HELPPPPPPPP!

"Briar, you're kidding. Right?" Madeline gave her a pleading look.

While she knew this wasn't as big a deal as she was making it out to be… She didn't know she was soulmates with a man that'd killed his own kind!

Madeline didn't know what to think at that moment.

"I'm not," Briar answered, before assuring her.

She noticed the look on Madeline's face.

Briar inhaled, "Listen."

"Ferals kill ruthlessly, and they never hold back any mercy."

"If they were exposed to humans… who knew what could happen next. A feral apocalypse, maybe."

"So… what, Xavier's a hero?"

Briar kept silent, only saying in response, "Take it as you will."

"I'm just saying... don't make Xavier out to be some big bad wolf."

"I doubt he wants to do this anyway," Briar said.

"No one does. It's just the job tasked to the alpha, since any other werewolf that comes into close contact with the feral and gets... bitten, or injured by it would turn into one as well."

"Just like how werewolves are turned," Briar added.

Madeline stared at her, "So you're telling me... you actually were a human before you were turned into a werewolf?"

Briar nodded.

"Mhm," she answered.

Madeline had a look of both pity and shock displayed across her face. She didn't know what she expected, but it certainly wasn't this.

Her lower lip quivered, "What... happened?"

"If you want to talk about it, of course," Madeline spoke in a hushed voice.

Briar shrugged it off, "It's alright, Maddie."

She gazed thoughtfully at a couple of trees in the distance, trying to remember a memory that remained fresh in her mind, despite being decades old.

"How I was turned…"

"It was ages ago," Briar admitted, "At least… it feels like it."

"It took place about 120 years ago. I was turned by some werewolf that was invading my family's home in the middle of the night."

"The werewolf had killed my entire family, but I had survived."

Briar recalled watching helplessly as her parents were slaughtered in front of her. How… afterwards, instead of meeting the same fate as her parents, she was bitten and turned into the same creature that'd killed her parents.

"Keep in mind, humans are turned into werewolves when they're injured by a fully-turned werewolf. And then it's at the next full moon that they turn into a werewolf for the very first time."

Paying full attention to what Briar was saying, Madeline's mouth flapped open and close like that of a fish's.

'So that's how humans were turned to werewolves. That actually makes a ton of sense,' Madeline mused.

"So what you're saying is… Xavier's preventing a whole feral apocalypse from taking place," she realized.

"If you want to put it that way, then yes."

Briar had a sheepish smile on her face.

"But… do take this with a grain of salt, Xavier was the one that took me in the pack in the first place when I was first turned, so… there's that."

"Woah."

"Mhm."

"So…"

Briar repeated the same thing, "So…"

They said in unison, "Picnic?"

A grin of agreement formed on both their faces.

"You know, three days without you felt like forever," Madeline admitted.

Briar laughed softly, "Oh it wouldn't have been that long to you."

"So, are we going to have a picnic or what?"

"You're right," Madeline said.

Hours later, Madeline and Briar went their separate ways after their enjoyable picnic together. It was safe to say that Madeline didn't anticipate what happened next, but it was this occasion that made Madeline never roam Eudora during the darkest hours.

"I should accompany you to your room, make sure you get there safely," Briar had offered, only for Madeline to shake her head in disagreement.

"Briar, I'm not some porcelain vase. I'm not fragile and delicate, I can handle myself just fine," she reasoned, insisting on making it back to her room on her lonesome, without any protection and anyone by her side.

As she passed the shooting range, she heard a noise coming from behind her.

The bushes behind her rustled.

Feeling the presence of someone else behind her, Madeline picked up her pace.

A low, guttural growl emerged from behind her, making Madeline freeze in place.

Madeline recalled what Briar had told her during the picnic. "If ever the case you're faced with a feral. The first thing to do would be not to panic. A feral feeds on fear. It can smell it too."

'What's behind me?' Madeline wondered curiously, knowing she couldn't panic or make any sudden movements.

'Turn around idiot,' a voice in her head chided.

The other voice agreed, 'Turn around, you'll get a better view of whatever this creature is.'

Her heart feeling like it'd explode, Madeline turned around.

She had to stop herself from flinching as she found herself practically face-to-face with a werewolf.

"Oh my god," she breathed.

Her hand flew to her mouth to stop herself from screaming and running away in panic.

The werewolf would catch her in a blink of an eye and then she'd be done for.

For some reason, he wasn't doing anything, as if terrified of her.

'Err… is he supposed to be staying still and doing nothing?'

Madeline took a couple steps back, hoping it wouldn't go noticed by the werewolf.

It was her first time ever seeing one.

But then, something seemed to have angered the werewolf, as he glared at her, looking at her like she was some Michelin star dish he was about to feast on.

Madeline was seconds away from running before… the werewolf pounced at her, knocking her to the ground.

Too frightened to notice the blood leaking from her finger, Madeline tried crawling away from the werewolf, to no avail.

This was it, she was finally done for.

She moved away from the werewolf, trying to get up but stopping her was a sprained ankle that she'd gotten when she'd been thrown roughly to the ground.

'Please don't hurt me,' she thought, using her hands to move backwards.

The beast growled, and that was enough to scare Madeline out of her wits.

She yelled just before the werewolf was about to bite into her and dig in…

"HELPPPPPPP!"