Lex looked at his friend in horror, trying to understand what was going on.
How?
That was the only question that he could ask himself. That was the time that Khaos deemed it fit to finally speak up.
"Sigh, the moment I've been waiting for," Lex heard khaos' voice in his head.
"Bryan?" Lex called out again, as if trying to confirm if his eyes were deceiving him or not. "What is going on here?" He asked.
Bryan sighed and finally spoke, "I'm sure you already know who you are, and I'm also like you, a werewolf.
Lex stared in confusion as realisation dawned on him, his best and only friend was also a werewolf like him. He couldn't help but wonder if Bryan, too, was possessed like him, a puppet controlled by some ancient, malevolent force. But Lex wasn't sure if there were any other werewolves capable of such manipulation.
"Nah, he's not possessed, he's a true werewolf, a born werewolf." Khaos' voice in his head was matter-of-fact, almost dismissive.
"You knew this before, didn't you?" Lex mentally asked Khaos who went quiet again.
Lex's eyes widened in shock as he stumbled backward, his mind racing with questions. "You - you're a werewolf? How is that even possible? Why didn't you tell me? And what were the arrows all about?" The words tumbled out in a frantic rush, each one laced with a mix of fear, confusion, and betrayal.
Bryan sighed again, his face etched with frustration and a hint of desperation. "See, Lex, we can talk about all that later, but for now, we have to get out of here before the hunters catch up with us." He glanced around nervously, his eyes scanning the surrounding area as if expecting danger to lurk in every shadow.
"Hunters?" Lex's voice rose in alarm, his eyes darting back to Bryan's. "What do you mean? Who are they?"
Bryan's expression turned grim. "They're the ones who shot those arrows. They were meant for me, not you. I was being chased down by them, but you got caught up in the middle of it." He paused, his gaze softening slightly as he took in Lex's stunned expression. "I'm as shocked as you are right now, but it seems you were just... really turned."
Lex tried to process the revelation. Turned? What did that even mean? He felt like he was trapped in a nightmare, with no escape from the bizarre and terrifying world that seemed to be unfolding around him. "What do you mean, 'really turned'?" he asked.
But Bryan just shook his head. "No time for explanations now, Lex. We have to move. Those hunters won't give up easily." He grasped Lex's arm, pulling him into a run again.
The run finally came to a stop at Bryan's house and as they stepped into the apartment, Lex collapsed into a couch.
He was trying his very best not to scream out in frustration right now. He just wished there was a way all his questions could be answered at once. He was already having a hard time trying to adapt to a primordial being living in his head and now he just found out that his friend is also a werewolf.
Bryan gave him a few minutes to get his thoughts together and then went ahead to bring him a cup of water.
Lex downed the water in a go and sighed, looking at Bryan in confusion. He didn't even know if he should trust his friend anymore.
"Before I answer your questions, I also have a few questions of my own," Bryan started as he leaned on the wall, facing Bryan. "Who is your Alpha? Who turned you?"
Lex's confusion deepened, but then fragments of myth and legend he had read in books began to resurface in his mind - a human can be turned into a werewolf through many ways but the most common way is through a bite from an Alpha.
"I...I don't know," Lex stammered, his thoughts tangled in a web of uncertainty. "I don't even know what's happening to me."
Bryan's expression remained unreadable, his gaze unwavering. "Tell me everything, Lex. From the beginning."
Lex's mind was a maelstrom of uncertainty, torn between the urge to unburden himself to his best friend, Bryan, and the fear of being met with scepticism or worse, betrayal. He tried to communicate with Khaos but the latter wouldn't reply.
'What do I have to lose? I need answers.' Lex thought to himself and finally made up his mind to tell his best friend everything.
As he explained everything, Bryan's eyes widened at every passing second. And when Lex was done explaining, he started pacing up and down.
"So, apparently, you are the one who killed Blake and his gang?" He asked.
Lex's response was laced with desperation, a plea for understanding. "No, I didn't! I swear, I didn't even know what I was doing. It was as if I was a mere spectator in my own body. I woke up in my room, and everything seemed like a dream...until the cops showed up, and reality slapped me in the face."
Bryan sighed, "then that means that you were one they tracked down here to Stardom. I was wondering how they were able to find me." He said.
"Who really are these hunters?" Lex asked in confusion.
Bryan's expression turned grim. "They're not your average hunters, Lex. Their prey is far more...unsettling. They hunt creatures like us – werewolves, vampires, wendigos, and other supernaturals."
Lex's eyes widened as the reality sank in. He felt like he was drowning in a sea of uncertainty. This was far more than he had bargained for. Maybe Khaos should have just left him to die, he thought, the world already feeling like a crushing burden.
But Bryan's next words sent a shiver down his spine. "If you're truly possessed by the first werewolf, created by the creator herself...then you're in for a wild ride, Lex. A war is brewing, a mad war between the supernaturals. And you, my friend, are now a key player."