Here's the 28th chapter! Thank you to everyone who has supported this story thus far; it means the world to me. We've got 54 favorites and 75 follows at this point, which is just amazing. The end, however, is near; this is the fourth-to-last chapter of Werewolves of Sinnoh.

Yeah, it was originally going to be much longer, but I decided that my future plans for this story would make very little sense. Nonetheless, I'm happy with the conclusion of the story, and I hope you will all be too.

CODY HARVARD, 19

The interior of the cave was nothing like I had expected. Truth be told, I hadn't been expecting anything other than a cold, dark chamber, in which none of us would be able to see anything.

Once I crawled through the hole, I found myself about five feet away from Jeremy, on the edge of a circular chamber made up of light purple crystal. It looked almost as though we were in one of those cut geodes you see in gift shops.

"How…" I trailed off, hardly able to believe it. If I hadn't been here with my own eyes, if my paws hadn't been touching the cold hard floor, I wouldn't have thought this all was real.

Jeremy shrugged. "Things aren't always how they look, Cody."

"I know that," I replied. "But this cave…it can't have formed naturally."

"Says who?" came a slightly exasperated female voice from behind me.

I looked around and saw that Bella was now entering the chamber. She took a circular glance around the crystal cave before facing the two of us.

"W-well", I exclaimed, my teeth chattering still, "this l-looks like a g-good place to sleep!"

I was still shivering, but something about this cave felt inviting and warm. Make no mistake, the floor was anything but warm, but this would be far more pleasant than a wet sleeping bag.

We ended up passing around some canned food from our backpacks. Baked beans had never been my favorite, but they would have been far more appetizing had we been able to cook them. Of course, making a fire in an enclosed space like this was simply too dangerous, out of the question.

As we ate our pitiful supper, we talked for a few minutes about how incredible the cave's interior was. The crystals making up the ceiling were not only light purple, but also deep purple, dark green, and white. It looked like something out of a fairy tale.

After that topic had worn out its welcome, we moved onto the subject of whether our enemies would be able to barricade the cave's exit. After all, so far as we could tell, there was no other way out besides the way we'd come in.

On the whole, this conversation didn't last very long. Within a minute or two, it was clear that none of us wanted to dwell on this hypothetical. Thinking about it, even briefly, made this cave feel even more claustrophobic than it had before.

Bella yawned, raising her paws into the air. "I think I'll lie down and sleep now," she said. "No offense to either of you, but I'm not going to share my sleeping bag with either of you. I know we're a team, but in some ways, it's every 'mon for themselves."

Neither of us objected to this, especially not me. I wouldn't have expected Bella to want to sleep in the same bag as me anyway.

Bella lay down on the crystal floor, putting her backpack beneath her head, and closed her eyes. Within minutes, I could see her chest rise and fall, slowly and gently, a clear indicator that she'd fallen asleep.

Now it was just Jeremy and I.

"Remember what we talked about earlier?" I asked the Rockruff kid. I wasn't shivering nearly as much as I had before; if I'd been hypothermic, I'd gotten over it pretty well.

Jeremy nodded. "You mean about how to deal with these things, right?"

I shrugged. "Depends what you mean by 'these things', but sure. Anyway, I was going to ask if you've been taking my advice to heart."

"What advice?" the Rockruff asked me, in a tone that suggested he knew what I meant, but wanted to beat around the bush for as long as possible.

"Never give up hope, because your parents didn't give their lives so that you could lose hope. And remember that Bella and I are your family now, whether we like it or not. We might be a dysfunctional family, but we're still a family."

Jeremy's eyes were forming tears, but it was clear that he was doing his best not to cry. It was pretty heart-wrenching to see him try so hard to hold back his emotions, and I felt the urge to cry along with him.

"It's okay to cry, Jeremy," I responded. "Not to be sexist, but manly tears can be helpful. Just don't let your tears distract you from what's truly important."

The Rockruff kid brought something up that I hadn't considered in some hours; it seemed like a non sequitur at first.

"Aren't you worried about being arrested? The police will recognize you once they see you, right?"

I hadn't given it that much thought lately, but I knew his concern was valid. As I thought a little more about it, I also realized that our deliverance from this wilderness might also be my downfall into the legal system once again.

But would I really be going out of the frying pan and into the fire?

"They probably will," I responded quietly, so as not to wake our companion. "But there's always a chance Bella will decide not to press charges. Maybe she will forgive me, at least enough for her to agree that I shouldn't go to prison. It was an accident, after all."

"Why would she forgive you?" Jeremy asked, sounding rather upset. "She doesn't know that you didn't mean to; if you told her, she might not believe you."

I immediately knew the best answer to give.

"Look, Jeremy. I don't know if she'll release me from these charges or not. But that's one reason I'm trying to be as helpful as possible, so that when the decision comes for her, she'll remember the good times."

In a way, that was an admission of guilt. I had admitted to trying to "butter her up", as it were, in the hopes of leniency at my trial (or no trial at all.) And the thought that I was only treating her well for my own selfish reasons wasn't a pleasant one.

Far better, I would think, for me to be a positive presence just because it's the right thing to do, and it's in all of our interests.

"Fair enough" Jeremy responded with a deep sigh. He then rolled over onto his side and started to snore. This left me effectively alone in this crystal cave.

Despite my exhaustion, I had little desire to sleep. Given that I'd been having a lot of nightmares lately, there was a good chance that any sleep I got would not be very restful. Besides, someone had to keep watch.

In the back of my mind, I wondered if keeping watch was truly necessary. Anyone trying to capture us would need to crawl through this tiny hole in the cave, and they wouldn't exactly have an easy time doing so. I'd only barely been able to get through with my backpack as a Lycanroc.

That reminds me…I should probably put some clothes on as best I can.

I thanked Arceus above that Bella was asleep, and therefore wouldn't be able to see me sift through her backpack. She'd surely see it as a violation of her privacy, and she'd be right; it certainly left a bad taste in my mouth. But I had no other option.

I began taking items out of her bag so that it would be easier to search. Each can of food was removed gently so as not to make any noise or damage the cans. I had every intention of putting the cans neatly back into the bag. She won't suspect a thing if I leave her backpack exactly as I found it.

And then I realized that if Bella saw me wearing clothes, she'd instantly know what I had done. There was no way to hide it.

Well. Since I can't ask for permission now, I'll have to ask for forgiveness later.

Eventually I found the following articles of clothing: A navy blue fleece with red letters on it saying LYCAN HOLLOW, a pair of green plaid boxer shorts, and a pair of navy blue sweatpants. Someone liked dark blue, it seemed.

It's been said before, but words cannot express just how difficult it is to put on clothing meant for humans when you are a Pokemon, particularly when you've got four paws. During my previous transformations, I'd been alone when I'd woken up in my human form, and been able to quickly get dressed before anyone saw me. Needless to say, that wasn't an option here.

The boxers were extremely difficult to put on. It was a very delicate job to don them without anything ripping, and my legs also felt too narrow for the holes. It took about five minutes before they were securely around my waist.

I worked on the pants next. Compared to the boxers, they were a lot easier, but "easier" does not mean "easy." It still took a minute or two to slide my legs in, and I had ample time to wonder if Arceus was laughing at me from his throne in the Hall of Origin.

Once that had been done, the only item left was the fleece. And let me tell you, if the boxers had been a challenge, the fleece was going to be a nightmare.

I dove through the fleece, yet I did so carefully. That might sound like an oxymoron, but this is the only way to express just how much of a hassle it was. I wriggled my way towards the neck hole, looking up at the ceiling as I fought to get this piece of clothing securely around my body.

Don't even get me started on the sleeves. My forelegs didn't seem nearly long enough for this task, so I had to be extremely cautious to avoid tearing the fleece in half. It wouldn't be as catastrophic to go without a shirt as to go without pants, but I still wanted to avoid that situation if I could.

At long last, I was all decked out in Lycan Hollow attire. I didn't exactly look spiffy; the clothes were nothing fancy, and they were placed awkwardly on my body. But it was a hell of a lot better than nothing.

I sat down on my rump, looking up at the ceiling once more. It seemed a lot more beautiful now that I'd gotten past a significant challenge in putting on clothes.

There would be tough times ahead, that much was certain. Some of the problems I faced would be far more daunting than this. But I felt more confident now than I had before, which was something.

With that, I laid down and rolled over into the fetal position before drifting off to sleep.

In my dream, I found myself in familiar territory. Even though I'd never been here with my physical body, I knew this place quite well thanks to having visited it in my dreams twice previously.

It was Master Goldenheart's throne room. The dark gray wolf sat in his throne, his head propped up by one of his paws. He was smiling devilishly, showing off his two rows of razor-sharp fangs.

Any sign of his recent illness was no longer present. If anything, he looked healthier than he had the first time, and he was clearly revelling in it.

"Yes…today was a glorious day!" Master Goldenheart exclaimed, rubbing his paws together as though he were trying to keep warm. "I no longer have to worry about my enemies as much!"

With that, the wolf began to cackle, and I realized that he wasn't just thrilled to have his health back. He was thrilled because his rivals, the villagers of Lycan Hollow, had been eliminated.

Could the Illusionary clan be aligned with whoever shot up the village?

While there wasn't any concrete evidence of that, it would seem to make sense. If Master Goldenheart were responsible for the attack, his motive was most definitely clear.

"Where did they get the planes, though?" Goldenheart mused to himself, as though nobody was around. I glanced around the throne room to find that, indeed, there was nobody.

Suddenly, there was somebody.

A Zoroark who looked rather familiar to me entered the chamber through the passageway to its side. This Zoroark was carrying a large hunk of what looked like steak, along with the most enormous bread roll I'd ever seen.

I knew I'd heard his name before; was it Daniel? Damasen?

"Dameon!" Master Goldenheart exclaimed, answering my question. "Thank you for arriving on such short notice!"

Dameon the Zoroark took a bow. "It's my pleasure, boss. I have a lot of jobs, but delivering you good news is my favorite one!

"Yes, I have already heard the news. Lycan Hollow is no more!"

Dameon shrugged. "Well…not exactly. It's true that the village's population has greatly diminished due to the attack, but it's not true to say that the village is gone. There are still some buildings left, although most of them are smoldering ruins."

"Well then!" Goldenheart announced excitedly. "Even if I wasn't the one to destroy the village, at least it's gone now. In any case, do you have any statistics about how many villagers survived the attack?"

Had I been physically present in the throne room, I would have gladly picked a fight with Master Goldenheart. I knew that I'd have no chance against the big, bad wolf, but there'd be no reason not to try something.

My blood was boiling as I thought about just how callous it was to refer to the villagers as mere statistics. Every villager was an autonomous Pokemon with hopes and dreams, and now those hopes and dreams had been dashed by the fighter jets.

"Yes, boss!" Dameon exclaimed, sounding nearly as enthusiastic as his master. "Of the village's population of roughly two thousand, four hundred, it is estimated that eighty percent perished in the attack! Only a fifth managed to escape!"

"That's fine, I guess," Goldenheart responded. "It's still better than nothing, since it'll be difficult for them to regroup. I'm not going to complain about it."

Dameon nodded, grinning. "This is why giving you news is my favorite job!"

"I can imagine," the dark gray wolf announced. "So the mayor, Eliot Lumine…did he survive the attack?"

Goldenheart clearly expected the answer to be no, and he was hoping and praying that this was the case. Meanwhile, Dameon's grin turned upside down, which made it clear that his master wouldn't like the truth.

"Rescue teams have not been able to discover Mayor Lumine's remains, boss. All indications are that he is still alive, though he has vanished from the village. The mayor is in exile!"

"Again, that's much better than nothing," Master Goldenheart replied, licking his lips as the platter of steak and bread was placed in front of him. "I'm thrilled, personally, since it'll be that much harder for the villagers to regroup. They'll need to elect a new mayor."

Dameon smiled with a glint in his eye. "Yes, it will be very difficult for the remaining villagers to restart Lycan Hollow. You've won, boss!"

"Yes…" Master Goldenheart hissed. "Master Goldenheart wins by doing absolutely nothing…I like the sound of that."

My stomach turned as I processed all of this. It was just sickening; that was the best word I could think of to describe it. Here they were, celebrating the deaths of nearly two thousand Pokemon.

I woke up not long after that, but even when my mind returned to the real world, the memory of what I'd just witnessed remained fresh in my mind.

I sat bolt upright. At first, I'd forgotten that I wasn't lying in bed, and so I'd wondered why my neck felt sore. Indeed, my entire body felt rather stiff.

And then I looked around me and saw that I was in the same crystal cave as before. The floor was very hard, something I hadn't fully appreciated before drifting off, and I immediately regretted having slept here.

Well, it would beat a wet sleeping bag. There's no contest there.

Bella and Jeremy were already awake. They were scouring the backpacks for anything good to have for breakfast; almost anything would have been tastier than those cold beans that hadn't even been baked.

When he saw that I was up now, Jeremy turned towards me.

"Oh, you're awake," he said. "We were just looking for something to eat, and then we'll have to get going."

Should I tell them about my dream?

It sounded like a good idea at first. If I wanted Bella to trust me again, being open with her would certainly help in that regard. But at the same time, I didn't want to alarm either of them. They both had ample cause for concern to begin with.

In the end, I said nothing about that subject. We passed around a can of peach slices, each taking a piece until it was empty.

"Where are we going to keep these cans?" Jeremy asked eventually. "I feel bad about polluting the woods, but they're just going to weigh us down until we get rid of them."

It was then that I realized something. The likely loss of his parents had forced Jeremy to grow up more quickly than most individuals. He was no longer the excitable, hyperactive Rockruff kid who couldn't be trusted with even a small amount of sugar. I certainly wouldn't have thought of him as someone who would reckon with such ethical dilemmas as described above.

"I say we leave them in here" Bella said, sounding somewhat annoyed. "Yeah, it's the wrong thing to do, but it's not like anyone will ever come across this cave. It's pretty well hidden."

I could have pointed out that people went spelunking all the time, but decided that this wouldn't be a very good idea.

"But it's bad karma," Jeremy replied. "It's just not right to leave empty cans in this pristine cave."

At that exact moment, it seemed, Bella's irritation tipped over the edge.

"Listen to this, Jeremy" she told the Rockruff kid, gritting her teeth. "I don't believe in karma, and even if it exists, it's hardly the most important thing right now. What truly matters is making sure we all survive, because all the karma points in the world don't matter if you're dead."

At the sound of the word dead, Jeremy curled up into a ball on the cold crystal floor of the chamber. It was clear to see that something about that word had triggered him.

"Bella, you're scaring him!" I exclaimed, feeling that I had no choice but to join in on the argument and voice my opinion.

"Good, he should be scared! I'm scared!"

Right then and there, I appreciated just how accurate my analogy had been yesterday. Bella and I fought much like divorced parents who couldn't agree on their child's best interests. Needless to say, I didn't point this out to Bella.

Instead, I said the following: "We shouldn't use such language when he can hear us, Bella. Have you forgotten what he just went through?"

"I haven't," the female Lycanroc responded angrily. "If anything, you're the one being irresponsible by keeping this argument going!"

"Both of you, shut up!" Jeremy cried. "I just want to stop this. All of it. And you're making it worse, both of you!"

Bella and I glared at each other. However, she was the first one to look away.

She sighed. "You've got a point, Jeremy. We're a team, after all, and it's not productive for a team to argue so much. I'm sorry I yelled."

"And I am too," I said. "I know it might be hard to believe, but I truly care about you, Jeremy. Don't forget what I said yesterday in the tent: We are family. Now, Bella, put on some clothes."

"Oh" the female Lycanroc said blankly, as though realizing for the first time that I was indeed wearing clothes. "That's actually a good idea, Cody. Not sure when the full moon stops, but I don't want to be naked in the snow. Or worse, in public."

Just as suddenly as our fight had begun, it was quickly forgotten about. It seemed that neither of us wanted to argue anymore, which was just fine with me.

I calmly helped Bella put some clothes on. She didn't seem to want the help that much, but I insisted that she might rip the shirt or pants up if she wasn't careful. I didn't want her to have as much difficulty as me with this task.

"Okay" she sighed once her shirt was on. "I think we're good now. But we've gotta get out of this cave before anyone finds it. They might already have us cornered."

I didn't want to think about that possibility. Quite frankly, it was too terrifying to consider, the thought that we might already be dead Golducks even if we were able to get out of this cave.

Fortunately, the small passage through which we'd crawled in order to enter the cave had not collapsed. We were able to get through it again, although it was harder this time. I kept trying to look at the outside world, rather than what was right in front of me, and I hit my head twice.

"Owwww" I groaned as my head poked out of the cave's entrance. "Remind me not to sleep in a cave again."

Of course, I knew there was a good chance that I wouldn't be able to heed such a reminder. Unless our situation were to change drastically today, we would all end up sleeping in another cave.

I wish I'd taken a survival course or something, I thought bitterly. Being able to build a snow cave would have come in very handy.

The sun was rising over the frosty forest, and I relished the warming effect it had on my fur. I could tell that Jeremy and Bella felt the same way; it was exhilarating to be out and about at this time of day, even if it were under such dire circumstances.

I could get used to this, I thought to myself. At least, it feels like that sometimes.

Of course, it turned out that I'd quickly forgotten just how hard it was to run through snow of this depth. Really, there was no reason to be running; if the fighter jets decided to fire on us, there was only so much we could do from the ground.

In hindsight, I suppose the reason we ran rather than walked was rather simple: It was easier to keep going, and we instinctively wanted to put as much distance as possible between us and the smoldering ruins of Lycan Hollow.

ELIOT LUMINE, 41

I'd long suspected that such a day would come. I just hadn't thought it would come so suddenly, so catastrophically, that it would feel almost as though it hadn't happened at all.

In one morning, everything had changed. The village of Lycan Hollow, once a pristine mountain paradise, had largely been reduced to rubble. It most certainly wasn't the place I'd been elected mayor of all those years ago.

As I looked around my Coronet City hotel room, I thought about how my status was both a blessing and a curse.

On one hand, it was a good thing that I had these connections with the government of Coronet City. Since it wasn't too far from Lycan Hollow, all things considered, the village and the city saw fit to have a productive relationship, one with as little acrimony as possible.

This relationship was likely the only reason I'd managed to survive the day. The village's Guardians would have been my first choice as a method of transportation, but there was only so much they could do to fly me away safely.

In the end, Lady Luck must have been smiling down on me, because a Kirlia had appeared at the edge of the lake, which served as the boundary between Lycan Hollow and the outside world. What this boundary meant, of course, was up for debate, but there was no denying that I had privileges other villagers did not.

At the same time, a part of me (okay, a large part of me) felt as though I'd committed a mortal sin against the other villagers.

After all, it's a mayor's job to look out for his or her constituents. Sometimes this included keeping them safe during crises such as what had just happened. Anyone can play being the leader during good times, but the true measure of a leader is how they handle times of crisis.

In that regard, there was no denying it: I had failed miserably. Indeed, "fail" implies that I'd even tried to be a leader; I had hardly done even that.

The instant that Kirlia had materialized in front of the lake, as though it had been summoned there by a guardian angel, perhaps Arceus Himself, I'd literally jumped at the opportunity for my own salvation. I could have made sure that as many villagers evacuated as possible, but I'd taken the selfish way out.

I sighed as I sat on my bed, looking out the window at the orange sky. Evening was coming on, and despite the fact that it wasn't even dark yet, I already felt exhausted from trying to rationalize what I'd done.

The instinct is for self-preservation, I told myself. It's no wonder that I sought to save myself first, because that's what almost anyone will do in that situation. It wasn't the RIGHT thing to do, but it was the NATURAL thing to do.

Not for the first time, I took a glance at something else; a photograph that I'd brought with me to this hotel room. That Kirlia had appeared out of nowhere, but I'd had just enough time to grab the one thing that was most important to me.

The individual whom the photo depicted wasn't here with me, of course. But if I looked at the picture carefully enough, focusing on it and nothing else, I could almost convince myself that she was actually there. At a minimum, she was here with me in spirit.

I picked up the photo, which was of myself and a female Lycanroc with magenta fur. We were in each other's embrace, both smiling, as though we loved each other to the ends of Nexus. Of course, we did.

As much as I'd wanted to bring the picture with me, it served as another reminder of my failure as well. If I'm being honest, one reason I grabbed the picture from the Big House at Lycan Hollow was because I didn't want to forget.

I had abdicated my responsibility to the villagers. When they'd been counting on me, I had completely and totally dropped the ball. And, when I looked at the photograph of my lover, there were five words that I wanted to say.

Choking back sobs, I resisted the urge to actually say these words; instead, I only thought them. I didn't want the people in the next room to hear me, because I had little doubt that I'd end up shouting.

I failed you too, Emaire!

CODY HARVARD, 19

The rest of the day was difficult, to say the very least.

While the time in the crystal cave had afforded us some time to rest, I still felt more drained than when we'd left Lycan Hollow yesterday. It was, of course, hard to believe that it had only been a day since then; so much had happened.

As usual, Jeremy was ahead of the pack. He would occasionally glance at us to make sure we hadn't lost him, but Bella and I still struggled to keep up.

The day seemed to drag on for a very long time. While we didn't have the luxury of checking what time it was, it felt like it had been a full day before the sun was directly overhead. Crazy that it's only midday, I remember thinking.

"I've…got a stitch…in my side" Bella panted. "I don't know how much further I can go before we take a break."

Although Bella hadn't been speaking too loudly, Jeremy was still able to hear her due to the increased acuity of Pokemons' sense of sound. The Rockruff boy turned to face Bella.

"Trust me, this is the man test, like some would say. It's going to make you stronger, but you can't give up."

Bella frowned. "I'm not a man, and you know that!" It was definitely unwise for her to shout, but I wasn't going to point this out; it would only result in more bickering, not what we needed right now.

"He's got a point, though" I blurted out. "We can't just stop every time we get tired. If we did, then we'd never get anywhere. And in this weather, we have to keep moving, no matter what."

Bella gritted her teeth and narrowed her eyes. "Since when do I take advice from you, Cody?"

It was no secret that this was an uneasy alliance, and it was only becoming more so with each passing minute. I also knew that if and when we got caught, the alliance was going to evaporate. This exchange was only increasing the tension between myself and Bella.

By this time all three of us had stopped in our tracks. I was determined to believe that we hadn't stopped due to fatigue, but rather because we couldn't talk the way we wanted to if we kept moving. Of course, we'd have to keep moving pretty soon.

"If it makes you feel any better", I replied, "it's not good advice just because it's coming from me. It's good advice because the evidence supports it."

I regretted my next words the moment they left my lips.

"If you don't want to be seen as a damsel in distress, if you want to be seen as a strong woman, then you can't just stop when you're tired. Think of your future children; they're going to be damn proud of their mother when they learn about how she survived in the wilderness of Central Sinnoh."

Bella appeared furious, but at the same time, I could tell that she agreed with me, at least somewhat. I'd hit her right between the eyes with the cold, hard facts, and they did have an effect on her.

A few seconds later, she took a deep breath, and I no longer regretted those words quite so much.

"You're right," she replied. "I can't…we can't stop here. I might not like you, but credit goes where it's due, I guess."

With that, we kept trudging through the snow as the sun made its way through its afternoon arc. Even if we weren't stopping, our pace had slowed considerably over the last few hours. At any moment, I half-expected some wild Pokemon to accost us, and if that happened, we'd be in trouble; none of us were good fighters, in spite of the time I'd spent practicing back in the village.

If I'm forced to use my skills again, is the memory of how to do it going to come back when I need it the most? Or is it going to fail me? Either way, I don't want to find out!

Eventually, after what felt like hours of painstakingly slow progress through the snow (emphasis on pain), the sun's early evening rays began casting long shadows over the frosty ground. It wouldn't be much longer before it got dark, and we would need to find a place to stay.

As it would turn out, things aren't always as they appear, and solutions can be found in unexpected places. Only later would I learn just how unexpected this solution would end up being.

In the meantime, though, things seemed pretty hopeless from the standpoint of shelter. There were many pine trees, of course, but if we couldn't cut them down (and we couldn't), then they would be of no use.

With every degree the sun dipped towards the horizon, the temperature dropped slightly. Tonight was going to be hell if we didn't figure something out before long; despite my abundant fur coat, I was shivering almost violently.

We reached the crest of a hill. At the bottom of this steep slope, there was a winding road that curved its way through the floor of this sparse evergreen forest. The road itself was covered in a fine layer of snow, and thanks to my keen eyes, I could point out some tire tracks on it.

"Should we follow the road for a while?" Jeremy asked Bella and I. "It might lead us back to civilization."

"That's probably not a great idea," Bella responded. "After all, Cody's a marked man. They want to find him, at any cost."

Something about the way she spoke sounded condescending, almost mocking, so I shot back with the following: "I'm only a marked man because you want me to be!"

"It doesn't matter what I 'want'", Bella replied. "It's the law. It's as simple as that. And the authorities will arrest you if they find us; there's nothing I can do about that."

I felt the need to defend myself, so that's exactly what I did.

"Look, Bella, you know that it was an accident. In a sane region I'd get off."

She looked a little confused, but the confusion was mixed with a combination of annoyance and anger. "Why is that?" she asked me, not giving off the impression that she even cared about my answer.

"I had to take wolfsbane so that I wasn't dangerous. You know this just as well as I do. And it wasn't refrigerated that month, which is why I turned you into a were-Lycanroc."

"So what?" Bella asked me indignantly. "You still could have stopped yourself from biting me! It's important to have more self-control than you demonstrated that night!"

Too late, I realized that I wasn't following my own advice very well. It was foolish to bicker with one another, because it would distract from what was truly important. Knowing this, I should have done everything possible to defuse the situation, but I wasn't in my right mind.

In a way, this isn't unlike Halloween night.

That suggestion was almost as chilling as the winter wind that sent some of my fur billowing around. After all, it carried rather horrifying implications.

How could I do that again, knowing just how much pain the first time caused both of us? The only reason making mistakes is okay is so that you can learn from them!

I realized that I'd been silent for too long; Bella would surely expect an answer. So I cobbled together a response that probably sounded weak to her, but was the best I could do given how little time I'd given myself.

"I couldn't have" I insisted. "It was an instinct."

Bella frowned. "Cody, you're nineteen years old. That's nineteen years during which you were conditioned to not bite other people; indeed, you'd gotten used to not biting other people. How could it be an instinct?"

"You don't understand," a male voice said. But it wasn't mine; it was Jeremy's.

Oh, thank Arceus. I don't think I could talk as smoothly as he is right now.

The female Lycanroc narrowed her eyes. "What don't I understand?"

"What you don't understand", Jeremy continued, "is that when a were-Lycanroc hasn't been tamed by the wolfsbane, it's nearly impossible for them not to embrace their instincts. That's what others from Lycan Hollow have said."

Somehow, Jeremy managed to utter those words in an authoritative manner, despite the presence of tears in his eyes. It was evident that he still had a hard time talking about his hometown.

There was an awkward silence after that, only punctuated by the sounds of our paws crunching against the hardened snow. Before long, we reached the bottom of the hill and began following the road wherever it would lead.

It was easier to walk along the road than in the forest, since, despite the still-decent distance we were from civilization, the path had been plowed. The snow wasn't nearly as deep, even if it was a little louder than I would have liked beneath our feet.

I'm not sure how much time passed before it happened. All I know is that when it did, the sun had gone down and the first stars were beginning to take shape in the evening sky.

These stars, however, suddenly became less visible as the part of the ground around us was illuminated. At first, I wondered if the light was due to fireflies or something along those lines, but it wasn't. Fear rose inside of me as I realized something.

I could also hear the sound of an engine, and I only barely had time to get out of the vehicle's path. Jeremy and Bella did the same, and we expected the vehicle to keep moving, the Lycanroc in its headlights having gotten out of its way. Certainly, that's what I hoped would happen.

Instead, the car stopped in its tracks. The light might no longer have been good, but my eyes were keen enough to know what it was: A police car.

So many questions ran through my mind that it wasn't even funny. How could they have found me? Had they even found me, or did they just happen to be in the right place at the right time? Would they even bother to go after the people who'd attacked Lycan Hollow, or was I a higher priority?

At least one of those questions was answered when a woman in a police uniform stepped out of the vehicle. In her arms was a pair of handcuffs.