Alpha's Rejected becomes the Lycan's Obsession
Chapter 143: They weren’t men

Chapter 143: They weren’t men

"It happened when I was fifteen years old," Dera began, her voice dipping into that rich nostalgic tone that only came when someone recalled a moment etched deeply into the crevices of their heart. "A teenage, dreamy girl who had fallen head over heels in love with a man that was way advanced in age than she was, and who happened to be her next-door neighbor."

A wistful smile spread across her face as her gaze drifted into the past, to that point in time eight years ago when her world had been so much simpler, yet so wildly complicated in ways only a young heart in love could understand. Her fingers brushed over the hem of her blouse as if she were touching the fabric of her memories.

Tessy, who had been casually sitting beside her moments ago, was now fully upright and alert, her entire body drawn toward Dera, eyes wide with interest, ears perked like someone who didn’t want to miss even the sound of a sigh. She was completely invested, and it showed in the intense gaze she locked onto Dera, urging her to go on.

"At that time," Dera continued, her voice soft but steady, "my mates were falling in love with high school boys and college boys. They were crazy about boys who wore football jackets and played guitars. But I had no interest in that area. My eyes were completely, blindly set on this stoic but attractive neighbor of mine. I thought he should be around twenty-eight or twenty-nine years old. Not knowing..." she trailed off briefly, the amusement glimmering in her eyes now unmistakable, "he was way over fifty."

She giggled lightly, and Tessy’s jaw dropped open with visible shock, her eyebrows shooting so high they nearly disappeared into her hairline.

"Williams is over fifty?" Tessy blurted out, her voice thick with disbelief.

Dera nodded confidently, like someone who had sat with the truth long enough to accept it as it was. "That’s what he told me. They don’t age the same way humans do," she said matter-of-factly, her tone revealing just how accustomed she’d become to this once-bizarre revelation.

Tessy’s jaw slackened even more, if that was possible. "Wow," she breathed, the word escaping her lips in a long exhale.

That single expression made Dera burst into laughter, her giggles echoing lightly in the room.

"It’s hard to believe, I know," Dera said between laughs. "I reacted the exact same way. I didn’t even believe him at first. I thought he was joking, maybe trying to impress me, or scare me away. But he wasn’t."

"He looks nothing like a fifty-year-old man," Tessy muttered, her brows furrowing as her mind began to race, trying to do the impossible math. If Williams was over fifty, then how old would Roman be?

"Please continue with the story," she spoke quickly before Dera could offer an answer to the question swirling in her head. Her eagerness was painted all over her face.

"Right," Dera nodded, jumping back into the thread of her memory without skipping a beat.

"I used to find the slightest excuse to go to him. I mean, anything. Whether it was to return something I thought was his, or to ask for things I didn’t even need—sugar, matches, you name it—just to see his face. Sometimes, I’d just hover around, waiting for him to appear. And then, one day, I gathered the courage, every drop of it I could find, and I told him flat out that I liked him."

She smiled sadly at the memory.

"And he just laughed," she said, shaking her head. "He told me I was still a little girl and that I should focus on my studies and not on things like that at that time."

Tessy’s lips parted slightly as if she could feel the sting Dera must have felt that day. It was the kind of polite rejection that carried more weight than outright dismissal.

"But I could see it in his eyes. He liked me as well but he probably wasn’t saying it because I was still a minor then. Anyway," Dera went on, her voice tightening as the memory shifted gears, "fast forward to a month after my fifteenth birthday. I stayed back at school after closing hours with a few other students. We were planning our end-of-the-year party, and by the time we finished, it was already evening."

Her eyes took on a distant look as though she were seeing the scene before her even now.

"We were eight in number. Five of us went one way, and the remaining three, which included me, went the other way. We stopped briefly at a fabric shop because I wanted to get some materials for my party dress. I had planned to make it myself. I was so excited. After that, we headed home. We decided to pass through a very familiar forest path, one we’d taken countless times before. It was the shortcut, quicker than taking the major road."

She paused, her fingers clasping together now as her voice dropped slightly in tone.

"We had walked quite a reasonable distance when we began to hear strange sounds, faint at first, but unmistakably real. The sounds were coming from somewhere around us. It sounded like a struggle... growls... and something like a roar. I wasn’t sure then, and I’m still not sure even now."

Tessy’s breath hitched, her grip on her own knees tightening.

"Fear gripped all three of us," Dera said, her voice trembling slightly. "My friends suggested that we turn back immediately. They said it didn’t sound human and we didn’t want to get involved. But I... I told them someone might be in danger. I told them we should check it out first before deciding whether to run or help."

Dera’s voice faltered briefly, but she pressed on.

"They actually agreed, and we began to move toward the sound. But the closer we got... the scarier it became. The sounds were clearer, snarls, heavy thuds, growls, and my friends couldn’t go further. They bailed on me. They turned and ran, terrified."

She paused again, eyes shimmering with the weight of what came next.

"Everything I was made of screamed at me to run too. Everything. My instincts, my legs, my heart... they were all begging me to leave. But I couldn’t. I didn’t. The feeling that someone was in danger, that someone needed my help, anchored me there."

Her fingers curled slowly into fists.

"So I armed myself with what I considered a strong enough branch. It was thick and rough and felt sturdy in my hand. I moved toward the sound, each step shaking with fear but firm in purpose."

She swallowed hard.

"What I saw when I arrived at the scene... made me freeze on the spot. Williams was there. He was being held down by four hefty men. Two were pinning each of his arms, one was holding his head down against the forest floor, and the last one, he knelt over Williams. There was a dagger raised in his hand, shining under the faint moonlight, and he was about to drive it into Williams’ chest."

Tessy gasped softly, her hand flying to her mouth.

"Williams was already bleeding," Dera continued, her voice lower, thicker. "Two daggers had been lodged into both his shoulders. His shirt was soaked in blood. And the growling, the terrifying, animalistic growling, was coming from him. It sounded unreal. Like a creature on the brink of snapping."

Her lips quivered as she recalled the most vivid part.

"The man holding the dagger kept yelling at him to shift. Over and over again. ’Shift!’ he screamed. Like he was waiting for that to happen before bringing down the third dagger."

Dera blinked rapidly, trying to dispel the haunting vision.

"My presence must have alerted them. All five of them turned to look at me. Williams’ eyes locked onto mine immediately. Even in pain, even with blood running down his arms, he saw me. And he yelled for me to run. Not once. Over and over again. He screamed for me to run and not to look back."

Tessy’s heart was thumping now, her face pale as she visualized the terrifying scene.

"But I couldn’t move. I just... couldn’t. How could I run when he was about to be killed in front of me? How? I could go call for help but at that moment I knew they would kill him before help arrived."

Dera’s voice broke slightly, the memory still fresh like a wound that never quite healed.

"The men were looking at each other, confused. Clearly, they hadn’t planned on an audience. Williams looked so frustrated, seeing me still standing there. His eyes... they were begging me to listen. But in my mind, he was outnumbered and overpowered. I wanted to give him a fighting chance."

She took a deep breath.

"So I moved forward instead of backward. I stepped in. I raised the branch in my hand with all the strength I had and brought it down hard on the man holding the dagger. I struck him, I know I did."

Her voice trembled again.

"And then I took to my heels. I ran. I ran like my life depended on it. But I had miscalculated. I hadn’t known that those men... they weren’t men. They were something else. Something I never imagined I would ever see in my entire life."