Shalei was surprised when she heard a commotion behind her. The last time she checked, the four of them were still talking in a hushed tone to each other, and now, they were a mess of limbs tangling together.
Sven was tugging on Sebastian's bionic arms and pushing his chest back with a grimace, looking as if he'd prefer to be anywhere than here. Meanwhile Collin was hugging Keith's torso from behind, hissing out one curse one after another.
Keith looked absolutely furious and Sebastian… well, Shalei had never truly understood what 'murderous look' meant until right now. He looked like he wished to kill someone. Shalei was astonished for she had never seen Sebastian displaying such strong emotions before. Exactly how did a simple discussion turn into a brawl?!
She had just wanted to come over and ask what was going on and perhaps, convincing them to solve every problem in a peaceful and cordial way first when the Infected corpse that everyone had been ignoring suddenly jumped to life, looking every inch like a horrendous zombie, and not wasting even a split second to head straight toward her direction.
Shalei was stunned in place and it was Patricia's terrified shriek that drove her into action. Spurred by instinct, she pushed Meagan and Patricia out of the way, placing her alone as the target — and indeed, the three headed Infected had been targeting her since the beginning — and moved into a defensive stance, legs widening to prepare for the attack.
Once again, adrenaline rushed to her head and everything became a slow motion; the unnatural and nimble way the Infected moved, black mists billowing out of its body. The hair on the back of her neck raised in alarm, warning her not to make contact with that mist no matter what.
She pulled her right arm back, fists clenching into a solid punch… when from her peripheral vision, she caught a glimpse of Sebastian leaping toward them—
Then a mind-boggling sight happened in front of her eyes.
She saw Sebastian in one second; tall, slim with all his muscles glory, and in the next second, his entire body shifted. It was an inconceivable shift that defied any natural anatomy science she knew. Pure snowy white fur spread along his body, his face elongated; there was a long snout, rows of sharp fangs and an animalistic growl. His limbs turned into elegant, powerful paws and oh, his bionic arms… the metal liquified following the man's transformation before it solidified again into a pair of front legs, complete with the glinting claws. The whole process didn't even take two seconds' time and before Shalei could react, Sebastian had pounced onto the Infected from behind and bit down squarely on the back of its neck, effectively trapping it on the ground with his entire body.
The Infected squirmed, struggled like a fish out of water and Sebastian let out a rumbling growl, his teeth sunk deeper into the flesh and drawing black, heinous blood into his mouth.
Fuck me, Shalei thought after her mind was working again. That… wasn't a dog, was it? It was way larger and sturdier than a dog. It was similar to huskies which she had seen on television once before. But no, that was definitely not a husky.
A wolf, her mind supplied. A werewolf. Damn.
Suddenly, everything clicked into place. The title Alpha and Beta, Patricia's wish to become a werewolf, his excellent eyesight in the dark, the pack.
How could Shalei have missed it? There had been so many clues, so many signs that she was living with supernatural creatures she had only read in novels before. Holy shit, her mind finally caught up to the current situation. Werewolves were real and the one in front of her — and possibly everyone else around her — was also a shapeshifter.
Wait, wait, don't panic, Shalei. She slowly lowered her arm that was still prepared for a punch and discreetly pinched the insides of her arm. Damn, it hurts! Alright, this wasn't a dream, she wasn't hallucinating or conjuring this up from her imagination—
Shalei sucked in a breath and promptly choked. Unavoidably, that little sound was enough for the tense atmosphere to break.
Sebastian loosened his jaws and let go of the Infected that had already stopped moving and kicked it toward Keith who readily dragged it away like a sandsack, Sven and Collin went to support him. With black blood still dripping down his mouth, Sebastian turned his eyes to Shalei who was still frozen in place.
Now that he was standing at his full height, Shalei could see that his stature was large and sturdy — not that she had seen any wolves in person — his height almost reached her waist. Surely, he would be able to intimidate any other person simply by standing there. This was an enormous, dangerous beast. Really, Shalei ought to be afraid but…
But those eyes… she would know those ocean blue eyes anywhere. Now that he was in his wolf form, it looked more prominent with green slit pupils, translucent like the paradise sea in a hidden island.
Sebastian gave a slow blink and then swiftly laid his whole body flat to the ground, snout parallel to the floor and tail tucked around his hind legs, letting out a sound that was closest to a whimper.
Shalei found her eyes travelling across the beast's lithe body, taking in his pure white fur that looked so exquisite even in the dim environment, his ears that were flattened back and his eyes that were lowered pitifully. Everyone else was silent and holding their breath, waiting for Shalei's reaction.
Shalei snapped out of her stupor at the black blood that was staining the floor and dashed toward Sebastian, almost in a frenzy. "You!" Without an ounce of hesitation, Shalei peeled the beast's jaws open and ordered. "Spit it out! Do you know how dirty that blood is? How can you put it into your mouth?!"
Sebastian's jaws grew slack under Shalei's hands and his eyes stared up at her blankly, stupefied. Exasperated, Shalei tugged on one snowy ear — it was so fluffy!!! — and demanded, more urgent this time. "Spit it out, Seth!"
Almost mechanically, Sebastian opened his jaws wide and with a muted blergh, spewed the blackish blood out. A few drops splattered to Shalei's gown yet she took no notice of it at all. Patting the wolf's neck, Shalei grimaced in sympathy. "There, there, spit it clean okay?"
She couldn't have imagined how it felt to have that black blood in his mouth. Just imagining it was enough to make her sick. Stupid Sebastian, what if he got infected from this?! Turning to the shell-shocked Meagan who had returned from the commotion, Shalei requested, "Can I have a basin of water for him to wash his mouth with?"
"A—Alright, Your Excellency!" Meagan hastily scurried away. "Please wait a moment!"
Shalei felt Sebastian's jaws moving under her hands and she directed him a glare. "Don't you dare close your mouth again. You don't happen to swallow any of it, do you?"
Sebastian gave a miserable huff, saliva pooling inside his mouth and trickling down his jaw. His tail thumped loudly on the floor.
"No." Shalei didn't relent. "You may drool all you like but don't close your mouth."
Fortunately, Meagan returned not a minute later with a big basin and Shalei spared not a second longer to push Sebastian's snout in that direction. Accepting the cue and possibly escaping from the humiliating situation, the wolf hastily dumped his whole head into the water and gurgled.