The Canines

Nakula blinked a few times as the light hit and pierced his eyes.

Nakula's nose wrinkled. His head ached, but his body was strangely light. His ears heard the chirping of birds at the end of the road, then the smell of wet asphalt, and the sound of pedestrians. His nose also smelled the fragrance of the sheets he was sleeping on, the citrus scented air freshener and smelled the burning smell of smoke and scorching smoke from the kitchen. Nakula was sure it was the smell of charred grilled meat.

...wait.

Birdsong? Asphalt? Air freshener? What the hell? Nakula never once heard or paid attention to details after waking up in the morning. And what was the smell of that charred roast?

Nakula immediately got up, but his body floated a few meters and made him stand in the middle of the room with a dumbfounded face. Wait. Nakula watched the whole room for half a second and realized he was not in his room.

Half a second?!

Nakula gasped. Suddenly his body jumped again and fell to the ground. Staring at the soft and unfamiliar brown-painted room in front of him. Where is he? What happened? Where is Sadewa?

"Nakula?"

Nakula jumps in surprise. And then, his eyes met with brown eyes similar to his. The next second he was about to go to the owner of the eye, but again his body was moving on its own, and he was already on top of Sadewa.

"Sadewa—"

But Nakula stopped when he heard the gasping of his breath and the beating of his heart. There's no way his heartbeat beats hundreds of times in a minute, right? This must be Sadewa's heartbeat, and Nakula paled at the sight of Hema and Rasya lying on the king-sized bed next to them.

Nakula watched Rasya's face with her lips slightly parted. Nakula could see the warm dew blowing from the two lips even though they were very thin and transparent. Then Hema, whose fingertips move reflexively in her subconscious.

Nakula gulped and turned to look at Sadewa.

Sadewa had looked at him first, and his face was tilted seventy-five degrees perfectly. Sadewa's symmetrical eyebrows, crescent-shaped eyes with thick-rimmed eyelashes, a sharp and perfect nose slanted, lips that Nakula noticed were slightly thicker and his cheekbones perfectly sculpted along with his mole on the right. Nakula realized that Sadewa was divided between Tania and Prabu—

Nakula gasped again.

Why did he even pay attention to Sadewa's face? Okay, Nakula, admit it. From birth until now, this is the first time Nakula really pays attention to his brother's face in detail. Suddenly Nakula was horrified. That's the problem. So far, he has never cared about details. Then why now

"Nakula? Are you okay?"

Nakula flinched, immediately covered his ears, and was about to get away from Sadewa. But once again, his body moved on its own, and he was so far away from Sadewa that he fell to the ground.

"Nakula?"

"Argh! Can you speak slowly, Sadewa?" Nakula gritted his teeth. He felt his ears ringing.

"Huh?" Sadewa's head tilted even more.

Nakula hissed. "No need to scream. My ears hurt, for fuck sake—"

BRAK!

Nakula unknowingly pounced on someone who opened the door just now. His hands gripped the shoulders of the stranger he had bound on, and Nakula gritted his teeth, his tongue brushing against his canines that—

Wait. What?!

As if conscious, Nakula took a few steps back with a look of horror. Nakula stared in shock at his fingers and fingernails, already elongated with pointed nails. Fine white hairs grow from the back of the hand to the forearm. Nakula looked at Sadewa in horror.

The next second, Nakula jumped at Sadewa and buried his face in Sadewa's stomach. His heart was beating fast, and he pressed his face against the hoodie Sadewa was wearing. The smell of foreign perfume from the hoodie made Nakula even more scared. Still, Sadewa's body gave off a scent like his parents, familiar and calming him down. Because now, Nakula is afraid of the reality that happened.

Sadewa stroked Nakula's honey brown hair slowly, and Nakula's breathing became steady, his hands still gripping the hem of the hoodie.

"I think he's calmed down enough to hear it all," the voice of the stranger said.

There was a warning growl, and Nakula's head looked up in confusion at the growl, but as his throat shook and his teeth chattered, Nakula realized that the growl had come from him. Since when did Nakula start growling?

Nakula looked up again and looked at Sadewa, who smiled warmly. Sadewa patted Nakula's cheek lightly as if to say calm down—

'Don't worry; everything will be fine.'

Nakula was sure that the voice just now was Sadewa's voice. Nakula will recognize that voice wherever he is. However, the voice sounded in his head and Nakula saw Sadewa didn't even open his mouth then. Nakula's eyes bulged, and Sadewa's smile grew wider until his eyes narrowed in a crescent shape.

Nakula repeat. The voice sounded in his head.

What's the use of Sadewa learning belly sounds anyway? Well, unless Sadewa starts learning sounds from the belly, it's likely that the voices come from Sadewa's stomach. But Sadewa was not at all talented for such stupid things.

Sadewa patted Nakula's cheek and smiled amusedly. Nakula raised an eyebrow. What is this?

"It's okay, right—"

A growl escaped Nakula's throat. But this time, another growl answered. And Nakula realized that the growl came from Sadewa, his brother. Sadewa's eyes flashed golden, and his face hardened slightly. Nakula glared.

The fuck?!

"You should hear the truth—"

Nakula immediately turned to the strange man, and this time he growled loudly right at him. The man still looked relaxed and calm, unconcerned.

Sadewa sighed and patted Nakula's head. "Nakula," Nakula turned his attention back to Sadewa. "It's okay, and he won't hurt us. He's the one who saved us from... last night's incident," Sadewa's voice was mixed with a growl.

Makes Nakula want to hug him. Then, flashes of last night's events hit his head. And Nakula looked at Sadewa in horror; then his hand tore the shirt he was wearing and saw his shoulder that had a hole last night due to the buried claws. But Nakula found nothing. His shoulders were smooth without blisters as if nothing had happened last night. Nakula turned back to Sadewa, thinking whether last night was just a dream or—

"Last night, it happened," said Sadewa slowly. Answering the question on Nakula's mind.

Nakula gasped. Okay, Sadewa scares him now. They were indeed twins, but they never had telepathically directly like this. Heck, the reason why Nakula and Sadewa always seem to know each other's hearts is that they already know each other inside and out.

But, this. This creeps the life out of him.

"I think it's okay. You can explain everything," said Sadewa calmly. Sadewa chuckled, causing Nakula to gape and stare at Sadewa as if Sadewa had just grown his head in two.

Nakula raised his eyebrows and looked at the man Sadewa was referring to. This man was not very tall, his skin was white, and his face was familiar. Very familiar. Nakula doesn't know where to see him.

The man pulled up a chair, sat down, and folded his arms across his chest. He cleared his throat. "First, my name is Theo. You must be wondering where you've seen me. Well, I own a pet shop down the street on Manhattan's Lower East Side."

Nakula was wide-eyed. How could he not know? It was a pet shop where he and Sadewa came with their three cats when they were little. But... but this man doesn't seem... what, aging? Nakula was sure he was still the same, only his hair color had changed to blonde.

"And looking at your expression, I know you remember me. And yes, you're right, I stay like this," Theo replied dryly. His face didn't show any expression.

"Secondly, I know you think what happened to you. You are lucky because the alpha didn't kill you at all. So, in short, last night, you were attacked by an alpha. But that's the consequence. You changed," Theo still explained in an even tone.

"Wait, wait. Don't let my head spin too fast." Nakula turned to look at Sadewa and back to Theo. "Alpha? What is it? And what do you mean change?"

"Alpha is the leader of the pack of wolves. His red eyes and figure last night explain a lot. And changed, that is, you and your brother turned into one of these creatures but with a lower caste, namely beta," replied Theo.

"H-how... can I change?" Ask Nakula.

Theo glanced at Sadewa behind Nakula. "You and your brother were attacked last night with their claws buried in your body. That's pretty self-explanatory. Changes to a werewolf are not always in bites. Wounds from claws can also change you because, at the tips of the claws, there are a few bacteria that will change you," explained Theo.

"So... you mean I'm a werewolf?" Ask Nakula.

Theo nodded. "Shape-shifters, you can turn into a full wolf gradually later."

Nakula laughed.

Nakula wiped his tears because this was the best joke she had heard this year. No, this is the best joke of his life.

But Nakula stopped laughing when he saw Theo's face, which was still flat and disinterested. Sadewa's brows swooped in with his furrowed forehead. There was not a trace of laughter or a smile on his face. Nakula blinked.

"Don't say...-"

Sadewa sighed, and his eyes stared out the window. Then looked back at Nakula. "Nakula," he whispered. And Sadewa's eyes turned golden sharp, and behind his lips, his two canines were long, and his ears pointed. Sadewa's hand gripped Nakula's arm and was covered with fine hairs, not white hair like Nakula's, but fine black hairs. The nails are bent and elongated.