Camila ran until she got to the end of the road where she boarded a cab to an old time friend's house, her baby clutched tightly to her chest. Her breath came in sharp gasps, and tears flowed down her cheeks. Branches scratched her skin, but she didn't stop.
All she could think of was Grace—her childhood friend who lived on the quiet outskirts of Mehin, a little town called Dontown. It had been years since they'd seen each other, they usually kept in touch over the phone,she hadn't told her about the latest developments in her marriage because she was never the type to let people know the issues between her and her husband. But now that it was obvious that things had gotten out of hand, she had no choice but to show up unannounced.
When she finally reached Grace's cottage, she banged on the door with her free hand.
It swung open seconds later.
"Camila?" Grace blinked, shocked. Her eyes dropped to the baby. "Oh my God… is that your baby?"
"Grace," Camila panted. "Please… I don't know where else to go."
"You look exhausted. Come in—come in!"
Grace gently took the baby from her arms, then led her inside. She helped Camila sit down near the fireplace, wrapped a blanket around her shoulders, and handed her a warm cup of coffee. Camila's hands shook as she took a sip.
"What happened to you?" Grace finally asked. "Where's your husband?"
Camila stared into the flames, her voice low.
"I don't even know where to start. I'm scared, Grace."
Tears started to fall.
Grace moved closer, concerned. "Scared? Why? What's wrong?"
Camila swallowed hard. "Mav is… a werewolf."
Grace blinked. "Wait. What? You got to be kidding me. Aren't those just folktales?
"Trust me , I was just as shocked as you are right now…the worst part is," Camila continued, wiping her tears. "I've lived with him for years, Grace. I didn't even know."
Grace stared at her, stunned. "How did you find out?"
Camila shook her head slowly. She narrated everything to Grace, how he had abandoned her days before her delivery date only to return with evidence that he had been messing with his mistress outside his matrimonial home, which caused them to fight. " I was yelling and crying… then suddenly, his eyes turned almost red, his body shifted… He started howling, breaking things."
Grace gasped. "Oh my goodness! He didn't hurt you, right?"
"No. He didn't."
"Are you serious? He turned into a wolf and didn't even lay a finger on you?" Grace stood up. "You're lucky. Hold on, I need to check something."
She gently placed the baby in a small cot nearby—clearly one she had already set up, probably preparing for her own child. Grace was a few months pregnant herself. She covered the baby carefully, then grabbed her glasses and opened her laptop.
As she typed and searched, Camila sipped her coffee in silence, still trying to calm her racing heart.
After a few moments, Grace clicked on something. Her eyes widened.
"Camila… come look at this," she said, turning the laptop toward her friend. "You need to see this."
Camila leaned in. Her eyes grew wide. "Royals… not your regular wolves?" She read aloud.
Grace nodded. "Exactly. Look—these aren't just any werewolves. They're rare. Look at the description. Super strength,loud growls, strange orange to red eyes… it matches what you saw, right?" Well, I've come across blogs made up articles like these about vampires and mermaids many times before and I didn't take them seriously. But now that you're saying you actually saw this with your own eyes…?"
Camila shook her head slowly. "Everything I'm finding out now… it's like I didn't know him at all."
"He definitely kept this part of himself hidden," Grace said gently. She notices Camila shifting uncomfortably and gets closer to feel her body temperature with the back of her hands. "Are you okay? You have a high fever."
"I think it's the heat from the fire," Camila murmured, fanning herself.
Then Grace noticed something bright around her friend's neck.
"Camila… your necklace. The pendant."
Camila looked down. "Oh, this?" She unclasped it and turned it over in her palm. "Mav gave it to me after our engagement party."
Grace stared. "Look closely. That's silverwood. In some werewolf legends… silverwood weakens or binds them."
Camila's eyes widened. It finally dawned on her, he probably knew all this time that he was a werewolf but didn't want her to find out and also didn't want to ever hurt her if he still managed to overpower the presence of the silver and transform into his true form.
Grace sat back, thoughtful for a moment. Then her eyes lit up with an idea.
"Camila, we need to get your baby somewhere safe."
"What?" Camila blinked. "What do you mean?"
"I mean exactly what I said. You need to take this child away from here, away from you. Somewhere safe. Somewhere Mav can't just show up out of nowhere to take her."
"Grace, she's still his child. Are you suggesting I give our daughter away!?"
"Camila,let's be honest. You don't even have a job yet. You're trying to raise a child alone, Mav abandoned you and your child only to return when he felt like and with a woman's lipstick on him. You told me this yourself, besides, he's back as some monster. I'm sorry if I sound rude but you're not safe and your child isn't either."
Camila's voice dropped. "I'll get a job. I'll make it work."
"I know you will," Grace said softly. "But right now? You're not ready. And if you love that little girl, you'll make the hard choice."
Camila looked at her sleeping daughter across the room. Her heart squeezed painfully.