《Galduta》


 Gods amongst men

    he shut his eyes tightly and when he opened them again they were glowing red, his arms and legs lengthened and claws replaced his fingernails and toenails, his mouth grew into a snout and his ears grew pointy and shifted to the top of his head,his teeth fell out and newer,pointier ones grew, with the transformation complete he stood up and what appeared was a 7 ft tall monster with pitch black fur, dark glowing red eyes with sharp claws and fangs.


    scar faced man and the other defenders but something strange happened, the monster''s fur started falling off and it started shrinking, what appeared before them was a young man with a dragon tattoo running from his chest to his right wrist, shoulder


    length pitch black hair with cold silver eyes with a bare chest and shredded jeans pants


    Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.dress shirt, white pants, black shoes and a red tie with a white jacket which Nick accepted and took his time changing into, he motioned for them to follow him and began walking in the direction of the gang''s headquarters.


    the members of the rival gang who attacked his compound as well as the sole survivor. Nick stared deeply at the man in front of him with his deep, cold, piercing eyes before leaning back in his seat where half his face was obscured by darkness which made his eyes glow in a red


    light

 The power to stand above all

    in the city. It was one of those cold winter nights where Eren and the other orphans had to huddle together in a dumpster in an alleyway to keep warm, he was awoken by a feeling of discomfort coming from his stomach, his face paled as he felt the feeling intensifying as each second passed, he untangled himself from the


    mess of bodies he was under and quickly made his way out into the alleyway, as he got out he fell to his knees and started emptying his insides onto the white snow beneath him, he hacked and heaved as he finally vomited out a moldy piece of a hamburger bun which immediately made him feel better, as he shakily got back


    on his feet he slowly turned to make his way back to the dumpster but before he could even take one step he heard a voice filled with disdain behind him say


    so he continued to lay down and turned only his head to observe what little of the room he could, what he saw was an old dresser in the corner of the room and a full-length mirror off to the side, other than that the room was devoid of any furniture. As Eren continued to look around, the door to the room opened and


    a muscular man in a white tank top and grey jeans pants with a scorpion tattoo on his right shoulder walked in, the man was fairly handsome, he had a finely chiseled jaw line and small pink lips, he was slightly pale with dark brown eyes and in those eyes one could see arrogance and disdain, one could clearly tell this man


    was spoiled as a child.


    a glass of water in her hand and Carlton gestured with his eyes to give it to Eren who received it gratefully and sat up with great difficulty and greedily gulped down the water


    A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.with a scar over his right eye, the squad leader has a photograph of him, you are to leave immediately."


    other members of the attack squad.


    the lower half of his face was visible while the upper portion was covered in darkness, the only thing that was visible in the darkness were his eyes which shined brightly like two blood red lanterns, suddenly the beast said in a deep voice which bounced off the walls

 One called Fenris

    occurring inside Eren''s body and estimated that he would need two days before his first shift. Nick opened his eyes and thought aloud to himself


    In the blink of an eye two days had passed and just as Nick had said, there was a full moon looming in the sky


    If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.dead villager''s throat was slit, confusion struck them and murmurs broke out amongst them, it wasn''t until a deep growl came from Fenris'' direction did everyone quieted down and looked at him but what appeared before their eyes wasn''t the blonde haired, blue eyed man they were previously torturing, what they saw was a hairy monster with deep glowing red eyes staring at them with intense hatred.


    separated the shaman''s head from his shoulders, Emilia stood frozen in place as she watched Fenris kill her father.


    boy, they say the boy removed the beasts chains and the beast seeing the innocence in the boy''s eyes took him under his wing and raised him as his own while living in seclusion............"

 New Arrival

    him with a loud thud and fell down. Nick glanced down at the individual and saw a pair of brown eyes obscured by a mess of black hair looking up at him, the individual had fair unblemished skin, long legs and smooth small hands, one might easily mistake her for a model if only it weren''t for the gloomy atmosphere around her.


    a slim, average looking female with a nice bust and blonde hair with blue eyes, she walked with her head held high and with confident steps she made her way to the podium "My name is Veronica Weekes and I will be filling in for Professor Drakes as your substitute teacher for the next two months, I hope we can all get along and become great friends"


    from the students but eren being used to Nick''s antics by now continued as if it never happened "yes well, my name is Eren Fargas and I will be turning twenty this year, my hobbies are reading and playing chess"; seeing eren finished with his introduction Nick got up and said with a smile and warmth in his voice

 True fear

    As nick and eren arrived at the compound what they saw were bodies strewn across the floor and wounded men groaning in pain on the ground, seeing the condition of his men nick felt the rage he kept bottled up inside begin to seep out and eren being connected to him felt this and was influenced by it as his eyes began glowing in a yellow light.


    "SCAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAR!!!!!" everyone covered their ears at nick''s loud shout and eren with his enhanced hearing grimaced in pain, not even a minute had passed when a panicked scar came running out of the compound clutching his left hand, seeing his condition the rage in nick''s eyes reached an all time high until he was tightly clenching his fists till they bled, scar arrived in front of nick panting and said with a pained smile "did you enjoy school boss?".


    Nick felt his chest tighten as he saw the painful grimace on scar''s face as he tried to smile through the pain "who did this?" nick asked with cold anger in his voice, one could see his eyes glowing crimson with wisps of black smoke coming off of him "tell me what they looked like scar, give me SOOoooooOOMETHING" at this point nick was in a half transformed state with his canines jutting out of his mouth like small tusks and his voice was a mixtureof his normal voice and a beasts'' growls. Eren stood still in fear as nick looked like a complete monster at the moment, even more so than in his fully transformed state, "it was a heavily armed group of the Martinez family" scar said with a sigh after seeing nick''s state "if you''re going to go after them then please nick, please be careful"


    Nick paused before turning away from scar to face eren "get the boooysss and prepaaare to head to the martinezzzz headquarters, we have some weeds to get riiiid oooooof" he said as he walked back through the entrance of the compund in the direction of the martinez headquarters. Scar and eren watched him leave before scar turned towards eren and said "you are the only one who shares his blood which essentially makes you his family *cough* please watch his back while you''re out there" eren stared into scar''s eyes before giving a resolute nod and hurried to gather all capable members and packed them into the truck after arming them and drove off to the martinez compound before nick began massacring them all.


    Nick''s POV


    I felt intense rage as I raced over the rooftops of the city, I felt the cold hard concrete under my feet as I got down on all fours and picked up the pace, I had long since disposed of my shirt and shoes as I would have no need for them for what i was going to do to those fuckers.


    I felt my insides burn as i pictured them choking on their blood with my claws down their throats "how DAAAARE they attack those I hold dear! How DAAAAAAAAAAARE THEEEEEY" my vision started turning red as I arrived on the outskirts of the martinez compound, luckily I still retained a sliver of my sanity to know not to charge bindly into the fray even though there was nothing there which could kill me but it never hurts to be careful. I waited patienly and watched them from behind a tree, I saw they weren''t carrying anything besides some 9mm pistols and uzis with regular bullets, deadly for any mortal but to me they''re nothing more than an annoyance once I don''t get shot in the head and even then it''s only temporary death that awaits me, perks of being cursed to roam the earth forever, I smiled at that thought but the smile was quickly wiped away as I heard a group of men talking.


    " Hahahah did you see the look on those fuckers'' faces as we hit em? hahahha it was priceless" said one burly man with a deep rumbling voice "aaaaaah the screams of pain gave me an erection" said another, more slim man with a voice filled with ecstasy "you were always a sick fuck troy" said the third and final male of the group, this one was different from the rest as he had an air of professionalism about him which excited me as I had not had a good hunt in a very very long time.


    I slowly made my way towards the group of men and kept low to the ground as i approached the slim man from behind , I kept my breath barely audible to my own enhanced hearing and slowed my heart rate down as i waited for the perfect opportunity to strike. I did not have to wait long as the opportunity presented itself in the form of a twig snapping near my location, the man who''s name was troy head snapped in the direction the twig snapped "i''ll check it out" he told the others.If you encounter this narrative on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.


    My fingernails had long since turned to claws and they scratched at the dirt below me in anticipation for the kill, soon the man called troy was within striking distance and with a strong push of my legs i shot through the air and quicker than troy could react i pushed him to the ground and bit deeply into his throat before ripping it out and chewing on it, I slowly turned towards his two companions and saw the shock and horror plainly displayed on their faces as they took in the sight of me, this is the expression I love to see, this is the smell I haven''t tasted in almost six centuries, this....." This is true FFFFFffffffeeeeeeeear " I said while licking my lips and with my voice becoming more and more inhuman by the second.


    With a quick push I shot straight towards the burly man and swung heavily at his right hand which was reaching for a knife tucked in his boot, my claws made contact with his shoulder and tore their way through flesh and bone and with a tug his entire arm seperated itself from his body, he screamed at the top of his lungs but I just stuck my claws through his throat and the back of his neck and ripped his head off his shoulders and watched his headless corpse fall to the ground. The third and final man was the man with the professional aura around him, I turned in his direction but as I turned to face him he was already in front of me and stuck a knife in my guts and twisting it, i glanced down and saw the knife deeply embedded in my stomach.


    He leaned forward and whispered into my ear " guess all that ferociousness was just an act huh? in te end you''re just a pre-teen acting out against the world" those words triggered something inside of me which I haven''t felt in a long time, pure unrestrained wrath. I closed my eyes and felt all the changes going on in my body, I felt the knife in my stomach and felt it being pushed out slowly but surely and with a thought I sped up my transformation, I felt myelf grow taller and more muscular, felt the lengthening and hardening of my claws as well as my mouth growing into a snout.


    As i opened my eyes again I saw the man in front of me flat on his butt, gone was the smugness he had so clearly displayed earlier, I stood tall and threw my head back and unleashed a howl from deep within me. Looking back down at the still horrified man frozen in fear, I lifted my hand and brought it down onto his head, my claws easily tore through his skull al the way to his stomach and spilled his innards. I dropped to all fours and began devouring the man''s organs with gusto but was interrupted by the sounds of shouts coming in my direction, I growled at the thought of being disturbed from my meal but I would soon have more than enough to eat. Not being able to wait for the other men to come to me I decided I would make my way to them thus I took off in the direction I heard the voices coming from.


    When I got close I picked up the scent of a group humans carrying firearms so I slowed down into a steady trot and carefully circled around them until I was behind them, I saw a group of twenty men with a short individual leading them, female given the two lumps on the chest, I think i''ll leave her for last. I ran forward and hopped on to a tree branch so that I can have a higher vantage point, I followed them from above silently until they came upon the site of my battle a few minutes ago "My fucking god!!" one of the men said "what in the nine hells happened here?" seeing the gruesome scene in front of them some members of the group started emptying the conents of their stomach onto the grass.


    It was at this moment I decided it was time to make my move, I dropped down from the branch I was crouching on and landed on a man below me, I placed my palm over his head as he fell to the ground and ripped it off, I then threw it at a distracted goon before sticking my entire hand through another''s stomach before forcefully pulling it back out. I sprang upon them and swept through their ranks like a hot knife through butter, I ripped hearts out of chests, sliced throats and slapped one so hard his whole body flew back five metres.


    Soon everyone except the female lay dead on the ground, the blood slowly spread until the entire ground was dyed red, I slowly made my way towards the female while wisps of black smoke was constantly being released from my body and surrounding me wrapping my body like a protective cocoon, I reverted to my semi transformed state and grabbed the woman by her throat and lifted her up into the air


    "Leeeeet''s have a chaaaaat shall wwwwweeeeeeee? " I said to her and saw her eyes roll to the back of her head and smelled the the strong scent of urine and feces coming from her " Tch, Humaaaaanssssss "

 Welcome To The Family

    Nick''s POV


    I dragged the unconcious body of the female commander back to the martinez compund grounds and finished off the remaining members with minimal effort, upon completing that task I brought out two chairs and rope, tied the female to one chair and sat on the other facing her and then waited patiently for her to regain conciousness, now that I had taken a closer look at her and was somewhat calm I could see that she was fairly attractive, she had luscious pink lips with full eyes, her hands were calloused but soft and her body was scar filled but strangely I still found her attractive.


    As I was observing the woman she woke up and upon seeing me in such close proximity to her her face paled and her lips started quivering uncontrollably. Seeing her like this made me remember the times I hunted humanity without restraint, I remembered the eyes filled with fear and the thoughts that ran through my mind as I devoured their loved ones in front of them, I shook my head to rid myself of the thoughts and focused on her "Why did you attack my compound" her face further paled until it started to resemble a sheet of paper and in a quivering voice she said " I-I-I''m sorry, w-we didn''t know y-you were the boss-" I cut her off with a guttural growl and bared my teeth at her, if it''s one thing I can not stand is someone lying to me straight to my face so I took my claws and pressed them up against her left shoulder.


    "Let''sssss make this slightly easier shall we? you tell me why you attacked my base and I won''t have to separate your shoulder from the rest of your BOOoooOOOOddddYYYYY" As i said that last part I applied pressure to her shoulder and my claws easily made their way into her flesh which made her scream in pain "ALRIGHT I''LL TALK, FOR FUCK''S SAKE I''LL TALK!!!" upon hearing her I stopped applying pressure but I did not remove my claws from within her "The head of the martinez family, Carlos Martinez heard about a new family who had not yet solidifed their power and wanted to weaken them before they could become too big of an annoyance too quickly so he sent me and my team to do the job"


    I hesitated for a moment as I contemplated removing her head from her shoulders but eventually I decided against it "Count yourself lucky human" I said as I retracted my claws from her flesh and licked them clean, I felt a jolt run through my body as her blood entered my mouth and for a second I wondered if it would be better to just devour her now but before i could act on that thought I was brought back to reality by the sound of a vehicle approaching.


    What entered my sight was a truck carrying my subordinates and eren, the truck pulled up to the compound gates and everyone disembarked and quickly secured the area. Eren seeing all the dead bodies strewn across the yard was shocked if his gaping mouth was any indication, he quickly got over his shock however and ran up to me but before he could say anything I ordered him to pack the lady into the truck and leave some men behind to defend this area and after that I hopped onto the truck and still blood covered and waited for the others to get in to head back to our base.


    The ride back home was silent as everyone could sense my mood and knew it would not be wise to engage in idle banter. As we arrived at our base I hopped out of the truck and told everyone to meet up in my room as I threw the lady over my shoulder like a sack of potatoes and made my way inside, on my way to my room I ran into scar who I also told to follow me, we walked briskly to my room where I tossed the female commander to the floor and sat upon my throne and waited for the others to assemble.


    I did not have to wait very long as not even two minutes had passed when my subordinates started trickling into my room until they were all gathered and waiting patiently for me to speak. I cast my gaze over each of them until my eyes landed on scar, it was at that point that I finally made my decision " I believe you all might have some questions for me as some of you may have seen the.....strange things I have done from time to time which I shall explain in a moment but before that I have a question that I must ask all of you" I paused and drew a deep breath before continuing


    "If I were to offer each of you the power to never be trampled upon again by anyone, the power to go toe to toe with even the most dangerous of animals and come out on top, the power to take a bullet to the chest and still come out stronger than ever...would you take it? I''m sure you all must be thinking i''ve lost my mind but ask yourself this..... have I ever done or said anything to lead you astray?" I could see looks of skepticism on some faces, others I could see that they clearly thought I lost my mind and I decided it would best to give a demonstration "I see you are somewhat skeptical about this so how about a little demonstration? Eren....would you be a good boy and show our brothers your true form?" I could see a small smile form on his face as he stepped forward and turned to face the others.Love what you''re reading? Discover and support the author on the platform they originally published on.


    Suddenly he fell to his knees and his body started trembliing, the sound of bones snapping and shifting could be heard coming from him and the veins squirming underneath his skin were clearly visible, fur soon started sprouting all over his body as he grew taller and more bulky, he opened his mouth and eyes wide making it easy for one to see his teeth falling out only to be replaced by newer more sharper ones, his eyes changed from their previous brown to a yellow color and his feet snapped and grew new joints while his toenails and fingernails grew until they resembled claws, the final change came as a long furry tail grew from the bottom of his spine.


    soon his transformation was complete and what stood in front of my subordinates was not their teammate eren but a big, hairy monster with sharp claws and fangs looking ferociously at them. I got up from my seat and walked until i was standing directly next to eren and rested my hand on his shoulder, I felt his muscles tense only to relax as he realised it was me " this is what I offer you, accept and become strong or refuse and remain trapped in your weak human flesh as you watch everything you worked hard for be taken away by someone more powerful, choose wisely"


    I watched them all stare in shock at eren and I as they heard what I said, they stood in silence staring at us until a slim man with wise eyes stepped out of the crowd "If we a-accept the offer will we all turn into a.....monster?" he said with his voice trembling, I raised a brow at the question and chuckled " A.....monster, as you have phrased it is typically a creature that is often hideous and may produce fear or physical harm by its appearance or its actions, the word monster derives from the latin word monstrum, meaning an aberrant occurence, usually biological, that was taken as a sign that something was wrong within the natural order and while Eren and I aren''t made by nature we certainly haven''t done anything you humans don''t already do to each other which would classify us as monstrous, I have killed many in my time but what I did can never be compared to what humans do to themselves and others, you wage wars for profit, rape and kill because of jealousy and greed, but worst of all You humanssss don''t even see anything WRONG with the way you act but are always quick to judge and label others while mainting self righteous attitudes,you sit in your ivory towers and watch your fellow man struggle to survive without so much as sparing him a single glance,you judge me based on appearance but I judge your kind on their actions, i''ve witnessed AND experienced first hand the worst humanity has to offer so tell me,BOOOOY, WHICH OF OUR SPECIES IS THE REAL MONSTER HERE!?!?!"


    I had not even noticed I was in a partially transformed state as I was in such a rage at being called a monster solely based on appearance but at my question everyone in the room stayed silent, I could see some of them clenching their teeth and fists till their knuckles turned white but they eventually realized what I said was the truth, some dropped to their knees and cried while others stood silently staring at the floor as they struggled to take in everything I said and showed them, I felt a slight pain in my heart seeing them like this.


    "Forgive me for my outburst but there is a dark side to humanity you have yet to see and I can not overlook those who preach to me while they are ignorant to the darker side of mankind......but not all humans are bad as you have shown me, over the years we have grown close and while we may have our ups and downs I have come to think of you lot as brothers, so please brothers....won''t you accept my gift and allow us to become true brothers in every sense of the word?"my words seemed to have shocked them as I have never spoken to them so warmly before, I watched as they picked themselves up off the ground and lifted their heads and with smiles on their faces they shouted in unison


    ""WE ACCEPT, BROTHER!!"


    At that I smiled and signaled eren to begin, seeing the signal eren stepped toward the slim man who spoke first and grabbed him by the shoulders before bringing his muzzle down and biting down into his shoulder. The process repeated itself twenty more times until it was finally scar''s turn "WAIT!!" I shouted to eren as he grabbed him, I made my way towards scar and stopped directly in front of him, we stared at each other before smiling at the same time "I should have done this a long time ago...old friend" I said before transforming my mouth partially and biting deeply into his shoulder before pulling back and reverting my original appearance with blood covering my mouth, I affectionately looked at him and said with a sincere smile


    "welcome to the family, brother"

 Wild Hunt

    Nick''s POV


    I stood atop the roof of the mansion located on the compound overlooking my brothers preparing for the upcoming war against the martinez family, though I doubt it would be much of a fight but it never hurts to be prepared. They came to the city three years ago with nothing but the clothes on their backs but quickly made a name for themselves thanks to their leader Carlos Martinez, they took the organized crime world by storm and have a decent amount of respect among the other families,though they are not the number one family they are still very capable. Their boss carlos is a very ambitious man as one could tell by his trying to cripple my family before we could make a proper stand, it seems he thinks that because we''re newly formed we''re pushovers, well I guess it''s time to show him that that''s not the case I thought to myself with a smirk.


    I was brought out of my thoughts by the sound of approaching footsteps, I turned my head and saw scar coming towards me with his ever so serious attitude


    "Something wrong, old friend?" I asked. At my question scar released a deep sigh and said "That boy" he gestured with his head at eren below "Why did you decide to share your gift with him?" his question made me stop and think, why DID I make him like me? Was it the longing to be a part of a family? Was it me being the only one of my kind? I sighed and stared at eren "He reminds me of myself before I became..........this" I said with disgust in my voice.


    My answer seemed to shock scar as his eyes slightly widened before he asked "What do you mean?" he asked with confusion written plain on his face, I smiled and shook my head at him "that''s a story for another occasion, it''s time to leave" I said as I strode to the edge of the roof before diving off head first and flipped midair before landing on my feet with a thud causing the ground to crack slightly. That feat might be impossible for a normal human but for my kind it''s a minor thing, jumping off of a three story mansion is nothing to brag about.


    Scar on the other hand chose to take the stairs back down and soon stood beside me to adress my brothers, I glanced at him without turning my head and said in a low voice for only us to hear which would have made sense if only we weren''t surrounded by individuals with enhanced hearing "was the little baby too afraid to jump?" I asked with a teasing tone to which scar replied with his ever stoic expression "I just chose to do the sensible thing and take the stairs without risk of injuring myself foolishly". His reply elicited a few snickers from the men and caused my eyelid to twitch, I sighed and decided it was time to deliver my speech to my men before we get completely off track.


    I stared at them with a serious expression on my face which caused the few men snickering to stop and stand at attention, I nodded in satisfaction and said "Brothers, you all know why we are gathered here today. It seems a certain rat has set it''s sights on us thinking we are easy prey and we can be trampled upon without being able to do anything about it, tell me brothers, ARE YOU WEAK PREY WHO CAN BE TRAMPLED UPON BY ANY WHO FEEL LIKE IT!?!?"


    """"NOO!!!!!"""""


    "ARE YOU GOING TO ROLL OVER EVERYTIME SOMEONE WISHES TO HARM YOU?!?!"


    """"""NOOOO!!!!!""""""


    " ARE YOU MEN OR ARE YOU MICE!?!?!" instead of a verbal answer what I got was my brothers taking on their wolf forms and letting loose a chorus of howls, seeing this I let loose a feral grin and turned to scar "change of plans, tonight we hunt as a pack should GRRRRRAWOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO" I said as I shifted to my full wolf form and let loose a howl of my own before taking off in the direction of the martinez family compound quickly followed by eren and the others, scar included.


    we ran through the forest surrounding our territory with impressive speed and quickly made our way to the edge of the forest before bursting through the bushes and over the not so high wall which seperated the street from our compound. We ran through the empty streets of the city as it was midnight and this is''nt exactly the safest part of town , we ran through the streets and jumped over vehicles before I decided the rooftops would be much faster so I barked an order (quite literally) for us to climb the nearest building which was a two story chinese restaurant, we quickly climbed the restaurant and continued our journey across the rooftops.


    We soon arrived at our destination, a big mansion of four stories sitting on seven acres of land surrounded by a small forest with armed guards in and just on the outskirts patrolling. We observed while crouching to avoid detection from the roof of a building directly across the street from the martinez territory.


    As we continued to observe the enemy''s patrol patterns I decided it was time to begin the operation so I ordered my packmates to attack. I observed for a while and watched my pack tear through the enemies defenses silently before I decided it was time for me to join the fray. I leaped off the roof and landed on a tree branch, I waited patiently for a while and before long a lone martinez lackey came running in my diection unaware of my presence followed closely by some of my pack mates, I dropped down from the branch I was on and landed directly in front of him and my pack started circling him and I, I could smell the fear rolling off of him in waves along with the strong scent of urine, I felt myself drooling as I thought of feasting on his flesh and could no longer contain myself and threw myself at him but sadly he dodged by rolling to the side causing me to slide across the ground.


    I dug my claws into the dirt to stop myself from sliding any further and got up growling, my vision started turning red as I felt myself grow angry, no more games I thought to myself as I barked an order to my pack to surround the man.


    Lackey''s POV


    "I fucking hate night shift man" I said to Rick as we patrolled the outskirts of the forest together "all these creepy noises and shit give me the chills" I shuddered at the thought of what may be hiding in the dark


    "someone sounds like a pussy" rick said with a chuckle "there''s nothing in here that can harm you so man up and stop bitching", it was at that moment when something flew out of the forest and landed on rick causing him to fall to the floor, I released a high pitched squeal and fell to my butt in shock at what was hovering over rick, there stood a feral looking wolf like creature with dark gray fur covering it''s whole body with a long bushy tail behind it.


    The creature glanced back and growled at me before focusing it''s eyes on rick, it snarled in his face and before my very eyes it started tearing into his flesh and devouring him limb by limb. I stared wide eyed at the scene unfolding before my eyes unable to make a sound. I was soon snapped out of my shock however by the sound of snarling coming from behind me, slowly turning my head, I saw two more humanoid wolf creatures with silver fur approaching me slowly followed by similar wolves like the one feasting on my now dead partner.


    I felt the world slow down as I stared into the monster''s yellow eyes which seemed to contain the entirety of hell and it''s demons locked away inside, it was not until one of the two silver wolves leaped at me did I regain my senses and rolled to the side before scrambling to my feet and dashing off into the forest.Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.


    I refused to look back as I knew what awaited me if I did so, tears were streaming down my face and my pants had long since been drenched at the sight of these creatures emerging from the depths of the dark forest like spectres. I ran wildly through the forest too scared to even scream, I heard the constant barking and howling behind me and started running even faster when suddenly out of nowhere another wolf creature dropped directly in front of me causing me to skid to a halt.


    This monster appeared different from the others as it had black fur instead of silver or dark grey and had bulkier muscles, it stood taller than the others but the most eye catching thing about this creature was its eyes, its eyes were the deepest shade of red I had ever seen and it seemed to contain the fury of titans within them, but there was also something else within those eyes, an emotion buried in the depths of its very being.........pain. For a moment I was mezmerized but suddenly the beast began drooling and leapt at me, I was immediately brought out of my stupor and dodged by rolling to the side causing the beast to slide across the floor but it stopped itself by digging its claws into the soft dirt.


    The monster glared at me while growling and barked at the others, apparently it was giving an order to trap me in a tight circle. My eyes continuously darted from left to right as I tried desperately to keep all the monsters in my sight but sadly that wasn''t possible, I doubled over as I felt a sharp pain coming from my left ankle and looked down to see a gash from which blood was flowing freely like a waterfall, I had no time to worry about that however as I felt the same feeling of pain coming from my other ankle.


    I was on my knees now, I was too tired to attempt standing and I doubt I even could with my achilles tendons sliced, all I could do was stay on my knees and wait for them to finish me off. I whimpered as I watched them slowly creep towards me and then I saw something which made me doubt my sanity, I saw the wolf with the black fur and red eyes smile, IT FUCKING SMILED!!!! wait, if it can smile that means it has intelligence which means I can still get out of this alive.


    "PLEASE SPARE ME!!!" I started pleading for my life and crawling towards the alpha, or at least I assumed it was the alpha as the others seemed to be following its orders, I crawled closer and closer to it and it watched me with a strange gleam in its eyes ''It''s enjoying this'' I thought to myself, I could do nothing but grit my teeth and continue to make my way slowly towards it when suddently I felt an intense pain coming from my right leg, I looked back and saw one of the monsters tearing into my leg.


    I let out a blood curdling scream which seemed to excite the monster even moe as it tore into me with increased vigor, I used my other leg to kick the beast in its head repeatedly but I was stopped by another of these things biting into my other leg, another scream escaped my lips as I felt the pain run through my body like lightning. I laid on my back screaming as I felt the skin and muscle being separated from my bones by these vicious creatures, the two that were biting into me were soon joined by the others and I lifted my arms to cover my face which were also bitten and forced away from my face by the two silver wolves, they bit and tore my skin and muscles off my body and devoured them but strangely they were being careful not to kill me but made sure I was in extreme pain.


    The torture was soon stopped by a bark from an area just outside my field of view and I began thanking god for the break no matter how short it would be. I was soon interrupted from my profuse praise to the man above by the site of two piercing red eyes appearing above me, I stared into the creatures eyes as it stared back into mine and we continued for what felt like eternity until it raised its head and unleashed a loud howl which nearly ruptured my eardrums, I groaned in pain and shut my eyes tight till the howling stopped. When I opened my eyes again I was met with the sight of an empty clearing, I looked around and saw not one of those vile monsters remaining.


    I let loose a soft chuckle which soon turned into full blown laughter, anyone who heard me might think I was a mad man but after what I just went through I don''t care what anyone thinks of me. I was inturrupted from my joyous moment by the sound of footsteps approaching, my head snapped in the direction I heard the footsteps coming from and what came into view was a woman dressed in a black skin tight bodysuit with an emotionless face


    "Oh thank God, please help me!" I practically shouted to the woman as I watched her walking towards me slowly with that same look on her face, I began to sense something was wrong as the woman got closer and closer to me until she was standing directly over me "cruel creatures aren''t they? they didn''t think you were worth the effort to kill so they left you to bleed out" she said as she drew a sword from behind her


    "please......please......please don''t do this" I said as fear took hold of my heart as the lady pointed the sword directly at my heart "you''ll die anyway" she said as she drove the sword straight through my heart " I''m just making sure you dont suffer" she said and showed me a dazzling smile as my vision started to darken "bitch" I muttered before my world completely faded to black.


    Carlos Martinez POV


    I was at my desk going over the reports when suddenly the door to my office burst open, I looked up and saw my lieutenant, Gabriel in the doorway sweating bullets and gasping for air. I narrowed my eyes at him and with an authorative tone asked "What is it?" to which he took a deep breath and replied "we''re under attack sir, most of the men have already been killed so I need to get you to safety since you''re most likely the target" I felt the color leave my face and quickly pulled a gun out of my desk drawer before getting up to follow gabriel, we ran through the empty hallways and I heard the sound of gunshots and roars of animals which made me wonder just what the hell was attacking us,whatever it was it certainly wasn''t human.


    We quickly made our way down the stairs until we arrived at the entrance to the garage before kicking it open and entering where gabriel hurriedly took out the keys to the black bmw and fumbled until he managed to insert the key to unlock the vehicle, by that time the sounds of fighting and screams along with the roars gradually got closer to our location "Hurry goddamn it!" I shouted to gabriel as I hopped into the car and he stepped on the gas driving straight through the garage door.


    The car drove straight over the corpses of the dead guards and patrolmen causing it to jolt and jump before driving smoothly again, the sounds of fighting got further and further away as we sped down the driveway through the forest and crashing through the gates before going onto the streets. I breathed a sigh of relief and relaxed as I felt my heart rate gradually calm down "that was close" I said to gabriel to which he replied with a chuckle "indeed it was sir, but it''ll take more than that to-" he was interrupted by the sound of something heavy landing on the roof of the car and a gigantic arm piercing through the roof and entering his skull from above causing the car to spin out of control and flip over before crashing into a nearby building.


    I kicked open the door while coughing up blood and dragged myself out of the now wrecked vehicle and layed flat on my back before turning my head in the direction of my dead lieutenant who had a huge hole at the top of his head "i''m sorry" I said as a single tear rolled down my cheek. I layed silently wallowing in my pain when I suddenly heard growling around me, I turned my head in the direction of the growls and saw I was surrounded by hellish looking wolf creatures.


    I suppressed a whimper from escaping my throat and gave a defiant look to these creatures, I was stunned however by the sound of clapping coming from behind the monsters, they split into two rows and from the middle came a man with shoulder length black hair, red glowing eyes, covered in fur with claws which were dripping blood at the end of his fingertips wearing a shredded black jeans pants and a wide grin which did nothing to hide his sharp,pointy teeth.


    "Wha- What do you want?" I asked with a trembling voice to which the man-wolf responded with a chuckle " Do you have a moment to talk about our lord and saviour Jesus Christ? "


    I could no longer stay awake as the fatigue finally caught up to me and the adrenaline that was running through me lost its effect, my vision started fading and all I heard was the voice of the feral looking man saying " Helloooooooo, is anyone home? "

 A deal with the devil

    Carlos Martinez POV


    I opened my eyes and the first thing I noticed was that I was tied up in a kneeling position in front of a bored looking man sitting on a stone throne, he was resting his head lazily on his hand with his eyes closed and his feet lapped. As I gazed at the man I realized he bore a striking resemblance to the wolfman I saw last night standing amongst those hellish creatures, I retracted my gaze from the man and focused my attention to my restraints.


    "I wouldn''t do that if I were you" I heard a voice say, I looked up in shock only to see the man on the throne looking at me with his piercing silver eyes, ''never seen that color before'' I thought to myself. "What do you want?" I asked him as I stared into his eyes, the man chuckled and said "well I would have talked with you in your office last night but your guards were very adamant abouy you not being disturbedso I did the logical thing and kidnapped you, *sigh* such poor manners they have, no?." I saw a slight smirk on his face which irritated me, I ground my teeth as I felt my blood boil "You are TRULY infuriating!!" I shouted "touchy, touchy" the man said with his smirk still present.


    "Now i''m going to ask you a series of questions, answer truthfully and you get to live, I don''t think I need to tell you what would happen if you lie" the end of the sentence was said with such a cold tone it could make a penguin shiver "what is it you wish to know?" I said begrudginly which caused a smile to return to his face. "It seems the rumors about you are true indeed, you are a smart man" he said in a teasing tone before continuing with a more serious expression "Did you send people to attack my compound and if so I want to know why"


    I sighed and said in a tired tone "It''s just business young man, a man in my position must never show weakness, letting a potential enemy run around would be......unwise". I saw a frown on his face but whether it was due to my response was not my concern, I was too busy trying to subtely loosen my restraints when suddenly the man disappeared from where he was sitting and appeared in front of me, my eyes widened at his speed as his hands snaked around my throat and hoisted me up causing my feet to dangle in the air.


    "ahhh" the man sighed "Mr Martinez, I really hoped you would heed my warning and stop trying to escape, now I have no choice but to kill you" he said with that aggravating smirk still on his face, "you wouldn''t be......so smug if.....I was free" I managed to say after several gasps. The young man raised a brow and adopted a thoughful look until he finally said "as you wish" before dropping me to the floor and unbinding my limbs, I got up shakily as my legs lost feeling after being bound for so long. When I managed to finally stand up properly I looked up and saw my captor waiting for me patiently, seeing me back to normal he gestured with his hand for me to attack "Let''s see what you have, old man".Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road.


    I looked at him warily and started circling him, he on the other hand simply stood there with his hands in his pockets looking on with a slight smirk and a disinterested look. I charged at him with my fist aimed at his face, he lifted his hand to block my punch but I redirected my fist to his abdomen causing his eyes to slightly widen in surprise, he jumped back to put some distance between us which brought a small smile to my face along with the feeling of satisfaction


    " I''m starting to think the only reason you were able to successfully kidnap me is due to an ambush" I said with the same smug expression he previously had on his face when suddenly he disappeared from his position, my eyes frantically searched the large room for any sign of him when suddenly I found myself being hurled backwards before slamming into the wall and falling to the floor, I felt my vision get blurry but it gradually cleared up as I sat there on the ground gasping for air.


    "Mr Martinez, my oh my, what on earth happened to you?" I saw the man come walking towards me with an over-exaggerated shocked look on his face " Guards, please help Mr Martinez, he''s been gravely injured" he continued in a high pitched voice, "fine..........you''ve made your point" I said through gritted teeth "if I am to die then at least it is by someone who''s skilled enough to best me in combat"


    "well sorry to be the Debbie Downer but that wasn''t much of a fight" he said as he looked into my eyes "but you don''t have to die either, old man", I was confused by the statement and seeing my confused expression he explained "let''s make a deal, I spare your life and loan you some of my men to protect you from any opposing parties and become permanent business partners, as you''ve seen my men and I are verydangerous enemies....but we make even better friends" he said with a feral grin" so what do you say? Do we have a deal?"


    His face was obscured by darkness causing his eyes to glow red as he looked down on me and offered me his hand which I took, as soon as I took hold of his hand it felt like my hand was being stabbed by a million needles dipped in liquid nitrogen, my body froze up and I could feel that whatever entered my body was steadily making it''s way to my heart but stopped just before reaching and that was when I could finally breathe again.


    "What.....was that!?!?" I asked as I gasped deeply, "That....well let''s just call it a safety measure, for your protection and all that" he said with a bright smile "Now you just wait here while I get someone to escort you back to your compound" he clapped once once and in walked a well built man with a scar over his right eye and a neutral expression on his face who walked up to the silver eyed man and bowed slightly "Scar, would be so kind as to take Mr. Martinez here back to his compound....and send some of the men there for protection" he said to the man who''s name turned out to be scar who nodded and helped me to my feet before escorting me out of the room.


    " A pleasure doing business with you" I heard a voice from behind me say, I turned my head back only to see two deep glowing red eyes peering back at me in the dark room just before the doors closed in my face.

 Stranger Things

    Sitting at a desk in the Central city police department was a young woman with slightly tanned skin with hazel eyes and pink, full lips. Although the room was dimly lit her beautiful features could easily be made out and one could see her frown as she flipped through the pages of a file.


    "This doesn''t make sense" she whispered to herself as she continued to flip through the pages "If everyone at the scene was dead and the location was that isolated then who made the call?" she asked out loud to no one in particular, she pulled out her cellphone and quickly dialed a number, the phone rang a couple times before someone picked up.


    "hey Bernie, did you notice anything strange about the report on the martinez case?"


    "umm no, why?"


    "well if everyone was dead and the compound is so isolated then who made the call"


    " An annonymous tip, apparently the compound was attacked that day by the lupine family"


    "The what family?" She asked


    "A new crime family, stepped on the scene about three years ago, they''re a small group but none of the other families have made a move against them except the martinez family sent a squad to attack their base. Let me see if I can find out who is the boss of this new family..............aaaaaaaand done, you''re looking for one Nicholas Lupine, age twenty-five currently attending Southridge University studying History and Human Psychology"


    "Thanks Bern, be seeing you"


    "Hey take it easy Emily, go home and get some rest, knowing you you''re probably still at the office."


    "Will do" she said before hanging up the phone. She carefully placed the file back into the cabinet and turned off the lights while grabbing her belongings before making her way out the door and heading down the stairs to her car.


    ------One Hour Later------


    Emily walked through the front door of her and her sister''s two bedroom house and was greeted by the sound of silence. She wearily tossed her bag to the floor and took off her coat before hanging it up on a hanger, she glanced at the clock hanging on the wall and saw it was two in the morning. Dragging her feet, she made her way to the kitchen to prepare breakfast which was quickly devoured before making her way to the bedroom and flopping heavily onto the bed, staring at the ceiling fan spinning slowly above her head she felt her eyelids grow heavier and heavier until she finally allowed them to completely close.


    Emily awoke to the sound of the alarm blaring loudly in her ear, she lifted her arm up and slammed it down heavily halting the incessant blaring. She lay there with her face buried in her pillow for a few minutes before rolling over to the edge of the bed and throwing her feet off the sides and sitting in an upright position.


    stifling a yawn with the back of her hand she got up and begun stretching before she headed to the bathroom to attend to her basic needs. As she stepped out of the bathroom she recieved a call


    " hello"


    "hey emily, so I just looked deeper into the case you''re working on and discovered something really interesting"


    "can''t it wait bern? i''m kind of in the middle of something"


    " I think you''ll wanna hear this"


    Emily sighed before replying "what is it?" to which Bernie excitedly continued


    "Ok so I went over the autopsy reports on Carlos Martinez''s men and you''re not gonna believe what I found. The victims all show signs of being mauled by some sort of animal! Canine if i''m not mistaken."Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings.


    " So you''re saying the victims were mauled by a pack of dogs? truly fascinating bern, really." emily said in a joking manner


    "That''s not the best part, not that there''s anything good about this cause who would want to be mauled by dogs or any type of animal for that matter, that''s not even the worst way to go I mean look at-"


    ''''Bernie, Focus" emily cut him off as he started to ramble ''guess it comes with age'' she thought to herself as she made her way to the bedroom to change her clothes


    "Right, my apologies. As I was saying, The victims were mauled by canines yes but not by regular dogs, the teeth marks are too big to be any average dog, they''re closer to wolf bites" Emily paused as heard bernie''s statement, disbelief plastered on her face


    "You''re telling me there are wolves running around attacking people? *heavily* armed people?" she said emphasizing the word.


    "Not any average wolf mind you, by the size of the teeth i''d say we''re dealing with some form of mutated species" Bernie passionately said before continuing "I''ve always found wolves......majestic"


    " riiiiiiiight, thanks bern i''m gonna go have a chat with our little friend, talk to you later"


    She said before hanging up the phone and preparing to leave the house, making her way out the door she stopped to take in the atmosphere before continuing to her car and heading to the suspect''s school.


    -------Several Hours Later------


    Emily pulled up to the front gate of Southridge univeristy and exited her car before making her way to the security checkpoint. After successfully getting past security she proceeded to question everyone she passed about the whereabouts of nicholas lupine until finally she came across a young man with piercing silver eyes, long black hair and a handsome face sitting down on the grass staring up into the sky seemingly lost in thought.


    As she stared at the young man she could not help but to get the feeling that somehow he seemed familiar, she snapped out of her trance as she heard the young man ask " Something you need miss?"


    Emily''s face flushed before she quickly regained her composure " Yes sorry to intrude on your....meditation but do you know anyone by the name of Nicholas Lupine?" she said while flashing her badge. The young man flashed a quick smile at her before standing up and dusting off his pants with his hands and reached out to her for a hand shake " it''s a pleasure to meet you miss-" emily took his outstretched hand and introduced herself "Waller, Emily Waller"


    she saw the smile on nick''s face slowly disappear as he continued to look into her eyes, emily felt a chill run down her spine as she stared into nick''s eyes. Nick finally let go of her hand and said with a serious attitude "What can I help you with detective Waller?" which allowed emily to shake off the feeling of being watched by a predator "right......right......Mr Lupine we have reason to believe you were involved in a murder case i''m currently working on"


    "Reaaaaaally?" He said with a glint in his eyes "Do you have any evidence to support your statement? I mean that *is* standard procedure correct?" he asked with a playful smirk plastered on his face "yes bu-" emily began but was interrupted as nick continued " no worries, what is it you wish to know?" he asked catching emily off guard as she was not expecting him to be so co-operative "w-where were you last night?" she asked "why I was at home of course, ask my dear friend Eren"


    "And who might I ask-"


    "Sup Nick" she heard a voice say from behind her"who might your friend be?"


    Emily quickly spun around and saw another tall young man with silver hair and a dazzling smile on his face "Where did you come from!?" emily asked slightly taken aback by the stealthiness shown by this fellow who looked as if he walked with the grace of an elephant.


    "Eren Fargas at your service" the man said with a small bow " what can I do for you detective?"


    "were you two together last night?" she asked


    "Yes, we were studying for a psychology exam last night.....which we are late for, are we finished here?" eren asked as he checked his watch, emily narrowed her eyes at them suspiciously but eventually said "you''re free to go......for now" and stood aside as she watched them walk off ''something''s not right about those two'' she thought to herself ''and what was that strange feeling I got when I first saw him'' she wondered as she thought back to the moment when she first saw nick sitting looking tranquilly at the clouds above, she recalled the feeling she got in her heart and frankly it made her uncomfortable.


    Shaking herself out of her thoughts she made her way back to her car before driving. Meanwhile on the roof of a nearby building stood two figures, a tall young man with black shoulder length hair and silver eyes and the other was similarly tall with silver hair and brown eyes


    "Keep an eye on her" the silver eyed malesaid to which the other replied "as you wish" before running off along the roof of the building after emily''s car. The other kept his eyes on the car as he watched it quickly travel down the road and said "tread carefully little one, some thingsshould remain unknown" in a deep rumbling voicesimilar to that of a demon before turning away.

 Dangerous games

    Nick was on his way back to his classroom when suddenly he heard an unfamiliar voice calling out to him "Hey you, the girly looking guy" he paused mid step briefly before continuing but was again stopped by a hand grabbing his from behind


    "let go, boy" he said as he turned around "jeez dude, chill" said the owner of the voice which turned out to be a blonde, fairly short fellow with pale skin and thick glasses "I was sent by professor weekes, she told me she wanted to see you in her office" he said before turning and walking away. Nick stood there for a moment thinking about what Ms weekes could possibly want but ultimately he decided to just go see her, he quickly made his way to her office and coming from inside the room he smelled the scent of chammomile.


    He knocked on the door and heard Ms Weekes tell him to come inside, upon entering the room the smell of chammomile intensified and caused nick to feel light headed "Mr Lupine" Ms weekes looked up from her work and gave him a smile "please have a seat i''ll be with you in a moment" she said and gestured for nick to sit down in the seat across from her. Observing the room, nick saw it was filled with shelves upon shelves of books "You''re quite the avid reader" he said while still looking around "ah, yes indeed" Ms Weekes replied without lifting her head "most of these books are based on mythology" at that statement nick raised a brow "What kinds of mythologies if you don''t mind me asking"


    Hearing Nick''s question Veronica stopped writting and looked up at him, smiled, got up and walked to a bookshelf at the far end of the room before taking out a thick, ancient looking book. She walked with the book in her shaking arms and dropped it heavily onto the desk directly in front of nick, she began flipping through pages quickly before stopping at a page of a man with long white hair which stopped at the waist, his face was oval shaped with a small nose and lips, his face was delicate enough to be mistaken for a girl and if he wasn''t bare chested then he would have been, all in all the man looked like the type to have never wielded a sword if only there wasn''t a human skull in his hand hovering over his head dripping blood directly into his open mouth which was filled with shark like teeth.


    A look of recognition flashed in nick''s eyes "Cain" he said "oho you''re also interested in mythology I see" Ms Weekes said with a smile on her face "It is said that Cain and his brother Abel were farmers who used to make sacrifices to a deity, one day as they were making their sacrifies the deity favored abel''s sacrifice over cain''s causing him to feel jealous, he struck his brother down and killed him which caused the deity to become disgusted with cain and his actions so he was cursed to wander the earth. Supposedly he made a city somewhere and started a family and seeing this the deity cursed cain to roam the earth feeding on the blood of his children forever........kinda makes you wonder what sort of fucked up things are out there" she said before quickly placing her hands over her mouth and putting on a pitiful expression "please don''t tell anyone I said that" before flipping through more pages and stopping at another page.


    The image on the page was that of a humanoid wolf covered in black fur with red eyes feasting on the corpse of an old man and surrounding them were more corpses, in the background buildings were on fire and under the image were the words ''Wselfwulf,the eternal terror'' nick stared long and hard at the image as he grinded his teeth "are you familiar with this one as well Mr Lupine?" veronica asked to which nick smiled as he looked up at her and said " I can''t say that I am".


    Veronica smiled and said "I''m not surprised you haven''t, not much is known about this one" she ran her finger over the image and continued "The only thing known about it is that it was unkillable, the beast terrorized humanity for centuries before it was finally brought down by a woman called Flidais and was chained to a White Oak. This..... this is my favorite myth" veronica said with a fond smile before making her way back to her seat "now for the reason i''ve called you here" she began when suddenly nick''s eyes started feeling heavy and the world slowed down "nick?" veronica said with concern in her voice "yh.....im just.......i''m.......just" nick said as he struggled to stay awake "what......did you....do?" he asked through gritted teeth.The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.


    It was then that the pleasant aura around Veronica and her friendly smile was replaced by a cold aura and an emotionless expression "you''re not so tough z''ev" she said and all nick could see was a pair of cold eyes staring at him as he lost conciousness.


    ------Meanwhile-----


    Eren crouched low on the roof of a building as he watched Emily exit her car and make her way into the police station, during the entire trip he neither smelled nor saw anything weird about her but the boss told him to keep an eye on her so that was what he would do. He just could not for the life of him see what was so special about this female, eren waited in the same position for nearly three hours before deciding to get closer to see what was going on, he made his way down from the roof and circled around the station.


    He crouched in a bush located to the side of the building before closing his eyes to focus his sense of hearing to pinpoint emily''s location


    "Yeah I know it''s a possibility Bern but without evidence we can''t do anything about it"


    "the guy is a mob boss, everything he does is illegal, how hard is it to get an arrest warrant out on him!?"


    "we don''t have enough evidence to arrest him anyway, we can''t march in and say ''he''s a gang leader, arrest him'' it''s just not done that way"


    "you can just..........tch fine"


    Eren heard footsteps walking away and a door slam which he took as the end of the conversation. From the location of the voices he figured his target was at the back of the building on the second floor so he opened his eyes and with a bit of concentration his fingernails grew long and sharp, he dug his claws into the building and started his steady ascent.


    He easily made his way through an open window when he was sure no one was around to witness him trespassing and jumped up to a dark corner of the ceiling. Eren stayed stock still with his claws firmly in the ceiling to keep him in place as he observed his target work well into the night, it was not until her superior told her to call it quits did she decide it was time to leave.


    Eren followed closely behind her as he moved silently along the celing and easily slipped through another window close to the door and made his way to the roof of the building to get a better view of emily. Emily hopped into her car and headed home completely unaware of her persuer as she drove along the streets, as she pulled up to her house she began to sense the strange atmosphere and immediately she felt like a pair of eyes were locked on to her, she cautiously observed her surroundings which were once familiar seemed so foreign now.


    After not noticing anything out of the ordinary she shook her head and muttered to herself "Get a grip Em, you''re losing it" as she made her way into her house, unbeknownst to her a shadow slipped into her house silently behind her before she closed the door. Making her way down the long corridor emily stopped in the doorway to am empty room, as she stared into the room a sad look emerged in her eyes "where are you Natasha?".she was interrupted from her thoughts when the sense of impending doom crashed upon her like a tsunami, she immediately rolled to the side and no sooner had she done that a huge hand which ended in claws sliced through the air where her head was previously.


    Emily dove under her sister''s bed where a chest gifted by their grandfather was located, she pried open the chest but was grabbed by the ankle and dragged from under the bed causing the contents of the chest to spread out across the floor and among them was a silver revolver. Emily was flung across the room and slammed into a wall, her vision became blurred as she lay sprawled on the floor gasping for air. Suddenly the blurry figure of a creature with a long muzzle and triangle shaped ears at the top of the head appeared in her vision, emily stretched a shaking hand towards the direction of the gun laying on the floor just as the creature''s head came down close to her face and grabbed the gun before squeezing the trigger causing a bullet to lodge itself in the creature''s shoulder.


    The beast unleashed an angry howl while stumbling backwards, emily seeing the creature''s weakened state fired another shot which penetrated the beast''s thigh, upon realizing the situation took a turn for the worst the beast turned tail and ran. Emily stayed alert waiting for the beast to come back and attack at any moment but after several minutes of silence she finally allowed herself to relax, as she relaxed her guard an intense wave of exhaustion hit her like a hammer and she felt like her body was devoid of energy, she reached a shaking hand into her pants pocket and fished out her cellphone to call bernie but before he could even get the chance to answer her call she fell to the floor and slowly her eyes completely shut and her world faded to black.

 It Begins

    As emily opened her eyes she immediately noticed she was not in her room, she tried to sit up to get a better view of her surroundings but was stopped when she heard a soft voice beside her


    "Heeeey em, how''re you feeling?"


    She looked in the direction the voice came from and saw bernie with a worried look on his face with his greying deshiveled hair and slightly wrinkled clothes, at the moment he looked older with his eyelids hanging low and red eyes.


    "I''m fine" she began "some aches and pains here and there but nothing I can''t handle" emily said and offered a small smile to alleviate his worries "you were pretty hurt last night, whatever happened must''ve been quite something, mind telling me how you got so banged up?" he asked as he stared intensely at emily.


    "It...... it was a wolf bern and yet it wasn''t" emily said with uncertainty in her voice as she broke her gaze with bernie, it was at that moment that a middle-aged man in a white long overcoat carrying a clipboard walked into the room and stood at the foot of emily''s bed.


    "Good morning Ms. Waller" he said with a smile on his lips "good to see you in such good health, when you came in last night you were in terrible shape, you sustained a few broken ribs and a minor concussion but given enough time you should be fine as long as you get enough rest, you''re lucky to have such a good friend" he said, meaning bernie "still though, we''re going to have to keep you here for a few days to make sure nothing is wrong before we release you, if you''ll excuse me" he turned around and left.


    Emily tried yet again to sit up and bernie seeing her struggling to complete the task placed his heart on her back for support and adjusted the bed, "thanks" she said with a slight smile "how did you know I needed help?" she asked to which bernie smirked "c''mon em, when don''t you need my help" he ran his hand through the mess on his head in an attempt to make himself more presentable before dropping his joking demeanour "what do you mean by it was a wolf but not a wolf?" he asked as he fished inside his pants pocket and took out a single cigarette, emily raised a brow at him which made him catch himself "ah sorry" he said with an embarrassed smile as he tucked the cigarette away in his breast pocket "it''s a bad habit" emily shook her head and said "it''s bad for your health is what it is"


    Bernie chuckled and replied "getting the shit beat out of you can''t be good for your health either but you don''t see me judging you" emily shrugged "Touche", a long silence engulfed the two friends but was eventually broken by bernie "listen em, about what I said at the office, I was jus-" but was interupted by emily "it''s ok, I know you didn''t mean it" silence once again overcame the two as they sat staring at each other "well this isn''t awkward at all" bernie said as he stood up "i''m gonna go get something to eat, you want anything?" emily shook her head and with that bernie left the room.


    Sitting alone in the room she could not help but to recall the events that transpired last night, she clenched her fists and gritted her teeth in as much anger as well as fear as she remembered how helpless she felt and how close to death she came when facing the beast, a shiver went down her spine as the image of those sharp teeth hanging over her head flashed through her mind.


    She was snapped out of her thoughts by the voice of bernie " i''m sorry em, station called, I have to go" he moved to the door but his hand stopped just before making contact with the handle, he looked over his shoulder "you don''t need a babysitter do ya kid?" he said and laughed before walking out the door.


    " Son of a- that was one time!!!" emily shouted with a flushed face "hey, i''m not the one who was too scared to be by herself" he said walking further and further out the door "I was seventeen and drunk dammit!!"


    Emily sighed and turned to the window, over and over again the image of the beast kept running through her mind, silver fur and sharp teeth as well as two glowing yellow orbs were all she could think about, the thought of her coming close to death haunted her and gave her the feeling of helplessness as well as opened her eyes to just how easily her life could be snuffed out.


    She clenched her fist and gritted her teeth as she kept replaying last night''s scene in her head "Never again" she said in a low voice, almost a whisper "never again will I allow myself to be so helpless"


    -------Back at the Lupine Mansion-------


    Eren stumbled through the gates to the compound with his hand firmly pressing against the wound on his shoulder, long had he reverted to his human form as sustaining his wolf form was putting a strain on his injured body and now that the sun had risen and people were out and about secrecy was required.


    He staggered down the path from the gate leading to the court yard where his brothers were training who upon seeing his condition came running to his side to lend him supportIf you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.


    "where''s.......nick?" eren asked with labored breaths, perspiration could be seen on his forehead and it was taking a lot of effort for him to keep standing "what took you so long?" scar''s voice boomed from behind the crowd which parted to let him through.


    Scar briskly made his way up to eren who was on the verge of fainting and frowned as he saw his condition "get him to his room......QUICKLY!" he shouted to the two men helping eren to stand who immediately left to carry out scar''s instructions. Murmurs began to spread through the crowd of onlookers who witnessed the scene, "as you were" scar commanded as his eyes flared an intense amber which caused every person present to stiffen.


    He withdrew his gaze from the men and made his way to where eren was located, there he found the two men posted outside the room eren was in who immediately stood at attention when they noticed his presence.


    "Has his condition improved?" scar asked


    "No sir, his wound isn''t healing"


    Scar motioned for him to open the door to the room and what awaited him made him freeze in place, there on the bed, eren lay squirming shifting in and out of wolf form. His veins were visibly suqirming under his skin from the constant shifting and his teeth constantly grew and shrunk as he silently screamed, the look on his face was one of perpetual agony.


    "What the-" scar stared wide-eyed at the scene as he observed from a distance until his eyes landed on eren''s shoulder where he saw the injury he had sustained began giving off steam, scar ran up to eren''s side and forcefully held him down so as to better inspect the wound. After getting a good look at the wound scare hypothesised that the cause for eren''s erratic behaviour must be associated with his injury.


    "Jimmy! Brian!" scar called over his shoulder, the two men who were posted outside came running into the room and stood behind scar "Hold him down" scar ordered them.


    "Eren" scar said as he stood over the struggling man "I''m going to need you to be as still as possible" he said as he raised his right hand and grew the claws of his index finger and thumb before carefully placing them over the wound "i''ll try to be quick" he dug his claws into the wound and felt around until he felt something unusually hard (AN:my mind went in the gutter even though i''m the one who wrote that) he firmly grabbed the object between his claws and began slowly pulling it out (AN:i''m not the only one thinking that sounds dirty here right?) eren began thrashing around but was quickly restrained by the two burly men who increased the grip on him.


    "Eren please, try to bear with it for a while longer" scar said before he rusumed the process, after several minutes of what seemed like death throes the object was finally removed from the wound, sitting snugly between scar''s claws was a 3.5 mm steaming bullet.


    Scar stared intensely at the bullet before dropping it into his pocket and shifting his gaze to eren''s wound which began the process of healing albeit very slowly, already the color was returning to his face and his breathing became steadier.


    "Thank you, scar" he said as he slowly sat up from the bed, he kept his gaze down as he was too ashamed to meet scar''s eyes


    "What happened?" scar asked in an even tone "where is nick?" although his voice was neutral the scent of his worry was thick (AN:Basically an elaborate way to say they could sense how he was feeling, i''m going to list all lycan abilities and describe the characters'' appearances and personalities soon)


    "I....I don''t know, he sent me to watch someone but she was getting too close to finding out about us"


    "how''d you get hurt? Why wasn''t it healing?" Scar asked


    "I don''t know why the wound wasn''t healing.....but as soon as I was shot I started feeling strange, I mean I got short before but this time was different, it made me weaker somehow"


    "hmm" scar stroked his chin "interesting, interesting indeed" his sight returned to eren "where''s nick?"


    "I said I don''t know" eren snapped and rubbed his temples "he should be here by now, I left him at school"


    Scar paused to think, he furrowed his brows as he went through scenario after scenario in his head "This is not good, not good at all" he said as he paced around the room "Nick isn''t the type to just up and leave without warning.......something''s wrong, very wrong" scar hurriedly left the room leaving a confused eren.


    Scar burst through the doors of the intelligence room, which was a room filled with computers used to collect information on various people and locations(AN:as one could guess by the name,wasn''t calling any of you dumb by explaining), luckily scar planted a tracker on nick, discreetly of course.


    He quickly made his way to a computer and logged on, he zeroed in on nick''s position and raised a brow at the results "What are you doing there nick?" he asked to no one in particular "guess i''ll just have to find out''''


    -------unkown location-------


    "So far the subject has not responded to any outside stimuli, his heart rate is normal as well as all other vitals" said a tall, skinny scientist.


    "Why is he not waking up then? we need him concious for the optimal results" said another scientist, this one was different than the others as he was more robust and muscular than the others. He had a goatee and a pair of intelligent eyes hidden behind horn rimmed glasses with thick lenses and a long white overcoat with a cross insignia on the back and spoke with a british accent "our client said she wanted as much information as possible and to go to any lengths to get results, I want you to squeeze as much as you can get out of this fine gentleman" a cold glint flashed through his eyes as he stared through the glass at the man on the other side bound by metal restraints around his wrists and ankles on a vertical metal table, the young man was unconcious and had a femine face with shoulder length black hair and a dragon tattoo running from his right chest to his right wrist.


    Wisps of black smoke was coming from the young man''s ankles and wrists which caused a sizzling noise to come from the restrained areas. The scientist with the british accent stood gazing at the young man with a satisfied smile on his face


    "What a fine specimen indeed"

 New Discovery

    I opened my eyes and was met by the sight of an unfamiliar room, I swiveled my head around to take in as much of my surroundings as I could until my eyes rested upon my wrists.I focused my senses and immediately I heard multiple heartbeats coming from behind the mirror in front of me, I realized it was not a mirror at all, it was a one-way glass used for observation. I smelled the excitement coming from the humans in the other room and heard faint whispers, glad to see me awake it seems.


    I tried to move but realized I was firmly locked in place, I glanced to my right and saw my wrists restrained by thick, silver metal cuffs.


    "Arrogant creatures these mortals" I muttered to myself, it was at that moment that a door at the far end of the room I had not noticed slid open, automatic from the looks of it.


    "Glad to see you''re still with us Mr. Lupine!" said a burly man in a white lab coat as he swaggered into the room. I knew his type all too well, I chuckled and said: "I must say these accommodations are quite lacking, is all of this necessary?" I put on my best ''pitiful look''


    I saw a cold gleam in his eyes, clearly he wasn''t amused "quite a mouth you have on you" he said with a small smile "I''ll be sure to remove it" the tone in which he said that made even me shiver slightly, a few moments of silence followed after that statement which I decided to break


    "Ignoring that blatant threat, what do you want with me?" I asked as I adopted a more serious attitude, the man''s smile returned in full force and he replied "nothing much, we just need some blood samples among other things" I frowned, that didn''t sound good


    "And what are these......other things?" upon hearing my question the man lifted his hand and snapped his fingers, on queue two men wearing face masks entered the room pushing a cart filled with different types of blades, quite the party they have planned I mused.


    "If you''d excuse me Mr. Lupine, I''m afraid my heart can''t handle what''s to come next, I have to leave you in the hands of these very capable gentlemen" he said as he unhurriedly walked out of the room "you''re not very convincing when you choose to walk so slowly you know!!" I called after him.


    I was interrupted by the sound of a blade being sharpened, I looked down and saw one of the two men rubbing two knives together while looking directly at me, although his face was partially obscured the look in his eyes told me all I needed to know, he was looking forward to this.


    I sighed, this would not be the first time I was in a situation like this but if I died as a result then depending on the injuries sustained then there would be no telling how long it would take for me to recover and I could not afford to be killed now no matter how little time I would be spending ''dead''.


    "hey do me a favor, avoid the heart will ya" I said as I looked straight at the man who looked like he was going to enjoy listening to my screams, I''m afraid he''ll be disappointed. There''s only so many times one can die and revive before becoming used to the pain, I hardly feel pain now.


    I watched in silence as the man lifted the blades and began carving into my flesh with practiced movements, he sliced pieces of my flesh off but not once did I scream, instead, I continued to stare blankly into the man''s eyes. I could tell he was unsettled, the subtle way his heart sped up was all the indication I needed to know that much "something wrong, mortal?" I said with the makings of a smile on my face.The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.


    The man apparently took my statement as a provocation as he turned around and grabbed a handsaw from the cart and placed it slightly above my right ankle "please" he said with a twinkle in his eyes "try not to scream" but before he could begin once again the door slid open and in walked the burly man from before, his eyes narrowed as he observed me, my wound specifically as one could see my flesh mending itself.


    "That''s all for now Butcher" He said as he waved my torturer away, Butcher looked slightly downcast but left without protesting nevertheless "He''s aptly named" I said as I cast my eyes to the burly man "speaking of which I never quite got yours" I probed "nor have I yours" he responded, I laughed at that, perhaps he thinks I''m mentally inept.


    "Come now, we both know that that''s not true, why just ten minutes ago you called me by my family name" I replied with a smile, truly this human was entertaining " Your name is rather......unique" he began as he slowly paced around me, eyes scanning my body "Just so you know I don''t swing that way" I said as he came back around to stand in front of me with a smile.


    "Despite all the trash talk and......dry humor I see you and I are not so different, we''re both professionals, right? So let''s just be professionals, I ask you some questions and you answer, capiche?" He said while staring directly into my eyes, truly amusing this one.


    "By all means ask away ''o'' mighty mortal." I said with my face betraying none of my emotions, that got a chuckle out of him "Good we''re getting somewhere" he said "now, what are you? you look like a normal enough man if we disregard the color of your eyes"


    "You wish to know what I am? I am the eyes you feel boring into the back of your skull when you walk through the darkness, the wolf who preys upon the sheep who stray too far from the flock, the black stain on the pages of human history,!" As I said that last sentence I leaned in as far as I could so that my eyes had a clear view of his behind his thick glasses "Or perhaps Jeremy" I began as I eased back into my previous position "Perhaps I''m just a lunatic with a flair for contact lenses and dramatic speeches" I flashed a smile to the now slightly panicked man in front of me.


    "The possibilities are endless kid" I said in a relaxed tone, regaining his composure the man pushed his glasses up and frowned "I don''t recall giving you my name", I shrugged "You did just now"


    "I''m finding you more interesting by the minute" He said "That makes one of us" I replied which caused him to smile "Fine specimen indeed" I heard him mutter, ''He prefers the banana instead if the peach.....great, a gay nut job'' I smirked ''unintentional pun, classic'' I was snapped out of my thoughts by the sound of footsteps getting further and further away, I looked up to see Jeremy walking away "leaving so soon?" I asked in faux (meaning false, pronounced ''fo'' just in case you didn''t know. ouu that rhymes) sadness, he waved over his shoulder and said " I''ll be back before you even know it"


    I laughed, "Such an interesting mortal"


    -----Behind the observation glass-----


    Jeremy walked into the room and with measured steps walked towards the direction of the two scientists which were previously in the room with nick before him "Talk to me" he said startling the two men in the process "um, yes Mr. Sirus, if you would" he said as he stepped to the side to make room for Jeremy to observe the pieces of Nick''s flesh which were sliced off.


    Jeremy slowly stood up from his slouching position after observing nick''s flesh and turned around and began walking towards the observation glass before staring at the nick''s form suspended in the air. A female scientist came up beside him and humbly asked for orders to which Jeremy simply said "just continue observing the subject" the woman bowed before walking back to her station leaving him by himself.


    As Jeremy continued staring at nick a smile slowly spread across his face ultimately transforming into a crazed smile "Such a fine fine specimen you are"

 Question

    So I''m planning to write a second story about the son of wolverine (no not Daken) and I just wanna know if should label it as fanfiction or original.


    And apparenrtly u have to have five hundred characters to post a new chapter so until I meet 500 character i''m gonna just keep typing until i hit 500


    I''m not a very good planner which is why it takes a while to post a new chapter because I have to wait till inspiration hits before I write a new chapter and so far no one is letting me know if they dislike the story or not so but that''s not importantA case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.


    what i''d like is for you guys to list ideas you''d like to see in the story or just give your input in general, I like getting feedback cause it lets me know that people are enjoying the story but I think I''ve hit 500 characters by now so till next time guys </img>

 Character Sheet 1

    Fenris Lupine/ Wselwulf, the immortal terror/ Nicholas Lupine


    Fenris Lupine, now Nicholas Lupine was born over 15,000 years ago to human parents in a time where the earth was rife with witches, warlocks and other monstrous creatures. His village was attacked by a band of monsters and most of the villagers were killed and those who weren''t were scattered, Fenris was brought to the village of Rohad by his parents who discovered the village accidentally. Sadly, due to the villagers'' wariness of outsiders, his parents were killed but luckily the villagers spared Fenris'' life leaving him to fend for himself, it was during this time that a kind soul by the name of Emilia started taking care of him and helped him adapt to village life.


    As the years passed Fenris and Emilia, the village shaman''s daughter developed romantic feelings for each other and it was on Fenris'' eighteenth cycle that he confessed his love for her, fortunately, Emilia had developed the same feelings for him and they solidified their relationship.


    As he was hunting in the forest surrounding the village one day he heard the cries of an animal in the woods and rushed to the scene, as he arrived he saw a wounded wolf pup and tried to help it, he was bitten by the scared pup during the process and seeing the situation was out of his hands he decided it was best suited for the village shaman.


    Entering the shaman''s hut, Fenris placed the pup before him but lost consciousness as a result of a hex placed upon him by the shaman. Upon regaining consciousness Fenris found himself bound in silver chains to a gigantic oak tree, the shaman convinced the villagers that Fenris was a monster in human guise and due to the shaman''s respected position in the village the villagers had no reason to doubt his words thus they began torturing Fenris for three nights.


    It was on the third night that Fenris saw Emilia at the back of the crowd beside the shaman and it suddenly dawned on him that somehow Emilia knew about the shaman''s plan but said nothing, as that thought crossed his mind intense rage rose up from within him and his body physically changed to that of a humanoid wolf and the magic from the shaman''s spell started escaping his body which affected the tree causing it to lose its color.This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version.


    Fenris broke out of his bonds in his monstrous new form much to the horror of his torturers and proceeded to slaughter everyone on the scene, halfway through the massacre he caught sight of the fleeing shaman and quickly gave chase before quickly ending his life.


    Soon after Fenris finished the shaman his eyes landed on Emilia''s form in the middle of the mass of dismembered corpses and his anger flared again. He rushed to her and sunk his fangs into her and stood over her as she laid there dying, it was then that she revealed to him that though she did know about the shaman''s plan he placed a silence hex upon her which prevented her from informing nick and it was not until he was cursing Fenris did she interrupted the spell.


    As a result of the shaman''s spell being interrupted halfway by Emilia, some of the shaman''s magic made its way into Fenris'' body and resides in him dormant to this day and is physically represented by the dragon tattoo running from his right pectoral to his wrist.


    Originally the curse placed on Fenris was for him to forever roam the earth as a wolf but as it was interrupted mid-way he can freely switch forms. Before his first transformation Fenris had blonde hair along with blue eyes but after his shift, his blonde hair darkened until it became as black as the night and his eyes lost their blue color until they resembled the moon itself.


    Distraught and enraged Fenris vowed that he would become the bane of all humankind thus began the legend of Wselwulf the immortal terror. Fenris spent 500 years in wolf form eradicating humans wherever he found them, for years humans passed down the story of Wselwulf and lived in fear of being exterminated until one day a female warrior faced him in combat along with many of her companions and gravely wounded him, seeing their chance they bound him in silver chains and tied him to a great white oak. Years passed as he struggled against his restraints but being weakened he could do nothing but bide his time.


    Thousands of years passed and over those years Fenris'' anger had died down and he gradually regained his rationality and was later found by a young boy who untied him. Seeing that things had changed and no longer angry he explored the world to learn as much as he could alongside the young orphan boy who''s parents had been killed by mercenaries, seeing they had somewhat similar pasts Fenris adopted the boy and took care of him.


    As they spent years traveling the globe and Fenris discovered more and more about the new world and seeing the lack of monsters and any forms of magic Fenris decided he would investigate the matter and learning that the criminal organizations have a vast information network he joined the world of organized crime.

 Not a Chapter

    sorry guys this is not a chapter as the title says, i''m just letting you know about my second story called cold justice, need a break from Of Wolves and Men s i''ve been lacking inspiration to write recently, anyway here''s the link to my new story and don''t worry, Of Wolves and Men is still my top priority.


    The MC in my new story is a clone of superman who was created by a scientist in the year 2480 but upon completion of the cloning process a rift appeared thrusting the clone into a new dimension and different world.Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original.


    The MC will be OP because.....well superman is OP if you think about it and *spoiler alert* the scientist made sure to enhance all abilities(and add new ones) and remove his weakness to Kryptonite.


    https://royalroadl.com/fiction/11690

 New Addition

    Jeremy Syrus POV


    I stood hesitantly in front of a door labeled subject 00-94, at one point I used to look forward to coming to work and ''making strides for humankind'' but now.....this door is nothing more than a constant reminder of my failure, failure caused by my own arrogance. I steeled my nerves and walked into the dimly lit room, many machines could be seen all throughout the large room and apart from a table and a woman hovering over said table nothing else was visible.


    The woman had an hourglass figure with a well-shaped butt, her breasts were a little small but her face was gorgeous. Her green eyes flitted from side to side as she read a report in her hands and she chewed her lip in frustration while her brows furrowed


    "How is he?"


    I asked as I walked up to the table and stared down at the sleeping figure of the young boy, I lovingly caressed his face but quickly removed my hand '''' I''m so sorry'''' I said to the unconscious body as tears threatened to fall, A sigh interrupted me from my thoughts, looking up I see a sea of melancholic green staring back at me


    "You have to stop beating yourself up honey"


    She told me as she placed her hand on mine giving it a gentle squeeze


    "It''s not your fault" she continued "it''s not your fault" tears fell down her face as she silently cried, ''but it is'' I thought to myself. I don''t know how she does it, staying strong for so long, I would have already killed me if I were in her shoes, I wish she would hit me or curse me or...or......something.


    After a few moments of us standing in silence I decided to tell her what I came to tell her "I- I might be able to wake him up" I said to the crying woman whose head immediately shot up and fiercely gazed into my eyes, with a strength I never knew she had she placed her hands on my shoulders and brought my face close to hers


    "How?" she asked, I could feel her barely suppressed hope, I share her sentiment. Our line of work rarely allows retries and when you fail that means the end


    "I have a....interesting subject whose cells even after being separated from the body refuse to die, in fact they multiply, and it¡¯s as if they''re trying to create a new body. If I am correct then his blood is the key to saving our son."


    She stared at me intensely before giving me a small nod, receiving confirmation I gave her hand a gentle but firm squeeze before separating from her


    ''I know what I have to do''


    Nick''s POV


    I was interrupted from my game of '' spot the cracks on the roof '' when the door to my very comfortable room slid open. The scientist with the beard walked in the room, what was his name again? Gerald? Geronimo? Ah whatever, unlike his many other visits he did not have the usual self-assured walk he had, he almost seemed.....uncertain.


    ¡°What brings you to my neck of the woods doctor?" I asked. I could see sadness in his eyes as his eyes met mine. For a few minutes we silently stood staring at each other, well he was standing I was suspended in the air


    "Why so glum, chum?" I asked, a sigh escaped him as he lowered himself to sit on the ground and folded his legs under him "do you have any kids?" he asked me in a tired tone ''well now this is interesting'' unsure on how to answer the question I simply stayed silent, apparently I was not supposed to answer the question as he continued as if I did "heh, when you have kids it changes your perspective on the world" he said with a small laugh


    Ok this is making me uncomfortable "something bothering you?" I finally decided to ask, if we''re going to play this game I want it to be over quickly


    "I have a son, quick as a whip that one" he chuckled "just like his block head father his mother always says.....for a while we were fine, no jealous ex-lovers, no petty arguments.....but all good things must come to an end. I was promoted to head of my department and with that came more work, more responsibilities and less time to spend with my family. One day I decided I would take my son to work with me......dumbest decision I ever made in my life" he laughed hollowly, I don''t see what''s funny thoughIf you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it.


    "Do you believe it!?"


    "What exactly hap-"


    "I finally had the time to bond with my son and the universe fucks me over"


    he once again laughed hollowly "that''s why I have to do this" he said suddenly standing up and removing a syringe from his coat pocket before walking towards me, his intentions were as clear as day and I honestly could not fault him for what he was about to do.


    As he unceremoniously stuck the needle in and slowly drew my blood I took pity on him, I may not know how it feels to be a parent but I did know and felt the love of a parent


    "Though my blood will indeed help your son I still find myself compelled to warn you, not out of the goodness of my heart but because I know the love a parent has for their child. My blood will heal him from whatever ails him butit will also change him, he will lose that which makes him human, though I do not know how it will change him but it WILL change him" I said emphasizing my point


    Without hesitation he responded "no matter what my son becomes, I will always love him" He then walked away leaving me staring at his departing back with a small smile on my face.


    Jeremy Syrus POV


    I hurriedly made my way back to the room which held my son, my heart felt like it was ready to burst as I made my way through the dark room until I once again arrived at the giant metal door. Making my way into the room I saw my wife caressing our son''s head, acknowledging my presence she glanced up and gave me a tired smile, I saw the barely contained pain behind her eyes and it made my heart wrench, I felt disgust towards myself but shaking my head to dispel such thoughts I walked towards my son.


    Noticing my wife''s gaze on the syringe in my hand I answered her unasked question, lifting the syringe to eye level I said "This is the answer to our problem" I said as I looked down at the unconscious body on the table, she looked uneasily at the syringe then back down at our son, I could see the internal struggle she was facing; She did not know what it was, heck, neither did I but I have seen what his blood can do.....I have no choice but to put my faith in this.


    Steeling my resolve I slowly brought the needle to my son''s arm and inserted it, drawing it back out I took a step back and with baited breath I silently observed for any changes. As the seconds slowly ticked by I finally caught sight of movement coming from my son


    ''He blinked!!" I thought excitedly to myself as my son began to stir, slowly his eyes opened and a groan escaped his lips. His eyes landed on my figure and a look of confusion appeared on his face as he looked around the room


    "When did we get here dad?" He asked turning his head back to me, for the first time in two years I finally allowed myself to cry, tears poured down my cheeks as I embraced my son after so many years. My wife stood off to the side silently crying with her hands to her mouth, finally letting go of my son he looked up at me confused as he wiped a tear from my eye "why are you crying daddy? Does it hurt somewhere?" He asked while searching my body with a concerned look which caused me to chuckle and ruffle his hair.


    His mother, finally snapping out of her stupor ran up to him and tightly held him to her bosom. ¡°Mom¡­¡­I can¡¯t¡­...breathe¡± he struggled to say as his mother held his head tightly to her chest¡­.I mean breast *cough* *cough*. She¡¯s giving me the stink eye, turning my attention back to our son struggling to get out of his mother¡¯s grasp I felt a warm feeling spreading through my chest ¡® I finally have my son back¡¯ I smiled while thinking to myself but that moment was short lived when he suddenly started screaming and grasping at his chest.


    ¡°Damien! What¡¯s wrong son?!¡± I watched in horror as my son started convulsing on the table and clawed at his flesh. His veins wriggled over each other beneath his skin like worms under mud on a rainy day, he lifted his head and opened his mouth wide but not a sound came out of his mouth, the only thing audible was the sound of his bones snapping and shifting, his previously light brown hair darkened in color until it was close to black and hair rapidly started sprouting from all over his body. Soon he was covered in dark brown hair which resembled fur, his teeth were elongated, especially his canines, he had a wolf¡¯s head and the body of a man.


    He leapt off the table and stood at his full height, tossing back his head he released what can only be described as a howl which caused the entire room to vibrate, my wife and I were on the ground in shock over what had just transpired. For a moment it seemed as if the world was standing still but that moment of stillness was broken by another howl, this one came from somewhere inside the facility and whereas Damien¡¯s howl vibrated the facility this one made it seem like the facility was going to collapse at any moment.


    Damien¡¯s head snapped to the door as soon as he heard the howl and before anyone could regain their bearings he barreled through the door completely causing the metal door to cave in on itself before he dashed off through the dark hallway.

 And another one bites the dust

    Nick¡¯s POV


    Patiently waiting for the newest addition to the pack to arrive I began thinking about the new possibilities my blood opened up. As soon as my blood awoke in Geronimo¡¯s son I felt a connection to him which served to prove my theory, I indeed have a connection to each newly created lycan in existence.


    I smiled a little to myself at that thought, I was interrupted from my happy moment by the sound of the door sliding open and walking in on all fours was a dark brown lycan with blood covering his fur, now that the door was open I could hear the sound of an alarm blaring outside, ¡®well someone¡¯s been busy¡¯ I thought to myself as I looked at the young whelp coming towards me. He stood up on his hind legs and looked at me with his red eyes burning intensely ¡®well that¡¯s new¡¯ I thought as I looked into his eyes


    ¡°Mind giving me a hand runt?¡± I asked to which the lycan promptly slashed apart my manacles, falling to the ground with a dull thud, I got up and began stretching to work out the kinks in my shoulders. The runt was watching me with curiosity but his head snapped to the door suddenly causing me to also look curiously as well, running through the door was¡­¡­.ummm¡­¡­the guy with the British accent along with a female hot on his trail, seeing me up and about the man stopped in his tracks and the woman collided into his back and stumbled back a few steps.


    I smirked at their actions, stepping forward to block the snarling lycan to my side from¡­¡­.unjustly killing his father I smiled as I asked


    ¡°What brings you here doctor?¡± but he was seemingly too distracted looking at the runt behind me to answer. ¡®So this is the young doctor?¡¯ I silently wondered to myself while taking a glance over my shoulder at the lycan behind me ¡°So I¡¯m guessing this here¡± I began addressing the father while jerking a thumb at the snarling lycan behind me, I think I¡¯ll just call him Jenkins from now on ¡°is the son you were trying to save¡± mentioning that the snarls intensified and Jenkins leapt over me and made a mad dash towards the doctor and the lady, quickly transforming I released a low howl which made the building vibrate but it still managed to stop the young lycan in its tracks.


    Walking towards the shocked couple and the cowering runt who was a mere two feet from them I stopped directly in front of him and looked down at him. ¡°INSOLENCE¡± I howled down at the pup as it whined at my feet, it rolled over on its back exposing its stomach and neck as a sign of submission, I was still tempted to brutally dismember it but before I could act on those thoughts a voice as smooth and soft as silk stopped me


    ¡°Damien¡± I looked up and saw the woman slowly walking toward the whelp, I snarled at her in warning making her stop abruptly but she still casted a worried look at the monster at my feet. Reverting to my original appearance while simultaneously startling the pair I placed my hand on the runt¡¯s stomach, black smoke exited my upper arm and flowed over the body of Jenkins. Wrapping itself around him the smoke rapidly began shrinking before retracting back into my arm. In the place of the lycan was a little boy, six or seven years of age by the looks of it, his hair was dark brown in colour and his eyes were a pair of rapidly moving objects pale blue in colour scanning the room, seeing his son back to normal Geronimo ran up to him and tore him from my grasp


    ¡°You¡¯re welcome¡± I said, why are humans always so ungrateful? The three spent the next few minutes hugging and crying followed by kisses and more hugging and crying. ¡®This is giving me diabetes¡¯ I folded my arms and stood off to the side to allow the family their precious reunion but this it soon became ridiculous, finally I decided to interrupt the precious scene, clearing my throat to get their attention.


    ¡°*ahem* if you don¡¯t mind, I¡¯ll be taking the kid now¡± I said with a humourless smile. The two showed confused faces as they heard my words before the human female asked with a frown ¡°my son? I don¡¯t care who or what you are but you aren¡¯t taking my son anywhere¡±. I raised a brow in surprise at her attitude ¡®it appears the years have been far too kind to these humans¡¯ I mused to myself, chuckling at her statement I replied


    ¡°Your¡­¡­.mate here¡± I gestured by pointing my chin to Gerald ¡°took my blood and injected it into your son resulting in a¡­..well as you saw he¡¯s no longer human. As for me taking your son¡± I showed a feral smile which caused her body to tense up in fear but she quickly found her resolve and stared at me with defiance in her eyes.


    Dropping my smile to a smirk I addressed the male ¡°Although your son appears to be human, I assure you he¡¯s not¡± I shifted my gaze to the female ¡°neither am I¡± her body tensed even more as I said that but nonetheless she continued to stare defiantly, sighing at her stubbornness I decided to further explain the situation ¡°I know you love your son and you wish to protect him¡± I stared intently at the woman cuddling the small body of the young boy who was looking at me with curiosity in his eyes ¡°but love will not protect you from him, by nature lycans are wrathful creatures, a fault which they inherited from me.¡±If you encounter this narrative on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.


    The defiance which was burning brightly in her eyes had lessened and in its place was understanding, gazing lovingly at her son who was still focused on me she smiled sadly and tears welled up in her eyes, she hugged him tightly and kissed his head sobbing quietly while rocking him in her arms. The male stood to the side with anger burning in his eyes, an emotion I myself am very familiar with, releasing a sigh I said ¡°you made your decision when you took my blood, every action has a consequence and you should know that¡±


    I decided the best course of action was to have him face the facts ¡°But on the bright side you saved your son¡­..so there¡¯s that¡± I said with a shrug. We descended into silence for a moment until a quiet voice sounded out ¡°Who are you Mr?¡± I glanced down and was met with a sea of pale blue looking up at me, slightly surprised by the stealth displayed by the young whelp I brought my claws out faster than anyone in the room could react but seeing it was the boy I relaxed and looked at him curiously before answering ¡°in a sense I guess I¡¯m your brother¡­¡­.or maybe I¡¯m your grandfather?¡± I said while stroking my non-existent beard, the boy looked at me and while tilting his head and asked ¡°but if you¡¯re my grandpa then why do you look so young?¡±


    I laughed out loud at his statement before sighing ¡°call me whatever you want whelp¡± I ruffled his hair and turned to his father ¡°smart kid¡± I said to him to which his response was a sad smile. I was amused at his supposed misfortune, me taking his son was better than the alternative, smiling at the thought I decided to speed things along


    ¡°Now that that¡¯s out of the way can anyone tell me where the exit is?¡± I asked fixing a stare at¡­¡­this is getting annoying ¡°what¡¯s your name again?¡± I asked the male ¡°Jeremy¡± he simply replied.


    ¡°So Jeremy¡± I addressed him and his fists unconsciously clenched ¡°where¡¯s the exit?¡± he looked at me confused before he took a shaky breath to calm down and exhaled slowly, he hesitated for a brief moment but he motioned for us to follow him soon after. Walking through the long, bright hallway I was humming to myself while thinking that whoever designed this building must have had a fetish for white while young Jenkins was trying to burn a hole in the side of my head the entire trip.


    ¡°Do you need something?¡± I asked the young laser beam who shook his head at my question, sighing, I continued following after Jeremiah and the woman until we came upon an elevator. Jeremiah stepped into the elevator without hesitation and we all followed suit, the elevator was silent as it slowly rose and I was beginning to feel the need to mess with the two humans.


    ¡°Does anyone wanna hear a joke?¡± Jeremiah and the lady kept silent but the little laser nodded his head vigorously; I smiled at the display and began my joke ¡°what do ducks wear to weddings?¡± I asked, Jenkins looked confused and after a moment of thinking he gave up and asked ¡°what do they wear?¡± I chuckled and replied ¡°Duxedos¡±. I struggled to keep my laughter in but the confused look on the young lad¡¯s face was just too much, out the corner of my eye I saw Jeremiah and the lady¡¯s lips twitching, ¡®must¡¯ve gotten the joke¡¯.


    ¡°Ok, I have another one¡± I took a deep breath to calm myself down and when I was calm I began ¡°how do dinosaurs pay their bills?¡± the young lycan started stroking his chin in thought, I could see the imaginary gears turning furiously in his head as he struggled to figure out how dinosaurs pay their bills, after a few more minutes of furious thinking he shrugged and gazed at me expectantly, with a completely straight face I said ¡°with tyrannosaurus checks¡±.


    Jeremiah slowly strode towards the elevator wall and paused before he began ¡®softly¡¯ banging his head on the wall while he whispered to himself; ¡®he¡¯s doomed, my son¡¯s doomed¡¯. Feeling indignant at the lack of faith I snorted and folded my arms ¡®fine, I just won¡¯t tell them my last joke¡¯ the elevator finally stopped moving and with a ding the doors slowly opened.


    Stepping out the elevator I was greeted by the sun glaring brightly in my eyes, I lifted my hand to block the sunlight and wait for my eyes to adjust to the sudden shift in brightness. As my eyes were adjusting I heard the sound of a pistol cocking, sighing, I turned slowly and had the pleasure of looking straight down the barrel of a gun ¡°you know if you wanted to shoot me you could have done it in the elevator.


    Although I did think it would be Jeremiah with the pistol and not you Ms¡­.¡± She smiled slightly but despite her calm demeanour I could see the slight shivering of her hands ¡°if the gun makes you feel safe then by all means use it but if I wanted you dead you would be dead¡± I said seriously ¡°I am doing you a favour, it might not seem that way now but it is better if he comes with me¡± I took a step forward but stopped when she raised the barrel to my forehead, I opened my mouth to speak but before I could utter a word I heard a loud bang and I lost consciousness.

 Behold, Death Cometh

    "Never thought I''d be back here again so soon" I got up off the hard floor and rolled my shoulders in an effort to work out the knot forming "I didn''t think I''d see you back here so soon either, how did you die this time?" by the tone of his voice I could tell he was very amused, sick bastard.


    I followed him silently, his black cane leaving holes in the soft sand every time he took a step as his equally black robe dragged behind him leaving a trail in the golden brown sand.


    "gonna give me a lecture again?"I asked, he laughed out loud which made the sand jump around and shake with vigor before dying down and in a serious tone he said "I am here to pass on my wisdom child, whether you listen or not is up to you" I sighed at his statement and refrained from speaking any further.


    We were walking for what felt like hours until we came upon an ominous looking cabin made of some form of metal it seemed, he stepped aside and gestured for me to enter first "what is it the mortals say? as yes, ladies first" he said with an amiable smile.


    A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.The leaves crunched under the feet of three individuals as they ran through a forest, the two adults'' faces were filled with terror although the source of said terror was not clear.

 The Reaper

Rebecca and Damien had arrived at the outskirt of the forest, the ocean was calm and the breeze was as gentle as a love-sick maid, had it not been for the gunshots and howling heard from within the forest one would easily mistake the place for being uninhabited.

 Undying Thoughts

    I sat in the boat on a cooler Scar brought along on the trip for some reason, the woman who shot me whose name I learned was Rebecca sat across from me cradling her son''s unconscious body.


    You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.The rest of the journey was spent in silence apart from the child asking the boss a few irrelevant questions. I steered the boat all the while reflecting on my actions back at the beach, My temper had been explosive.

 One Step Further

"No Bern, I''ll be fine" I said for what felt like the thousandth time "are you sure? I can take the day off and-" I sighed and rubbed the bridge of my nose as I listened to Bernie ramble on and on.


    If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

 Chapter 19

Sitting in a dimly lit room, was the lone figure of a female. Her long black hair and delicate facial features made her the object of attraction for many men but one aspect hindered her beauty: her face lacked emotion

 V1 Prologue

    The sun¡¯s golden radiance cast an orange glow over the streets of Malcroix. The tall buildings made of metal and concrete stood basking in its warm embrace, crowds of people marched briskly up and down the sidewalks as cars raced along the road. The city of Malcroix was known simply as The Hub, as the name would imply, the city was always active. No matter the time of day, one would always be able to find something to do whether it be partying in a club or hitting up the bar.


    In a sea of rushing people, casually strolled a single man. His steel gray eyes remained firmly ahead, seemingly disinterested in anything other than what was directly in front of him; his shoulder length raven hair was in a ponytail, his jawline was sharp and fit well with his angular face. His eyebrows were also sharp, his nose was straight and he had a short but neat beard.


    The man slowly strolled through the crowd of people, his gait was slow but his steps were filled with confidence though his face remained impassive. Despite his slow gait, no one bumped into him or even looked in his direction despite his above average height and handsome face, he stood at six feet seven inches tall and wore a gray business suit and tie with a gray overcoat covering his frame.


    The man¡¯s pleasant stroll was interrupted when the sound of chiming came from within his coat pocket, the man reached into his pocket and pulled out a simple black cellular phone and brought it to his ear, the call was automatically accepted.


    ¡°I¡¯m listening¡±


    The man answered, his voice was deep and slow, as if the simple act of speaking was too much effort, the voice on the other end of the phone immediately began speaking.


    ¡°Job''s done, boss. I¡¯ll wait for you at the rendevous point¡±


    The sound of the voice was male also, though it sounded older than Fenris. He grunted in reply before hanging up the phone, a few seconds later, the phone vibrated, Fenris tapped the notification on the screen with his thumb and the screen changed to display a map with his current position and a route which he could take to reach his destination.


    Fenris hummed as he saw the distance he had to travel, it appeared he could not walk the distance and arrive at the location in time. He dialed a number into the phone and pressed it to his ear, thephonerang once before someone answered.


    ¡°Good evening, sir¡±


    The voice sounded feminine, smooth and soft like silk.


    ¡°I need a ride¡±


    Fenris said nothing more, he didn¡¯t have to, his phone had a tracker in it so no matter where he was, his subordinates would always know.


    ¡°That won¡¯t be an issue, Sir. Someone will be there to pick you up shortly¡±


    Fenris ended the call and lit a cigarette. He took a long drag of his cigarette before removing it from his lips, he expelled the smoke from his lungs causing it to waft up into the air. The sea of people moved around his still form, cursing under their breath at the inconvenience. He paid them no mind, they were unimportant, his gaze turned upward, toward the evening sky.


    His mind wandered. How many sunsets had he seen in his long life? How manyrisings of the moonhad he witnessed? How many lives had he taken on a whim? How many times had he wished for his own to end? Fenris sighed and brought the cigarette back to his lips, he was old, but more than that he was tired. Tired of doing the same thing daily, seeing the same people act the same way, he wanted change, he craved it.


    The sound of a car horn broke him away from his musing, he turned in the direction the sound came from and began walking toward the black car parked close to the curb. A slim man stepped out of the car and opened the door for him.


    ¡°I apologize for the wait sir¡±


    The man said to Fenris with a bow, Fenris however, paid the man no attention as he got into the car wordlessly. The man smiled and closed the door behind Fenris before getting into the driver¡¯s seat.


    ¡°Where to, sir?¡±


    He asked as he looked at Fenris through the rear view mirror, Fenris stared out the window at the sea of people rushing to and fro


    ¡°432 Briar street, 2nd avenue¡±


    Fenris answered slowly. The man nodded before pulling off.


    ***


    The car pulled up to an abandoned warehouse located in a desolate area, the chain linked fence surrounding the decrepit building did little to add to security, if Fenris had to guess then he would say it was simply for decoration.


    Fenris did not wait for the driver to get out and open his door this time, he was not some cripple who needed aid with everything despite what his subordinates seemed to think, he felt irritation rise up in his chest as he closed the door behind him. He fished a pack of cigarettes out of his coat pocket and quickly pulled one out before lighting it, his eyes closed as he took a long drag.


    Placing the pack back into his pocket, Fenris looked over his shoulder at the thin man that drove him all the way here


    ¡°What''s your name, kid?¡± he asked. The man smiled, displaying a row of straight, white teeth "Name''s Kyle but my friends call me trip"


    Fenris nodded noncommitally before flicking away his cigarette "You should take off. I''ll call when I need a pick up"


    The man nodded at Fenris¡¯ instructions and got into the driver¡¯s seat before driving off the way he came. Fenris turned back to the gate when he could no longer see the car, he walked forward and lightly pushed the gate.


    It opened with a groan, scaring away the few rodents hanging about. Fenris rubbed his fingers together as rust fell from the hand he used to open the gate, the place smelled old, like rust and mildew had years to copulate and form a colony.


    Small patches of grass grew in between the cracked concrete, rusted equipment from times long gone remained strewn across the yard haphazardly. Fenris walked through the half opened gate, his steps echoed as he walked towards the open door leading into the warehouse.


    He pushed his senses to the maximum, he had to give it an extra shove to kick it into gear; years of suppressing himself left him rusty. Despite the underuse of his gifts, Fenris still managed to pick up the heart beat of two individuals inside, one was strong and steady while the other was beating erratically.


    Fenris stepped through the open door, a wave of different scents assaulted his nose and made him stumble back, even with the cigarette dulling his senses, the smell was still almost too much for him. He shook his head and steadied himself, it would be a cold day in hell before he allowed himself to be bested by a few bad smells.


    He steeled his resolve and marched into the dark warehouse, his eyes took a second to adjust to the sudden darkness, the place was cluttered with crates and small containers strewn around recklessly. Someone had made a narrow path which led to a somewhat cleared area; though it still felt slightly stifling.


    In the middle of said clearing stood a man, his blue eyes glanced up as he noticed Fenris¡¯ approach. His pale skin gave him a sickly look but his athletic build told enough about the state of his health, the man stroked his well groomed auburn beard which was a stark contrast to his clean shaven head which somehow managed to reflect the dim orange glow of the lightbulb hanging above his head.This novel is published on a different platform. Support the original author by finding the official source.


    He inclined his head at Fenris¡¯ approach, Fenris nodded in greeting. The two stood in silence not paying any attention to the man tied up on a Wooden stool who rapidly glanced between Fenris and the bald man in clear confusion. Fenris broke the silence as he spread his arms to the side.


    ¡°Not gonna give your old man a hug?¡±


    He asked in his usual slow manner of speech, a slight smirk on his lips. The bald man, who clearly looked older as shown by the wrinkles on his face, turned his head to the side slightly and coughed into his fist. Fenris chuckled softly before turning his attention to the restrained individual, the man¡¯s clothes were in disarray, his red and white checkered shirt was missing a few buttons and his black jeans pants had a few stains of dirt, he also had a small cut above his left eye which was bleeding slightly, clearly he had been roughed up a little.


    Fenris approached the man who was franticallyscreamingbut the white rag in his mouth muffled his voice.


    ¡°What¡¯s his name, Scar?¡±


    Fenris asked as he took another drag of his cigarette and leaned forward so that he was face to face with the restrained man, he blew the smoke in the man¡¯s face causing him to cough.


    ¡°Antonio Delgado, age twenty three. Older brother to Robert Delgado, current head of the Delgado Mafioso. Their mother moved them to the city in hopes of building a better future here, sadly she was murdered a few months after arriving. She was walking home and a few of Bora''s goons spotted her. They found her body hanging out of a window down town, wasn''t a pretty sight.Her youngest son, Robert, being the trouble maker he is fell in with a gang while his older brother, our friend here, bounced from job to job and struggled to provide for them both. Over the years, Robert managed to rise quickly through the ranks through the means of backstabbing and murder until he took over the gang during a coup. His brother had fallen on hard times so dear Robert gave Antonio here a little gang of his own¡±


    Fenris observed Antonio¡¯s face as it got paler and paler as Scar recounted his story, it was not a stretch to say Antonio was scared, in fact that would be an understatement. Antonio¡¯s heart was racing, he had no idea who these people were but their knowledge of his past had him shaken, he tried to speak but all that came out of his mouth was muffled mumbling.


    ¡°I believe our friend has something to say¡±


    Scar commented as he pulled the rag out of Antonio¡¯s mouth, as soon as he could speak again he began begging


    ¡°W-W-What do y-you want? M-Money? I-I got m-m-money! You like women?! I can-¡±


    his pleas were silenced by a solid punch to the jaw which knocked him off the stool. His face kissed the dirt and his vision swam, a hand yanked him back up off of the ground and plopped him down on the stool again


    ¡°That''s not how this works, Mr Delgado. You know this.¡± Fenris said disinterestedly


    ¡°What do you want?¡±


    He finally relented and asked through clenched teeth. Fenris¡¯ smirk rose slightly, this is what he wanted to hear.


    ¡°My associate and I offered your brother a deal, he chose to reject it; we¡¯re hoping you¡¯d be a little more¡­..open minded¡±


    Antonio looked up at Fenris with a tinge of apprehension in his eyes, he was beginning to have a bad feeling in his gut. He gulped and asked the question he knew they wanted to hear, he had no other choice but to take the bait.


    ¡°What¡¯s the deal?¡±


    The question tasted bitter coming out of his mouth but the cards were all in his captors¡¯ hands, he had no ground to make demands. He caught the smile on Fenris¡¯ face, the bastards knew they had him trapped.


    ¡°Its simple, really. We want to know the names of all your contacts as well as the immediate transference of all assets over to us.¡±


    Fenris said with a savage grin on his face, Antonio couldn¡¯t be sure but he could¡¯ve sworn he saw Fenris¡¯ eyes glow an ominous red just now. He suppressed a shiver and steeled his resolve, with as much courage as he could muster he stared into Fenris¡¯ eyes


    ¡°Even if I wanted to I-I coudln''t do that¡­..I¡¯m only the Diablo¡¯s boss in name, Rob calls all the shots¡±


    Contrary to his expectations, Fenris¡¯ face remained the same. He didn¡¯t seem fazed at all by the news as his smile grew wider.


    ¡°That''s quite alright Mr Delgado. Truthfully you''ve already served your purpose¡±


    Before Antonio could contemplate what Fenris meant, heturned around to face the narrow path he came through. Through the pathway came an individual dressed in an all black tactical suit with a semi automatic rifle. Scar stepped back to the side so that he was standing behind Antonio as he placed his hands behind his back, the glow from the bulb overhead was now glaring off of his head.


    Four other individuals dressed similarly to the first followed after the pathway was cleared, all of their weapons were trained on Fenris. They quickly spread out in a semicircle all the while keeping their fingers firmly on the trigger or their weapons.


    ¡°I''m only going to say this once, drop your weapons and maybe i''ll let you live¡±


    Fenris said, his voice carried an almost tangible excitement which was a stark contrast to his normal dull tone. The five mercenaries looked at each other in uncertainty, this was not what they were expecting. Fenris stood in front of them grinning like a madman, Scar stood behind Antonio calmly while staring at the scene in a relaxed manner as if their weapons were simple toys. The seemingly mad man didn''t seem to have any weapons on him but he seemed confident even while staring down the nozzle of five guns.


    Nevertheless, they were professionals, they were hired to retrieve Antonio Delgado and that was what they would do. They took aim at Fenris


    ¡°We don''t have any orders to kill anyone. We just came to retrieve Mr Delgado over there and then we''ll be on our way, there''s no need for this to get bloody"


    One man stepped forward and tried to go the peaceful route, Fenris chuckled and placed his right hand in his pants pocket and stared at the man defiantly. The de facto leader of the group sighed before stepping back and taking aim at Fenris.


    ¡°Light em up boys!¡± He yelled as he and his associates opened fire on Fenris. His bodytwitched and twisted as the bullets left holes in his body, darkening the gray suit as blood poured out. Fenris stumbled back when the torrent of bullets suddenly stopped, he grasped his stomach as his face took on a pained expression.


    He fell to his knees while looking down at his wounds, blood poured out in large quantities and pooled on the floor. The expression on his face was one of disbelief, as if him dying right now was absurd, the mercenaries looked at him apathetically; clearly the man had been mad, he had to be in order to stand in front of a semi automatic rifle without any form of protection.


    Fenris lifted his head and stared at the roof of the building, a sad smile on his face; with that he closed his eyes. Hi body fell forward and hit the floor with a thud.The de facto mercenary leader sighed once more, he stepped forward along with his squad, guns trained on Scar almost as if they were daring him to move.


    They advanced slowly, taking their time and edging their way towards Fenris¡¯ corpse. It wasn¡¯t until the lead mercenary got beside Fenris that all hell broke loose. Fenris¡¯ eyes snapped open and he sprung up off the floor, surprising the man as he stumbled back.


    ¡°Well that was disappointing¡±


    Fenris chuckled with mirth in his tone, his arm shot out and grabbed the neck of the mercenary, the man struggled but found it impossible to escape Fenris¡¯ vice like grip.


    "I''ve watched your species for a very long time. Longer than you can even imagine. I''ve seen you at your best and your worst. Ah, I can see it in your eyes; you''re confused. Its understandable, you don''t understand what you''re witnessing. You wish to know what I am"


    He watched the man curiously with his red eyes glowing in the darkness, the little light the dull orange bulb was giving off was not enough to illuminate his features which added to the ominousness of the scene. The rest of the mercenaries jumped back and cursed, they raised their weapons but held off on firing, they did not want to run the risk of hitting their comrade.


    Fenris chuckled, the sound was harsh and grating. With a growl, Fenris exerted pressure and the mercenary¡¯s neck broke with an audible crack. Fenris smiled, curved and pointed teeth were exposed, his head turned to the remaining mercenaries


    ¡°I am the bane of humanity¡± he said


    Fenris took a step forward, themercenaries took five back.The smile on his face stretched, the mercenaries¡¯ faces paled. What followed was a series of wails of terror and the sound of flesh ripping, blood pooled on the floor in thick droves, body parts were strewn across the room, a severed head laid on the floor with terror frozen on its face.


    In the middle of the gruesome scene stood a man, no, a beast. The creature was covered in black fur around the forearms, back, chest and legs. The upper arm, lower abdomen and shoulders were bare but the skin was a dark blue giving the creature a demonic look. It¡¯s scleras we¡¯re a solid black and it¡¯s irises were a deep sanguine, it¡¯s fur covered face jutted out slightly and resembled a canine¡¯s while several of its teeth jutted out of its mouth.


    The creature stood upright proudly overlooking the bloody battlefield, it lifted its head high and let loose a blood chilling roar which shook the very ground on which it stood. The insects and every other small creature hurriedly left the area, the very air seemed to go still as the roar reverberate throughout the area, the beast¡¯s chest rose and fell rapidly as its roar reached a climax.


    The creature¡¯s head slowly fell and turned towards Scar and a pale faced Antonio, a bloodthirsty smile slowly formed on its lips as its red eyes roamed over their forms,blood dripped down its chin as it slowly began advancing.

 V1. Bright Sun Pt. 1

    Fenris closed his eyes and breathed deeply. His heart thumped loudly in his chest. The smell of blood danced into his nostrils and tickled his bestial urges; he could feel himself slowly losing control. He turned to Scar, his mouth opened and closed several times before he finally managed to speak, the words squeezed their way past his lips, coming out as a low growl.


    ¡°Continue¡­....plan¡±


    He managed to say before a sharp pain shot through his head, he felt a part of his skull cave in and snap back into place in an instant, he was running out of time. Scar looked at Fenris with eyes filled with worry, Fenris fell to his knees as his heel snapped and stretched while his feet grew till they burst out of his shoes.


    A low groan escaped Fenris¡¯ lips as his body twisted and snapped in various directions; Fenris flopped onto his back and began clawing at the ground. Scar winced each time he heard the bones in Fenris¡¯ body snap but there was nothing he could do, with a look of reluctance on his face, Scar left to carry out the orders he was given leaving Fenris alone on the floor of the warehouse writhing in the blood and gore.


    A brief moment of respite was given as the pain subsided all at once, Fenris knew what would be coming next, he braced himself. The pain came back with even greater force. Fenris¡¯ skin felt incredibly hot and prickly, his body felt like it was being assaulted by millions of tiny, hot needles.


    The pain intensified as numerous tiny hairs began bursting out of his pores until he was nothing more than a humanoid furball, the hair which had just grown on his ears, upper arm and abdomen fell off at the roots, revealing deep blue, almost black leathery skin underneath.


    Tears welled up in his eyes as he felt his jaws lengthen, his skin stretched to accommodate his new fur covered muzzle. His breath caught in his throat as he felt his heart slow to crawl before stopping completely, Fenris gasped loudly because of the deprivation of oxygen.


    He grasped his throat as his vision started to darken but just as he was about to suffocate, his heart began beating again with renewed vigour. The process was far from over however as he began to feel a dull throbbing in his toenails and finger nails.


    He closed his eyes and gritted his teeth as his toenails forcibly lengthened and sharpened until they resembled claws. Fenris¡¯ mouth opened in a silent scream, slight cracks in his teeth began spreading until they shattered into a million white shards leaving his mouth toothless. Tears streamed down his face and onto his black fur.


    His mouth would not be toothless for long however as newer, sharper teeth burst forth from his gums covered in blood. The pain began to lessen beforeturning into a dull ache. Fenris stood up slowly, he noted the familiar change in height as well as the burning hot yet cold anger coursing through his veins, his sanguine eyes surveyed the messy floor and he licked his lips with an oversized tongue.


    He fell forward onto his hands and feet and stalked forward towards the corpse of a disembowelled man. Fenris slowly approached the corpse, tongue running over his lips repeatedly as he continued to stalk forward, his sanguine eyes held within them a deep and unrestrained fury directed at everything. He sniffed the corpse and then nudged it with his hand, causing it to roll over onto its back.


    Suddenly, with vicious swiftness, he bit into the contents of the exposed stomach and began ripping them to shreds, devouring them with a voracious appetite. The sound of squelching and low growls began to fill the warehouse and rolled out onto the empty street.


    ***


    If one was to describe Robert Delgado, one would say he was plainly and simply a man of business, that fact was reflected by his attire, a dark blue business suit and matching tie. His suit mirrored his sapphire blue eyes and his brown hair was slicked back, he sat with his back straight typing away at the laptop in front of him, the dark circles around his eyes suggested he had not slept in a while.


    A soft buzzing from his left caused his attention to shift to his phone, Robert frowned as he saw the unknown number but against his better judgement, he answered ¡°Hello goodnight, may I ask who I¡¯m speaking to?¡± he spoke warily.


    He heard a chuckle coming from the other end of the line ¡°Good to hear from you again Mr Delgado, I pray you¡¯re doing well?¡± the voice inquired in a voice filled with humour, Robert wore a look of confusion ¡°I¡¯m sorry?¡± he asked uncertainly, the voice of the man sounded unfamiliar to him but apparently the man knew him. Or he knew of him at least.


    ¡°There¡¯s no need to apologize Mr Delgado. After all, you are a busy man. I''d be surprised if you actually did remember me¡± Robert was thoroughly confused, the familiarity that the man displayed unnerved him, the man spoke in a self-assured manner, like he held all the cards to a game he and Robert were playing in his hands.


    Robert was beginning to feel uncomfortable but he still managed to retain a professional attitude ¡°I¡¯m afraid I can¡¯t say we¡¯ve met before but if you would be so kind as to state your name and business then I¡¯m sure we can sit and talk it out¡± he said as he tried to steer the conversation in an area where he was more in his element, though that was not to say he was never in a situation where a fellow businessman or woman took an aggressive stance but the way in which this man spoke managed to unnerve him.


    The man laughed, it was light hearted laughter but Robert only got a sense of foreboding ¡°That won¡¯t be necessary. I¡¯ll be seeing you soon, Robert¡± the man said before the line went dead. Robert gulped and slowly placed the phone down on his desk, he adjusted his tie which suddenly felt a tad too tight and straightened his jacket. He pressed a button on his business phone with a slightly shaking hand and a low beep sounded out followed by the smooth voice of a female ¡°How may I be of-¡± before she could finish Robert interrupted her ¡°Increase security in and around the building please, no one gets in without checking their ID¡±


    A few seconds of silence passed before the woman responded ¡°Sir?¡± she asked uncertainly, Robert¡¯s brow twitched ¡°Just do it!!¡± he yelled and ended the call immediately.


    He inhaled deeply before slowly exhaling through his mouth, the action calmed his heart slightly but Robert was still on edge. He reached into his breast pocket and took out a neatly folded white handkerchief, he dabbed it on his forehead and balled it up before placing it back into his pocket causing his pocket to bulge but Robert showed no indication of caring, right now he had bigger fish to fry.


    His gaze shifted to the computer sitting in front of him on the glass table, paranoia began to seep in as he accessed the building¡¯s cameras. The cameras showed the familiar scene of busy employees going about their business, from what he could gather everything looked normal, which caused his brows to furrow. His gut feelings had never put him wrong before and he was not about to start doubting it now.A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.


    All feeds from the different cameras proved that everything was running the same and he should not be worried. And yet he was. He could not help but feel that something was creeping up on him from behind. His eyes remained locked onto the computer screen unblinkingly, looking for any unfamiliar faces. Just as he was about to give up, he saw a group of masked men in S.W.A.T gear marched through the rotating glass doors and began shooting into the air.


    Panic ensued afterwards as men and women screamed and ducked low, not wanting to be hit by any stray bullets; the assailants ordered everyone to get down on the ground and tied their hands and feet with rope.


    The men dressed in S.W.A.T gear threateningly pointed their guns at the employees, no doubt issuing threats. Robert watched it all unfold, held in place by some invisible force that was too strong to fight against. He watched as one of the armed men gun butted a man in the face causing him to collapse to the floor clutching his now bloody nose in pain.


    The man pointed his gun at the injured man¡¯s head and began shouting; Robert couldn¡¯t hear what the man was saying but whatever he said caused the injured man to tremble in fear. Things began heating up, the armed man continued to shout and the faces of the surrounding hostages grew paler and paler, a sick smile grew on the man¡¯s face as he pressed the barrel of the gun against the forehead of the bleeding man.


    Just as Robert thought the man was going to pull the trigger, one of the gunman¡¯s teammates placed a hand on his shoulder making him pause. Words were exchanged as the heated man began to calm down but not before shooting an annoyed glare at the man who was still clutching his nose, the new comer followed his companion¡¯s back with his eyes before he turned back to the injured fellow and nodded slightly before addressing the crowd.


    Robert could no longer keep his curiosity in check and tapped a key on the keyboard ¡°-Calm and nothing will happen to you, do not try to be a hero¡± he said before glancing briefly at the injured man ¡°The more compliant you are, the sooner you can all leave and go back to your normal lives¡± he concluded before signalling to a man beside him who was decked out in S.W.A.T gear also but instead of wearing a black skull mask like the others, he wore a black cap with the bedazzled words ¡°Brittany Bitch¡± on it.


    The man strode forward, a relaxed smile on his slightly effeminate face as if he was taking a walk through a park. He cast a passing glance at the now kneeling but still bleeding man and shook his head ¡°That wasn¡¯t too smart was it, Nathan?¡± he said to the kneeling man whose eyes widened in shock ¡°H-How do you know m-my name?¡± the bleeding man asked shakily, the smile on theeffeminate man''sface grew wider ¡°Oh, is that your name?¡± he asked as he placed his hands against his cheeks and feigned a shocked look, before Nathan could respond he turned to a shivering woman beside him ¡°Cindy, would you be a dear and help poor Nate with his nose? Thanks¡± he requested sweetly.


    The woman trembled and shakily got to her feet, the man reached into a duffle bag which hung over his shoulder and pulled out a box of tissues before handing it to the woman with a sweet smile, he winked at her and added ¡°Be gentle with him, he¡¯s never been violated like that before¡± he said coquettishly.


    With shaking hands, she accepted the tissue and walked over to Nathan and began tending to his wounds. The man stared at them with a sly smile on his face before he turned his attention back to the hostages ¡° Hello all, you can call me Sunny. My friends and I have come to your prestigiousestablishment to conduct an exchange of sorts. On behalf of my employer I would like to apologize for getting you caught in the crossfire but it was something which could not be avoided¡±


    He began in a deliberately higher pitched tone, the crowd looked at him warily but paid attention to his words ¡°Do you see the men with the big guns in their hands?¡± he asked, a few people hesitantly nodded, unsure of what response Sunny was looking for but too scared to not answer ¡°Good, they have been ordered to shoot anyone who tries anything funny and believe me when I say they will NOT hesitate to put a bullet in your skull¡± faces paled ¡°¡­.or your back¡± more faces paled and some people shed a few tears ¡°Just stay still and you should be fine, kay?¡± he finished with a loud clap.


    The action seemed to be a signal of some sort as the men began spreading out around the room, covering the exits and any other possible escape routes.


    Robert watched everything as the distinct feeling of fear gripped his heart; clearly this man was the one calling the shots. Robert¡¯s hand reached into his jacket and pulled out the pistol he kept on him at all times and held it at the ready, he¡¯d be damned if he went down without a fight.


    So he sat and waited. He wasn¡¯t sure what they wanted but he was sure he wouldn¡¯t give it to them without making them work for it, and boy were they about to work for it.


    --In the lobby--


    Sunny admired the building¡¯s architecture with an appreciative look in his eyes; the grey and black marble floor complimented the tinted windows of the building quite well.


    It gave the building a sort of professional feel which he could appreciate, a shame there were a few splashes of red on the floor which ruined the beauty of the building. ¡°Cindy, could you clean the blood off of the floor before it dries?¡± he asked the woman who was busy carefully dabbing the bloody nose of Nathan, Cindy stiffened when she heard her name and hesitated for a moment before she began wiping up the blood, smearing it across the floor as she wiped in an arc.


    Sunny frowned but made no comment, he made his way toward the elevator located a ways behind the receptionist¡¯s desk and paused, he looked back over his shoulders.


    His eyes narrowed briefly before a smile returned to his face, he pulled his cap down so that it covered up to his nose and continued to the elevator. He pressed the button to call for the elevator and waited while humming an upbeat tune, his head bopped in time to the beat and his feet tapped the floor.


    The elevator doors opened with a ding and Sunny stepped inside before pressing the button that would take him to the top floor, the doors closed and after another ding the elevator began its ascent. Sunny checked his reflection in the polished silver interior of the elevator, his green eyes and pale skin stared back at him; a few strands of oily black hair peeked out from his cap and he unhurriedly tucked it under the hat before averting his gaze.


    He leaned back on the handrail behind him as he waited for the elevator to reach its destination; Sunny began humming a song to pass the time. Suddenly, the lights went out and the elevator stopped with a sudden jerk causing Sunny to stumble forward, luckily he caught his balance before he fell.


    Slightly disoriented by the sudden darkness he was plunged into, Sunny looked around in confusion before he came to a conclusion; somebodymust¡¯ve cut the power.


    No sooner had he arrived at that conclusion, he heard voices on the other side of the elevator doors ¡°Do you think he¡¯s in there?¡± a hushed and frightened voice asked ¡°Of course he¡¯s in there you dolt! Where else can he go?¡± a harsh voice replied to the other.


    From the sound of the voices they were both male, not that it would matter to him if one happened to be a woman, they would still die all the same. Sunny lifted his head, he could barely see given the lack of light but he managed to confirm that there was an emergency hatch above him. Climbing onto the handrail, he began pushing against the hatch with all his might. Slowly, the hatch gave way and slid open.


    Sunny threw his bag through the opening first before hoisting himself up afterward, keeping as little noise as possible. No sooner had he gotten through the hatch, the doors to the elevator opened midway with a creak before the barrel of a rifle was shoved through the opening.


    His eyes widened before he twisted his upper body to face away from the hatch before a hail of hot lead sprayed out from the gun, completely riddling the elevator wall with holes. There was no doubt that if he had remained in the elevator he would surely share a common characteristic with Swiss cheese, the bullets stopped after a moment but his ears still rang from the noise.


    Sunny winced and shook his head to get rid of the noise, his hand reached down to his left ankle and pulled out his combat knife and held it at the ready. The elevator doors opened further and a buff man in a black suit with a rifle in his hands stepped in while examining the interior of the elevator closely ¡°Huh? I could¡¯ve sworn he had taken the elevator¡± the man said confused, Sunny frowned deeply and positioned himself properly ¡®Well you know what they say¡¯ he thought to himself as a predatory smile spread across his face ¡®An eye for an eye¡¯ he thought before jumping through the hatch and onto the surprised man, a squelching sound could be heard as the man and Sunny collapsed to the floor with a thud.

 An Apology

    Hey guys, I''m sorry about my unexplained abscense, school has me completely swamped. Finals are coming up and I have a lot of studying to do but I''ll try to upload some chapters if I have time to write. Again, i''m really sorry about leaving you guys hanging like this, i''ll try to make it up to you later.If you encounter this narrative on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.


    shurbudurbuhdurbuhdurbuhdurbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbb

 An explosive finish

    The man fell to the floor as Sunny landed on him; he watched the life drain from his eyes and relished in the exhilaration that followed. Sunny pulled the previously polished silver knife out of his attacker¡¯s chest and threw it at his partner; the knife slid into the man''s throat and ended his life before he even knew it.


    His eyes widened and his mouth parted slightly as he fell to his knees, blood flowed out of his neck and slipped through his fingers as he tried to stop the bleeding. Sunny stood up slowly, his muscles began to heat up the more he worked them out; the flashing lights above him added a certain horror movie vibe to the atmosphere.


    ¡°It¡¯s the little things in life you just gotta appreciate¡±


    He murmured as he took note of the blood slowly pooling around him, his heart sped up as he felt a sense of wrongness about what he had just done, the feeling of taking another person¡¯s life was undeniably wrong¡­..yet it was so addicting that it was almost ironic.


    Forcing himself to turn his thoughts back to the mission and away from moral dilemmas, he continued onward while trying not to mind the blood on his clothes. Say what you want about him but he held pride in his cleanliness. It wasn¡¯t long until he came across another set of men sent to obstruct him who sported black suits and sunglasses so dark he wondered if they could even see through them.


    He did not have time to debate that however, as one of the men dipped his hand into his jacket and retrieved a pistol before levelling it at him. Sunny rushed toward the nearest man in black and grabbed him, the plan was to use him as a shield to absorb the bullets. Sure, maybe he had a family, a wife or just a dog who really loved him but what was that to Sunny anyway? Sunny felt the bullets as they made contact with his body; nine shots rang out before he heard the click of the gun which signalled that his attacker was out of bullets.


    Sunny shoved the body of his now dead shield forward and into the man wielding the gun before he dove to the right, just in time to avoid being stabbed. He rolled into a kneeling position and looked up at his assailant.


    Sunny smiled


    ¡°Attacking someone from behind isn¡¯t nice, I could¡¯ve died you know¡±


    The man''s nose flared before he rushed at Sunny, followed closely by his similarly dressed companions.


    Obviously Sunny couldn¡¯t take out all of them by himself so he searched around his duffle bag for additional help. His smile widened as his hand wrapped around something metallic, he pulled it out the bag and pointed it at his attackers who hurriedly skidded to a halt as their eyes landed on it.


    ¡°Looks like we have ourselves a good old fashioned stand-off, boys¡±


    Sunny couldn¡¯t help but laugh at his own joke as he pulled back the hammer of the handgun and let loose six consecutive shots, all aimed at different targets.


    Admittedly, he was a pretty good shot and luckily his targets refused to move after he pulled out his gun; though he guessed they didn¡¯t move because they didn¡¯t have enough time but that wasn''t important. Six gunshots and four dead bodies later, he got up and continued his journey through the halls, idly watching the paintings as he passed them; it might''ve been his imagination but it seemed the eyes of the paintings were following him as he walked.


    Time passed as he made his way through the halls until he arrived at his destination, a steel door stood defiantly before him.


    ¡°I¡¯m not too sure Mr Bigshot¡¯s gonna like me barging into this place¡±


    A smile spread across Sunny''s face as the thought of ruffling some guy in a suit¡¯s feathers played across his mind, without any further hesitation he turned the knob and walked in.


    Sunny whistled as he took in the sight of thousands of computers lined off in neat rows. He strode through the room while casually eyeing them. They all looked so new and shiny, it¡¯d be a shame if someone messed with em. He randomly chose a computer and pulled a long cable out of his wristwatch and plugged it in, both his watch and the computer screen lit up before they synced and the files began transferring.


    Sunny casually sat on the table and waited, twiddling his thumbs as he listened to the constant beeping of his watch. After several minutes of silence, his watch began to beep rapidly; he winced at the loud noiseand plugged it out of the computer.


    ¡°Well, my job here is done¡±


    With measured strides, Sunny strolled out of the room and came face to face with the nozzle of a pistol.If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.


    ¡°Well you sure took your time¡±


    The cigarette breath and yellowed teeth of Bryan, Sunny''s right hand man, greeted him as the gun was lowered and tucked into Bryan''s pants. Sunny smiled at him before glancing at his watch; they had twelve more minutes before the cops were on their asses.


    ¡°Let¡¯s get moving, I don¡¯t know about you but I¡¯m not too keen about going to prison¡±


    Bryan laughed as he followed behind Sunny. he didn¡¯t have to turn around to see the smirk on his face; he always was a cheery fellow.


    ¡°I¡¯m sure you¡¯d sooner beat those poor officers to death before you let them take you anywhere. I keep telling you bro, violence is never the answer¡±


    Hisanswer caused Sunny to smile, he shook his head butchose not to reply, now certainly wasn¡¯t the time for friendly banter. They quickly made their way back through the halls sunny took to get to the server room, stepping over corpses as they continued on.


    Bryan whistled in surprise as he stepped over a corpse


    ¡°Poor bastards didn¡¯t even know what hit em¡±


    ¡°Wasn¡¯t my fault they chose to shoot first, I was defending myself¡±


    ¡°Riiiiiight, Of course you were¡±


    Sunny rolled his eyes as they began descending the stairs,their steps echoed as they hurriedly took each step. The items in his duffle bag jingled as the bag bounced around. Sunny''s heart raced as they increased their travel speed until they finally made it to the bottom of the stairs.


    ¡°Alright people, let¡¯s move!!¡±


    Sunny made his way across the room but stopped as he pushed open the door; he looked over his shoulder and smiled at the scared men and women kneeling on the floor.


    ¡°I thank you for your cooperation ladies and gents; you¡¯ve been a wonderful audience. The police are already on their way so there is no need to call them and should any of you think about giving up my identity¡­..well; I¡¯d honestly like it if you did that¡±


    He couldn¡¯t stopthe smile before it appeared on his face as he imagined all the blood he could spill if the police knew his identity and managed to find him. A few of the men and women recoiled as they saw him smile, causing him to chuckle before finally stepping out the door.


    A black van was parked in front of the building, the side door slid open and Bryan poked his head out and nodded at him. Sunny briskly made his way over and got in before closing the door behind him.


    ¡°Did everyone make it?¡±


    Sunny nodded in confirmation before the driver floored the gas pedal causing the van to lurch forward, wheels screeching.


    The sirens were gradually getting closer but it was too late for them to catch them now, not unless their cars were charged up with jet fuel which he doubted; he had no idea why the government had neglected to take better care of their police force but he wasn''t about to start complaining, especially not when it worked in his favor.


    As they got farther away from the building, Sunny saw Bryan dig into his pocket and pull out a detonator.


    ¡°Why¡¯d you bring that?¡± he couldn''t help but ask


    Bryan smirked athim and winked before pressing the button, the van rocked as a loud explosion came from behind.


    ¡°What the fuck was that!?¡±


    His ears were ringing and his vision swam as he turned to face Bryan whose smirk never left his face even though he seemed slightly queasy from all the jerking the van was doing; his goofy smile just made Sunny want to laugh.


    ¡°Happy twenty-sixth birthday, bro!!¡±


    Sunny barely registered his voice over the loud screams and the roaring of the engine but at least the ringing in his ears was beginning to subside.


    ¡°I was trying to get fireworks but then I remembered they banned those!¡±


    ¡°And you thought bombing an entire building was the better alternative?!¡±


    ¡°Well, it got the job done didn¡¯t it?!¡±


    A barking laughter followed his statement, sometimes he just seemed so sure of himself that it was really hard to argue with him.


    ¡°You¡¯re out of your fucking mind you know that?¡±


    Still, Sunny couldn¡¯t stop himself from smiling; Sure, Bryan might have a few screws loose but despite that there¡¯s no one he''d trust more to watch his back. Bryan threw an arm around his shoulder and leaned in.


    ¡°We¡¯re gonna make it far in this game, bro. Believe that¡±


    He patted Sunny on the back before returning to his reclined position, closing his eyes and crossing his arms across his chest. Sunny smiled and shook his head as he turned away from him. His mind turned to the events that transpired today as well as what the future had in store for them; Bryan¡¯s words played in his head like an old record stuck on repeat while the screams of panic echoed all around them.


    ¡®I don¡¯t doubt that we¡¯ll make it far, but at what cost?¡¯

 No Backing Out

    Scar hopped out of the van after it came to a stop in front of a bar in a shady neighbourhood. The side door slid open and sunny¡¯s crew sauntered out while chatting merrily with each other. Sunny stepped out last; the pondering look on his face giving away his emotional state.


    He had a nagging feeling in his gut, something about Scar just didn¡¯t seem right to him. Like all the men he had taken jobs for, this man seemed to be the bearer of many secrets and had an air of danger about him but if it was only that he wouldn¡¯t be so on edge, what truly had him concerned was the feeling in his gut which was telling him he was missing a large piece of the puzzle. He was sure there was something going on which he wasn¡¯t aware of and that, in and of itself, was very worrying to Sunny.


    Sunny watched Scar as he stepped away from the crowd and made a call; he saw the frown appear on Scar¡¯s face as the phone went to voicemail.


    ¡®Trouble in paradise, perhaps?¡¯


    Sunny entertained the thought of the serious looking Scar having problems with his girlfriend with a small smile on his face before he turned to more serious matters. He looked to his crew who were heading into the bar while passing around idle banter, leaving him outside to deal with their employer which was just as well seeing as he handled mission acquisitions so why not payment too, right?


    He waited as Scar continued to try to get a hold of whoever he was calling again and again but to no avail, Sunny could see the unease etched on his face as he stuffed the phone into his pocket and turned to face him.


    ¡°The money has already been wired to your account but there is a bit to discuss about the dramatic exit you made. That was not a part of the mission objective¡±


    Sunny smiled at Scar disarmingly and stretched his hand out in a helpless manner


    ¡°There were some unforeseen issues, nothing we couldn¡¯t handle though. I apologize if we haven¡¯t performed to your liking¡±


    Scar looked at Sunny disapprovingly; his silent stare spoke volumes about how he felt the mission was handled. The scalding look of disappointment he was giving Sunny caused cold sweats to drip down his back but Sunny was wise enough to know when not to speak.


    ¡°With that being said, do you have it?¡±


    Sunny pressed a button on his watch and a small memory card popped out of a slot with an almost inaudible pop, he pulled it out and handed it to Scar who scrutinized it in the palm of his hand.


    ¡°All that information stored in such a small device, humanity has come a long way¡±


    ¡®There really isn¡¯t a need for small talk¡¯ Sunny mused internally


    ¡°Well, if our business is concluded then I should really be on my way¡±


    Sunny made to walk past Scar but was forced to stop as Scar placed his hand on his shoulder and shook his head. Sunny looked at him inquisitively, confused about the sudden physical contact. A look of unease came upon Scar¡¯s face as he hesitated; it seemed as if he was wrestling with himself about something before he finally opened his mouth to speak.


    ¡°The boss¡­¡­wants to have a word with you. I¡¯ve no doubt it is to discuss the mission¡±


    That made Sunny pause. For one, he thought Scar was the boss, seeing as he had an aura of authority about him. His eyes searched the area but there was no one else around save for the two of them and a couple of homeless men and a woman but he doubted ¡®the boss¡¯ would disguise himself as a hobo to get the drop on him.


    ¡°He¡¯s not here yet but he should be arriving shortly¡±


    ¡°I hope this doesn¡¯t take too long. Knowing my team, they¡¯re probably in there drinking and causing unnecessary trou-¡±


    A loud thud followed by the screeching of metal and shattering of glass sent Sunny and Scar tumbling forward as a gust of wind knocked them down to the ground. Sunny was the first to get back to his feet, combat knife in hand in preparation for a fight while Scar was grumbling as he took his time to stand.


    Sunny¡¯s eyes widened as he spun around to face the demolished vehicle. He wasn¡¯t surprised to see the twisted and deformed van though, what surprised him was the sight of the naked and bloodied man who was laying atop the roof of the van. The man blinked and glanced around before he placed his hand on a part of the van which was restricting his left hand, the metal screeched as it bent under his strength as he pushed it away from his body.


    Sunny took an involuntary step back as the new arrival extracted his self from the debris and began walking toward them; the man regarded Sunny for a moment which gave him the feeling that he was being watched by a dangerous predator. As the man came to a stop in front of them, his predatory gaze finally left Sunny as he turned to address Scar.


    ¡°Was the mission a success?¡±


    The man¡¯s voice was surprising to say the least, it was deep but the refined way in which he spoke was not at all what Sunny was expecting.


    ¡°More or less¡± Scar replied and poked his chin in Sunny¡¯s direction ¡°This is Sunny, the de facto leader of the group you hired¡±


    Sunny shrivelled as he was once again under the scrutiny of the man and his predatory gaze. If he thought that the look he got before was enough to make him shiver then the look he was getting now was enough to scare a new stripe into his underwear.


    His steel grey eyes seemed to bore into Sunny¡¯s soul, finding and examining each dark secret he held close before disregarding them. The world seemed to have suddenly gone quiet as Sunny tried his best to supress the fear he felt from showing on his face.


    Finally, after what felt like years, the man spoke


    ¡°The explosions, your handiwork I take it¡±


    Sunny felt compelled to nod under the gaze of the man, he had a feeling that he already knew the answer to the question anyway and he was asking as nothing more than a formality. The man nodded at Sunny¡¯s affirmation and smiled


    ¡°Thank you for your honesty¡±


    Before Sunny could reply he was grabbed by his throat and hoisted into the air in an impressive display of strength. Sunny¡¯s first instinct was to retaliate, he stabbed at the hand that was wrapped around his throat in an effort to get him to let go but it seemed to do nothing as his attacker didn¡¯t so much as flinch.


    The pressure around Sunny¡¯s throat increased and his vision started to blur, dark spots around his peripherals grew and for a moment he thought that he would die. He closed his eyes in acceptance, the life he lived was a violent one, and to him it was only fair that he met a similarly violent end.


    Suddenly, the pressure vanished and he found himself on the ground, sputtering and gasping for breath. He brought his hand up to his throat and touched it tenderly, using his other hand to drag himself away from the strange man.


    ¡°Be very thankful I have further use of you and your team¡¯s services¡±This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.


    The barely contained fury in his voice added fuel to the already burning fear in Sunny¡¯s chest, his body was trembling and his breathing refused to return to normal no matter how many deep breaths he took. The ease with which the man lifted him and the previous scene with the van already told of his strength; additionally, his unflinching attitude when he got stabbed showed Sunny he was not a match for him, at least, not in a fair fight.


    ¡°Could you find something for me to wear please, Scar? Natalie should have something inside I can use I believe¡±


    Scar nodded and looked down at Sunny before walking off, leaving the two of them alone. The man stooped down in front of Sunny as he rubbed the bridge of his nose and sighed.


    ¡°You must understand lad, when you¡¯re hired to do a job you must always make sure you perform to a certain degree to keep your employer happy. Especially when you¡¯re to be paid after the job is completed¡±


    He looked down at his hand silently and shook his head


    ¡°Just be glad I bothered to examine your team¡¯s track record. If I were unaware of your team¡¯s normally satisfactory performance I¡¯d have killed you for botching the job¡±


    Sunny stared at him in silence, glaring at him as he rubbed his throat. He still felt like his throat was being crushed in a vice.


    ¡°My name is Victor Carlisle, you may have heard of me or the organization which I represent?¡±


    The miniscule amount of hostility Sunny felt drained away as the name rung in his head like an emergency bell, the name Victor Carlisle was one which carried a lot of weight in the underworld. Allegedly, the name was associated with several high profile cases dealing with espionage and assassinations which were all left unsolved due to a lack of evidence. It was even said he had a few high ranking government officials in his pocket.


    ¡°It seems you know who I am. Good, that makes this easier. I¡¯ve never been one to beat around the bush so I¡¯ll cut to the chase, would you be interested in working for me?¡±


    Sunny looked at Victor incredulously, noting the small smirk at the corner of his lips. There were two voices in his head counselling him; one was telling him to accept and live a lavish life in comfort while the other was shouting ¡®fuck you¡¯ with vehemence. Amusement danced in Victor¡¯s eyes as he watched Sunny agonise over the decision.


    ¡°It¡¯s not a hard choice to make, Eren. Don¡¯t you want to be able to keep supporting that orphanage in Long bay? I bet those children would be real sad if, say, their home was to be torn down¡±


    Anger surged in Sunny¡¯s eyes at the underlying threat in Victor¡¯s statement; the people at the orphanage were his family, they were the very reason he did what he did. Sunny ground his teeth in frustration as he hatefully stared at Victor, barely restraining himself from cursing him and his ancestors.


    ¡°I accept¡±


    The bitterness and anger in his voice showcased the helplessness he was feeling; said helplessness simply served as fuel to the burning fire that was his rage.


    ¡°I¡¯m relieved, if you hadn¡¯t then the strings I pulled to repair and remodel the orphanage would have been wasted. In fact, the repairs should be happenig as we speak. No need to worry, the children and their caretaker have been relocated to a secure location. I¡¯ll arrange to have you visit them should you wish¡±


    Surprise was etched across Sunny¡¯s face at Victor¡¯s statement, the little bit of hope he had for salvaging the situation hung onto it; picking apart the sentence and praying he hadn¡¯t misinterpreted it wrong.


    ¡°So¡­¡­you¡¯re not going to destroy it?¡±


    Sunny prodded further into the situation in hopes that his old home would be left standing for hopefully, another twelve years. Victor seemed to pick up on his anxious behaviour and tilted his head slightly to the side in confusion, he had no idea that his tactic in dealing with Sunny would have been so¡­..effective. He briefly entertained taking this approach more often, he chuckled at the thought before dismissing it, as effective a tactic as it was, he knew there were other ways to achieve the same result.


    ¡°Are you perhaps feeling a bit lightheaded? I believe I was speaking at a volume which was easily within the range of human hearing¡±


    Before Sunny could reply to the seemingly derogatory comment, Scar came back with clothes in hand and a woman following him with a look of barely restrained fury on her face. Despite her short stature, her eyes and confident stride showed all who looked upon her that she was self-assured and capable. Scar came to a stop a few feet aware from Victor¡¯s naked form while the woman continued past him.


    ¡°Natalie? There was no need to come outside; I was just about to com-¡±


    The fist that landed squarely on his jaw cut his words off as he was knocked to the ground, a pained groan came out of his mouth as he pushed himself back up. His right hand caressed the spot where Natalie¡¯s fist connected as he regarded her with a look of surprise.


    ¡°Have you gotten stronger? I really felt that one¡±


    Natalie frowned as she rubbed her fist with her other hand, glaring balefully at Victor as he stared back at her. The two glared at each other before finally, a smile broke out across Victor¡¯s face which caused her to scoff before turning away with a small smile of her own.


    ¡°Is that anyway to say hello? To think, I gave my all to you and you punch me the first chance you get; and here I thought I heard a certain someone say they were ready for chil-¡±


    ¡°For the love of God, would you shut up already?! I missed you, you fucking asshole! If Scar hadn¡¯t told me you were outside I would¡¯ve started pulling my hair out in stress!!¡±


    Sunny flinched as the woman shouted at Victor who seemed to be taking it all in stride, smiling fondly as she prattled on and on. Sunny didn¡¯t find the situation so endearing, to him it was just awkward, and right now he was little more than an unwilling observer in what seemed like a lover¡¯s quarrel.


    Natalie was still in the middle of her rant when Victor walked up to her and tilted her chin upward, his lips met hers and for a moment, everything went quiet. Her arms snaked around his neck as she tip toed and kissed him back passionately, the atmosphere seemed to turn pink as they two appeared too at ease in each other¡¯s embrace to care about their surroundings.


    Sunny and Scar stood in awkward silence as they tried not to look at the couple who had forgotten they were in public. Scar cleared his throat to garner their attention but Victor simply shooed him away before ignoring him.


    ¡°Sir, I believe you should be getting dressed. People are beginning to stare¡±


    That seemed to do the trick as Natalie pulled away and turned around, suddenly very aware of Victor¡¯s nakedness. Victor chuckled and took the clothes from Scar¡¯s hand; he slid on the underwear and pants before he walked over to Natalie and hugged her from behind.


    She scoffed but made no move to pull away from him as he placed a few kisses in her neck and behind her ear.


    ¡°I missed you too, Nat¡±


    ¡°Not enough to look for me as soon as you get home apparently¡±


    Victor laughed at Natalie¡¯s statement, not failing to notice the slight smirk on her face.


    ¡°I had business to take care of first. Speaking of which, I believe we have ourselves a deal, right?¡±


    Sunny was unprepared for the focus to turn back to him, nodding mechanically as he was still feeling the residual awkwardness from the display of affection before. Victor smiled and turned his gaze to Scar, giving him a nod before he began walking towards the bar.


    ¡°Take care of your new employee, Scar. Show him the ropes, teach him the rules and take him to the base after you get him some new clothes. Actually, get the rest of his team some new clothes too¡±


    Scar grunted in affirmation, hesitating just a bit before asking the next question


    ¡°Should¡­¡­Should I take them to see Cheng?¡±


    Victor¡¯s steps slowed to a stop at the question, a sigh escaped his lips as he ran a hand through his hair. The atmosphere was suddenly tense and the air seemed to have turned very flammable, it was like they were suddenly at a funeral.


    After several seconds of silence, he decided to speak up, if only to get the identity of the man who caused such tension at the mere mention of his name.


    ¡°Who¡¯s Cheng?¡±


    No one answered; in fact, no one seemed to have heard his question at all so he asked again


    ¡°Who¡¯s Ch-¡±


    ¡°I was hoping to avoid him for a little longer but if you think they need to see Cheng then take them. Just make sure he doesn¡¯t go overboard, get physical if you need to. I can¡¯t bear to look at him right now¡±


    Victor¡¯s voice cut through the air like a knife, his words were so sharp and clipped Sunny felt chills as he heard them. The hostility behind that one sentence was enough to make his heart race and apparently he wasn¡¯t the only one that felt it, Scar and Natalie were also looking uneasy.


    Without another word, Victor walked into the bar with Natalie leaving Scar and Sunny alone in the now empty street. The howling wind was the only noise which could be heard as they stood in silence, both stuck in their thoughts.


    ¡°So listen¡±


    Sunny started hesitantly, breaking the silence which had descended upon them


    ¡°I don¡¯t know about you but I¡¯m not so sure I wanna be bothering someone who can rattle his cage like that so how about we just skip the visit to this  ¡®Cheng¡¯ guy and not tell anyone about it. Sound good to you?¡±


    The hopeful tone in Sunny¡¯s voice did little to persuade Scar as he shook his head in reply


    ¡°You¡¯ll have to meet him eventually, it¡¯s better to get it out of the way now. I¡¯m sure Cheng¡¯s going to be too upset to try anything tonight¡±


    Scar looked up into the sky and rubbed his chin in thought


    ¡°It¡¯s almost morning so he should be too weak to kill you anyway¡±


    Sunny¡¯s face paled at the casual mention of his possible death, he opened his mouth to protest but Scar had already grabbed him by the arm and began pulling him along. Sunny had to jog a little to match his pace.


    ¡°I just hope he won¡¯t be too out of it to realise it¡¯s me and not boss¡±


    The shudder Sunny felt transmit from Scar¡¯s hand to his arm did little to inspire confidence, with a pounding heart and uncertainty clouding his mind, he allowed himself to be dragged forward while wondering how he ended up in a situation like this.

 Old Chen: Part 1

    Victor lay sprawledacross the bed, his naked form illuminated by the moon as it shone through the window. Natalie traced the scars on his chest and stomach with a finger as the two enjoyed each other¡¯s company in silence.


    ¡°You know¡± Natalie began as she kissed from his chest to his neck before pulling back ¡°You never told me how you got these scars¡±


    Victor grunted as he positioned himself to look at her, propping himself up on his elbows as the sheet slid down to his stomach. He stared into her chocolate brown eyes for a while, losing himself in them as he thought back on times long gone. With a sigh, he allowed himself to collapse on the pillow before speaking


    ¡°I was a soldier, fought in one too many wars that left one too many scars¡±


    He pointed to a long scar which started in the middle of his chest and ended at his navel


    ¡°Got this in a fight some odd years ago, some overenthusiastic kid tried to gut me. I¡¯ll never forget his screams when my guts spilled out but I stayed standing¡±


    Natalie¡¯s eyes widened ¡°Wait, just wait a minute, so what you¡¯re saying is you survived being disembowelled?¡± she asked incredulously. Victor chuckled before shrugging causing Natalie to snort at the response.


    His finger travelled to another scar just above his waist


    ¡°Got ran through by a bandit while taking a piss, he wasn¡¯t too pleased when I didn¡¯t die and I wasn¡¯t too pleased he almost chopped my dick off¡±


    Natalie laughed at the story much to Victor¡¯s annoyance but his displeasure only made her laugh harder. Her raucous laughter travelled through the room, holding her stomach as she wiped a tear from her eye.


    ¡°Where¡¯d you get this one?¡±


    She pointed to a set of teeth marks on his shoulder as she managed to calm down; he winced exaggeratedly and inhaled sharply before smiling playfully at her as she pulled her hand back quickly and looked at him worriedly. She scowled as she saw the slight smirk at the corner of his lips.


    ¡°Sure that one wasn¡¯t your handiwork? You weren¡¯t exactly gentle¡±


    Natalie rolled her eyes and punched him in the stomach; she rubbed her fist with a pained look which caused him to chuckle as he rubbed his stomach in kind.


    ¡°I¡¯m serious, I wanna know¡±


    Her eyes were glued to his shoulder now, observing the wound with interest. It looked recent; not five minutes ago recent, more like a week or so ago recent. He looked out the window at the waning moon and sighed tiredly, his eyes had a faraway look to them as he lost himself in his thoughts. Natalie gently grabbed his chin and turned his head to face her, her loving gaze locked onto his face as she smiled softly.


    ¡°It¡¯s fine if you don¡¯t wanna talk about it¡±


    Victor sighed and raised his hand to her face, caressing it lovingly before letting his hand drop back to the bed. She held his hand and squeezed, reassuring him that it was fine and he smiled at her gratefully.


    ¡°I used to live in a village when I was younger; my people were hunters, not in the traditional sense, the things they hunted were more¡­.monstrous in nature. Back then the earth was less, for lack of a better word, tame. It was my final year in training and my parents were proud that their son was going to be standing beside them as an elite hunter¡±


    Victor smiled fondly while a faraway expression donned his face as he recalled the memory


    ¡°My teacher and I were on the trail of a white horned elk, I was supposed to bring it down using my bow and, if need be, my bare hands; though how he expected me to do that I had no idea. After several days and excruciatingly long nights sleeping out in the open we finally managed to track it down¡±


    His smile widened


    ¡°The bastard was twice my size and easily weighed way more than I did, I remember thinking how the hell am I supposed to kill this? But I couldn¡¯t help feeling excited. I had no choice but to bide my time and wait for the perfect opportunity to strike which came sooner than I expected. Something¡­.something spooked it though, to this day I still don¡¯t know what exactly it was¡±


    The smile on his face slowly fell away as he paused


    ¡°The beast ran right at me. It didn¡¯t seem to notice me though and I would have been run right over if I hadn¡¯t scrambled out of the way¡±


    Victor paused as the sound of a howl echoed in the night; he frowned slightly and sniffed the air, body tense as if he were preparing for something. The howling died down and his body relaxed slightly with the fading sound, he rubbed his temple before continuing


    ¡°As it passed me I jumped onto its back and clung onto its neck for dear life, that moment was probably the most alive and terrified I had felt in my entire life. I could hear my heart thundering in my ears and I felt the blood rushing through my body and for a moment, one single moment, I thought, this¡­..this is how I want to live life¡±


    A self-mocking snort came after that, hinting at a secret he didn¡¯t care to share. Natalie chose not to pry, believing that if he wanted to tell her then he would; in his own time.


    ¡°I remember the blood as it gushed out when I stabbed it in the neck with an arrow, quick thinking on my part if I do say so myself. It bucked and tossed me about in its¡¯ panic, apparently it hadn¡¯t even felt me on its back the whole time. Thankfully I had just enough strength to hold on until it tired itself out and I ended its life¡±


    He paused and inhaled deeply, a haunted look appearing in his eyes. He shuddered before he snapped himself out of his thoughts


    ¡°That¡¯s when I heard something approach from behind me. At the time I thought it was my instructor coming to congratulate me so I turned around, ready to boast. Imagine my surprise when I turned around and found that I was staring into a mouth filled with jagged teeth and bad breath; I barely managed to pull back my head in time, got bit on the shoulder instead¡±The author''s narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.


    Victor brought his hand up and rubbed the scar absentmindedly, his eyes shone with a dull but ominous red glow as the moon hid behind a cloud, plunging the room into darkness. Natalie¡¯s grip on his hand loosened slightly at the sight and she froze in place. Victor was too lost in his thoughts to notice her predicament though; his gaze was locked firmly in front of him, blankly ahead at the wall in silence.


    Suddenly shaking himself out of his thoughts as the room was slowly regained its luminescence as the clouds moved. He felt Natalie¡¯s gaze on his face and heard the erratic beating of her heart, he looked down at her with concern on his face.


    ¡°Are you alright?¡±


    The concern in his voice eased her slightly but fear was still present in her eyes, the way his eyes suddenly began glowing made her blood run cold. Natalie smiled slightly, pulling her hand out of his before replying


    ¡°I-I¡¯m alright. I¡­.just need some air¡±


    She got up and slipped into her clothes shakily before heading for the door, Victor eyed her curiously but made no move to follow. He knew she was scared, the way her heart was racing told him that much, but for what reason he was uncertain.


    She would tell him when she was ready, he mused, and she was never one to keep quiet about how she felt either way. Victor rose and tossed his legs over the side of the bed and stared through the window at the moon, his face a stony mask.


    For a while, he simply sat and stared; memories of his childhood raced through his mind, his overprotective mother, his strict father and his ever stoic mentor. They all helped shape him into the man he was now.


    Victor tore his gaze away from the silver mistress of the night in the sky and looked at the stab wound on his arm he had received earlier. He could see the skin slowly stitching itself back together as each second ticked by, a dull throb and itching he had learned to ignore accompanied the process as the wound slowly healed. His thoughts turned to the man in question, wondering if they had met the old man yet.


    He smiled despite himself, if it was one thing he was sure of, it was that Chen would undoubtedly be difficult to handle, and he was more than eager to learn how Sunny would handle him.


    ____________________________


    ¡°Are you sure this is the right place?¡±


    Sunny looked around as he rubbed his throat unconsciously, he and Scar were standing in front of an old, run down Chinese restaurant. An old, faded sign hung above the door ¡®The Jade Dragon¡¯, it read.


    Scar simply raised an eyebrow at him in response; he was leaning against an old, beat up car parked in front of the building. His hands were stuffed inside his pockets as he smiled leisurely at Sunny


    ¡°Just go inside and stop overthinking it. I didn¡¯t peg you for the scared type¡±


    Sunny looked back at Scar uncertainly before glancing back at the door of the restaurant. The windows were covered with dust and all the lights were off, truthfully, the place looked abandoned.


    ¡°It¡¯s not that I¡¯m scared¡­..It just¡­.doesn¡¯t look like anyone¡¯s home. Actually, it looks like no one¡¯s been home for a long time¡±


    Scar chuckled at Sunny¡¯s reluctance and pushed off of the car, coming to stand beside him as they both looked up at the sign, a reluctant look on one¡¯s face and a tight smile on the other¡¯s. Sunny looked at Scar out the corner of his eye and noted the man was more nervous than he was letting on.


    ¡°We could go in together. Vict-¡± Sunny caught himself and stopped before rephrasing, it wouldn''t do to call his boss by his first name.


    ¡°The boss sent you with me so technically we¡¯re both supposed to head in¡± he smiled slightly, a twinkle appeared in his eyes that made Scar frown. Several minutes passed as Scar deliberated, he released a sigh before agreeing.


    ¡°Fine, let¡¯s just get this over with¡±


    Sunny smiled triumphantly as he followed beside Scar who opened the door and stepped inside the shoddy restaurant. Overturned tables and chairs lay scattered across the floor, the place smelled of old wood and blood. Sunny pinched his nose and waved his hand in front of his face


    ¡°This place could really use a cleaning¡±


    Scar glanced around the dark interior, the little light that was coming in through the windows was barely enough to see anything.


    ¡°Chen!!¡±


    His voice echoed loudly, rustling and several squeaks were heard, a small furry body scampered across the floor. Sunny stepped back quickly, away from the mouse that had made a home in the crumbling building. A curious glance was cast in his direction; Scar opened his mouth to speak but stopped as a rhythmic tapping drifted into their ears.


    They stared in the direction they heard the sound, a dark corridor that lead deeper into the building. Their eyes focused intently as if they were trying to see through the thick darkness that surrounded them. Sunny¡¯s heart sped up as the sound grew louder, he gulped loudly and glanced at Scar who was patiently waiting for something, he did seem wary though, if the hand wrapped around the hilt of the knife at his side was any indication.


    ¡°What brings you here, bug?¡±


    The raspy voice of an old man drifted from within the dark corridor, cold sweat ran down both Scar and Sunny¡¯s backs. The voice was slow and hauntingly wispy.


    ¡°Chen¡± Scar began as he put on a disarming smile, hand never leaving the knife ¡°It¡¯s good to see you in such good health, as chipper as ever I see¡±


    Chen chuckled at the compliment, his form sliding through the darkness like he himself was a part of it as he drifted closer to the pair. Sunny slinked back as Chen stepped into the light to reveal the form of a wizened old man with a flowing white beard and crooked yellow teeth that glistened under the moonlight.


    ¡°Did the young upstart send you to me? Are you here to apologize on his behalf? Or perhaps¡­..you¡¯re here for another reason?¡±


    Chen was smiling widely, despite his hunched form and weak appearance, Sunny had the feeling that he was far more dangerous than he appeared to be. His milky white eyes suggested he was blind which would explain why the lights were off, or at least that was Sunny¡¯s reasoning; but the grace he showed as he slinked through the darkness made Sunny wonder if the old man was really blind at all.


    Scar shifted his weight from one foot to the other as Chen stared at him with his empty gaze, he rubbed the back of his neck as he opened his mouth to speak but before he could, Chen¡¯s smile slid off his face as he turned his gaze to Sunny who froze up like a deer in the headlights under Chen¡¯s gaze, a moment of tense silence passed as Chen evaluated Sunny before releasing a discontent snort and turned to Scar.


    ¡°His mind is fractured, should Fenris decide to add him to the pack he¡¯d be nothing more than a savage beast. Like the others¡±


    Scar looked down at the floor, a sorrowful expression on his face which soon changed to one of confusion upon the old man¡¯s next sentence.


    ¡°But I fear Fenris might need all the help he can get in the coming nights¡±


    ¡°What do you mean?¡± Scar asked uncertainly, his confusion soon turned to fear as realization hit him ¡°Did you have another vision? What did you see?¡±


    Chen sighed and turned around; his wiry thin arms reached out shakily as darkness flew toward him and condensed into the shape of a black cane which he used to hobble back down the passageway, Scar followed after him leaving Sunny in the dark with eyes wide open in shock.


    He had lost track of the conversation when the old man stared into his eyes, he felt as if all his secrets were put on display as Chen¡¯s eyes bore into him. For a long while, he simply stood there, unable to move an inch as various thoughts ran through his mind. Despite the fact that his subconscious self was calling for blood, his more reasonable side understood from the display put on by Chen that he was outmatched.


    He knew that Chen now knew all the horrible things he had done¡­..his past. Sunny gritted his teeth and clenched his fists, it was the second time for the night he had been rendered powerless and that was enough to light a fire up under his ass; power was the goal after all.


    With reignited determination, Sunny followed after Scar and Chen into the darkness leaving behind an empty restaurant of swirling shadows.

 Old Chen: Part 2 (Take a hit)

    A room illuminated by a single candle awaited them as they stepped out of the darkness; Sunny cast a curious gaze over the room. Books and clothes were strewn across the room haphazardly giving the place a ¡®lived in¡¯ feeling; Chen walked toward the only bookshelf in the room and ran his hand along a row of books, his fingers traced along their covers before stopping at a book indistinguishable from the rest.


    He pulled it out slightly before letting go, causing the book to fall to the floor accompanied by the fluttering of pages. He glanced back at Sunny and Scar ¡°Wrong one¡± he explained before turning back and running his hand over the books once again.


    Sunny glanced at Scar with his eyebrows raised, Scar simply gestured for him to wait. A few more books fell to the floor as Chen pulled one after the other before a click resounded from the bookshelf as he touched the final book.


    The bookshelf slowly creaked open in a way that sent shivers down Sunny¡¯s spine, it gave him the feeling that some creature from the depths of hell was going to jump out and maul them. The feeling ceased when the bookshelf slid open enough to let him glimpse inside, a room sat behind the bookshelf, dingy walls and a sofa so old it could be considered antique sat in the middle of the room behind a low wooden table which had a bouquet of flowers as the centrepiece.


    An abstract painting hung on the wall, a swirl of blues, greens and purples; looking at it in all its glory gave Sunny a headache. Chen waddled into the room, the shadows pulled away from him as he stepped through the threshold separating the bookshelf from the room, he slowly lowered himself into an armchair and exhaled loudly as he sat down.


    Sunny looked at the bookshelf, inspecting it and the room beyond it closely.


    ¡°It¡¯s rude to stand in the doorway, son¡± Chen called from his armchair, preventing Sunny from pondering any more than he already had. ¡°Ah, sorry¡± Sunny apologized ¡°Got lost in my thoughts¡± he stepped into the room and made for the sofa, plopping down next to Scar.


    They sat in silence for a while, the leaky faucet in the kitchen and the ceiling fan were the only sounds in the room as they all sat there. Scar¡¯s face was stern, a look of determination in his eyes; Sunny was anxious but he tried not to let that show, just yesterday he was a gun for hire collecting the payment for a completed job and now he was sitting in a room with a blind old man who supposedly had visions of the future and, Sunny looked over in Scar¡¯s direction, he wasn¡¯t too sure how to describe him.


    ¡°Bug¡± Chen turned his head in Scar¡¯s direction, breaking the silence, his face was grim as he spoke ¡°There¡¯s something you must know¡± Scar leaned forward slightly ¡°Some¡­..thing is coming for Fenris, something he will have to face alone. In his fight against this beast he will experience many hardships and I fear he may fall away from the path he had set for himself. Whether he acknowledges it or not he will need support, someone to pull him back from the edge should he revert to his old ways and lose himself to his bestial nature¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll give it my best¡± Scar answered as his brows furrowed in confusion. Chen sighed ¡°That¡¯s all I can ask¡± he mumbled. Scar grew nervous, anything that made Chen this cautious couldn¡¯t be good ¡°Did you have a vision? What did you see? Did something make it past the veil?¡± he asked rapidly, breaking his stern demeanour. Chen shook his head ¡°No¡­..not yet at least, you still have time but the veil won¡¯t be of much help when he comes¡±


    ¡°Who?¡± Scar asked with apprehension; Chen grew quiet at the question¡°TELL ME WHO DAMMIT!!¡± Scar demanded as he slammed his fist against the table causing the bouquet of flowers to jump and roll off. Chen¡¯s face hardened and his jaws clenched, the shadows that seemed to be contained beyond the bookshelf rushed into the room, plunging it into darkness before swirling around Chen¡¯s body like a mother protecting her child.


    ¡°Don¡¯t raise your voice at me, boy¡± he growled out insidiously as the darkness blanketed his body, partially obscuring him from sight ¡°Lest you find yourself missing your tongue¡±. Sunny sat quietly on the sofa with his heart beating rapidly in his chest as Scar and Chen glared at each other, his back was slick with sweat as he tried his best not to let his panic show.


    ¡°Did you take your manners home before you came here? You think I¡¯m spiteful enough to withhold information that could help save Fenris¡¯ life?!¡± he bellowed furiously as silence once again descended upon them. Scar gritted his teeth and glanced away, unable to meet Chen¡¯s gaze. Chen sighed; the shadows peeled off of him and slinked across the floor, retreating back through the door and returning the room to its previous ambiance.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know who he is. His face was hidden from my sight¡± Chen admitted tiredly, all the strength and his strong presence seemed to drain from his body with the revelation as he allowed himself to drop back into his chair.


    Shock appeared on Scar¡¯s face upon hearing Chen¡¯s statement ¡°How?¡± he asked in disbelief; Chen glanced at the doorway and put a hand over his face ¡°I don¡¯t know. He must have found a way to escape my sight. If that¡¯s the case then whoever he is¡­¡­whatever he is¡­is extremely powerful¡± Chen removed his hand from his face and looked at Scar seriously ¡°He cannot be underestimated, Scar. This threat cannot be taken lightly¡±


    Scar sat down slowly, a look of concentration on his face as he digested the information. He desperately searched his mind, trying hard to put together a list of people who could threaten Fenris but no one came to mind.


    His foot rapidly tapped the floor as he clenched and unclenched his fist, the room was silent as he thought over everyone he could remember them conducting business with, maybe a client was unsatisfied about a job and wanted revenge. Most of the people they had contracts with were humans, or to his knowledge at least. If he had to name one thing he knew demons and other supernatural creatures to be good at, it would be hiding. After all, they needed to be good at it to evade human detection as well as detection from ¡°holy¡± entities.


    ¡°Damn it¡± he whispered harshly, his fists clenched so hard his knuckles turned white ¡°Damn it! Damn it! Goddammit!¡± his voice continued to rise in volume before he inhaled deeply through his nostrils with his eyes closed, he held it for a few seconds before slowly exhaling through his mouth.


    He opened his eyes and glanced at Sunny who was shuffling uncomfortably in his seat while fine beads of sweat peppered his forehead; Scar inhaled deeply again and exhaled, making sure he was calm before speaking ¡°It¡¯s time to go. Chen, I¡¯ll do the best I can with the information you¡¯ve given me. I¡­¡­apologize for the disrespect I¡¯ve shown in your home, I don¡¯t know what came over me¡± he said while bowing his head slightly, a sign of respect performed by those from Chen¡¯s homeland if he recalled correctly.Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on the original website.


    Chen nodded, showing that he accepted the apology. He stretched his hand out and his cane formed from the darkness ¡°Don¡¯t mind us Chen¡± Scar said as he got up and placed his hand on Chen¡¯s shoulder, forcing him back down into the chair ¡°We can show ourselves out¡±. Sunny got up stiffly, his tactical gear felt heavier and uncomfortable all of a sudden; he followed Scar to the bookcase and was just about to step through when Chen called out from behind him ¡°Bright one¡± he said ¡°You are stronger than you believe yourself to be, have faith in yourself¡±


    With that, he closed his eyes and settled into his armchair, the sound of loud snoring soon followed. Sunny paused briefly but decided not to question the old man; he nodded to the sleeping form of Chen ¡°Thanks¡± he answered uncertainly before stepping through the passageway and back into the darkness where they walked until they came back to the dimly illuminated restaurant.


    ¡°What now?¡± Sunny asked Scar who opened the door for him ¡°Chen didn¡¯t say when this¡­thing the boss is supposed to fight would show up so don¡¯t worry about it right now. We need to get you into something presentable¡± he stated before he began walking down the street.


    Sunny looked down at his attire and frowned ¡°What¡¯s wrong with what I¡¯m wearing?¡± he questioned quietly before he realized Scar was getting further away, jogging to catch up, he asked the question once again when he caught up ¡°What¡¯s wrong with my outfit?¡±


    Scar glanced at him out of the corner of his eye and scoffed, the action made Sunny frown. Scar smirked as he saw Sunny¡¯s reaction ¡°Let¡¯s go before anyone else sees you¡± he teased before looking ahead, though his words were light; his mind was filled with worry about the future.


    <hr>


    Victor lifted the bottle of beer to his head and downed it in one motion, the bitter taste slid down his throat before a warm heat settled in his stomach which gave him a nice buzz before it was quickly negated by his body.


    He placed the bottle down on the counter and got up from his seat, slipping his grey hood over his head before heading for the door. He had planned to spend his time with Natalie but after their romp she had been avoiding him, he thought they were beginning to grow closer but apparently he was the only one who thought that way.


    His body felt invigorated as he stepped into the cool morning air, his muscles rippled as he stretched and yawned. For a moment he stood in front of the bar¡¯s entrance, contemplating his next move. He looked into the sky, simply staring at the clouds and losing himself in his thoughts.


    The loud voices in the bar behind him were the only sound that could be heard in the early morning hours, the scent of piss and faeces from an adjacent alleyway wafted into his nostrils and caused his nose to wrinkle in disgust.


    Victor began walking around to the side of the bar where a fire escape that led to the roof was located. He leapt up and grabbed onto the handrail, swinging himself up with both hands before landing heavily on his feet. The old stairs creaked a little under his weight while the scent of rust hung heavy in the air, the stairs cried out as he began to ascend to the roof.


    His lungs filled with the crisp morning air as he inhaled. He refrained from releasing a roar which bubbled up in his throat in fear of drawing unnecessary attention upon himself, the mortals seemed even more tenacious in this era, no doubt if they knew supernatural creatures existed then they would certainly hunt down those of his kind.


    Victor¡¯s mind travelled to his¡­..truthfully, he didn¡¯t know what to call them, a decision made in a moment of weakness caused him to create a new breed of monster akin to himself yet¡­..different.


    Though they were similar in appearance, there was one thing which differentiated them from him and that was their ability to form coherent thoughts while transformed. Victor himself struggled with the same problem in the early stages of his life, the memories were a little hazy but the feelings from back then would never be forgotten.


    Unfiltered and undirected rage. That was all he ever felt, a rage that consumed him and dictated his actions, which led to many precarious situations. He closed his eyes and drank in the memory; reflecting on it with contempt. The wind tousled his hair, knocking a few strands loose as they danced in the air.


    He walked toward the edge of the roof and sat down, allowing his feet to dangle off the side of the building. The streets below were empty and dirty, he noted, but the people¡­..the people that lived here were vibrant and full of life. Despite their poor living standards, they never complained, instead they made what little they had work for them and they were happier because of it.


    Natalie was the perfect example of that. The bar was the only thing she had that she could call her own and she was proud of it, for good reason too, she worked her ass off for it. Victor smiled despite himself as he thought about her, she was as exhilarating as the hunt and as erratic and unpredictable as a heartbeat, an analogy she could never quite understand no matter how much he tried to explain but he supposed that was because of his nature.


    The smile slowly fell from his face as he touched upon that train of thought, for as much love and care he had for her he could never bring himself to fully explain what he was to her but what little he allowed her to know was enough for her to figure out he was not normal.


    A familiar spark of anger flared up before he forcefully suppressed it, anger at himself for being unable to tell the woman he cared for what he truly was. No, it wasn¡¯t that he was unable to; it was because he refused to do it for fear of losing her if she were unable to accept his monstrous nature.


    He exhaled in frustration, squeezing his eyes shut and clenching his jaws. Despite the excuses he came up with, or the amount of times he tried to delay the inevitable, he knew what it was he felt. It was fear.


    As much as he tried to deny it or spin it in a different way he knew he was afraid. Afraid she would not accept him, afraid she would look at him as if he were a monster and that thought alone hurt him more than any sword, arrow or bullet ever could.


    Victor sighed; beating himself up over this was getting him nowhere and besides, it was time to get to work. A light scratching drew his attention as he made to stand up but before he could turn toward the noise, something slammed into him from behind sending him flying over the edge of the roof. The force of the collision sent him careening into the neighbouring building; the wind was knocked out of him as he crashed through the wooden roof and landed heavily on the concrete floor. Victor groaned and slowly blinked to clear his blurry vision, it hurt every time he breathed; no doubt caused by a cracked rib.


    The sound of something heavy landing caught his attention; he lifted his head as much as he could but his vision was still blurred, all he could make out was his attacker¡¯s inhumanly large stature, it was hard to tell but if he had to guess he¡¯d say his attacker was nine or ten feet tall.


    Victor groaned and attempted to stand, pushing his torso up from the floor with his hands as he raised himself up to a sitting position.


    ¡°The mighty, mighty Fenris¡± a deep voice said as Victor continued to make his attempt to stand ¡°Oh how far you have fallen. You¡¯ve grown soft over the years¡± the voice continued. Victor howled in pain as four claws punctured his chest and lifted him to his feet, the air smelled like a dead carcass and his attacker¡¯s skin felt rough and craggy like stone.


    ¡°What¡­..do you want¡­..troll?¡± Victor hissed as his body worked to repair the damages sustained. In the meantime, his mind raced as he wondered how a troll managed to make it through the veil without his knowledge.


    The troll barked out a laugh, the action jostled Victor and irritated his injuries further ¡°Someone wants you dead, wolf. I¡¯m here to make it so¡± it growled out before Victor found himself flying through the air once more.

 Monster Slayin

    Victor felt the wood give way under his weight as his back hit the wall; his body hit the asphalt on the other side with a thud that knocked the wind out of him before he used the momentum to roll into a kneeling position.


    ¡°You¡¯re not at all what I imagined, Fenris¡± the troll goaded as it marched over to him, its heavy footsteps pounding like a drum ¡°It¡¯s almost like I¡¯m fighting a toddler, were you always this weak? I expected more from someone of your calibre¡± The troll said as it easily tore through the wall with its large frame; it stepped into the morning light and exposed itself in all its unholiness. Its legs were like two massive tree trunks and its arms were long and cracked like stone, it had a small and flat head which housed two small and beady eyes along with a mouth that slightly jutted out.


    ¡°Is that so?¡± Victor asked as he wiped away the dust from his face with his sleeve ¡°Why don¡¯t you come closer and let me show you what everyone¡¯s so afraid of¡± He taunted as his hands turned several shades darker and fur replaced skin.


    ¡°You don¡¯t scare me, wolf¡± the troll scoffed ¡°My brother painted you as this monster that was to be feared¡± the skin above its eyes pulled down into a frown and its grey lips pulled apart as it scowled, exposing jagged yellow teeth ¡°I don¡¯t see anything to be afraid of¡± it growled as it charged toward Victor on all fours as quickly as its size allowed.


    Victor snarled and dashed forward; his plan, however, was not to engage the troll head on, he intended to wear it down by using his smaller size and superior speed. The beast lumbered forward and swung a massive hand down; Victor leapt to the side and swung his claws at its wrist when the creature¡¯s fist hit the street, causing it to crack under its immense weight.


    The troll roared out in pain and pulled its hand back; it spun and swung out with its uninjured hand, intending to backhand him. Victor leapt into the air and used the troll¡¯s arm like a springboard to shoot himself forward; he pulled his arm back with his hand like a knife before it shot forward.


    His claws pierced the creature¡¯s hide but stopped a few inches in, it felt like his hand was wedged in between two stiff boards of mahogany. Victor pulled out his hand with some effort and leapt back, dark green blood dripped off of his claws as the troll once again roared out in pain while reaching for the wound on its back.


    As Victor watched the troll squirm in pain, he felt the beast inside start to awaken as the sound of the troll¡¯s painful cries danced in his ears. He gritted his teeth and forcefully suppressed the rising monster, if he wanted to leave with his psyche intact then he needed to quickly end the fight; otherwise, the years he spent trying to keep himself in check would have been wasted ¡°I don¡¯t want to kill you troll, just tell me who sent you and I¡¯ll let you leave here alive. There¡¯s no need for this to get bloodier¡± he offered reasonably.


    The troll growled with fury in its eyes as it turned to face him, the asphalt cracked once more as it slammed its fists down in anger and roared in his direction. ¡°Is that your way of agreeing or are you just bad at turning your feelings into words?¡± he asked with a nervous chuckle, his opponent bellowed out its rage once more before charging at him in a straight line.


    Victor dove to the side as the lumbering giant ran past him, blasting him with a gust of wind in its mad dash. Victor rolled to a kneeling position and turned to regard his opponent just in time to witness it run into the side of a building, the sound of screams resounded as the troll crashed through the wall, interrupting the house¡¯s inhabitants.


    ¡°This dumb troll¡± victor cursed under his breath, he closed his eyes and exhaled as he resolved himself to do what needed to be done. As he opened his eyes again, his pupils shone with an ominous red light, his body began to darken as black smoke began swirling around his form.


    The troll, on the other hand, regarded the house¡¯s inhabitants with mild curiosity as they screamed and threw whatever they could at it, its head twitched as a pan hit it on the nose causing it to growl and release a loud roar into the face of the panicking woman and children cowering in front of it.


    The woman went silent as her eyes widened; the troll snorted and turned around to face Victor but paused upon laying eyes on him. A swathe of black smoke swirled around Victor¡¯s body, blanketing his body and partially obscuring him from sight. A serious of popping sounds and grunts of pain came from within the cloud of darkness; inhuman growls could also be heard periodically as the troll stood watching Victor¡¯s transformation apprehensively.


    The troll felt an instinctual fear creep down its spine as it watched the mass of shadows writhe around Victor¡¯s body. Two red orbs appeared in the mass of darkness and stared in the troll¡¯s direction, a low growl reverberated through the area before the shadows peeled away and Victor rocketed toward him.A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.


    He advanced on all fours; his canine features heavily emphasized as his body took on a more wolf-like appearance. Giant paw prints were stamped into the ground as he charged at his opponent with a mad gleam in his eyes.


    A loud roar tore through the air before Victor collided with the troll¡¯s massive frame, pushing it back a few meters as it held him back with a giant hand, his jaws snapping shut only inches away from its throat. The troll grunted as it tried to hold back the large wolf; it struggled to keep its arm between itself and Victor¡¯s snapping maw.


    In an impressive display of strength, the troll grabbed hold of Victor¡¯s fur at the sides of his neck and spun around before throwing him a distance away. Before Victor hit the ground however, darkness once again surrounded him and he vanished from sight, reappearing a distance away in the shadow of a nearby building.


    Victor snarled and bared his teeth at the troll, his sanguine coloured eyes staring at it with mild caution and extreme anger. The troll roared at him in challenge, pounding its fists against its chest before turning to the half demolished building behind it. It picked up two large pieces of debris and hurled them at the large wolf one after the other; Victor lowered his head and dodged the first piece of debris with ease, choosing to swat the other out of the way with his paw, obliterating it as his paw made contact.


    He opened his mouth wide as a ball of darkness began to condense in his gaping maw; shadows swarmed around him and crawled into his open jaws, slowly increasing the size of the condensed shadow ball.


    The troll¡¯s beady eyes widened upon seeing the new development, its heart sank as it felt the air around Victor ripple with an ominous energy and a heavy pressure ¡°What are you doing?!¡± it shouted with fear laced in its voice ¡°Do you plan to kill us all?!¡± it asked in a panic.


    The edges of Victor¡¯s canine lips curled upwards, causing him to look like a crazed demon. Without a word, the ball flew out of his mouth and hurtled toward the troll. Fearing for its life, the troll sunk its hands into the concrete and pulled out a giant piece of the road to cover itself.


    Several seconds passed as the troll waited for the inevitable impact but all that could be heard was panicked shouts of people who were woken up by the noise. Curiously, the troll peeked out from behind its makeshift shield only to witness people pointing at him with disbelieving eyes.


    Its eyes scanned the streets in search of the wolf but the shattered street and half demolished buildings were all that could be seen ¡°Did he run away?¡± it murmured in disbelief, realization dawned upon it as it ran those words through its head once more, laughing boisterously and further startling the already spooked men and women on the streets as it concluded that the wolf retreated due to fear.


    ¡°Do you see this, brother?!¡± it shouted into the sky as it laughed jubilantly ¡°The mighty Fenris ran away with his tail between his legs!¡± it said in cheer. A loud scream drew the troll¡¯s attention, interrupting it from its celebration. The crowd was backing away in fear as their faces began to grow increasingly pale, a woman was pointing to a spot behind the troll with a trembling hand.


    Time seemed to slow as the troll turned around; the image of a gaping maw blanketing his vision before being replaced by the feeling of constriction around his throat.


    An anger filled growl was all the indication he needed to understand that the wolf had not run away like he thought previously, it seemed the shadow ball was simply a bluff and he fell right into it. ¡°Seems¡­.I-¡± the constriction around his throat tightened, causing him to choke on his words. A string of gurgles escaped his mouth as his arms grabbed at the large canine helplessly while he kicked against the beast.


    His struggles seemed to only spur the wolf on however; as it bit deeper each time his fists or feet hit it. His vision began to fade and his struggles weakened, his windpipe cracked under the pressure, causing blood to spurt out of his mouth uncontrollably. His hand rose once more and grabbed hold of Victor¡¯s fur, gripping it in a loose fist.


    Victor shook his head from side to side rapidly; the action was all it took to completely crush the troll¡¯s oesophagus, ending its struggles once and for all. Victor held on a while longer to make sure the troll was actually dead, giving an extra shake for good measure. Green blood dripped down his muzzle as he finally let go, the creature¡¯s limbs sprawled lifelessly to the sides as blood spurted from its neck and flowed out of its mouth.


    He glared down at the dead troll, contempt and anger reflected in his fiery red eyes in equal measure. His head rocked back as he released a long and powerful howl that rattled the windows and shattered them one by one, the crowd screamed and dove to the floor while covering their heads to avoid getting injured as the shattered glass rained down on their bodies.


    Victor bit the troll¡¯s neck once more while the crowd was distracted, darkness danced around the two before wrapping them up in a cocoon and melting into a nearby shadow. There had been a whispering in his ear after he transformed which had begun to grow stronger the longer he lingered around, the voices were trying to convince him to slaughter the crowd of people who had seen the fight between himself and the troll; if he stayed any longer in his transformed state then there was no telling what would happen.


    Already he felt his control slipping as he hopped from shadow to shadow, there was only one person who could help him now and they weren¡¯t exactly on speaking terms. Another series of harsh whispers put those worries out of his head, whether they were speaking or not, if he wanted the city to remain safe then he needed to help Victor.