Chapter 12: Chosen One

"How could you tell that it's not true when you didn't even see what my sister saw?" Since Celeste was already sleeping, Yvar questioned in as hushed a voice as he could manage. Given Dwayne's demeanor, I wouldn't be shocked if he deflected the question back to my sibling.

Dwayne's response, though, made me stop dead in my seat.

“I haven’t sensed anything around.”

*He knows how to sense a werewolf presence around?! Oh my goodness, he can actually detect the presence of a werewolf nearby?!*

My eyes widened and my mouth almost hung open in amusement. I stared straight at him and he started driving as if he wasn’t detecting my eyesight staring at his. “H-How can you… do that?”

"It's nothing for you to be curious about," he responded, his tone so cold I felt my face nearly shiver. As I turned away from his peripheral vision in embarrassment, I saw Mackenzie nearby.

Dwayne rode past Mackenzie as if he hadn't seen him waving at us, and almost crashed with him. A few meters distant from where I had seen the beast figure, he emerged out of nowhere. Yvar became aware of Mackenzie's presence and appealed with Dwayne to stop the car, but Dwayne continued driving as if he hadn't seen or heard anything.

“We shouldn’t entertain unnecessary things in the middle of a hurry,” Dwayne reasoned out, emphasizing every word he was saying. He glanced up to the rear view mirror at Celeste, who’s now sleeping on Yvar’s lap.

When I turned my body to look towards the rear of the vehicle, I saw Mackenzie raising both of his hands at us as if he were attempting to hitch a ride. I interrupted him, "Considering that it's rush hour, Mackenzie might be thinking about getting a ride with us."

The expansion of Dwayne's chest lasted for a long time before it contracted, and he let out a lengthy sigh. “I can’t U-turn right now,” he said. This prompted me to raise an eyebrow since there were no signs that u-turns were prohibited here.

“Actually you can,” Yvar argued, insisting.

Dwayne did not answer and just kept driving till the last thing I could see was a progressive loss of my eyesight toward Mackenzie. I couldn't help but keep switching my gaze between Dwayne and him. I kept moving my shoulder, feeling unsettled for not having to entertain him now. If only this car was mine, I would have insisted the driver let Mackenzie in!

After some time had passed, all of a sudden, Dwayne began gripping the steering wheel with such force that I could hear his fingers pressing up against it. He abruptly turned the car around and drove it back to the near side of the terminal road, which led us to almost hit our faces in front.

“Dwayne! What the he—”

He then proceeded to play with the wheels and move the vehicle in a snakelike pattern. Celeste had awakened despite Yvar's efforts to keep her from being disturbed by his hugging her.

“I’m sorry. I thought there was a cat passing by.”

*Sorry? For what!* He might have used his cat as an alibi, but there weren't any around here. Oh, what a liar! I would hit him across the face if anything were to happen to us, particularly Celeste.

“You—”

Yvar leaned forward, presumably about to give Dwayne a word, but I sent him a look that resembles, *stop it, whatever you're about to say.*

Dwayne pulled over just next to where Mackenzie waited. I motioned for him to open the door and sit down next to Celeste, and he quickly did with giggling shoulders. As soon as he walked in, the mood became more upbeat. With his charming dimples and warm, friendly expression, he immediately put us at ease.

The *trying hard* positive mood we'd been maintaining has been replaced with a real sense of excitement. “Hey everyone!” Mackenzie exclaimed.

I cast a quick peek across to Dwayne, whose face was expressionless as he stared ahead of him at the bustle. I could make out some of the veins in the steering wheel because of how tightly his hands were clutching it.

Mackenzie reached inside his backpack, pulled out a handkerchief and towel, and wiped the perspiration that was almost dripping down alongside his forehead. He let out a screeching noise, loud yet quick. "I can't thank you enough for coming back to get me, people! Thank you very much!”

After that, his attention drifted across to Celeste's drowsy eyes. “Oh, hi Celeste—”

“Let’s go,” Dwayne interrupted as soon as Yvar and I were on the verge of beginning a discussion with Mackenzie. When the three of us glanced at one another, it was clear from our faces that we were thinking the same thing.

Mackenzie's pronunciation of the initial syllable was drawn out. "Well," he started. As he clapped his hands twice, he dispelled the uncomfortable mood that had developed, *again*, among the four of us. "So, how is everyone doing today, huh? It seems like you guys are engaging in some thought-provoking conversation!" He positioned his wrists over Dwayne's and my shoulders.

I got startled while Dwayne moved his shoulders away from him. His eyebrows curled and he slowly shook his head. I looked away. *I do hope Mackenzie didn’t notice Dwayne’s reaction!*

“Y-Yeah… We did…” I lied. “By the way…” Keeping in mind the spot where we last saw Mackenzie, I believe it would be best to ask him about whether or not he noticed a beast figure at *that* location. “...Did you see a…”

“A?”

Yvar resumed it instead of me as I was going to continue talking about it. "Was that the shadow of a werewolf you saw in that post near where you passed it earlier?"

Before responding, Mackenzie blinked his eyes a number of times and peered intently at Yvar. “A werewolf? What do you mean by a shadow? I didn’t notice anything!” he denied.

“Chill! We are just curious if you also did happen to see a beast shadow earlier. No need to shout,” Yvar calmed him down. I positioned my butt in a comfortable position, facing in front, as I twisted my head to the side window, staring at the road.

I had been seeing shadows of the same sort today, and no matter how many times I thought about whether it was just my hallucinations or something else, I couldn't ignore the fact that my eyes truly saw it. I massaged my eyes, which brought back the *same* clarity in my vision.

After Dwayne had left us off at our house, Mackenzie accompanied us down the stairs. He attempted to persuade Dwayne to take him home as well, but Dwayne was not interested. It's a good thing Mackenzie is such a go-getter since he didn't seem to bother when he was turned down. Before Dwayne went on ahead with the drive, he reminded me of the group assignment, *again*. Then, we bid our goodbyes.

Yvar brought Celeste inside while Mackenzie and I were left here on the outside.

“Thanks for letting me ride with you guys!”

“O-Oh! You’re welcome… But you should thank Dwayne, not me.”

“Oh, yes, of course. But I know you are the one who convinced him to go back and fetch me,” he bantered as he winked. He then chuckled and turned around, heading towards his way home.

He paused and cast a peek in my direction. "At what time are you planning to get up in the morning?"

I am not even sure if I can sleep. “Maybe at 3?”

He raised his hand while continuing walking. “Okay, see you tomorrow!”

I smiled, replying, “See you tomorrow!”

I returned home and stood in front of the entrance to take another look at him. And as he rounded the corner to the right, I caught sight of a shadow following him just as the streetlight cast its glow over it. Once again, a shadow that could only be a werewolf's!