†Chapter 1: Trapped Wolf†
†Chapter 1: Trapped Wolf†
IT was early afternoon the day after he spent that bittersweet night with Euphemia that ended in disaster.
Zelaide made it to morning without sleep.
Euphemia acted a little awkward when she woke up at the crack of dawn and confined herself to the laboratory saying she might as well get back to work since she was already there. And since he didn’t think she needed him to protect her anymore, Zelaide left Biotech in the gray of morning before the rain stopped.
No one was on the same floor when he left, but there was a serious risk of researchers arriving at any time. Zelaide exited the laboratory using the same route he took the prior night and waited for daybreak in the Wilds.
The bottom of the sky brightened just as the heavy rains started to let up, and the clouds scattered with daybreak’s radiance.
Dawn always visited this planet the same way.
Yesterday’s corruption was washed away and a new day began.
Nojima’s Workshop on Wheels arrived shortly after daybreak.
The heavy semi-truck loaded with parts shook as it barreled through pools of water scattered around the Wilds and stopped in front of Zelaide.
“Top of the mornin’ to ya! Or maybe not? Ya look crustier than usual, boss man. Didn’t sleep?”
“Stop yapping, start fixing.”
“Roger, roger.”
The surprisingly perceptive mechanic cheerfully got to work despite not getting much sleep himself.
As an apology for what happened yesterday, he worked extra hard and repaired the broken sensor in under three hours.
Zelaide drove back to Gothic City after scheduling repairs for the body to happen at a later date. He felt restless at home so he pulled an old motorcycle out of the garage and let Manuela know he was coming.
In an odd turn of events, he felt as if he was going to be swept away by the roiling waves of affection smoldering in him since last night. He had planned on never meeting with Manuela again, but he didn’t have anyone else to talk to. At this point he was desperate for a distraction.
†††
“OOH my, Zel? To what do I owe the pleasure? Have you ever come this soon after a visit?” Manuela asked with a smile. “Then again, we didn’t do anything during your last visit.” Though she wore revealing clothes that exposed her voluptuous chest, her greeting was dry and unprovocative.
“I didn’t come to do anythin’ with ya today either. I brought your kid a motorcycle like I promised. I left it in the back,” Zelaide replied morosely.
Zelaide usually met up with her at the finest apartments she owned when he came to take care of certain urges, since that doubled her profits, but for any other business he preferred to use inconspicuous locations in the filthiest part of Downtown.
This particular apartment was located in Out Circle’s District G where they had met a week ago after Zelaide was attacked by Inferni. The area was far from safe, but Manuela had apartments in every part of the city to better serve each client’s unique needs.
Zelaide’s official reason for visiting today was to drop off one of his older motorcycles for her son since he heard the boy didn’t have any means of getting around.
“You’re giving him a motorcycle?”
“It’s an old model, but it runs well.” Zelaide left the motorcycle at the backdoor and slipped inside the apartment.
“Thank you, darling. Sean will be thrilled. He said he hasn’t saved up enough to buy a car yet.”
“Is he still hitting the books?”
“Sure is. He’s sharing a place with a good friend, so I don’t get to see him much these days.”
Manuela looked the part of a doting mother when she spoke about her son. Zelaide noticed she had taken on the same look with him lately too.
“…So? That’s not the only reason you came today, is it?” she asked, changing the topic from her son.
“Yeah… I had some questions for you…” Zelaide trailed off. The way Manuela assessed his face with a knowing smile made him feel like a boy caught in the act.
“I’m sure you do. You specified this location and reek of another female… Smells like you did it last night. Who with? Doesn’t seem like my replacement.”
Manuela’s curiosity was piqued. For years Zelaide had never smelled of another woman.
“I know most of the females in these parts but don’t recognize that smell. I haven’t heard about anyone new either. Where did she come from?”
“……” Zelaide’s expression was hard.
“Could it be the girl you mentioned last time? Didn’t you say she was human? Don’t tell me you—”
“I didn’t do her!” Zelaide roared. “I won’t do that kinda thing with her… I can’t.”
“So that’s it. You met your mate. How’s it been? Life changing, right?”
“…!”
“Oh wow, I’ve never seen you blush before. This is fun.”
“Shut up!”
“Hahaha! You don’t usually snap either.”
Manuela was unfazed by Zelaide’s blustering that typically caused adult men to quake in their boots. Age difference played a big part in her calm handling of the younger Beast Blood.
“…But why didn’t you go through with it? Is she unwilling to accept you as her mate? Human women are finicky.”
Zelaide winced away from his fellow Beast Blood’s frank questioning.
But he came to see Manuela today because he wanted to consult her about these things. Putting up with her teasing was worth the information. This was a particularly touchy subject for male Beast Bloods.
“I don’t wanna hurt her…” he admitted.
“Hurt her? Where’d you get that idea? Did the girl cruelly reject you, saying she never asked for a beast like you to be in her life? And then that pissed you off so bad you’re afraid you’ll attack her…?”
“Don’t even joke ’bout that! I’ll slaughter anybody who tries to hurt her, even if that’s me!”
Beast Blood men protected their mate’s with their very life. Their whole world revolved around that woman.
“Do you hear yourself? Sounds like she’s your mate to me.” Manuela smiled with the wisdom of an older woman. The young Beast Blood glared at her obnoxious confidence.
“Mate… What the heck is a mate? Why does having one make me so miserable?”
“Misery is what lets you know they’re your mate. You want to embrace them and be embraced. You want to love them and be loved. And you want to devote your whole being to them,” Manuela explained to the youngster using human words. She believed that was the best way to impart this knowledge to Zelaide.
“…Do ya know it the moment you meet?”
“If only. Stuff like that only happens in the convenient love stories humans write. It’s not that easy for us to figure out. But there’s this sense that you can’t forget the other person no matter how hard you try. You’ll experience magnetic attraction to them. You become extra sensitive to their voice and smell in ways that stimulate your desire. By the time you realize it, you won’t want to be apart from them and have this unbearable desire to make them yours…” Tears glistened in Manuela’s eyes as she spoke. “At least that’s what my deceased mate said about the time he met me.”
Talking about it reminded her of the mate she lost. But Zelaide related to the information she imparted.
“It wasn’t that way for you?” she asked.
“…I don’t know. I just wanna protect her. I don’t wanna hurt her.”
“That’s why you should protect her so she doesn’t get hurt. Why do you feel so conflicted?”
“Because I could become the very thing that hurts her,” Zelaide crisply concluded.
“How?”
“She and I are completely different sizes to start. Not to mention she seems to have barely any experience. Women go through a lot, right? Like…pain and fear…”
“Ah, that’s your concern…” Manuela examined the young Beast Blood in front of her. Is that what’s bothering him? She finally understood what Zelaide was struggling with.
He contacted her because he had wanted advice only she could give him.
“Doesn’t help that she’s a classy lady from upper society. She’s the type who shouldn’t have anythin’ to do with a scoundrel like me.”
“You have much to learn, young one… Do you honestly think we can give up on our mates with human reasoning? We’re Beast Bloods. Tell me the current situation you’re in.”
Zelaide silently pondered Manuela’s suggestion before reluctantly recounting the situation.
“I first met her when she was about to be violated by Vermis scum. She resolutely chose to take her own life rather than be sullied by their hands. Her eyes in that moment were more beautiful than anythin’ I’ve ever seen. I lost sight of everything else. I ended up savin’ her, which was the start of everything. For whatever reason she’s been hanging ’round me since… Buncha stuff happened that got me hired as her bodyguard by a family member.”
“And you started thinking she’s your mate while all this was going on, right?” Manuela interjected.
“I don’t know. Just watchin’ her made me hungry. Then she caught me scarfing down raw meat in the dark, but she said it doesn’t bother her.”
“Oh? Sounds like a good match then. Most prissy human ladies would be disgusted.”
“But now meat isn’t enough to…satisfy me,” Zelaide confessed, feeling pathetic. “She always gives off this sweet smell… So I constantly have to hold my breath or stand upwind. But the cravings are too much to ignore.”
“Those are normal desires for a Beast Blood male. Why don’t you get with her if she’s willing? She sounds like a fine mate.”
“We almost went that far yesterday. The blood went to my head, and I got so excited I wasn’t thinking straight… But then somethin’ interrupted us, and I came back to my senses.”
“Wow! Are you made of self-control?”
“I have to control myself. I’m too different from her… I don’t wanna hurt her. I’ve already experienced how crazy it makes me when I smell her blood.”
“Silly boy. Is that what’s got you worried? Women are sturdier than you think. They’re better at enduring pain than men. We’re made to give birth to children after all. Her first time with you might be a little painful, but she’ll get over it fast. Especially if she loves you. Has she told you how she feels yet?”
“…She has,” the young Beast Blood quietly affirmed. If the riders and senator from yesterday saw him now, they’d never believe he was the same monster who took them down. He was that downtrodden.
“Zelaide,” Manuela said with a patient smile. “Listen to me carefully. You have lived alone since your parents died when you were still a pup. You might not have gotten deeply involved with humans, but you were raised among them. That’s why you unconsciously follow their rules and morals.”
“What does that mean?” Zelaide leaned closer, curiosity piqued.
“We Beast Bloods mature slower than humans. Our outward appearance may look like an adult human, but our minds remain in adolescence for much longer. You’re a pure Beast Blood, but you’ve never had anyone teach you what that means.”
“Are you sayin’ I’m still a punk brat?”
“You’re a genuine punk whether I say it or not. Your strong cravings come from what’s commonly referred to by humans as teenage hormones. I’m amazed you’ve held back this long. It’s probably those human rules fostered in you that made it possible… For better or worse.”
“……”
“But you can’t keep that up now that you’ve met your mate. Follow your Beast Blood instincts and devote yourself to her before someone else does. That’s all there is to it.”
“Devote myself…”
“That’s right. Put your life on the line to protect your woman… Didn’t you come to see me because you wanted someone to tell you that?” Manuela pointed out, lightly tapping him on the cheek.
“I get it now…Manuela. I’ll do that.”
“Good. You do that.” Manuela smiled like an affectionate mother.
“…I won’t come here again,” Zelaide informed the woman who had supported him since he’d lost his parents. He had never loved her romantically, but she was an important person in his life who he could talk to and who taught him self-control and how to act as a Beast Blood male.
“That’s for the best. Though I hope you’ll occasionally meet up with my boy.”
“I will.”
“Go earn your place by her side. A Beast Blood’s mate means more to us than our own lives.”
“…I know that now.”
“Let me give you one last kiss. You’re now another son to me.” Manuela pecked Zelaide on the forehead when he obediently bent down. “Stay well. Become a great man.”
“Yeah…thanks.”
They shared a small smile. That was their farewell.
They were able to put an end to their relationship without any tears or regrets. But they would forever be connected by the common thread they shared as fellow Beast Bloods.
Euphemia was the place where Zelaide should return. She had become his mate.
Manuela watched the young Beast Blood depart with motherly affection. Her instincts as an older Beast Blood female were content; the child would soon become a man and have progeny of his own. She was proud of him.
†††
ANOTHER summer day quickly passed. The sky was high.
On this particular morning there wasn’t a cloud in sight. The green landscape turned a shade darker after being washed by the rain. The mild winds brought humidity.
“Good morning. Sorry I fell asleep right away last—What’s wrong?” Euphemia saw Zelaide glaring at his IHT in the kitchen as she came down the stairs.
Did he get bad news from Pal?
Euphemia knew Palmina contacted Zelaide every morning. She didn’t know what the agent’s messages said, but she assumed they were about more than just work. Zelaide was always so indifferent about it that Euphemia didn’t ask.
Two days ago, Euphemia had seduced Zelaide hoping it would lead to more. Her plan ended up backfiring and leaving them stuck in the same tense rut of bodyguard and client.
At least I figured out that he’s attracted to me and not disgusted. But he also didn’t try to have sex with me or say he loves me. I get that we were interrupted halfway through, but there was plenty of time before the alarm went off. I still don’t know how he really feels.
After daybreak, Euphemia threw herself into her work to drown her sorrows. When Zelaide returned from Gothic City that evening to pick her up, she pretended to be her cheerful self on the way home.
This was her first morning back at home with him.
Zelaide didn’t seem like himself. Anger radiated from him in waves.
“Zel…?”
What’s wrong? He seems furious.
The Beast Blood trembled, the IHT bending as his big hands crushed the sides. She had never seen him this angry before.
Is it not from Pal?
“…illed…”
Fangs gleamed from his downturned lips.
“What?”
“Manuela was killed…” Zelaide growled as if the words were ripped from his gut.
“Manuela? Who is that?”
“…A Beast Blood woman I know. I saw her yesterday afternoon. She was killed that same day. They discovered her body this morning.”
Euphemia rushed to figure out what was going on with her drowsy brain.
Zelaide had picked her up from the laboratory just after dusk yesterday. The day’s activities left her so exhausted, she fell asleep as soon as she got in his car and didn’t even remember when they got home. Her plans to talk with him about their relationship had been ruined by fatigue.
Zelaide likely carried her to bed. She woke up once in the middle of the night, but he wasn’t downstairs when she went to the kitchen for water. But he never left her alone at night, so he had to have been somewhere on the property. She heard Tipsy whimper outside while she rummaged through the fridge for food, which likely meant Zelaide was on the roof.
In that case, he could have only met with Manuela during the afternoon when he went to the city without Euphemia. She didn’t know what his business was with the other woman, but if the anger and sadness she sensed from him was anything to go by, she was someone important to him.
Is Manuela his mate…?
Zelaide glared at the picture displayed on the IHT screen, his teal eyes glowing. Euphemia followed his gaze down and promptly turned her head away.
“…Ugh.”
She only glimpsed the picture for a second, but that was enough to tell the woman was brutally murdered. The screen was a sea of blood, the body eviscerated.
“Horrible…”
Euphemia stared at Zelaide’s back. He trembled with anger.
“I… It’s my fault…” he hissed through clenched teeth.
“Your fault? Why?”
“Because I went to see her… She was killed to get back at me… All because I just saw her… She has a son!”
Zelaide’s claws dug into the IHT, cracking the screen. Intense rage and sorrow seethed in his eyes. Seeing him express such raw emotion for the first time led Euphemia to conclude, Oh…I see. Zel loved this person. Loved this woman who was a Beast Blood just like him…
“Was she your mate, Zel…?”
“…Manuela was a good person.” He raised his eyes from the screen, but neither confirmed nor denied her question. “A really good person,” he repeated.
Zelaide’s own stupidity made him sick. I shouldn’t have gone anywhere when I know they’re watchin’ me.
He never thought they’d go this far just because he briefly stopped by a filthy apartment in the middle of the day. Manuela was a strong Beast Blood; she could hold her own against normal humans. Zelaide always took precautions against Infernum, but they had taken their cunning and hatred a step further than usual and killed her.
Of course they killed her to intimidate and spite Zelaide.
They’re finally tryin’ to seriously smoke me out… Not just me… Euphemia too. There’s no room for doubt now.
The same Infernum trying to eradicate Zelaide was colluding with Mayor Saionji’s enemies to bury them both. Their enemies were after different things, which meant even if they weren’t going to kill Euphemia like they had Manuela, they meant to see her ruined to the extent her older sister Erica could never again be seen in public, much less run for politics.
Meanwhile, they were composing a surefire scenario that would send the Beast Blood Zelaide to certain death.
Euphemia. Zelaide stared into those large emerald gems that anxiously looked up at him. A hot lump formed deep inside him. This woman is…my mate. But she probably doesn’t know that she’s become a Beast Blood’s mate. What’ll she think if she knew? What did she tell me the other night?
“Being your friend is a big fat lie! A lie I told to protect my hurt pride. I’m in love with you!” Euphemia’s words echoed in his head.
Love? What does it mean to love?
As a Beast Blood, Zelaide was incapable of fully comprehending human emotion. He could tell she was fond of him. But he feared fondness was a completely different kind of emotion from the ardor and fixation Beast Blood’s felt for their mates.
“Did you love her, Zel? The woman who died,” Euphemia asked, her lips trembling.
“Love?”
Do I love her? Aah, is that how humans express it?
Manuela had said the same thing to him yesterday.
“You want to love them and be loved. And you want to devote your whole being to them.”
Zelaide turned those words over and over in his mind.
Until recently, love was a distant concept. A word that had nothing to do with him could not move his heart. The swell that began like ripples on a calm lake now raged like a storm, eating away at his composure. What was love for a human? Did it share the devotion, the dedication, and the obsession wrapped up in the Beast Blood concept of mates?
“Zel?”
Euphemia’s luxurious golden locks were tied back in a tight bun for work and nonprescription glasses adorned her unpowdered face.
She wore a simple white blouse and plain black slacks. This was her desperate attempt to look intelligent by concealing her beauty, even though her intelligence had nothing to do with looks. Real planning about how to eradicate the addictive drug Nightz from this world through scientific means filled her head. This strange woman who embodied purity and innocence, yet possessed an unshakeable will was his mate.
I love you… If only I could tell her that.
“I don’t know love. Don’t need it.”
The complete opposite words left Zelaide’s lips instead.
I can’t tell her the truth. She’ll be next after Manuela if the enemy finds out I have special feelings for her.
The truth would also deal a heavy blow to Erica’s campaign and tear the municipal government apart. He couldn’t offer better ammunition to his enemies if he tried.
The situation was already dangerous enough as it was.
“But Manuela—”
“I told ya I frequent a prostitute,” Zelaide spoke over her. “I was one of Manuela’s clients. She occasionally looked after my needs.”
“Is that what you went to see her for yesterday? To satisfy your needs?” Euphemia couldn’t keep the accusatory tone out of her voice.
Instead of making love to me? You did it with that woman?
“Not yesterday. I dropped off a motorcycle and came straight back home,” Zelaide answered frankly, crushing Euphemia’s doubts. If he had to lie about his feelings, the least he could do was be as honest as he could about everything else. “She’s a tough Beast Blood woman. She became a prostitute to raise the kid she had with her mate before he died. She was a good person. There was no reason to kill her,” he said between clenched teeth.
“Did they…kill that person to threaten you, Zelaide?”
“Probably.”
“Then it’s got something to do with me too.”
“…Yeah.”
“Wait a few minutes.” Euphemia dashed upstairs and came back down ten minutes later. “Zel, my sister said she’ll make time for us tonight.”
“Why?”
“I wish we could go sooner, but Erica has meetings and I can’t take time off work… I also need time to look into some things.”
Zelaide panicked. Euphemia was plotting something and that couldn’t be anything good. “Stop right there. You’re still going to work after hearing ’bout this? It’s not safe inside the lab either, y’know?”
“I’m going. The enemy won’t show their true colors if I sit at home twiddling my thumbs. So I’ll try to lure out the traitor by prancing around like my head is stuck in the clouds. Who knew the day would come when my stupid-looking face could actually come in handy? Let’s take down Manuela’s enemy together!” Euphemia declared, too stubborn to sit around when there was work to be done.
†††
“…I understand the situation, Euphemia. Zelaide, the police report states that the prostitute Manuela was killed right after you left.” Erica swiped away the image on her large IHT screen and faced the Beast Blood.
Erica realized the gravity of the situation after Euphemia’s foreboding call that morning and promptly contacted the precinct. Every minute of Erica’s day was scheduled. With the recent increase in Nightz-related crimes, the media had become more critical of her by the day, and the mayor had to stay a step ahead of everyone in order to maintain her position.
Her plate was full of approving new regulations and detailed policy revisions, but she managed to make time to hear her sister out before her next meeting.
“…I knew it,” Zelaide growled.
“She was killed in a one-story apartment she rented out for work in Out Circle’s District G. Considering the location and what the place was used for, only people who had business with her entered that room,” Erica said, reading off the facts of the investigation. “Since she ran a private business, there aren’t any coworkers who frequent the building either. Her only son lives elsewhere…”
“……”
“According to the forensics, she resisted her attackers to the bitter end. The room was destroyed and blood splatter is all over the ceiling and walls… Mia, leave the room if you don’t feel well,” Erica instructed after glancing at her sister.
“…No, I’m fine. I’ll listen to the rest of the report,” Euphemia insisted, acting strong despite her stark-white face.
Erica said nothing more on the matter and pointed to the data on the screen. “That apartment complex is used by multiple prostitutes to service their clients at night. It’s mostly empty during the day. That’s why no one came to check on her despite the noise. But a drunkard who passed in front of the room just past noon said he heard loud bangs coming from inside. From that, we can deduce that was the time of the crime. The body happened to be found by the apartment manager who came by to pick up rent this morning.”
“I left at noon. The timing adds up.”
“The cause of death is blood loss. More details will come out with the autopsy results... They will perform a necropsy, so we won’t know for sure until then. Do you know why she was killed?”
“Because I went to see her… They must’ve thought she was my mistress… I heard the news first thing this morning from an acquaintance. Has it already leaked to the media?”
“The police are on the case. They have their own information network, so it’s probably out there. But it’s possible they haven’t confirmed the victim is a Beast Blood woman. Either way, it will be on the news by the end of the day.”
“…Any other information?”
“I can’t tell if it’s connected, but there was a tip that an unfamiliar man had been loitering around the area since last week. Strange men are a dime a dozen in that district, but the tip giver said he seemed too well-dressed to be a client. Place being what it is, it’s hard to say if that man’s target was the victim or something else entirely. My people are looking into it.”
“I’ll ask around too. That said, Mayor Saionji…”
“What is it?”
“Sorry to say this now, but don’t you think it’s best if I stop hanging ’round your sister? Manuela ended up like that just after talkin’ to me…”
“No!” Euphemia shouted over him, breaking her patient silence.
Erica and Zelaide stared at her.
“Mia…”
“Zel wasn’t with that woman when she was killed! If he had been there, she wouldn’t have died! Besides, the enemy already knows I’m connected to Zel. And we’re the ones who roped him into this, asking him to protect me! Separating us now will only make it more dangerous for me! I’m a target, too!”
“Yumi… That’s why you should stay here…”
“No. I won’t be able to continue my research on the Mongolian gerbils! I don’t want to let the opportunity Director Burhardt gave me go to waste! He gave me a ton of advice just today, too. I need to continue my research!”
“Your life matters more,” Zel argued.
“You’ll protect me, won’t you, Zel? It’ll be less dangerous if we stay together all the time. Erica can make it so you can freely enter the lab—”
“That will just make it easier for them to target you both at the same time,” Erica calmly pointed out. “You should listen to his professional advice and stay—”
“I absolutely refuse!” Euphemia shot down Erica as well. “They’ll target us both? Sounds perfect to me! Then we will know who’s after us and who they’re working with in one go. I doubt they’ll come at us with heavy firepower. Zel can stick close to me and then I can get in touch with Wei for police assistance… I’ll become bait. Let’s drag out those cowardly scumbags who kill innocent people on a whim.”
“But—”
“Zel! You said you’ll protect me. Don’t abandon me now! Please, stay with me!”
Euphemia was desperate. Her research team had just started to get somewhere, she couldn’t give everything up after coming this far. Being ripped apart from Zelaide was just as unbearable.
“I don’t want to run or hide! I’ll fight back in my own way! Please let me do this, Erica—no, Mayor Saionji. Your little sister won’t flee in terror over this!” Euphemia declared with both feet planted firmly on the ground and her head held high.