Here it is! The final chapter of Part 1: Chapter 10 - Promises. I do want to say that it has been so so heartwarming to see all the comments and support of this story as it has progressed.

Of course, this is not the end. There will be no chapter upload for all of February, but we have Chapter's 11 to 24 to go from the start of March to end the book.

I shall upload a google drive link for Part 1 completely for people to read!

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Chapter 10 - Promises:
There were forty-seven miles of empty concrete between the park junction and London, and by car, the journey took an hour and fifteen minutes. On foot, it would take Lupus two hours.

Twenty minutes had gone by, and Lupus stopped five times to check his location against the road signs. Between the breaks, there was nothing much to divert his attention from his amplified emotions. He drifted away in the ambience, neither angry nor upset, but somewhere in between.

He examined his surroundings for signs of civilization with a distant expression. Lupus hoped to avoid triggering a mass panic in populated areas that might hinder his journey home, but he also wished to avoid the reminder of how much fear his towering form would inspire.

While Lupus wandered the tightrope of asphalt, one foot paw per lane under the streetlights, he took a moment to focus on his new body and the way the road responded to his presence.

Tarmac shattered beneath his padded sole and created an oval crater in the street, while a small tremor swayed and flickered the streetlights. His paw struck an abandoned car on the shoulder of the highway in such a way that half of it was pancaked metal and the other was warped and bent. Yet even that failed to break his trance; the gigantic wolf paid no mind to the metal debris under-paw than he would to a sweet wrapper.

Even his tail became a danger. Despite being soft and fluffy enough to be near weightless at his normal size, now the furry appendage swept vehicles over. His tail swayed back and forth as he strode, an idle swoosh that rattled the neighbouring foliage.

He even glanced down towards the paw imprints he left in his wake, acknowledging the power he possessed to crack the ground, tilt street lamps, and crush the odd vehicle that dislodged from his foot. But his attention moved back down the road that succumbed to darkness.

Mounted lights around the street would go out in his wake as his seismic steps toppled metal poles. Though he left darkness in his passing, the lights in front provided enough illumination of his paws as they rose up and down.

Then came the glare of approaching headlights from behind. Before he could choose between fight or flight, the car’s horn erupted three times. His head turned back around to see the black Mustang roaring towards him.

Lupus pressed his crossed arms into his chest and turned away from Liam. For a moment, he tried to quicken his pace, but as his next stride crashed down, sparks scattered from the fallen streetlights. Realizing the futility, he stretched his strides to cover more ground and minimize the destruction. Under different circumstances, he might have found it almost funny that Liam’s Mustang could close the gap so easily, but he was more troubled that the jaguar was gaining ground over him.

That didn’t mean he couldn’t slow Liam down.

He halted his stride and crouched over the street, digging two fingers into the edge of the road. With the ease of a blade slicing through soft clay, he dragged them from one side to the other, carving a deep trench into the cracked street.

Lupus straightened back up, took a few steps further down the road, but stopped when he heard the roar of the Mustang’s engine. While the cool night air brushed against his fur, he waited for Liam’s car to stop.

And it did.

The Mustang’s tires screamed against the tarmac as it came to an abrupt halt, but Lupus dared not turn around to meet the driver.

Liam’s car door lock clicked, and his voice shattered the silence. “Dude, what the hell?!”

It crossed Lupus's mind that he was being guarded, but how else could he protect the jaguar from their inevitable parting. He tried to not to engage with Liam and avoided any eye contact.

That did not deter the jaguar.

“Are you just going to ignore me? Are you going to turn your back on me after everything?!” Liam demanded, still hopeful to get Lupus to turn. “Talk to me dude!”

Lupus longed to, but doing so would deepen the wounds left after he said goodbye.

“If you think shutting me out will stop me from helping, you’re wrong!” He shouted up to the wolf who briefly glanced at him. “You may have tried to leave me, but I won’t do that to you.”

Lupus's tree-stump thick fingers clenched his upper arms. Had he really abandoned his best friend? What on earth had convinced him that was his only option? It would be too easy to blame his Vastelerian-self on pulling the string, but he knew he made that choice.

He looked back to the devastated street and to the direction where he last left Liam. Regret mingled with hurt, worry, and shame. His brain still could not cope with his enlarged emotions.

“I’m dangerous,” he told Liam.

The wolf hated the notion of leaving Liam behind but it proved the best course of action when his eyes settled on the damaged road. Apart from the legal implications of Liam supporting an Ascendant, one wrong move from Lupus could be fatal.

He stood still, ears and tail limp, head hung low.

“Dangerous?” Liam said with a brief snicker.

“Yes,” he replied, frosty.

Liam grunted, “Prove it.”

Lupus’s eyelids widened in shock. “W-What?” He muttered down the jaguar, while he thought to himself, ‘How could Liam suggest that?’

The wolf took a hesitant forward in retreat, but then Liam’s voice projected to him again. “Go on, Lupus. Prove it!”

Although Lupus held his stance, he noticed Liam’s demand started to stir temptation. The impulse to prove why neither of them can exist in the same world anymore, more so when he realised that doing nothing would prove Liam right. Disgust twisted his stomach at the mere thought of intimidating his best friend, but as much as it sickened him, he believed it would ensure Liam’s safety.

And, without muttering a word, he turned to squat and reached a hand down to the vehicle.

Foot by foot, it loomed closer, gradually filling Liam’s vision. Yet, the jaguar appeared calm, even as he turned to watch the wolf’s hand reach towards his car.

Lupus's hand didn’t need to slide for long to scoop up the Mustang and raise it up towards his awaiting muzzle. When his palm levelled out on par with his eyes did the wolf then gaze at Liam.

He thought back to those old American monster movies, the ones where Vastelerian actors unleashed chaos on unsuspecting populations. He tried to channel that same persona to prove a point to the jaguar, but it proved more difficult than Lupus presumed it to be.

Abandoning any pretence of theatrics, he knew that actions spoke louder than words, and so he tightened his grip on the Mustang. Not too soft to prove his point, but not strong enough to inflict damage. Yet, when his eyes dropped to Liam, he found the jaguar crossing his arms, unimpressed.

Instinctively, Lupus's fingers squeezed, and the Mustang’s metal creaked faintly beneath his digits. He held it, but his mind started to tear between his plan to intimidate Liam and the worry of harming his friend’s most prized possession.

‘Could I really do it?’ But the longer he took to answer that, the more the idea soured in his mind. No—he couldn’t do it, but nor could he stray away from Liam. He needed his anchor.

So, he bent back down, and lowered his free hand towards the jaguar. With dexterity that betrayed his size, Lupus collected Liam off the ground in a fist, and rose up.

With his best friend and the Mustang secure in his grasp, Lupus took a step toward London. Though dread threatened to consume him, the warmth and tickle of his friend shifting in his palm, anchored him.

As Lupus took a second ground shuddering step, a muffled voice erupted from his closed fist.

“Lupus!” Liam shouted and paused to take a breath before adding. “Stop! Don’t do this—”

Lupus did not listen, nor did he look down to address Liam’s protests, but he did speak. “Why not?”

“Because it won’t solve anything!” He shouted, straining to make himself heard above the rhythmic thud of Lupus's footsteps. The jaguar slipped a hand and stroked it across the wolf’s curled index finger.

Lupus's eyes remained fixed on the darkened skyline as he rumbled back, “It’ll make me feel better.”

Liam slammed a fist against the large index finger, knowing it would register a mere tickle in Lupus's nervous system. “Stop being so stupid, Lupus! You need to listen to me, because when I had my suspicions you were an Ascendant—”

“That’s right, you knew!” Lupus thundered. “And you kept it from me,” he scolded with a growing growl.

“Wait! Wait, wait, wait. I only suspected after your watch showed your heart rate—” But Liam’s plea didn’t budge the wolf’s furious visage.

The wolf’s maw wrinkled. His trembling lips started to pull back to expose pearly fangs as Lupus snarled out, “Shut it. I deserved to know. You may be rich, but I am not a charity!”

“Lupy, stop! I never saw you like that, I swear! Remember the promise you made me—”

“Did you want this to happen to me?” Lupus growled, while he maneuvered Liam closer to his parted lips, inches away from his glistening fangs. “Did you want me to grow?!”

The arctic wolf’s hot breath rushed over Liam who tried to lean away from the source. “No, no, no! I was only trying to help, you know that—!”

“All I know,” Lupus cut him off, moved his muzzle closer so that each word, every syllable, was a humid gust of air that shrouded the jaguar, “is that my best friend suspected I was an Ascendant and didn’t tell me.”

“I was going to tell you when I was certain you were—”

“Giant?” He responded, bitter.

“No! Please, listen to me, I want to help you. This is your insecurities talking—”

Lupus's pupils narrowed. “Insecurities?” The wolf snarled, his lips pulling back to reveal rows of sharp, snow-white fangs capable of slicing through the Mustang with a bite. “You think this is about my insecurities?!”

“Lupy, please,” he panted with a strained voice, “you’re not thinking clearly. I just wanted to sure before I said anything—”

Lupus's eyes flared. His grip tightened just enough to make Liam grasp and scrabble against the pudge pads of the wolf’s palm. “Did someone want to research me to help prepare them for their new think tank job?”

Liam tried to shake his head, but Lupus ignored him with that same frustrated expression. Until, it lifted of its own accord, and changed it into something much more concerning:

A smile.

“Well,” he breathed out, making sure Liam got a sneak peek into the pink, salivating cavern that was his mouth, “since you wanted to meet a Vastelerian so much, I’ll give you a front row seat to the show.”

“Lupy, stop! You don’t want to do this—!” The jaguar was interrupted when Lupus's palm tilted and cupped around the car entrance, guiding Liam inside. “Dude, stop! You have to listen to me—” But Lupus's palm left him little choice. With a reluctant huff, he ducked his head and crawled into the driver’s seat.

“Shush, no one likes a backseat driver. Buckle up, shortie,” Was all Lupus said, devoid of any warmth.

Without hesitation, Liam buckled himself in. A toy that he lowered down to be on par with his waistband and resumed his slow, ground-rattling stroll to London.

“You know, I’ve outgrown London,” he said with an expanding smirk directed down to Liam. “Since Petritan’s are insistent that Vastelerians are monsters, I should show them one.”

Liam’s fist slammed against the little windshield. “Lupus… please. Don’t give them what they want!”

“Why are you protecting them?” He rumbled out.

“I am not,” He challenged back. “I am trying to protect my best friend!”

“Don’t bother. I can protect myself now,” he scolded to shift his arms in tandem with his footfalls. "I don't need you."

Inside the Mustang, the sudden momentum threw Liam back against his seat. He swung a hand forward to slam onto the car horn, but seconds after the car blared, the wolf’s massive fingers curled over the hood to muffle the noise.

His fingers wrapped tighter and pressed the car closer against his waist. “Stop.” While he still felt the sting of betrayal, he would ensure to keep the jaguar safe. Even with anger simmering beneath him, he still cared for Liam.

But even after he ordered Liam to stop, the Mustang’s horn erupted again in defiance. He soon noticed the rather concerning sight of flashing red and blue lights passing by on the next overpass. Though still far away, the wolf paused, and pressed the car deeper into his waist.

“Dude,” he whispered, his tone authoritative and desperate. “Stop.”

Lupus was irritated, anxious, and before he knew what he was doing, he clamped the car hood under an irritated thumb. He noticed quickly and withdrew his thumb from the damaged hood. As soon as he felt the twisted metal, the frustration inside him turned into dread.

Lupus looked away, worried.

“What's the matter with you, dude?!” Liam snarled. “What the hell–?!”

Lupus's head was spinning. He didn’t know what to say. “I’m sorry, dude, but I told you to stop,” He tried to justify it to himself, but the guilt still clawed at him.

At first, to spare himself, he refused to inspect the damage on his friend’s beloved car. Lupus exhaled to try and keep his composure. “I-I’ll pay for that,” he mumbled, continuing to sneak down the street.

He felt relieved at avoiding a confrontation with the authorities; it would give him more time to reach London. Anger and guilt churned within him, but he couldn’t work out which emotion cut deeper. Was his desire for revenge against Douglas justified? He doubted it, yet he had already pieced together what he’d do first.

Lupus reflected on Liam’s reaction if he were to crouch in front of the building. He imagined the entitled fox scurrying to hide, while his eyes peeked through the windows, and his claws tore the roof off. Whatever. In the end, Douglas had it coming, and he wished Liam could see that too.

Speaking of Liam, he brushed a finger pad across the side of the Mustang. He tuned his ears to the car, and whispered out, “I am sorry.”

Liam, on the other hand, remained quiet.

‘I deserve that’ He acknowledged the silence was a fitting punishment. And while the guilt threatened to twist his stomach further, his thoughts didn’t linger for long before he noticed the London skyline come into view.

“Home—” he whispered, but stopped to correct himself, “Was home.”

Now that most of his anger burnt away and the British capital filled his view, reality settled in. Even under the cover of night, his towering form was as inconspicuous as an earthquake rocking the city.

And Lupus stood there, realising how much of a threat he’d pose to the city’s doll-sized infrastructure. His eyes drifted back to the trail of paw prints and toppled street lights behind him.

Shame furrowed his brow and carved trenches across his forehead. That shame festered into self-hatred and started to curl his fingers into trembling fists. It was when he heard Liam’s Mustang car hood creak further that he caught himself and released his grip.

Lupus's fingers snaked around the car and hoisted it up to meet his muzzle. Unable to look Liam in the eyes, the wolf turned to the street, while his index and pinky finger traced over the car’s frame to feel for any fresh dents or warped metal. Once he reassured himself that, aside from the crumpled hood, he braced himself to meet the jaguar.

Even less time was given to him, however, before Liam’s growl summoned his attention, “Dude, are you crazy?! Look what you did to my car!”

His ears flicked a bit as he listened, not at all startled that Liam could reign his mind in. He immediately puffed out his chest to take a breath and braced for the jaguar’s next comment.

“You need to stop this!” Liam shouted from out the car window. “Take us back to the campsite, NOW!”

Lupus's gaze lingered on the Mustang for a few seconds longer before drifting to the London skyline—a reminder of a world he no longer belonged to, but one where Liam still did.

Upon that realization, his fingers uncurled to level out his palm as he whispered, “I’ll take you home.”

“No!” Liam shot back, frustrated. “That is not what I asked you to do—”

“No,” Lupus muttered, directing a gust of his warm breath to cut the jaguar off. “But it is the right thing to do. I won’t put you at risk.”

Liam brushed a fist against the wolf’s thumb. “You aren’t! I am choosing to do this,” He insisted.

Lupus's gaze dropped to the tiny figure in his palm. “You cannot stop me,” he replied, firm. He never wanted to play the Vastelerian card against his friend, but in this moment, he did so to protect his friend.

“Lupus, stop! I told you to listen to me!”

The wolf’s ears caught every furious note in his friend’s voice, but he forced his gaze forward, and focused on taking tender steps towards the city.

“Lupus, stop being so damn stubborn! Remember the reason you picked Kintsugi!”

That, finally, caused the wolf’s steps to falter. Lupus's steps stuttered but pressed on, his eyes dropping to his friend. His breath hitched.

“Say it, Lupus!” Liam demanded with a fierce growl despite the gulf between their sizes. “Do you even remember?!”

“I remember,” he said under his breath and looked back to the distant skyline. “But… that doesn’t matter. My priority is getting you home.”

“No!” Liam’s voice rose to challenge the wolf evading his question. “It does matter! It matters more than anything right now!”

He hesitated, his steps slowing, and he sighed, “You’ve cared for me, protected me, and put up with me for so long. Please, let me do this for you.”

Liam shook his head, while his ablaze eyes fired to the wolf. “That’s not it! That’s not all of it!” He took a step closer across the wolf’s pad. “Why do you think I did all that?”

“Because you’re a good person.”

The jaguar did not respond immediately, but rather rested a hand on the wolf’s fingertip. “Helping you pick yourself up was never a burden. It was a choice, one I’d make a thousand times over without question.”

Lupus nodded, silent.

“Now tell me, why did you pick the name Kintsugi?”

Instead of answering, he maneuvered his hand closer to meet the side of his muzzle. “Because what can be damaged can be repaired,” Lupus sighed, while his eyes drifted down. “And what is damaged can still be beautiful,” he added.

“That’s right”, Liam cooed, raising a hand to brush along the wolf’s cheek. “Tell me, what helps repair you?”

Lupus's eyes started to glisten in the moonlight as a tear attempted to form. “My friends… you,” he corrected and honed his senses on the jaguar’s tender, little hand.

“Yes,” Liam encouraged, his warm touch battling the coldness of the wolf’s fur. “Your friends help repair you. We’re the hands that pick up the broken pieces and the gold that fills those cracks.”

Lupus felt his throat tighten, fighting the teardrop that was coming.

“Just like the art of Kintsugi,” Liam continued and pressed his body into the wolf’s cheek. “You’ve changed, yeah, you’ve grown! Your body has shattered and rebuilt itself as a Vastelerian—”

Liam paused as he leaned away from his cheek. “But let me be the gold paint that repairs you, sweetheart.”

An organ-tickling sob came from Lupus's maw, causing him to take a step back to take in the wolf’s visage in its entirety. Another sob escaped the canine, and before he knew it, a teardrop started to form.

He saw Lupus's eyes sparkle and his mouth dropped open. Ashamed, Lupus raised a finger to wipe it away.

Lupus wanted to collapse down onto his knees and let it out. Mortified, terrible and justifiable. He delicately shifted his weight down to plant both knees onto the road. That did not stop the road from shattering and cracking beneath him.

Eyes full of dread wandered in every direction, sometimes meeting Liam, the devastated street around, or London. “You’ll help repair… me?” Lupus sniffled out. Though their size difference loomed larger than the fractures in their world, Lupus still held onto hope that they could find a way to coexist.

“Like Kintsugi art, I will be the hands that help you pick up the pieces,” Liam raised a hand towards Lupus's coal black nose…

A cluster of spotlights bathed Lupus's near-naked frame. Celestial blades of light danced across the wolf’s body. Dust motes spiraled in the air around them, while the wolf instinctively curled his fingers to shield both his cargo and their car against his chest.

While his anxiety and demons had grown alongside him, he soon learned that so had his protective nature. A protectiveness that birthed a primal growl from his chest. His eyes narrowed and darted up.

Overhead, police helicopters circled him, each mounted with a tranquiliser cannon that aimed right for the arctic wolf. Red lasers aimed at him, some directed at his cupped paw, and he growled louder to make it clear he did not tolerate any threat made to his treasured Petritan.

A crackling burst of static came from one of the helicopters, followed by the amplified bark of a commanding voice. “Stand down and put your hands in the air!” The officer’s voice ordered.

Lupus understood the repercussions if he did not comply, but he refused to raise the two hands that sheltered his best friend. No one else knew Liam was cupped against his chest, and he fought to keep it that way by deepening his growl to the helicopter.

Another burst of static projected out from the helicopter. “Stand down, or we will shoot!”

He didn’t have much time. His eyes flicked side to side to search for anything that could shelter Liam—nothing.

Lupus took a deep breath to calm down his protective instincts and the growl it inspired. His lips parted and craned his head up to the helicopter. Pleading eyes stared at the armed chopper.

“I’m not a threat,” he managed, trying to be diplomatic to the authorities.

“Stand down, beast!” The officer barked through the speaker. “Put your hands in the air, now!”

Lupus refused and the soldier's guns pivoted up—not just at him, but towards Liam too. His heart dropped, and a flash of panic surged through him.

A growl in the wolf’s crescendoed as he grumbled, “Actually,” and crouched down to bare over the wall of vehicles. “You’re going to stand down, little ones,” he challenged the soldiers and police officers below.

Although they quivered, the soldiers' fingers tightened on the triggers. Red laser sights covered his abdomen and his friend's car. A sight that sprang himself upward and let out a deep, predatory snarl that vibrated through the Petritan’s authorities internal organs.

“That wasn’t a request,” he grumbled, that made even the trained soldiers flinch. He stood over them and lifted his road-swallowing foot above the middle of the road block. It dangled over them, summoning the attention of the soldiers who fled out of the way before the wolf muttered, “Because no one endangers Liam, have you got that?!”

Lupus slammed his foot onto the center of the roadblock to cut through. The cold bite of twisted metal from the armoured vehicles pressed against his pads as he started to advance down the road. Shrapnel and armoured plating coated the underside of the sole, but he only paid notice to Liam.

Aware of the destruction he was leaving in his wake, he kept his head focused on the London skyline. Shrapnel of government-funded vehicles rained down off his paw and into the paw prints behind. If he hadn't crossed the point of no return before, he had now.

“Comply,” someone ordered with a robotic voice that boomed from the Vastelerian protogen march towards him.

Their attire: a forest green shirt, a pair of cargo shorts, and a set of military grade boots. Any exposed ligaments were either smothered in a field-like lavender fur or metal components. A militaristic ensemble that emphasised his authoritative presence over Lupus.

Impossible! How is a Vastelerian outside the walls?!

And yet, there it was.

No, he is, judging by his physique. He was huge. Their ligaments shimmered in the morning light, some smothered in lavender-fur, others mechanised.

“You are to stand down, sir,” They stated, emotionless. “Hands in the air.”

His heart drilled against his chest and gave a solemn nod. One hand curled around Liam, the other wrapped around the Mustang as he lifted both.

That’s when a sharp sting from a tranquilizer struck his abdomen. The world started to spin around him as the sedative took root inside him. Just before it could reach his arms, he sank to one knee, and lowered the Mustang and Liam onto the roadside.

Around him, his view blurred into smudges of green, blue, and red as the tranquilizer seeped deeper into his system. Then, he felt himself stumble back.

Gravity then took over, pulling him down faster onto the empty road below, which he struck seconds later.

Asphalt crackled under his immense weight, while the skeletal arms of streetlights bent and snapped beneath his back. His body scraped across the road and splintered it into spider web fractures around the impact site.

Trapped inside his paralysed body, Lupus's senses focused on the world around him. Frantic footsteps approached from the road side, while cars pulled up to his left.

Suddenly, something hissed through the air. Before Lupus could process it, he felt a series of braided cables lash over his chest to hold him against the road. Synthetic fibres strained against his exposed anatomy.

Another round of cladding boots against the asphalt followed; a second round of cables propelled over his lower body. Once the bindings secured him onto the concrete, he felt the world slip further away from his grasp.

Birthed from the wolf’s heartache, a single, salty tear trickled down his fluffy cheek. He felt it trace down his cheek without anyone around to catch it. ‘If only Liam could, if only I could hold him..’

With a final, shuddering breath, he tried to focus on the jaguar on the roadside. “Please..” Lupus managed to plead through gritted teeth as he teetered back. “Stay safe, Liam,” he staggered as his heavy eyelids shut.

He fought to keep his consciousness on the edges of awareness, just to listen to the fragments of conversation around him.

“... Ascendant incident…damage minimal…” A man announced near his ear.

“...containment perimeter…close off the A1..” Another man ordered in a more authoritative tone.

Then, cutting through the muddled clamour from law enforcement, came a comment that struck his heart.

“...potential Petritan on the roadside…get medics over here…” A woman spoke in urgency, followed by a series of boots thumping onto the ground.

Lupus’s consciousness slipped away. A second, and final tear leaked out of his closing eyelids beside Liam’s unconscious body.