"Hurt... It's hurt... I can't take it anymore... Just kill me."
Aurora felt an excruciating pain in her body as if hundreds of sharp needles were stabbing deep into her flesh, slicing from the inside out. Every movement or touch she felt worsened the condition. Each breath felt agonizing as if a heavy weight was pressing on her heart, making her body feel like it was unable to stop screaming in endless despair.
"Hurt... Just kill me... Just kill me."
"Haah, hah hah hah."
Aurora's body jolted, her emerald green eyes suddenly opened wide, her breath ragged as she quickly sat up on the bed. Sweat drenched her neck and back, making the pajamas she wore soaked.
Aurora tried to calm herself. She massaged her throbbing temples.
"That dream again."
Aurora exhaled heavily and fumbled around the bed to find her phone to check the time.
"Ah, where is it?"
She searched the bed for a while before finally finding her phone under her pillow.
"Found it."
When Aurora turned on her phone, dozens of messages from her older brother, who had a penchant for drinking and draining his money, filled the screen. Some messages from two months ago were still there. There were also dozens of missed calls from her father.
Aurora read the messages one by one.
A message from two months ago: [Hey jerk, how dare you move without telling me, quickly tell me, where did you move?] [I know you're reading my messages, don't try to avoid me.]
Messages from 2 hours ago: [Send me money quickly, I need of cash.] [Don't try to trick me by saying you have no money, do you think I don't know? Your paintings always sell out, how could you not have money?] [If you don't send me money, I'll burn the stuff you left in this house.]
Aurora turned off her phone and threw it back on the bed.
"Useless."
It was exactly midnight.
Aurora got out of bed and walked to the kitchen to get a drink as her throat felt dry. She stood by the living room window to enjoy the view of the full moon.
"I knew this apartment was the perfect place to relax."
This apartment was located on the outskirts of London, a small town in England.
She had only moved into this apartment two months ago. A large, five-story building in a classic style, which had once been a grand aristocratic house but was now divided into smaller units. The building looked old with moss-covered stone walls. Each apartment unit had large windows that offered a city view, and the roof was often buffeted by the cold night wind.
When she first saw this apartment, Aurora, who had been looking for a comfortable place far from the hustle and bustle of the city, was immediately attracted to it. She quickly contacted the real estate agent and paid the one-year rent with the remainder of her savings.
Although the apartment seemed old and a little neglected, the facilities were very comfortable and its location was very strategic.
"At least I won't regret spending all my savings on renting this apartment."
She was tired of her unemployed, alcoholic older brother, who kept draining her money, and her gambling father. She was also tired of her art agent who always hounded her to finish her paintings with deadlines.
It was all a mess, everyone around her was a mess.
That's why she chose to move to this remote suburban apartment to escape from the chaos.
"Ah, so peaceful."
At that moment, she heard noise from the front yard of the apartment. From where she stood, Aurora saw a group of people walking past the gate and entering the apartment building.
"That strange group of people again."
This was the third time she had seen these strange people.
Every full moon at midnight, Aurora would always wake up from the same dream. This was the third time she woke up in the middle of the night because of the dream, and she always saw the same strange group of people coming from nowhere, walking past the gate, and entering the building. They always arrived in a group and carried a thick, wild energy.
What was even stranger was that Aurora didn't recognize any of them. She didn't even know whether they were her neighbors or not.
The group was about 20 people.
'They look like a pack of wolves returning from a hunt.'
Aurora tried to hide as much as possible so they wouldn't notice she was watching them.
She feared that these people were a dangerous mafia gang hiding in this apartment, and if they realized she was watching them, she might get killed to keep her quiet.
'Ah, if I had known I'd be living in the same building with a bunch of mafia members, I definitely wouldn't have spent all my savings to rent this apartment.'
'I still value my life, but I have no choice but to stay in this apartment until my lease ends. If not, where else could I live? Don't regret it, don't regret it. I won't regret spending all my savings on rent. Don't regret it.'
While keeping an eye on the group, suddenly her eyes met those of a man in all black, standing a bit far off.
Aurora could feel the strongest energy coming from that man.
Aurora was startled and quickly closed the curtains. She rushed back into her room.
"Did our eyes just meet? Did he see me? Did he notice I was watching them?"
Aurora murmured in panic. She knew nothing about these people, but she could sense the dangerous aura they carried.
"He better not have seen me, he better not have seen me."
After saying that, she heard faint sounds of a party, laughter, and muffled screams coming from the top floor.
"They're partying again."
Aurora pulled the blanket over herself and lay down on the bed.
"Just sleep, and hope I'm still alive tomorrow," Aurora muttered, then fell asleep.
Just as her consciousness began to fade, Aurora vaguely smelled an unfamiliar yet calming scent. It was a unique blend of wet earth, freshly bloomed wildflowers, and warm musk.
Aurora carried that scent into her dreams, calming her until she no longer had nightmares and woke up refreshed in the morning.
•••
"Werewolves and magic must be real, they must be living among humans, using magic."
"You read too many fairy tales. Stop imagining things, aren't you afraid of getting scolded by your mom for playing around instead of studying?"
"Listen to me, I'm sure werewolves are real. Have you ever heard of the full moon night? Usually, werewolves come out on that night and turn into wolves to hunt and get stronger."
"If werewolves were real, how could ordinary humans like us still survive? They'd surely hunt us humans to eat."
Aurora sat calmly, facing her canvas paper. Her brushstrokes on the canvas paper were smooth and flowing. She looked focused, as though the noise around her didn't bother her at all.
'That's nonsense.'
In her mind, Aurora mocked the children's conversation.
Werewolves? Magic? Hah, it's all just myths created by human imagination. There's no way things like that exist in this world.
Aurora didn't believe in it at all.
*Phone ring*
Suddenly, Aurora's phone vibrated several times. She saw the name on the screen, it was her father. Aurora immediately lowered the ringtone volume and turned it off.
"I won't let you sell my things again for your useless gambling."
Aurora put her phone in her bag and began cleaning up her painting supplies. Her money was running low, and she needed to finish her painting in order to send it to the art gallery for income to support herself.
"Do you know the five-story apartment at the end of the street?"
The first child, who was so sure about werewolves and magic, whispered to his friend.
"Some people have heard wolf howls from that apartment in the middle of the night, exactly during the full moon. I'm sure, one of the residents of that apartment must be a werewolf."
Aurora's hand holding the brush stopped.
'That five-story apartment at the end of the street? Isn't that my apartment?'
"Hah, so it's really you."
Aurora was startled when suddenly her wrist was grabbed by Dion, her alcoholic older brother.
'How did he get here?'
Aurora stood up in panic and looked at Dion. "What are you doing here?"
This was a small suburban area far from London, why would Dion come here?
The stench of alcohol emanated from this man's body. Dion spoke angrily. "What else could I be doing here? Of course, I'm here to pick up my rebellious little sister and take her back home."
Aurora gritted her teeth. The drunken face of the man in front of her made her feel disgusted.
"Go home on your own, I'm not going anywhere."
"What? Hey, what do you mean by that, bitch? Are you planning to run away again? Fine... Then tell me where you're living now. You can't run away when I ask for money."
"Dream on!"
Aurora turned to leave. However, Dion still had a firm grip on her hand.
Aurora glared at Dion. "Let me go!"
"I won't let you go until you tell me where you live or give me money. You know? I'm running out of money right now. Come on, don't be stingy with your brother."
Aurora laughed mockingly. "Look at my face. Do I look like I care? Whether you have money or not, it's not my problem."
"What do you mean, bastard? Do you dare defy me? Hurry up and give me the money."
Dion tried to snatch Aurora's bag, but of course, Aurora didn't let him easily.
"Look, that woman is being robbed. Should we help her?"
"Hurry, call the police! Someone's being robbed!"
Hearing that she was accused of being robbed, Dion unconsciously loosened his grip on Aurora.
Aurora quickly seized the opportunity and kicked Dion's shin before running away from him.
"Hey!"
Dion grimaced as sharp pain shot through the part of his body that Aurora had kicked.
"Bastard! Stop there!"
Dion immediately chased after Aurora.
Aurora sprinted to avoid Dion. He couldn't know where she lived now; otherwise, her peaceful life would be in jeopardy.
Aurora spotted a garbage bin in a narrow alley. She immediately ran toward it to hide.
Brakk
A man suddenly emerged from the alley, and Aurora accidentally bumped into him.
Aurora fell hard onto the concrete, while the man stood motionless as if nothing had happened.
The man she bumped into wore a hat and a turtleneck covered with a leather jacket, his entire outfit in black. His face wasn't fully visible, only from the nose down, but Aurora could tell that this man must be very handsome from his proportional body and sharp jawline.
Aurora winced as she felt a sharp pain in her knee and ankle. She stared at the man intensely.
'This man feels familiar. Where have I seen him before?'