Chapter 2
Erika's POV
I turned around. It was Richard, the son of Charles
and future alpha. Richard was already twenty-three and he would become the
alpha the next year. Charles asked him to do physical training with the young
warriors these days. I didn't know what mistake Richard made again. Every time
Richard made a mistake, Charles would ask him to join the training.
"Can I join the rogue-hunting?" he asked
expectantly.
Why? I asked through mind-link.
"Well... It sounds interesting. I want to go
out with you."
Richard, it's very dangerous. We go out to kill
rogues, not for fun. I explained.
"I can protect myself."
I'm sorry, Richard. If you insist, I will report it
to Alpha ...
I refused him. I didn't think he would listen to me
if he went into the forest.
"Save that!" He turned around and stormed
off.
I shook my head and sighed. I wondered if he could
be a good alpha. He was too childish for an alpha.
Nine o'clock at night, I changed into dark clothes,
pulled up the hood, and wore my black leather gloves. I always had my gloves on
to protect my hands until I needed to fight.
Ten minutes later, I met Orsen and James at the
training ground.
The plan is that you two go together. I'll be
alone. And don't let Charles know it. He is overcautious. But still, safety is
the priority. You two can't split up and should always go together. I'll take a
different path but we'll be very close. Once you get in danger or lose your
way, mind-link me. We'll meet each other at midnight. Understand? I mind-lined
them.
"Yes!"
"Yes!"
We went into the forest and separated under a giant
ancient tree. After two hours, we would come back to this place.
I walked alone. It was funny that
Charles was worried about my safety. For me, rogue-hunting was my way of
killing time. I had been on rogue-hunting for almost four years. I didn't even
know how many rogues I had killed. But I knew there were a lot of rumors about
a mysterious rogue hunter with black gloves, daggers, and a scar across my left
cheek. That was me.
Suddenly, I heard the crunch of feet
on a branch. It was a short and tiny sound from afar. But it was still within
my earshot. I took off my gloves, ready to fight.
I turned to where the sound came from
and clenched my fist. When I opened my hand, a dart appeared on my palm. I had
an invisible arsenal and I could summon any weapon I needed. I would choose
darts for sneak attack. At close confrontations, I would use my daggers or
swords. There was an "E" carved on my every weapon.
I heard someone scream. I couldn't
see clearly in the night. But judging from the sound, it was a man lying on the
ground.
"What the hell? Why did you
attack me? Oh, it hurts!" A bald middle-aged man cursed as he saw me,
grimacing. My dart was in his left leg.
What a wimp. It was not lethal at
all. He kept whining as if he was dying.
Sure enough, he would die soon.
"Can't you talk? Bitch, I’ll
kill you!" He shouted fiercely and looked brutal.
I couldn't communicate with rogues.
But my weapons could shut him up.
I took back my dart from the man’s
leg and twitched my mouth looking at the blood on it. Then I summoned a dagger,
the one I used for fighting. To be fair, I summoned a sword and gave it to the
man.
The man’s face changed. He stared at
my weapon with his eyes wide open. I was quite familiar with the surprised
look. My weapons and my gloves must have reminded him of some horrifying
rumors.
"You … you are…" He raised
his hand and pointed at me with shaking fingers. I shook my head and doubted if
these shaking fingers could hold my sword tightly.
I attacked him when he was off guard.
So I signaled him to have the first blow and waited for him to get prepared,
holding back the urge to yawn. I was always polite to guys who were about to
die.
He got my meaning and held the sword
tightly, his look turning fierce. He ripped his sleeve and bandaged his wound,
which was bleeding. Then he slowly got up from the ground, poised to attack me.
Now he was doing it right.
He summoned all his force and swung
the sword at me.
I moved sideways and avoided his
attack easily. He lost his balance and collapsed on the ground again, holding
his left leg and whining.
I waited for him to get up. But the
whining kept on and on.
I didn’t want to take him down so
quickly. But he was way too noisy and I couldn’t take it anymore. I took a deep
breath and thrust my dagger into his throat.
I regretted it the moment I pulled
out my dagger. What did I just do? I stained a dart and a dagger just killing a
wimp.
The rogue-hunting ended after I
killed three rogues. I went back the way I came. Orsen and James had been
waiting at the fork. They killed two rogues and seemed very excited. I praised
them for their good job and we went back to our pack.
The next day.
Today was the training for pups.
Fighting training was compulsory for men while pups and women could choose
whether to take it or not. It was the first weapon training for these pups.
Eighteen of them stood in two lines and the training began.
I summoned my weapons and taught them
the basics of weapons. I had all kinds of weapons in my arsenal, daggers,
swords, whips, bows, arrows, and darts. They were my toys since I had a memory.
I could both fight in human form and wolf form. But I seldom fought in wolf
form. The main reason was that I didn't need to shift. I was already strong and
quick enough in human form. Learning to fight in human form and wolf form was
equally important because werewolves could get poisoned easily and couldn’t
shift. But it didn't bother me. Actually, I was born immune to most wolf
poisons. That was why I survived a traumatic kidnapping when I was thirteen
years old.
During the break from the training, I took out a
bottle of water and drank it. At this time, a pup ran over and pointed.
"Alpha Charles and Beta Steve come in this direction."
I looked in the direction and raised my brows.