Chapter 4 - A Wolf in the Night

Lena Oxton walked through the woods just outside of Havenfell, feeling regret and guilt well up in her heart. A few hours earlier, she had witnessed Elsa, one of her best friends, transform into a fearsome werewolf. There had been no warning at all.

One moment, Lena and Fareeha had been waiting outside of Elsa's room, hoping that their friend would recover from the mysterious poison in her body. The next, Elsa had burst out in her werewolf state and raced through the guild barracks.

She'd injured a few of the other hunters in her rampage, but had soon escaped into the nearby woods. Now, Lena and a small team of Elsa's friends, Kristoff, Korra and Fareeha were on their way to track their friend down and stop her from hurting anyone else.

As the full moon shone in the nearby sky, Lena found herself musing why she hadn't noticed the signs sooner. Elsa's faintness during the fight at the warehouse, her wounds still healing and bringing her pain. She felt like she could have stopped it, but knew that there was nothing she or the others could have done.

The group had been wandering through the woods for several hours by that point, with no sign of Elsa, transformed or otherwise.

Korra was the one leading the group along, using her tribal magic to sense Elsa's spirit and hopefully guide the others to where their fallen friend was. As her eyes shone white in the darkened forest, the others merely followed behind her.

Closing her eyes and sighing, Korra stopped. "Guys, I'm having a hard time tracking her now. I think something about her transformation is clouding my vision. I... can't really explain it, but it's like she's out of flux somehow, like her human soul has been ejected from her body."

Kristoff sighed, leaning against a nearby tree. "I knew we shouldn't have just come as a small group. Elsa could be anywhere by now. We should have brought everyone in the guild and then we'd be able to cover more ground."

"The others still need to be treated for their injuries," Lena reminded him. "Plus, with Elsa out of the picture, someone's gotta keep an eye on Havenfell."

"I have a pretty good idea who did this to her," Fareeha mused. "That crazy sister of hers must have found some spell or incantation and cursed her the night they fought."

"No way," Kristoff put in. "Anna didn't use any magic on Elsa that night. Except when she turned into smoke and fled. She just slashed her a lot and gave her that big bite in her arm."

"Then it's probably the other method to create a werewolf then," Korra stated. "Wolfsbane. That would also explain my hard time tracking her."

"Do you know how to cure it?" Fareeha wondered. "You are our resident expert on this sort of thing."

"I... can try," Korra responded, a little unsure. "I'll need to ease her spirit with my powers and then that should hopefully reverse her transformation... problem is, I don't know how much poison has affected her mind. Because my powers are in such flux, it's really hard to tell."

"Let's worry about finding her first," Kristoff stated. "We can figure out how to cure her later. Just keep tracking her Korra."

The Inuit girl nodded. "I'll do my best."

The group kept moving forward for a little while, until Fareeha then noticed something strange in front of them. She quickly ran ahead of the group, getting down on the floor and stroking what seemed to be a large footprint in the dirt.

Fareeha then turned, looking at her friends. "Korra, turn off your magic for now. I think we can track her the old-fashioned way."

Stopping her powers again, Korra got down beside Fareeha and stroked the side of the dirt, sensing Elsa's essence all around the footprint. "Yes... this is her alright. She's been through here recently... her mind seems so chaotic."

"She's turned into a mindless monster, duh," Fareeha remarked. "Now, these tracks should lead us to her, provided she hasn't figured out how to swing through trees."

Lena then had a thought, a way that they could, instead of hunting Elsa down, they would bring Elsa to them. She knew it was a bit risky, but Lena always knew she was a bit of a risk taker. After all, she hunted vampires for a living.

"Guys!" She spoke up. "I've got a really crazy idea!"

The others then looked at Lena, Kristoff raising an eyebrow. "What crazy idea?"

"Look, it's no use if we just hunt Elsa down like this. She could be hiding anywhere and it's gonna take forever to track her." She then smiled. "So, I've got a cunning plan, loves... we need to get Elsa to come to us."

Fareeha folded her arms. "And how do you expect us to do that, Lena? We don't exactly have giant steaks of beef to bait a trap with."

"No... but we've all got something Elsa's gonna definitely come for," Lena replied. "Blood."

Her friends all widened their eyes in surprise. Everyone was very confused by Lena's suggestion, most notably Fareeha. The Arabian girl looked down at her hands, wondering if they really had to do something crazy in order to got through with this plan.

"Lena... you're not suggesting we pretty much kill ourselves just to get Elsa to hunt for us?!" Fareeha exclaimed.

"Not like that!" Lena argued. "Listen to me. Here's what we're gonna do. We all need to cut ourselves just enough to let a little bit of blood trickle out. Then, we'll smear the blood all over this place. If Elsa's got a nose like a bloodhound, she'll come for us."

"Maybe so," Kristoff pointed out. "But how exactly are we gonna get her to come here in the first place? She could be miles away."

Lena smiled. "Simple. I'll make myself covered in blood so I can be bait for her. She'll follow me here and then we'll grab her."

"That's crazy and stupid," Korra remarked. "I... kinda like it."

"You are not serious!" Kristoff exclaimed. "Lena, I know this is Elsa we're talking about, but she's a werewolf now. She'll tear you to shreds the moment she gets a whiff of you."

"I'll just have to peg it really fast, won't I?" Lena chirped. "Don't worry, mate. I can handle this. I'm the fastest girl around here, you know?"

Fareeha sighed. "Alright, if this is the way we're going to get Elsa back, then I'm in."

"Me too," Korra agreed.

Kristoff thought for a moment, knowing that this was probably the group's best chance of saving Elsa. He didn't like it one bit, but he trusted Lena. She was one of his closest friends after all. Nodding, he looked at the others. "Okay, let's do this crazy thing."

Reaching to her side, Lena pulled out her dagger, pointing the blade down. "Alrighty then. Each of you take this dagger and make a cut on your skin. Try not to slash your wrists or anything, as that might get a bit messy."

One by one, each of the four hunters took the dagger, making a cut somewhere on their bodies, deep enough for the red fluid of blood to flow out. As the blood dripped from their wounds to the ground, Lena and Fareeha smeared their jackets in blood and started to mark the surrounding areas in it.

Soon, the entire area was now tinted with their blood, and the four friends had patched up their wounds. Lastly, Lena Oxton smeared as much blood over her skin as she possibly could, even taking off some of her clothes to smear as much blood on herself.

Finally, Lena tied her hair back and took off her glasses and stood proud. Now, her little plan could finally begin. "Okay guys, wish me luck."

"Just for the record," Kristoff spoke up. "This is officially the craziest thing I've ever done."

"Eh, I've done crazier things," Korra remarked, nudging his elbow.

Lena then gave her friends a confident smile. "Wish me luck, guys... oh and if I don't come back, you have my permission to say I told you so." She then jumped and rushed into the woods as fast as she could, beginning her act as live bait.

It was probably the craziest trap in the history of the world, but if it was going to bring Elsa back, Lena would gladly go through with it.

xXx

Deep in the forest, the creature that had once been Elsa Nordholm rushed through the undergrowth, snarling and growling, it's mind purely that of an animal. The creature had no memories of its former life, the only thing it knowing was the gnawing hunger from its stomach.

It's hunting senses tuned, it sniffed and scanned with its glowing blue eyes, hunting for its next prey, it's next meal to satiate her desire for flesh and blood. Soon, her nostrils got a scent of prey moving nearby, the beast bearing its sharp teeth.

Creeping through the trees, the monster soon found it's target grazing near some bushes. It was a doe, a female deer, eating berries from the bush it was standing beside. It was so innocent, so peaceful, the perfect meal for a monster.

Leaping from behind its cover, the beast roared, hoping to intimidate the deer. The deer neighed in fear, running away as fast as it's slender legs could carry. Getting down on all fours, the wolf charged after the deer, it's sharp claws and teeth glowing in the moonlight.

The beast's heart was pounding wildly, the thrill of the chase sending a flow of adrenaline through its body. The monster relished the moment with utter delight. Finally, it made its move, leaping into the air above the poor deer.

Within moments, the monster had landed atop its prey, the deer crying out in pain. DIgging its claws into the flesh of the deer, the beast tortured the creature, letting it die a long and agonising death as the faint moans of life left its mouth.

Descending down, the beast started to chew and tear off parts of the deer's flesh, it's teeth grinding through the bloodied corpse. Ripping out its entrails and swallowing them, the beast sighed before howling to the moon, signalling the end of its hunt.

Then, it went back to eating, tearing off flesh from the deer's body until nothing more than bone and a few muscles remained. It was hard to recognise the remains now, since the beast had devoured pretty much everything they once were.

But still, the beast wasn't satisfied. The craving for flesh was strong, stronger than it had anticipated. It wanted to hunt more prey, but then it heard a voice from behind it.

"My, my, aren't you fitting into your new role well."

Turning around, the beast scowled as Anna hovered in the air behind it, wearing a rather casual looking pants and jacket. Her red eyes glowed with malice as she looked at the beast her sister had turned into, grinning in glee.

She chuckled again. "How does it feel to be a monster, Elsa? To feel the craving for flesh and blood like I do?" Elsa growled again and Anna laughed. "Oh, that's right, you don't even understand me now. Good, I hate it when people talk back to me."

The monster started to strafe around Anna, keeping it's glowing blue eyes tracked on Anna. The beast didn't really understand who Anna was, but it knew that deep inside it's being, possibly from what remained of Elsa's soul, it hated Anna with a burning passion.

Anna landed on the ground, giggling. "How about we settle this now, Elsa? Beast to beast, tooth to claw. Monster versus monster."

Taking the chance, the werewolf leapt at Anna, bearing it's bloodied fangs and ready to chomp down on Anna's flesh. Anna knew exactly how to react. In her hands, Anna charged a blast of magic and fired it directly at Elsa, blasting her into a nearby tree.

Groaning, the beast got back to its feet and scowled, before charging again and slashing at Anna. This time, Anna conjured a pair of demonic blades, glowing with red magic. She fought Elsa, letting the ends of her swords clash against the sharp claws of her sister.

Cackling, Anna used her magic when Elsa had her guard down, pinning her to a nearby tree. As she held Elsa in her grip, she grinned wickedly. "Such ferocity, Elsa! I never knew you had it in you! It's a shame this transformation won't be permanent, but at least we can have some fun, just like when we were kids!"

Getting her own advantage, Elsa then broke free from Anna's grip and dug its claws at Anna. Claw met flesh as the monster then impaled Anna right through the stomach. Blood dripped from Anna's wounds as she choked a little.

"Nice... comeback," Anna coughed, blood dripping from her lip as she pulled herself from Elsa's claws. "Too bad you didn't hit me in the heart, you stupid dog!" She then tried to blast Elsa with her magic again, but then the beast grabbed her by the stomach and hoisted her in the air with its immense strength.

Anna gasped as Elsa then bit down on her arm, tearing it from her body. The vampire screamed in pain as Elsa then tossed her back to the ground. Clutching the stump where her limb once was, she grunted, as Elsa stood above her.

Growling, the beast snarled, hoping to finish the job and end Anna once and for all, but Anna then started to laugh maniacally.

"Hahahahaha, you think that wounded me?" the vampire remarked. "Oh my dear sister, you are naive." Suddenly, she cried in pain as a new arm, covered in blood, burst from her stump, having regrown in mere seconds. Panting softly, Anna glared at Elsa with glee.

Leaping forward, Anna pulled out her blades again, duelling with Elsa again, but it was clear that the werewolf had the bigger advantage over her. It didn't matter, this was all just fun and games to Anna. She relished seeing Elsa as her equal.

Elsa snarled, slashing her claw on Anna's chest, tearing her jacket to shreds. Anna didn't care, as she slashed Elsa's shoulder with her sword, wounding her. As the blood dripped from her own wound, the monster growled, before grabbing Anna by the stomach and tossing her into the air.

Using her magic, Anna stabilized herself, levitating in the air. She smirked, seeing how powerful her sister truly was in this state. Oh, if only she had used a full dose of wolfsbane that night. Oh well, this was going to be fun while it lasted.

Scaling a tree, Elsa prepared to leap at Anna, to finally bring her down. As her blue eyes glowed menacingly, Anna laughed.

"You have no idea how much I'm enjoying this!" Anna cheered. "You as a mindless beast, me, the amazing vampire princess that I am. We're equals Elsa, at long last. If you wanted, we don't have to fight like this. You could join me, Elsa."

Elsa didn't respond, merely leaping at Anna, but the vampire dodged her, as Elsa landed on the forest floor, scowling at her.

"But then again, it's so much fun to fight you," Anna stated with a wide, evil grin.

Before Elsa could strike back at Anna, she felt something prick her nostrils, a scent looming in from afar. The wolf sniffed the air, picking up the scent of blood from far away. There was a fresh corpse somewhere in the woods and Elsa's hunger craved it.

Anna chuckled, as Elsa then rushed through the woods, pursuing the scent. She knew that it wouldn't be long before Elsa changed back, but she was satisfied. Her sister had known what it was like to be a monster and that was all that Anna cared about.

xXx

Meanwhile, deep in the forest, Lena Oxton was making her way through the trees, acting her role as bait for Elsa. The past two hours had been gruelling for her, and she was partly starting to wonder if Elsa would even pick up the scent of her bloodied attire at all.

Come on, Elsa, She thought to herself. Come out and chow down on a nice tasty cockney gal. You probably smell my stench already.

She sighed, wondering if she should just return to the others and they could all come up with a different plan of hunting Elsa down. Kristoff and Fareeha had probably been right after all... this idea was crazy and stupid and she knew that.

But Lena only wanted her friend back, back from being the mindless beast she had become. In a way, she felt personally guilty for this and this would be her chance to atone. Standing in the forest for a moment, Lena closed her eyes, feeling her surroundings.

She'd done this several times now, trying to hear if Elsa was coming closer to her. Her ears pricked up for a second, as she heard the sound of rustling in the woods. Could it have been...? Lena had to be certain. Following the noise, she made her way deeper into the trees.

Reaching out, she then whispered, calling out to whatever was making the rustling. "Elsa...?"

There was a loud roaring noise, as Lena saw a pair of glowing blue eyes in the darkness and the faint sight of sharp, bloodied teeth. It was Elsa alright and she was hungry.

Gulping, Lena took a few steps back. "Um... Hi there? See me, all covered in blood? Want me as a snack?"

Elsa then snarled loudly, stepping forward, her teeth and claws bared. She was completely feral now, but Lena knew that her friend was still inside the vicious beast.

Running back, Lena smirked. Now it was time to put her plan into action. "Okay love, you want me so bad? Come and get me!" She then darted off into the forest at full speed, heading back in the direction of the clearing she and the others had set their trap for Elsa.

As Lena expected, Elsa took the bait, racing after Lena with her speed and agility. She snarled and growled, chasing Lena through the trees and dirt of the forest floor. The adrenaline was kicking in, the beast's sense heightened by the bloodlust.

Lena continued to run, faster than she had ever run before. She panted heavily, adrenaline forcing its way through her body as well. She had never run this fast before, but if she was going to save Elsa, she couldn't let herself get eaten.

There wasn't much further to go now. The clearing was just ahead of them. With one final push, Lena rushed into the clearing, Elsa far behind her. "Guys, she's here!" She exclaimed.

From behind the trees, Kristoff and Fareeha leapt out, having tossed their weapons aside as they didn't want to hurt Elsa in any way. As Elsa arrived, Kristoff and Fareeha leapt at Elsa, grabbing her arms and legs and trying to hold her in place.

Elsa tried to shake the two of them off, but the two hunters maintained their grip.

"Easy Elsa!" Kristoff exclaimed. "We don't wanna hurt ya!"

"Yeah, so try not to tear us to shreds!" Fareeha then added.

With brute strength Elsa threw her opponents off her, tossing Kristoff and Fareeha to one side and snarling wildly, bearing her bloodied fangs. She would show this prey no mercy. With a snarl she leapt at Kristoff, the hunter pulling out his sword, but it was soon knocked from his hand.

From behind another tree, Korra lept out, eyes glowing white. She held her hands together and fired a massive blast of blame at Elsa, causing her to leap back. Elsa growled, but soon noticed Lena was alone and no one at her side. If she couldn't eat the others, then Lena would just have to do.

Jumping in front of Lena, the monster that was Elsa slowly started to walk towards her, trying to back her into a corner so it could strike and she would have nowhere to run. Lena was starting to cower in fear, gulping slightly as she stepped back.

"Oh bloody hell," she gulped. "Elsa... please, it's me, Lena. You're my best mate. Please, you gotta be in there."

The monster merely snarled and growled, slashing its claws about wildly. There was no Elsa that Lena could reach. All she had to do now was hope that Korra could act in time. There wasn't much space between her and the nearest tree and she couldn't run quick enough with the beast this close.

From the sidelines, Kristoff and the other girls watched as Lena was backing away from Elsa, worried that she was going to be torn limb from cockney limb. Looking at Korra, his face grew very stern. "Korra, if you wanna do your thing, you better do it now!"

"Alright!" Korra stated. "Give me some space... I've never done this before." The others nodded and Korra sat down, closing her eyes and getting into a meditation pose. Placing her hands together and opening her eyes, glowing pure white once more.

Elsa, Korra's thoughts echoed as she reached to Elsa's distant spirit, trapped somewhere within the monster she had now become. Elsa, it's me Korra. I don't know if you can hear me, but calm down and relax, please. Something is very wrong with you, but I can help you. You need to be calm for me.

Suddenly, the monster stopped in its tracks and howled in pain, clutching its chest. Korra could sense she was getting through to Elsa, as she could feel the poison in her veins start to burn up inside, the young Inuit girl having broken through.

That's right, just let the anger go, let me help you, Korra expressed, connecting her thoughts to Elsa's mind and using her powers to remove the poison from her body.

The monster then dropped to its hands and legs, screaming in agony and pain. All four of them watched as the creature they knew as Elsa started to change. The hair covering its body started to recede, giving way to pale, pink flesh. The claws and sharp spines retracted and the beast's body grew smaller and smaller until it was the shape of a young human woman.

A few moments later, Elsa was lying in the dirt in her human form, completely stark naked and unconscious. Finally, the nightmare was over. Kristoff then walked over to her, wondering if the woman who was his friend was okay after her rather terrifying experience.

Just then, Elsa's eyes widened and she gasped, drawing in as much air as she could before coughing up a little bit of blood. She then got to her feet and breathed heavily. "What the fuck happened to me?!" She then looked down and saw herself naked, and then saw Kristoff standing beside him.

Growling, Elsa then slapped her friend in the face. "Kristoff, what the hell!"

"Ow!" The blonde man exclaimed. "It wasn't me! It was this poison that was in your body. You turned into a giant fucking werewolf."

Getting her bearings, Elsa sighed, the memories flooding back to her. The transformation, her hunting through the woods, her fight with Anna, everything came back to her. She then looked at her hands and hugged her pale body.

"It... it wasn't a dream then," she said. "Oh god... I... I don't wanna think about this any more."

Korra smiled and put her hands on Elsa's shoulder. "Hey, it's alright, Elsa. You're safe and in the company of your friends now. Come on, let's go home."

Nodding, Elsa looked down at herself. "Um... can someone pass me something to wear? I... would rather not cause a scene when we get back to the barracks."

Lena then reached into her backpack and pulled out some clothes for Elsa. "Here you go, love. I packed you some before we left."

Taking the clothes, Elsa then wrapped herself up in a blanket and sighed. It had been a long night for her and she needed some rest. She also needed some time to clear her head after all that had happened to her and what Anna had done to her.

"Thanks, Lena," Elsa replied, smiling. "You guys go on ahead. I'll get dressed and meet you on the way back to the barracks."

"You sure you'll be alright out here?" Fareeha wondered. "You're naked, figuratively and literally."

"She'll be fine," Kristoff put in. "Come on girls. Let's give our favourite lady some space."

As the others walked away, Lena walked up to Elsa, a relieved look upon her face. Elsa could tell she was happy, knowing that her werewolf state had worried her considerably. Without even expressing a word, Lena hugged Elsa tight.

Sighing, Elsa hugged her friend close, smiling. "I... I missed you too, Lena."

Once Lena had left, Elsa was alone to change her clothes, breathing easy now that the wolfsbane was out of her body and her mind restored. She let her thoughts dwell on Anna, how the vampire and her had duelled in the forest.

"Anna... of all the things you've done to me... this is one of the worst," She muttered to herself, putting on the shirt and pants Lena had left for her, getting some space to herself.

As Elsa changed, however, she failed to notice that, up in one of the trees, Anna had been watching the entire thing. She'd just come to gloat over Elsa's failure, but instead, she found herself being quite distracted. As she saw Elsa's nude form in the woods, a blush crept over her cheeks.

This was the first time the vampire had seen her sister like that in so many years. As her cheeks grew warm, she covered her mouth, watching Elsa get changed.

"My god..." She whispered quietly. "Why did I never notice you were so... beautiful, Elsa."

xXx

Author's note: And this is where we're leaving things for now. Yes, I know it's kind of a weird moment to end on, but I think it's quite fitting. I'm hopefully going to be finishing publishing Souls Joined Across Time and We Can Be Like That Again before this fic, so it will be a while. Hope you like it though! and please keep reviewing and commenting!

See ya soon!