The Runaway Huntress
Chapter 46 - 45

Chapter 46: Chapter 45

Chapter 45

Melisca sprinted away from the scene. As she was on the run, the cold breeze of the night went numb on her skin. Her mind was stuck on Ezekiel. She stabbed him with the knife he tainted. Will he be fine? She didn’t know what he exactly meant by saying it could penetrate through magic. But it sure came in handy, for he hadn’t gone after her.

Ezekiel remained lying on the ground, staring at the bright full moon above. His thought was on his mate. His huntress. My runaway huntress. A smile crept up to the side of his lips. She’s no damsel, alright. But headstrong as fuck. She managed to trick him also. He chuckled at the thought of lowering his defenses on her. She immediately took the chance. On top of that, she used his emotions against him. She was also clearly affected by their connection, but she was fast to disseminate them. Maybe because of her human side, she can void the nature of the wolf. He enjoyed their first conversation, though full of threats and disagreement, one thing’s for sure. She’s a force to be reckoned with by her enemies. And he didn’t consider himself one of them. She was his mate after all.

His musings got interrupted as the searing pain in his wound worsened. She really did use the knife wisely and too soon. He bit his lower lip to suppress his grunts. He braced himself to pull the knife out. The blood continued to gush without anything to cover it. He got to shift to make the stab heal faster. The blessed object was bound to make the wound cause severe pain and remain open despite the healing abilities of the victim. It slows the healing process of a supernatural being. Fortunately for him, it won’t be that effective, for he was the one who had it blessed. And Melisca wouldn’t suffer anything if it had been used to her, for she was the wielder.

He got up and took off the ring. It would return to its magic box whenever he took it off, that he didn’t need it for the time being, and it would appear in his fingers whenever he summoned it. His shifting process started then.

Melisca was running so mindlessly that she didn’t know where she was anymore. She decided to halt to think which way she should be leading, roaming her eyes for a vision far ahead. If she’s near the road, then he can follow the sound of revving vehicles. But her ears didn’t hear any sound of a running machine. She sighed, frustrated, for she was already hungry from all the actions she had done that day. Her mouth started to water by thinking of any food. The last thing she wanted to hear was her stomach growling. Groaning again, she might have totally lost her mind for not thinking about it earlier. She can navigate through the trees to make it easier to see where she is heading. She crouched down before pushing on her legs to jump and land on one of the branches.

Even using her vision, she can only see an endless array of tall greenery. "Fuck." Cursing under her breath. It only confirms that she had gotten lost because of her thoughtless running. She slammed the side of her fist into the tree bark. Sending a vibration to it, leaves fell as some creatures quickly ran away nearby because of the sudden disruption. It’s his fault for occupying her mind.

She sighed and looked at the moon above. The stars stared back at her. Hoping they could tell where she should go. Night completely enveloped the vast sky, and she was deep in the forest. Wolves were running around. And Ezekiel might cope with her. How unfortunate could she get? It seems like fate wanted her to get stuck and be found by any of them. Grunting, she now felt suffocated if she didn’t get out of there fast.

Deciding to keep on moving, she proceeded on leaping from one branch to another. It only took her a few meters when she halted on jumping again. Her ears caught some rustling and noises a kilometer away from her spot. She turned her attention to it and zoomed her sight. There were four wolves pouncing on one another, probably mock-playing at the open field. Two on two. Their sharp teeth and large bodies were rolling on the ground like it didn’t hurt them at all. Those four wolves looked all too familiar to her. And there was that one wolf with gray fur that stood out the most to her.

Oh, how can she forget that dust-colored wolf? How she wanted to burn him so that he would turn to ashes, just like the hue of its appearance. It was the very wolf that came to her father. He was his brother, her uncle. He was family. Yet he was the killer of his very own blood brother.

And what was his reason again? He was ordered to kill her family for having a daughter as an abomination and her father accepted a human mate. Her father was considered a traitor to his pack for choosing her mother. As if being exiled wasn’t punishment enough for a wolf but ordered to be killed also.

She didn’t understand why they had to do it. And would never comprehend what they’ve done. Despite any reasons, there was no acceptable one for her.

Adding to that, Cabril, her father was the favored son and should have been alpha if only he wasn’t exiled. But even then, the leader did not give the position of alpha to the son left. Probably still waiting for the other son to come back.

Melisca’s heart was seething in rage upon witnessing their small fun under the moon. She remembered, seeing her father on the same joyous night as he enjoyed rolling on the grass and she and her mother would happily watch him in his natural form. It was one of her favorite days before. He would carry them both on his back and run for some time.

Her fist clenched as hot tears started to emerge. Teeth gritting, almost sending in vibration to her body. The other wolves were his companions when they attacked them. How dare they have fun before her? They have the luxury of enjoying their lives like they haven’t taken an innocent one.

They stopped when they heard another growl from a distance and the four wolves answered it in unison.

Her father’s murderers were right in front of her. Taking into consideration if she can take four wolves at once. They were faster and stronger in wolf form, and their teeth looked like could gnaw through flesh and bones. Despite having the urge to finish them with the chance presented, she can’t just randomly attack without a proper plan. She was completely outnumbered.

Even though she had used energy before, she now felt a new surge of strength upon seeing them.

She followed the movement of Candor, the perpetrator. Their friendly brawl was moving to the other side. She stealthily shifted to another tree. Moving like a swift cat without any sound. She’s making her breathing even to not exude some extra noise. Though her heart might be betraying her. It was pounding like a drum for the thrill of the chance.

Candor was pushed near the end of the field. He was shaking his head for it hit the ground hard.

This is the chance. His buddies were a few feet away. Though she was meters away, she was willing to take the chance. Planning to go for one swift move with her dagger left, she crouched to reach it from her feet.

But then her movement halted as another wolf joined the party. It was so sudden that she hadn’t seen it coming. It stood between her and Candor. Growling at the gray wolf, urging it to retreat and get back to the group. Candor instantly shifted to his friend’s sides, and all bowed their heads with a slight whining over the towering figure. It was totally understandable. Even from where she stood, its aura was making her body tremble. There was an urge in her that she had to get down on her knees. She propped her hand to the tree, like asking it for some strength because her knees were buckling. Her head wanted to bow down, for her to succumb to his dominance. But she held herself up.

No. You can’t make me bow.

His form was not like any other she had seen as a normal werewolf. He was able to stand in a crouching position. His back was already threatening enough. His grayish skin was covered with dusty white hair from the head down to his back. He was wearing a tattered cloth that was barely holding on to cover his privates. Legs covered in gray skin with a thin covering of white fur. And it had the feet of a werewolf, only way more oversized. His arms were coated by some fur also, with large muscled biceps and triceps. And the hands were human-like but with hairy fingers and sharp claws.

She hadn’t realized that she had been holding her breath until her chest constricted. But she didn’t dare make any sound of taking some more air to her lungs.

It snarled at the wolves and made them retreat and move to the center of the field. The monstrous beast was like keeping the targets away from her.

Then her body froze on the spot as her eyes bulged. It turned around and their eyes met. His blood-red eyes with yellow rings were too intimidating and dazzling at the same time. His face had the features of a primordial wolf, with a wide mouth, sharp teeth and fangs. He was like a demonic beast. Now that he was facing her direction, she could finally see how he looked in the front. His exposed abdominal muscles were too ripped and vivid to the eyes with a thin sheet of white fur. But there was that familiar stab wound to his left torso. Blood trickled down to his sides.

He growled, still facing her direction and everyone around him flinched. Even her. He attempted to make a move.