The giant wolf, taken by surprise, froze. In the darkness, he blinked hard, for a moment thinking he was imagining things.
The hard, heavy debris pressed down on him. He felt no pain, only a struggle to breathe, a sense of dizziness.
The woman's lips gently brushed against his. It took him a moment to realize that Catriona had kissed him.
She kissed him first!!
In his excitement, he took a deep breath, causing the blood in his mouth to flow even more violently.
Like raining, it splattered onto Catriona's face.
Catriona was startled and quickly reached out to cover his wolf's mouth, her eyes reddening. Roderick had used his body to shield her in the rubble, creating a small world just for her. It was clear, without needing to think, that he was severely injured.
Soon, her hand was soaked with warm liquid, dripping down. She couldn't stop it... there was nothing she could do. Everything felt so hopeless and powerless, and she choked out, "It's flowing more and more..."
It felt as if she could sense Roderick's life slipping away bit by bit.
Ah, why...
Was she supposed to watch Roderick die before her very eyes?
Catriona was both shocked and anxious, her heart aching, feeling like she was about to lose again...
She was about to lose again, just like her grandmother; Roderick was going to leave her too.
A huge void seemed to open up in Catriona's heart, a cold wind swirling inside, so empty, so cold.
Having just gained it, she was about to lose it again.
How unwilling she felt.
She reached out, stroking the giant wolf's fur gently, choked with reluctance. "It's such a pity, Roderick, that I only dare to stroke your fur so freely now. I never told you, but your pure black coat is really beautiful..."
"Clearly, we could have had so much time together..."
"If we can survive this, let's be together."
As soon as she finished speaking, the giant wolf licked her face wildly with his bloody tongue, excitedly howling.
Catriona let him lick her, smiling softly. "You're so happy, huh..."
But they couldn't possibly get out of here.
Silly wolf...
Catriona laughed weakly, feeling so unwilling.
The more she thought about it, the more painful and unwilling she felt. Just as she discovered happiness, and the happiness was about to die. Suddenly, she furrowed her brow, her gaze becoming resolute. "Roderick, hold on. If we can survive from this, let's be together."
"Roar..." the giant wolf responded, his pitch-black eyes glowing faintly green in the darkness. The next moment, he mustered all his strength, furrowing his brow, and let out a howl.
As he exerted himself, blood gushed out even more violently.
After howling, it seemed as though he could no longer hold on. With a heavy roar, he suddenly dropped his head, collapsing onto Catriona, his eyes closing in exhaustion.
"Ro... Roderick...? Catriona gasped in shock, her eyes wide, face filled with disbelief.
"Ah..." She opened her mouth to shout something, but only a breathy sound escaped. Tears streamed down her face uncontrollably.
It felt as if a sword had pierced her body, rendering her motionless. The wolf's fur against her neck and chin was so soft, still warm.
She felt dazed, and it took her a moment to find her voice. "...Roderick? Please... don't like this..."
In the pitch-black surroundings, the silence was despairing.
Her eyes were wide open as she held the unmoving giant wolf with her one functioning arm, her heart aching to the point of breathlessness, and she began to cry.
Roderick just... left her in her arms.
His warm body slowly began to grow cold, becoming rigid.
Catriona held him tightly, every bit of calm and reason disappearing.
All the resistance, all the feigned indifference faded away. All the strength she had left crumbled. She was no longer the woman she had tried so hard to be—she became the helpless, broken little girl who cried uncontrollably, just like when she was young.
Outside the rubble, the human rescue teams arrived one by one, pulling out the injured, dust swirling in the air. The cries of pain filled the atmosphere, mixed with the sounds of sirens.
【Capital hit by a magnitude 8 earthquake】trended on all major platforms.
When the earthquake struck, the lights in Eulalia's home flickered. Before she could react, she was swept up by Grey, leaping from her balcony to the building across. As she screamed, he carried her downwards, and by the time they hit the ground, she had fainted in a pathetic state.
When she woke up, she found herself lying on the grass, with a piece of clothing underneath her. Grey sat beside her, gazing at the panicked crowd in the distance.
"How long was I out?" Eulalia asked, her face pale as she slowly sat up. "I can't believe there was an earthquake in Capital! Is my house okay? My house!!"
"It's fine," the young man said flatly. "But let's stay outside for now."
Eulalia let out a deep sigh of relief, frowning as she pulled out her phone. "I'll ask Catriona; I wonder how she's doing."
"She's with Alpha Roderick; she won't be in any danger," Grey said calmly.
"Why isn't she answering?" Eulalia pressed her lips together and dialed again. "Come on, pick up, you!!" Her face grew increasingly worried.
Grey turned to look at her, and in the next moment, the howls of werewolves from Luna Palace reached his ears, freezing him in place.
Something happened to Alpha Roderick?
Grey sprang to his feet, his expression grim. In that moment, he couldn't help but start running, but after a few steps, he abruptly stopped.
He turned back.
"What's wrong all of a sudden?" Eulalia jumped in surprise.
Grey glanced at her, words on the tip of his tongue but left unsaid. Since something had happened to Alpha Roderick, so Catriona...
Grey pressed his lips together. "Stay here; I'll come find you."
"Okay," Eulalia hurriedly reminded him, "You have a mission, right? Be careful."
She lowered her head to start dialing Catriona's number, and Sylvaine's.
Meanwhile, on the big screen in the distance, a reporter's voice rang out: "Behind me is the Supermarket, the worst-hit area in Capital. The entire building has collapsed into ruins."
"Ah, there's something on top of the ruins... a police dog? No, those aren't police dogs; they're wolves! My goodness! How could there be so many giant wolves?"
"They're sniffing around, as if searching for something!"
In the footage, the wolf pack stopped in one spot on the left, howling excitedly.
Before long, a group of tall, muscular men appeared, starting to move stones in that area as if they had innate strength, lifting the heavy, solid rocks as if they were mere handkerchiefs.
"What is that... a rescue team?"
The people on-site were momentarily stunned.
"Alpha Roderick's voice just came from here!"
"Alpha Roderick and Catriona are right below; they'll be out soon!" Black said, dusty and agitated.
Draven's expression was serious. "Those in their pure wolf forms, don't attract attention here; quickly find a place to shift to pure human forms and come help dig!"
The wolf pack howled and swiftly ran off, disappearing from the astonished eyes of the crowd.
"Everyone, move quickly!" Lightblaze shouted, turning and colliding into someone. He looked up, momentarily stunned. "Grey, you're here too?"
Grey's face was grim. "No time for small talk."
The werewolves were strong, but unfortunately, they couldn't transform into their wolf forms in front of others. Their hands were stained with blood, yet no one cried out in pain.
Because they all heard the sound of crying.
That was Catriona's voice, crying.
That Catriona... who always smiled was crying like that.
"This spot where Alpha Roderick last lay must have been convenient for our rescue," they thought as the last massive building was cleared away, revealing their Alpha.
In an instant, all the werewolves' eyes turned red.
The enormous pure black wolf, its fur no longer smooth and clean, was covered in dust and blood. It sprawled out, as if protecting a treasure beneath it, eyes tightly closed, as if lifeless.
"Alpha Roderick!!"
"Alpha Roderick!!!"
"Catriona is below!"
"Catriona! Are you okay?"
The wolf pack hurriedly jumped into the wreckage, and at that moment, the massive black wolf began to change. Its form shifted, Roderick's appearance now became a human body but soaked in blood. He reached out one last time, weakly brushing the corner of Catriona's eye. "I really wanted to sleep... but you kept crying," he whispered, his voice faint.
Catriona's eyes were swollen and red, her lips trembling, unable to speak.
She heard the man on top of her, as though summoning every last ounce of strength, murmuring softly, "Remember... what you said—stay alive, and be together."
No turning back...
He breathed heavily, a faint smile curving his lips, before his eyes closed, and he fell into complete darkness.
