Chapter 2
The forests had been fenced off, wild animals became protected species, and the moment Luke exposed himself, humans would swarm in to capture and study him.
To stay alive, Luke had spent over ten years hiding quietly in a rundown house in the old district.
Those years were the most humiliating for the pack.
They could no longer howl beneath the moon, bare their claws and fangs, or hunt openly.
Luke spent his days hiding in dark corners and only came out late at night to dig through garbage for food. Sometimes, finding half a leftover sandwich already felt lucky.
He had not eaten a proper full meal in years. The former Alpha of the forest now survived on kitchen scraps.
He'd witnessed bloodshed and brutality, seen human greed and fear, endured the Inquisition's cruelty and the hunters' viciousness. He survived flames, escaped holy water, and endured centuries of exile.
However, whatever this situation was, it felt way worse.
All his centuries of survival instincts stopped working. At that moment, embarrassment hit harder than fear.
He immediately wanted to run and hide somewhere nobody would ever find him again.
However, just as he was about to bolt, Bryan shouted something so irresistibly tempting that he froze on the spot.
"Wait, don't go," Bryan said. "There are already a hundred and twenty thousand people watching this livestream. If you disappear, my channel is ruined.
"Just stay for one picture. One minute—that's all I need. And I'll buy you the biggest, fully-loaded chicken biscuit sandwich—double bacon, extra crispy chicken, and extra sausage. If one isn't enough, I'll buy you ten."
Luke's mind went blank. 'The hell is a livestream? And what does he mean, a hundred and twenty thousand people watching? And a chicken biscuit sandwich?'
He didn't understand a word of the first half, but the last part hit him hard.
He'd smelled those chicken biscuit sandwiches before. That rich, tangy sauce drove him crazy every single time. But he could never buy one. He had no cash, no ID, and no guts to walk among humans.
'The chicken biscuit sandwiches with double bacon, extra crispy chicken, and extra sausage... is he saying he'll buy me that?' Luke thought.
That worked way better than any warning or persuasion ever could.
Years of constant hunger instantly overpowered his embarrassment, his pride, and the dignity of his bloodline.
Luke quietly stopped walking and crouched back down. He turned his head away from the camera, ears lowered in humiliation, looking similar to a giant dog forced into an awkward photo.
He muttered, "Take the damn picture already. Then you'd better buy me that chicken biscuit sandwich."
Bryan nearly cracked up but managed to keep it together. "Don't worry. No scams here."
The livestream exploded across the platform.
Luke stood there awkwardly in front of the camera with his tail wrapped around his leg like he was nervous. He held onto that half-eaten sandwich and refused to look directly at the camera.
Bryan stood next to him, beaming. "Look at him, guys. Our werewolf is posing now. Seriously, who could resist that face?"
[He's so cute. Looks like a kid being dragged into a photo.]
[Okay, but how does that fur look that real?]
[Where can I order a pet werewolf? Just drop the link.]
[Double chicken biscuit sandwiches? That's crazy. I wanna buy the werewolf food, too.]
The stream only lasted eight minutes, but it took over late-night TikTok.
While Bryan was handing over ten sandwiches, the stream clips had already started going viral. Luke ate like he hadn't had a real meal in years and didn't waste a single crumb.
Overnight, the video reached twenty-three million views and five million likes. The hashtag "Larksprian werewolf eating sandwiches" shot straight to the top of the trending charts.
The comments section blew up with jokes and skeptics.
[The visual effects look insanely realistic. Someone drop the tutorial.]
[This has to be AI-generated. Man, tech is insane now.]
[The actor is killing it, and that Larksprian accent is perfect.]
[For one second, I actually believed it, then I remembered werewolves aren't real.]
No one believed Luke was a real werewolf fleeing from Asterland.
Everyone assumed Bryan had spent a fortune on top-tier special effects, hired a pro actor, and cooked up some elaborate script.
And that was when Bryan accidentally discovered the perfect disguise for the truth.
In an age dominated by CGI, AI, and staged content, the more unbelievable the truth became, the less humans were willing to accept it. Real monsters felt faker than fiction.
However, there were some people who knew it was real immediately.
The entire Shadow World in Larkspri went wild.
*****
When Luke returned to the crumbling house, he still carried several leftover sandwich bags in one hand. Sauce stained the corner of his mouth, and a faint blush lingered across his face from the humiliating livestream.
As soon as he pushed the door open, three equally massive werewolves crowded around him, their eyes full of shock and curiosity.
"Luke, where the hell did you go? I can smell a chicken biscuit sandwich on you, and humans too."
"What's that in your hand? Is that a chicken biscuit sandwich? Damn, it smells incredible."
"Did you get spotted by humans? Are we in danger?"
Luke quietly hid the sandwich bag behind his back. His ears drooped lower as he muttered awkwardly, "It's nothing. I ran into a human who gave me some food."
"Food? What kind of food? Is it a chicken biscuit sandwich? Come on, let me have a bite," one of the werewolves said.
Luke hesitated for a moment, then reluctantly pulled out a few chicken biscuit sandwiches.
The second the bags opened, the whole room filled with the smell of food. The three werewolves' eyes lit up as their noses twitched nonstop, practically drooling from hunger.
"Whoa, they smell so nice,"
"Man, that smells incredible. Luke, where did you get them?"
"I want one so bad."
Luke sighed and told them the whole story, including the livestream, the viewers, and how he traded a photo for food.
As soon as he finished, the room went dead silent.
The next second, the three werewolves lost it.
"What? You got livestreamed in front of over a hundred thousand humans?"
"We've been hiding for decades so humans wouldn't find us, and you actually went on stream."
"This is humiliating. The whole pack's reputation is ruined now. Wolfgang is gonna kill you."
Luke looked genuinely upset. "But the chicken biscuit sandwich was really good. And there was so much bacon in it."