Chapter 12: A Liar
Note: Zane isn't retelling the story, this first few paragraphs is to help the readers understand his POV better.
Zane~
The sharp evening air bit at my skin as I opened the car door. The dull, rhythmic sound of traffic filled the silence around me. Alexander, my precious boy, had shifted back into his wolf form after begging me not to leave Natalie behind. His small frame trembled in my arms, his dark fur pressed against my chest, and his soft whimpers resonated in my mind.
"I'm here, son," I whispered through our mind link, stroking his fur gently.
I didn't know what awaited me inside the decrepit shelter. All I knew was that I couldn't ignore Alexander's desperate pleas. I approached the battered building, its broken windows and peeling paint a testament to years of neglect. The faint glow of a single lightbulb flickered above the entrance, casting eerie shadows on the cracked walls.
Pushing open the door, the stench of mildew and despair hit me like a wave. The interior was worse than I had imagined—dust-covered floors, overcrowded beds, and hollow-eyed inhabitants who barely spared me a glance.
Then I saw her. Natalie.
She was on her knees, tears streaming down her face as she begged a group of indifferent strangers to help her friend. Her small frame looked even more fragile under the dim lighting, her hands trembling as she clutched Garrick's arm.
"Please," she cried, her voice cracking. "He's getting worse. Somebody, anybody—help me save him."