Chapter 105

Olivia

The chill of the night seeped through our clothes as we trailed behind Alvin's shadowy figure, creeping silently through the underbrush. He didn’t seem to notice our presence, and if he did, he didn’t show it.

There was no knowing where Alvin was going. He kept taking strange turns, walking off of the beaten trail, disappearing into shadowy pockets of the forest only to show up again in a different area entirely. But he didn’t shift. He just walked, silently, in his human form.

I could see Nathan's skepticism in the tension of his shoulders as he walked ahead of me, but his loyalty had him right there beside me, never leaving my side.

Alvin eventually slipped into the shadows once more. We tried to follow his trail, but it was too difficult. Several minutes passed and we didn’t catch sight of him anywhere.

All of a sudden, a guttural howl echoed through the night, slicing the silence like a knife. It sounded far away but the sound still reverberated in my bones and made me jump.

Nathan was quick to wrap a comforting arm around my shoulders, but his instinctive touch did little to settle the fear that clung to my heart.

“We lost him,” Nathan finally admitted after an agonizing stretch of silence.

His voice was heavy with defeat and disbelief. He quickly dropped his arm from around my shoulders as he realized his unintentional close proximity to me.

“It doesn't mean he's not out there, Nathan. It doesn't mean he isn't the so-called ‘monster’.” I could hear the desperation in my own voice, a mirror of the frantic pounding of my heart.

“Or, it could just be a solitary man going out for a walk, Olivia. You're making assumptions, building up this grand narrative from a few circumstantial pieces. We have no real proof.”

I bit my lip, the taste of copper filling my mouth as my teeth broke the skin.

Nathan was right, of course, but I couldn't ignore the instinctual certainty that gnawed at my insides. The creature was Alvin. I knew it in my bones. The way that the ‘monster’ had looked at me when I called his name on that fateful night was burned into my mind like a hot iron.

“No, Nathan,” I finally said, shaking my head with conviction. “I know what I saw, what I felt that night. It's him.”

There was something steely in my tone, a resolve that even Nathan couldn't argue against. With a sigh, he nodded, the corners of his mouth pulling downward in a grim line.

“All right, Olivia. We’ll keep going for a little while longer.”

We crept along the shadowy path, our hearts in our throats. Each rustle of the bushes, every hoot of an owl, made us jump. But the monster—Alvin—was nowhere to be seen.

We stopped again, and this time Nathan turned to face me with a steely look in his eyes. “That’s it, Liv,” he said. “He’s gone. Even if he is somehow the monster, we’ve lost his trail. Let’s go home.”

I nodded hesitantly, staring down at my feet. All I wanted was to see Alvin, to talk to him, to warn him about his fate if he didn’t stop scaring people. But now all I was left with was a dead end and no proof.

Slowly, the four of us began the walk back toward town. Levi and Angela walked behind us, and Nathan walked alongside me. I felt his hand brush against mine as we walked; I could sense that he wanted to say more, but he couldn’t. I didn’t want him to. I was too angry and frustrated to talk.

But then, suddenly, there was a rustling from the bushes up ahead. We froze in our tracks in unison, our eyes straining to see what was in front of us.

Silence. No movement.

And then…

A low, guttural growl.

The leaves trembled as a figure suddenly sprang out—a wolf, its silhouette now illuminated by the scattered moonlight that was being cast through the trees.

It was muscular and large, the glint of its eyes predatory. But what caught my attention above all else was the distinct absence of a paw. It only had three.

“Alvin!” I shouted.

It all happened in an instant. The wolf lunged towards me, a feral snarl ripping from its throat. I screamed, the sound high and sharp against the still night air.

Then Nathan was there.

He jumped in front of me, arms spread wide, shielding me from the charging beast. A low growl rumbled in Nathan’s throat. His protective stance was as fearless as it was foolish. But before the creature could reach us, Levi rushed forward and slammed into the wolf’s side. The two grappled there, both in their wolf forms.

The monster’s lack of a fourth paw slowed it down considerably, and Levi managed to subdue the beast within moments, his years of training evident in the strength of his grip.

Angela was at his side in an instant, syringe in hand.

I watched with bated breath as she skillfully injected the sedative into the wolf.

It was so quick. Only a few moments, but it felt like an eternity. And now the wolf was subdued, just as we had planned.

The wolf struggled against Levi's iron grip, but the drug quickly took effect. Its struggles grew weaker, then ceased altogether.

A sigh of relief left my lips as the wolf's eyes fluttered close, the growl dying on its lips.

Slowly, before our very eyes, the monstrous wolf began to transform.

Its shape morphed, fur receding and limbs shrinking. In mere moments, where there once lay a terrifying beast, now rested a man.

Alvin.

“Shit,” Nathan murmured as we approached, his hand running through his hair. “You were right, Olivia.”

Recognition twisted my heart painfully. He looked smaller, more vulnerable in his human form, and even sadder from this close. I couldn't help but rush forward, crumpling down by his side.

His breathing was shallow but steady, his face pale in the moonlight.

“Alvin?” I whispered.

“He’s knocked out cold,” Angela said. “He won’t wake up for a little while.”

“We need to get him home, then,” I said, glancing at Nathan.

He was staring down at Alvin with a look of shock, disbelief. But there was no denying the truth now.

Alvin was the monster. He was the three-pawed wolf.

With the help of Levi and Angela, we lifted Alvin's unconscious form and started the journey back to his house. The task was silent, the revelation heavy on all of our hearts.

Nathan was unusually quiet. His face was pale, eyes distant. I knew he was replaying everything in his mind, connecting dots that he previously refused to acknowledge.

“Are you okay?” I asked, breaking the silence. He didn't respond immediately, his gaze stuck on Alvin's unconscious form. But finally, he turned to me, his features softened.

“I’ll be okay, Olivia,” he whispered. “We all will.” His words carried a reassurance I didn't feel. But I held onto them, onto him, onto the silent promise that we'd get through this, no matter what.

As we reached Alvin's house, I looked at my old friend, now a stranger. His secret was out, and our lives were forever entwined with his monstrous alter ego.

The moonlit night held a different kind of chill now, one that wasn't just from the cold. As the door closed behind us, I could only hope that dawn would bring a new beginning, a path to understanding and helping Alvin.

For his sake, and for ours.