It was already half past four when I looked at my phone, we had just returned to human form and were sitting inside the cave, the same one where my old coats were and where we had left our backpacks. Triton looked at me with an amused face when he saw the coats piled up on one side of the cave.
"Old coats for unexpected transformations?" he held back a laugh.
"Better than walking around the city naked," I said.
"You're right," he nodded. "So, what did you think of today?"
That question took me by surprise, I didn't know how to answer it, was it too early to think I was enjoying it or was it too late to admit it?
- I think I liked it. - I was sincere. - Actually, I think it might be cool. - I smiled to myself.
- That's good. He smiled and then looked at me. "But from your face, it looks like you still have doubts.
He was what? A wizard? But witches don't exist, right? Well, if creatures like us exist, why not witches, vampires and zombies? I shook my head and heard his loud laughter once more.-
Yes, I have doubts. - I commented. - I'm just not sure what they are.
- You're really confused. He stopped looking at me and focused on the rain that was starting to fall outside. - Who trained you?
"Why do you think someone trained me?" the question was a little too rude.
- Because not every wolf knows how to hunt like you did. - he argued. "Besides, the way you are complicated, I doubt you learned all this on your own.
I huffed and threw my body weight back, leaning on my outstretched arms.
"My aunt," I replied with a pout. "She taught me everything I know.
"What's her name?" he asked as he watched me.
"Judely," I sighed. "She passed away not long ago.
I hung my head and waited for him to do what everyone else did and what I hated the most, they asked how she had died, felt sorry for her and tried to console me. But instead, he gave a faint smile and looked back at the rain, then in a soft and gentle voice, he said
, "It's hard when we lose someone we love, but we have to be strong so we don't lose the rest we still have. He ran his hand through his hair, fixing a strand that had fallen into his eye. - You may have even thought that you had nothing left, But you forgot that you have your friends and that one day, for sure, you would find a pack.
I had no words, but I felt good... Light and quiet, as if all I needed was to hear this guy tell the simple truth to me. -
You're right. - I managed to say, still with my head down. - And thank you. I raised my head with a smile.
It was quick, but I could tell he had blushed, very slightly, but enough to make me happy.
-So... What were your doubts anyway?
-Good... One of them is kind of weird and I never had the courage to ask Aunt Ju, but are we considered werewolves? I looked at him, he was staring at me with the same amused face as just now. - What's up? - I blushed.
"I'm sorry," he laughed. "It's just that no one has ever asked me that, but to answer your question..." We may even be called werewolves, but don't believe everything they tell you about it.
"But Judely said there are three things that can kill us, and one of them is the silver bullet." Then I linked it to werewolves and, as you said, I'm confused.
- Soon his head was in chaos.
-Exact.
-Good.. About bullets is true, but almost everything else about werewolves compared to us is a lie. He smiled, I caught myself glazed over his white teeth. - For example, we don't just transform at the full moon, we just get stronger and can transform whenever we want.
"It all makes sense now," he laughs.
- Your laugh is very funny. He chuckled. - And at the same time cute, it suits you.
- Funny. I stuck out my tongue. "But then when are you going to tell me more about yourself?" We only talk about my boring life.-
Your boring ex-life. - he says. - Because I'm going to show you how much fun it is to be like us.
"So, it looks like today was just a sample?" I joked.
- Only. He ran his tongue over the canines that were a little showing. - Only we transform, run and hunt... No big deal. -
This is for you to realize how boring my life was. - I commented. - Because, for me, today was already too much. - laughs again.
When I stopped laughing, I saw Triton watch me with a sweet look, but I knew that inside those eyes was something more... Was I attracted to her gaze, or was it to her whole body?
- But if you want to know that much about my life... I'll tell you a few things.
I waited until he started telling the story, it took longer than I imagined, but I didn't want to pressure him. Apart from the fact that we had plenty of time, the rain didn't look like it was going to subside soon.
- We lived in a forest further south, the climate was very cold, my parents had built our house. He had a serene expression on his face. "My mother was beautiful, she had green eyes and caramel hair, in the shape of a wolf she was formidable, she was more agile and more perceptive than my father. He was a funny guy, he had brown eyes and brown hair, he was a very big and strong wolf... The two made a beautiful duo.
I remained motionless, always attentive to any change in his expression, I wanted to get to know him better... I wanted to know everything about our species and even more about him, I was tempted to discover his inner self.
"When I was eight years old, some hunters appeared, my mother and I soon smelled the smell of silver coming from their weapons. It was then that my parents told me to run away, but I didn't want to, so my mother put me inside a hiding place in the tree behind the house and made me swear that I wouldn't make a sound.
His face didn't change and he kept watching the rain, which was still heavy.
- I heard the noise of clothes tearing and felt that she had transformed, the situation was more serious than I imagined, then I heard the growl of the two and a fight began. For a long time, all I heard were growls, screaming men, gunshots... It was the first time I smelled human blood. But I didn't care about that, all I wanted to know was if my parents were okay.
His breathing was calm, as was his countenance, but his scent told me that something was changing, even if he didn't want me to notice.
- I thought it was going to be okay... Until I heard another gunshot followed by my mother's grunt of pain. At that moment, I closed my eyes tightly trying to push away the truth, but the smell of blood and death brought me to reality. They had killed her with a silver bullet in the chest. He breathed lightly. "I know that after that, my father was furious, I could tell from the smell that he was exploding with anger. And as I wept, I heard my father kill them all, one by one, until only one hunter remained.
I was surprised that he hadn't cried or shown pain, and then I remembered what he had said to me earlier: "It's hard when you lose someone you love, but you have to be strong so you don't lose the rest you still have."
"From the man's breathing, he must have been almost dead, but my father's breath said he was exhausted too. I wanted to scream, but I had made a promise to my mother, so I held back and waited for what fate had in store for me. And then, I heard a scream and then I smelled the hunter's blood, I felt relieved that my father had killed all the hunters and it didn't take me long to come out of hiding, I forced the lock and opened it.
I inhaled hard, trying to capture everything around us, it was something else he had taught me earlier... It also taught me to better understand the smells that show us the feelings of others.
- When I went to the front of the house, I saw the bodies of the hunters and in the middle of them that of my mother, I ran and sat next to her, she was still warm, but she was not breathing and her heart was still. I started crying and saw my father approaching, still like a wolf, kind of tripping. I smiled at the sight of him, but widened my eyes at the sight of his condition, he was finished and had used all his strength to protect me. He had one shot in the leg, another grazed in the neck and one in the back. He fell next to me and grunted something as an apology, then closed his eyes and little by little his breathing slowed down as his heart stopped beating. Silver bullets don't let us heal, so we end up dying as if we were normal wolves shot.
He might not have been crying, but I was about to "scream" at hearing his story, and I wondered how hard it had been for him.
"I don't know how long I stood there, crying, but when I finally managed to pull myself together, I remember that at first I felt hatred and even wanted revenge, but every night I had dreams about my parents and they always told me that I shouldn't take revenge, that I should move on and take care of the life they had given me. So, after weeks of fighting my dreams and everything else, I decided to move on and start my life over.
I must have been looking at him in surprise, because when he looked at me he let out a giggle.
"I know it's a little weird for an eight-year-old boy to live alone and still be alive, especially at that time when hunters were trying to wipe out our species. He took a deep breath. - Good thing they think we're extinct.
- I don't even know what to say.
"You don't have to say anything and you know what, I felt a little better about telling you that." He watched me intently. - Why is that?
Maybe you're attracted to me just as I am to you. I blushed, but it wasn't enough for him to notice.
"Did it take you long to find a pack?" I asked with a little trepidation.
"I met Lorena when I was thirty-something. - he stated. "Then she convinced me to join her pack, which is now mine too.
We were silent for a while and I wondered what it would be like to have a pack.-
It must be nice. - I said softly.
- Have a pack? - he smiled. - It's very good... It's a lot like a family. You'll like it, if you want I can take you to our leader, I don't think he would deny you entry.I
wonder if my eyes were shining because I felt so excited that my body was euphoric. I didn't answer, I just smiled and then heard his loud laughter.
- You're really special. He stared at me with intensity. "It looks like the time I stay here will be a lot of fun."
I felt my cheeks heat up, but I was so glad I had met him that I didn't even care. Something inside me was warm, was it the happiness of being able to have a family again? Or the wonderful sense of attraction that this wolf-boy gave me? Actually, I
didn't want to think about it right now, I shrugged and got up, it was time to do the hard work of the day, and finally the rain was giving a respite.