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Chapter 2

Liki was greeted as expected at the walls of Gilneas. Three magicians had been brought in to help Liki into the gated city. One was a human warlock by the name Drailsin, the second a human mage by the name Kat'ern, and the third was a night elf druid named Tenebrae. They were there to ensure that Liki was able to get into the city undetected, and also had been given the task of integrating themselves into the city if possible to assist Liki if he was ever found out or in other dire situations.

Getting into the city had been no issue even with the three sneaking over the wall with him, he didn't even need their help. In fact he found it rather insulting that the Alliance would assemble such a team to do so. He was a pro at this. He'd never been found out before, and anyone that did he'd be sure to keep their silence.

That was something his mentor had instilled in him. An operative should never stray too far from his mark. "A true shadow is always at the feet of its target...never leaving, and even when it does, it would be impossible to tell it has gone. Unseen, unnoticed, that is a shadow. Become a shadow."

His goal in this mission was to get close to the King, King Greymane, and learn all he could about the city state's current affairs. To do this, he'd have to get really close to the royal family somehow. He'd have to become their shadows, just barely under their notice but enough that they'd give him information he may need.

Once in the city, he went his separate ways with Drailsin, Kat'ern, and Tenebrae. They had barely spoken to each other at all on their way into the city. That was fine by him, the less they knew about where he was going to be the better he could operate. He worked better alone. Even when he worked with his mentor, he had worked better on solo assignments given to him by her, something she was proud of. Liki was barely 17 when she advised Shaw he could handle assignments by himself, and he was sent on missions alone.

He'd been far below ground fighting cults of Ragnaros, beating down the fire lord with a group of well seasoned warriors he'd put together from the Alliance's ranks. He'd step through portals taken to explore the other world beyond them, eventually putting a stop to the Betrayer, Illidan; he had had to do a LOT of research on Illidan's past when it came to that one. Night Elves were the hardest targets to know...even though they could die, immortals tended to have way too much past to work through.

He'd barely had a few months to rest and recover from that before he was rushed to Northrend, where the Lich King had risen, Arthas, someone from before Liki's time. Jaina Proudmoore had seemed to know him pretty well...as part of the Kirin Tor she had been invaluable in gaining ground, she had a drive to stop the Lich King. Years of fighting and slowly gaining more ground in Northrend...fighting back an Old God in Ulduar even, then raiding the Lich King's citadel, killing his lieutenants and commander's and then killing the Lich King himself.

Liki had been told that someone shortly after Arthas' death had taken his seat on the throne, encased in ice as he melded with the dark powers within the crown of the Lich King...how long until he was yet again facing an incarnation of death?

But yet, here he was, not even two weeks after killing Arthas, sent out on another assignment. At least it would be a more simpler one that hopefully wouldn't lead him to fighting more super powered beings. Just get close to the King, gather information, and otherwise pretend to live a different, normal life. He'd done only a few infultrations like these, and they never lasted long, but they were relaxing.

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It hadn't taken Liki long to secure his position in the city as the head alchemist's apprentice. He showed off his own potion making skills in the city, caught the eye of the local guard, and then impressed his knowledge of potions and herbs on the Gilnean alchemists. He was immediately placed under the Royal Chemist Krennan Aranas.

Liki wished he had had the time to spend with Rail earlier in Stormwind city. Knowing that potion to turn your hair on fire would have made a great impression on Krennan, who specialized in experimental, untested concoctions. Whiskers with Stormgrass...with Golden leaf and then a little bit of Wildvine...It was the kind of things Liki would never have thought of. One of Krennan's biggest projects was a potion which would bring control and consciousness back to a feral Worgen.

Liki understood more of the history of Gilneas now then he had before. The City State was once aligned with the Alliance, and after the few wars it had been involved in, erected walls to cut itself off from the rest of the world, intending to remain alone and neutral and fend for itself.

The Horde tried to take advantage of this to gain more lands, and attacked Gilneas. It was at this point that a mage, the name of which Liki had been unable to find in any written account, stepped up. The mage used an ancient staff known as the Scythe of Elune, and summoned forth feral Worgen from the Emerald Dream. The Scythe allowed the mage to control the vicious creatures, which he used to fight the attacking Horde. The ferocity and sheer lack of self preservation the Worgen had drove the Horde back, and for a time Gilneas had peace, except now they had the Worgen.

It soon became apparent...that the mage was losing control. Channelling the power of the Scythe was slowly driving him mad and was also turning him into a Worgen. The effect had been very slow. The more the mage lost his mind, the more of his Worgen became uncontrolled and feral. They attacked the Gilneans indiscriminately, infecting and killing more and more. With the last of his clarity, the mage used the Scythe and called all the Worgen away, closer to the northern walls. A large number jumped over the walls and spread across Azeroth, while others found caves and hid in the dark forests of Gilneas. With this, the mage fully succumbed to the beast within. He was killed, but the Scythe was lost, somehow discarded and forgotten.

The Gilnean people now had been living with the looming threat of the Worgen residing in their Northern regions for years now. While the area was mostly forest, it still was home to a few farmhouses and farm lands, and a very important mine as well. The area around the mine and farms soon became laden with traps and were hunted by large groups of "Worgen Hunters"

This seemed to be keeping the Worgen population in control, kept to living in their forests and content to feast on the rabbits and deer there, which were sometimes killed by the very traps meant to keep them away.

It was because of this problem that Krennan's biggest ambition was to create a cure for the Worgen, or to at least, bring a form of sentience to the violent wolf creatures.

Besides the Worgen, Liki picked up also on the general conditions between the royal family and the lords of the land. King Greymane was well liked by the people, he seemed to genuinely care for them. He learned that the true reason Gilneas had walled itself off from the world was because Greymane would not make his people pay higher taxes to fund Orc Internment camps after the war. Many of the lords supported this action, while a few others thought that closing off all ties to the outside world would eventually spell out their doom.

Liki had to admit that seemed to be the case, from what he'd observed and as he studied the land...throughout the three and a half years he'd now spent undercover as Krennan's apprentice, the Worgen only grew in number, no matter how many of them were killed by traps or hunters. It didn't matter if no one was bitten, the Worgen were still mammals, and quite capable of reproducing and also matured fast like canines too...the magic that had made them so long ago was extraordinary, and so was their biology. Worgen were strong physically, fast, and agile. Their claws were sharp enough to pierce through leather like butter, which made sense considering that most fights were against those of their own kind for dominance. Those claws had to pierce through the leathery skin of another Worgen, leather armor had little chance of stopping them for long. Any injury inflicted to a Worgen would heal rapidly. Cuts and scrapes would heal in hours, while deeper wounds may only take a few days.

A Worgen pup could be born within seven months of conception, a female giving birth to multiple pups at a time, and would become sexually mature in just two years...they grew so quickly and fast that their bodies used energy like a Gnome's motorbike consumed fuel. Growing Worgen would eat nearly constantly, and what time wasn't spent eating was spent resting and digesting what they'd eaten, or hunting to find more to eat. Adult Worgen, whose bodies would stop growth at a massive height and monstrous stature though didn't need that much energy anymore to maintain the growth. Male or female, they would still hunt often and give what they didn't eat to the young in their packs, and what time they didn't spend doing that was spent trying to produce more offspring...they would live as long as humans too so there was plenty of time for dozens of pups to be sired with such short pregnancies and maturity.

A Worgen's bite was infectious. Anyone bitten by a Worgen would turn into one within thirty minutes to an hour or so. It varied from person to person, probably based on their immune systems. It only affected Humans and Night Elves, from what Liki had read. The bite would fester and become infected quickly, and begin to itch and burn. That sensation would spread all along the person's body and they would catch a high fever. If they didn't pass out from that, they would then get to feel their body slowly reform itself and grow fur all over as their mind would slowly be lost and they'd become feral, attacking anyone else around them and possibly spreading the Worgen Curse.

A Human child, if bitten and turned, would grow in size equivalent to match what their size would be if they had been born a Worgen. For instance a nine year old would become the size of a year old Worgen. It was a fascinating thing to think about, that they could infect Humans but be so different...

Liki had studied Worgen behaviour extensively to aid Krennan. While he was only an undercover SI:7 Agent, he knew the significance that a cure for the Worgen Curse would be, not just to Gilneas, but to the rest of the world. At the same time...

Liki's goal was to report back to the Alliance on any chance that they could possible coerce Gilneas back...

If the Worgen population continued to swell and grow...those wooded lands to the north would no longer be enough to support it, and the packs would begin to test the Gilneans city walls, and if more people were bitten and turned, Gilneas would have to turn to the Alliance for help.

It was this observation that caused Liki to do something horrible...something he came to regret...

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One night during his undercover work as an alchemist's apprentice, Liki was administering Krennan's most recent test potions to a feral Worgen. The beast was chained up and shackled in a sturdy pillory, locked away in a dank dungeon with only one barred window letting in the light of the moon. The male Worgen was only given the smallest bits of food to keep it barely alive, too weak to fight back. It could do nothing but give a soft growl as Liki gently worked open its muzzle with his gloved hands, and then fed several drops of the purple colored potion onto its lips. The canid began to lap at the liquid with its long, board tongue, and Liki stood back and waited. He wore his purple leather outfit, but with an added, purple cloak draped down his back.

Five minutes passed as he watched the big male Worgen breathing slowly. Liki sighed. Well at least it didn't kill the beast. It was too often that Krennan's potions seemed to affect -something- inside the wolfmen and cause them to die. The most recent had been when one of them had frothed at the mouth uncontrollably until choking to death, unable to breath. This current subject had been brought to Krennen by the hunters, who had found it still alive in one of their pitfall traps.

Liki felt sorry for the creature in front of him. Kept too weak to do much except breath, the large, clawed paws hung lamely at the sides of its hanging, canine like head while it was kept forcefully bent over by the pillory. It's ankles were shackled to the ground close to its feet, the chains too short for it to move one bit. Between the steady puffs of the male worgen's breath, Liki could hear its stomach constantly growling, much louder than the feeble noise it had made when he lifted its lips. Since the time the Worgen had been brought in, it was only given a small amount of food and water every three days, just enough to keep him alive but never enough to recover. Even if he was let it out from the device binding him down, Liki would still be in no danger. The Worgen was too weak to do anything but lay on the ground. Its body was thin, ribs exposed, gut shrunken in onto its body. The muscles that had once lined its arms and legs had been burned away as fuel by its own body while it had been trapped in the pit, leaving it weak and far less strong then a healthy Worgen. Its once pristine black fur had started falling out, leaving patches of rough looking, leathery black skin bare to the cold of the dungeon. It would take months for this Worgen to regain its strength enough to hunt alone. The Worgen appeared to be someone who had been bitten, as evident by the bite marks on its left leg, so was likely a loner without a pack. Unless it was attacked and banished from its pack...either way It would have been dead in that pit within a few days if the hunters hadn't checked that trap.

Liki sat down on a stool and watched the Worgen breathing slowly, the beast kept licking at his lips repeatedly, trying to get every bit of precious liquid it could as it was so thirsty and hungry. Liki knew that in its first few moments it had already drank the few drops of the potion. Watching it continuously lap at its teeth and lips to try to get more of what wasn't there only added to his sense of pity. It was amazing that even while so ragged and malnourished it still could stand over his rather well built human body by nearly a foot and a half, if it wasn't for the pillory keeping it permanently slouched over anyway.

Half an hour past by, the wolfman eventually stopped licking its muzzle and remained still. Liki continued to watch carefully for any change, even the smallest detail could help Krennan fine tune his dosages. But...after another few minutes, Liki sighed and turned away on his stool towards the desk it was next to, dipped a feather pin into some ink, and then began to write out that this potion appeared to have had no effect whatsoever.

"Help..."

The sudden, hushed whisper froze Liki in place, his fingers clutching the pen over the paper in a sudden vice grip.

He turned his head over his shoulder slowly, eyes widening at what he saw. The Worgen had lifted his head, and was now staring right at him, eyes glistening with tears and its beastly muzzle contorted in the best facimily of pleading it could muster.

"Help...please...I'm so hungry, so thirsty..." The wolfman whispered hoarsely, staring right at him.

Liki couldn't believe it...it was speaking! The words may have been slightly rough sounding due to the canine features that produced them, but they were understandable! The shock still had him frozen.

The wolfman hung his head lamely again, unable to even hold it up that long to keep looking at Liki. "Please...have mercy...I've never meant harm. Why are you keeping me here? I just...I miss my family..."

The realization hit Liki hard, like he had been standing in the way of the Deeprun Tram and ran over, and managed to bring back his ability to move. The Worgen was remembering its time as a human!

Liki instantly turned around fully, as the shock transformed into excitement. Liki knelt down in front of the Worgen, hands grabbing the manbeast's muzzle and holding it up so it could look at him with those tired eyes again. "What's your name? Do you remember it?" He asked the Worgen eagerly

"N-name?" The Worgen repeated, its eyes clouding over a moment. "I...can't..." He fell silent, and Liki shook his head.

"That's okay, it doesn't matter right now." He tried to hold the Worgen's focus. "What can you remember?"

The beast stared at him, a moment of clarity came to him. "I remember Worgen attacked my family farm. I...had been bitten and I managed to hide away in the barn...Tried to just hide till they went away but the bite started burning so much...I think I blacked out...?"

Liki tried to recall every recent Worgen attack that had been reported to the Royal Family. There were several a month throughout the years, sometimes few. Attacks had been picking up recently in frequency. This person could have been from any of those farms. Of any Gilneans from those farms, many were reported missing, or identified from the bodies, if that was possible. Many of the dead were almost completely devoured by the Worgen...

"What...what has happened to me?" The Worgen's voice was becoming a little more clear, as he was starting to become more aware that he was, in fact, no longer human.

"My body...what is this?!" He attempted to shout, but as weak as he was, it only sounded like a normal speaking voice.

Liki quickly tried to calm him. "Easy! Relax! You've been...well..." He paused. "In a coma of sorts." He decided to say.

"A coma? I-" The Worgen's eyes flicked to his left, and Liki could tell that he could see his large, clawed paw just within the field of his vision. The sight of his own hand, beastly and changed from what he remembered, startled the reawoken human in him and he started to breath rapidly.

"No..." He said, eyes taking in his paw as he turned it around in the too small socket clasped around his wrist. "No...no no no."

Liki gulped. "Hey now...easy...I know what it looks like but try to remain calm." He continued to hold the canine face in his hands, trying to will those eyes to focus on him instead.

"No...no no no...no...NO!" The Worgen's paws clenched into tight fists and he began to struggle far more than what he should've been capable of in the restraints. The Worgen began to bark between its shouts and snap its sharp teeth, forcing Liki to retreat, less he be bitten and cursed as well. The pillory and chains rattled and shook as he kept shouting out the word no and struggling with his entire body, voice slowly rising in volume while the human within was becoming even more and more aware of what kind of body it was now in. Liki began to become worried that someone would hear the shouts or howls coming from the panicking creature.

Liki acted quickly. He'd known for a long time this might happen, and he knew the implications on if the cure for the Worgen truly got out. His most likely chance of successfully fulfilling his mission in getting Gilneas to rejoin the Alliance was if the Worgen were never cured! While he didn't want to keep such a cure from the world, he needed it to not be known!

From behind his body, he produced a curved, foot and a half long dagger from the scabbard hidden by his cloak, and he made one quick, slicing motion. 'Sleetch'

Instantly, the shouts of the Worgen were silenced, and a thick rush of blood fell to the ground as the Worgen gurgled out his last coherent breaths...and died. His entire body slumped, held up only by its prison.

The puddle of blood continued to grow at his feet in the chilling silence, as Liki tried to take in what had just been done. The cure had worked! As amazing as it was, he couldn't let it be known yet.

He'd killed Krennans only subject though. It wouldn't be the first life he'd taken and probably not the last, but he now had to come up with an excuse as to why he'd had to kill the Worgen. He'd never had to directly kill them before now, it was always some effect of the potions that'd done it. Krennan would find it too suspicious if he suddenly killed them himself. Perhaps...he could say that this potion had worked much differently? Yes, that's what he'd do.

Liki turned back to quickly write out a new piece of parchment, detailing that a few minutes after giving the Worgen the potion, the beast had started to regain strength and vigour. As the potion continued to take hold, it kept gaining more and more strength, to the point where it threatened to break free of its confinements. To keep himself and the rest of the city safe, he stated he was forced to slit the subject's throat.

To further put credence to that claim, he released the body from the pillory, and proceeded to nearly destroy it, and then the chains as well to give them more strain, even pulling out where they were secured to the dungeon's floors a bit to show as if the Worgen had begun to break free, before placing the body back into the pillory. By the time he felt satisfied that it seemed a well constructed scene, three hours had passed.

He then secured the parchment to deliver to Krennan and left the dank dungeon. The Royal Alchemist was always busy, too busy to test his own potions, which was why it fell to Liki to test and report the results to him.

This dungeon was kept secret by the King, close by Greymane Manor. At behest of Krennan so that he could test his cures, it was designed specifically to house the feral Worgen. The cell in which the Worgen itself was kept was deep under Greymane Manor, and the dungeon leading to it was built into the cliffs under the estate. Liki walked through this dungeon calmly, avoiding specific spots of the floor and wires that were littered throughout it. They were painfully obvious and easy to avoid. There was no need to hide them as they weren't meant to keep anyone out, but to keep what was inside there.

Should a Worgen break out from the cell, the traps would kill or, at the very least, injure it and let the Gilnean Guard restrain and secure the Worgen back into the cell. In their feral state, the Worgen did not care for what was obvious, they would try to rush to freedom and trip nearly every trap in the corridors.

Liki was told it had happened a few times before he came to be Krennan's apprentice. Whether that was before or after he actually came to be in Gilneas he didn't know, but it didn't matter.

Liki finally reached the exit of the dungeon's trap laden hallways and he informed the Guards at the entrance that he had to kill the Worgen, and to dispose of the body and clean up the cell per normal standards and replace the restraints as soon as possible. He was acknowledged and Liki made his way up the slopes of pathways leading up to Greymane Manor.

As Krennan's apprentice, Liki had his own room right inside the large manor. Close by to Krennan's own. He first dropped off his remaining parchments in his own room before coming to stand in front of Krennan's. He lightly tapped on the door. It was unknown if Krennan was even awake right now. The Alchemist worked nearly non-stop on things. Sometimes Liki helped him out more actively, actually being in his lab, but Krennan preferred to work alone most of the time. Instead he'd assign Liki to go out and get his shipments, to find a particular herb, or to test his most recent potion for curing the Worgen Curse like he had tonight.

Surprisingly, Liki heard Krennan respond. "Just a moment!" There was a short moment of glass being sat down as Krennan probably was putting down whatever it was he had been working on before opening the door.

"Ah Liki. Back so soon? You did test both potions yes?" Krennan's brow furrowed slightly. The Gilnean was older than Liki by about ten years, his face slightly wrinkled from days spent indoors pondering over books and potion labs. He looked tired, eyes shadowed, but was keeping himself awake as he worked on whatever it was he was doing within the room. Probably a new potion or something, Liki decided, as he could smell the scent wafting thickly from the open door. It smelled like wet mud.

Liki remembered that Krennan had given him two potions to test that night, but Liki shook his head as he held out his parchment. "No, I only got to test the one I'm afraid..."

Krennan's face looked crestfallen at the news, as he knew exactly what that meant. "Oh dear...it'll be forever before another Worgen is captured alive..." He shook his head and sighed, taking hold of the offered scroll and opening it up to read while he continued. "Well what did happen?" He liked to have Liki explain it even while he read it.

"He started to gain more strength..." Liki started carefully. "It was slow at first, but even though his body didn't show any sign of muscle growth, he grew more powerful with each minute. He nearly broke free of his restraints. I had to kill him..." Liki pulled the dagger out from behind his back for just a moment, showing Krennan the traces of blood along the sharp edge.

Krennan eyed the dagger and shook his head, "I wouldn't have thought adding wolf's blood as a counterbalance to the whiskers' affect on the mind would have a bodily effect for the Worgen, but it makes sense. Something that comes of their own kin could only strengthen the link to their feral nature, not weaken it...Something to note then, perhaps the soldiers can make use of it..."

This may have worried Liki, except that he knew Krennan had no intention of announcing any of the side affects or other potions he ended up creating in his research, he was only interested in his end goals. It was the cure for the Worgen Curse that would make him known in history, that much Liki could tell he wanted.

Something that he'd already created just now.

Liki held back the pang of guilt he felt from seeing Krennan's crestfallen face. Liki had grown to like the Royal Alchemist. In his undercover work, he had to call Krennan "Master" in front of others to keep up appearances, but alone, Krennan talked with Liki like an equal, someone who was just as interested in the alchemical possibilities as much as he was. Which, Liki was. He'd taken to potion making very easily, and enjoyed finding different ways and the various different effects they could bring. Although Liki's teachings circled much more around the potent poisons and venoms that SI:7 taught, he dabbled with Rail in the more conventional and typical potions. Pick me ups, energy boosts, potions that got you more drunk in seconds than the most potent ale could in minutes. It was those skills that got him this position as Krennan's assistant.

As such, he respected the Royal Chemist. To dedicate your entire life to something like this wasn't easy, Liki knew that, considering he was hiding his true purpose as a SI:7 operative right under these people's noses. Wearing multiple masks to keep up that job was easier when around someone who did like the same sort of things, and Krennan was someone Liki was able to be around easily while hiding his true purposes. Krennan got to sit in on multiple meetings with the King and Lords. Since most of that stuff bored Krennan to no end, when with Liki and working on potions or crafts he would sometimes spout endlessly about how he thought this Lord or that Lord was a fool for not agreeing with the King. It was all valuable information to Liki though.

"Well..." Krennan sighed softly as he rolled up Liki's parchment. "I'll get to work on the next attempt, for whenever the hunters do manage to get us another alive." He trailed off, as both he and Liki knew it'd probably be nearly two months before they did get another subject.

Liki nodded. "I will retire for the night, Krennan. You look tired...you should get some sleep as well."

Krennan only nodded in response and he turned and closed his door as Liki began to walk away. The secret operative entered his room. Lit by a ceiling fixture holding multiple, magically infused candles, the room was spacious enough for one and well kept by the Manor's servants. There was food already waiting for him at his bedside table, two loaves of bread and a small goblet of wine. Liki sat down and ate while pondering what he was going to do, but there was only one thing that kept nagging at him, prodding at his guilt over it. The cure was made, and he was keeping it hidden from his friend...

Liki scowled, Krennan wasn't a friend he reminded himself. He was a tool he was using to gather information for SI:7. But still...he couldn't just keep this from Krennan, at least, not forever.

Liki looked at his parchments for a moment as he was eating, then pushed the plate aside and placed the loaf he was halfway through eating down. He took a scroll and eyed it. When his assignment was over and he was either successful in getting Gilneas to rejoin the Alliance or was called back by SI:7, he could at least let Krennan know that he had finally gotten the right formula for the cure...right?

He owed him that much.

Liki didn't try to keep thinking about it in case he'd talk himself out of it, and quickly began to write down the formula of the cure on the parchment, followed by a short apology to Krennan, should he read it, that Liki had to hide this from him for important reasons and to please forgive him, but that he hoped the Gilneans could still benefit from the cure. Liki stared at the scroll to make sure he liked how it was worded and then wrapped it up, he pulled open his desk drawer and placed it in the magically locked compartment within. He sat back and looked up at the ceiling trying to reinforce to himself that he'd done the right thing...but...was it?

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Three months had passed since that night, and today Liki was busy working his "normal" job. He was following the King's son, Liam, while he was doing rounds throughout the city. He was watching his movements, watching who he spoke to and when. He had over a dozen guards with him, which was what had gotten Liki to now follow him and see just what was prompting so much protection.

But nothing seemed to be out of the ordinary and slowly. Liam spoke to and met with people he always did during his rounds. There was no secret exchange between the prince and some shadowy person, no secret meeting or building which the prince vanished into. It dawned to Liki that the extra protection wasn't for any special condition of the prince, but for the special conditions of the city-state itself which had begun earlier that month.

Recently, the Royal Family was receiving report after report after report of Worgen. They were climbing over the Northern wall, several more than what had already been in Gilneas' forests now adding to those massive numbers. The packs that had already made a home in the forest however were chasing these newcomers out. With little places to go, the Worgen were spreading farther into farmland.

Several families and even a small village outside the city were destroyed, with only two or three survivors out of the dozens of people. The rest were killed or bitten. And then the worst possible situation. They were beginning to encroach on the city's northern walls.

Gilneas City was surrounded by a mote, which helped in keeping the Worgen at bay, the implications were there. It was only a matter of time before someone in the city was also bitten. Liki was primed for that moment, he had his report ready to send to SI:7 the moment it happened. It would be the tipping point for the citizens to eagerly accept the add of the Alliance, and King Greymane would be coerced into accepting it by those same citizens.

With his stealth capability, Liki scaled up the side of a building along the outer walls of the City where he could keep an eye on the prince. His magic shielded him from the eyes of those around him, as long as his will was stronger than there's at the moment. It wasn't hard to keep people not looking for you to not see you. He crouched on the roof of the building overlooking the lush courtyard Prince Liam was now speaking out to commoners in, trying to reassure them of their safety.

However, that only sparked what Liki had been waiting for.

As the people of Gilneas gathered in front of Liam, someone screamed and pointed up at the city walls. From where he was, Liki looked to where they were pointing and, across the city wall not too far from him, six Worgen appeared to have scaled the walls. The wild beasts jumped from the wall and vanished into the city streets. Panic settled over the crowd, while Liam tried to urge calm and advised citizens return home, lock their doors, and remain quiet.

Liki smirked. It was time he get his report to SI:7, this was the time he'd been waiting for nearly four years now. It was by far his longest job yet. He'd almost gotten used to Krennan and being his apprentice, but it was time to stop that nonsense and-

A sudden growl not far from the rogue made him freeze up. Liki turned his head behind him. A huge muscled male Worgen bared down on him, only about six feet away. Its eyes were locked right on his. It seemed that this beast, so intent on finding any prey, had easily detected him through his magic.

Liki internally cursed himself as he jumped from the roof. How could he be so careless!? The Worgen barked and lunged after him, its sharp claws swiping the air where Liki had been, just barely missing him. Liki tried his best to tumble as he hit the ground, but the roof was pretty high up and he yelled out as he awkwardly attempted to right himself and roll, landing on his feet and tucking into the roll, which he broke out of as the pain lanced up from his legs. He had just broken both his ankles.

He didn't have time to even acknowledge that pain though, as Liki looked up and saw the hulking Worgen clawing its way down the buildings, claws raking into the walls while it snapped teeth in his direction, red eyes glowing and firey. The rogue stumbled up to his feet, but his ankles gave out under him and he fell to the ground again.

Liki reached under himself and pulled out his dagger. He hissed and grit his teeth while sitting up as the Worgen now slammed down onto the street in front of him and slowly advanced. It eyed the gleaming dagger Liki held out in front of himself wearily. It seemed to know the weapons of humans, at least.

But that wasn't going to stop it. Baring teeth, the Worgen growled deeply, a growing baritone in its chest that gave Liki a chill. Of course, he'd been growled at by plenty of Worgen, but they had always been trapped while he administered Krennan's potions, never glaring down at him while he struggled to get onto his feet.

Liki kept shuffling himself backwards along the ground, he had to keep his distance. One bite and it would be all over! Whether or not it killed him, if he was bit he'd never get his report to SI:7! Adrenaline rushed through his body while he shouted out for help.

"Help! There's one of them here!" Liki shouted out as loud as he could.

That shout was what set the Worgen off though. It answered with a howl and lunged for Liki. Liki held out his dagger as it barreled into him.

The Worgen yelped, as it simply just let itself sink down onto the weapon. It didn't care, and Liki knew why. Such a small wound would heal within a matter of days for the Worgen. If the Worgen knew that or not Liki didn't know, perhaps it was just the feral hunger and instincts that caused it to ignore the dagger Liki was currently twisting around in his gut, and instead snap and bite his teeth around Liki's head, those massive claws scraping along the wall Liki was against and leaving huge gashes in the brick walls.

Liki struggled, pushing up with all his strength while the Worgen pushed back with all of its own. His eyes were squeezed shut. All he could think about was squeezing and twisting the dagger as much as he could, and despite the occasional yip of pain the beast gave, it showed no sign of letting up on its assault. Like felt the sharp claws repeatedly scratch along his armor, tearing it apart like butter, and then felt them start to claw apart his skin once the armor was done in. Liki shouted out in pain.

"Help! Please! Anyone!" He called out once more for any kind of assistance over the wolfman's barks and howls. None of his training as an SI:7 operative prepared him for this!

And that's when it happened. Suddenly the Worgen lurched up, causing Liki's dagger to slip out of its body and for the rogue to slip along the ground off the wall, ending up lying prone on his back under the Worgen. The motion caught Liki by surprise and he lost his grip on the weapon, it clattered a few feet away from his left.

The Worgen wasted no time in pinning down his now defenseless prey, eyes gleaming in hate for this prey that was managing to injure him so. He shot down before Liki could recover, claws raking onto the rest of his arm to pin them and then diving down with his teeth, aiming for the exposed flesh on his prey's right shoulder.

CHOMP! SNAP!

"AHHHHHH!!!!" Liki howled out in pain as he felt the Worgen's sharp teeth pierce his flesh, the crushing grip of the Worgen's jaw over it following the snapping of his right collarbone and shoulder all at once. The Worgen held the bite, growling loudly in its triumph as it tasted warm, fresh blood on its tongue. It lifted its head steadily and glared down at the trembling human it had under its body. Liki was paralyzed, eyes clouded as he looked up in fear to the beasts wild eyes. Liki...for the first time ever, thought he could see a glint of something in those eyes...enjoyment for the hunt...the kill...

But that was all it got to enjoy.

BOOM!

Suddenly, the Worgen was blasted off Liki as a heavy gun blast tore open its right shoulder. A large part of the blast also took off part of its face, leaving bone and skull exposed. The Worgen fell off Liki's upper body with a sickening splat.

"Hey!" A female voice called out and Liki, his vision fogged from the pain lancing off his shoulder, looked to his left to see a black haired woman as she rapidly approached.

"Are you all-" She cut off her question, as she saw the bite mark on Liki's shoulder she bit her bottom lip.

"No...no I suppose you aren't alright are you..." She sighed. "Blast it Dad knew something like this was going to happen...Greymane just wouldn't listen."

Greymane? Liki's addled mind thought, and he realized that somehow, this woman had some connection to the Royal family.

"Who...Are you?" He hissed through his pain, bringing up one hand to clasp over the bleeding wound on his shoulder, which to his horror, was already starting to seal up. The Curse was already starting to take hold.

"Lorna." She crouched down in front of Liki' shouldering her rifle and looking at him sadly as he clutched his shoulder, the bleeding wound sealing up. "I'm sorry about this..."

"Don't..." Liki snarled, trying to keep his clarity as he glared at her. He had already failed. He was going to turn and SI:7 would never get their report, he didn't need her pity. There was only one thing he could even possibly do as a redemption of any kind now. "How...How do you know them?"

She stared at him in confusion, wondering what kinds of questions those were when you were on the brink of death or rather...becoming something else than yourself. "I'm the daughter of Lord Darius Crowley."

The Crowleys! Liki knew now, they were one of the lordships! They had been discenters of Greymane's choice to separate Gilneas from the rest of the world. They still had a direct line to King Greymane though and therefore a line to Krennen!

Liki shuffled slightly, trying to sit up, but unable to move. His right shoulder was crushed, he couldn't move his right arm at all and his ankles were shattered...

"Hey you shouldn't be moving, it only speeds up the infection!"

He managed to chuckle hoarsely. "It doesn't matter what happens to me now does it?" He looked at her. "Please...help me sit up..."

She still looked concerned, but Lorna knelt and began to help Liki sit up. Once he was settled against the wall, he was able to more easily reach into the pockets of his armor and he produced a small key. He shakily handed it out to Lorna.

"Get...get this key to Krennan Arenas. Tell him...tell him it's the key to the compartment inside a cupboard in his apprentice's room and-" Liki hissed and had to suddenly close his eyes, dropping the key and clasping his shoulder with his hand instead.

The wound had fully sealed, but was now beginning to itch horribly. Liki knew what this meant. He had only a good hour, maybe a little less, before he would turn...he hoped he would pass out from the fever...he didn't want to watch his body change into something he wasn't...

Lorna had taken the key and was watching Liki carefully. "Are you his apprentice?"

Liki managed to nod rapidly, grunting and breathing deeply as the burning pain receded just enough for him to speak again. "Y-yes, there's something for him in that cupboard, something I shouldn't have waited to give him..."

Liki realized how tacky that sounded. He probably sounded like he was telling Lorna to deliver a key that held a letter professing his love to Krennan...but he didn't have time to even consider how ridiculous that sounded. He reached out and took hold of Lorna's hand, momentarily surprising her.

"Please!" He said at her, looking into her eyes as pleadingly as he could. "It's vital to Gilneas that he see it!" He snarled, impressing upon her of its importance.

She looked at him, scanning his eyes as they pleaded with her. She sensed no evil or anything, just the last wish of a man who knew he was about to die, so she nodded and agreed. "All right. I will see that he gets this key."

Liki nodded, and slowly released his grip on her hand. It fell to his side and he looked off into the distance, his eyes suddenly very interested in the brick walls of the buildings around him. Lorna continued to stare down at him, eventually speaking up.

"Do you want me to...?" She paused, thumbing the sides of her rifle, and Liki chuckled.

"No...I don't deserve that easy way out...I failed...I deserve a punishment fitting that failure..."

Lorna bit her bottom lip. The idea of letting someone turn into another Worgen wasn't appealing, especially when they might go and infect another person. However...with the situation in the city rising as the other Worgen were starting to invade...there were probably several others in need of her help. She could come back to take care of him later, if necessary, but she now needed to ensure that as little number of people were bitten as possible. .

"Very well..." She said and turned to start running away, giving a few more glances over her shoulder at the man leaning against the wall, grinning to himself.

So this is how my duty ends huh? He asked himself. His eyes flicked to the dead Worgen next to him in the middle of the street. Turned into a mindless beast by a mindless beast...

He actually found it humbling. He'd joined SI:7 thinking it'd constantly give him goals to finish, but ever since joining and finishing the training, he'd wanted nothing but to be rid of those goals. He'd seen families happy together, lovers spending time with each other...he wished he'd have gotten that. Hah! To die a virgin! Fuck...

Maybe as a Worgen he'd finally get that kind of life, he thought as his head rolled and rested on his still good shoulder. Yeah...maybe he'd find a good mate...have pups...

Well not like he'd get to enjoy it he realized...whatever was going to happen now, "Liki" was gone what was going to be in his place? A nameless animal...

Several people ran past him down the street as they fled what was no doubt a growing Worgen attack, but they were too panicked and in a rush to notice him by the dead Worgen that had attacked him. A few explosions echoed through the city...howls and cries of terror started to sound throughout the streets.

Thirty minutes from when Lorna left, Liki felt the burning in his shoulder start, and beads of sweat dripped from his forehead. The fever was setting in and fur was starting to sprout from where he had been bitten and slowly spread along his body, but he was just...too tired to really feel it. Instead, he closed his eyes and just let himself go to that sweltering, building heat. The dark black fur budding from his body was lush and fine, covering over him until he could have been mistaken for just a giant hairball. His skin started to become darker, turning leathery, hard and firm under the lush fur.

Twenty minutes later, his body slumped forward as from deep within his chest, a low, rumbling growl originated. His body snapped and cracked, bones rearranging and altering themselves in various, painful ways that caused pitiful whines and yips to come from his mouth. His arms lengthened, grew muscle, and thickened into powerful limbs. His fingers extended, fingernails lengthening out slightly into sharp shiny claws. His right shoulder popped briefly, as newly made bone snapped what was once injured back into its proper place.

He fell forward, curling up into a ball as he growled in pain, his body now writhing and his new arms hugging around his body as it too thickened out. His chest broadened to nearly twice its normal size and the rest of his upper body soon followed that. His armor, unable to contain the change in mass, ripped apart and became tatters around him.

His legs soon followed, his once shattered ankles mended rapidly and then snapped apart all over again, growing out into their new, digitigrade canid shape. His legs burst from his armor as they thickened and grew, the tough leather unable to contain the thick muscles that bubbled up under the furred skin of his thighs and calves. His feet swelled out into a new, paw like shape. One of his toes dragged itself up along each of his legs a bit, becoming dew claws, while his other toes thickened and became padded, with hard claws of their own flexing out from the now leathery skin. Pads grew on the palms of his hands as well.

Now naked, his now exposed cock shifted next, his foreskin retracted into a thick, black furred sheath, and his actual cock lengthened and changed within it, then retreated a little farther into his body as it became a new, far more sensitive canine shaft, protected by the thick sheath. His balls swelled in size and hung heavily in a large, furry sac, transforming their current genetic stores into those befitting what Liki was becoming, and eagerly starting to create more.

He howled as the Curse attacked his head next. His skull felt like it was on fire around his brain. Even half lost to that growing feral side he cried out in intense pain as his nose and mouth extended out, a long muzzle rapidly growing from his head till it matched that canine esque look. His nose thickened and became black flesh, eagerly sniffing at the air as if testing its ability to now sense what it couldn't before. His lips curled slightly, gaining a bit of leathery cover and becoming lines of light grey on his otherwise black face. His tongue lolled from his muzzle, long and pink and covered in thick saliva. Black ears, tipped with a bit of gray fur, flicked up from the top of his head as they too tested what they could now hear.

And then...his eyes snapped open wide as he gave a final powerful howl, which was echoed throughout the city. Those eyes shifted, glowing a bright green as the irises grew, so that he could now easily see the world around him, in any amount of light. They wavered and shook, becoming steady as whatever part of Liki may have remained was devoured by the beastial instincts.

The newly formed jet black Worgen started to run along the streets on all fours following the sounds of yelling and howls of its new packmates, eager to join the hunt!