Chapter 12: Shifting Loyalties (Part 2)
The final remnants of the shift faded.
And then, in the stillness of that ruined cabin, Selene stood over the bloodied, unconscious body of Tyler Graves.
His breathing was shallow. Wounds still sluggishly oozed blackened blood where her silver blade had cut too deep. His face dirty, human and twitched faintly in pain.
Selene backed up a step, eyes wide, her blade dropping to the floor.
This wasn't possible.
Tyler? Tyler was the—
She turned away, gripping her head as her mind reeled. Memories crashed in all at once: the weird heat signature the drone picked up near Graves Auto… the look in the beasts eyes… the way the beast avoided killing her. The yellow eyes. Familiar… haunted.
The way he'd looked at her.
She turned back to him slowly. He was still unconscious. Still vulnerable.
Barely bleeding now, he was definitely healing just slowly.
Selene knelt beside him, breath trembling.
She stared down at the man who had kissed her like no one ever had, who had laughed beside her at diner… and who had, hours earlier, nearly crushed her against a tree.
And yet, deep in her gut, something rebelled against the word monster.
Her fingers brushed his shoulder gently.
"Tyler…?" she whispered.
His body flinched slightly, but he didn't wake.
Selene sat there beside him in the abandoned cabin as the sun crept closer to rising, heart split down the middle, mind racing with questions that had no easy answers.
The hunter in her wanted to finish the job.
But the girl in her, the woman who saw the person behind the beast, she couldn't move her hand.
Couldn't raise the blade again. not now that she knew it was Tyler.
Selene pressed the strips of gauze into place, her hands stained with blood, most of it Tyler's. Her emergency field kit lay open beside her, her silver-edged blades tucked safely away, antiseptic wipes scattered like leaves across the floor. The deep gashes along his side were already knitting shut far slower than they should've. Silver slowed them, but not enough to kill. Still, it made him weak, vulnerable.
And yet she hadn't left.
She hadn't called her father.
She hadn't finished him.
Instead, she'd cleaned the dried blood from his face with trembling fingers, wrapped his ribs with the same careful hands she used on wounded teammates, and now sat back on her heels, staring at him with a cocktail of confusion, guilt, and something much heavier.
Tyler stirred with a low groan.
His hand twitched first, then his head rolled slightly. His eyelids fluttered, blinking against the dim light filtering through the shattered roof.
A familiar system ping brought him out of his daze.
His gaze found her..
Now wasn't the time to check the system, he ignored the system.
"Selene…?" His voice was rough. Broken glass soaked in smoke.
She stiffened, unsure what version of him she was about to face the man or the monster.
His expression shifted as recognition hit.
Then fear.
Then sorrow.
"You're… you're a hunter," he rasped, trying to sit up before pain pulled him back down.
Selene didn't move. "And you're a werewolf."
He let out a weak breath that might've been a laugh if it weren't so hollow. "Guess we're both really bad at full disclosure."
Silence stretched between them.
Selene finally spoke, her voice low. "When I found you last night, I didn't know. I thought you were just the creature I'd been tracking. I've been hunting it for weeks. I thought… killing it would bring me peace."
"You almost did," Tyler muttered, eyes narrowing as he looked at the still-seeping wound along his side. "Your blade burns."
"Silver laced with runes. Standard hunter gear."
He winced. "Figures."
Selene leaned back against the splintered wall beside him, knees drawn up, blade still resting within reach but untouched.
"How long have you been a werewolf?" she asked.
Tyler hesitated. "its been about 7 weeks. The night a mysterious man brought a Blue F-Type Jaguar with a briefcase stuck under the seat came into the shop. Something was inside it… some orb. It... it changed me. I didn't ask for this. I didn't even know it was possible."
"And Mason?"
"My Brother is not infected. But he knows. He's… helping me. Trying to figure it out."
Selene nodded slowly, letting the pieces settle into place.
"I thought you were different," she admitted after a moment, voice barely above a whisper. "Kind. Smart. A little awkward but honest. Then I saw what you were, what you became and I thought I'd been played. Lied to."
"You weren't." His voice was steady despite the pain. "I didn't know how to tell you. Hell, I barely understand it myself. But I never lied to you about how I felt."
She glanced at him.
"I could've killed you," she said.
"I know," he replied. "But you didn't."
Tyler leaned over moving a piece of hair from her face. Then gave her a long passionate kiss. She kissed him back, like she was craving it.
A long silence passed. The wind rustled through the broken slats above them.
Somewhere outside, birds began to stir. The world moved on, as if it didn't care what they were or what they'd done.
Selene shifted, looking down at her hands. "I became a hunter because of what happened to my brother. He was killed by something like you… a beast. Tore him apart. I was the one who found the body."
Tyler didn't respond immediately.
"I'm sorry," he said quietly.
She nodded, biting down the wave of old grief trying to rise. Tyler held her tight.
"That's why I do this. To protect people. To keep families from going through what mine did. My dad… he trained me. My uncle too. I've been at this since I was fifteen."
She didn't mention names. Didn't say where they were now. Some part of her instinctively shielded them, not from Tyler, but from the chaos all around him.
"You must hate me," Tyler said after a moment, voice strained.
Selene looked at him then. Really looked at him.
"I should," she said "But I don't think I could hate you."
She reached for the canteen near her bag, uncapped it, and offered it to him.
He took it slowly, drinking a few mouthfuls, then leaned back with a groan, clearly still in pain.
"You're not the beast that killed my brother," she added. "And you didn't kill me when you had the chance. That's something."
He smiled faintly. "You're harder to kill than I thought."
She allowed herself the smallest smirk. "Damn right."
Another pause passed. The air was warmer now. Dawn was finally breaking.
"So what now?" Tyler asked, voice quiet.
Selene stood, brushing the dust from her jeans.
"Now," she said, "I will help you get out of here before my dad and uncle realize they have been chasing ghosts all night."
Tyler blinked. "You're covering for me?"
"For now," she said. "But make no mistake, Tyler, if you lose control and start hurting people, I won't hesitate."
"I understand."
She reached for her gear, paused at the doorway, and looked back at him one last time.
"Rest. We'll talk again. But next time, try not to get stabbed."
Tyler chuckled weakly. "No promises."
She disappeared into the trees, leaving him alone with the pain, the questions somewhat answered… and the first sliver of hope he'd felt in days.