Shalei turned to Meagan with a worried frown. "Does the disease spread through blood?"
"No…" Meagan answered automatically, still shocked at the treatment that her Alpha received. "It's not. Actually, we are still not sure how the curse works, Your Excellency."
"Okay." Shalei's shoulders sagged in relief. That answer wasn't so reassuring to hear but at least, she knew Sebastian would most probably be okay.
Beside her, the silver wolf pulled his head out of the basin, droplets of water clung to his fur and he shook it off, sprinkling water all over the floor. Shalei beckoned him to come closer which the beast obeyed, albeit hesitatingly.
The sound of his metal paws clicking against the floor evoked a certain memory and revelation sunk into her. So that was the sound she had heard last night when she was searching for Sebastian. The man must have been prowling around in his wolf form when Shalei suddenly appeared and called for him. That was a pity, Shalei couldn't help sighing. If she was faster, would she be able to discover Sebastian's true nature sooner?
"Come here." She reached out a hand and Sebastian nudged his wet snout into her palm before giving her a little lick. Soft laughter bubbled out of her throat. "That's cute but it's not what I mean."
Unceremoniously, Shalei once again pulled his jaws open, this time wider and peeked into his mouth, scrutinizing each area closely. "Hmm, alright, you're clean. Good boy, you're a good boy, aren't you?" She scratched the back of his ear whilst murmuring praises.
Sebastian shut his jaws with an audible click, his eyes mildly dazed as if he couldn't believe what Shalei had just done.
"Ah…" Shalei pulled her hand back, surprised at her own audacity. What were you doing, Shalei, treating him like a puppy?! She screwed her eyes shut as mortification crept up her neck, flushing her cheeks crimson. "Sorry, I am not usually that… unrestrained. It's just that you—" Shalei gestured to his overall appearance.
In front of her was a huge, adorable and fluffy wolf, moreover it was mild and docile and it was literally the most gorgeous and elegant creature she had ever seen! How could one expect her to hold herself back? It's already a miracle that she didn't squeal and bury her head into the wolf's soft belly, okay?!
A soft 'pfft' came from the side and Shalei looked up to see Keith desperately holding his laughter back and failing. The man threw his head back and roared out in laughter, his body bending over as he trembled. "Y—Your Excellency…" He struggled to say through the tears. "Y—You are the best! Only you can treat our Alpha like this!" Beside him, Sven looked faintly amused whilst Collin was openly hiding behind Keith's body, his shoulders shaking with laughter.
Damn it, since when did they get here? Had she been too preoccupied with Sebastian that she didn't even notice them arriving? No, more importantly, what had they witnessed? Shalei replayed their interaction for the last few minutes and felt like fainting at the sheer embarrassment. It seemed like she had just tarnished Sebastian's reputation in front of the members of his pack.
Shalei offered a sheepish smile that she hoped didn't look too much like a grimace. "I'm very sorry, it's just that I love…" dogs, she finished inwardly. But there was no way she could compare wolves to dogs, couldn't she? She had read somewhere that wolves were prideful creatures. Instead of remedying the current situation, she might have made it worse by offending everyone. "...fluffy animals." That was what she said in the end.
"And Sebby is very fluffy, I understand." Keith added, too gleeful for his own good.
As a response, Sebastian tugged his ears back and snarled, showcasing his mighty fangs that looked absolutely lethal and powerful.
Keith promptly pressed his lips shut and saluted. Then he threw Shalei a question and although he worded it nonchalantly, Shalei could still hear the underlying tension in his tone. "So you're not afraid of him? Or disgusted?"
That was blasphemous! How could one ever hate such an adorable creature?! Shalei retorted with a huff. "Why should I?"
Keith let out a huge sigh. "Okay, that's… good, I guess."
"Wait a moment." Shalei trailed her gaze from Sebastian to Keith, Collin and Sven. "All of you are werewolves? Even Meagan?" She received multiple nods in return. Alright, her doubt was confirmed now. Sebastian was the Alpha aka the leader of the pack, Keith was the Beta, Collin and Sven the members whilst Meagan and Patricia… what were they called again? Omega? Right, omega, the servants.
Shalei massaged her temples, feeling the oncoming headache. She had so, so many questions especially regarding the curse and her involvement in it. Had she died and been transported into another universe? That was what often happened in fantasy books, wasn't it? However, before she could ask, Sebastian once again nudged on her palm. "Hmm?" Shalei turned to him. "What's wrong, Seth?"
Sebastian was nuzzling his head against her hand now, the gesture was so affectionate that she couldn't help reaching out toward him, pausing to ask. "May I?"
When she received a brief nod, she unhesitatingly buried her hand into the wide expanse of soft fur behind Sebastian's neck and felt the tension leaving her shoulders in waves. She had to bite her tongue so that she didn't do anything stupid, like hugging the wolf close to her chest and burying her nose into his body. Sebastian's eyelids lifted and he gave a soft 'awoo' that sounded too adorable to be true!
Miraculously, Shalei could understand what he was conveying. "You're asking my permission to shift back to your human form?" She chuckled lightly. "Seth, it's your freedom to do so. There's no need to ask me next time."
Even though Shalei said that, Sebastian should have stepped back or at least gave her a warning beforehand! Seriously, her heart couldn't handle the continuous stimulus through the night.
One second she was stroking the fluffy fur and the next second, the wolf abruptly disappeared and Shalei's palm connected with warm and slightly damp skin — Sebastian's neck. Shalei was dumbfounded when the man's gorgeous features suddenly appeared in such a close proximity, all dazzling blue eyes and tousled wet hair, the fireplace casted a luminous shadow over his face.
Shalei's lips parted in shock and she automatically dragged her eyes down. Fortunately, Sebastian was still wearing his combat suit. For fuck's sake, Shalei would have combusted on the spot if she had found Sebastian bare chest right in front of her. No, stop it, don't you dare imagine a naked Sebastian!
Shalei shook her head and blurted out whatever to shift the topic whilst very very naturally pulling her hand away from the warmth of Sebastian's neck. "That's a very cool technology you have. I mean, your combat suit and your arms. It's very innovative how they can still—" The words trailed off as a question popped up in her mind.
Sebastian's combat suit and his bionic arms. The former could disappear as soon as Sebastian morphed into his wolf form only to appear again when he shifted back whereas the latter could change shape depending on what form Sebastian took. It was a very advanced technology, one that she knew hadn't existed in her time. How? Shalei wasn't so reclusive that she would miss the creation of such machinery.
Foreboding arose in her heart and she let out an airy chuckle even though she was already hysterical inside. Everything was wrong. Everything had been wrong ever since she woke up.
She bit the insides of her cheeks and chuckled. "Well, does anybody smoke here?" This was too much, she couldn't do it without nicotine in her system.
Keith truly fulfilled all expectations Shalei had of him as he rummaged through his back pocket and pulled out a pack of cigarettes and lighter. Shalei's fingers were trembling ever so slightly as she received one and if Keith noticed anything, he didn't say anything at all. She inhaled deeply as soon as the cigarette was lit, feeling the warmth seep into her chest. Smoke billowed out of her lips and she flicked the ashes to the astray that Keith had dutifully offered with both hands.
"Alright," she said, voice a bit raspy. "First of all, tell me what year it is and what city we are in now."