Chapter 4: Any Last Word

"Aren't I supposed to be the one asking you that, Christian?" I frowned while scanning the entire forest.

Unfolding the mystery behind my mask was supposed to be forbidden. Worries flashed over me once anyone from the pack discovered that recklessness.

My wolf shouldn't have done that in front of anyone or even Christian, but confessing to him was the only way, I believed, to let him stay.

"I mean, you just witnessed something extraordinary - beyond human imagination." I continued, "Aren't you scared of me? I killed humans, Christian."

To my surprise, Christian bestowed a humble smile on his face and dared slide closer to me. He crouched and reached out to my cheeks.

"You're not even listening, are you?" he asked, "Let me say it again. I like you, Justine, either as a monster or as my best friend. Even if we have known each other for a year, to me, I have known you for like... half of my life."

Then he caressed the dense fur on my forehead before he continued, "I want to be with you for the rest of our lives, Justine. Can you be my boyfriend?"

I didn't get the chance to answer that when my heightened senses kicked in and noticed someone's presence approaching in our direction.

Christian and I bolted out of the forest and went back to my apartment to continue our disrupted conversation. And guess what? I agreed to be his boyfriend, not because my wolf loves him, but because I wanted to know what he had to be immune from my kiss.

After unfolding everything that I hid for two years in the human world, Christian and I even became closer to each other. Our friendship even became indestructible.

He always kept himself behind my back every time we were together, seeking my protection and I always stood in front of him to make sure he was protected.

At first, my wolf expected Christian would get terrified of me. Stay away from me as far away as possible. I mean who could not be? After all these years, he wasn't aware that his best friend was hiding something unimaginable.

Not that I am complaining, but since we became closer to each other compared to before, I always kept my eyes and ears on him. Even moved with him in his dorm to continue our kissing and made love a few times.

With him on my side, I felt safe. Even though I was a lone wolf, his presence became my haven, giving me the chance not to get scared of the world, especially about the thought of not getting into an intimate relationship because of my cursed kiss.

After a week of being in a relationship with him, everything went smoothly. School and work were consuming our entire time and making us exhausted.

But that is what life is for humans. For what it's worth, by the end of the day, we both ended up lying on one bed, having each other's arms.

However, my dream kind of life erupted when the death of the eleven humans I murdered with my cursed kiss led back to me. Guilty beyond a reasonable doubt, the court sentenced me to life imprisonment.

"Justine, I'm so sorry, dude. I wanted to help you but I don't know where to begin." Tears shimmered in Christian's eyes while holding the metal bars that divided us, he even ignored the sharp eyes of the police officers roaming around.

"It's all right, Chris. My imprisonment has nothing to do with you. So, I highly suggest you stay away from me before the cops might suspect you." I replied with my eyes sharply observing the entire precinct.

"What? What does it have to do with me? I didn't kill anyone, Just." He insisted. "I wanted to help you. Please, tell me what to do. Or at least tell me if you knew someone who could help me help you."

Truth be told, at that time, there was one - the Blue Moon pack. However, my wolf was too apprehensive that once he visited the pack and told them everything he knew, the ruthless alpha might hold him captive.

Breaking out of the penitentiary was as easy as counting from one to three, but I didn't have the courage or luxury to get back to the pack. I can't save him from the cold-hearted and ruthless alpha.

"You were already helping me, Chris. And I'm forever indebted for that. But you can't help me anymore." I had an old werewolf friend whom I think can help me but I don't have a single clue about his whereabouts now.

Nevertheless, the cops might already have their eyes on Christian. He was helping me cover the crime. That will make him the accessory to the crime I committed. And I can't afford to ruin his life because of his unawareness of being involved in the crime.

"This is bullshit, Justine." Christian heaved a deep sigh before he lifted his head to the ceiling. "This is all my fault. Everything is all my fault."

Could not help but curve the tip of my brows, trying to figure out how was everything his fault. He mentioned earlier that he did not kill anyone.

"I should have just believed in you when you told me about the cursed kiss. If I only believed you at that time, this shouldn't have happened. We should have been happy together." he added. This time, my wolf had sensed the utter regrets that marked his face.

In the middle of my conversation with Christian, one of the cops approached us. "Lucky for you, young man. The case might be put on hold in the meantime." I hated the way he straightened his police uniform as it implies one thing; he was one of those boastful police officers in the city.

"What do you mean?" Christian asked back.

"We have urgent cases all over the city." The officer rested his hand on top of Christian's shoulder. "Wolf attacks and hundreds of civilians were murdered in cold blood one night, surpassing your record."

"Wolf attacks?" Christian and I breathed out in unison by surprise. We exchanged bothered glances when I told him that the were thousands of us coming from different packs.

The police officer nodded. "That simply means there might be possibilities you might stay in this precinct longer than we expected. And it's a good thing since your little friend can visit you every time he wants. Make use of that opportunity, young men. Once you step foot into the penitentiary, there's no chance you can see another sunrise."

It was not being locked up in the penitentiary that worried me the most at that time but the wolf attacks. Werewolves to be precise. But why are they attacking the humans?

After informing us of the unexpected news, all the cops rushed out of the precinct, leaving my wolf with the deafening sounds of their sirens. In a few seconds, the sounds become unreachable to my wolf's senses.

Christian and I had nothing to talk about anymore, so he went back to the apartment. But before Christian left, he asked me not to do anything stupid and promised me that he would find a way to get me out of the precinct as soon as possible.

Three days later, I started to worry when Christian seemed to have forgotten to visit me in the precinct. On the bright side, it was for the best. I didn't want him to feel any regret that my life turned out this way.

He was smart and hardworking. I believed that he would have a better future outside even without me. He had a lot of friends who could help him achieve his goals.

But what confused me the most was that I could barely hear the horns and screeching sounds of the cars passing through the streets. Neither did any footsteps from the humans.

It was as though the entire streets had been under a lockdown or something that prohibited humans from going outside.

"Excuse me?" I yelled at the police officer who passed through. He was busy talking over the phone. And I could sense the worries and fears in his voice. "Hey? Just a sec, please?"

The police officer glued his feet on the ground before dragging his blazing gaze in my direction.

"I'm so sorry to bother you, Mr. Officer. Just want to ask where are the rest of the cops. And why is it that I haven't seen any humans coming in and out of the precinct?"

That was one of those things I've noticed for three days. No humans were coming in and out of the precinct. So, I started wondering if they stopped chasing the bad guys or prohibited me from visiting the precinct because of me who murdered ten humans in one night.

"Even criminals are hiding now, young man. Dead bodies were piled up all over the streets." He retorted.

"What? What do you mean by that?" I blurted.

Before the police officer could say a word, the glass door of the main entrance shattered into pieces. To my surprise, glimmering blue eyes from a wolf greeted my eyes.

The police officer was about to grab his gun but he was already too late when the wolf mercilessly ripped off his throat. I stepped back when the wolf slid closer to the holding cell.

He sniffed at my wolf for a few seconds as though he was trying to confirm my identity. When he realized I was a wolf, he rushed out of the precinct.

"What was that?" I uttered before I attempted to bend the metal bars of the holding cell to see what was going on outside. But, I found it hard to bend at least one of the bars when it was closer to the size of my two fingers combined.

What worried me the most at that moment was Christian. I was pretty convinced that that was one of the reasons he did not visit me in the precinct anymore. Or worse, his body might be one of those being piled up on the streets.

My human form was too weak to bend the holding cell. So, I shifted into a wolf and forced my body to fit into the passage and endured the excruciating pain of my broken bones.

Compared to my human form, my wolf heals faster. All I had to do was endure the severe pain from the cracking of my wolf's bones in order to get out of the precinct.

After successfully getting out of the holding cell, I did not wait for my body to heal as I bolted straight to my apartment.

While in the middle of the streets, my wolf barely sensed any life forms wandering or hiding in one of the buildings I passed through. Dead bodies were in deed piled up on the streets. Broken cars junked up. Smoke and fog have also colored the atmosphere.

As soon as I stepped foot into the apartment, I enhanced my werewolf senses and traced Christian's whereabouts. However, there was no sign of him after a few minutes of wandering the entire building. And I started to worry I could not see him alive anymore.

So, I rushed to his apartment. But I kept my werewolf form so that I could sense possible danger lurking. When my foot landed in front of his apartment, the door of his room was locked.

Windows were also locked locked and were all covered in black garments making me have a hard time seeing what was going on inside. The entire place smelled shit as if it was mixed with poops, dead bodies, gasoline, and rotten food.

On that note, I remembered telling Christian that it would be hard for us, werewolves, to apply our heightened senses. Then I bumped my wolf's body into the door. Hard enough the door slammed to the floor.

To my surprise, a cold tip of a riffle landed on top of my forehead in between my two glimmering eyes. He then cocked the riffle to make sure the gun was loaded.

"Any last words, you son of a werewolf!?!"