[Webnovel ©Lynnifer Ice]
(Trigger Warning: This chapter contains content about blood and homicide)
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Azariah's jaw dropped. She was bewildered at what she had just witnessed. What kind of creature could behead an animal in one hit?! When the dark figure turned toward her, she saw a glimpse of a golden glow. Well, you do not see that every day…
Azariah's torso was twisted to the side, her body aching; the rocks beneath her stung, even though there was fabric between them and her skin. Her hands were not as lucky; her palms had gotten cut and scratched when she tried to catch herself when she had been pushed out of the way. An arm, still covered by the shadows, extended toward her.
A hand, attached to the extended arm, outstretched. The figure started to lean toward Azariah as if offering to help her up. Alas, the moment she lifted her hands from the ground, the extended arm froze and tensed up. The figure's eyes cast a golden glow again.
"Blood…," a raspy and low whisper passed through the stranger's lip, "You're hurt…?" They rhetorically asked.
A male. At least she knew her supposed savior was a male. It was not the naga because their voices were of different tones. Azariah stared at the stranger as he knelt down just in front of her; the littlest sliver of moonlight dully outlined his features, not quite enough to see the little details. His hand came nearer, outstretched expectantly. Azariah arched an eyebrow, trying to figure out what species this male was from.
"Here. Let me see," the stranger instructed.
"Uh… No, that- that's fine," Azariah tried, coming to her senses. She pulled her stinging palms into her chest, her fight or flight instincts beginning to kick back in, "I'm okay."
"Give me your hands, Gamma" his voice deepened as he sniffed the air around her. That is just plain weird, she thought…
Gamma? Did the werewolf essence really work? Wait… Aren't gammas just part of the werewolf hierarchy or whatever? That means this guy is a werewolf! Azariah was unsure if she should congratulate herself for making it to the territory or scold herself for running into a werewolf so soon. The male rolled his eyes and grabbed her wrists, pulling them toward him, upturning her palms. She held in a gasp, surprised he was gentle, but she still failed to suppress a scowl toward the mutt in front of her.
"So dainty…," the stranger muttered as he inspected her hands, "Hmm, strange…." The male's hands slid from her wrists along her arms until they stopped on the underside of each bicep. Holding her tightly, he pulled her up to her feet as he stood with her. His eyebrows furrowed as he let go, "Interesting." His eyes traveled to her leather jacket; he brushed a finger over one of the puncture holes, "How did this happen?"
"The first encounter with…," Azariah trailed off as she pointed toward the headless leopard with an angry fist and rude finger.
"Hm," his eyes followed her finger over to the leopard before looking back at her. "There is dried blood on your jacket. Do you have other wounds, Gamma?"
"No, they… The wounds healed already," Azariah clenched her jaw, avoiding eye contact. She swallowed, sweat forming on the back of her neck as her arm came back to rest at her side. Something was off with this guy, but she was not quite sure what.
"When did you get them?" The stranger narrowed his eyes, crossing his arms across his chest. Azariah wished she could see his face, but the shadows kept it hidden from her view.
"Around sunset… Why?" Azariah cautiously asked, her hands repeatedly clenching and unclenching. Her blood was boiling inside. An enemy was standing right in front of her, and she had the perfect opportunity to strike; why was she not taking it?
"That's pretty fast for a gamma to heal. Even an alpha cannot heal that fast. If you have a quick healing ability, your hands should already be healing, but they're still bleeding. It seems odd to me," the stranger mused. "Where are you from, Gamma?"
"I… I don't remember," Azariah lied, looking off to the side. There was no way she could tell him she was from the opposite side of the mountain range. That would give her away for sure!
"You remember your name?" The stranger tilted his head to the side.
"Remy. Remy Camden," Azariah let the foreign name roll off her tongue, her left hand subconsciously going to rest on the pommel of her dagger. Her eyes finally came to meet his even though she could not stand the sight of him.
"Do you have a pack or clan, Mr. Remy?" His eyes traveled with her hand movement; he was not the least bit intimidated. He chose to ignore her subconscious threat.
"No. I don't think so, at least," Azariah's gaze drifted away from his. "I guess I'm a lone wolf?" She shrugged, itching to withdraw her blade.
"Come meet my alpha then," he unfolded his arms, extending a hand, "I'm Beta Leviathan."
"Who is your alpha, if I may ask?" Azariah pulled her sleeve over her palm before extending her arm and shaking hands with the beta with a forced smile; she wanted to end him, right then and there. Leviathan had such a firm grip, though, that Azariah grimaced. Her palm stung, and she had to bite her tongue to keep from whimpering.
"You don't know? Why… He's only the strongest alpha in the land," Leviathan replied, slowly letting go of her hand, "Alpha Arcadio Hrodwulf." The faintest trace of a smirk lingered on across his lips.
"Oh, I see. Why, though," Azariah innocently asked in a small voice. She wanted to vomit; she hated having to fraternize with the enemy.
"How old are you exactly, that you don't know that basic kind of information?" Leviathan asked Azariah, his suspicion growing.
"I'm twenty-eight years old, sir," Azariah answered monotonously, hoping she could play everything off if she just acted innocent.
"Twenty-eight, and you didn't know that simple information? Did you lose your memory at some point? Nevermind. Don't answer that. Just come with me," Leviathan sighed, grabbing her wrist, starting to tug her along, down the rest of the mountainside until they were on even terrain. He looked side to side as if looking for someone or something, "Huh. That's weird," he mumbled.
Azariah was fighting every instinct in her body to not slaughter him as he continued to tug on her as he directed her through the grassy plains with the early morning dew clinging to the grass and then along a narrow dirt road. Azariah kept looking around, trying to memorize the way back to the mountains. After all, she had never been this far before. Leviathan kept stealing glances back at her, finding her to be a very interesting gamma werewolf.
"You know," Leviathan began slowly, "You are awfully delicate for a male. I find you very…peculiar. I would have mistaken you to be an omega if I hadn't caught a whiff of your scent. Not to mention, you do not see many werewolves with hair as red as a ruby."
"O-Oh, is that so? I guess that is why you shouldn't judge a book by its cover, right?" Azariah tried to sound chipper, noticing that dawn was upon them. A small but warm glow of sunshine rose slowly on the horizon. Azariah wondered how long she had before the werewolf essence would wear off of her because she would have to keep reapplying it if she wanted her identity to remain a secret.
"I suppose so. By the way… What the hell were you doing in the mountains? It's dangerous between dusk and dawn," Leviathan furrowed his eyebrows, pausing in his step as he looked at Azariah for an answer.
"I…," Azariah stalled, wracking her brain for a plausible answer. Her eyes momentarily traveled away from Leviathan but then snapped back when she thought of something. "I was exploring," Azariah replied with a poker face.
"You were exploring in the dark…?" He repeated her answer. When she nodded with another forced smile, he began to question her intelligence. "Do you have a death wish, or are you just that dumb?"
"I'm not dumb…," Azariah scowled, trying to tug her wrist free, but he only gripped it tighter. "Can you let go, please? You're hurting my wrist."
"Are you a spy then, perhaps?" Leviathan tugged Azariah closer to get a better look at her face, grabbing her other wrist in the process, holding them up at chest level.
"No. I'm a hunter," Azariah blurted out before she could think of a better excuse. She wanted nothing more than to knee him in the groin; after all, she was in the perfect position to do so.
"You, a gamma, a hunter? Why would a hunter need to run from his prey?" Leviathan asked her in disbelief, "You let that leopard become the predator. Any werewolf would know better than to let themselves become the prey." He carefully scanned her, not missing the defiant look in her eyes. Then, his gaze lingered on the sheathed dagger at her hip, "You use a dagger instead of a bow and arrow to hunt? What metal is that made from?"
"Why do you need to know, Beta?" She spat her words out like venom. Screw having a low profile... She wanted to run her blade through him right now! She most likely would if her hands were not restrained. She may be the top assassin in her guild, but she did not possess inhuman-like strength.
"You're quite the firecracker, aren't you? Your looks aren't too bad either," Leviathan licked his lips, "How about we see how much fire you'll still have in you after I'm done with you?"
"If you fucking touch me, it will be the last thing you do," Azariah seethed as she finally kneed him in the groin as hard as she could.
He let go of her wrists, staggering back with a pained expression. He groaned as he cupped his groin. His eyes lit up, the golden glow returning. He growled, claws beginning to protrude from his fingertips. Azariah could not take a defensive stance quick enough before he grabbed her by the throat, slamming her body back against the trunk of a tree. Her hands immediately grabbed onto his arm.
"You little fucker-...," he snarled before he was interrupted by someone clearing their throat.
"Levi," an authoritative voice spoke with a low warning growl. Azariah became confused, wondering where the hell he came from.
"Alpha Fynn," Leviathan's eyes snapped to a taller, more muscular male with long willow-brown hair in a loose braid down his back. "I'm a little busy at the moment."
"What are you doing with that boy there?" Alpha Fynn pointed with his chin, his hands calmly folded behind his back as he stalked toward Azariah and the beta.
"Punishing a defiant gamma," Levi snarled, his grip tightening around Azariah's throat. Azariah coughed, trying to dig her nails into the beta's arm, but it hardly phased him.
"Not in the open, you aren't," the Alpha disagreed, stepping even closer until his hand gripped Levi's forearm. "Release him, Levi, before you lose an arm."
When Leviathan growled at Fynn, the alpha bared his teeth with a snarl as he tightened his grip further on Levi's arm. The beta whined in submission, his hand finally releasing Azariah. Azariah dropped to the ground, her fingers curling into the moss at the tree's roots. Her vision was hazy, but the bloodlust was coursing through her veins. She wanted to see red, paint the moss and nearby grass and dirt. She coughed hoarsely, a metallic taste on her tongue. She was livid. Her gaze darted up just in time to see Alpha Fynn strike Levi across the face.
"The next time you act out like this, Levi, I will have your head," Fynn seethed. Then his eyes glared down at Azariah, who returned his gaze with a look of pure hatred, "Get up, boy." Azariah slowly rose to her feet, her fingers twitching. Fynn huffed, shoving Levi aside to get in her face, "Your rank is beneath a beta, Gamma. Are you a rogue that you refuse to submit to authority? You have some nerve to refuse your superior's orders."
"I take orders from no one but myself," she barked, spitting on the ground. "I refuse to sleep with a sleaze bag. If he or anyone else tries to touch me like that, I won't hesitate to kill them. I don't give a flying fuck about rank."
"We'll see about that after you receive your punishment for insubordination," the alpha snarled, his frame leaning over her smaller one. Despite his intimidation, Azariah refused to back down. Alpha Fynn growled at Azariah, "Give me your name, Gamma."
"Fuck you, asshole," Azariah flipped him off. Alpha Fynn clenched his fists but chose to not raise his hand.
"It's Remy, Alpha Fynn," Levi spoke up. Alpha Fynn looked at him before grabbing Azariah's jacket and tossing her over and into Levi's body. Levi aggressively grabbed her left bicep.
"Take him to your cabin and whip some manners into that gamma, Beta Leviathan. Beat him until he's begging on his knees for his life. I want him to learn how to respect his superiors the hard way. Don't be lenient in the slightest," Alpha Fynn glared at Azariah as he addressed his beta.
"With pleasure, Alpha." Levi devilishly smirked before dragging Azariah to his cabin in an angry stampede.
Leviathan banged the door open, throwing Azariah into the cabin. She skidded on the wooden floor, immediately getting to her feet as he slammed the door shut. Her hand flew to her dagger, swiftly withdrawing it with murderous intent. As the beta stalked toward her, she laughed. He stopped in his tracks when the guild crest on the blade reflected. His eyes widened in the realization that he had been tricked. She was not a werewolf; she was an assassin from the Last Dawn slayer guild, and she was going to kill him.
"You won't receive any mercy from me, you filthy mutt," she laughed maniacally. "NOW, DIE," she screeched as she leaped for him.
He tried to block her attack with his arm, but as soon as the blade touched his skin, he howled in pain. He then understood, she possessed a silver dagger. She swiped again, this time slicing his right cheek. He howled in agony, grabbing a chair to block her attack as she went to strike again. She dropped to the floor and took out his legs with a sweeping kick. He fell to the floor, hard. She spun, pressing herself up with her free hand. She jumped over the chair, kicking off a nearby wall, her other hand coming to grip the hilt of her dagger. Before he could react, she drove the silver blade through his heart. Not a sound could come out of his mouth. She watched as his soul left his widened eyes, trained on her.
"Go to hell," she whispered, her words like poison being poured into his ear.
- End of Chapter Eight -