Chapter 2.

Emerald.

Sunday, January 17th. Next day.

Morning.

“Dawn is at the door. Dawn is at the door.”

The voice of the front door alert system, slices straight through my skull.

I groan inwardly, dragging myself upright, and squint at the gray morning light bleeding in through the curtains.

My body feels like it’s been dragged behind a truck. Every muscle sore, every nerve still humming from yesterday's long shift hours. I’m off today. And tomorrow. Thank God. Tuesday can go fuck itself for now.

I yank on joggers and an oversized sweater, twist my dark hair into a messy bun. I inherited dad's hair. Not mum's silver hair. My phone vibrates on the nightstand.

Mum. Of course.

“Hi, Mum,” I answer, already bracing myself for her words, as I pad toward the front door.

“Hi, baby,” she says sweetly and that’s how I know danger is coming. “You promised to call after your shift yesterday.”

I punch in the unlock code and open. Dawn steps inside, bundled in her jacket, cheeks pink from the cold.

“Sorry, Mum. After our shift, Dawn and I went for drinks to celebrate the survival of a gunshot patient we almost lost.”

I lean in and kiss Dawn’s cheek.

“Hi, Mrs. Ford!” Dawn calls loudly.

“Hi, Dawn,” Mum replies, sweetly. Then right back to me. “You girls went drinking and you knew you had to drive?”

I put Mum on speaker and drop my phone on the kitchen counter. Dawn trails in behind me, hopping onto a stool while I fire up the coffee machine.

“Eme was sad yesterday, Mrs. Ford,” Dawn says quickly, always the peacemaker. “Especially after a case we handled.”

I shoot her a sharp, warning look.

It says, 'Don’t.'

But she ignores me.

“A girl shot her boyfriend because he cheated.” Dawn continues. “It brought back… Ugly stuff.”

“Emerald?” Mum’s voice tightens.

“Yes, Mum.”

“Were you thinking about that idiot who wanted to test whether you were worthy of his love and his family money?”

My brows crease in amusement. When she says it like that, it almost makes me laugh.

“Not really,” I say. “I just regret not hurting him enough when the truth came out.”

“You did great, honey,” Mum says immediately. “You caught him in bed with that nurse and thrashed them good. You went wolf. You destroyed his house.”

A laugh slips out of me, in spite of myself. Dawn laughs too.

“Thanks, Mum,” I say softly. “I love you.”

“I love you more. Come home next weekend, okay? Your father and I miss you. Kisses to you both.”

She blows a kiss and hangs up.

Dawn snorts. “Your mum is something alright. She really had to bring up the Arthur incident.”

The coffee machine pings loudly. I turn and pour two cups.

“You shouldn’t feel bad about him,” Dawn says. “He was trash.”

“I know.” I stare into my mug. “It’s just… The way he didn’t even feel shame. Not even when I caught him.”

And just like that, memory drags me under.

After the kidney talk, after that fucked up conversation, I started noticing the distance between us. At first it was subtle. Missed calls. Short replies. Sometimes rude replies. Then it became a wall. A cold, deliberate absence from him.

“I have a long shift,” Arthur kept saying.

The excuses piled up. I swallowed them all. For months.

Eventually, I moved out of his home. I couldn’t keep living in a house that felt hollow, haunted by someone who avoided my presence like it was a disease. I moved back into my shared apartment with my college mate. Someone who didn’t flinch when I walked into a room.

Still, I spiralled.

My coursework suffered. My focus shattered. At the hospital, I found myself looking for him, waiting and hoping. Humiliating myself for scraps of his attention. He switched shifts. Avoided me even when we crossed paths. It became unbearable.

So one night, I snapped.

I showed up unannounced at his home. The security system announced me. I knew it did. I knew he heard it. He didn’t bother stopping me. He didn’t bother warning her.

I walked in on them.

Lucy’s head was bent over him. Arthur’s head was thrown back, palms braced on the mattress. His hips bucked as he fucked her mouth without shame. Without hesitation.

“Arthur… Lucy,” I choked.

He looked at me and smirked.

“Hi, Eme.”

Lucy startled, tried to pull away. But he pressed her down and exploded into her mouth with a guttural sound. Spilling himself while I watched. Tears blurred my vision. My chest caved in.

I staggered back until the wall caught me.

“Arty…” My voice broke.

He stood, pulled on his sweatpants, the ones I bought him for his birthday. And strolled toward me like I was nothing.

“What were you thinking?” He asks lazily. “I need a woman who can take care of me. Bear my children. Be a proper Mrs. Taylor. Not someone obsessed with medical classes and careers. Not someone trying to compete with me.”

Shock froze me.

“I was never trying to compete...” I tried. But the words stuck in my mouth.

Then I tried again. “You’re sick.” I pushed out desperately. “You shouldn’t even be exerting yourself. You’re supposed to be waiting for a donor...”

His face hardened, as he spoke.

“That was a lie.”

My blood drained.

“I was never sick.” He continued calmly. “My parents and I got those fake reports. We just wanted to see if you were worthy of my ring. And you failed.”

He took my hand. Slid the ring off my finger.

I couldn't breathe. He turned, and crossed to Lucy. Then he kissed Lucy in front of me, and placed the ring on her hand.

“Now get out.” He ordered me, coldly.

Something snapped in me instantly. Something ancient and furious and familiar.

My wolf surged forward without permission. My bones cracked. My skin tore. Pain ripped through me as my body shifted. As my snout forced through flesh, as claws burst free.

I morphed right there in his bedroom. Their screams were delicious. I destroyed everything. Walls, furniture, glass, doors. My howls shook the structure as I made sure Arthur never forgot who I was.

The memory fades now, as I sip my coffee. A smile playing faintly on my lips at the lingering satisfaction of that memory. At the horror in Arthur’s eyes every time we crossed paths after that night.

“After what you did, why didn’t you stay in Brooklyn?” Dawn asks, reaching for cookies. “After you put him in his place?”

I exhale slowly.

“Because of a clean break,” I say. “I needed it. Sometimes walking away saves you from becoming the headline.”

But my wolf stirs restlessly inside me.

Her voice is dark. Her words ring like a warning, sending chills down my spine.

'Because something is coming for us, Eme...I can feel it. I can smell it...And that thing, knows where we live.'