Julien let out a laugh of disbelief.
"What?"
Andrew shifted his gaze away, as though steeling himself one way or the other, before pushing off the sofa.
Staring at Julien, his eyes grew increasingly cold as he stepped closer.
"That's what you want."
Julien shook his head.
"That's not what I meant."
Andrew stepped forward again, closing the already negligible distance even further.
Thump thump
Julien's palms began to sweat.
Andrew's gaze trailed over him, briefly stopping at the crook of his neck before raising back up to meet his eyes.
"…"
The two of them stared at one another, a silent standoff where the overhead lights cast a menacing shadow over Andrew's intimidating form, making it difficult to discern his expression.
But his eyes were clearly visible.
It wasn't anger, lust, or even sympathy within his gaze.
It was just…
Julien pressed himself into the sofa as Andrew leaned over him, the man's arms pressing into the sofa a fleshy cage with one purpose. Julien swallowed the hard lump in his throat as Andrew spoke after a long pause.
"I don't want to eat you."
Hunger.
The barest instinct restrained through pure will was clear before him.
Julien's heart turned still, as if trying to hide its presence from the predator before it, but he was already boxed in—Just close enough to feel the warmth of Andrew's breath on his skin, but not enough that he couldn't see the space around them.
And any potential path to escape.
But he's just trying to scare me… right?
He narrowed his eyes.
"You're not going to eat me, Andrew. Crush me? Maybe. But not that."
His mind flashed to the few times Andrew tried to—had bitten him and his hand unwittingly drifted to his neck. Andrew's eyes followed.
Don't lose your nerve.
"Do you really believe letting me leave alone is the best choice?"
Silence stretched between them as the minute hand of the clock passed into the next hour. And only once Julien managed to still his beating heart did the other open his mouth—barely above a whisper.
Julien's eyes flickered towards his teeth—their sharpness much clearer now that they were mere inches away from each other.
"…Will you listen to me?"
It didn't sound like a demand. It was closer to a plea. Julien opened his mouth before closing it again.
"…"
Lowering one of his hands, Andrew pressed his thumb into Julien's neck as his gaze slowly shifted.
"One moment."
And his hand shifted too, surrounding his airway in a gentle but deadly embrace.
"It'd take one moment."
Squeezing his neck before letting go, Andrew backed away before picking his phone up from the table and walking back over.
He dialed a number before showing him the screen.
Julien's rapid heart rate skipped a beat.
Theia.
The phone rang in the silent room.
Brrrr Brrrrr
And when he thought luck was on his side, hell if he even knew what luck was anymore—
The line clicked.
Theia had answered the phone.
「Hello?」
Julien opened his mouth to speak first but Andrew grabbed hold of his face, covering his mouth with his hand.
So that's what it was.
Julien began flailing but Andrew simply adjusted his grip, pressing down harder to still his movements.
Damnit!
The look buried beneath Andrew's new instincts was this.
He'd already made his decision.
"I have a report to make."
Andrew pressed the speaker button and brought the phone between them, ensuring Julien could hear every word.
"Julien is in danger."
Silence.
Julien shook his head pleading with his eyes.
「…How so?」
But Andrew, though he was meeting his pleas head on, maintained his expressionless gaze.
"Mr. Rubane is hanging around a dangerous individual."
She waited for him to continue.
"They have already attempted harm but are currently subdued."
Andrew lowered his stance so that he was eye to eye with Julien as he delivered his final words.
"What should I do with this individual?"
Julien stared at him with wide eyes. Was he really reporting himself? Like this? He paused.
But why did he report it that way?
Theia, after a long deliberation, finally opened her mouth.
「Was Julien aware of this?」
"No."
Julien furrowed his brows. Something was off about this report.
「Then where is this person now?」
"Here."
After a series of whispers from the other end, she spoke up.
「Get rid of them quietly. You can report the outcome later.」
Then she hung up.
Blinking, Julien looked at Andrew with fresh eyes.
He can't afford to lose this job either.
Andrew stood up straight and released his hold on Julien's face.
"Go back alone."
Then he headed towards the door.
Julien quietly watched his back, rubbing at his sore jaw.
"Will you come back?"
Andrew didn't answer him.
—
Julien didn't leave, but he did give the other some space.
Should I pretend to go and just come back for the next full moon?
Somehow, he felt like that was the wrong move.
Wandering around the building without any particular goal in mind, Julien tried to think about things from Andrew's perspective.
I guess if Cello gained the ability to talk and told me she wanted to save me from a field of flying knives I'd be a bit put off too. Especially if I was the one recklessly throwing the knives into the air…
Was it kind of like that?
Whisper whisper
Julien pricked his ears, his feet stilling to a halt.
He was currently wandering around the third floor of Oasis, the VIP lounge lined end to end with private rooms. He turned his head, scanning the doors one by one, then his eyes landed on a door at the far end of the hall. It was cracked open.
Pursing his lips, Julien didn't hastily make a move.
Right, there were others around too.
Would they be hostile since he wasn't even a werewolf? If not…
Maybe they could give him some ammo to work with.
After deliberating on it for a while longer, Julien approached the door and knocked.
*Knock knock knock*
Silence.
Shifting his head to peek through the gap, he could see shadowy figures moving around the room. As one of them approached the door, he pulled back and saw a familiar face staring up at him.
"Julien."
"Rory."
He peeked inside. There were 3 other people in the room. One of them was a brown-haired woman with warm brown skin and bleached eyebrows—and if you looked closely, the underbelly of her hair was bleached as well. Next to her was a black man with tattoos lining his arms depicting various scenes of war. And the final person, sitting on their own, was a smaller man that looked vaguely familiar.
He said smaller, but really, all of them were giants.
He kind of looks like Remus.
Other than the glasses perched on his nose, the slightly looser texture of his hair, and his more docile demeanor, they were practically identical.
After completing his scan, Julien turned back to the mousy man before him.
"Are you busy?"
Rory's eyes flicked behind him, then he turned into the room. His face was a bundle of nerves.
"No?"
You don't sound too sure about that.
Deciding to ignore it in favor of barging in uninvited, Julien stepped past him and nodded his head towards the others in the room.
"Hello."
The woman greeted him with a smile.
"Hey. Greets."
The tattoos ignored him and turned to Rory.
"Useless fox."
The Remus clone simply stared at him.
"…"
Crickets, Julien was sure he could hear crickets.
Clearing his throat, Julien decided to break the ice with something simple.
"You all have names?"
The people in the room stared at him, with the woman in the corner giving him an encouraging thumbs up. Only then did he realize his mistake.
Covering his eyes with his hand, he took a deep breath and tried again.
"What are your names?"
Please, if there is a god, end my suffering.
The woman smiled.
"There we go. Names Aleisha. Intro."
Tattoos cracked a smile of his own.
"Zaid. Just call me Z. Why be nervous when you're the one bargin' in?"
Remus's clone continued to stare at him. But instead of offering his name, he asked him a question.
"What do ya want?"
Julien turned to him.
"I wanted to ask you guys something."
The man scoffed.
"What? How not to be such a rotten crock of—"
"Misha."
The tattoos—Zaid—called out, shaking his head.
Misha rolled his eyes. Removing his glasses, the burning suns hidden behind them made themselves known.
"Hold out, then fuck off. Prin. Cess."
Misha stood up from his seat and pushed past him, disappearing through the doorway.
The awkward silence had returned.
Forget what I said about docile.
Rory looked between him and Misha's fading back, and after a quick 'excuse me', he followed after the angry wolf. Rubbing his neck, Julien looked between the last two in the room.
"Should I just leave?"
Aleisha shook her head, patting the seat beside her.
"No, no, we were curious about you too. Serious."
Julien took the seat across from her instead, brushing his hair out of the way he asked.
"Is he always… like that?"
He pointed his thumb towards the door.
Zaid was the one to answer him.
"Only when he's gotta bone to pick with ya."
He tilted his head, leaning forward in his seat.
"Humor me. How'd a wi…"
He glanced at his companion who tapped his leg with her own. Rolling his eyes, he adjusted the question.
"What's a human like you doin' in a place like this? And don't say somethin' stupid like you're just tryna enjoy the party scene."
Julien eyed their interaction before replying.
So they're hiding things too.
"I got caught up is all. Now I'm just trying to figure out what I can do."
The woman smiled, nudging her companion.
"See? He's not going to run. Dedicated."
"He's not runnin' yet."
Would it really be better if I did?
"I'm not trying to. Andrew… the Shifted downstairs, wants me to though."
He hesitated.
"…Would he die if I left?"
The two of them exchanged a glance before answering at once.
"You should think about yourself."
"It's better if you stick together. Connection."
The two looked at each other again. This time, they looked about ready to fight. Aleisha struck first.
"They'll survive together. This Andrew just needs to pass through. Pack."
"I don't care what decision they make in the end, I'm just tryna tell him to keep himself in mind first. To put it your way, consider."
Aleisha pushed her head towards him.
"Selfish."
Zaid bumped his forehead into hers.
"Smart."
Julien frowned.
"Guys."
"Even if they separate, think about Remus! Danger."
"That'd still be an issue even if they didn't ya idjit."
"GUYS."
They turned to him. He pinched between his brows.
"I'll keep both of those opinions in mind so just tell me one more thing."
Dropping his hand, he looked both of them in the eye.
"What are the chances of both of us surviving if we separate?"
Zaid leaned back before slowly opening his mouth.
"Less than a nickel I'd say. Either this Shifted will survive till the sixth month and tear you to shreds after breakin' free, or he'll die before ever gettin' to that point."
Seeing the look on Julien's face, he continued.
"Shifted rarely get to the sixth month on their own anyway, so don't worry. The odds of you livin' if you leave are about 90. Ain't nothin' stoppin' ya."
Taking in that answer, Julien frowned.
"Isn't Remus supposed to bond with him though? Why's he still going to look for me?"
And that bond is supposed to be a stabilizer right?
Silence.
While Zaid looked off to the side as though losing interest in the conversation, Aleisha opened her mouth.
"If you stay together, Remus will take care of everything. You just need to be there until the end. Cooperation."
Julien narrowed his eyes as Aleisha grasped his hands. Her grip was firm.
"Please, do not leave. Plea."
—
The more people he asked, the less certain he became.
Andrew wanted him gone.
Remus practically threatened him into staying nearby.
Aleisha looked ready to chain him to a chair if it meant keeping him here.
That itself is weird.
Zaid seemed to think he should cut his losses and run.
And he…
What exactly did he want to do?
Rubbing his face, Julien plopped down into one of the booths on the second floor and sighed. He could leave. Z had said it clearly enough that if he really wanted nothing to do with this, he could go.
But what then? Live and forget?
Absentmindedly rubbing the scars on his palms, Julien closed his eyes.
He couldn't do that.
Looking off to the side, he bit his lip.
He still wasn't sure what he could do, but one thing he did know was this.
If he left, Andrew would likely die.
If he stayed, both of them at least had a chance.
And more than anything—
Julien looked over the banister as a nickel-haired wolf entered the building. Pausing at the entrance, as if sensing his stare, the man turned his head and met Julien's eyes.
The bond wasn't as straightforward as it appeared.