Chapter 216 216
Her entire body locked in place, paralyzed by shock. It felt as though an unbearable weight had been strapped to her legs, making it impossible to move. Her gaze remained glued to the enormous wolf standing before them. Its thick fur was a striking mix of white and black, and it bared its teeth as it snarled viciously.
Jacqueline staggered a step backward, unsteady on her feet, her eyes darting wildly around their surroundings.
There was no one.
Not a single soul.
The highway stretched endlessly in both directions, empty and silent. They were completely alone stranded in the middle of nowhere.
Her heart lurched violently into her throat when the massive wolf advanced toward them with slow, threatening steps.
Instinctively, she lunged forward and clutched Damien’s arm with both hands, gripping him tightly.
A dreadful certainty rose within her chest.
This wolf is going to kill us.
This was it. The end.
Her mind raced wildly.
What will happen to Mathieu? Who will take care of him?
“D… Damien…” she whispered, her voice trembling.
“Get in the car. Lock the doors and keep your eyes closed,” he said sharply.
The icy edge in his voice sent a chill racing through her heart.
“Y… you?” she stammered, tears instantly filling her eyes.
“I… I don’t want to lose you, Damien,” she whispered brokenly as tears slipped down her cheeks. Her fingers trembled as they tightened desperately around his arm.
“Not when I just got you…” she croaked.
Around them, the other wolves began circling onto the road, closing in.
Damien suddenly jerked his arm free from her grasp with a cold, abrupt motion. Grabbing her arm, he dragged her toward the car. He yanked the door open and shoved her inside.
At that exact moment, one of the wolves lunged at him.
Damien slammed the car door shut.
Seconds later, the horrifying sound of bones cracking filled the air as his body began to shift.
He was only halfway through the transformation when the attacking wolf slammed into him, sending him flying across the road.
A guttural grunt tore from Damien as the shift completed. When he rose again, standing firmly on four powerful paws, a vicious snarl ripped from his throat.
His wolf form was massive easily several inches taller than even the Alpha wolf.
The surrounding wolves hissed and snarled in response as Damien bristled, his fur standing on end. His stance turned predatory as he bared his fangs in warning.
Inside the car, Jacqueline had dissolved into uncontrollable sobbing.
She tried frantically to open the door, but the child lock prevented it from budging.
She couldn’t even see Damien outside.
Tears streamed down her face in broken waves of sobs.
Then suddenly, something began vibrating beside her.
Her eyes fell on Damien’s phone lying on the seat. Dominique’s name flashed across the screen.
She snatched it up instantly.
“Dominique!” she cried.
“Hey… Jacqueline? Why are you crying? What’s wrong”
“Wolves!” she screamed breathlessly. “There are huge wolves! Damien pushed me into the car, but he’s outside! We’re on the highway… please… I can’t see Damien ahhh!”
Her scream ripped through the call when a black wolf suddenly crashed onto the bonnet of the car, causing the entire vehicle to jolt violently.
“Jacqueline, listen to me,” Dominique said sharply through the phone. “I’m coming, okay? Check Damien’s car for a gun. He always keeps one in the car. Find it and keep it with you. If any wolf tries to attack you, you shoot.”
Dominique’s voice had dropped into a low growl.
Jacqueline’s hands shook uncontrollably as she began searching the car. Her thoughts were racing so fast she could barely keep up with them.
Her heart pounded wildly as she searched for both the gun and for any sign of Damien.
Through the chaos outside, she could make out one wolf fighting against all the others.
This one was larger than the rest.
Its fur was gray.
Where did it come from?
Where was Damien?
Her fingers suddenly brushed against a box hidden beneath the seat. She pulled it out with trembling hands and opened it.
Inside was a gun.
“I… I found it,” she said shakily into the phone.
“Alright, Jacqueline. Keep it with you,” another voice said.
This time it was Alexandre.
“Jacqueline,” he said calmly, though she could hear the tension beneath his voice, “I want you to count how many wolves there are.”
Her eyes darted around frantically.
She barely managed to count six before a wolf suddenly appeared right outside her window.
She screamed and scrambled backward in terror.
“Six! There are six or more! I can’t see Damien!” Her voice broke as sobs tore through her.
The wolf outside clawed aggressively at the glass.
“How many big wolves are there?” Dominique barked through the phone. In the background, Jacqueline could hear the screeching of tires.
“Two,” Jacqueline said breathlessly.
“One must have gray fur,” Alexandre said.
“Yes! Y… yes! That one is fighting all of them!” she sobbed.
“We’re coming,” Alexandre said firmly. “Defend yourself. Do not shoot the gray wolf. We’re on our way.”
Nothing about this made sense to her.
Then suddenly
CRASH.
Jacqueline screamed as the car window shattered into countless shards. The wolf tried to claw its way inside.
Panicking, she scrambled out through the opposite door of the car.
The same wolf immediately began stalking toward her.
Without thinking, she raised the gun and pulled the trigger.
The weapon was already loaded.
The bullet struck the wolf near its neck.
It howled in pain before collapsing onto the ground, its body trembling violently.
The gun had a silencer.
No sound echoed through the air.
Jacqueline’s eyes widened in pure horror as she watched the wolf’s body begin to change.
Its form twisted and shifted.
Within moments, the wolf was gone.
A naked girl lay on the ground instead, writhing in pain as blood poured from her shoulder.
Jacqueline stared in shock.
The wolf had turned into a girl.
Her mind spun wildly, dizziness clouding her thoughts. But somehow, through all the chaos, her body moved on instinct.
She rushed back to the car and opened the rear door, grabbing a jacket. She hurried back and draped it over the injured girl, covering her exposed body.
She didn’t even know why she was doing it.
But she tried desperately to stop the bleeding.
Her hands quickly became soaked with blood.
Her mind reeled from everything she had just witnessed, yet her body kept acting on its own.
Then her eyes flicked toward the gray wolf.
It was badly injured.
Yet it was still fighting.
Still snarling.
Still battling all of them alone.
Her gaze drifted toward the ground beside the car the place where Damien had been standing when he shoved her inside earlier.
Her throat tightened painfully.
There, scattered across the asphalt…
were Damien’s shredded clothes.
Her heart seemed to stop beating as the horrifying realization formed in her mind.
Two and two finally came together.