I had no clue how he knew. I realized, more like recognized, that I hated being a werewolf more than anything else. I hated the bite, the wolfishness, the full moons, all of it. I wanted nothing more, deep down, just to be rid of it. But then, I also realized that to remove the werewolf from me would be like removing a piece of a puzzle: everything would change. The picture would never be complete. My name, my identity, my personality, all of it reflected the fact that I was a werewolf. And I definitely was more loyal to my friends than I wanted the curse gone. I looked up and met Naomi’s eyes. That steeled my resolve. “No,” I finally said, loud and clear. “No? You’re turning down my generous offer?” Cozbi said, masking his shock with snarkiness. “Yes, no. Removing this curse is like taking away the edge pieces to a puzzle; the picture will never be complete. So save your persuasiveness for someone else; you’re not getting my friends from me.” His glare turned murderous. “The thing is, even if you manage to end me, every person who dies will always take another down with them. So even though you may think you’re invincible, one of you will die today.” Brazen snorted. “Yeah, right. I’d like to see you try.” Cozbi smiled evilly. “Oh, I will.” He lashed out with shadows too fast for Harlow, practically teleporting her to his grasp. He held her in place with the shadows. Harlow struggled, but her energy was fading quickly. Brazen’s face paled. “Let her go!” Cozbi just laughed. “I said, let her go!” Brazen shouted. “Oh, I’ll let her go.” He clenched his fist, and Harlow disintegrated Brazen practically exploded. He lunged for Cozbi, but I grabbed his wrists. Brazen was not backing down, though. I finally gave up and teleported us away. “Brazen, listen,” I began, forcing him to meet my eyes. “No good will be done if you just charge at Cozbi without a plan. I know he took Harlow, I watched it, but she’s probably still alive. You won’t be if you charge in there. So calm down, and we can go find her. Deal?” Brazen took a few deep breaths, then the fire faded from his eyes and he nodded. I grabbed his wrist and teleported us to Harlow. We appeared in a dark cavern. A body was crumpled on the floor in the corner. Brazen gasped and crouched down next to it. Or rather, her. “Harlow!” She didn’t reply. Of course, you can’t talk while unconscious. I crouched next to Brazen. “Please don’t be dead,” he muttered, checking her pulse and exhaling in relief. He looked up at me. “Any ideas on how to wake her up?" I thought for a second. “Wait.” I attempted something Naomi had taught me a few days ago. /Wolf?/ I heard Naomi’s voice in my head. Yes, it worked! /Hi,/ I started. /So, we found Harlow, but she’s unconscious. Can you get a potion and send it when you have time?/ /On it./ She was silent, then a potion appeared in my hand. Brazen stared at me. “How…?” “Naomi,” I said aloud as I told Naomi, /Thanks,/ and severed the connection. I poured the potion into Harlow’s mouth, and she gasped and sat up. “Wha- what happened?” “Cozbi,” I said as Brazen crushed her in a hug. “Can’t- breathe-“ she choked out. Brazen laughed and leaned back. “Where are the others?” She asked, looking around. “Back with Cozbi. You up for walking?” I asked. She nodded. “Let’s go.” We teleported back to the clearing. Cozbi sighed and rolled his eyes. “Ah, I see you’ve managed to retrieve your Shade." Harlow nodded, her head held high. “Yep. And I’m still strong enough to end you." “You see, I’m willing to go down if it means breaking up your group. There are other, more powerful villains out there. Think of me as the warm up act.” He smiled. “Say goodbye, Acwulf.” He shot a spear of shadows at my chest, too fast for me to dodge. But, it turned out I didn’t have to. Shadow lunged in front of me, taking the blow and collapsing to the floor. “No!” Ren and I yelled in unison. Harlow snapped and lunged at Cozbi, drawing her knife and stabbing him directly in the throat. I fell to Shadow’s side. She was still alive, but barely. She said something, but it was too quiet for me to hear. “What?” I whispered, leaning down. She took a breath. “I told you I would die saving you, Acwulf.” She cupped her hand on my face, lifted her head, and kissed me. Then, her head fell back onto the cold ground as her chest stopped rising and falling.
Notes/Credits: So, I am writing a story. It's called the Wolf Boy, and it's about a werewolf. This is Part 2 of Chapter 30. New chapters will come out whenever I add something new. You guys are all up to date! Chapter 1: https://scratch.mit.edu/projects/534060010/ Chapter 2: https://scratch.mit.edu/projects/534063855/ Chapter 3: https://scratch.mit.edu/projects/524407102/ Chapter 4: https://scratch.mit.edu/projects/535116523/ Chapter 5: https://scratch.mit.edu/projects/539191166/ Chapter 6: https://scratch.mit.edu/projects/541091515/ Chapter 7: https://scratch.mit.edu/projects/542478639/ Chapter 8: https://scratch.mit.edu/projects/543943477/ Chapter 9: https://scratch.mit.edu/projects/545518981/ Chapter 10: https://scratch.mit.edu/projects/547310742/ Chapter 11: https://scratch.mit.edu/projects/547908874/ Chapter 12: https://scratch.mit.edu/projects/548716751 Chapter 13: https://scratch.mit.edu/projects/548720777/ Chapter 14: https://scratch.mit.edu/projects/548720823/ Chapter 15: https://scratch.mit.edu/projects/548720878/ Chapter 16: https://scratch.mit.edu/projects/548720909/ Chapter 17: https://scratch.mit.edu/projects/548720955/ Chapter 18: https://scratch.mit.edu/projects/548720993/ Chapter 19: https://scratch.mit.edu/projects/548721015/ Chapter 20: https://scratch.mit.edu/projects/548721051/ Chapter 21:https://scratch.mit.edu/projects/548721077/ Chapter 21.5: https://scratch.mit.edu/projects/548721102/ Chapter 22: https://scratch.mit.edu/projects/548721149/ Chapter 23: https://scratch.mit.edu/projects/548721182/ Chapter 24: https://scratch.mit.edu/projects/555107764/ Chapter 25: https://scratch.mit.edu/projects/559056137/ Chapter 26: https://scratch.mit.edu/projects/559059376/ Chapter 27: https://scratch.mit.edu/projects/562161495/ Chapter 28: https://scratch.mit.edu/projects/580981293/ Chapter 29: https://scratch.mit.edu/projects/580981445/ Pt. 1 Chpt 30: https://scratch.mit.edu/projects/590179892/ Credits: Me, for writing it. @aqua_di_angelo for being the first reader & giving feedback. J.K. Rowling & Shannon Messenger for some inspiration. Congrats, you read this far! Comment your favorite ship if you did ;)
