And There Were Wolves

thirty eight | can't stop you putting roots in my dreamland

"Eros, it's me. Xyrra."

The man who was standing right in front of me looked every bit like my best friend and yet, at the same time, he didn't. Although he looked like Eros Adler, I couldn't put my finger on what was different about him, but I just didn't feel like he was Eros.

"I don't know you and I don't know who this Eros person is," said the man, frowning. My hand was still holding his wrist, but I quickly released it as his gaze moved towards me.

"Xy." Miles came closer, stealing a glance at the man before focusing his attention on me. "Maybe you got the wrong person," he muttered in a low voice.

"No, I've grown up with Eros. I know what he looks like." I stared at the man, giving him a once over, then my eyes landed on the brown shirt he was wearing underneath his black blazer. His clothing was familiar to me. He'd once left them behind at my house when he'd had a sleepover. My mind instantly recalled what had happened before. "I can prove it. That shirt you're wearing. At the back there's a white spot. It's because when you left it at my house, I was using a whitening detergent for my clothes and it splashed on your shirt which caused the discoloration."

The man frowned, but he took off his blazer. As he started pulling the shirt over himself, Miles acted fast and caught his arm. "Dude, what are you doing? Are you trying to get in trouble or something? People are watching."

Eros shrugged his shoulders without care and proceeded to take off his shirt. "I have nothing to be embarrassed about."

In his defense, Eros was right. His toned, lean body with muscle and hard six packs certainly would attract praise and not mockery. I tried not to look, but with him standing only a mere foot away from me, it was proven to be quite an impossible thing to do. So I focused my gaze on his shirt instead and sure enough, there was a blotch on the back.

Eros looked up and met my eyes. His blue-green eyes widened. "You're right." There was a look of wonder in his eyes, then he blinked and it disappeared. "This is just a coincidence. It doesn't mean anything."

"Are you serious?" I took a deep breath and tried my best to calm myself down. He could be having amnesia and here I was, being impatient with him. "Okay. I know everything about you. What you like, what you don't like. I know all the injuries you've gotten during your childhood because I was there with you when you got them." I took his hand and gave it a gentle squeeze. Our eyes were still locked on one another and for a few moments there, I honestly thought I saw Eros. "Do you really have no idea who I am?"

"No." When he answered, I could hear the honesty in his voice and the truth in his eyes. He truly meant what he'd said. "My name is Ares."

"Wait, Ares is his wolf? You're Eros's wolf, right? I remember Eros mentioned you once when I came to the North with Ryker." He tried to pull his arm, which only made me hold him even tighter. "What happened? Where's Eros?"

"I've told you before. I don't know who Eros is."

Miles turned to me. There was an odd look on his face. "Xy, are you sure Ares is your friend's wolf?"

"Yeah." I nodded. Miles grimaced, so I asked, "Why?"

"That doesn't sound good, Xy." He turned to Eros and narrowed his eyes as if he was trying to see something that I couldn't. "I've heard stories before, but there have only been two cases and both are in neighboring packs, so I've never witnessed it."

"What are you trying to say?" I glanced anxiously at Eros/Ares. Whatever it was, I knew it couldn't be good.

"It's like rabies or mad cow. People said that it's a disease where the wolf would overpower the human and take over the body. If Ares here is truly your friend Eros's wolf, then it's possible that he has killed Eros."