Chapter 24: Anyone of You Are Human?

The restaurant was dimly lit, all soft piano music and flickering candles. Julian reached across the table with a smile, brushing his thumb over Regina's knuckles.

"I'm glad we're doing this," he said.

Regina nodded, trying to focus. She wanted this to feel right. To feel stable. Julian had been kind, patient, consistent. Everything Connor never was.

So why did she feel like her stomach was tying itself into a thousand knots?

Julian leaned in, his lips brushing hers—gentle, slow, careful.

Then her phone buzzed.

She pulled away, heart racing before she even saw the name.

Connor. "I wanna see you, right now."

She stared at the message.

Julian noticed. His voice was calm, but his eyes weren't.

"It's him, isn't it?"

Regina stood up. "I'm sorry."

The rain poured like the sky had cracked open.

She pushed open the door to a quiet coffee shop just off campus. The lights flickered overhead. Thunder rumbled like it was angry.

And then—there he was. Connor.

Wet hoodie, storm-tousled hair, eyes like he hadn't slept in days.

"You came," he said softly.

"I shouldn't," she whispered. "But I did."

They stared at each other. Everything they hadn't said pressing against the silence like an invisible wall.

Then—The lights went out.

A scream from the barista.

Lightning flashed.

A man appeared in the doorway, umbrella dripping, eyes too bright.

Max.

"You're a hard girl to track down," he said, voice smooth, fangs gleaming under the next flicker of light.

"Max?" Regina froze. "What the hell—"

Before she could finish, Max moved—inhumanly fast, knocking over chairs, eyes glowing red.

Connor shoved Regina behind him.

"You need to run," he growled.

His body shuddered, cracking bones echoing in the dark.

Fur. Claws. A full transformation.

Regina's breath caught.

"Connor…?"

He didn't answer. He couldn't.

Then—another voice:

"Get away from her!" Mandy.

She charged in from the side, swinging a steel baton like she knew exactly what she was doing. Max hissed.

Julian burst in next, just in time to tackle Max off his feet—but a second later, he was flung across the floor, crashing into a table.

"Julian!" Regina screamed, running to him.

His side was bleeding.

Connor let out a roar that shook the walls.

Max hissed again, then vanished into the storm.

Everything was chaos. Screaming. Panting. Rain.

And Regina, kneeling beside Julian, eyes wide, heart pounding.

She turned slowly to look at Connor—half-man, half-beast—still snarling near the door. Then at Mandy, bruised but alive, face unreadable.

She looked back down at Julian, bleeding in her lap.

And all she could say, voice trembling:

"Are any of you… even human?"

No one answered. And for the first time, Regina wasn't sure she wanted to know.