I quickly dodged to the side, and in the next moment, a sharp knife whizzed past my ear, slicing through a strand of my hair.
"That was close."
Watching the fallen hair on the ground, my expression darkened. I couldn't help but mutter to myself. If I hadn't just moved, that knife would have pierced straight through my shoulder blade.
"Since you dared to ruin my wedding, you should be prepared to face the consequences," Jack's disdainful voice came from behind me.
Three years had passed, and he was still the same—arrogant and self-important, as if nothing could defeat him.
But as the Alpha of the Chishui Tribe, he should be that arrogant. Every time I thought about the tortures I endured after he gave me to Sally as a present, my body would tremble involuntarily, fear and disgust for him rising from the depths of my soul.
Now was not the best time to confront him; my strength couldn't directly defeat a werewolf with keen reflexes and explosive power.
I gritted my teeth, slightly bending my knees to prepare for a sprint, while my other hand quietly retrieved a vial of powder from my sleeve—something I had prepared for emergencies.
"What are you talking about? I don't understand."
"I'm saying that it seems we've met before, Miss "
The abrupt change in topic caught me off guard, and for a moment, I didn't know what he was getting at. Could he have recognized me? Although I was confident in my witchcraft, my heart raced at the mention of this subject by Jack.
"Oh, sir, your approach to flirting is quite inappropriate. Perhaps you should be with your new bride right now." I forced a smile, but my inner turmoil grew, my hands trembling. I couldn't tell if I was more afraid or excited; both feelings tugged at me from within.
One voice urged me to confront him, to teach this demon who had once harmed me a lesson, to cut away his flesh piece by piece. But another voice warned me that facing Jack head-on was a guaranteed loss and that there had to be a better way.
"New bride? She won't be for long. A promiscuous woman doesn't deserve to be the Luna of the Chishui Tribe." Jack's expression soured as if he had mentioned something filthy, his tone dripping with disdain.
It seemed Sally's favor with Jack was rapidly diminishing. I had achieved my goal for today; it was time to retreat.
"This is your domestic conflict, Alpha. You don't need to inform me."
"I was about to marry Sally. Do you have something to say?" Jack suddenly stepped in front of me, grabbing my hand and pulling me toward him with force.
I intended to step back but found myself pulled into his embrace. His head lowered, his nose pressed against my earlobe, lips brushing my neck, as if he were about to bite my skin.
I had indeed underestimated the speed of werewolves; he had closed the distance in an instant.
I twisted my wrist, and the powder spilled out, quickly enveloping the area in a layer of white mist. The mist didn't appear suddenly; it gradually thickened, so Jack didn't notice anything amiss.
"The powerful Alpha wants me to say something, or should I congratulate you on finding your beloved partner?" I was stalling for time, waiting for the potion to take effect.
"What... did you do to me?" Jack's words faltered as his eyes widened, staring at me intensely. He tried to pull away, but I quickly shook him off.
"You don't need to know. Just fall down obediently." I pushed Jack away and turned to leave. The potion would only incapacitate him for a while, and I needed to escape quickly.
"You're a witch, damn it." At the last moment before collapsing, Jack suddenly lunged at my heart with outstretched hands.
He still had strength left; my potion should have been enough to knock out several elephants.
I turned around and kicked at his chest. The werewolf's physique truly lived up to its reputation of being much stronger than an ordinary person. I put all my strength into that kick, but it only caused Jack to take a small step back. I was still caught by his grip on my arm, and my elegant dress was instantly torn. Deep fingerprints were embedded in my skin, and blood quickly flowed out, the wound even showing dark traces.
Fortunately, that was just his last struggle; after attacking, Jack fell to the ground.
I stood there in terror. Once I regained my senses, I gritted my teeth and covered the wound with my good hand, walking towards where the knife had just fallen. Perhaps this was my best chance for a counterattack, and suddenly I felt the courage to take a gamble.
"Jack! Jack! Where are you?"
"Alpha."
Distant shouts mixed with the sound of cars approaching.
It was over; they had found us so quickly.
I couldn't afford to worry about the fallen Jack anymore and lifted my skirt to run towards the nearby woods.
"Amelia."
A faint voice called out to me from the side. I was about to step forward when I quickly glanced in that direction and saw Dave standing behind a large tree, waving at me.
Thank God, he was right there.
I hurried over to Dave. He didn't say anything but took my hand and led me in the opposite direction. Under the soft moonlight, even in his simple white coat, he looked like an angel to me.
I don't know how long it took, but Dave led me through the woods to a small path where his car was parked. As usual, he opened the car door for me, but I could sense his mood was quite poor.
"Thank you, Dave."
"Never mind. But I really don't want to talk right now. Amelia, I clearly told you this mission was dangerous, yet you still recklessly went ahead. Did you ever think about what would have happened if I hadn't found you? What if those hunting werewolves caught you? Have you considered how they would deal with someone who harmed their Alpha?"
Dave's gentle tone was unusually irritable. When he saw the wound on my hand, his once large, ocean-like blue eyes narrowed. He frowned and grabbed my wrist: "You're hurt."
"I'm sorry."
I lowered my head, feeling guilty, but a warm current flowed through me. Although Dave's attitude seemed particularly harsh, I knew he was just concerned. Ever since I met him, he had been like a caring brother, providing me with the warmth of family—a feeling I had never experienced in over a decade.
"Forget it."
Dave took out his first-aid kit from the backseat and began to disinfect my wound. When he was about to bandage it, we both noticed that the dark edges of the wound hadn't faded; instead, the flesh seemed to be rolling out, looking even more grotesque.
"This wound might be caused by some toxin from the werewolves, and it could leave a long scar on your arm."
"It's fine, Dave. You know I don't care about that." I waved my hand dismissively. I didn't need to please others with my appearance; a wound was just a wound. I could consider it a badge of victory.
"Forget it. I'll think of a way later. Leaving such an ugly scar on such a perfect body would be a waste. God, I really don't know what you're thinking. Plus, dealing with werewolves is never just about confronting them directly. Don't forget they have their own wolves."
Dave's words struck me like thunder, sending chills down my spine. I had a nagging feeling I had forgotten something—something about the werewolves' own wolves. If the other side summoned their wolf, I might not have had time to drug him and would have been taken down. Thinking back, it was genuinely frightening.
"Got it. I won't be so reckless next time." Realizing my mistake, I obediently lowered my head in apology.
"Hope you remember what you said."
After finishing the bandaging, Dave shot me a glare and started the vehicle, driving towards the valley.
In this familiar environment, I closed my eyes in relief. This night had been exhausting enough.