I was still writhing in pain as I sat down and folded my arms.
"Speak. I'm all ears," I ordered, shooting my gaze at him.
Julius snorted and cleared his throat. "My name is Julius Lucky. What I'm about to tell you is a story my grandfather told me, because I was still a suckling baby when it happened.
"My parents died in a mysterious motor accident. At the time, my mother was heavily pregnant with me. Fated to survive, I left my mother's corpse and delivered myself. To this day, no one can explain how I came out of her lifeless body without any sign of contraction.
"My grandfather was a witch doctor. He took me into his temple and raised me to be like him. His name was also Julius. On his deathbed, he told me that if I happened to be present and looked into his grey eyes at the moment he died, I would inherit a rare ability that would shake humanity. Fortunately, I was sitting right beside him when he died — and I stared directly into his bulging grey eyes.
"After his death, I discovered myself displaying that rare ability."
I frowned, jaded and skeptical. "What rare ability?" I asked.
Julius closed his eyes, raised his head toward the ceiling, and drew a shaky breath as if his reply was difficult to utter. Then he said quietly, "I can see the past and the future."
I flinched as I saw his eyeballs roll backward until only the whites of his eyes were visible.
"Listen, Darius," he continued, his voice low and steady. "You have to be strong and courageous. You've been fated to save humanity. The tragedy that befell your family the other night… that was only the beginning."
Sweat streamed down my face. Save humanity? What could a weakling like me possibly do? I could barely protect myself, let alone anyone else.
"Tell me more, Julius," I said in disbelief. "How is that even possible? I can't even stand up to those asshole bullies at school, and you're saying I'm supposed to save humanity? If that were true, I would've started by saving my parents the other night."
My voice broke, and I burst into tears.
"Perk up, Darius," Julius said softly. "And listen. Your father was a zoologist."
Whenever Julius revealed things about the past or future, his eyes bulged grotesquely, turning pale and lifeless.
"He was the best the Lord Pack had ever known," Julius continued. "He discovered the most formidable strain of the Alpha Virus — a virus that grants immortality. It was unlike anything else. When Lord Mayor approached your father, he wanted to buy it. He almost agreed — until he learned of the Lord's true intentions."
I gave him a sharp, curious stare. "What intentions?" I asked.
Julius's eerie, fish-like eyes locked onto mine. "Lord Mayor intends to use the virus to achieve immortality," he said. "Then he plans to wipe out humanity and replace it with his loyal shape-shifters. Your father, being a good man, refused to sell it to him."
He paused, studying my face. "If I'm not mistaken, your father relocated you and your mother to four different packs this summer, didn't he?"
I nodded quickly. "Yes, yes, he did."
"All that time," Julius continued, "Lord Mayor and his shifters were hunting him. He managed to escape — until the other night."
I wiped the sweat dripping down my face. Julius's words filled me with dread. I felt like a fish out of water.
Then he asked, "You have the virus in your bag, don't you?"
Hastily, with trembling hands, I unzipped my bag and pulled out the glass container of green fluid. My fingers shook as I held it, terrified it might slip.
"Be careful," Julius warned. "It mustn't hit the floor. If it does, it'll be ruined — and humanity will lose its last hope. Worse still, your enemies will hunt you down and destroy you. What you hold is four milligrams of the most powerful Alpha Virus ever created. Inject just one milligram, and you'll transform into an immortal alpha werewolf."
My whole body trembled as sweat poured down my skin. My eyes stayed fixed on the glowing green fluid while I listened.
But suddenly Julius went silent. His white eyes stared blankly into space — unmoving — as though he was seeing something beyond this world. His eyelids seemed to vanish completely.
Then— poof!
He snapped his head toward me, eyes blazing. "We must leave — now!" he barked. "Lord Mayor and his shifters have tracked you here. They're coming!"