The grey wolf had its muscles tensed, ready to pounce at Celeste at any moment. His eyes were burning with intense ferocity. As he stared at Celeste, his mouth curled into a menacing snarl, revealing razor-sharp fangs.
But something seemed to hold him back. Perhaps it was the sharp, gleaming blade in her hand that gave the beast pause. The wolf knew it would be foolish to underestimate this small human girl and her dangerous weapon.
Scarface, even in his wolf form, still had his hideous scar stretched across his left eye. That only made his already fierce gaze even more intimidating.
Celeste knew she couldn't show a hint of fear or weakness. The wolf in front of her would catch on to even the slightest vulnerability and tear her apart with those sharp claws and teeth.
She gripped her knife tighter and stood her ground. Scarface growled menacingly, gradually inching closer to her. His piercing gaze never faltered, calculating every move she made.
Celeste felt sweat wetting her palms. For a brief moment, she was afraid that the blade would slip from her grasp.
She quickly glanced to the side and silently heaved a sigh of relief after making sure Alan had disappeared into the dense forest.
Deep down, she wished that she too could have followed suit to escape the wrath of the beast. But she couldn't. She couldn't wolf out, and she would never outrun Scarface when he was in his wolf form.
She hated the fact that she hadn't been able to wolf out. If she could transform, she would be better equipped to protect her pack. But she knew it was meaningless to whine about that.
She resolved to hold her ground and seize any opportunity that arose.
She kept a watchful eye on the wolf's every move, but the beast gave no indication of weakness.
Brandishing the small knife she held in her hand, she made a tentative swipe at Scarface. The wolf took a step back instinctively, never taking his fierce eyes off her.
In the next second, while she was lowering her knife, Scarface leaped aggressively toward her to take advantage of the moment.
Celeste reacted without a moment of pause and dodged the ferocious attack. At the same time, she bravely swung the blade forward in one swift motion and caught Scarface off guard. The tip of the blade made a small cut on his side immediately.
The cut was not deep, but it gave her more confidence. Maybe she would survive the beast.
Small drips of blood trickled down from the wound. Werewolves had the ability to heal themselves using their own strength, but Scarface was not healing himself. Clearly, he didn't want to be distracted. But it must hurt because Scarface seemed angrier. His snarling had the hair on the back of Celeste's neck standing on end.
At that moment, Celeste felt weird. She loved wolves, but she had never imagined the day would come when she would be threatened by one. Yet here she was, wielding a knife, preparing herself to fend off a wolf, one of her kind. It was a surreal experience she never thought she'd find herself in.
She was left with no other choices, though. She didn't understand why the wolves should kill each other. Shouldn't they come together and deal with their shared enemies? Come on! There were werewolf hunters out there trying to take their lives!
But she didn't have time to persuade Scarface to not killing her, because the wolf pounced at her again.
This time, he seemed to have grown smarter.
He was expecting the same move from Celeste. And when Celeste swung her blade like she did last time, Scarface changed direction and viciously grabbed at her neck.
Instinctively, Celeste thrust out her left arm to stop the wolf from cutting her neck open, and the sharp claws made a long cut through her arm. Blood spilled from the wound immediately.
She cried out in pain, staggering back. The warmth of blood ran down her skin, but she couldn't risk checking on the wound. The throbbing ache pulsed through her body, draining the color from her face. She bit down on her lip, refusing to show a sign of weakness that would invite the wolf to attack again.
With fierce determination, she locked eyes with the beast before her. Her knife pointed menacingly at his snarling jaw, daring him to try and take another swipe at her.
The wolf made his way towards her, slowly inching closer with each step until on the third attempt he lunged forward.
She didn't know if it was luck from the Moon Goddess, but she dodged the deadly attack. She flailed the knife around, and by some miracle, she plunged the blade into Scarface's flesh. The beast let out a howl of pain.
But before Celeste could savor the victory, Scarface turned his head and knocked the knife out of her hand. Without giving her the chance to pick up the knife, the beast pawed at it first and gloated at her.
With her weapon out of reach, Celeste took a step back. Scarface closed in on her.
She was forced to step back again, only to find herself cornered. She had nowhere else to go. Her heart pumped in her ears.
Scarface opened his mouth, seeming to mock her stupidity and laugh for his final victory. Without giving Celeste a second to prepare, he jumped and sunk his teeth into her shoulder while his claws pierced her chest.
A burst of agony overwhelmed Celeste in an instant, but what truly surprised her were Nancy's shrieks of horror not far away.
Celeste wondered if Nancy had Siren's blood running in hers. The jarring scream only served to agitate her nerves further, leaving her ears ringing and head throbbing.
Amidst the agony, Celeste wasn't sure whether or not she was going to die.
The fact that she hadn't been able to shift only meant she would not have her wolf's power to heal herself.
It would be such a pity if she died. She hadn't even met her wolf. And she hadn't learned Jeremy's secret.
But the wounds hurt so, so much. Celeste squeezed her eyes shut as if that would make her feel better.
Darkness called out to her, beckoning her forward. She yielded.
Just before she fell entirely into the darkness, she thought she heard Jeremy's furious roar…