He is the Bad Wolf

AFTER GIDEON'S DREAM

After emptying the contents in his stomach, Gideon sat on the edge of the bed and stared at a nonexistent spot on the wall. The more he looked at that damn point, the more it seemed to expand until a huge stain started to take shape in front of his eyes. He shook his head trying to regain some of his common sense, then the stain was no longer there. As if it had never existed. But if he could see it, that meant it was real. In a way that stain had been real to him. So that dream from which Gideon had frantically awakened tonight was also real. He couldn't believe what had happened in his dream. "Sia ..." he whispered in the darkness of his room, bringing his hand against his lips to seal his speech. Just mentioning her name with these lips of his seemed profane. But these were the same lips that had kissed her every night after confessing their love in the place where they met, these were the same lips that promised her eternal love. These lips were the container of the lie that separated them that night.

Gideon flopped back onto the bed trying to understand what had happened. Maybe he imagined it all. Maybe guilt was finally going to drive him to end his life. If only that were possible. Gideon picked up the speaker on the phone next to him and dialed Charlie's extension. It didn't take long for him to pick up. "What?" he answered in a grouchy voice, it was already very late at night, but Gideon needed his Beta urgently. He needed to vent to his best friend.

"Can you come to my room?"

“What for?” he whined, “Jesus, Gideon! It’s four in the freaking morning.”

Gideon winced but this was rather important. He wouldn’t be bothering Charlie if this wasn’t necessary. “Come up and bring beer.” Gideon didn’t let him say another word and hung up. Not fifteen minutes had passed, and the door busted open with a strong kick.

Charlie entered the room looking like death itself. His black hair -usually kept tied in a ponytail- was unusually loose and tousled. Red eyes, dark circles under his eyes, and a sneer. In one hand he held a six-pack of beer. "I hate you." he growled under his breath and closed the door with his foot. He shuffled over to the bed and kicked Gideon’s dangling leg before depositing the beer on the small table near the sealed window. "What?" He asked in a surprised tone, "Do you want me to open one too?"

“Yes, please.”

“You’re really something.” Even though he complained, Charlie still opened up a bottle for Gideon and handed it over. “What is it? This better be good.”

They both took a seat at the table. They both took a small sip of the bitter drink. They both remained silent until one of them was ready to break the silence. It was not easy for Gideon to talk about his past. He was aware of the rumors about him, but they were just that, rumors. In the rumors there would always be some hidden truth, but rarely could the origin be reached. "How long have we known each other, Charlie?" Gideon then asked.

To which his best friend replied, "About a hundred years or so." then he frowned, confused by his best friend's line of questioning for him. "Why?" a smile crept across his playful features. "Have you already forgotten?"

“What do you know about me?” When he sensed Charlie’s hesitation, Gideon quickly backpaddled and rephrased. “I mean- I know you’ve heard stuff about me… about my past and the things I’ve done to get here.”

“Yes.” No denying it. Gideon didn’t miss the coolness from Charlie’s tone.

“Do you believe in all that?”

“Should I?” Charlie was not afraid of Gideon nor did he think twice about speaking the truth to him because after all they were almost brothers.

"Five hundred years ago I fell in love with a sweet girl." He smiled at the memory, "She had planned to end her life one night and I did not allow it. Since then I spent every night by her side since by day I wandered through the forest with my pack."

“I don’t want to interrupt you, Gideon, keep going.” His friend said when Gideon spared a glance at him gauging whether he should stop talking about his memoirs.

"My pack and I had been cursed and we were going to die very soon. Sia- she found out what I was and yet she remained by my side. She found power in the spirits of the forest and in time she became a powerful witch." Charlie’s eyes widened slightly, an indication that he knew or had heard a version of this tale. "She just wanted to help me. The ritual she had to carry out needed a witch's heart, only that was needed and I ..." Gideon couldn't get the words out as they were stuck in his throat. "I killed her, Charlie, I killed her and stole her heart."

“Gideon…”

"The ritual took place after she was killed and in a way we were successful ..."

“In a way? You were or weren’t?”

"Something went wrong. We broke the deadly curse that hung over our heads but was altered in the process. We no longer transformed into wolves during the day. Now we could change at will, we were stronger, faster. Better. However, that change came with a high price." Gideon took a sip of the beer, "We had acquired immortality. For many, immortality is something that kings would have killed to possess, yet it is the worst part of being a werewolf. Not being able to stay in the same place for a long time or even thinking about settling down is impossible. Our lovers would die sooner or later, and we would continue to see entire generations born, grow and die infinitely."

“I know.” Charlie said wistfully, “I’ve only been immortal for one hundred and twenty years and it’s felt like a lifetime.” A chuckled carried on, “But you, my friend, are a dinosaur.”

“Sia is alive.” Gideon finally dared to speak the words that tormented him since he awoke a few minutes ago.

“What? Didn’t you just say she’s dead? You killed her.”

Gideon shook his head slowly. "I killed her, I stole her heart and she's still alive."

Charlie was watching Gideon as if he had grown another nose. "It terrifies me to ask, really." but the curiosity of his best friend could more than anything else at the moment, "But are you sure?"

"Oh yeah. I know it sounds strange, but I saw her in a dream." He laughed bitterly, throwing the half-empty bottle against the wall, "She looked different, her clothes were from this time and the hatred ... the hatred she gave off was as pure as the love she ever felt for me." Gideon sighed letting a smile spread across his face, "She'll come for me, Charlie."

“And what are you going to do?”

“I’ll find her first.”