~Chapter 31~
I get home after everyone has left, and it’s the first time today that I feel the silence weighing me down.
It feels different… heavier, denser.
I automatically head for my room, close the door, and let my backpack fall to the floor.
I run my hand over the back of my neck, still feeling the vague memory of Niko and Ash’s touches, too many strange things, too many gestures that weren’t just… friendship.
I sit down on the bed, but… the feeling comes before I sit down completely.
The feeling that someone is looking at me.
I look up at the window.
The evening light falls coldly on the windowsill, and outside…
something is moving.
I approach slowly, tensely.
And then I see him.
A huge wolf.
Black.
Massive.
Fur shining like ink, eyes , golden, like molten metal.
He stands right in the middle of the yard, motionless, his head raised towards my window.
And next to him…
The second.
Just as big. Just as black.
But with green eyes.
Not normal green. A green I’ve never seen before, like a clearing in the forest at night.
I Frost .
The wolves are looking at me.
Right at me.
As if they know me.
And just as I get closer to the window, their pupils narrow, a sign of recognition.
I studied this Biology a year ago"
Either they recognize me…
or I should have recognized them.
And in the next second, they turn and disappear into the forest like two shadows.
I’m left staring after them, my pulse racing.
“Brex,” I murmur, not taking my eyes off the spot where they’ve disappeared. “Tell me you saw that too.”
'In his basket, Brex lifts his head slowly, rounded by the warmth, and yawns theatrically.
'
"Aha… yeah. I saw them.
" His tone is exactly the same as "I know something but I don't want to say.
"
"Who were they?" I ask. "Why were they looking at me like that?
"
Brex sighs. "Look… I don't know how to tell you this…
Have you watched Twilight That other people ?
Or… the werewolf thing? It's kind of… in that area.
" He says "I've heard something about those movies too.
"
I raise an eyebrow.
"Is that all?
Are you telling me they're vampires?"
Brex rolls his eyes.
"No, no, no! Not vampires, Cassian.
Just werewolves. Strictly werewolves. Like Jacob, if I say his name right"
I swallow hard.
Werewolves.
Two giant wolves, with impossible eyes.
And the worst part is that… I can’t say I didn’t believe it.
“Brex…” I say softly. “Could it be… could it be them?”
Brex stares at me for a long time.
Too long.
“…yes. he finally says. But don’t be scared.
It’s not something bad. On the contrary.
Lift your ears a little. And… they’re not the only ones.
”
My heart skips a beat.
“You mean… me? Or others around me…?”
Brex blinks slowly, like a small animal that doesn’t want to give me a heart attack.
“Mmm… possible. Let’s say… you have a good nose.
But it’s not something bad. It’s just… the truth. ”
I lean back.
I can’t believe it.
And yet… all day, Niko’s touch, Ash’s gaze, the way they framed me…
Yes.
I could already feel something animalistic about them.
And it wasn’t scaring me. it was pulling me.
A strange kind of excitement grips my stomach.
“Sergio must know about this,” I say. “I need to talk to him.”
I pick up the phone.
I call Once
I call Second time
I call third time
Nothing.
I look at the time.
12:12 PM
“He’s not home…” I mutter. “Where the hell is he at this time?”
Panic begins to rise in my ribs, like a cold wave.
I sneak out of the room, go down the stairs, open the door of the house.
Cold air.
Deep night.
Silence.
"Sergio!" I call out softly, but no one answers.
I start down the driveway.
Maybe he’s close.
Maybe he’s gone for air. Maybe..
A growl.
In front of me, three stray dogs. Big ones.
Their eyes reflecting the moonlight.
“Really?” I ask in a low voice.
“Now?”
The first one jumps.
I raise my arm instinctively.
His teeth scrape my forearm, an arc of sharp pain.
The second one only touches me in passing, tugging at my shirt.
The third one almost pushes me into the fence.
“Bah! That’s enough!” I yell.
I knee one of them. It lets out a short yelp and all three of us run into the bushes.
I'm left with my breathing ragged, blood on my arm but not much and a throbbing pain.
"Brilliant..." I mumble. "Beastly. Wonderful."
But the worry for Sergio is stronger than the scratches.
I look everywhere.
Nothing.
No sign of him.
I return to the house, my hand throbbing..
Inhale. Exhale.
I try to sleep.
But I can't.
I don't fall asleep until after two.
And the sleep isn't sleep, it's a blackout where Sergio's voice appears and disappears.
"Cassian… I'm not feeling well..."
"There's something strange going on.
.."
"So many lies..."
"I don't have time anymore.
.."
I wake up with a shock, literally feeling like someone shouted in my ear.
Sweating.
With my heart pounding.
Brex is already awake, his eyes wide.
"I heard him too… he says. You have to look for him.
Now. In the places he usually goes. It's not normal. "
I pull my shirt over my head, still shivering.
“I’ll find him,” I say, though my voice cracks slightly.
And I leave.
With the thought that… something is very, very wrong.
And that if those two werewolves had anything to do with it…
Then it’s just the beginning.
---
When I walk out the door, the air hits me like a wet slap. It’s cold. A different kind of cold.
The kind that creeps up on you even when you’re well dressed, the kind that makes you wrap your arms around your body without meaning to. But I don’t stop. I don’t think. I just… walk.
I think about him....
My brother.
I don't realize when my steps get faster.
When my breath catches. When my chest feels tight, as if I've been running too long.
But I'm not running.
It's just me, at the edge of the forest, looking for something I don't know if it still exists.
"Please... just a sign..."
I don't even realize when I say it.
I don't even realize who I'm praying to.
The light is strange. Too cold for this hour.
The shadows between the trees move slowly, too slowly, as if they don't belong to my time.
And I have that horrible, oppressive feeling that I'm not alone.
I stop.
I turn my head over my shoulder.
Nothing.
But I feel it.
Someone.
Something.
Like a trace of breath in the back of the neck.
Like a look down the spine.
"Where are you?" I scream but my voice is broken
My voice shakes. It annoys me that my voice shakes.
I should be stronger. Right? Not to feel so much anymore.
Not to hope so much anymore.
I go deeper.
I pass a large rock.
That's where we used to sit.
That's where he laughed.
And now…
there's just silence.
I lean over. I put my hand on the rock.
It's cold. Too cold.
"I can't believe you're gone. .."
The words escape me.
As if they've been inside me for too long and now they've found a bit of air to sneak out.
I take a deep breath and stand up.
I look around.
Nothing.
No sign.
No sound.
No smell.
I start walking in circles.
An hour.
Two.
I don't know how long.
At some point, I find myself calling his name.
It's the first time I've called him out loud in a long time.
And the answer?
A hollow echo.
So hollow it hurts.
I collapse onto a log, prop my elbows on my knees, and cover my face with my hands.
A lump forms in my throat.
My eyes sting.
"Please… just show yourself…"
And then all three things hit me at once:
Pain.
Tension.
Fear that I might never see him again.
Frustration erupts before I can stop it.
"Why aren't you here?!" I shout, my voice cracking.
Mist comes out of my mouth as I breathe chaotically.
I can't tell if it's the cold... or the crying... or the fear.
Finally I stand up.
With wet eyes.
With a broken heart.
With nothing in my hand.
Not even a small sign.
I walk back home.
My steps are heavy.
My whole body aches as if I’ve been carrying something far too heavy, for far too long.
When I reach the edge of the forest, I feel the gaze again.
Behind me.
Those shadows.
That breath that’s not mine.
I don’t turn around.
I can’t.
If I turn around and there’s nothing, it hurts.
If I turn around and there’s something, it hurts differently.
So I just walk.
When I enter the alley, I wipe my eyes with the sleeve of my sweatshirt.
But the tears are still coming.
Slowly.
Silently.
Am I ashamed?
Maybe.
Am I afraid?
Yes.
I feel my chest tighten again.
I open the door of the house.
Silence.
I close the door behind me.
I stand with my back against it for a few seconds, breathing hard, trying to gather my faces, my emotions, everything that flows from me.
But I can't.
I can't stop this quiet, slow, bitter cry.
The traces of my footsteps on the floor are almost invisible, although I feel like I'm leaving everything behind.
I climb the stairs. I enter the room. I sit on the edge of the bed.
I put my hand over my eyes.
I feel empty.
After a while , I don't know how long , I manage to breathe normally.
I try to get up. I go down the stairs slowly, as if I'm afraid the world will break beneath me.
And when I get down…
I see him.
Sergio.
On the couch.
Feet on the table.
Eyes on the TV.
As if nothing happened.
As if the world didn't end for me an hour ago.
But when I look up...
And meet his eyes.
..
He knows.
He saw that I cried.
He feels that I'm broken inside.
He feels EVERYTHING.
And he doesn't say anything.
He doesn't ask me anything.
He just extends a hand towards me, so natural, so. .. sure of himself.
And this thing…
This thing hits me.
Not as a consolation.
Not as a “come to my place.”
But as a home.
I don’t even know how I get to him.
How I practically jump over the front of the couch.
How I wrap my arms under his, around him.
How I cling to him like I might dissolve if I let go.
He doesn’t move.
He doesn’t look surprised.
He doesn’t sigh.
He closes his arms directly around me.
Tight.
Protective.
Automatic.
Like he’s been waiting for this.
"Cassian…
"
Something breaks in my chest when he says my name like that.
With his calm voice.
The one that doesn't demand, doesn't argue, doesn't judge.
I bury my forehead in his neck and, without wanting to, I let out a small, shameful tremor, which he surely feels.
And he...
Just caresses the back of my neck.
That's it.
Nothing else.
And I think that does me more good than any words.
My breathing slowly calms down.
My eyes close involuntarily.
I feel his pulse at my temple, regular, sure.
I smell that familiar scent of his.
He rests his chin on my head and inhales slowly, as if checking me out.
As if he needs to know that I’m whole.
And there, in his arms, with the TV on in the background, with the morning light coming in palely through the window…
I fall asleep.
Like a child.
Like someone who has finally found a place where he can be vulnerable without shame.
Like someone who doesn't want to let go anymore.
And Sergio...
He doesn't move.
He doesn't push me.
He doesn't breathe deeper.
He doesn't do anything to wake me up.
He just holds me.
Like he knew I was going to fall.
And he sat there to catch me.
---
I wake up with difficulty, as if I were rising from a thick pool of water. My whole body aches. Not badly. More like a kind of fatigue that comes from too many emotions, too many thoughts, too much of everything.
I blink.
The light in the living room is warm, soft, and the TV is on so low that you can hear more the vibration of the sound than the sound itself.
And then I realize.
I'm on the couch.
In someone's arms.
In Sergio's arms.
My head is resting on his chest, and his breathing is slow, calm, as if he’s been like this all morning.
His hand is behind me, holding me firmly in place.
Not to block me…
but to keep me from falling.
To keep me from walking away.
I swallow hard.
I look up a little.
Sergio is awake.
He’s watching the TV, but his eyes aren’t focused there.
He knows I’m awake.
“You slept pretty soundly,” he says calmly, without taking his eyes off the screen.
His voice is low. Too low.
Too… strange
"What time is it?
" he murmurs.
"It doesn't matter." It's the answer he only gives when something is preoccupied with him.
I lift my head a little, pulling away from him, and he automatically lowers his arm…
but doesn't let me get up completely.
He holds my hip with a small, protective pressure.
"Sergio"… I call him, because his silence is strange. "Where have you been?" I ask, without thinking. "Why did you leave me? When did you come?"
The questions come one after the other, too quickly, too honestly.
And only then does he turn to me.
His sigh is long.
Heavy.
As if he’s been prepared for this.
“I don’t know why, Cass,” he says. His tone is soft, but underneath it there’s a kind of tension that makes me tense. “Something took me there. It took me out of the house. And… I can’t explain it to you And neither do I.. I can’t explain why.”
I look at him.
There's truth in his eyes, but also confusion.
And something that hits me in the stomach: fear.
Not for him.
For me.
"Sergio"… I whisper.
I raise my hand to rub my forehead, and my shirt rides up a little, exposing my forearm.
In that second, EVERYTHING changes.
Sergio freezes.
He raises himself onto his elbow.
His eyes dart to my arm.
Where it is… the trail.
The mark I came back with last night.
The mark of the long, thin cut, like a claw that wanted to leave blood but not much, just a mark.
The mark of the bite… superficial, too precise to be a dog's, now that I think about it.
An impossible combination.
Sergio grabs my arm so fast I don’t even have time to react.
“What is this?!” he blurts out.
He doesn’t scream.
But his voice is sharper than I’ve ever heard it.
“Who did this to you? When? Why didn’t you tell me?
Why didn’t you..”
“Wait,” I say, pulling my hand away a little.
But he squeezes it even tighter, carefully but firmly.
“Cassian… this isn’t a normal scratch.
”
I feel like telling him I know.
That I felt it go under my skin, that I felt
But my shoulders tense.
My breath catches.
And he sees it.
“Let me clean it,” he says, already standing.
He pulls me toward the kitchen, not giving me the option to say no.
"If it gets infected, if it's something toxic. ."
" Sergio…"
"Stay put."
He puts the cloth in his hand, opens the bottle of disinfectant, wets it, and grabs my arm again.
"It's going to sting, but..."
He stops.
I look at him.
He looks at my arm.
He looks closer.
Closer and closer.
His pupils dilate.
"What the…
hell…?"
The mark is gone.
Not even the cut.
Not even the bite.
Not even a bruise.
My skin is… perfect.
Sergio looks up at me, slowly, as if he needs a few seconds to catch his breath.
"Cassian"… he says softly. "She was here.
I saw her. I saw her with my own eyes. Don't take me for a fool.
Don't take me for a madman. She was here.
"
I take a deep breath.
This is the part where I can't avoid it anymore.
I can't make jokes anymore, I can't look away anymore, I can't pretend anymore.
"Sergio… something's up," I whisper.
He takes a step back, as if my words have knocked the air out of his lungs.
"What does this mean?" he asks.
I sit down on the chair.
Not because I'm tired.
Because I finally feel empty.
"When I ran away last night... I went after my brother.
" Silence. He says nothing. He breathes heavily.
He waits. "And I didn't find him," I continue.
I feel my eyes burning, but I don't blink.
"But someone else found me."
"Who?" he answers immediately.
His voice is a mixture of panic and anger.
"There were three stray dogs but..."
Something changes in Sergio.
Not in his expression.
In the position of his body, as if all his instincts are jerking.
"And earlier that night, Brex said something to me about werewolves," I add softly.
He sits back, frozen.
He stops breathing.
He doesn't move.
He just looks at me.
"Cass..." he says
"I know," I cut him off.
"I know how it sounds. I know it's crazy.
I know I wouldn't believe it if someone else told me.
.. But these things aren't normal."
I look at my arm.
At the perfect skin.
At the absence of the wound that should have been there.
"And the bite... or whatever it was.
.. disappeared within hours," I say softly.
Sergio takes a deep breath.
Very deep.
He slowly approaches.
He sits in front of me.
He holds my face in his hands.
He forces me to look at him.
"Cassian… I'm not leaving you alone in this.
No matter what.
No matter who it is.
No matter what he does to you or what he asks of you. "
I swallow hard.
And in that moment, when he touches my cheeks, I realize how much my hands are shaking.
"You haven't lost me," he continues, whispering, far too close.
"I'm here."
I don't know why…
I don't know how…
but tears fall before I can stop them.
And he wipes them away with his finger.
With the same care he used to hold me at night when we were little.
"Cass…"
His voice breaks.
And then he grabs me by the waist, pulls me towards him and hugs me to his chest, as if he wants to protect me from the whole world.
And there, with my face in his shirt, in one arm that is secure and the other that is shaking, I realize that I can't run.
I can't hide anymore.
I can't lie anymore.
Because it's Sergio.
He knows the truth before I tell him.
------------------------------------------------------
This is the last chapter translated by me. Now I hope I DON'T have to bother translating the rest until 38. Oops, I didn't mean to say how many chapters there are left from this part, but now you know.
I promise that when I translate a new chapter, I'll post it right then.
Bye pookies
-L