Chapter 1
A friend of mine keeps telling me that my lj is disgustingly (I say hilariously) bare. So I figured I'd go ahead and post something on this little corner of the internets. This was my very first full-length fanfic. It's in the Smallville fandom and a Chlex fic; but I don't think it's particularly shippy. Anywho, enjoy!
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Title: Dreaming the Wolf
Rating: R
Category: Angst
Summary: After the events of Freak, Chloe finds herself changed more than she thought possible. A spin on the classic tale of girl becomes werewolf.
Spoilers: I haven't been actively watching SV for a long time now, so anything goes and I take liberties. This is set after the episode Freak and careens madly and gleefully towards AU.
Disclaimer: If I owned anything, then there would be no need for me to write fanfic or read it.
Prologue
“The wolf changes his coat, but not his disposition.”
Anonymous
The wolf knows no complications. She only knows what she can do and what she cannot. She knows that she can leap over that log with ease. She knows that she can run for yards. She knows that she cannot survive the harsh winter alone. She knows that her survival is in her fangs, her speed, and her cunning. The line between living today and tomorrow was the spray of blood that mists in the wind as it leaves her prey. There can be no room in her for compassion.
Her heart beats for her life alone. This knowledge is in her bones. And will exist until her bones become a fine powder, indistinguishable from the soil under her paws. She feels the wind in fur. And the glorious exertion of muscle and bone as she moves swiftly. She tunes herself to the sounds and smells around her. She hears the scurry of the mice of the field and the rabbits in burrows. She smells the fear of her prey and the clean of the night. That is her reality and she considers nothing else.
The spark that still held the rational mind of Chloe inside the wolf body took a moment to feel the loss of her humanity. But then that spark to feel only the realities of the wolf, which at the moment was the blood scent of the rabbit she was hunting, subsumed her rational mind. Her body was tense. Her focus narrowed to a pin prick. Her desire and need all dedicated. She waited for her time. For when all her hard work would manifest. And there it was.
Chloe gave chase and then there was only the crunch of bones and the burst of blood in her mouth. She had won. Chloe lifted her muzzle to the night sky and howled her triumph. Tonight had been a good night and the part of her that was still human felt disgust. That part vowed that this time would truly be the last time. But in the harsh light of day when fur gave way to skin and the wild gave way to the rational, she knew it to be the lie that it was.
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Chapter 1
By the time Chloe found herself in her apartment, she was panting heavily. The urge to be the wolf was still strong but she knew that she had to sleep at some point. She could control this. At least, that’s what she told her self. Lately it seemed as if she was just fooling herself. Chloe realized that she had waited too long to change. She knew because her dreams had been filled with the hunt and blood and the wolf. The myths, the legends, the hearsay…it was all wrong. She wasn’t chained to the moon. She was chained to her own strength, which offered little comfort since she couldn’t resist.
So here she was. Standing in her restroom and staring at her reflection in the mirror. The green eyes still flecked with gold. The still elongated canines. The ropy muscle of the wolf still evident in her frame. But she could control this. She had to. Chloe suddenly felt a spasm that was strong enough to bow her back. It was all she could do to not let loose a roar of pain. Her hands, still bent and curved with the claws of the wolf, gripped the sink with an inhuman strength. Distantly, she heard the groan as the porcelain cracked under her hands. She felt the jagged edges dig into her flesh and for a moment, Chloe was back in control.
“Easy. Easy. You can do this. It’s not so bad.”
Chloe could barely recognize her own voice. It was guttural and low. Hardly human. And that’s when Chloe decided that she had to tell someone. The only person she could realistically confide in was Clark, but Chloe was reluctant. In all the time that Chloe had known what Clark was, she had never thought of him as an alien…as some thing else. But since her first foray into wolfdom, every time she was around Clark the unmistakable scent of otherness clung to him.
He was not of this world. His scent, his heartbeat, his very aura was something wholly wrong and she didn’t know how to deal with that knowledge. She didn’t know how to tame the wolf and only see Clark as she’d always seen him…as her crush, her confidante and her friend. Clark was something her wolf knew it couldn’t kill. The wolf in her knew that it wouldn’t be able to defend itself against Clark’s superior strength and that terrified the wolf. Her wolf couldn’t stand him and so she was left with a dilemma: to tell the only person who could possibly understand and help her or to stay alone. Neither option was tenable to her. Her instincts, both human and wolf, told her she couldn’t do this alone…but the paranoia was getting to both aspects of her.
“I’m going nuts. It’s the only explanation.”
Chloe did the only thing she could do. She got into the shower and turned the heat as high as she could stand it. As the water pelted her bruised and scratched body, she came to a decision. “I’ll tell him. I’ll tell him tomorrow and we’ll figure out what happened to me. We’ll figure out what Luthor did and I’ll rip him apart myself.”
The last word ended as a sob and a pitiful whine. If Chloe had bothered to glance at the mirror as she left her restroom, she would’ve noticed the gold of her eyes. After drying herself and tending to her evening after shower ablutions, Chloe picked up her phone and dialed familiar numbers.
Despite the fact that it was 3AM, she had to call Clark now or she’d chicken out. When he finally picked up the phone, it came as a shock to Chloe that he was fully awake. Maybe he somehow knew that she’d need him. It didn’t really matter though because she still felt uneasy and sick to her stomach at the thought that she’d have to talk to him. The wolf was so close now and it was making its displeasure known.
“Chloe, is something wrong?”
Chloe cleared her throat a few times and finally answered him, “No. Nothing’s wrong. I just need you to meet me tomorrow.”
“Sure. I’ll meet you at the Talon at--“
Chloe interrupted him. “Do you think we could meet at your place? It’s kinda private.”
Clark knew that something was wrong. And Chloe knew that Clark knew something was wrong. It was in the slight change in his voice intonation.
“Chloe, I need to meet Lois.”
Chloe really had no choice. She needed to tell him and if she delayed then she’d lose her resolve. The last thing she wanted right now was for Clark to come charging to her apartment. She couldn’t handle it. “Fine, Clark. I’ll meet you afternoon. Is 2 good for you?”
“Chloe, what’s really-“ For the second time that evening, Chloe found herself interrupting Clark.
“Clark, just meet me tomorrow. Is 2 good for you?” She couldn’t help but put more bite into her words than was called for.
“Sure, Chlo’. I’ll meet you at 2 at the Talon.” He was confused and slightly hurt. His voice told her so, but she couldn’t be moved to care. The wolf was nothing if not heartless.
“Good. See ya then.”
It was with much relief that Chloe hung up her phone. It took all of her willpower not to crush the damned thing in her hand. Five minutes later found Chloe hitting the mattress not as the human, but as the wolf. Despite the fact that it was only a little past 3AM, it was going to be a long night of restless sleep for her. There would be no relief tonight.
Onward to Chapters 2 and 3