Chapter 85 – The Confession
While the girls, Sofía and Sarah, were changing clothes, Titus and the Duchess waited for them in the living room. There was a bit of tension because Titus felt uncomfortable standing there with someone so much older than him. He didn't really know how to behave around her in such a formal atmosphere. The Duchess watched him calmly, with that mixture of authority and patience that only someone who had lived many years could have.
Finally, she spoke.
"Titus… my lord," she said with respect, because he was the lord, he was the king. "May I ask how you transformed? How you realized it? I need to understand what happened."
Titus took a deep breath. "What happened… the story is kind of long," he admitted. "But I'll try to summarize it. I was attacked by some bullies on the school terrace."
The Duchess narrowed her eyes in surprise. Titus continued:
"At that moment my best friends, Bruno and Cristal, defended me. I was left in very bad shape… really bad. They took me to the infirmary. But there was no nurse, and I was basically bleeding out. Everything was broken. My ribs were broken. There wasn't enough time to take me to the hospital."
The Duchess listened without blinking.
"So then," Titus went on, "they performed the blood ritual with me. And I drank golden werewolf blood. And that's how I transformed."
The Duchess frowned. "How come Bruno and Cristal?" she asked slowly. "Who are they?"
Titus answered without thinking: "Oh… the twins. The twins Bruno, Cristal… Liz Mayer."
The Duchess opened her eyes completely. "Liz Mayer? Liz Mayer, you said, Titus?"
"Yes," he replied, not understanding her reaction.
"The Liz Mayers from the south of Chile?"
"Yes," he confirmed. "That's them."
The Duchess placed a hand on her forehead. "Titus… they are werewolves. That's why they turned you into a werewolf."
Titus nodded. "Yes, that's why I know I'm a werewolf. Because they told me what happened in the ritual. They made me into a werewolf to save me."
The Duchess breathed in a trembling way. "But do you know they belong to the Clan of the Two Moons?"
"Yes," Titus said. "They told me they belonged to the Clan of the Two Moons."
The Duchess looked at him as if he had just revealed a forbidden secret. "Titus… do you know who you're talking about?"
"Yes," he answered, confused. "My best friends."
At that moment, footsteps were heard coming down the stairs. Sarah and Sofía were returning together, already changed, talking quietly. When they heard part of the conversation, they stopped halfway down, listening.
"Are you talking about the twins?" Sarah asked as she approached.
The Duchess looked at her with the same seriousness she had used with Titus.
Sarah smiled a little. "Yes, we're all friends. We have a group called The Unwanted. Walter is also in it… and he's a werewolf too."
The Duchess froze. "What do you mean, a werewolf?" she asked in disbelief.
"Yes," Sarah answered. "A werewolf. Titus turned him into a werewolf."
The Duchess nearly lost her composure. "What?" she whispered in horror. "What, Titus? What did you do?"
Titus lifted his hands, embarrassed. "So she's not the first," the Duchess said slowly, staring at him. "She's the second."
Titus took a deep breath. "Yes… it's just that, in another situation, we were all together at an ice rink, and some werewolves showed up and attacked everyone. They attacked Walter and… so he wouldn't die, Bruno and Cristal told me to do the blood ritual."
The Duchess opened her mouth slowly, as if the air had grown heavier.
"So then…" Titus continued, "I bit my hand, and my saliva with my blood went into his mouth. And he transformed into a werewolf."
The silence became thick. Titus lowered his gaze.
"But everything turned out fine," he assured her. "Now he can even walk."
"What do you mean, walk?" the Duchess exclaimed. "Titus… what are you saying?"
"Yes," he answered quietly. "He couldn't walk before."
The Duchess covered her mouth with both hands. "My God…" she whispered. "Do you realize what you're doing?"
Titus looked at her with sincerity and a bit of shame. "No… I don't," he admitted. "I'm trying to do the best I can… but I don't know."
Sarah looked at Titus, then at the Duchess, then at Sofía. Sofía remained silent. All three women were processing everything Titus had just confessed.
The Duchess inhaled with difficulty. "Titus," she said with a trembling but firm voice, "you transformed two people. Two. Using golden blood. And one of them was born with a disability and now he walks… and the other one has two active consciences. Titus… this isn't something small. You don't yet understand the magnitude of what you're saying."
Titus lowered his head, feeling small for the first time in a long while. "I'm trying to understand it," he whispered. "Really."
Sarah approached him and placed a hand on his shoulder, offering support.
The Duchess looked at her—her already human body, her posture, the calm in her eyes—and for a moment she seemed to see the two minds behind her: Sarah… and Nancy.
"And you?" the Duchess asked softly. "How do you feel after the transformation?"
Sarah took a deep breath. "Fine… I think," she said. "It's strange. But we're fine. Nancy and I are learning."
Sofía watched them with a mix of fear and curiosity.
The Duchess turned back to Titus. "Titus… what you did isn't common. It isn't normal. It isn't taught. It isn't allowed. And yet… it works. It saved two lives… but it changed two destinies forever."
Titus nodded, feeling the weight of those words.
Sarah added: "But… we're a group. We're together in this. We're not alone."
The Duchess sighed. "I hope so, girl… because what comes after this will be big. Bigger than any of you imagine."
Titus swallowed. Sarah breathed deeply. Sofía crossed her arms, uneasy.
The whole room felt as if the air had shifted—like an invisible door had opened even though none of them understood yet where it led.
And finally, the Duchess said the last thing before silence wrapped around them once more: "Titus… my lord… what you've done cannot be undone. And now the fate of all of you is bound… by golden blood."
---
The Duchess finally straightened her posture, her expression soft but firm, and said that it was time for Titus and Sarah to leave. Her tone carried an authority that felt ancient, heavy with the weight of her lineage and everything she knew about the world of werewolves.
"Titus," she said, addressing him with respect, "it is time for you and Sarah to go. This has been a long day, and I know both of you need rest."
Titus nodded politely.
"Oh, yes," the Duchess continued, "we will continue our conversation later. I still have many questions for you, and I must teach you many things about werewolves. This responsibility you now carry is larger than you imagine." She lifted her hand with elegance. "I will tell my driver to take the two of you."
Titus bowed his head slightly, grateful. "Thank you very much," he said.
He turned to leave, but before he could take more than a step away from the Duchess, Sofía approached him. She moved confidently, her eyes warm and familiar. Without hesitation, she leaned in and kissed him on the mouth.
It wasn't a long kiss, but it was direct, affectionate, and it caught Titus off guard completely. His face turned bright red almost instantly.
Sarah watched the kiss quietly. Her expression tightened for a fraction of a second—just a flicker of jealousy—but she forced herself to breathe slowly. She knew this was something that happened to Titus. Girls approached him, girls liked him, girls kissed him. It was part of his life. She had seen it before and she would likely see it again. And yet, that tiny sting inside her chest was real. She pressed her lips together, then relaxed them again, choosing not to say anything.
Sofía stepped back with a playful smile. "See you tomorrow," she said softly.
Titus managed an awkward nod, still red.
Sarah followed Titus toward the entrance, and together they stepped into the limousine that the Duchess had ordered. The doors closed smoothly behind them, sealing them inside a warm, quiet space. The city lights painted reflections across the tinted windows as the vehicle began its slow descent toward the gates of the estate.
Inside the limousine, the air felt calm, almost intimate. Sarah sat beside Titus, watching the passing lights while trying to settle her emotions.
Titus broke the silence first.
"Sarah," he said gently, turning to her, "when you get home… what are you going to eat?"
She shrugged lightly, giving him a small, embarrassed smile. "Well… I was going to heat up a prepared soup," she admitted. "There's no one at home. I'm alone."
Titus frowned. He didn't like the idea of her returning to an empty house after everything that had happened, and he liked even less the idea of Sarah eating something so simple and lonely for dinner.
"Oh," he said suddenly, "why don't you come to my house instead?"
Sarah blinked in surprise.
Titus continued, his voice warm and sincere: "We can pass by your place to get your uniform. Then you can have dinner with my family. You can stay in the guest room tonight, and tomorrow morning we can go to school together."
Sarah's expression softened with joy she didn't hide. "Really?" she asked, almost breathless. "Can I?"
"Yes," Titus said immediately. "Of course."
Her smile grew brighter—real, grateful, full of emotion.
"I would love that," she admitted. "I would love to meet your parents… and eat a real meal. Not a prepared soup."
They both laughed softly. The tension melted away. Sarah leaned back into her seat, her shoulders relaxing. She looked out the window, watching the city move beneath the limousine. For a moment, the world did not feel dangerous or strange. It felt peaceful.
---
Meanwhile, back on the third floor of the mansion, Sofía approached her mother, the Duchess. Her face was filled with confusion and curiosity, and a hint of concern.
"Mamá," Sofía said, "what was all that? What were you talking about with Titus? Something felt… strange."
The Duchess exhaled slowly, as if preparing to open a heavy door.
"Sofía," she began, "do you know Bruno and Cristal?"
"Yes," Sofía replied. "They're classmates of Titus. I know them… but I'm not very close to them. I'm only just getting to know them."
The Duchess nodded thoughtfully.
"And do you know their last name?" she asked, her voice tightening slightly.
Sofía shook her head. "No… honestly, I never asked."
The Duchess stared at her with a seriousness that made Sofía's stomach tighten.
"Liz Mayer," the Duchess said.
Sofía repeated the name silently to herself. Liz Mayer… Liz Mayer… It sounded familiar and foreign at the same time, like a word she should have recognized but didn't.
"Liz Mayer," the Duchess repeated. "Bruno and Cristal Liz Mayer."
Sofía frowned, still not understanding.
Then her mother lowered her voice, as if the walls themselves could be listening.
"The Liz Mayers of the Clan of the Two Moons."
Sofía's eyes widened immediately. "What?" she whispered. "No… no, that can't be."
The Duchess continued, her voice steady and cold with truth: "They are children or grandchildren of the Patriarch of the Two Moons. The very clan that betrayed the King… and was exiled from the werewolf planet."
Sofía felt the ground beneath her shift. Her pulse raced. "They… they're from the clan that betrayed the King?" she said, barely able to speak.
"Yes."
Sofía pressed a hand to her chest. "But… how did I not smell them? How did I not recognize them? How did I not notice anything?"
The Duchess answered without hesitation. "They must be using the injection," she explained. "The one that prevents werewolves from being detected by scent. It hides their essence entirely. That is why you couldn't sense them. That is why no werewolf can."
Sofía swallowed hard. Her mind replayed every interaction with Bruno and Cristal, trying to understand how she had been so blind.
"Mamá," she whispered, "does this mean…?"
The Duchess met her eyes with solemn certainty. "It means you must be more careful with them," she said firmly. "And above all, you must protect Titus. Now more than ever. Because Titus is in great danger."
Those words hit Sofía like a blow.
Protect Titus.
Danger.
Two Moons.
Exile.
Betrayal.
Everything felt heavier now, darker. The world she thought she understood suddenly expanded into something vast and treacherous.
---
Meanwhile, the limousine carrying Titus and Sarah continued through the city, unaware of the storm of revelations unfolding above them. Sarah glanced at Titus again, her heart calm now, warmed by his invitation and his kindness. Titus smiled back, shy and soft, unaware of the dangers gathering around him.
For the first time in a long while, Sarah felt she wasn't alone.
And for the first time in his life, Titus began to understand that every decision he made—from saving a life to offering dinner—pulled him deeper into a destiny far larger than he could imagine.
---
Hook: And that silence hid a danger that would soon come to light…