Chapter 7

It was a full moon. And a full moon meant everything would look so bright to the point I didn't need any flashlight to help my escape. And I thought it would be less risky too, right? I bolted to the forest right when my feet touched the soft grass-covered soil. My feet were sprinting so fast through the path leading up to the forest. The moonlight shone my way, and I could see everything better. After what seemed like thirty minutes, my feet started to give up. I wasn't an athletic person either. Running this far would wear out my stamina. And it was showing. My breath went ragged. A harsh inhale and exhale went through my system, and I could feel my heart burning because of the sudden heavy exercise. I stumbled on my feet because of my fatigue. Damn, why everything looked blurred now? I must be the worst person in the world in terms of athletic capabilities. How could I become this dizzy just by walking? So I decided to take a rest for ten minutes or so. After all, I had been running pretty far enough to be caught from that creepy mansion. I sat on the ground and leaned my back against the tree. My eyes were looking around my surroundings, and I realized I didn't know where I was right now. I ran so hard to the point I didn't pay any attention to my surroundings. And I just realized that when my butts were sticking down to the ground. I was in the middle of this forest. The trees started to become denser, and maybe the moonlight wouldn't be able to go through after a few meters. A wave of scared crept over my body. I was in a big problem. I thought escaping from that house was a great idea. Never crossed my mind that I would get lost in the middle of an unfamiliar forest. I should expect this when I choose to run away. Right now, the idea of coming back to Harvey's house sounds very tempting to me. But I quickly shook my head and rejected that idea without thinking twice. If I went back, then I probably would never be able to flee from those monsters. Yeah, it was better in here, although everything looked darker now. Chill, Alice. Just sit down here and sleep it over until morning comes! I tried to get some sleep, but just when my eyes started to feel drowsy, I heard a howling sound not far from where I was sitting. It didn't come from one or two creatures. Those howls were so loud and packed. As if there were a bunch of wolves on the hunt. My body froze, and every hair stood on its end. I shivered in fear and hid in the nearest bushes. Hoping that I could at least keep myself safe until morning. I could even smell my fear right now. My heart was beating so hard that it would jump out of my rib cage at any moment. I hid without letting out a single sound while keeping my eyes scanning the surroundings. I must stay alert if I want to guard myself. After some minutes passed, I heard rustling sounds from every direction around me. It wasn't only one or two. Many footsteps sounded like they were marching down to my place. I sat down still. Holding I breathed in fear of getting caught by whoever they were. And I finally saw them. They were appearing from behind the bushes. Some strode with intimidating steps. And some jumped out from there like lunatics. And they were all wolves. A pack of wolves that had an unusually huge body compared to the ones I had ever seen. One of them had the biggest body among the others. Its coat was jet black like a night without any moon shining. Its eyes were yellow with a tint of red in the middle. A truly scary wolf, if I might say. "Where is she? You said that you smell a human in here?!" That big wolf shouted to the smaller one. I blinked my eyes in disbelief. What did I just see? That wolf was talking like a human? How could it even be possible? "I swore I smelled her here, Alpha. Maybe she was hiding somewhere." The smaller wolf, surprisingly, could also speak and reply to the bigger ones. This was some mad shit that I only saw in the movies. But I saw it with my own eyes! Was this the werewolves Harvey talked about? Like the real werewolves? Does it mean they belong in the same group as Harvey? Horrendously named Sableclaw pack? I shook my head again and again. It was still so hard for me to grasp the reality that I just saw a pack of werewolves in front of me. I didn't even realize that my body was trembling in fear. And I was open to the greatest danger that could harm my life. Those wolves were chasing me, and I couldn't just dash away right now. Judging from their physical abilities, I would be caught in a short time. Those wolves then howled again. A low grunt was heard here and there from their mouths. Their bodies were stretching and wriggling in strange movements. I kept pinning my attention on them as if I were afraid to miss any moment of this peculiar phenomenon. A split second later, those wolves transformed into humans one by one. Starting from the bigger one and followed by the other. And now I could see their human form, which looked equally intimidating as before. The biggest wolf was a man with pale skin and a broody look. His hair was shoulder-length and as dark as his jet-black coat. His eyes were deep and sunken, paired with a tall nose and thin lips. He looked like the personification of the Grim Reaper if that creature existed. I assumed he was the one who was being called Alpha by the smaller wolves. "I swear if you can't find that girl, I will rip your heart open, Arthur!" He shouted in anger. The man named Arthur nodded obediently. As if being struck by lightning, I instantly realized my life was in danger. They were looking for me with an apparent reason that I still didn't know. I tripped when I tried to sneak from there and fell on my back. A noisy sound was made, and all of them instantly shifted their head towards me. I could feel, I don't know, maybe twenty pairs of eyes were watching me. Some had a shocked look, but her majority had those cunning looks on them. Both of my hands were grabbed by two other men who appeared out of nowhere. They dragged me closer to that grumpy-looking man, and I tried to snatch their hand ,but it was all useless. They were too strong, and it was an extremely tough nut to crack. That mansmiles sheepishlys, and a shiver instantly sent down straight to my spine. "Hello there, little girl. It seemed like someone was lost in this forest, huh?" He asked me with the most daunting voice I had ever heard. "Let me go! I have nothing to do with you,a nd please leave me alone!" I replied. That man laughed. His laughing pierced through the night and made my feet turn into jelly. "I don't think we have any business at all, darling." He stopped for a while as he was waiting for some confirmation. One of them ripped the hem of m,y shirt and their claw scratched the waist pretty deep. They took a closer look at the birth sign on my waist. Three black moles that have always been there since I was born. "Yes, she is her." That man nodded. The leader nodded while smiling proudly. He inched closer to me while sniffing me like a brand-new perfume. "We had so much business between each other, darling. You're that special girl, right?" He shot a question straight to me. I whimpered a little. The scratch was too deep, and I could feel that areastartd bleeding so much. I tried to keep a stable tone in my voice. Pretending that I wasn't scared at all while in fact, I am one step away from pissing myself. "What do you mean by that special girl?" He clicked his tongue while shaking his head. "Are you not knowing or trying to act innocent right now?" No matter how hard I tried to understand, I just couldn't do it. Hell, I even know my mom was a werewolf only a few hours ago. How could I know something about that special girl? After seeing that I indeed didn't know a thing, he laughed rather loudly. "Edith rides you from everything, huh?" My eyes grew bigger after hearing Mom's name. "You know her?" "Of course. But it was because she chose to adopt you. The daughter of the strongest werewolf hunter, huh?" "What? Me? The daughter of what?" "Albert Baxter. Your father was the strongest hunter of our kind years ago. And he was also the one who slew half of our pack's members fifteen years ago. Interesting story, right?" My mind went numb. I didn't even know who the hell Albert Baxter was, and now this scary man is telling me that I was his daughter? On top of that, Albert Baxter had killed half of their pack. I could feel many piercing stares strike me from many directions. I was doomed. And I could be meeting my death tonight. The leader grabbed my hand harshly. It was so rough to the point I cried because of the pain. I could even feel the bone in my wrist crack with the huge force he put into his grip. He smirked while whispering to me. "So I think it's time for us to pay everything back, right?"