The idea?

Thud!

Just as I shut the door behind me, I realized it was probably a stupid idea to do what I was about to do.

The whole place was dark and I could barely see anything at all!

I quickly reached back to find the door to my room amidst the darkness and once I did, I gently pulled open the door.

The light from the lamp made a slight change but it was barely enough to see. I could only make out the walls and a dark space that seemed to lead to somewhere; another hallway perhaps, I couldn't tell.

Step after step, I gently proceeded while trailing the wall toward the vacant hallway ahead. I knew this was deadly considering if Darren caught me roaming about his house like this, I could end up in trouble.

However, I couldn't hold back this curiosity in me.

Darren seems too mysterious and he makes me feel like it would severely harm me to stay around for too long. I could smell danger on him and I find him untrustworthy.

I believe every man is like this. They prey on weak and vulnerable women, and I won't fall prey again. Not after Jason!

I gently made it across to the dark hallway and took a turn to the left while holding the walls for support. I couldn't see a thing as the hallway was quite far away from the reach of the light from the lamp, but I hoped that my sight would adapt to the darkness.

Just as I took a step forward, it occurred to me that I had made a terrible mistake.

" Ah!"

Clomp!

The step I took landed on nothing, and so I found myself tripping into darkness as I lost balance.

Rumble! Rumble!

My legs split and I rolled and tumbled down, hitting my face, hands, legs, and whole body as I fell across the hard surface.

Thud!

" Tss!" I let out a painful hiss when I hit a flat floor soon. I felt a contorting and excruciating pain from my abdominal wounds, and my whole body ached terribly.

" Ngh!" I knew I had reopened my wounds but I gritted my teeth to bear the pain as I pushed myself up.

The damned hallway wasn't what it seemed. It was a damn staircase and I had crashed all the way down!

No! No! No!

I wasn't supposed to wake Darren up. But the fall just now is probably more than enough to do just that!

Oh no, Darren mustn't find me out here, I'd be in trouble!

With me still hurting all over, I held a palm to my wound and turned around to find the stairs, rapidly hit-searching the floor with my other hand like the blind would.

I know I was supposed to be a being of the night but It was just too dark down here!

My senses weren't that heightened even as an omega, thanks to Jason!

Nonetheless, as soon as I found the staircase, I instinctively crawled up the stairs. And as I drew near the upper floor, my sight slowly readjusted to the darkness from the slight reflection of light from the lamp.

I quickly stood with the support of the wall and practically rushed back into my room. I slowly crept in bed and laid myself on my uninjured side, facing away from the door while whispering in pain.

I hope he doesn't wake up! I hope he doesn't wake up!

I couldn't help but pray with my eyes tightly shut.

I knew there was no way he wouldn't have heard me falling from the stairs like that. It was such a hard roll, and I bet the house probably thundered from the sound of it. There was just no way he wouldn't have heard that.

it's only a matter of when he'd walk into my room now. After all, there were only us two people in the house. I think...

Oh, I'm so fucked!

I couldn't help but open my eyes to this realization, literally. I needed a way out of this mess.

Yes, yes!

An idea suddenly occurred to me. I'll pretend to be asleep and act like it was probably his dog or his cat.

Now the question becomes, Is Darren a dog person or a cat person?

Ah, that won't work!

This too! I screamed internally and reached to turn off the lamp.

My whole body hurts so bad but I was so scared of Darren to even think about it.

It really was a stupid idea to explore the house while Darren was asleep tonight. I probably would have realized should I have given more thought to it.

Now I had more problems at hand, as Darren would soon come in to inquire what I was doing roaming about his house. I'm doomed!

Even if I tried to deny it, I still have to bear with this hurt all over my body and try not to make him notice my wounds.

Oh yes, I'm most certainly bleeding right now, and he'd definitely catch a sniff.

What to do now?!

I shut my eyes, tears slowly rolling down my cheek from the pain, panic, and fear that I was going through at the moment.

I thought of what to do with every bit of my being in panic. It extended for a very long while until I felt my self slowly drifting away into a deep slumber.

...

Alphonse stood staring with an incredulous gaze at the sight before him.

The place was a large room and there were lots of people everywhere, each with a mat, mattress, or a piece of clothing with which they marked their territory.

" Make yourself at home." Yoldes snared as he stormed off. Just as he was about to exit the place, he stopped and turned halfway as if remembering something.

" You only have a few days to stay and you'll be out before you know it." He said with a slight smirk and left.

Alphonse couldn't help but shake his head at Yoldes' attitude. He was right though, Alphonse did not wish to spend the rest of his time in what seemed not unlike a shelter.

That is exactly what the place before him was! A werewolf shelter!

The place was quite silent and there was only one source of light, being a bulb that hung in the middle of the room. The shelter stank horribly of piss, shit, vomit, and pus, but no one seemed to mind.

Even though it was nighttime already, there were only few who seemed to be asleep. Alphonse looked around to find a vacant spot and he soon found one in the far corner. He calmly walked towards the spot while observing the place.

He noticed several staring at him with a cold glare but he didn't give much attention to it. People were lying ill and wounded while they had others beside them, tending to them.

Cough! Cough!

The shelter was just a terrible chance at survival that every one of them couldn't help but take.

As he passed by, Alphonse couldn't help but pity these people. He knew most of them were in this state as a result of some sort of persecution. Whether in the supernatural world of werewolves themselves or from humans' persistent hunt of their kind.

' The curse that burdens us all is like a crucifix, we must carry on or be blessed with cold ruthless death...'

' Just like Sam did...'

Alphonse's brows furrowed at this thought as he reverted his gaze and headed straight towards the spot in the corner.

He gently sat by the wall and closed his eyes, feeling the coldness from the floor seep through to his bone.

The place was underground after all, hence, the coldness.

" Here, you won't survive the cold without it" Alphonse heard and quickly opened his eyes, only to meet the sight of a shivering hand outstretching a blanket over to him. Baffled, he couldn't help but look towards the person who offered him the blanket.

It was an aged man whose skin was wrinkled and whose hairline had receded.

Alphonse contemplated for a while before reaching out to take the blanket.

" Thank you"

" Don't sweat it, just take it from another bald man" The old man said.

Alphonse didn't take offence in his sarcastic remark. As a matter of fact, he nodded frankly at the old man in appreciation.

Although the blanket had a pungent odor, Alphonse didn't mind as he covered himself with it.

" So what brought you here to town" The old man asked after seeing that Alphonse had settled in.

Alphonse was silent for a long while, unwilling to entertain this old man. However, he realized he needed as much information as he could get about this place and the whole of the town if he wanted to survive.

" Left my pack." He said.

" A classic, hehe. Being in a pack can be suffocating at times. However, it's one of the reasons why what you see around is now a common occurrence..."

" You see, my friend. Solitariness was never our way, and look where it's got us" The old man stated, his voice full of pity and disappointment as he went on and on about how all werewolves should always belong to a pack.

Alphonse wanted to say he didn't leave his pack out just to be free, however, he couldn't bother with it. It was pointless telling him about it anyway. The old man just wouldn't stop rambling on about it.

' He's probably gone senile, I should find someone else to ask tomorrow ' Alphonse decided to ignore the old man.

" Hah! how I wish for a day where all werewolves would unite under a single pack and stand against the persecution of our race." The old man sighed and turned on his side, backing Alphonse.

' He fell silent, probably asleep huh?' Alphonse thought.

' ... About the old man's last words' He was unable to shake the big picture off his mind. Alphonse looked around the place wondering when all of it would ever end. The battle between werewolves and that between them and the humans.

It was quite the dream the old man had, but...

' A dream is a dream, and the real world is nothing but a nightmare...' Alphonse closed his eyes and slowly drifted asleep.