Under the Moonshine

Twenty Three | More Secrets

Wilson's shoulders were composed. He looked tensed, to be honest. Seeing Olivia in his office made him uneasy. It seemed only yesterday that he was just giving her flowers and writing poems, all for the woman that caught his attention. She has that beautiful face any man would die for. But all of it was just a memory now. A far distant memory.

"That boy doesn't know how very capable he is of murder."

Olivia shook her head slowly, a small smile on her lips. "You're right, Wilson. But you also have no idea how capable he is to save people."

Wilson cracked a laugh at her response. "Where did you get this notion that a monster can save people? They are called monsters to destroy. You and your daughter still believe that that boy can do no harm."

She walked near the window, her heels ticking on the floor, a picture of a classy woman. "Monster is a label given by men who are scared of other's capability. A capability that they do not have. Being a monster is just a perspective. For you, Taren is a monster because of what he can do. For Taren, you are a monster because of what you wanted to do to him."

Wilson said nothing. Olivia still had that burning fire in her.

"I am stating facts," he said after a while. "This company is slowly going down in flames! Can you imagine what will happen if the media revealed this company's deepest secret? I am just protecting you! I am protecting my goddaughter!"

Olivia let out a fake laugh at his outburst. "Oh, are you?"

"Yes."

"Sorry, Wilson, but I think you are just protecting yourself."

The man stood from his seat and walked toward her, face serious. "People are now scared because of what that boy did. Rumor says he's a werewolf. When that word reached other society and the government, imagine the complication and conflict. You think of me as just selfless bastard. But tell me, Olivia, who helped Sebastian to create such monster? Who formulated the virus?"

She did.

Olivia glared at him so hard he swore she was killing him in her mind.

"When that boy give in to the beast inside him, when the virus controlled his body and transform himself into a monster, then you will see that even Emily won't be able to reach his sanity." He loosened his neck tie, trying to breathe. "We have to detain that boy," he said with authority. "And we have to stop Peter and the Green Empire."

- - - - -

Taren stayed still as he seated on the floor, Max beside him, both of them watching Emily's every move. Only their eyes moved, following the girl's actions.

He missed her so much he wanted to engrave her in his memory. He was studying her move, the grace she had when she walked, the pretty face she had and the light he could see in her. He would protect her from any harm and would serve her for the rest of his existence.

"Taren, can you please come here for a sec," she muttered, busy typing codes in her laptop.

He stood up and headed in her direction, Max trailing behind.

She pulled up a picture of a girl, the first victim of the werewolf, as the media labeled it as.

"Do you know this girl?" she asked.

Taren's brows furrowed, trying to familiarize himself with the stranger girl. Then he shook his head. "Am I supposed to know her?"

As if by some expected prediction, Emily sighed in relief. "She's been attacked."

Taren sniffed. "By who?"

Emily stared at the picture. It was horrible. The skin was torn apart, the victim's flesh lurking at the surface. Her body looked lifeless, a picture of doom.

"They were saying she was attacked by a beast. More like a werewolf."

Taren let that phrase sink in, his mind thinking rapidly. "It wasn't me."

"I know."

"You know," he echoed. "But do you believe in what you know?"

Emily gazed up at him, absorbing his innocence. He looked serious and couldn't figure out what he was thinking. "What I believe in is that you're not going to hurt anyone."

The violence he let out at the Facundo's anniversary rushed back in his head, the flashback reminding him of what he was. No, he was capable of hurting anyone, even to commit a kill, if he couldn't contain his rage. May be he really was a monster made to kill.

Slowly, he shook his head. "No, Em, I can hurt anyone. I can even kill Peter."

"But you didn't." There was a sharp edge at her tone, as if pointing that fact.

"But I can," he argued.

"But you won't," she replied stubbornly. She stood up and faced him, her eyes begging him to just agree. "I don't want you to hurt anyone."

Those words seeped in his core, slowly enveloping his mind with warmth. Taren looked at her eyes, sensing her anxiety. He didn't like it when she got worried and anxious. He wanted to take the bad feelings away. "I won't hurt anyone anymore."

"Good," she whispered with a nod.

"Can we eat some pancakes?"

Emily smiled at that. Surely, Taren will always be Taren.

- - - - -

Taren's eyes snapped opened as he heard light footsteps walking on grass 10 kilometers away. It was nearing one in the morning and the crickets chirped in chorus as everybody drown themselves in sleep. He sat up on his bed, head straight, breathing even, as if analyzing something.

He turned his head on his window and sniffed, a tinge of familiar scent swaying with the wind. Call it instinct or gut feeling, but he knew something out there was trying to find his tracks. It smelled danger for him. Taren's heart skipped a beat as he figured what could have happened. He snapped and headed to the window, opening it quietly and sneaked out. His feet were light on the roof as he walked and jumped down on the ground with a soft thud. The moment he landed on the trimmed grass, he heard Max made a crying noise from the other room. Taren looked up to Emily's window and saw his furry friend looking through it.

"You have to protect her now," he whispered.

Taren would not let any harm come her way. He wanted to prove them all that he was not a monster made to kill.

But he would if that what it would take to protect her.

To protect his Emily.

One way or another.