Charles found himself in a bit of a dilemma. It was a rather rare occurrence for him to be in such a state but nonetheless he was in one. Here he was about to betray one of the rules that he had imbued upon himself and it was all because an unexpected variable had been thrown into his life.
Here he was with Detective Riley in his house and unlike other times where it was for the purpose of work, this time, it wasn't.
His eyes were closed as he tried his best to run as many scenarios as he could before going ahead with what he had planned. Everything would be determined by how he would proceed from this point.
"Is this what you called me for?" Riley's voice broke him out of his thoughts. "To sit in silence?"
"I apologise. I was thinking of a way to say this without freaking you out but I am convinced that there is no way to say this without freaking you out. So, I am going to need you to hear me out till the end and then make your decision."
"Why would there be a need for that?"
"Just promise me."
They kept their gaze, eyes level with each other before she broke it.
"Fine… I'll hear you out even though I don't know what I'm getting myself into."
"Thank you." He stood up and paced around briefly. "Have you heard about the phrase werewolf?"
She blinked. "Werewolf? Like in the movies and the fantasy books?"
"Yes and no. Have you come across any myth or lore about them?"
"Not really. Werewolves are just fiction, are they not?"
"That's what the world thinks, however that is not true. The fabled story about a man, who turns into a wolf under the influence of the full moon, is real."
He raised a hand to stop her from speaking. "I know what you're going to say. 'That's absurd Charles. How could you think that? You're a grown man and you can't separate fiction from reality.' Something like that."
"If you knew I was going to say something like that, then why'd you go and start spouting rubbish."
"I can swear that they are real and I'll show you proof. Werewolf, loup garou, or lycan… those are some of the names they go by and they all speak of this lycanthropy. It is a curse bestowed upon a set of people, to transform into a wolf when the moon is at its fullest in the night's sky."
"I'd like to say that no one actually has knowledge of when the curse originated because history cannot be trusted with some details. There have been claims of sightings multiple times throughout history and ties to mythology as in the case of Zeus turning Lycaon into a wolf. But those are mythology. I want to tell you all about the werewolf."
He watched her reaction. "I know you're not done and I would have resigned to giving you a stern ass-kicking when you were done but I can't take this anymore." With that she got up but he stopped her.
"I wasn't expecting to use my proof so soon." As he said this, his eyes glowed a deep yellow. They were no longer the familiar shade of blue she knew.
He didn't stop there as his hair grew slightly, and his features became fiercer. His canines grew longer, becoming a lot more prominent than they were a few minutes ago. His fingernails grew denser and became elongated.
"Don't scream and don't shoot," he said, stopping her actions, but she didn't put down her gun. "It will seem weird for a detective. And I am still Charles."
"I wasn't going to scream," she replied as she regained composure. "How? How is this possible?"
"Like I said, I am a werewolf and we can turn into wolves."
"But there's no full moon present and it's not even night."
"You seem to be taking this a lot better than I expected. Some werewolves were able to discover a way to tap into this state by drawing on their innate instincts deeply. As it is, I am only able to speak because I haven't drawn on it completely."
"So, you're saying that werewolves exist." He gave a nod.
"I'm guessing you're not the only one?"
Another nod. Riley looked at him rather skeptically. At that moment, the doorbell rang.
"Change back," she urged quickly, gun still pointing straight at him.
"Don't worry. It's someone trustworthy. Come in!"
They heard footsteps coming from the hallway and a figure soon came into view. Riley's eyes widened slightly before they narrowed back.
Ivy didn't know what to make of the situation that she had just walked in on. She had assumed that she would be coming for another training session with Charles. She wasn't expecting to see him in his feral state and with a detective pointing a gun at him no less.
After processing everything, she jumped in front of Charles as if to use her body as a shield. "What's going on here? Why are you like this and why is she pointing that gun at you?"
"You know it's kind of funny that you somehow think you're capable of protecting me."
She turned to look at him and was amazed that he was able to smile despite the situation he was in. There was definitely something wrong with him, she thought to herself.
"She knows your secret?" Riley asked, gun not dropping an inch.
"Of course she knows, after all, she is a werewolf too."
That took Riley by surprise and Ivy more so.
"Are you insane!" she shouted as she grabbed him by the collar and started shaking him. "How could you do that? I had assumed you were in a situation where you needed to defend yourself but you're telling someone about the existence of werewolves."
"Calm down Ivy," he said. "She needs to know if we want to protect this town. Someone on the inside needs to be in the know."
"Why do I need to know?"
"Oh come on detective. Haven't you been a little bit curious concerning the killings that have been occurring? Surely you don't just think that they were normal killings?"
Riley blinked and she cocked the gun. "What are you trying to say? Are you saying that werewolves were behind it?"
"What I'm saying is trust me and lower your gun. If I wished you harm, I would have killed you the minute you pulled out your gun. Surely you've seen some materials or there I say it movies depicting werewolves. We're a lot faster than humans."
Charles and Ivy watched as she lowered her gun slowly.
"Fine, I'll hear you out," she replied as she slowly sat back down, not bothering to put the gun away.
He let his transformation slip as he and Ivy took opposite seats from us. "Now that you believe the werewolves are real, I can proceed. From what I've been able to gather, a pack of wolves came to settle here and have been staying in this town for over sixty years so they've pretty much integrated themselves perfectly with the human society."
"A few weeks ago, the pack and this town in general faced an issue." His casual tone had become serious and Ivy was just watching at this point, hoping things won't go wrong.
"The killings," Riley replied.
"Yes, but it isn't the killings but rather the ones behind them."
"So you're saying you know the ones behind it?"
"Yes," he said taking a deep breath. "Vampires."
There was an odd silence between all three of them. Ivy had resigned herself to not speak but to trust Charles. Riley on the other hand was quietly contemplating the word that Charles just spoke. He hadn't lied so far but the Vampire thing seemed like he was pushing it.
"Vampires?"
"Yes."
"Werewolves and vampires?"
"Yes."
"Is this a feud or something like that?"
"Yes and no. The werewolf and vampire feud goes back many centuries and I don't know who fired the first shot. This however, involves civilians and vampires are not the kind to care about other people."
Riley took time to ponder on his words. There was a truth in them, and it would explain the fact that the victims were drained of blood or almost completely drained of blood, and also the bite marks on the neck.
"Let's say I believe you. What next?"
A smile crossed his face. "Now you get involved."
At this point, Ivy spoke up. "Wouldn't that be too risky? The pack is on alert as it is."
"It's a risk we'll just have to take because this goes beyond the pack."
Riley looked between the both of them. "I have to ask. From what I have seen or read, the entertainment media tends to portray werewolves in a hierarchy. Is that true?"
"Yes. Werewolves are creatures of order and a hierarchy keeps everyone in check."
"So I'm guessing you're an omega then."
"Well done detective," he said as he gave a clap.
"No need for the well done. You don't do a good job hiding your somewhat disdain for the pack."
"Personal reasons. Not important."
"What happens now?" Ivy asked.
"It's simple really," he said before turning to Riley. "How would you like to be the first Vampire Hunter this town has ever had?"
She didn't know when she began to smile. Subconsciously, the idea appealed to her. Ivy was a different case however. She wasn't angry about Riley becoming a vampire hunter but she wasn't too thrilled with it either. Or perhaps it had something to do with the person who was offering to train her.