Wait! How Did The Stray Dog I Picked Up Turn Into A Man?!

The moment the children arrived at where their worried parents were, the grounds were immediately filled with sobs and cries of relief.

Mothers clasped their little ones as though they’d vanish if they let go, fathers wept openly, some covering their eyes but joining in on the hug regardless, and whispering apologies and promises that all this would never happen again and they would never have to relive this nightmare ever again.

The reunion was messy but very humane. What more could be said? Seeing the scene of tears clung to every cheek, parents collapsed to their knees in gratitude and clutching their child’s small hands as though to anchor themselves to reality... What more could be said?

"Mommy!" the kids wailed.

"Daddy!" they cried.

"Baby, you’re safe now, you’re safe..." Parents felt relieved.

It was a moment when peace had come to the hearts of the victims. But that peace, was just at the surface.

The nightmare had just begun because once the children close their eyes to sleep at night, they would immediately realize what effect this incident has on them, just as the ringmaster wanted.

Roland stood back with his arms folded and surprisingly, a smoke missing from his lips. Maybe it was because of the numerous kids that were present, he couldn’t afford to smoke.

But exhaustion was written in his eyes.

Alyssa lingered near him, still shaky, watching the scene with wet lashes, swollen eyes, and pursed lips.

It looked like everything was finally fine but her pursed lips turned into a hard twist as she gnashed her teeth.

Her gaze was fixed further away, along with Roland’s, at the ambulance doors that stood open where a harsher reality was unfolding inside.

They couldn’t get close. Whether it was guilt or the inability to take in the sight... They just couldn’t get close.

Even if Josh was Roland’s son, he decided to leave this for the ones who came with the ambulance.

He had been running around for hours, expending his energy because he needed to find the children. And now that they did, he wasn’t confident his hand wouldn’t tremble once he held the medical tools.

He clenched his fist, but his face remained calm and exhausted.

Olivia lay on the stretcher inside the ambulance, her skin pale and blood all over her clothes and face.

They were not focused on cleaning the blood, but rather on stabilizing her condition.

Tubes were already being connected, gauze pressed against her wounds, and an oxygen mask was positioned in place.

Her small fingers twitched faintly, but she did not move afterwards or wake up.

Her condition was more severe than how the surface portrayed.

She had two broken ribs and one of them had punctured her lungs, making it hard for her to breathe. But for her to have been able to survive this face, they called it a miracle.

No, it was her werewolf genes working out for her and helping her stay strong. If she were a normal kid, she would’ve definitely died the moment she was hit with such a heavy punch that had the intent to end her.

Beside her was Josh in his human form. He was wrapped in a blanket since he had been naked and trembling from both blood loss and shock.

Just like Olivia, he too, had broken bones.

His right hand was broken. It happened when he was in his wolf form but changing back didn’t mean the bone would straighten out.

He was also having internal bleeding.

His condition was just as serious as Olivia’s and he wouldn’t stop trembling despite being unconscious.

It was his wolf’s resilience that was keeping him breathing. If not, he, as well as Olivia, was a lost cause.

Michael hovered helplessly, his hands shaking so violently that it looked like he would go mad any moment.

His eyes were bloodshot, looking at the children who looked like they were dying.

Just why...? Why was this happening?

He stepped forward, despite not being allowed to, and was disrupting, but what could he do?

He couldn’t stay still. He feared he would collapse.

The paramedics had to push him back gently.

"Please, sir, let us work." They said and he nodded, but his knees buckled and he clung to the doorframe.

With every breath he took, his chest would heavily rise and fall like he couldn’t breathe properly. His baby girl. His sweet Olivia.

"She needs to be taken to the hospital right away," one of the medics muttered urgently.

Another looked at Michael, uncertain.

"But the father said he wanted to wait."

"But there’s no time to waste. If we waste any more time, the children’s lives will be in grave danger."

Michael’s head snapped up, desperation in his eyes. The word danger placed him on his toes and made it seem like he was stepping on pins.

"We can’t let anything happen to them. Not to my baby girl." He grabbed his hair, his body trembling and his eyes shaking. "Not to Olivia. How could this...?"

He looked like he was slowly losing the little bit of reasoning he had left keeping him holding up.

The medic exchanged a glance.

They wondered if the person he was waiting for was so important that he wanted to compromise the children’s immediate treatment.

"For now, we can stabilize her and the boy here, and she might hold for a while longer," one of the medics said. "Moving too fast in this condition could make her worse anyway. But..." He trailed off, unwilling to say more. "We just don’t have the necessary equipment for that, so we need to get to the hospital regardless."

Michael’s breath felt caught. His mind screamed in agony. So, what were they to do now?

He pressed his palms to his face, trembling.

"Olivia... please..." his voice trembled. "Hang in there. Please." He cried.

Behind him, other children were still crying into their parents’ arms. The air was filled with grief and relief intertwined. But for Michael, time had slowed, each second an eternity as he stared at his daughter’s fragile frame in the ambulance, praying the choice to wait wouldn’t be the one that cost him everything.

"Where is she?" He suddenly heard Noah’s voice that seemed to cut through everything.

He quickly turned his head.

"H-here...!" Michael’s voice cracked as he raised his hand to catch his attention. His hands trembled as he tried to steady himself. But...

As Noah drew near, accompanied by Steven, Michael’s last will gave out, and he fell right into Noah’s arms.

He didn’t know if he could keep up like this.

"N-noah," he called. "Our little girl. She..."

Noah didn’t waste a second. He positioned Michael on the chair and climbed into the ambulance despite the paramedics trying to stop him.

"Sir, you... You can’t be up here." They said but he glared at them.

"Move."

His simple words sent chills down their spine. What was this chilling feeling?

They had no choice but to move, wondering what he wanted to do.

But if he was going to take the child, then they would immediately stop him. He was probably not in his right mind, seeing his daughter in that condition.

The instant Olivia came into view, Noah’s fury shattered into something more fragile. His chest rose and fell sharply, as though someone had driven a knife into him. He was hurt. Just look at his daughter.

The same went for Steven.

His Josh wouldn’t stop trembling. His little boy was more fragile than anything in the world.

His fury burned. But he knew what he had to do.

Mere medical tools used on humans wouldn’t help much anyway.

What the kids needed right now was...

"Olivia..." Noah called, his voice broke slightly on her name as if he had been choked by a sob.

Usually, nothing would happen. He called her name but it would take a miracle for her to wake up in her condition.

Ah, and here came that miracle.

Her lashes fluttered faintly, and for the first time since she collapsed with Josh, her lips curved into the smallest ghost of a smile.

"Daddy..." she whispered, so soft the medics barely caught it but they knew she spoke because her breath fell into the oxygen mask.

Noah grabbed her frail and cold hand, pressing it to his forehead, his whole body trembling as he felt he had let her down.

His daughter, someone who was only ever supposed to smile and was happy in this life, had a happy childhood that neither Michael nor he ever enjoyed, and was lying in a stretcher in an ambulance, with broken ribs and a punctured lung.

Just why did such a thing have to happen when all he wanted was for her to live a life where she never lacked and never envied anyone?

He wanted her to be the princess she was.

So why?

A tear lingered in his eyes as he silently prayed to the moon goddess on her behalf.

"You’ll be fine, Olivia. Just wait a little longer. Daddy’s here, baby girl."