I was slowly losing consciousness. I could no longer recognize all the sounds and blurry images. I could only see the rage in Derek's men while ineptly attacking the silver-haired. They ignored me and left me lying on the ground while they all charged at the stranger. I could hear their bones breaking. I could hear their screams and painful howling. There wasn't even an ounce of sympathy in me towards them, but at the same time, I was far from being safe.
"Who is this person? He is much stronger than all those wolves… Is he a shapeshifter like them? Why did he say that he is dead? Is he some kind of freaking zombie or something?! Why is he attacking them?! Is he going to kill them?! And… if he does… is he going to kill me too?!" I wondered in panic.
The drug flowing in my blood paralyzed me. My awareness was fading. I was terrified and helpless. I didn't want to come back with Derek and his men, but the more I didn't want to die in the hands of some madman. Suddenly, all the fighting stopped. I could only hear silence and someone's footsteps. I saw a pair of black leather shoes right in front of me. I slightly lifted my head. The silver-haired man was leaning over me.
"P… please… don't… k-kill me,” I mumbled, using the final ounce of my strength.
"Well… Let me think, what to do with you…" The deep, alluring sound of his voice reached my ears.
I closed my eyes. The drug put my body to sleep. When I opened my eyes again, the sun was already getting up. I found myself lying on the bench in the park, close to the place where I lost my consciousness. Fortunately, it was still too early for people to come to the park. I was there completely alone. I was covered with a black coat… I could have sworn it was the same coat that the silver-haired wore. My purse was lying on the ground right beside the bench. It was a strange feeling. I was used to taking care of myself. No one had ever come to my rescue before. Of course, my state didn't exactly put me in the mood to think of myself as some novel heroine…
"It looks like my silver-haired knight saved me, but still didn't care enough to take me back to his castle… At least he secured my documents and money," I chuckled sourly.
I was lying on the bench trying to force my muscles to move. I had a hard time processing what had exactly happened the previous night. I was suffering from a terrible hangover that the drug that I was injected with gave me. The rising sun wasn't exactly helping me recover. At that moment, I would gladly sell my soul for painkillers, but I had no time to act pitiful. I wasn't safe in this town.
Nonetheless, I was restless. I needed to check the place of last night's attack, hoping that I would find anything. I finally managed to get up from the bench. The morning was chilly, so I decided to wear the black coat that my silver-haired savior left me. It looked expensive, and its fabric was soft and warm. The sleeves were too long, I had to roll them up. The whole coat was so long that it almost reached my ankles, but except for that, it surprisingly fitted more or less. I wrapped it around and slowly walked towards the place of yesterday's fight.
When I got there, I found it completely empty. There were no bodies, no bloodstains on the ground, and no traces of a fight. That only made me more anxious.
"Who the hell was that guy?" My mind was frantically looking for answers.
Perhaps, I would feel a little less restless if there were any evidence that the wolves were dead. If they weren't, we would certainly send backups to this town to look for me. It was possible that they could have sent a signal already. If they did, then my time would start running out fast.
I looked around one more time. I even touched the dirt on the ground and then sniffed my hand to find any traces of blood drops or… the smell of the bleach. I found neither. That could only mean that none of those wolves died here. I gritted my teeth.
I could only mean that all of them were alive somewhere, maybe not too far away. Even if that silver-haired guy broke most of the bones in their bodies, they would regenerate in less than twenty-four hours. It would take a little longer if their spines were broken. Even if I couldn't figure out what had happened, I needed to assume that they were going to attack me soon.
I rushed to my apartment, constantly looking over my shoulder. I packed some clothes, four sets of documents that I hadn't used before, then grabbed my laptop and ran out, leaving only a short note to the landlord with the money for the rent on the table.
I did everything abruptly. I gave up on taking my last paycheck from Donna and went to the train station. After getting my cash from the deposit box, I picked up a random destination and bought a ticket. It wasn't the best way to say goodbye to Sunnybridge, but I had already gotten used to leaving everything behind.
The train left the station. Only then did I feel I could breathe. My mind finally had the time to process. I hoped that Derek and the rest of his team wouldn't catch my scent… But speaking of the scent, I was still wearing that guy's black coat. I smirked and sniffed its collar. It had a weak smell of male perfume. It was a pleasant scent.
"Seriously?! It's not the time to get horny!" I scolded myself for my shameless thoughts. "Besides, that guy is incredibly dangerous…"
I couldn't stop thinking about how he was able to defeat all of the wolves by himself. Was he also a supernatural creature? A super werewolf? Or… something else? My mind was going crazy.
I was born a human, but I quickly learned about the existence of shapeshifters that human legends called werewolves. Those creatures had incredibly sharp senses, were much stronger than humans, and they could turn into wolves. From when I was five years old, I had to learn how to fight them, even though it was never a fair fight. I had never seen anyone who could defeat a werewolf… until that night.
"Who was he?! He couldn't have been just a human. My vision wasn't clear, but that definitely wasn't humankind of strength that he used… Moreover, why did he help me?" I kept wondering while riding the train to my new destination.
Who would have thought that I would have to wait three years to find answers to my questions…
I spent the next few years wandering around many places. I hadn't encountered any wolves that were chasing me, but I had never stayed in one spot longer than three months either. Of course, it was harder to earn any money that way. That was why I decided to open an online business that I could run without revealing my true name. What I was selling were investment advices. I have always been good at predicting how the market would respond to certain events. Even my teachers used to call me a genius in that field. Actually, business and the stock market weren't my only areas of expertise. I could easily become the best in any subject. The problem was, my so-called "family" would never allow me to get a decent university diploma… or any university diploma at that. I was only allowed to graduate from St. Anna's College, after graduating from St. Anna's High School, after growing up in St. Anna's orphanage… Yes, the situation between me and my "family" was always a little peculia
I nervously squeezed the stranger's phone while listening to the waiting signal. Finally, someone took the call. "Master?! Where are you?! Everyone's looking for your highness!" The man's voice feverishly shouted over the phone. "Um… h-hello?" I muttered hesitantly. "Who is this?" The person on the other side of the phone changed his tone, "How did you get Master's phone?" he asked harshly. "Am I talking to… Leo?" I waited for the reply, but the silence made me realize it was a dumb question, "Your… friend, master or… whatever, had a car accident. I found him. He told me not to call an ambulance, and call you instead…" I explained nervously. Leo became quiet for some time. I even checked if he didn't hang up the phone. "H-hello?" I mumbled, impatient for any kind of response. "I tracked the phone. Wait there. We will be there in 20 minutes tops," he stated coldly and ended the call. I wanted to say something, but I mere
After the rescue team had disappeared, leaving me in the dangerous middle of nowhere, I had to struggle to find my way back home myself. For the first time, I found it fortunate that life had never been easy on me, and I had survived much more difficult situations than this before. Certainly, if I were some fragile princess, I would sit on the ground and cry my eyes out while trembling in fear. Now my current situation made me more furious than desperate. I even thought that it would be kind of fortunate if I met some perverts or aggressive drunkards on my way back since I could take my anger off on them. Nevertheless, I still hoped to meet someone on the road who would be kind enough to give me a ride to a more civilized place, but judging on my luck that day, chances for that to happen were close to none. The road was dark and completely empty. I used my phone as a flashlight while walking back from where I ran, cursing my sense of empathy that was constantly getting me in
My new apartment was in a district called Sky Valley. It was a place filled with successful artists, well-paid freelancers, and contractual management specialists. There were a lot of young, talented individuals. Each of the people who lived there was unique, but they all had one thing in common: they were all devoted to their work, and they all minded their own businesses... Well, the majority of them at least. The day I moved in, someone knocked on my door. I was busy unpacking and initially ignored the knocking sound, hoping that whoever it was would give up and go away. Unfortunately, a minute later I heard the doorbell. I figured that it was the same person, and if he or she was still there, then perhaps there was a good reason for it. I opened the door and saw a brightly smiling, short woman with curly brown hair. "Hi! I'm Carla. Can I use your balcony?" she asked, nervously grinning. "Can you use my… what?" I glanced at her, feeling confused.
Carla had outstanding cooking skills and an amazing imagination when it came to mixing flavors. She couldn't afford to rent a place for a restaurant, so she chose to start a catering company instead. She had rented premises in the building right next to our apartments and created a professional kitchen there. She intended to provide her cuisine at the most expansive events in the city. That could allow her to earn the money she needed to open her dream restaurant in New Argent City… in a few years. I supported that dream of hers with all my heart. Spending time with Carla was refreshing. She was always on the run. She constantly developed new dishes while I had become her lab mouse that had to taste whatever she came up with. She was a perfect distraction from my monotonic work, and a natural excuse to take a break. With her, I could pretend that I was living a normal life. Sometimes I even convincedmyself that I could stay in New Argent City forever… I had jus
The Diamond Crown Casino was in a 45-story building. The gambling games were placed on two floors, but they were merely a part of the entertainment the Diamond Crown Casino was providing. There was an enormous theatrical part of the building with five stages prepared to accommodate over ten thousand people in the audience seats. The rest of the building was taken by banquet halls, conference rooms, swimming pools, wellness and beauty salons, and, of course, the grand, luxurious hotel. Knowing that it was easy to imagine how much money was running through this place every day. The sum surely had a number of zeros that could make a head spin. Carla met me right outside the building. The casino's crew for the event took all of the dishes out of Carla's truck. She prepared every dish carefully in advance, putting it all on separate, ready-to-serve plates. All of her appetizers, finger sandwiches, and sweets simply needed to be unwrapped and taken by the waitresses. After
We all put down our trays, mostly still filled with food, on the big metal table standing in the kitchen area, and wondered if our work was over. Suddenly, we became surrounded by the casino workers. "Is the event now over? Do you want us to do anything else?" Carla asked someone who looked like the staff's manager. I could see that she was trying to stay composed, but at the same time, she kept clenching her fists just to prevent them from shaking. I stood right beside her, trying to help her keep calm, but I was trembling inside as well. The manager looked Carla up and down and smirked. "You all have done an amazing job. Now, we need you to go through the door on the other side of the room," he said casually. "And what is it behind that door?" Carla inquired nervously. "Your only way out," he stated, grinning. That smile of his was soaked in pretended courtesy. His eyes were cunning and cold, and those other casino employees
I felt uncomfortable. My arms hurt, and I could barely feel my fingertips. As I was slowly regaining my consciousness, I realized I was kneeling on some dusty floor with my hands chained high above my head and attached to some kind of vault. I had handcuffs that were severely hurting my wrists. I was unable to tell how long I had hung in such an unbearable position. I must have overstretched my arms several times while being unconscious because I could barely move them, but at the same time, I was completely unable to stand on my feet. I could only hang, hoping that my strength would return quickly… I was cold. I looked at myself and saw that my costume was gone. I was wearing a simple white dress with shoulder straps, and I was barefoot. The dress's fabric was light and airy, which made me shiver as if I was naked. When my vision became less blurry, I saw I was inside something that looked like a human-size round birdcage. The place where I was looked like a basemen