Yeah, Zion, her son.
He had a point. Aaron wasn’t a bad person, and he indeed sounded like a sweet person.
“I can’t trust him,” she revealed, placing her chin in her palms, supported by her elbows on the counter. “His very thoughts scream not trustworthy in my brain, despite my empty memory.”
“Maybe you two had issues before the accident, and somewhere deep inside, you know you’ve yet to resolve them. But you were happy with him. I know he would lay his life on the line for you without thinking twice about it.”
“Thank you for your honesty, Daniel.” To an extent, she wished she could be this honest with him about everything, but she feared what that would mean. “I wish I would just remember.”
He turned the cooker off and stepped towards the centre counter where she sat. “It’s alright; you will remember. Everything is possible if you put your mind to it,” he told her.
She wanted to remember things, and she had put her mind to it before falling asleep last night, but the saying had not worked for her yet. She still had a huge blank in her brain, and how she had memories of Daniel was still a mystery to her.
“I want to believe that’s true.” She told him, sighing heavily.
He said little after that before serving breakfast. They ate in silence, and when she finished, she spoke. “Thank you for breakfast and your kind words. What are your plans for today?”
“Following the trail I have had since the past week,” He answered and rose to his feet, picking up their plates and taking them into the kitchen.
“What trail?”
Pain flashed in his eyes. “Of the one responsible for the death of my mother. I think it’s about time I settled that score.”
The one responsible for the death of his mother was a werewolf, and she had also attacked and left him for dead. “Killing her will not bring my mother back, but I would be happy to know a threat to the world has been taken care of. That’s my job.”
“If she’s as deadly as you say, do you think you can take her alone?” Zera asked.
“I have to keep the faith that I can.”
“So where did the trail say she would be?”
“At South Park by three p. m., this is the only opening I’ve had in days, and I have to take it and use it.”
He reached for the towel beside the sink and wiped his hands with it after finishing. “And when she’s dead, what next?”
He halted; he probably hadn’t thought that far, and now that he had, he didn’t have the answer to the question. “I guess I will return to my job of lecturing at Stanford University by day and hunting at night.”
Daniel helped set the TV up since Zera would stay here while he was away. When he was about to leave, he informed her that food was in the fridge and told her to make herself at home.
At eleven a. m., Daniel left the house, and Zera, seeing the opportunity, searched the freezer in search of meat. It was what her body wanted, but she found none there. Daniel must have cooked everything he had yesterday.
She still needed meat, and the craving grew to the point that she couldn’t control it anymore and had to leave the house. She picked Daniel’s jacket from the hangar and shrugged it on before leaving the house.
She wandered into the woods, not knowing where her legs took her but unable to stop either way. She came to a stop and looked around, seeing nothing but grass and trees and wondering why she was there.
Just then, she heard the sound from not so far away. She hurried in that direction. She stooped and found a white rabbit beside a tree on her right side, and the urge to feast on it took over her. She darted to it in a second and caught it in her grasp. She tore at it, eating as if she were a food-starved beast.
The hunger disappeared after she got her fill, and her senses returned. She stared at her hands covered in blood, and she shook in fear and disgust. She threw up before she could stop herself, tears running down her face at what was happening to her.
Why did she find delight in harming and killing this poor creature?
Why did she find satisfaction?
What sort of monster was she becoming?
She wiped her hands on the grass before her and rose to her feet, running from the spot and towards the house. She arrived in no time and made her way into the house and the bathroom. Daniel was still off fighting Nicole, and she was glad because he wouldn’t get to see her like this.
She washed off the bloodstains on her hands in the bathroom basin and stared at herself in the mirror. She saw her mouth covered with blood, like a monster in a horror story.
Tears ran down her face, and she sobbed for a while, then washed her mouth over and over to get the stain and the stench off her. She stared back at herself in the mirror. She looked neater than a few seconds ago, but she didn’t feel any better.
She could still smell the blood, and she tore at the T-shirt she had on and tossed it onto the floor, leaving her naked from the waist up. She took off her pants and walked into the shower.
After she turned it on, water descended on her skin. She took the bar soap, rubbing it all over her body before washing it off. The dirt lingering on her skin came off, and the smell was reduced. Then she returned to stare at herself in the mirror before the basin.
She looked better and neater, and the stench had also reduced. This was good news. Just then, her eyes caught sight of the marking on the space between her neck and shoulder, and her eyes narrowed. Her hand lifted slowly to trail the mark that looked like the shape of fangs, wondering how they got there. She hadn’t noticed the mark since waking up, and now that she had, she couldn’t unsee it.
She had noticed the healed fang mark on her right hand immediately after she woke, and though she wondered what it was, she hadn’t found an answer yet. This, however, was something else. It looked as if she had been bitten with the intention of leaving a mark, but why?
What was the aim?
What could have left such a mark? Whatever happened, this wasn’t human.
Her breath hitched in her throat at the many thoughts running through her head. As she stared at herself, she saw her eyes transform from their blue orbs into an indigo colour that she had never seen before. She stumbled back, hitting the wall, and just then, she felt the snap. What she had seen was the key to unlocking her memories, and they came rushing back like a flood.
She remembered everything and everyone’s, every heartbreak and sad memory. The good times and the times she had regrets for.
She remembered the funeral and Nicole being there. She remembered Nicole telling her the truth and Aaron confirming it.
She remembered the road and the crash. She remembered hearing Aaron’s voice before blacking out into nothingness.
It was a terrible crash, and she shouldn’t have survived it. But she had, which meant something far from natural had happened.
She had experienced the strength and speed of a supernatural being since waking, as well as an increased sense of smell and craving. She had read all these while doing research in the past, and these traits only meant one thing.
She was a werewolf.
Her head banged at the truth, and she held onto it as the pain increased, and she wanted it to stop more than anything. Her hands grew bigger and more veiny, and her claws grew out. She groaned in pain and dropped to her knees, and as the pain grew beyond her control, she screamed out.
“Zera!” she heard Daniel’s panicked voice call from not far away. He heard her scream and already knew something was wrong.
She panicked, knowing he would find her in this form if he came into the room and would kill her immediately. She wanted him to stay out or at least change back to her normal form, but that was impossible, not with her memories and the truth coming into play.
The door flung open, and in came Daniel: “Zera, are you alright?”
He raced over to the floor where she was and tilted her face, only to see it glow, making him gasp aloud.
He fell back and rose to his feet, his eyes filled with surprise. “You’re one of them.”