43. Terribly beautiful

The werewolf was heading deeper into the forest, taking me with him on his back. It was the middle of the night, and the forest became darker and darker every moment Lucca went deeper and deeper. Ferocious bears and dangerous animals could be lurking among the tops of the trees spread everywhere. It was scary and could scare anyone, but I wasn't afraid because I knew that my werewolf would protect me. I hugged the animal's neck even more, his dark fur almost covering me completely. I felt comfortable and out of danger when I was with him. Furthermore, I just adore Lucca Moretti.

There was a cave there that I didn't know about, but Lucca clearly found that place and was taking me directly there. Maybe it was in that place he always went to hide when it was a full moon, and he had to stay away from humanity. Everything was as dark as pitch, but the wolf walked through the cave's winding passages without difficulty, as he was already familiar with that place. It was so good for me to know that Lucca was taking me to his den, which meant that this time he wanted to stay with me there.

Incredibly, there was a clearing in the middle of the cave, where clear moonlight penetrated the place through the opening in the cave's ceiling, so it wasn't as dark as the rest of the cave and the surrounding forest. Lucca curled his front paws and tilted his body so that I could safely climb off his back. He walked away a little, standing in the middle of the cave, the moonlight bathing him directly. I could see that his limbs were twisting, and his bones were cracking, it was as if he was trying hard to transform back into a human. Maybe he felt the need to do this because he thought I wasn't comfortable seeing him in that animalistic shape.

The wolf grunted and writhed as if in pain. "Lucca…" I tried to call him, because I was worried. I didn't like seeing him in pain, but it seemed best not to stop him from continuing. He trembled and clenched his teeth as animalistic growls escaped his vocal cords; his face was contorted into an expression of pain; he raised his body upwards to stand on his hind legs, but he was truly transforming, his muscles and form becoming more and more humanoid; he threw his head back, raising his snout towards the moon, and a stiff sound mixed with a howl tore from his throat; then finally he was transformed, but not into a human.

He was in a form that was somewhere between a wolf and a human, he was a hairy and dangerous-looking humanoid. So big... He turned towards me, and his yellow eyes were staring at me. His chest was rising and falling like someone coming out of an intense fight; he was completely covered in fur, but his body was still toned and defined; his fingers were long, with sharp and dangerous claws; he was walking towards me. When he was close to me, the difference between the two of us was stark: he was a seven-foot-tall werewolf, big and dangerous, while I was just a thin, small girl, but I still didn't take my eyes off his.

"I'm sorry…" he said and his voice was changed, so thick and animalistic. "I can't go back to my human appearance now, I can only transform so far." He explained and I shook my head.

"You look incredible, you are the most beautiful being I have ever seen in my entire life…" I said those words that were so true to me, and he panted heavily, as if he had been satisfied with my answer. He approached me and picked me up in his arms as if I were as light as a feather. I ended up holding onto him for fear of falling, but his body was as rigid as if I were on a solid surface. He took me to a corner of the wall of the clearing where there was a blindfold on the rock that could fit the two of us perfectly. There was a small mattress that he had clearly prepared to lie on the days he spent the night in that place. He laid me down on the mattress and spoke in his animalistic voice.

"You have to try to sleep, you're very tired." I held his arm and looked at him fearfully.

"Please stay with me, don't leave me." I begged, I didn't want him to leave my side. He grunted and sat down on the mattress, leaning his back against the cave wall. His chest rose and fell more calmly now, but he was clearly still in pain, his breathing was drawn out and heavy. His fangs were still sharp in his snout. I slowly passed my small hand over his abdomen and chest until I felt a liquid wetting my fingers at the height of his right shoulder. I quickly checked the liquid on my hand, and it was blood. Furthermore, I widened my eyes in fear. "Are you hurt, Lucca?"

The werewolf didn't respond at all; he just sniffed, as if he knew about the wound and wanted to hide it from me. I knelt down immediately and then checked the area on his shoulder that was bleeding, it was clearly a claw wound and had certainly been caused in the fight. That he had with Atwood. "Baby, you were hurt…" I cried, already feeling so sad and worried.

"Don't worry so much, the wound will heal. If it's taking so long, it's because it was done by a similar werewolf." He grunted in pain, but I tore the fabric of my dress and worriedly cleaned his wound, I even sat on his lap to better care for him.

"You can't get hurt, I worry." I know he had done what he did to protect me. “By the way, how did you get out of prison in Morpeth? The police were saying that you would only get out after your lawyer got you out." That stupid police officer had insinuated that Lucca would only get out of jail the following week. He was silent as if he didn't want to answer. "Did something happen in the citadel, Lucca?" I asked worried.

"I ended up turning into a wolf in the cell, I destroyed the wall of the building so I could get out of there. I caused the greatest terror in the citadel, but I wasn't going to sit idly by knowing that you were in danger out here." I was completely shocked by those revelations, apparently it was just problem after problem.