By the time Oslo finally came into view, the sky above Norway had already begun to go towards evening.
The long road out from the mountains gradually gave way to larger highways, heavier traffic, and buildings that stretched higher the deeper they entered the city. Snow still lingered along sidewalks and rooftops, though far less aggressively than back in the smaller towns. Here, the cold felt different somehow.
Busier and alive.
And Silas was losing his mind over it.
"Whoa—"
He pressed himself against the window again for what was probably the fiftieth time that hour.
"There's so many people!"
Ingrid smiled as she ruffled Silas' hair while keeping one hand on the steering wheel.
Silas immediately twisted around in his seat again, nearly climbing halfway over the center console just to stare through the back window next.
"And the buildings are huge!"
"They're apartments."
"And the lights!"
"They're traffic lights."
Silas kept staring upward afterward, golden eyes reflecting every passing light outside the window.
"Humans really like glowing things. Even the witches love them too," he murmured quietly.
Ingrid snorted softly.
"That's rich coming from someone who lives in a place called Nocturne."
"And that thing!"
"That's a bus."
Silas gasped quietly like she had just revealed ancient forbidden knowledge.
Ingrid rubbed once against her forehead.
The entire drive toward Oslo had basically turned into this.
The werewolf pup bounced around the inside of the vehicle with enough energy to make Ingrid genuinely wonder if he had somehow consumed caffeine without her noticing. Every new building, every passing vehicle, every billboard, every group of people walking outside seemed to completely reset his excitement from the beginning all over again.
At one point he nearly climbed into the backseat just to get a "better angle" at the skyline.
"Silas."
"Mhm?"
"Sit down before you kill both of us."
"I'm sitting."
"You are crouching on my armrest."
Silas slowly lowered himself back into the passenger seat.
Five seconds later, he was practically glued to the window again.
Ingrid sighed.
Then despite herself, smiled slightly anyway.
The excitement radiating off him felt too genuine to actually get annoyed at for long.
Eventually, curiosity got the better of her.
"Why are you so excited about the city anyway?" Ingrid finally asked while stopping at a red light. "You've been acting like we entered another dimension."
Silas looked at her like the answer should have been obvious.
"My alpha forbids me from going anywhere except Nocturne."
Ingrid blinked once.
"…Nocturne?"
Silas nodded enthusiastically.
"Mhm! That's where a lot of us live. Well, not everyone everyone, but there's a lot there. The vampires and witches too."
His eyes drifted briefly toward the city outside the window.
"Nocturne has really big buildings too," he added. "But they look older. Like… castle-old. Some of them are older than countries, I think. The alpha says humans like making things bright and shiny while Nocturne likes making things dramatic."
Ingrid stared at him for a second.
"…That sounded weirdly specific."
"I heard one of the vampires say it once."
Then Silas shrugged casually.
"But the alpha says I'm not supposed to leave unless someone important comes with me because humans panic easily."
Ingrid opened her mouth slightly.
Then paused.
"The what now—"
A loud horn suddenly blasted behind them.
"The light's green, idiot!"
Ingrid glanced upward.
The traffic light had indeed changed.
"…Asshole," she muttered while pressing the accelerator.
Beside her, Silas immediately bared his teeth toward the vehicle behind them with a low growl rumbling instinctively in his throat.
Ingrid lightly smacked the side of his head without even looking.
"Behave."
Silas whined dramatically while rubbing his head afterward.
"He was rude."
"And you were about to threaten someone with werewolf road rage."
"He started it."
"You are not helping your species right now."
Silas crossed his arms afterward and slumped deeper into the seat like an offended puppy.
Which, honestly, wasn't far from the truth.
The deeper they entered Oslo, the brighter everything became.
Streetlights reflected against wet roads while glowing signs illuminated entire rows of stores and restaurants. People moved constantly along sidewalks bundled beneath coats and scarves, completely unaware that an actual werewolf child currently sat inside Ingrid's car staring at all of them like a tourist visiting another planet.
Silas looked overwhelmed.
But in a good way.
His eyes kept darting everywhere at once trying to absorb everything before it disappeared.
"This place is huge…"
Ingrid glanced at him briefly.
By the time they finally reached Ingrid's apartment building, the sun had nearly disappeared completely beyond the skyline.
Silas practically launched himself out of the vehicle the moment she parked.
"Hey—!"
Ingrid barely stopped him before he sprinted directly toward the entrance by grabbing the back of his jacket.
"You cannot run around Oslo like an escaped zoo animal."
Silas looked genuinely confused.
The apartment itself sat several floors above one of the busier streets in the district. Nothing luxurious. Only a modern, lived-in, slightly messy in the way apartments usually become when someone spends more time working than cleaning.
The moment Ingrid unlocked the door, Silas immediately stepped inside and froze.
Then gasped.
"It's so warm!"
He kicked his shoes off near the entrance before wandering deeper inside without permission like an overly curious puppy finally being allowed indoors.
Which lasted approximately three seconds before he shifted.
Ingrid watched in stunned silence as fur rapidly spread across Silas' body, dark strands covering his arms, legs, and neck while his frame changed into something far less human. His fingers lengthened into clawed hands, his legs bent slightly differently, and pointed ears pushed through messy hair as his face became more wolf-like around the jaw and eyes.
He looked exactly like a werewolf.
Just smaller and younger than the terrifying monsters Ingrid had seen in movies growing up. His proportions still carried the awkwardness of someone who clearly hadn't finished growing yet, and despite the claws, fangs, and thick dark fur covering most of his body, there was still something puppy-like about the way he moved around the apartment excitedly.
His tail wagged so aggressively Ingrid briefly worried he was about to destroy furniture.
"It's not like my manor," Silas said while running excited circles around the living room, "but it's so cozy and city-feely!"
"…City-feely?"
"Mhm!"
Silas ignored her entirely and immediately shoved his face against the apartment window to stare down at the streets below.
People moved beneath glowing signs far below while distant traffic filled the evening with constant noise.
The werewolf pup looked completely mesmerized.
Ingrid stood near the kitchen quietly watching him for a moment.
Then slowly pulled out her phone.
An idea had started forming somewhere midway through the drive toward Oslo.
At first, it had only been a stupid thought.
Now?
Now she was actually considering it.
Silas remained distracted near the window while his tail wagged lazily behind him.
Ingrid unlocked her phone.
Opened her camera.
Then switched toward recording mode.
"…Okay," she murmured under her breath.
This was probably either the greatest or worst idea she had ever had in her entire life.
Honestly, it could go either way.
Silas noticed her holding the phone moments later and tilted his head curiously.
"What are you doing?"
Ingrid slowly smiled.
"I have followers online," she explained casually. "And I think they're about to lose their minds."
Silas tilts his head in confusion, scratching his head with his paw.