Fionna's scream still echoed in the half-built mansion as she and Cynthia rushed to David's side. He lay crumpled on the dirty concrete floor, blood pooling beneath him, his chest heaving with shallow breaths.
Fionna dropped to her knees, her hands trembling as she cradled his head, lifting it gently to rest in her lap. His chocolate-brown hair was matted with sweat, his blue eyes flickering with pain but still locked on her, like she was his anchor.
"David, no, no, no."
She choked out, tears streaming down her cheeks.
"You can't,you can't leave me. Not now."
Her voice broke, raw and desperate, as she brushed her fingers across his pale face. Her heart felt like it was splitting in two, the weight of his sacrifice crushing her.
Cynthia, wide-eyed and shaking, knelt beside them. She pressed her hands over the bullet hole in David's chest, blood seeping through her fingers despite her efforts.
"Come on, stay with us."
She muttered, her voice cracking as she pushed harder, trying to stop the bleeding. Then her eyes caught something,a faint purple shimmer mixed with the blood on her hands, like glitter but wrong, unnatural. She froze, staring at it.
"Fionna... this isn't normal. This powder,it's a wolf's bane. Poison. I read about it in my grandma's old folklore books. It's meant to kill werewolves."
Fionna's gaze snapped to her, confusion mixing with her grief.
"Wolf's bane? What are you…"
The leader, still standing a few feet away, laughed out loud with a cold and grating sound that cut through the air. He twirled the empty gun in his hand, smug as ever despite his beaten men groaning on the floor.
"That's right, girlie. Normal bullets don't do shit to werewolves. They heal too fast,bones knit, flesh seals, all that magic crap. But wolf's bane? That's a death sentence. Seeps into the blood, burns from the inside out. Your boy there's done for."
He smirked, stepping closer, his scarred face lit with cruel satisfaction.
"And you, little Alpha? You're next."
Cynthia looked at Fionna, her hands still pressed against David's wound, her eyes wide with dawning horror.
"Does that mean... you're really one of them? Like he said?"
Fionna's breath hitched. She looked down at David, his face growing paler, his breaths more labored. Starlight's voice stirred in her mind, fierce and clear:
'Fight. Protect.'
Her sadness hardened into something else,something dark and unyielding. She stood slowly, setting David's head down gently, her green eyes narrowing as she faced the leader.
"Yeah."
She said, her voice low and dangerous.
"I'm a werewolf."
As the words left her lips, a surge of power roared through her. Her eyes flashed, glowing a fierce amber, like twin moons in the dim light of the mansion.
Her nails lengthened slightly, sharpening into claws, and a low growl rumbled in her throat. The air around her seemed to hum, charged with an energy that made the hairs on Cynthia's arms stand up.
The leader staggered back, his smug grin faltering as he took in her face,marked with a cold, deadly resolve that promised no mercy.
"W-wait."
He stammered, his bravado crumbling.
"You don't have to do this! I was just following orders,Elizabeth, Vlartues, they made me! Please, I'll tell you everything!"
He fumbled with his gun, hands shaking as he loaded another clip, the purple-tinted bullets glinting.
"Stay back!"
Fionna didn't flinch. Her wolf was fully awake now, Starlight guiding her instincts. The leader fired, the shots ringing out in rapid succession,pop, pop, pop. But Fionna moved like liquid shadow, her body twisting and dodging with unnatural speed.
Each bullet missed, embedding in the crumbling walls behind her, kicking up dust. The leader's eyes widened in terror as he pulled the trigger again and again, the gun clicking empty.
"No... no way..."
She closed the distance in a heartbeat. Her hand shot out, grabbing him by the throat, her claws digging into his skin just enough to draw blood. His feet dangled as she lifted him off the ground, his face turning red as he gasped.
"Please…!"
He choked out, but Fionna's amber eyes were merciless.
"You hurt my friend. You shot him."
She growled, her voice layered with Starlight's primal fury. With a swift, brutal motion, she tightened her grip and twisted. A sickening crack echoed as his neck snapped, his body going limp. She let him drop, his corpse hitting the floor with a dull thud.
The moment broke. Fionna stumbled back, her amber eyes fading back to green as she stared at her hands,blood smeared across her palms, her claws retracting.
"Oh God "
She whispered, horror creeping into her voice.
"What did I do?"
The leader's lifeless eyes stared up at her, and her stomach churned. She'd killed him. Just like that. Starlight was silent now, but the weight of what she'd done crashed over her like a wave.
"Fi!" Cynthia's voice snapped her back.
"We gotta go,now!"
Cynthia was already hauling David up, slinging his arm over her shoulder despite the blood soaking her shirt.
"He's still breathing, but we need to move!"
Fionna shook off the shock, rushing to David's other side. Together, they half-carried, half-dragged him out of the mansion, his weight heavy between them. His head lolled, but he managed a weak groan, still fighting to stay alive.
The night air hit them as they stumbled outside, the distant howl of sirens spurring them faster. They didn't stop until they reached a shadowed alley a few blocks away, collapsing against a brick wall to catch their breath.
Fionna looked at David, his face ghostly pale, the purple poison still shimmering faintly in the blood on his shirt.
"We can't lose him, Cyn."
She said, her voice breaking again.
"He saved me. I'm not ready for this."
Cynthia gripped her shoulder, her own hands shaking.
"We'll figure it out. My mum knows all about wolves and she has this jar that she said I shouldn't touch but,well I did and I found a medicine labelled anti-wolfbeam drug, I will go and bring it."
Fionna gazed up at her with a surprised and relieved look.
"Thank you Cynthia."
Cynthia then stood up, with a serious tone, she said.
"Fionna, if I get back you will have to tell me everything."
Fionna hesitated and Said.
"Yes, Cynthia, I will tell you everything you need to know, but not here, you have to come over to David house."
Fionna
then brought out a book in her pocket and wrote down David's address and handed it to Cynthia.
"This is David's address, come and meet us there and I will tell you everything you need to know."