Magnus finally sighed in resignation. “Alright then, Seraphina. Thank you then.”
After I finished washing the dishes and tidying up, I prepared to head home. Magnus insisted on driving me, and I reluctantly agreed.
It was already dark, and the streetlights had come on. The number of pedestrians had dwindled. Soon, Magnus dropped me off at the entrance of my apartment building.
I unbuckled my seatbelt and noticed that Magnus had been watching me the entire time.
“What is it?” I couldn’t help but ask with a smile.
Inside the confined space of the car, we were close enough that I could smell the fresh, woody scent emanating from him-clean and crisp, much like the man himself.
His gaze lingered on me, making my breath hitch for a moment. A wave of tension spread through me.
“Seraphina, no matter what, don’t let yourself get too stressed, okay? I can sense that you’ve been on edge lately.”
As he spoke, his hand rested on my shoulder. I could feel the warmth radiating from his palm.
“I’m fine. I’m not under much pressure,” I replied.
“No, I can tell you’re tense. Is it because of what’s going on with Kael?”
“No,” I denied.
How could I explain to Magnus everything I’d been through recently?
“Seraphina, don’t hide it from me. I may be a surgeon, but I know a bit about psychology too. Maybe if you talk about it, I can help you.”
His words made me feel like I was slowly letting my guard down. But I was still hesitant, unsure of how to even begin.
A werewolf? Kael is a werewolf? How could I possibly say that out loud?
Just then, Magnus asked, “Have you encountered that ‘monster’ you mentioned recently?”
My eyes widened as I looked at him, surprised that he had brought it up first.
“I… I have,” I said, my throat dry and my voice hoarse.
“Did he hurt you?”
“No.”
“That’s good,” Magnus smiled. “Like I said before, they’re mostly just curious about you.”
“But why can’t I smell the scent on myself?”
“Because werewolves have a much keener sense of smell than us ordinary humans. They can detect it.”
So that was it.
But I was still puzzled. “If werewolves are so powerful, why do they hide in human society?”
“Because there are only a few of them. They’re not as numerous or as capable of thriving as humans,” Magnus explained. “That’s why I’ve been thinking-if humans and werewolves were to combine, wouldn’t humanity become incredibly powerful?”
I noticed a glimmer of excitement in Magnus’s eyes, his face lit up with enthusiasm, as if he had stumbled upon something extraordinary.
For some reason, at that moment, Magnus struck me as strange. Shouldn’t a normal human feel fear and aversion toward werewolves? Why did Magnus seem almost… reverent?
I recalled the last time he had been in a similar state, and it sent a chill down my spine. A cold sensation surged through my body.
“Magnus, how can you think like that? I’m genuinely scared of these things. I’ve never encountered them before. To me, they’re monsters.”
“No, they’re not monsters. In their daily lives, they’re no different from ordinary people. They just have the ability to transform into wolves.”
“But they lose control during the full moon and become real wolves.”
“That’s only true for lower-tier werewolves. The more advanced ones can control whether or not they transform,” Magnus said, smiling at me as if I were a child.
I hated that look on his face. It was the same expression he had given me when I mentioned wanting to buy weapons for self-defense.
Yet, all his knowledge about werewolves came from the internet. Still, he always acted as though he understood them deeply, while I was clueless.
I hated that feeling.
“Anyway, I just want to remain an ordinary human and stay away from all that,” I said, opening the car door to leave.
It was clear that Magnus and I had a serious disagreement on this matter. He was fascinated, even obsessed, with werewolves, while I wanted nothing to do with them.
Just then, Magnus said, “You can’t escape it, Seraphina. You know they’ve got their eyes on you.”
His calm tone sent my heart plummeting. I felt a heavy thud, as if something had crashed inside me.
Goosebumps rose on my skin, and a cold shiver crawled up my spine like a venomous snake.
Magnus seemed to understand my situation perfectly. His gaze felt as though it could pierce right through me.
“What do you know, Magnus? Have you… been involved with them too?” Or was he a werewolf himself?
The absurd thought resurfaced. But if Magnus were a werewolf, Kael would have known.
“Yes, but we’ll talk about it another time. It’ll take a while to explain. For now, Seraphina, you should head home.”
His gentle, handsome face broke into a smile again. He still looked like the sunny, easygoing guy I knew. But at that moment, I couldn’t shake the feeling that there was more to him than met the eye, especially given his knowledge of werewolves.
What secrets was he hiding?
I watched Magnus’s car drive away, still lost in thought.
Just then, I noticed Marek across the street.
He stood there like a dutiful bodyguard, silently watching over me. He was as quiet as a ghost, doing nothing but keeping his eyes fixed on me.
It was unnerving, but since he was Kael’s man, I tried not to let my fear show. After all, there were things I needed to ask him.
I waved at him. “Can you come here?”
Marek seemed surprised by my gesture but walked over to me.
“Can you stop following me?” I blurted out as soon as he reached me.
Being constantly tailed by a werewolf was terrifying. Even if it were a normal person, it would still be unsettling.
I felt like I had no privacy left. For all I knew, he was reporting my every move to Kael.