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As my heart rate slowed down, my vision returned. I smiled at Kieran as he let out a sigh, wiping the sweat from his forehead. “Gosh, I felt so horrible…” I started, but then I felt this really sharp pain in my stomach. It made me fall forwards and I started shaking as I shouted. I shut my eyes, trying to get rid of the pain, but all I could feel was the tears running down my face. To make matters worse, I heard the crackling of bones and the pain of my arm going in a painful angle.
“Tali!” Kieran yelled frantically and I was surprised to hear his voice above my screams and the crackling of my bones.
The Iron Justice POV
Oh, what a silly little girl.
I know her secret, and so does everyone else in her ‘family’ and her so-called group of ‘friends’, but she doesn’t. They think I’m clueless, but they’re wrong. I learnt so much from it. I grew up with it. I grew up to hate werewolves.
They didn’t even know I was at the wedding. They had no idea I was so close to them – just a few feet away from that naïve girl and her silly boyfriend. Or should I say “mate”? I actually played a big part in the wedding, but they didn’t suspect a thing because I acted innocent and clueless.
I smiled wickedly in my office, which was pretty dark, and I was still wearing the fancy clothes I’d worn to the special event. She got angry and I wanted to see that the whole time I was here. I couldn’t stop thinking about the time she growled, her eyes got all big and bright, and her pupils dilated. That was all it took to confirm my thoughts about her.
She was the one we had to kill, but let’s tease her and warn her first.
She might act like she’s not scared, but I know her well enough to know it’s a lie. She’s a bit of a loose cannon, if you know what I mean. I’ll do whatever it takes to make sure she’s gone.
I threw the cup on my desk across my room and it crashed, the shards falling to the ground. I pushed my hair, which was already a bit of a mess, out of my face. I was gobsmacked when I found out she was the one, though. I’m not going to be popular after this, that’s for sure. But did I care? No.
I heard a familiar four-tap knock on my office door and I smiled wickedly again. “Come in,” I yelled.
The door creaked as the young man came in. I’ve trusted him for a long time now and I can definitely count on him for the rest of my life. His brown eyes had a wicked glint in them and his sinister smirk was obvious. Even this guy was someone Tali would never have anticipated. He sat down in the seat opposite me, crossing his arms above his chest.
“You looked good tonight,” he said. “Perfect timing, eh?”
“Cheers, partner,” I replied. “Did you get it done?”
He nodded in a cheeky way, holding up the bottle of toxin I’d given him earlier and slamming it down on my desk. “I’ll be honest with you,” he sighed. “You’re good at it.”
“And you’re no exception. Now I’ve got another job for you,” I said, rummaging in my drawer and tossing my prized possession onto the white wooden desk. I smiled when I saw all the pictures of pretty, little Tali rummaging around in my drawer.
My partner looked at it with awe as he gently touched it. He sat back in his chair, his eyes twinkling as he kept his stare on the object that glinted under the dim light. He gave me a smirk and said, “So, what do you want me to do with a gun?”
I could feel my bones breaking as I heard that cracking sound in my ears. I was screaming and sobbing all through the night. I couldn’t think of anything as I felt my sweat run down my body and the tears rolling down from my eyes that were shut tight.
I yelled again and put on my seatbelt as I felt my leg twist in pain. It felt like my muscles were being punched, my bones were being chopped up, and my head was about to explode. The pain was unbearable and all I wanted was for it to stop.
I felt myself being lifted up and I tried hard not to hit the person, but that ended when I felt my gut being squeezed and my shoulder bone being dislocated. I kept my eyes shut as the person put me down slowly, the dead leaves on the ground poking my back and arms. It would’ve been painful, but nothing compared to the pain I was in.
I cried again and rolled when I felt my ribs being messed with. I opened my eyes for a second and saw the world glowing around me. I could even see the spider up on the highest branch of the tree. I could soon see that I was in the forest at the back of my house.
I noticed that my dress was tearing, the silk spreading apart as my body seemed to get bigger by the second. I closed my eyes again when I felt the pain in my mouth. It was itchy and I wailed in pain as I felt my jaw being pushed out and stretched. My teeth felt like they were being yanked with pliers.
Five minutes later, I felt my body start to calm down. I actually felt really good. I felt better than I ever had. I let out a sigh, but it sounded different to my ears. It sounded more like a huff. I thought that was a bit odd. But everything about this night felt a bit weird. So, I quickly brushed it off and wiped my forehead. I stopped my hand there to take a closer look. Or maybe paw.
I was totally confused, and no one could explain it. I looked everywhere, and my eyes fell on the pink material on the ground. I could even see the dust on it and tiny grains of dirt on my discarded, shredded dress. My shoes were even shredded into pieces. Hey, I was actually out in the forest at night. How come I could see so clearly?
Then, I saw a good-looking boy with clear blue eyes coming towards me, but he looked a bit nervous. His blue eyes showed he was shocked, and there was something else on his face. It was a bit indecisive. It was sort of in between understanding and being disgusted. I heard my own whining coming from my mouth – like a dog whines.
Then I looked at the boy again and all I could think was one word. “Hey.”
Kieran’s point of view…
It was pretty awful to watch Tali go through her change. I could see her bones twisting in ways I couldn’t even imagine, and it was really painful to watch. I really wished I could go up and give her a hug, but I had to let her do this on her own, just like I had done. Trust me. Every time I heard her whimper or cry, I jumped out of my seat, but I stopped myself from getting up. My eyes were tired and my hair was a mess from my hand constantly running through it. Every wolf had to do their first change on their own. It was the only way they could carry themselves for the rest of their lives.
I wish Serena had told her that this would be happening soon. That she would be turning into a werewolf, just like us. I knew as soon as I saw it that night that her bedroom window had been vandalised. Serena promised me not to tell anyone.
She said her family was a late bloomer. Even Elias was a werewolf, but Serena had told me that he hated it. He really didn’t like feeling pain all the time. She told me he’s finding the whole werewolf process tough, and still is. But I didn’t get why Serena wasn’t one. I tried to work the puzzle pieces, but I’m missing a lot of them.
My thoughts were suddenly interrupted by one more guttural cry before it all went quiet. Then, I knew one thing. She finally made it. Her body spasmed one more time before her fur appeared and her bones changed into a werewolf form in a flash. And there she was, so heart-breakingly beautiful that I couldn’t help but shed a tear.
I cried because my friend had finally found herself.
When I stood up, I suddenly stopped mid-stride and looked at her. I could see that she was confused when she saw her paw. But that’s not what got me. We were both pretty confused.
No werewolf had white fur, you know. They didn’t have a perfect heart either, as shown by the black marks on their forehead. They also didn’t have teeth bigger than Tali’s. And they certainly didn’t have the same glow the moon gave off as it came out from their fur.
Then, as if to taunt me, all my questions and explanations came back to bite me.
Tali was a healer.
I was pretty shocked when I took a few steps towards Tali, and I could feel my throat closing. I was so disgusted, trust me. I didn’t think the stories about one healer being left alive were true. No one did. They were the reasons why wolves were made, sacrificing their bodies to the full moon and why my ancestor had lost his son.
I was disgusted, to say the least. Scowling at Tali felt wrong and right at the same time. I guess the question is, should I hate her for who she is, given that she didn’t choose to be or love her always and didn’t care what form she was in? I’m torn between using my instincts as a werewolf to hate on healers, or using my heart and accepting that it wasn’t her fault. I was so clueless. That was until she looked at me in the eyes and I saw her wolf-like grin.