Betrayed By My Doomed Mate

As planned, Cassie waited for Jack, and he soon showed up. She had to let Kurt go since they used to have lunch together. His friend didn't ask much, but he was intrigued. Cassie had a car, but Jack considered it a kind of date, so he felt obliged to take her in his car. As they drove down to the parking lot, Jack was so nervous that his sense of smell sharpened, and he could smell the sweet aroma of her car from yards away. At least he could be sure that he wasn't stinking. It was a good day after all.

Jack tried to be polite and opened the car door for Cassie. She seemed happier than in the company. She hoped he was the reason to cheer her up because that would mean he would have a chance. Close, it was as if he didn't have his problems.

Sitting at a table near the window that gave a good view of the street, they placed their order. Jack ordered a hamburger with fries and Cassie ordered a portion of noodles, garlic, and oil. Jack felt a little embarrassed but remembered that men tended to mature later. That comforted him.

“You look happier,” he commented, as he waited for her order.

She was a little shy but decided to respond by asking. “Do you think so?” she asked. He nodded in agreement. “I'm glad to know that I'm not as finished as I used to be,” he commented, straightening his posture in his chair.

“If it's any consolation, I usually look worse,” she laughed. To his surprise, she didn't laugh but seemed to disagree.

“I don't remember finding you ugly, Jack,” she commented, taking a sip of water. Jack hadn't expected a response like that, so he felt his heart speed up quite a bit. It wasn't typically a bad sign, but at that moment he knew it was all about her, and not the wolf.

“So, do you want to talk about it?” he asked, directly, trying to change the direction of the conversation. Cassie's expression was clear, she was uncomfortable, but it was clear that she had an interest in talking about it, although Jack wasn't so sure he wanted to know what happened.

“I didn't see much. I saw the wolves coming out and the bodies like that,” she began. "When I spotted the wolves, I was so scared, I thought they were going to hurt me too. They were so full of blood and growling. I was terrified," she said. Jack felt terrible hearing this. Cassie's hands began to tremble, as could be seen by the glass of water in her hands. Jack wanted to touch her and comfort her, but he felt he had no right to do that. She was stronger than he was, and by the time she saw it, she could feel his skin touching hers. She stopped trembling almost instantly when he touched her. He thought she was going to withdraw her hand, but on the contrary, she placed the other one on top of his that was already on top of his. In a simple gesture, he put his other hand in as well. They stared at each other. Jack looked as if he wanted to apologize for the trauma he had caused, and she wanted to cry. They were interrupted by the waitress, who had arrived with their orders. They settled down and were finally able to start eating.

While they ate, they exchanged a few words. Cassie was clearly holding back her tears, and Jack didn't know how to carry on the conversation after all that. "Is it tasty?" he asked. She nodded in agreement but asked about his plate as well. "Any chance a burger and fries is bad?" he asked rhetorically. She laughed softly and agreed, but it was enough to draw a smile from him as well. Suddenly, Jack's cell phone rang. He made an expression that he wasn't interested in getting out of that immersion, but Cassie said it might be something important, so he picked up his cell phone and saw who the call was from, it was Kurt.

“Come here now,” he said, as soon as he was attended to.

“Why? What happened?”, Jack asked, confused. Cassie looked more confused than he was.

“There are dead wolves in front of the building,” Kurt spoke up. “Black wolves, there are three, and they're dead. Get over here,” and hung up the phone.

“What is it?” the woman asked, curious.

“It seems they found dead wolves in front of the building,” Jack replied, fearfully. Cassie swallowed her food dry.

“We need to get over there,” she said, already putting her things away, rushing. Jack asked if she was sure she wanted to see them, and she said she did. He wouldn't go against what she wanted, so he hurried on, too. Shortly, they were in the car, heading for the company.

As soon as they were near the building, they realized how crowded it was. It was impossible to get through with the car. Jack was forced to park the car slightly away. Cassie got out of the car quickly, and Jack followed her as they tried to get through the number of people around. Jack could smell the new wolf, but also the smell of Kurt, who was close by. It didn't take long before he finally managed to get close to the wolves. They were lying on the ground, eyes wide open, tongues sticking out, and several bruises. Cassie got a quick fright but pulled herself together at the same speed.

“What happened here?”, Jack asked Kurt, quietly.

“I don't know. It seems like they just appeared like that. I haven't found anyone who saw what happened,” his friend told him, as worried as he was. “It's scaring me. Do you think the wolf that was with us is one of those?” he asked.

“I doubt it. Whoever was with us in that incident is still out there. I'd venture to say he must be involved in that.” Jack was attentive, trying to identify the smell of wolf from somewhere else, but he couldn't.

Finally, Josh appeared at their meeting and ordered them inside, to avoid the giant commotion outside. They questioned him if he knew what had caused it, “I know as much as you do. Watch out, I've been told that this building is dangerous. Let's wait here.” Cassie asked what he meant by all this. He was afraid, but he couldn't hide things. “We could be targets now.”