Claude awoke in the middle of the night to heat twigs snapping and dogs barking. Still shifted, he arose and stood tall next to a demolished tree. In the distance he saw lanterns and could faintly hear shouting. Then he heard a light whizzing sound and then felt a sharp pain in his stomach. He growled in pain as he fell to his knees, blood pouring from the bullet hole in his abdomen. Unable to comprehend it, he didn't know to run away, guns were a knew thing to him. Soon, a second shot hit him in the right arm, then another grazed his left leg. He snarled and snapped his jaws before trying to run, only to be tripped up and caught in a net. The trap was nothing and even with his wounds he ripped the ropes and freed himself. He could see a tall and muscular man standing a few yards away from him, rifle aimed for Claude's head. Claude snarled, his beastly rage surging forth. Someone in the distance was shouting for "Tom", trying to find him. The man spoke. "If killing a beast like this doesn't earn me that wretched girl Stella, nothing will." Claude wasted no time, he rushed and tried to attack whoever it was but was stopped by a bullet to the chest. Claude looked down at all the blood coming from him. Why wasn't he healing? What was going on? Claude looked up and saw the man trying to reload, taking this chance to run. Instinct told him to get to Stella as soon as possible, to protect her. He was shot twice more before he outran his attackers, but he was alive, only just.<br/><br/>As dawn broke, Claude was limping back to the castle in his human form. His clothes were tattered and covered in blood and he looked weak and pale. He had ran for hours to get back to Stella. He burst through the doors to the grand hall just after she awoke, shouting her name with the last bit of his might. He stumbled up the stairs