Chapter 245 What am I?

Chapter 245 What am I?
>>Riona
“What are you?” Niall screamed at me, his voice trembling with fury.
I didn’t have an answer. I couldn’t even understand what was happening to me, let alone explain it to him.
I barely had time to react before he swung the gun toward me. His body jerked, and for a moment, everything slowed as I braced for the impact of the shot.
I closed my eyes shut, waiting for the gunshot.
But then, something happened.
A blur of motion exploded from the shadows, and before I could fully comprehend what I was seeing, something large, dark, and ferocious was on top of Niall. When I heard his scream, I looked at him again.
The sound of snapping jaws, the wet tear of flesh, and a sickeningly sharp crack filled the air as the black wolf bit down hard on Niall’s arm.
What…?
The pain registered on Niall’s face immediately as his scream of shock and agony rang out, but the wolf—huge, black, and unstoppable—didn’t let go. Its massive jaws clamped down on his arm, ripping it clean off with a horrific, sickening sound. Niall’s scream turned into a strangled, breathless gasp as his severed arm hit the ground, twitching for a moment before stilling.
I couldn’t look away, my heart pounding, my mind racing.
The wolf didn’t stop there. With a violent shake of its head, it threw Niall to the ground like a ragdoll. The man fought back, kicking and swatting at the wolf with his remaining arm, but the creature was too powerful. The black wolf lunged at him again, pinning him with its massive weight, sinking its teeth into his throat. Niall struggled, his eyes wide with panic as he tried in vain to fight off the beast. But the wolf was relentless, shaking him violently until Niall’s body went limp, unconscious or worse.
And then suddenly, silence took over
…
It was over. The wolf slowly stepped back, leaving Niall crumpled on the ground, blood pooling beneath him. I was still in shock but couldn’t tear my eyes away from the creature.
Then, it turned. The wolf’s eyes locked onto mine, and for a heartbeat, everything inside me froze.
!!!!
THIS!
I gasped as a realization hit me like a cold wave: This wasn’t just any wolf.
This was Demos's pet.
NO...
A chill ran down my spine. I couldn’t believe it. Not this. Not him.
The wolf—this beast, this towering, intimidating creature—slowly walked toward me. With each step, it was as if the tension in the air began to lessen. The fear that had clawed at me just moments ago started to drain away. It was as if the wolf’s presence brought a strange, calming peace to my racing heart.
As the wolf drew nearer, I felt something shift inside of me—like an invisible thread being pulled between us. I took another step back, but then, as if by instinct, I knew. I knew that this was more than just a pet.
My instincts were sharp, so was my perception.
“Woo...” I whispered, my voice barely audible, as I looked at the creature in front of me. I tried to speak the words, but they felt foreign, like I was still adjusting to this new reality.
And then, for the first time since everything had gone so wrong, I heard a voice in my mind. It was soft, almost gentle, but it shocked me to my core.
“Yes?” The voice came through, clear as day, but in a way that felt so... effortless. I didn’t feel the headache that came with it like I had earlier with the shift. This was different, easy, like he had always been able to speak to me in this way.
My heart stopped for a moment, but then I heard the name that had been floating in my mind since this all began.
“Demos...” I whispered, still unsure if I could believe what was happening.
The black wolf’s eyes softened, as though it recognized the name I had spoken. It took another step closer, its enormous form towering over me. Despite the size of the beast, I didn’t feel fear. I felt... something else. Something warm, something comforting. The presence of the wolf seemed to ease all the tension inside me, calming the storm of confusion and terror that had been building since I first shifted.
“You’re Demos?” I asked again, unsure how it was that I was speaking in his mind.
The wolf paused for a moment, studying me with an intensity that made my heart race. Then, as though in response to my question, I heard his voice again, this time more certain, more familiar.
“Yes.”
I didn’t know how, but I understood. He was Demos
I stood there, still in shock, as the weight of everything crashed down on me. The sudden shift in my reality—the transformation, the violence, the revelation of what Niall had done. And now, this wolf, who turned out to be Demos, standing before me, calming me without even saying a word.
But even in the quiet moment, my breath quickened, panic rising in my chest like a tidal wave. I couldn’t process any of it. The changes, the danger, the pain—all of it. It was too much.
I felt my breathing grow erratic, my heart hammering against my ribs. I stumbled back a step, my vision blurring at the edges. My hands shook, and I felt that tightness in my chest—like I couldn’t breathe, like I was suffocating. My head spun, and I couldn't stop the overwhelming surge of fear that gripped me.
What was happening to me?
“Demos… what… what happened?” The words slipped out in a panicked gasp, but the voice inside me trembled in confusion. I had no answers, no understanding.
He was here, and yet, I felt so lost.
As if sensing my distress, the black wolf—Demos—took a few slow, purposeful steps toward me, his black eyes never leaving mine. He stopped just a foot away, and I felt a strange comfort in his presence, as though his very being was meant to steady me.
But that didn’t stop the whirlwind of thoughts in my head.
What had I become? What was happening to me?
I took in a deep, shuddering breath, only to feel it catch in my throat. The panic swelled, threatening to tear me apart, to drown me in uncertainty. I couldn't handle it. I didn’t know what was real anymore, and my mind couldn’t keep up.
Then, in the blink of an eye, Demos shifted. The transformation was so fluid, so natural, that I barely had time to comprehend it. The wolf's massive form shrank back into the man I had come to know—the same Demos who gave me a promise, standing in front of me, now standing in his human form.
He didn’t say anything at first. His expression was calm, but his eyes—the warmth in them—spoke volumes. Without a word, he stepped closer to me and, before I could even process it, he pulled me into his arms.
!!!
I froze for a moment, unsure what to do, still reeling from the chaos. But then, as his strong arms wrapped around me, I felt the tension in my body begin to melt away. I could feel the heat of his body against mine, his presence grounding me. His scent—familiar and comforting—surrounded me, and somehow, it was all I needed.
I shuddered against him, my breathing still quick, but I didn’t pull away. I couldn’t. His hands, warm and gentle, moved to my back, rubbing slow, soothing circles. I felt the steady pressure of his touch, like he was trying to ease the panic that had taken hold of me.
He pulled me tighter, pressing me against him. His breath was steady against my ear, his chest rising and falling in a calm rhythm. His voice was low and steady when he spoke, each word grounding me in the moment.
"You're okay," he whispered, his voice almost a murmur. "Breathe. Slow down, Riona."
But I couldn’t. I couldn’t slow my breath. The panic was still there, eating at me, but Demos didn’t let go. His hands never stopped, gently coaxing me into a steady rhythm. Slowly, his voice cut through the fog of my thoughts.
“Breathe with me, Riona. In… out… slowly. You’re not alone.”
His words were like a lifeline, pulling me back from the edge. He didn’t rush me. He didn’t demand anything. He just held me, as if he could carry the weight of my fear for me, letting me feel the safety in his arms.
“In… out…” he breathed with me, his voice so calm, so sure.
I tried to focus on his voice, on the sound of his heartbeat, steady and strong. I could feel his heartbeat through his chest, a constant reassurance that I wasn’t alone in this moment.
The warmth of his embrace spread through me and I started to feel the frantic pulse of panic begin to slow, just a little. My breathing became less erratic, and my mind started to clear.
I buried my face into his chest, gripping his shirt as though holding onto something stable in this sea of chaos. He didn’t pull away, didn’t try to rush me. Instead, he just continued to breathe with me, to soothe me, until the storm inside me began to subside.
I didn’t know how long we stood there, wrapped in each other’s arms. But in that moment, everything felt quieter. Calmer. His steady presence was like a calm in the middle of a hurricane.
“You’re okay,” he whispered again, his hands still moving gently over my back.

The house was quiet, far quieter than it had been before all of this—before the transformation, the violence, and the chaos. Now, I sat there on the couch, cradling a warm cup of hot chocolate in my hands, my thoughts scattered. The only thing I wore was a silk robe. My clothes had torn when I shifted and when I turned back into my human form, I had nothing on.
My gaze was fixed on the surface of the drink, watching the steam rise from it, but I couldn’t really focus on it. My mind was too preoccupied.
So... I’m a werewolf...
I wanted to deny it, but everything that had happened to me—the way my body shifted, the power that surged through me, the instincts that had taken over—it all made sense. I couldn’t deny it anymore.
It was a lot to take in. A lot. But as I reflected on my life, things started to click.
I thought back to when I was a teen. I always felt… stronger than the others. Not just physically, but in ways I couldn’t explain. I could run faster, jump higher, even sense things before they happened. The way my senses were so sharp—my hearing, my sense of smell, even my vision. I used to think I was just lucky, or maybe I was just naturally gifted. But now... now I knew the truth.
And the meat. Oh god, the meat.
How could I forget that?
I had always craved it. It was like my body could only be satisfied when it had something rich, something full of substance—meat. No matter what I ate, if it didn’t have meat in it, it never felt right. I’d always thought it was just a personal preference, but now... now I realized it was something deeper. Something more primal.
The thoughts tumbled through my head like a flood—memories, realizations, flashes of moments that I had never understood at the time. They all made sense now.
I’m not normal. I never have been.
Or maybe this is my normal.
I didn’t even notice when Demos entered the room. I was lost in my thoughts, running over everything that had just been revealed to me. The door clicked shut behind him, and I looked up just as he moved toward the couch.
His expression was serious but soft, almost like he was waiting for me to process it all, to come to terms with what had happened. He sat down in front of me, his hands clasped together in his lap.
I couldn’t help but stare at him. He was calm, so calm—his presence was like an anchor, and yet... there was a heat in the pit of my stomach that I couldn’t ignore.
I swallowed hard and felt the rapid thumping of my heart against my chest. It was loud in my ears. It was almost too loud.
I tried to speak, but the words got stuck in my throat. Why? Why was my heart beating so fast? Why was I feeling this pull?
Demos looked at me, his eyes searching mine, and I felt something stir inside of me. That heat—it was rising again, like a fire spreading through my veins, and for the briefest moment, I wanted to reach out to him.
What is this?
I blinked, trying to control my thoughts, but it was like a wave crashing over me. There was a word that kept echoing through my mind.
Mate
Mate
Mate
It was like a primal urge, something I couldn’t ignore. The pull to him, the overwhelming need to be close to him—it was almost suffocating.
I didn’t understand. I didn’t know why I felt this way, why my body was responding to him like it was hungry. I hadn’t even known this side of myself existed until moments ago, and now it felt like it was consuming me all at once.
I tried to push it down, to make sense of everything. But the more I looked at him, the stronger it became. And I hated it.
No
I didn’t hate it. I liked it so much that it was overwhelming me and not being able to understand that was what I hated, not the feeling itself.
It was almost maddening.
I wanted to throw everything away—the confusion, the questions, the fear—and just leap into his arms, let myself be swept away by whatever this was. But I couldn’t.
I didn’t understand what it was, what was happening to me, and that terrified me more than anything else.
The word mate echoed in my mind again, and I nearly gasped as it surged within me like a tidal wave. I felt a sudden overwhelming urge to throw myself at him, to give in to whatever this was