It was a sensory overload; the flashing of lights, the scream of sirens, the swooshing of the helicopter blades overhead, the shouting of people on the bridge telling me not to jump, both from the emergency services and from civilians. This had all gotten out of hand. And to top it all off, the sun was setting and I was in trouble if it set before I got away. Big fucking trouble.

“Sir, please take a step back from the edge of the bridge!” A voice came through a megaphone, louder than the rest of the din. It cut into my head. “We’ve got people here who can help you son, it’s not worth it.”

“I’m not going to jump!” I shouted back. “I was never going to jump!” It hadn’t really occurred to me to jump, I was just looking at the water. I was trying to clear my head. This wasn’t a suicide attempt.I turned to them again. “Please, just leave me alone so I can go home. I wasn’t going to jump. Everything’s fine!”

“Son, we’re going to need you to step away from the edge of the bridge now,” the voice said. “Everything is going to be alright if you just come with us.”

“I’m not going to jump, I swear!” I couldn’t get through to them. I could see them talking to one another and shaking their heads. They pointed at me and talked to one another quietly and maybe it was my sleep-deprived brain, but I started to wonder of Lesander had sold me out and they were just using me jumping as a cover. If the full moon hit then they’d have all the proof they needed. They could either arrest me and test me or shoot me on sight. I didn’t know which they would have preferred.

I looked back out to the water. I know I’d said I wouldn’t jump, but if it came down to them carting me away or trying my luck in the river, I’d take the river any day. I looked to the sky, the orange sun dipping further and further below the horizon line.

I was started to sweat. If I was going to get away, it was going to be mighty close.

“I need to get through!” A voice shouted a little way away. I turned around to see a commotion, groups of people being pushed out of the way as forced their way through the crowd. “I need to talk to him. Let me through. Let me talk to him!”

I couldn’t believe it. It was Owen. It took me a second to register that Owen definitely shouldn’t be here. Owen was supposed to be in hospital, but I couldn’t quite let the smile fall from my face. Owen was here for me.

A policeman stepped in Owen’s path, putting a hand on his chest to keep him back. “Excuse me, sir, but you can’t come through here,” he barked.

“That’s my fiancé,” Owen said, sternly. “I don’t want anything to happen to him, please just let me speak to my fiancé, if it doesn’t work you can send me right back but you have to let me get closer.”

He looked over and caught my eye. He winked and my heart skipped.

The police let him through and he rushed over to the railing. He was wearing my jacket, the one I had left draped over the hospital chair which I’d obviously left my car keys in. Had he driven here? With one eye?

“Dante, what the hell are you doing?” he said, a solitary tear falling down his cheek. “How did you get here? You said you were going for a walk. This is not a walk.”

“I don’t…I don’t know,” I said, looking away from him and back out towards the river. I was trying to clear my head not kill myself, this had all gotten so out of hand. “I started walking and thinking and it took me here.”

“Well, you can’t do this to me okay?” he said. “I can’t do this without you.” He gestured around him, like he was referring to life, then he gestured to himself, like he was referring to himself and the baby he was carrying. My heart skipped. “I need you, Dante. I want you more than anything in this world.” I could see the words forming before they even came and my heart thrilled as they left his lips. “I love you, Dante Reynolds and I can’t wait to spend the rest of my life with you. But the rest of our lives can’t start if you’re over there on that bridge. So get over here, okay? Get over here with me.”

I leapt over the railing so I was standing right in front of Owen, me a little taller than him so he had to look up into my face. I forgot that people were watching, police, fire department, ambulance, and I leant down and I kissed him hard, wrapping him in my arms.

Cheers erupted around us and I laughed a little as we kissed. Owen pressed himself closer to me, apparently enjoying the attention. We stayed close when the kiss ended, leaning our foreheads against one another.

“Don’t scare me like that,” he said quietly.

“You really love me, Owen?” I said. “Do you mean it?”

“I do.”

“I love you too you know,” I said. “In case that wasn’t clear.” I reached a hand up and caressed his head, running my fingers over the already fraying edges of the bandage. “With or without this,” I added. “You’re everything I could ever want.”

“Oh, Dante.” He leant forward and kissed me again. There were a few half hearted cheers, but I was getting the impression we were milking it a little bit. The news vans were starting to pack away, the helicopter seemed to be turning around. Nothing tragic was happening, so we were no longer an interesting news segment.

Then I saw Owen.

At some point while I wasn’t paying attention, the sun had finally set, taking with it the light of the day and leaving us only with the night. And a full moon.

Owen was in full fur. Bipedal, sure, but fur had burst out all over his body, his muscles had bulged and it was still so clearly him because of the bandages over his eye.

“Owen…” I managed.

“I know,” he said, looking me up and down. I’d transformed too, dark brown fur all across my body. I hadn’t even really felt it. I’d been so in the moment with Owen that it had happened without me really realizing it.

Then I felt light on us. Not the light of the moon that had transformed us, but light from that pesky news helicopter. More sounds came from the people who had the megaphones, shouting things at us, telling us to stay still, not to move, not to do anything stupid.

A loud murmur grew within the crowd. Van doors were slid open, camera men bustling out and starting to roll once again. If we weren’t in trouble before, we were in big trouble now. We were exposed.