Chapter 69: The Night's Terror

The metallic scent of blood lingered in the air. With trembling hands, Mariana finished cleaning and bandaging Tiago's torso, her mind racing with a horrifying realization. The deep gash on his head, its edges jagged and blood crusted, seemed to be a self-inflicted wound. The influence of the full moon, its potent power over Tiago's transformation, could have driven him to such a desperate act. Glancing down at Tiago's arm, where she was just about to secure the final bandage, she noticed something unsettling. Beneath the bloodstained gauze, a reopened wound greeted her gaze. The sight filled her with a fresh wave of unease. This was the same arm that had been shot earlier that day, the memory of the pictures she saw online still vivid in her mind. Yet, there it was, the gash miraculously clean, the edges already beginning to mend themselves. The rapid healing defied all logical explanation, challenging everything she understood about human biology. It served as a stark reminde