I opened his shirt to see the extent of the damage and was not disappointed. He had almost been eviscerated! Four reddish scarring, the obvious result of a vicious paw, crossed his abdomen from one side to the other. However, given the short time that had passed since he got it, it had already healed well. Not being able to do much more about it, I continued my examination.

He had numerous scratches and bites, mainly on his arms, but all in a healing state. But what was the problem then? Because he didn't seem to be getting any better. No matter how hard he tried, it was getting harder and harder for him to hide his suffering.

- 'I don't understand. You look like you're healing normally, a little slow for you maybe, but.... Where exactly does it hurt?' I asked him, frustrated and confused.

- 'I don't really know how to define it... It's diffuse. I've been feeling that since my second change in the woods. I feel like it's draining me of all my energy.'

As a matter of fact, his voice seemed more and more apathetic.

I stood there for a moment, my arms dangling, watching him lying on the couch, when what he had said to the inspector earlier came back to me: "Especially since it is the most beautiful of the three. »

- 'You have to turn around,' I commanded him in an urgent voice and helped him sit down so that the exercise would be easier.

I took the opportunity to take off his shirt completely, and the little I could see from his back confirmed my suspicions.

- 'Take off your pants too.'

He did it slowly and what I saw then almost made me curse. So I hadn't dreamed earlier, I had seen him limping.

- 'Why the hell didn't you say anything? I thought you weren't sensitive to infection?'

- 'What are you talking about?' he said in an uncertain voice, almost as if he was drunk.

He nevertheless followed my gaze with his own and his eyes widened when he saw the state of the gunshot wound to his thigh. Well, what he could see, but it was already enough. On my part, it was downright worrying! His thigh had an unhealthy color and a kind of undetermined liquid was flowing from his inflamed wound that had doubled in size. The absence of a nauseating smell reassured me somewhat. We may still have time to act, but we had to do it fast.

- 'I don't understand, it didn't look like that earlier in the shower. It's true that they don't heal as they should, but that's simply inconceivable!'

- 'Inconceivable or not, you have to do something, because even though I have little medical knowledge, it looks a little too much like the beginning of gangrene to my taste.'

I helped him get to the bedroom and lay down on his stomach on the bed. I then went to the bathroom to get the first aid kit and emptied it on the blanket next to me. As I contemplated the various supplies scattered with a distant glance, I thought about what might well cause this reaction to this injury rather than to the others. Because the other two, although barely better healed than two days ago, were not infected. I remembered then that for the last one, I had to go much faster and make a compression point. Maybe that's what it was? Maybe there was something left in the wound.

I was desperately looking for something to reopen the wound, but the sharpest thing was a old pair of scissors. So I rushed into the kitchen looking for a knife, but they were all round-tipped. Were they afraid we'd get hurt with it or what? Ugh... Frustrated, I then violently took it out on the drawer and slammed it with all my might. Which, of course, did not help me at all. With a resigned and determined step, I went back to the room and set about reopening the damn wound with the damn scissors.

Fortunately, there was no smell and Jude didn't seem to be suffering more, because I think it would have been beyond my strength. Nevertheless, I managed to drain all the liquid before enlarging the wound as cleanly as possible, and then began to delve into it with tweezers. Brrr!

After about fifteen minutes of ordeal and the loss of at least a liter of sweat, I triumphantly held a small piece of metal at the end of my tweezer. It had a strange appearance as if it had been corroded. I didn't have time to dwell on it though, because the second the metal left its flesh, I felt Jude take a deep breath halfway between relief and pain. I then saw his skin regain a healthier color almost immediately, although his wound was still bleeding.

- 'Do you need stitches?' I asked in a whiny voice, hoping with all my heart that he would say no.

- 'Just bring the edges together with band-aid and make a bandage, it'll be fine now. My thigh hurts like hell, but I feel my energy coming back. A little rest and I'll be as good as new.'

I did as he asked, then put the kit in its place before putting the bedspread in the bathtub, although in my humble opinion it was hopeless. I freshened up my face with shaky hands and managed not to throw up... Apparently one gets used to everything. Taking a long breath, I took the opportunity to look at my reflection in the rectangular mirror hanging above the sink. The scratches on my face had already almost all disappeared, but my dark circles competed with Jude's while my hair was a lost cause.

I dragged myself with a heavy step into the room where I found him asleep in the same position as when I had left him. His face and body were relaxed, a sign that the infection was under control and that his metamorphic body was responding normally again. I covered him with the sheet and left the room without a sound. I left the door open in case he needed me and went to lie on the couch where, to my great surprise, I quickly fell asleep.

I felt good, wonderfully good actually. So much so that I didn't even have the courage to open my eyes. Instinctively, I curled even more comfortably against the gentle heat radiating in my back and enjoyed the feeling of security that the gentle but firm embrace gave me.

Huh?!!

The sudden realization that arms were not supposed to be around me woke me up and I quickly pulled myself out. So fast, actually, that I landed on the floor. Fortunately for me, a soft carpet cushioned my fall. But how did I end up lying in bed with Jude when I remembered falling asleep on the couch?

- 'You are very tonic in the morning, aren't you!' he laughed gently, giving me an amused look.

Always in the same position as when I woke up: lying on his left side, his head turned in my direction. The difference was that he had risen up with his left hand and seemed to be much better. As he wore only underpants in all, I could see that the creature's wounds had almost disappeared and that he would not even have scars. Seeing that I was staring at him a little too long and that he had noticed it, I blushed and went into fury mode in a quarter of a second.

- 'What the hell was I doing there? Last I checked, I never sleepwalked.'

- 'And I can confirm that you still aren't,' he laughed softly. 'I'm the one who brought you there.'

- 'And why did you do that?' I asked him in a dangerously soft voice, my suspicious gaze riveted on him.

- 'Because you were having a nightmare and your whining woke me up.'

I was stunned for a moment.

- 'You should have woken me up then!'

- 'I tried,' he protested, 'but when I couldn't and it seemed to get worse, I took you to the bedroom to watch you. You stopped whining the moment I took you in my arms. So I made sure to keep you against me, in a more comfortable way for both of us. Well, especially for me, I must say. You're heavier than you look!'

I could have been offended by these deliberately hurtful words, and would have, if his voice and expression had not contradicted him. His relaxed and teasing attitude changed subtly and suddenly to give way to a carefully studied expression so that I could not detect anything in it.

- 'What were you so afraid of? Was it a reminiscence of what happened... in the woods?'

To his slight hesitation, I knew that he was not only talking about our confrontation with the hairy horrors, but also, and above all, about his live metamorphosis. It is true that with everything that had happened since then, I had not had a single moment to think about it and we had not taken the time to discuss it. But the truth was that if I hadn't thought about it, it was that I had no problem with it. At the time and in the context of the situation, I was a little shocked, but not anymore.

Lost as I was in my thoughts, I did not answer him immediately and, when I looked up in his direction, what I saw unsettled me. There was so much expectation and doubt in his eyes that I understood what he was trying to hide from the beginning behind his sharp and sarcastic remarks: the fear of being rejected, that he would not be accepted as he was, and that I could understand better than anyone.

- 'I see,' he sighed as he stood up and leaned against the headboard. 'It's true that it's a lot to process all at once and I wish you could have witnessed your first metamorphosis under different conditions... but I didn't have a choice. I just hope I didn't scare you more than the monsters did,' he said in a dull, resigned voice, staring at his hands.

- 'Of course not,' I gently replied, touching his arm very lightly so that he would look me in the eye. 'My nightmare had absolutely nothing to do with yesterday.'

A tiny hint of hope seemed to pass through his eyes, quickly replaced by doubt and then by the cold look he used as a shell.

The truth is, I didn't remember my nightmare, but I knew what was in it. Because it was always the same since I was eight years old.

"... This horrible hospital, a door that locks... The sound of a key turning in the lock. Then the loneliness and pain of abandonment..."

I shivered in spite of myself and tried to repel the awful sensations that these dreams always left me when I woke up... except this time.

- 'Why such a warm awakening then?' he exclaimed with a resentful voice, visibly unable to understand the reasons for my reaction.

- 'Why, because I was surprised, what a question! I fall asleep alone and wake up in a man's arms! It's entitled to surprise anyone.'

- 'Your reaction was a little disproportionate if you're not afraid of me, don't you think? Unless I disgust you?'

He hadn't moved an inch since the second part of our conversation and his posture still seemed relaxed. However, the latter was contradicted by the obvious tightness of his face and the sweet tone he used.

- 'That's not it at all. It's just... It's the first time I've ever woken up in a man's arms.'

Surprise and then stupor succeeded on his face. I lowered my head, embarrassed by my confession. After all, it was none of his business.

- 'You mean you're...'

- 'No, I'm not! Although I don't see how that's any of your business at all. It's just that the few men I've known have never been interesting enough for me to want to wake up next to them.'

In fact, I had only known two and they were the ones who left like thieves right after. Why did I feel compelled to justify myself? What did it matter to me if he thought I was a virgin or a slut? As for the why, there's no way I'm going to dwell on it right now.

- 'Okay.... So what's to stop you from coming back near me to explain to me what caused such terror?'

Nothing indeed, except that on the one hand, I was extremely embarrassed to be so close to him when he was only wearing underwear, and on the other hand, if I didn't do it, he would take it as a personal offense and I didn't mean to hurt him. So I laid down beside him while taking great care to keep a respectful distance between us. If I had bothered to come back next to him, I had no intention of telling him about my nightmare. So I tried to change the subject.

- 'How is your leg?' I asked as innocently as possible.

He looked at me in dismay with a little smile that clearly said he was not fooled. Then his smile widened, until he became a grin. I knew I had made a mistake when he started lifting the sheet and I felt the red coming up my cheeks. But what is wrong with me! I was behaving like a schoolgirl, it was pathetic. The worst part was that Jude had anticipated my reaction very well and was doing everything possible to make me uncomfortable, just to make me pay a ten-fold for my anything but subtle change of subject. It was ridiculous. I forced myself to lift my head and stared at him with a swaggering look, then I slowly lowered my gaze along his body to his thigh, which was indeed much better, as well as all of him.

- 'Now that you've been caught at your own game, are you finally going to answer my question?'

- 'No. First because it's none of your business, and second because I refuse to talk about it... not just to you, to everyone. So please... forget it.'

I didn't know if it was the pitch of my voice or the "please", but he didn't insist. An embarrassed silence settled between us before I broke it.

- 'Thank you... for last night,' I said in a little voice as I contemplated my hands.

- 'It was the least you could do after all you've done for me in the last few days.'

As he said that, he took his back off the headboard and sat cross-legged beside me, then he began to massage my shoulders very gently. Um... How nice it felt!

- 'No... it's not just... It's the first time I've woken up without any memory of my nightmare. So thank you for... that.'

- 'If you have no memory of it, how can you be sure of what you really dreamt last night then?' he asked suspiciously.

He had stopped massaging me and his hands were tense on my shoulders.

- 'Because I've been having the same nightmare since I was eight years old. If it had suddenly changed, I would remember.'

I felt him relax slightly, then he resumed his heavenly massage. I enjoyed it for many seconds, before freeing myself firmly but gently from his magic hands. Then I got up again, to cut short this too personal conversation.

- 'So what's the plan? Are you well enough to take me hunting?'

My light tone could not completely mask my impatience and apprehension. He then got up and started to dressing.

- 'It's too dangerous until we know what we're dealing with.'

- 'Are you kidding me?! We're not going to hide here, are we? As far as I'm concerned, that's out of the question. With or without your help, I'm going to do something...'

- 'And what?' he asked in an angry tone. 'Between these monsters coming out of nowhere and their special bullets, it's a blessing that we're still alive. We need more information. Let's at least wait for news from Columbo before we throw ourselves to the wolves.'

- 'At least we can ask for help.'

- 'To whom? Don't expect anything more from Charles. Not since we brought a human into the deal. He won't lift a finger for us. For him, I am a traitor now and I will have to assume the consequences when the time comes. For the time being, we can only rely on ourselves.'

I understood from his posture that he was serious, and thanks to the little I had seen of Charles' dictatorial behaviour, it should not have surprised me.

But what were we going to do then? I felt like I was in the middle of a Z series...

Nothing made sense!

- 'Don't get discouraged, just be a little patient.'

- 'Do you really think we can afford to be patient? That your friends and mine can afford to be patient?' I shouted, my voice increasing with each word.

The sad and resigned look he gave me was worth all the speeches. He thought they were dead, and even if I refused to admit it, a part of me thought so too. Without a word, I turned around and locked myself in the bathroom where, for the second time since the beginning of this crazy situation, I let myself be swept away by sorrow and despair, crying my eyes out.