2. Freedom

“What's your name?”

The man stared at the figure in front of him with a complicated look. Since he was caught, no one has ever asked his name again. The man almost forgot the name his parents gave him, if he didn't keep scratching the walls of his cell with his finger every time he felt, he would forget his name.

“Ullric.”

The figure in front of him immediately looked surprised when he heard the ancient name. The use of ancient names disappeared decades ago. Seeing the figure of a man who still looked like he was in his thirties with an ancient name made the figure a little pensive.

“All right, Ullric. My business is done here. I'll leave the door open. Now, you can choose to leave or stay here.”

Ullric laughed, he felt the man's words were the best joke of all time. Out of all the reactions Ullric had hoped for, the man had never thought that the figure would just let him go. His golden eyes darkened, as he spoke while slightly growling at the figure.

“I've killed your pack members. After hearing that, don't you want to kill me? My legs are bound by a special spell, so I can't bring out my power even if I wanted to. This is a good chance for you to kill me.”

Ullric didn't know whether it was just his feelings or not, but he saw the figure's gaze soften slightly after hearing his words. The figure injured his hand casually, before dripping his blood on the chains that bound Ullric's legs.

“ … My mate always said that not all violence must be repaid with violence. After all, the capture of my pack members was due to my negligence. I am an Alpha. It is my duty to protect my pack.”

Ullric no longer commented when he heard the figure's words. Seeing that figure reminded Ullric of himself. How he always blamed himself for what happened to his pack.

Ullric's attention was distracted when he heard the sound of chains breaking from his feet. The man was no longer speechless when he saw the chain covered in a powerful spell completely shattered after being dripped with the mysterious figure's blood.

Only after the chains limiting his strength disappeared did a surge of power fill Ullric's body, which had weakened a lot over the past few years. Even if Ullric didn't live well during his stay in that place, the power emanating from the man's body still made the mysterious figure who saved him pause in awe. Now all his doubts have been answered. Ullric is truly one of the surviving Alphas of the old generation.

“I will go now.”

After finishing his business, the mysterious figure immediately left by jumping towards the exit. Seeing that his savior was about to leave, Ulric also jumped up in pursuit of the figure. Ullric was pensive for some time, as he could hardly believe there would be a day when he would finally be free again.

When Ullric looked around, the man was no longer surprised when the first sight that greeted him was the corpses of the hunters strewn everywhere. The cells used to confine other creatures have also been opened, while several wolves who may be part of the mysterious figure's pack look surprised when they see Ullric's Alpha pheromones.

“Wait a moment.”

When Ullric saw the mysterious figure who saved him was about to leave, the man immediately spoke to stop the figure's movement. After his strength returned, Ullric could already tell that none of his pack members were still alive in that place. Anger took over Ullric's body, as he continued his speech in a muffled voice.

“Is … The hunters have been annihilated?”

The mysterious figure turned and shook his head slowly. “Fighting them all is impossible, even for us. We're just keeping them from descending to the first floor, and killing those who are underground. We'll be retreating soon after this,” said the figure. Unexpectedly, Ullric actually smiled after he heard that answer. His golden eyes shone brightly, as he rushed toward the stairs that would lead him up.

“You will die if you go alone.”

Ullric's steps came to a halt when he heard the warning given by the figure. Ullric turned to stare at the figure's face. The young Alpha looks quite promising. If Ullric could, the man wished he could follow the Alpha to witness his future developments.

“What's your name, Alpha?”

The figure also looked up to look at Ullric, before answering the question in a confident voice.

“Stefan. Stefan Norah Silver from the Silver Pack.”

Ullric nodded in satisfaction after hearing that answer. “I'll remember you, Stefan Norah Silver,” whispered Ullric before leaving to avenge his pack.

***

After Stefan's group left the castle that imprisoned Ullric, another group arrived at the place. The leader was a beautiful woman, who immediately frowned when she saw the massacre taking place in her castle.

Without waiting for the others to check on the situation, the woman had already visited the cell that had been used to imprison Ullric. Her pretty face was immediately filled with anger when she saw the cell was open while Ullric was nowhere to be found.

“Master, the massacre upstairs seems to have been carried out by that wolf. We found-”

One of the hunters who wanted to report did not have time to continue his words as the woman strangled him violently. The hunter had just chosen the wrong time to annoy his master. The woman looked at him with bloodshot eyes, before whispering in an emphatic tone.

“Look for him right now. Even if you have to mess with this world, I want you to find him and report his whereabouts to me.”

When the woman saw that the hunter was about to die in her hands, she immediately loosened her grip and let the hunter fall and cough loudly on the cold ground. Her eyes stared coldly as the hunter struggled to kneel and accept her order before the hunter hurried away from her.

When all that was visible was the woman remaining in the place, someone could appear from her shadow. A living woman with chains binding her hands and feet immediately knelt when her master called out. The bound woman lowered her head, not saying anything at all as she waited for the orders to be given by her master.

“Ullric has escaped.”

Only when her master mentioned Ullric's name did the bound woman look slightly surprised. The bound woman subconsciously lifted her head, only to see the woman who was her master staring at her with an evil smile.

“Find him for me, Erika. Bring him to me again, and you will be with him forever.”

The woman who was Erika's master lowered her head to kiss her slave's forehead gently. Her cold smile didn't disappear immediately, as she whispered one last thing to her poor slave.

“Prove to me that you do love him, Erika.”