That night, sleep eluded Cedric, even though it wasn't much of a surprise, Marisol invading his every thought, appearing behind his closed lids and melding into whatever idle thoughts he struggled to form. He finds himself imagining the sounds of her laughter, -a sound he hadn't been graced with just yet-, the warmth of her niceties, and damning of them all, he envisions the sound of her saying his name. It was an intoxicating madness that seized his mind, and he fought a losing battle against the surge of emotions.
As swift seconds ticked away, Cedric's control wavered, and what could only be described as an agonizing metamorphosis grips violently at him. A pained groan escapes his lips as his body begins to twist and contort against his will, reshaping into the monstrous form he had tried so hard to escape. The agony of the process was visceral - bones shifting, muscles convulsing, fur sprouting. The pain, both physical and emotional, tears through him without remorse.
In the depths of the transformation, his wolf emerges, wild and angry. It howls loudly, frustration pulsing heavy within its veins, its wild desire for Marisol consuming every inch of its being. Cedric finds himself flailing like a piece of paper caught in a tornado, a unit of his own wolf form, but not quite, as the untamed beast bounds through the pack with a mission, a primal instinct driving him to seek her out.
This was no ordinary hunt; instead of instilling terror and wreaking havoc within the pack like it had been designed to, Cedric's wolf, under the influence of Marisol's allure, hunted with a fervent determination to find her, yearning to be in close proximity to the one who dominated his every thought.
It made it to the pack's borders, the location that held the final memories of a meeting with Marisol, making a few rounds through the lengths of it a number of times, hoping to catch a trace of her scent, anything that could serve as a lead to finding her, but it all proved useless. The relentless search continued through the night.
When the moon hung high in the sky, his wolf, impassioned and disheartened, howled in pain and anguish, calling out to her wolf. It howls for long minutes, and the lack of a response fueled its ire, pushing it into a frenzy. Anything and anyone that crossed its path would now be a target for its unchecked aggression.
By dawn, Cedric returns to the hidden castle, downcast and dejected, only to find his body shifting once again to its human form. He wondered if this was going to become the new norm if he would be pushed to regain his human form, a semblance of sanity, before insanity and complete detachment from humanity took over again. The remnants of the night's chaos weighed heavily on him. The weakness he felt, the loss of control, fueled his frustration. He despised the hold Marisol seemed to have over him, a force he struggled to comprehend.
The morning light revealed the aftermath of the night's turmoil. Cedric surveyed the damage - broken surroundings, wounded pack members, and the lingering scent of chaos. He grapples with the consequences of his unbridled transformation, regret, and guilt weighing heavily on his shoulders now that he is in a state to feel human emotions on a broader spectrum.
Cedric hated the vulnerability he felt, despising the growing influence Marisol seemed to exert over him. Frustration and self-loathing permeated Cedric's thoughts. He wondered if it would continue to go on like this and for how long. The way she infiltrated his every thought and the relentless pull that his wolf felt toward her were proving to be even greater weaknesses than he could've imagined. Determined to resist this inexplicable connection, Cedric chose a different path - hatred.
In the cold light of the day, he convinced himself that he hated her. The very idea of being vulnerable to someone, especially Marisol, repulsed him. He resented the weakness she seemed to unearth within him.
In the reflective surface of the mirror, he meets his own gaze - haunted eyes staring back at him. The internal battle rages on, torn between the human Cedric, who yearns for control, and the beastly wolf seduced by the call of Marisol.
Yet deep down, he knew he owed her a lot. If not for her, he would have remained in his wolf form with little or no cognizance of what he had done.
Instead of wallowing, he decided to go in pursuit of a way out of the mess he was in. He needed something poignant to distract his thoughts from Marisol.
So far, there has been only one other person who caused such a distraction. Guinevere.
He hated the filthy witch that ruined his life. He hated her more than anything. Just maybe concentrating on his hatred for her would give his wolf something else to think about.
They needed a plan. A plan to pay her back in her own coin. All day, Cedric ponders over it, seeking to create a plan. However, every other night, his wolf took over and went in search of Marisol.