Looking down from the cliff, one could see the tranquil lake. Raising the gaze, the vast expanse of the lake seemed to be endless. It was a considerable lake area.
"I have a secret, but I'm not sure if I should tell you," Elizabeth stood on the edge of the cliff, looking at Lisa beside her, "I don't know what the world is like, but... this secret has been a heavy burden. It's a secret that I and our family have been keeping."
Lisa looked at Elizabeth, furrowed her brows, but didn't speak. She was waiting for Elizabeth to continue. If it was a secret, she would share it if she wished to, and if not, no amount of questioning would make her reveal it.
Sure enough, after a moment of silence, Elizabeth continued, "Actually... I went to see Jason earlier."
Upon hearing this, Lisa frowned slightly, turned her head, stared at Elizabeth, her breath becoming somewhat rushed.
"It's not what you think, I had to see him because he knows about me and our secret," Elizabeth sighed and continued, "He's a man who exudes enormous pressure, and... you have no idea how formidable he is. I just feel that he's too much for me to handle."
"So... what then?" Lisa shrugged at Elizabeth in disdain, "He makes you feel pressured? Does he know you killed someone or something? Does he have something on you?"
"Yes, I did kill someone, Sean Burrell," Elizabeth calmly looked at Lisa and said, "It was me who threw him into the lake, this very lake. Do you know why when he was found, he was stripped of everything? Because there's a terrifying creature in here."
"A terrifying creature? The one you threw in?" Lisa's eyebrows furrowed slightly as she looked at Elizabeth in confusion, "Don't tell me, you threw him into the lake, all by yourself. How am I supposed to believe you?"
"Do you want to know?" Elizabeth stared at Lisa, "Do you want to know how I threw him into the lake? If you want, I can let you know, right now. But... do you think you can handle it?"
"Why couldn't I? Hmm?" Lisa sneered, "What I can handle... surely can't be worse than the harm that jerk brought me, right? He almost killed me!"
Elizabeth didn't say anything, she simply jumped off the roof of the car and walked away. Lisa yelled after her, "We are friends, why is it like this? Is a man going to come between us?"
Elizabeth didn't respond, but continued to walk away. When she was about forty or fifty meters away, she suddenly turned around.
A sudden gust of wind blew across Lisa's face, causing her to involuntarily close her eyes. When she opened them and looked towards Elizabeth, her heart seemed to stop, followed by an earth-shattering scream. She backed away in a frenzy.
She didn't pay attention to where she was stepping and lost her footing, tumbling down towards the lake. Her hands wildly grasped at the air but in vain, she was falling.
"Help— " She instinctively screamed as she fell. But then she felt a gust of wind sweep over her body, lifting her into the air. After turning in the air a few times, she landed on the grass, rolling a few times to dispel the force of the fall, then laid on her back. She looked at the creature as big as a beast next to her and couldn't help but want to scream again, pushing herself back.
The giant wolf seeing this, let out a low howl and slowly retreated, trying to distance itself from Lisa and give her a safe space.
Sure enough, as the giant wolf slowly moved back and showed no threatening behavior, Lisa's emotions gradually calmed down. She stopped retreating and forced herself to look at the wolf, yes, a giant wolf, and then noticed that Elizabeth...
Elizabeth was gone, replaced by this wolf. Unless the wolf had consumed Elizabeth, there seemed to only be one truth. Recalling what just happened, it seemed she had fallen but was able to safely land on the grass, unhurt. Evidently, the only one capable of saving her was the giant wolf in front of her.
"Oh my God!" Lisa couldn't help but exclaim, one hand propping her body up from the grass, the other covering her mouth, her eyes wide with shock.
"Elizabeth ——" she called out to the giant wolf in a lowered voice.
The wolf seemed to hear her, it nodded its head, then laid down, facing Lisa, it let out a whimpering sound, sounding almost mournful. This made Lisa even more certain of her assumption. She slowly got up, reaching out a tentative hand to signal her goodwill, and walked towards the massive wolf. The wolf didn't stand up or show any hostile signs of attack, but instead, it lowered its head. It wasn't until Lisa put her hand on its head, stroking its fur, that it let out a whimper.
"Elizabeth—Elizabeth—" Lisa called out twice in succession, the first time cautiously, the second time somewhat anxiously. Her outstretched hand gently caressed the wolf's glossy fur. "Is it really you? My God... How could this be?" As she spoke, she reached out her other hand, embracing the giant wolf's head.
She could feel the wolf held no ill will towards her, but instead, a strong sense of familiarity. When she wrapped her arms around the wolf's head, it meekly allowed her to do so, even nuzzling comfortably into her embrace. Even such light nuzzles filled her with a strong sense of closeness.
Woman and wolf lay quietly on the grass, as if time had paused for them. If Elizabeth were this massive wolf, then many things would suddenly make sense. She was supposed to have been violated by Burrel, but miraculously, she was able to return home unharmed. Moreover, why did Burrel disappear, and why was his body eventually found in the lake?
Thinking about this, she couldn't help but feel heartache over her misunderstanding of Elizabeth. It didn't matter why she had gone to Jason or what their relationship was.
All she knew was that Elizabeth had taken great risks to prevent her from being hurt by Burrel, even risking herself to avoid any misunderstanding, and had revealed her true form here, if she really was this wolf.
Sometime later, Lisa, slightly drowsy, closed her eyes. When she woke up, the sun was about to set. Her hand was still resting on a person's face. A face that was smooth and elastic. Opening her eyes, she found a naked woman clinging tightly to her, laying on the grass.
"Elizabeth—" Lisa called out softly. Then she reached out her hand, stroking her cheek.
Elizabeth woke up too. Seeing her state, she curled up. She then looked at Lisa and said, "Now... all my secrets are laid bare before you. You've seen it all, so... everything I've said is true. I just... thought I didn't tell you before because I was afraid you wouldn't be able to accept it!"
"I'm sorry, Elizabeth..." Lisa gently stroked her face, then stood up. She walked to the car, rummaged inside for a while, found a blanket, came back, and draped it over Elizabeth.
Elizabeth wrapped herself tightly in the blanket, stood up, and looked at Lisa, "I thought I would scare you to death!"
"You certainly did scare me!" Lisa laughed, then hugged Elizabeth, "But... I'm not as fragile as you think. I want to know why such a small body of yours could transform into such a large wolf? Is it because the genes also change during the transformation?"
"I don't know. I know I can change into that, and I believe my parents also don't know why we can change like that. Maybe it's really a genetic issue, who cares?" Elizabeth shook her head at Lisa, "You really don't mind? Can we still be friends like before?"
"I do mind. If you become like you were just now, how can I hold you? How can I be intimate with you?" Lisa laughed as she wrapped her arm around Elizabeth's shoulders, "But... why do you feel pressured by Huan? What kind of person is he? I want to know your feelings for him, or what you saw?"
"Of course, I've seen it. He just... disappeared in front of me, I swear, it's not magic..." As Elizabeth spoke, she looked unnaturally distressed.