-Chase-
I thought I was dead. I should've been dead. That half a second I had left after Dante launched at me should've been the last I had on this earth since I had no time to even think about protecting myself.
But it wasn't the last one.
I could hear another loud growl coming from upstairs, but I barely registered it. All I could understand was Dante's unnaturally long fangs that were aimed at my throat. I blinked, and suddenly I couldn't see the fangs, but the back of my sweet, sweet Eru in her demon form, standing on top of Dante after jumping down from the second floor. Dante was on the ground, pinned against the floor under her heavy weight, gasping for air after the impact.
But I had no time to celebrate. Dante growled in fury and pushed himself up, forcing Eru to back off. She stayed between him and me, her big ears pinned back, her long tail whipping through the air in anger and hissing like the demonic sabretooth she was. Dante had to retreat a bit since her fangs and her claws were bigger, and her rage was more terrifying than his.
I finally got my head back up and running. I immediately knew I had to get Dante out of my home. He would destroy my house if I let him stay there any longer, but I couldn't let him go outside either. I rushed into the kitchen just when the two beasts rushed at each other. I tried to find a pen or a pencil or anything that I could use to draw, and quickly spotted a marker lying on the side table. Then, I returned to the doorway leading into the entrance hall, took off the cap from the marker and started drawing hasty runes on the doorposts.
The two monsters were now in full fight-mode, trying to find an opening to attack. I didn't waste any time to look at them, but I could feel the ground shaking and heard the furniture breaking as they kept tossing each other around my way too small apartment.
As soon as I had all the seven runes drawn, I turned to look at them.
"Eru! We need to get him out of here!" I yelled as I slammed my hand on the activation rune, opening a portal to another dimension.
Eru turned around and dashed to the portal when it appeared in the doorway, and Dante was stupid enough to follow her. They both vanished into the blue swirls, and I hurried after them without giving it a second thought.
When I stepped out on the other side, I was greeted with a familiar, barren view, and a highly confused werewolf. Dante was growling, hovering close to the ground as he tried to understand why he was suddenly outside in a red desert. Eru stepped next to me, hissing at Dante in rage. I patted her big head while taking a deep, calming breath.
"Welcome to Njizrski," I said harshly, and Dante turned to glare at me.
His anger returned and he got ready to jump at us, but I was ready.
And this time, I had my full power at my disposal.
Before he could move a muscle, I conjured a thick metal chain around his neck and a big column behind him. The chain wrapped itself firmly around the red column just before Dante leaped at us. The metal stopped him, but it let out a desperate creak. I knew it wouldn't hold more than a second or two. I made another chain and attached it to another column, but Dante had now realized what I was doing. He got up on his hind legs, and grabbed the other one of the chains, pulling so hard it snapped.
"All right," I muttered, summoning more power to make a lot more chains.
Every time Dante broke one, I made two more until he was finally unable to fight back. By the time he was defeated, there were at least a dozen columns around him in a clean circle, and each of them had a sturdy chain holding him.
He was still growling at me. His rage was not subsiding at all. On the contrary, it seemed like being chained made him even angrier.
"I'm sorry, but you didn't give me any other choice," I spoke, stepping inside the ring of columns, but not too close to him. I studied his appearance closely and concluded that I had never seen anything like it. "What are you?" I asked quietly but only received more growling as an answer.
I slowly made my way around him, staring at him, trying to understand what I was seeing. Werewolves didn't look like that. They were just big wolves, but this... This was almost like he was stuck in the middle of his transformation. He even had all ten fingers, including his thumbs, but they were covered in fur and had long, spike-like nails.
Then I noticed blood on his arm. First, I thought Eru had wounded him, but then I realized something... I went closer to get a better look. Dante started thrashing around, but I could still see the wound clearly. A hole. Exactly where his healing bullet wound was.
It had to be the same wound, but now it was bleeding again. When werewolves changed their form, all their wounds and injuries were immediately healed, but it was clear that Dante's wound had only gotten worse. There was a lot of blood coming out...
"What the hell is up with you?" I asked in shock, and he growled furiously at me.
I turned to look at the portal, but there was no way I could leave Dante alone in Njizrski. It was a demon realm, and even though we were in the nearly empty desert, the monsters who lived there would soon smell his bleeding arm, and they were far more dangerous than Dante.
I retreated back to the portal and sat down. I couldn't help Dante as long as he wanted to rip my throat out, so all I could do was wait until he calmed down. He was going to calm down at some point, right? He would turn back to human, right? And why did he attack me? It was like he didn't even know me anymore!
I had no idea what to expect. This whole thing was screwed up, but I couldn't leave him. Then I remembered the last thing he said... That he couldn't control it. His transformation? Or that beast he turned into?
The time passed slowly as I watched Dante burning all his energy against the chains. I felt so helpless. I was trying to think of something to help him return to his human form, but I had no idea where to even start looking for a recipe for a potion like that.
Like there was any way in hell I'd get that thing to drink it.
Dante let out a massive roar and started yanking the chains again. I watched him for a while, but soon, Eru came to lie down next to me and poked me with her big nose.
"You did well. Saved my life again," I said, scratching her behind the ear. She was still in her demonic form and kept a close eye on Dante. I was so goddamn happy to have her. She was the best damn companion a warlock could have.
Dante was clearly running out of strength, and soon, he stopped trying to escape the chains and even stopped glaring at me. I felt so bad for the guy, even though he just tried to kill me. If I had known he would transform into a homicidal monster, I would've been much more careful around him, but at least I was still alive, thanks to Eru.
"C-Chase...?"
I nearly jumped out of my skin when I heard a raspy, growl-like voice speaking my name. I thought the speaker was another resident of Njizrski, but then I realized it was Dante. I got up on my feet, but didn't go closer to him, since I had no idea if he was still about to attack me.
He was breathing heavily now, and as I watched, his whole body suddenly jerked a little, making him let out a painful gasp. It happened again, and then, on the third time, his whole body tensed up, and his transformation started. It was painful to watch. Dante was clearly in pain as his body started shrinking, his body parts moved locations and the fur vanished. He tried to hold back his voice, but at the end, when he was nearly back in his human form and the chains slipped off him, he screamed.
I rushed to his aid without thinking about consequences and reached him just in time to prevent him from collapsing onto the ground. His body stopped changing, leaving him weak and almost limp in my arms.
"Dante?" I shook him gently when he closed his eyes, making him stay conscious. "Stay with me."
"I'm so sorry..." he whispered and tried to sit up, but he immediately fell forward. I helped him stay up, and he supported himself with his hands, his fingers digging into the red sand. "I'm so sorry..." He sounded like he was about to start crying.
"It's fine – nothing bad happened," I hurried to tell him with a reassuring voice. "Everything was under control."
"What happened? I lost... I can't remember what I did..." he spoke, peering up at me. "Did I hurt you?"
"Not a scratch," I smiled at him. "But I think we should talk – that thing was not a werewolf, Dante."
"I.... I can't..." he muttered weakly, looking away again.
"Could you at least tell me what you are? I want to know if this will happen again," I begged.
"No, I can't stay, it's too dangerous," Dante spoke, trying to get up again, but failing. "I never should've come to you..."
"You did right, coming to me," I said sternly and shushed him when he tried to object. "Listen – whatever it is that you are, I can deal with it. Look! I have Eru. It took me a while to tame her, but she's now sweet as a kitten."
Eru hissed at me when I said that, but I ignored her.
"I can't stay – I can't control it... They did this to me..." Dante muttered, and he sounded like he was about to panic.
"Just take a deep breath, all right? I'm not kicking you out just because you went a little homicidal. I am a warlock – I can handle it," I tried to reassure him, and I guess it worked. "Besides, where would you go? You can't turn into that beast in the middle of the city."
He was finally calming down, at least a little. He looked up at Eru, who was staying close by.
"What is that?" he asked.
"She is Eru, my demon companion."
"The cat?" Dante asked in confusion.
"Yes, this is her true form," I explained. "While we're in human dimension, she takes the form of a cat."
"Human... what?"
I had the feeling that this was a conversation we should save for later, so I decided to give him only a brief explanation. "There's different dimensions everywhere. This is Njizrski – a dimension where demons live. This is also the place where I get my magic from."
He stared at the sand we were sitting on for a short moment, before he turned to look around. There really was nothing to see except red sand that seemed to continue forever.
"I chose to bring us here because this part of Njizrski is pretty much abandoned, excluding a few monsters that love the desert." I could tell this new information was too much for him, so I didn't continue talking about the dimensions. "I should take you back home."
"You should leave me here," he muttered.
"But I won't," I said sternly. "Come – we shouldn't stay here for too long, or we will end up being someone's dinner."
He didn't resist at all when I helped him up on his feet and started leading him to the portal. It was obvious that he didn't actually want to be left behind. Eru kept glaring at him as we walked past her, Dante leaning heavily on me for balance. He stopped to stare at the portal, the liquid-like blue substance, seemingly wary of it. He still followed me when I nudged my head towards it, reminding him of the dangers we would soon be facing if we lingered much longer.
I suffocated a sigh when we stepped into my house and saw the destruction. The wall between my bathroom and entrance hall was partly collapsed, and the wooden railing on the stairs was utterly shattered. I used to have a big mirror on the wall next to the front door, but not anymore. The same fate had fallen upon my small table and a couple of flowerpots I had on top of it.
"I can't..." Dante muttered, stepping away from me. "I have to leave – look at what I've done!"
"You are not going anywhere," I told him, grabbing his hands in mine. "I only need to know what I'm dealing with, and everything will be all right."
"I don't know!" he snapped at me, pushing my hands away. "I have no idea what that... that... monster is! But I do know that I can't control myself when I've turned into it! I could've killed you and that guy!"
"Calm down," I said as soothingly as I could. "Let's just get you back in your room so you can rest, okay?"
He stared at me like I had lost my mind. Maybe I had. I had no idea what I was dealing with, or how dangerous he truly was, but I couldn't turn my back on him.
"Look, if you think about it, the best place for you is with me. At least now I know that if you start changing, I'll just pop up a portal and shove you in it. You can't harm anyone in Njizrski, and while there, I can use much stronger magic to get you under control," I explained.
He took a moment to think about my words, and finally nodded. "You're right. That... That does sound like a good plan."
"I know, right?" I joked, placing my hand on his arm to lead him upstairs. "And don't worry about the house – I'll fix it up in no time."
"I'm so sorry for attacking you... That's the last thing I remember before I... blacked out..." he spoke.
"Bygones be bygones," I said dismissively. "But I do need to know what's going on. You don't have to tell me everything, but I need to know enough, you get me?"
He didn't reply to me at first. We were already stepping into his room when he finally started speaking.
"I don't remember much about the night I got bitten," he started quietly. "I was way too drunk, and... Something attacked me when I was walking home. A werewolf, as I found out later. It was a full moon."
"That's when the new werewolves can't control their urges," I nodded, helping him sit down on his bed.
"I felt sick the next day. I didn't know how I got home, or where I got the bleeding bite mark on the back of my shoulder," he continued. "I got a phone call soon after waking up. It was some random guy, and I still don't know his name, but he told me I accidentally got turned into a werewolf. He told me to meet up with him so he could explain more thoroughly what would happen to me, but I freaked out. I didn't answer his calls and only read a few of his messages, before I broke the damn phone to make it stop."
"How did he know?" I asked quietly.
"Apparently the werewolf who bit me was one of his mates from his pack. I refused to believe I was a werewolf and pretended it never happened, but when the next full moon came closer, the guy approached me again. I told him to fuck off. He refused. He told me I had to find somewhere safe for three days during the full moon so I wouldn't attack anyone and make the same mistake his friend had made with me. I told him to fuck off again, and he did. Never heard from him ever since."
"What happened on the full moon?"
Dante let out a deep sigh. "I did what he told me to do. I rented a cabin far up on the mountains and chained myself to a wall. I couldn't sleep. I just waited for the morning, so I could prove to myself I wasn't a werewolf. And then I turned... I couldn't control anything, not the transformation, not myself. It got easier over time, but that first full moon was the worst. Until now."
I listened quietly as Dante told me about his new life as a werewolf. He didn't tell anyone about it, and he always left on a camping trip during full moons, so his friends and family never found out. Not until his wife grew suspicious and hired a private investigator to follow him. She found Dante in the cabin only an hour before the transformation would start, and refused to leave. Dante had no choice but to tell her.
She didn't believe him. Not until she witnessed the transformation.
"She left screaming and filed a divorce the next day. She called me all kinds of bad names and refused to listen when I begged for her to understand. It was still me. The transformations were much better. I was fully in control of myself, but I still needed to transform once or twice during a full moon, but with practice, it was getting better. But no. She called me a monster," he spoke quietly.
"I saw the news," I started hesitantly when he didn't continue talking. "You went missing six months ago. I didn't want to mention it, but..." I trailed off.
Dante grit his teeth together.
"Months later, Lena came back all of a sudden. She said she was ready to accept me as the person I was. She said she wanted me back," Dante spoke, his voice turning harsh.
"What happened?"
"She's the one who kidnapped me," he spat the words out.
And then he told me everything, while I listened to his story in sheer horror.