Lucius could not hold in his anger any more. He stared straight into the eyes of Marriate.
"Do you think this is all a sick game? You just killed an innocent woman who has been nothing but good to the people of this town! And you ask me to join you? And what..? You will kill me if I don't?" Lucius clenched his fist.
"Well Marriate! I want you to know that there's no way in hell I'll join you. If anything, I will kill you here and now. You've already killed about twenty to thirty people in total. I'll be the people of Gevudan a favor once I get rid of you." Lucius said through gritted teeth.
Marriate stared at him for a moment and then to Lucius' surprise, he burst into a fit of laughter. He then transformed his arms into wolf paws with claws sticking out.
"I never expected you to join me brother. I knew very well that you will never join me. You are a nothing but a self righteous child who thinks this world is a perfect home, yet what you have failed to know is that this world is rotten and needs the strong to reshape it. Humans are weak and thus meant to be controlled. I am merely taking out I deem necessary evil to the future of Gevudan." Marriate then slowly but steadily transformed into a full wolf.
"And if you won't see it that way, then I have no choice but to eliminate you here and now." Marriate then launched at Lucius at full speed. Lucius who was already at his limit jumped out of the way and quickly transformed. The environ was instantly filled with the sounds of grunts and growls.
Marriate slashed at Lucius' shoulder, meanwhile Lucius bit down on that paw and transfered electric currents through himself to Marriate. Marriate got tased and quickly jumped away. His arm had already taken the full brunt of the attack and thus was charred black, but as Lucius expected, it began healing.
"Let's face it brother, you can't win against me. You are weaker, slower, and inexperienced. If I wanted you dead, I'd have bit down your throat instead of slashing your shoulder. Without your magic, you're just an ordinary werewolf, weaker than even an Abberant. I will ask you again.. join me." Marriate said.
"My answer will remain the same. I would never join you, rather I will purge you from this world even if it's the last thing I do." Lucius said and began to silently chant a spell in his mind.
"It's this way! The beast took her this way!"
Lucius and Marriate heard voices of the villagers, possibly the hunters are amongst them as well. Marriate simply smirked.
"It seems we have to continue this discussion some other time brother. Perhaps next time, in a place where no one will ruin our heart to heart discussion." Marriate said and then transformed into his human self and ran in the opposite direction.
Lucius followed suit, shifting back to his human form. He knew that if the hunters find him here, he would be branded as the beast and therefore hunted down and eventually killed. The only action now was for him to leave the crime scene.
*
"There she is!"
"Oh my God, she's already dead!"
"Look, there seem to have been a huge battle here. Most of the trees have claw marks and also been hit by something huge."
"It seems there isn't just one beast, probably there were fighting for the right to feast on Madame Tussaud."
While the other hunters were speculating and sharing theories, Silvia squated down and touched the red liquid on the ground. She dipped her finger in it and brought it to her nose.
"No doubt, he was here." She said to herself. The blood had exactly the same smell and aura she had gotten from the stranger at the tavern.
"Is he a friend or a foe? Did he come here in search of the beast? Is he Alpha type here to punish a rogue wolf?" She rubbed the red liquid between her fingers.
"I have to find him and hear from him before doing anything. Either way, I will still take his head. All non-human must be eliminated, no compromising, friend or foe, I will still put his head on a pike later on." Silvia vowed to herself.
"Hey, Princess! Found anything?" A husky voice sounded behind her. She stood up and turned around to face the man who just asked the question. He was none other than Argent Gabriel. Rumor has it that he served in the French army and was one of the best tracker in the army, he also has an amazing record, so amazing that Silvia envied him. If she had half of what he has, she would be well acknowledged in the Qin Royal Family.
"Argent. The answer to your question is nothing. All I've managed to find is what everyone has deduced. There were definitely two beasts here, but I don't think they were fighting for the right to eat the victim, else she would be torn to shreds. No, it seems they were fighting for something else entirely. The marks on the trees suggests that one was definitely weaker than the other. The weaker one is probably heavily injured, and thus will need a place to rest and recuperate." Silvia said and stared at her fingers which was now coated red in blood.
"In essence, we need to comb the woods tonight and find the injured beast before it recovers. Once we find it and capture it, we can easily find the other one." Argent finished the sentence and his face was beaming with a smile.
"Not bad. You really are as skilled as they say." Argent praised her and then walked off towards the rest of the hunters.
"Everyone! Listen up! There's reason for me to believe that one of the beast is heavily injured. We need to comb every part of this forest and find it before it recuperates."
"Yes! Argent is really competent!"
"The record don't do him justice, he has already found clues in just a few minutes!"
Argent smiled and turned to see Silvia's bewildered face. He could not help but smirk. Did she really think that he would give the credit to her? A stranger from a strange land. Never, the head of the beast belongs to him and to him alone. He then turned his attention to the moon.
"I will find you, no matter what it takes. Killing you will bring me so much honor and your head will sell for much bigger price than what the King is offering."