Conquering His Cold Heart

However, he was having a hard time fully understanding his friend because he didn’t know a lot of things. He didn’t even know what his friend was, to begin with. He just knew that his friend wasn’t a vampire like his brother-in-law, but was something with similar speed and strength.

And although he didn’t mean to ask, he subconsciously voiced out his thought, “Just what are you, Eve? What happened to you? How did you suddenly turn into that thing? Did someone do something to you that made you the way you are?”

In his absentmindedness, Everard also answered his friend with full honesty, “You know how much I liked your sister, right? I still do. And when I heard that she was sent to Sorvando to be married to the King, I couldn’t bear to just let her go.”

Everard’s heart began to clench when he was reminded once more of the pain that he felt when he realized that Anna was slipping away from his reach. He was reminded of the heartbreak that probably woke the dormant side of him.

He clasped over his heart and then mumbled in a broken voice, “So, I went to Sorvando to stop her from sacrificing herself to someone she didn’t even know. You also saw me leave. And… I don’t know… I reached there… realized that I was too late… the throbbing pain in my chest kept on growing… I could barely breathe.”

In the past, after witnessing Everard feeling over the moon when he used to read Anastasia’s letter for the hundredth time, Alexander had obviously at some point realized that the feeling that Everard had towards his sister was genuine.

However, he could never accept his friend falling for his ill sister. At that time, everyone had already accepted that Anastasia’s fate was sealed and she was going to lose her life during her eighteenth year on Earth. So, he didn’t want to be constantly reminded of his sister whenever he met his grieving friend.

“I am sorry that you had to go through such a great heartbreak.” For whatever it was worth, Alexander apologized to his friend. But he didn’t see how it had anything to do with Everard suddenly changing into that thing… until Everard spoke the next sentence.

.....

“I believe the heartbreak triggered the dormant side that was already present in my blood.”

Alexander felt as though he understood but at the same time, did not. He knitted his brows in confusion and asked, “W-What do you mean by your dormant side? You didn’t become that thing because someone did something to you?”

Everard wiped both of his eyes with his palms and then sniffled. He scoffed at his own helplessness in the matter and replied, “Yes. Someone did something to me. My father…”

“Your father turned you into that thing?” Alexander asked in shock.

Everard took a deep sigh and muttered while staring blankly, “My father was also that very thing and he obviously passed his blood to me too.”

“So, it’s hereditary?” Alexander asked in an attempt to grasp more knowledge about his friend’s condition, or whatever it was.

Everard gave a nod and said, “It is. I now know that a handful of the unlucky ones in the 11 clans of my Kingdom awaken that dormant side at various stages of our lives.”

“And the awakening of that side is normally triggered by something intense. For some it is anguish, for some, it is hatred, for me it was a…” He let out a shaking breath and finished his sentence with a whisper, “…heartbreak.”

After a brief pause, he also revealed something that he initially meant to hide, “And we aren’t a ‘thing’. Our kinds are called werewolves.”

There was absolute silence in the room for quite some time. Alexander didn’t know if his ears rang or if he heard Everard correctly. Thus, he didn’t know how to react to it.

And when Everard also didn’t speak any further, Alexander turned to face Everard completely.

Although previously he had refrained from asking what his friend really was, his curiosity got the better of him and he asked, “Werewolves as in the humans who can turn themselves into wolves?”

“Yes.”

“Y-You mean you can turn into a literal wolf? Or do you call yourself that because your fangs and claws resemble that of a wolf?”

“I mean that we can turn ourselves into giant wolves. Quite literally.”

By now, both of them were so engrossed in the conversation that they forgot they weren’t supposed to be having this conversation.

One needed to unburden himself by letting out all of the secrets that were weighing him down. The other needed answers so that he could understand his friend better. And they carried on with the conversation.

“D-Do it then,” Alexander asked very bravely and rather impulsively too.

Everard furrowed his brows in confusion when his friend made such a demand out of the blue. “What?” he asked, wondering if his friend was just joking or if he was being serious.

“I said, do it.” Alexander himself didn’t have the slightest idea why he was asking such a thing to his friend. But he knew that he had to see it with his own eyes in order to believe it. “S-Show me the proof,” he further insisted.

“Uh…” Everard was dumbfounded. He was grateful that his friend was willing to see the new him. But at the same time, he felt somewhat uncomfortable when his friend asked that of him all of a sudden.

Nevertheless, he couldn’t do that at the moment.

So, he explained it to his friend, “I can only turn into a wolf during full moon night after the moon rises. The other times, I can merely protrude the fangs and claws.”

Alexander gulped when he heard that. ‘So that was what those attackers were doing at that time… using half of their ability… What if it was a full moon? Would they have been invincible?’

The more Alexander heard about the werewolves, the more he wished to know. And right now, he also wished to see. He looked at Everard’s harmless-looking face and then his normal-looking teeth.

Then he mustered up the courage to ask, “Show me your fangs and claws then.”