Chapter 4 REVELATION

"Run!" Asher roared.

Emilia took a step back, startled, then spun around. Her foot caught the edge of a rock and she stumbled before sprinting for the house.

But Josie, Victor's companion, charged after her. His limbs twisted mid-sprint. Bone cracked. Muscle split and reshaped with grotesque precision. His mouth stretched, lips peeling back to reveal fangs. Half-human, half-wolf, claws shredding through the grass.

Emilia screamed, a sharp, terrified sound that cut across the fields.

Asher didn't wait. His eyes flared gold.

With a snarl, he launched forward. The air shimmered around him as his body snapped and shifted. Arms bent backward, fur exploded along his spine, and his growl deepened into something inhuman. By the time he reached Josie, he was half-shifted, a creature of claws and fury.

He slammed Josie into the ground with a chokehold, his strength monstrous. With a roar, he hurled him across the yard. Josie crashed into a tree, bark splintering from the impact.

Another blur... Julian, burst from the side, already transformed halfway into beast. He tackled Asher, ramming him into the side of an old tractor. The metal groaned and tilted from the force.

Victor stood at a distance, arms crossed, his eyes gleaming. A cruel smile tugged at his lips.

Asher staggered to his feet, barely catching his breath before Josie returned, lifting him clean off the ground with one hand wrapped tight around his throat. Asher's feet kicked at the air, gasping, claws flailing.

Crack! A gunshot echoed through the field.

Everyone froze.

Emilia's grandfather stood on the porch, shotgun braced in shaking hands. His squint betrayed poor vision, but his voice carried power.

"Get off my property!" he shouted, teeth clenched.

Emilia darted behind him, panting, eyes still wide with terror. Her hand gripped the back of his jacket like a lifeline.

Julian shifted his weight, preparing to pounce.

Bang! Another warning shot tore through the air.

"I said, get off my damn property!" the old man bellowed, now pointing the shotgun directly at Julian. He took a step forward, eyes narrowed. "Try me."

Victor raised a hand slowly. "Stand down."

The two attackers froze. Josie dropped Asher, who crumpled to the dirt, coughing violently. Steam rose from his back where skin had torn during the scuffle.

With eerie fluidity, Julian and Josie retreated to Victor's side, their bodies folding back into human form as if the shift had never happened.

Victor's gaze lingered on Emilia. "I'll be seeing you later," he said, the threat in his voice unmistakable.

Then they turned and walked into the woods, vanishing into the trees like ghosts. The sunlight returned to the field as if the earth itself exhaled.

Asher lay on the ground, his breath ragged.

"Are you okay, kid?" Emilia's grandfather asked, stepping toward her but glancing down at Asher.

"I'm fine," Emilia said, her voice uneven.

She took a hesitant step toward Asher. Blood matted his shirt. His chest rose and fell with effort. Shifting back to full human, his hands were no longer clawed, his eyes faintly glowing.

She stared.... speechless, trying to make sense of what she'd seen. Of what he was.

Her grandfather helped hoist Asher up. He groaned but nodded, leaning into their support as they led him toward the house.

Inside, Emilia's grandfather reached for the first aid kit. But Emilia stepped in, her hand firm.

"I'll do it, Grandpa."

He paused, nodded, and stepped back.

Emilia knelt beside Asher, gently peeling back his torn shirt. Her hands trembled, but she said nothing. She cleaned the blood away in silence.

Asher's jaw clenched from the sting, but he didn't flinch.

Her eyes kept drifting to his, still glowing faintly beneath half-lowered lids.

"Ask," he said quietly, his voice hoarse. "I know you want to."

She hesitated. Then, barely above a whisper: "What... what are you?"

His gaze met hers, and for a moment, all she saw was sadness.

"We're shifters," he said. "Some of us are born like this. Some... are made. Either way, it's not something we choose."

She nodded slowly, absorbing every word.

"And Victor?"

Asher's lips pulled tight. "He's a leader among our kind. But not one we follow willingly."

Silence stretched between them. Emilia's mind raced, her thoughts a whirlwind of disbelief, awe, and something else .... Curiosity.

"Is that what happened to my parents?" she finally asked.

Asher didn't answer right away.

Then: "It's... complicated."

But she could see the truth flicker in his eyes.

Meanwhile,

Detective Nolan was only a few steps away from a breakthrough.

Martha entered briskly, her expression unreadable but tense. She carried a file clutched in both hands, flipping through the contents as she reached his desk.

"A body turned up early this morning," she said flatly. "Behind a thrift store. Same pattern. No witnesses. No suspect."

Nolan straightened. "CCTV?"

"Dead," she snapped. "Just like the others. Corrupted footage. Almost like someone knew exactly where the blind spots were."

Nolan exhaled slowly. "You know what just hit me?" He leaned forward, tapping a pen against the table. "There's only one case where we found physical evidence."

Martha's brow furrowed. "Max Rutherford."

He nodded. "Fur. On his jacket. Nowhere else in any of the other cases."

"You think that means something?"

"I think it means his case is different. More personal."

Martha flipped open Max's file again, eyes scanning quickly. "The fur. The body position. The distance from the wreck."

"There was a struggle," Nolan said, standing. He moved to the case board and began rearranging photos, redrawing timelines.

Martha followed him, pulling scene photos from a folder and pinning them side by side. She paused, brow creasing. "There was a scuffle... no, more than that. He was dragged. And he was fighting."

"Exactly," Nolan said. "He bought time. Time to get Emilia out of the wreck. Whoever ... whatever, attacked them was still there."

Martha's jaw clenched. "So Max Rutherford knew what he was up against?"

"Or he'd seen it before."

"There's more to Max Rutherford than meets the eye," she murmured.

Nolan's eyes sharpened. "Run a full background check on Max and Stephanie Rutherford. I want school records, employment, military history, friends, colleagues, everything. Go back ten years if you have to."

Martha nodded and grabbed the files.

"This may be our only thread," Nolan added. "And I want to know what it's tied to."

Later that evening...

Asher was fast asleep on the couch, his breathing now deep and steady.

Emilia sat nearby, unmoving, eyes fixed on him. She watched in silence as torn skin gradually closed, leaving only faint traces of blood where gashes had once been. The healing was almost hypnotic. What had happened to him would've killed any normal person, or left them bedridden for months.

But he was healing. Fast.

Her mind buzzed with questions, but none dared cross her lips.

Instead, she just watched. And wondered what it meant... for him, for her, and for everything she thought she knew.

Outside, the moon rose blood-red, it looked like it was bleeding as the clouds around it looked soaked and for a moment, Emilia's eyes caught the light and.... Glowed.