Excerpt Chapter 7 from Hugh Winter's "The Chronicles of Lycanthropy and Other Strange Phenomena"

  In my many studies of the fantastic and the mysterious, the most peculiar case I'd ever come across was my one experience with the affliction known as lycanthropy, more colloquially known as Werewolf-syndrome.

  The experience began as curiously as the disease can be found. I was visiting a local college in Florida, having been asked to give a lecture on half-humans, and was staying in a hotel nearby. One night, as I was preparing to bed, as the full-moon shone through the window of my stay, I heard it.

The howl.

It was an uncommon sound to hear in the urban area, so I immediately threw on my coat to investigate. Down the stairs, outside I rushed, armed with only a pen and notebook, dashing into the thin nearby woods.

After many hours of searching, I stumbled across it. A beast of half-man, half-werewolf. It stared at me with glaring eyes and barred teeth, and yet despite this I felt no fear. It did not seem hostile, but any movement toward it earned me a snarl, so I kept well back.

I saw soon that the creature's foot was unable to bare the full weight of the beast. I'm a mere novice in the field of medicine, but I surmised it must be broken, given that if it were sprained, the creature could likely at least limp away with the trees as support.

Painful though it must've been, this cause of immobility granted me an excellent chance to observe the creature.

It was quite tall, being nearly my height while sitting, easily approximated at two and a half meters tall. (Or 8'2" for Americans), with a strong build well-hidden beneath layers of white-crimson fur. The body unharmed, with no signs of blood, even around the broken leg, though the creature was well-armed with sharp claws upon each digit, and sharper teeth between its lips. It's eyes were a pale green, and the stare it gave divulged an understanding intelligence, certainly not forgetting its humanity.

With that said, aside from those observations, there was little to be had in the many hours I spent with the creature. With a broken leg, it could hardly address its traditional behavior, and it was clear that it understood it wasn't getting anywhere until it turned back.

Minutes passed, soon hours, and before long the full moon set, just two hours before dawn.

And there, I witnessed the most incredible, and terrifying thing.

The beast shuddered, and shook. I could witness the very bones of it's body break and re-assemble themselves, each cold snap frightening me to my core before being followed by an elegant reforming of the limbs. Whole muscles tearing themselves apart and rebuilding themselves beneath the pale skin, being revealed from the shedding hair.

As I witnessed this, I could not help but yelp in terror at each passing snap and crack, though what truly pained me was the empty look in the creatures reforming eyes. Pain so common it was endured as though there was no other way.

It was but a few minutes before the large, brazen creature was replaced by the source: A lovely young woman in her early 20's.

She had pale skin, and white-crimson hair covering many parts of her body, though it had shed itself completely from her sides, arms, neck, and face. Her pale-green eyes were unfocused, as though in a daze.

I checked her vitals and, finding that she was stable, put together a rudimentary splint before I wrapped her in my jacket and carried her back to the hotel. Upon returning I gave the front desk a pretty penny in trade they don't bother me about her for the next day or so, and also to borrow some ice for her leg, before laying her on one of the luggage trollies and transporting her up to my room, where I was staying. Once we were there, I laid her upon the room's bed and began this paper.

At some point in our journey up, it became clear she had fallen asleep. She's still presently resting, though she has stirred a bit as time has gone on. It is dawn, presently, the clock on the wall reading 5:26 AM.

Subsequently, I have also gotten little rest. Dangerous as it may be, I believe I will take my dreams upon the couch provided to me. I've left the woman a note describing the situation and requesting she stay until morning, and I shall now sign off.

- Excerpt from Chapter 7 - The Lady With Lycanthropy