The memory was over. Eron was back in his camp. The coffee was now ready and served in his oversized tin cup. He shook the sugar at the bottom of it with his not-silver spoon, and he was about to have a sip of the very hot beverage. 

His mind had been very active in the little time this morning that he had been ‘conscious’ so far, and after the massage that never happened, along with the memory of his past missions, he was deeply thoughtful.

“Maybe it’s for the best if I’m not an expert assassin anymore. Just maybe, if I really am losing it and I could not become a killer again, I can finally do what I came here for, which is to genuinely start over, have a new life, be a new person and truly turn over a new leaf,” he thought, with a certain lady at the back of his mind all the time. 

At first, he didn't seem to realize it, but then…

“And, of course, Diwana doesn’t deserve a killer for a partner…”

He took another sip of his coffee, then froze.

“Wait, what? What did I just say? No no no no, Eron, you don’t deserve her. Maybe here you’re not under your father’s pressure, or under anybody else’s commands, but you ran away from all of it, remember? You may be putting aside the thought right now but knowing your boss, he must still be looking for definite proof of your supposed ‘current condition’ and if he finds out the truth, what will you do when that happens, huh?”

But then again, his heart was still warm with the idea of a soft, lovely body by his side while waking up this very morning… 

“Dammit, just… a bit closer… maybe not her man, but I could protect her… make sure she and the kids are safe… happy… you know, stay for a while, try to… damn Eron… She’s too good for you, man… and still, I’d love to… so much that…” he suddenly sniffed… "I can…" sniffed again… “Smell her, and… hell, I can see her!”

Even while his mind continued the fight with himself, his eyes looked around, trying to find the place where the sweet, familiar, and comforting scent was coming from. And he did catch a glimpse of her from afar... or did he?

“This can’t be happening. It’s the third hallucination in one morning that my brain is putting me through. Come on, man, what did I do to you so you’re playing with me like that?” he sadly said, loud enough that if she had been very close to him, she would have perfectly heard him. “She even looks like she's rushing to get here, lugging that oversized food basket and bag of hers. Damn, that’s one very powerful imagination you got, Eron…”

He pinched his arm so strongly that the pain made his bicep twitch, causing him to wrench his mug of still very hot coffee, which caused the steaming beverage to spill on his shirt...

And he yelled out of pain...

“Okay! Okay! I’m awake… aaagh... sheesh,” he protested and complained, still trying to stop paying attention to that wonderful feminine smell getting closer, the crackling on the leaves getting louder... 

Since he was still thinking that all that wasn’t real, he calmly took his shirt off and was looking for a clean one, when he heard her voice.

“Eron!” she said, louder than usual, concern in her eyes, still rushing to him, so worried that even the sight of the very attractive, shirtless man didn’t stop her. "What's wrong?"

He turned when he heard his name, finally realizing - in both shock and pleasure - that it wasn't all just an illusion. For a second, he even thought he saw the worry in her eyes, which quickly disappeared, and then she sighed in relief when she saw his elated expression at seeing her.

But why? 

“Ok, the pinch and the hot coffee were painful enough, so I’m not dreaming. GO HELP HER, ERON!” he thought, seeing her still a bit agitated since she was still hurrying towards him while carrying her full and heavy loads of food.

When he stood up and rushed in front of her, shirtless, he was surprised that the young woman started checking his body with both her eyes and hands. It was as if she was doing what a wife would normally do to her husband, or a mom to her child, making sure that he’s ok, complete, and unharmed.

Of course, due to his accelerated healing, which was typical in his line of werewolves, there wasn't a scratch nor a mark on his flawless skin. 

Her face started to get red when she noticed that her hands were grabbing, touching and sliding all over his upper body while he looked down at her, his eyes full of curiosity and his face with a charming smirk.

“I’m sorry,” she said suddenly… “I was really worried when I heard you scream in pain. I didn’t mean to cross any lines…”

“Worried, huh?” he thought to himself, wanting to hug her but stopping himself. “And we only met yesterday…”

He took hold of the items she was carrying, leaned back on a nearby tree, and looked tenderly, almost sweetly, at her.

“Why would you be worried, Miss Diwana?”

She looked at him for a second, and wondered what kind of look that was… Nobody had seen her like this before and she didn't want to give him the wrong idea, but she couldn't identify whatever she's reading in his eyes... 

One of the reasons why she usually didn’t look at men in their eyes was because it was either hate or lust that she’d find there, and she didn’t like either. No, not after all she had been through…

But him… he made her feel safe… so comfortable, so… herself.

“I… Well, I'm also worried about..." Diwana explained, as a recent story came to mind. "Did you notice anything around here last night? Noises, or yelling, or animal sounds in the forest?”

“Not really, no… I tend to sleep like a rock, more so after yesterday’s first day at work… I’m still a bit sore with the… exercise,” he said the truth, but not the one she was asking about… 

“The best way to lie is not to. I'm still telling the truth…” he thought, trying to convince himself, but still failing… “I actually wish I could tell you the whole, real truth, Miss Dee… I’m really sorry…”

“Oh, of course… Well, there’s a rumor spreading like wildfire around the area. Apparently more than a rumor... People back at the village are saying as a fact that there was a wolf here last night, huge and with very dark fur, and that was not the worst..."

Eron had a hard time keeping his face expressionless, but he did it despite the feeling of dread crawling under his skin. He continued listening to her story as they started walking back to his camp. 

"When the tracks of the huge wolf were lost, they came across monster footprints, too big to be of any one of the animals that are usually residing here up on the mountains. It's even too large to belong to the wolf they say they saw… that it even might be the footprints of a… werewolf," she said, making Eron’s heart skip a beat.

“A werewolf…? And people here believe in that?” he asked, trying to look calm, but still taking her story seriously. 

“Well, you can look for yourself…” she said, extending the piece of paper, and as he took it, his hand slightly touched hers, sending that now familiar shiver down their bodies and reminding them of the curious dreams that, unknowingly, both had with each other…

But that lasted only for an instant, and they both went back to the more questionable story at hand.

He looked at the picture, internally kicking himself once again because he remembered the dream, but then, more worried about the fact that she was actually carrying proof of something that he wished she would never find out about. 

Worse, this printout could actually make her believe this rumor, which was another secret he should be hiding from her. And did she really run all the way to his camp just because she was worried about him possibly being mangled by a monster?

“Is it possible that she knows something? That she might have come all the way here because she knows about me being... No, Eron, you’re being too paranoid. Why would she do that? In a rush, to see if you’re the one who left the “monster’s footprint”, really? Get a grip, Eron, you can do it. Relax and think logically, damn it!”

And then, he started to really think about the past few minutes… 

She was still a bit agitated now that he took the time to carefully look, and her naturally colored cheeks because of her rushing made her look so beautiful.

“The picture of the footprint was added anonymously to the village’s newspaper, apparently sent to one of the elders’ emails in the same way... It was also posted on the village community board and when a neighbor told me about it… well… I had to... be sure... that...” 

Diwana's words were now slowing down and even stopped as she suddenly looked down...

He smiled and slightly bent his head down towards hers, hoping he could look into her deep brown eyes once again.

What was that instinct that made him want to be sweet and attentive to her? Even forgetting what the village was talking about, which was actually a very big problem that could affect him... 

It was not only the physical attraction, not anymore, but the way she was the cutest thing he’d ever seen, and he found himself wanting only to protect her and see her smiling again...

For a second, he doubted this feeling, but it was so much stronger than him.

“Miss Dee… thank you for worrying about me. To be honest, I haven’t felt that in a long time and I… well, I hardly get any of that so I... appreciate it.”

She looked back up, and now he was looking away…

“But… What about your family?”

"Nah… My father wanted me to be something I can never be," Eron said as he placed Dee's things inside his tent for safekeeping. "My brother was pushed to be perfect, and the only one that really cared for me, I had to leave behind…"

“I see… was… uh… was it a lady? You don’t have to answer if you don’t want to, of course,” she said, feeling her cheeks turning a bit red as she rushed through her last words...

Her thoughts: "Why do I care if this person is a woman or not? A man like him was probably surrounded by girls all the time! Diwana… What are you thinking now? He’s nicer than what you’re used to and now you’re thinking more than you should dare to. Remember your place… and also… remember your curse…" She was almost lost in her thoughts, getting sad again, when his words surprised her.

“Oh, yes. Indeed, she is a woman. My brother’s wife… everybody saw us more brother and sister than they would see my brother and I as siblings. We’re so close that we call each other twins… Well, I call her Twinny, and she calls me Twin, so… hehe, maybe you’ll think it’s silly, or weird… Truth is, back there, she was the only one that believed in me…”

Now it was he who looked sad, and she was somehow… happy…

Her thoughts again: "Why would he be opening up to me like that? He’s telling me about his family! And not only that, but who still matters to him from back there… Maybe he liked her, but when she got married to his brother… Oh… Jesus Christ Diwana, he trusts you with some of his past and you're thinking of all that drama about his admissions? What’s wrong with you?! No more of those stupid telenovelas for you..."

For a few more seconds, Diwana continued to scold herself, still not happy with the way she was reacting to his trust. And yeah, he was trusting her and she should do something right about it, to show her appreciation.

“Well, maybe she can come and visit you… But I don’t think if you consider her your sister, you would really like to have her here, right? I mean… I don’t believe you’d let yourself worry about your twin if you’re so close… You might… uh… want to find a… place to stay… rent somewhere or something…” she shyly hinted…

“That would be good… I’m not really into getting visitors, but I think it would be good to find something more proper to live in than just a tent,” he said distractedly, still a bit clueless about what she meant since she did react coldly to his past request to rent a room in her house.

“Yeah, especially with a wolf… or a werewolf... on the loose…” she looked at him intently, waiting for him to get it…

“Yes, the problem is that I don’t think I know anyone that could be renting, or wanting to rent particularly to me… so…” he said, and immediately his brain came back to reality… 

His thoughts: "What the hell, Eron, are you missing the opportunity you were waiting for again?! I hope she doesn’t take it wrongly and can forgive your temporal stupidity since you've done that yesterday already!"

Eron looked at her, realization now clearly stamped all over his face.

“You know… I… happen to know… a woman that has… a large enough house… and also is uh… renting…” she hinted again, but thinking “Come on Diwana! My God, can you be less obvious about your offer? He will think so many improper things about you for sure…”

“Miss Diwana, do you mean that you’d consider renting to me now?” Eron finally risked saying.

“After getting to know you a bit better, and seeing how you live… and, of course, the current dangers of living out here... well, I can’t be so heartless, can I?” she said, changing colors like a chameleon, and trying not to be too obvious. “Besides, I believe I should apologize to you… I’m sorry about how I left your camp yesterday, so suddenly and… yeah, you were really kind and even shared your food with me, and I just ran away… I am very sorry about that.”

“Please, don’t worry about it,” he answered, now going back to his tent to look for a clean shirt to go to work in, and “accidentally” leaving the scrap of newspaper that she gave him in his belongings to check later. 

"Oh, but I..."

“I was actually a bit concerned about if I had offended you in any way, so I should apologize as well,” he interrupted her, as he finished getting ready in front of her, so naturally that any person who saw it would think they’ve known each other for the longest time… maybe even that they knew their nakedness so well that they were no longer shy...

And, in a way, they did.

“I also apologize for rejecting you as a possible renter before. I… feel more comfortable now… It’s weird of me, I know,” she responded, a bit unsure for a moment... “But please, accept my apology and come with me to my house… I mean… to find a room… to rent… of course… I could never forgive myself if anything happens to you because of... I mean not because... you don't deserve that... kind of treatment from me.”

Eron made an effort to try to hide his smile. Her last few words not only made him funnily think of how much of a lusty man he was in her presence, and how he could misinterpret her words, but also, there was a warmth that her care brought out in him. 

And that emotion, whatever it was, he didn’t want to stop feeling.

“I’ll be glad to go and check you...r… rooms, Miss Dee… I mean, Miss Diwana. Your… home... I mean, the rental... I am very thankful that you reconsidered, and of course, we can talk about the details on the way to the lumberyard, just give me a moment to finish fixing this place, and I’ll help you with your bag and basket.”

"Yes!" Diwa blurted out loud, then she realized what she just did and tried to lose the exuberance she's displaying in her voice and face. "I mean… Thank you, Eron. I appreciate the help a lot."

“It’s the least I can do after you took such a big detour just to check on me,” he answered with a shy smile that surprised her. 

“I can’t believe he’s being shy with me… nah, how could that be possible with a charmer like him… Oh, Diwana, what will I do with you?” she thought while seeing him move around organizing his belongings and backpack that he'll be bringing to work. “First the dream, and now the daydreams… and yeah, he looks amazing even doing the simplest things, too.”

In a few moments, Eron was ready. He slung his backpack onto his broad back, then brought Diwa's bags out again.

“Miss Diwana…”

“Yes, Eron?”

“May I ask you something?”

“Of course. I’ll do my best to answer you.”

“Do you believe in werewolves?” he said, looking straight at her as they started walking out of the camp side by side.

“Oh… well, that’s part of the history of this place,” she said, trying to match his stride, both with bright smiles as he eagerly listened to her animated talk. "In the past, the village had this mayor who..."

They were so into the conversation - and into each other - that they were not even aware of who was looking at them right at that moment.

Not too far, and hiding like the creep and coward that he was, Mad Max spied on them, sending furious looks their way.

“I see that my warning was not enough to persuade you huh, new guy?” he mumbled, still fearing they could hear him. “Then, I will have to find a way to make you understand that I’m serious when I tell you to stay away from her, you damned pretty boy.”

He was still whispering to himself as he crawled out from his hiding place, and tried his best to follow the two without being seen. "You just wait and see... And don't say I didn't warn you..."