Chapter 128 The Powerful Wolf

Chapter 128 The Powerful Wolf
Quinn's POV

Where am I?

The last thing I remember is being in the operating room with Mr. Talon. 

After the doctor put on the anesthesia mask, I don't remember anything else. But if I woke up, I would be looking at the ceiling of the infirmary.

But instead, I see a sky dotted with stars. 

I don't know if it's night or not. The sky is dark, but there is a sun and a moon. How strange. 

Wait... the operation was successful, right? I'm just dreaming, right? This isn't the afterlife, is it?

Oh my god! I just realized something. 

Why am I so confident that what I'm seeing and feeling right now is a dream! This is terrifying, like another world. 

I started walking, anywhere, as long as I was moving. Hoping I would meet someone so I could convince myself that I was still alive. 

But after only a few steps, I suddenly heard the howling of a wolf. It was so loud that it echoed in my ears. 

I became alert, looking around me. 

I grabbed anything I could use as a weapon. So if the wolf came at me, I could hit it if it attacked me. 

My hands finally grabbed a medium-sized tree branch. I turned around like a clock to watch all angles... the forest? I don't know, this place was full of dense trees and tall, lush grass. 

The howling of the wolf was heard again. This time it sounded like a chorus. That meant there wasn't just one wolf, but probably a pack nearby. 

If I was unlucky and they were hungry, then I would be the perfect meal for them. 

Panicked, I thought about climbing a tree. 

I threw away the branch I had found and finally climbed up. I don't know where my climbing ability came from. But I think it appeared because I was in a desperate situation. It forced me to make an extreme choice or I wouldn't survive. 

I climbed quite high. I thought I was safe because wolves are not climbers. So I thought that if I was two or three times higher than them, they wouldn't be able to attack me. 

But I was wrong! 

One of the wolves, the biggest one, with shiny, jet-black fur, climbed up.

Oh shit! Which wolf can climb!

Or, could these wolves be something other than ordinary wolves? 

Could they be...

I had underestimated the abilities of this black wolf. It was suddenly right below my feet. Then it was about to touch my feet. 

I responded by climbing higher. But I stepped wrong. I stepped on a fragile branch, causing my body to fall because I wasn't prepared for the sudden movement. 

Instead of feeling hard ground or broken bones, I felt something soft and fluffy. 

It turned out to be the body of the black wolf, which had grown bigger. 

It was curled up, covering the ground beneath it. And that was why I didn't fall to the ground because it let me fall onto its body with its soft, cotton-like fur. 

Not wanting to take it easy, still feeling unsafe, I jumped off its body and ran. 

I ran as fast as I could to avoid the pack of wolves. 

Maybe it was a crazy choice, but at that moment, it was the only thing I could do to save myself. 

Sure enough, it didn't take long for the pack of wolves to catch up with me. Their speed was unquestionable. It was me who needed to question myself at a time like this. 

My breath became shorter as I ran further and further. 

This forest felt endless. It was as if I was running in circles. I kept returning to the same tree I had climbed earlier. 

This wasn't right. It was as if something was preventing me from escaping. It was as if something was deliberately trapping me here with the pack of wolves. 

I almost gave up because my feet were blistered and bleeding. I even realized that I wasn't wearing slippers. 

But then I heard a very familiar voice that had recently become my favorite. 

It was Grayson's voice. 

He was calling my name. It was faint but still audible. 

Something magical happened. After I heard that voice, I saw another path. The path was brighter and Grayson's voice was clearer from that direction. 

I ran there without thinking twice. I also heard Grayson say something, but after he said his words, I immediately forgot them. 

I was completely confused by what was happening here. It was like a nightmare that never ended. It was scary, tense, and made it difficult to breathe. 

Slowly, my running pace also slowed down. Even though I tried to speed up, it didn't increase. I was getting slower and slower.

Until finally, a white wolf ran alongside me.

The white wolf's eyes glanced at me sharply. Its eyes were red like blood. Its footsteps matched mine. It ran at my speed. And when it howled, its howl was like a beautiful melody. 

Strangely, the white wolf didn't attack me. Even when I looked back, I saw black wolves and their pack following us and slowing down their pace. 

I looked at the white wolf again with a million questions in my head. 

And finally, I ran out of energy. 

I stopped running right in front of a river. 

I staggered over and drank the water. It made my throat feel very relieved and cool. 

The white wolf also drank beside me. 

At first, there was nothing strange because they also looked calmer. But when I looked at the water, I saw something I shouldn't have seen.

It made me move away from the river as quickly as possible.

Oh my god. I saw a very scary and strange creature. It had fangs, and its eyes were red and glowing like the white wolf's. Its hands and feet had long, sharp claws. 

"Who's there?" I asked. 

"Who... is that?"

I reflexively grabbed my neck after hearing my voice for the second time. 

Whose voice was that? Why did it sound like it wasn't my voice? Why did it sound like someone else's voice and not the language I usually use? 

What was really happening to me?

"Look at the river again."

I backed away from the white wolf. 

She... was talking to me?

"I'm Stella, Quinn. I'm glad we finally met."

I backed away even further. 

This felt increasingly crazy and absurd. Not only was I saying strange things, but I could also understand the voice of the wolf talking to me!

"You're not crazy. I am you and you are me. We are one. And I appeared because you were ready for my presence. You need me and I came to help you."

I stretched out my hand in front of me, preventing her from coming closer. "What do you mean? We are one? You're clearly different from me. I'm human, you're a wolf."

"I am your wolf."

"My wolf? I'm human. I'm not a werewolf."

"You are not entirely human. But you are not entirely a werewolf either. You are a mix of both. We call that a hybrid."

"Wait, you mean I have both human and wolf blood? But how is that possible? My parents are both human."

I couldn't believe this joke. Obviously, Dylan and I were human. We never changed, we were completely human.

"This isn't a joke, Quinn. I'm telling you the truth. And what happened to you, you'll understand after answering your question earlier."

"You mean I have human and wolf blood from my parents?"

"You'll find out."

I stood up, about to run again. 

"You might want to save your energy instead of running."

"What do you mean?"

"You realize that even if you run, you'll still end up back in the same place. Aren't you curious why that happens?"

"Yes, I'm fucking curious!"

I needed answers. But what came to me was that big black wolf. 

I was increasingly cornered. Getting closer to the river was my only option. 

"He is Ace, Grayson's wolf. That's why you can't escape from that black wolf. Because you two are destined to be together. Fated mates. You two will never be able to leave each other. No matter where you run, you will run towards each other." 

So, this is what Grayson meant all along, that I was his fated mate? I couldn't feel it before, but now I understand. It's hard to explain, but I can feel that very strong bond. 

"You feel it. That proves that you do have our blood flowing through your veins. Because humans cannot feel what it means to be fated mates. But you can."

Frustrated, I ran back to the riverbank.  

This time, my legs felt light. Even the wound on the sole of my foot had disappeared, gone who knows where.  

I looked back at the water. I saw the same figure again, which turned out to be myself.  

So, is this my true form?  

I thought I was human because there were no signs of anything else. I didn't see any signs on Dylan either. So there was nothing to make me suspicious or question my identity. 

But now... I even doubted if I was my old self.

"You are still the same. Your brother is also the same as you. Just waiting for the time when the wolf appears."

I touched my face. This was really me, but a fiercer version. 

"But why can you appear while Dylan's can't?"

"Because you are at your maximum limit of staying in your human body. It was at that point of despair that your soul called me, awakening me."

I turned my head, shocked. "So you mean Dylan also has to experience a moment of crisis between life and death before he can get his wolf?"

"That's right. But as long as he’s not ready, none of that can happen. Unlike you, you’re very ready for whatever might happen to you. So that’s where I have room to introduce myself to you.”

I pointed to my feet. “And how can you explain this?”

“That’s your ability. Healing. A rare ability to heal yourself and others. That ability is only possessed by one in each pack.”

"And I'm from the same pack as you, right?"

"No. It's your job to find out." 

Oh gosh. My tasks are piling up. I still can't believe I'm having a meeting with my wolf like this. 

"Now, we're done introducing ourselves. You already know us. It's time to go back. The people who love you are waiting for you."

Right after Stella said that, my soul felt pulled. Then, when I opened my eyes again, I saw what I should have seen, the ceiling of the hospital room.

“Quinny! Oh Goddess. You’re finally awake.” Grayson’s voice sounded again.