Nadine watched as Madam Yvonne poured tea for her. An onlooker would think that she was in Madam Yvonne's shop for some gossip and tea, not knowing that Nadine was there to receive advice on how to become a lycanthrope huntress.
"Sugar?" Madam Yvonne asked jovially. Nadine nodded and she was given two cubes.
Madam Yvonne took a sip of her brew which she took with sugar and exhaled. "This is good! Chamomile is my best kind of tea."
"Now let's get down to business." Madam Yvonne said sternly, "You have to come to terms with the fact that you might have to kill a few lycanthropes. Do you have enough balls for that?" She asked.
Nadine thought for a moment before she nodded, "Anything to save Dave."
"Good. Now, the books I gave you are mix of fact and fiction. Luckily for you, I've had prior dealings with lycanthropes so I can tell you a few things about them. Firstly, lycanthropes are pack creatures. That means they travel in groups of 7 to 15 and are led by an Alpha, who makes most of the major decisions, and the council of elders who advise him."
Nadine nodded, listening raptly.
"Second, the lycanthropes have one known weakness. They have a very severe, debilitating allergy to silver." Madam Yvonne continued.
"So you can kill them with a silver bullet? Just like in the movies?" Nadine asked eagerly.
Madam Yvonne rolled her eyes, "Silver bullets. It takes three to five rounds to kill a mature lycanthrope. You can also give it a fatal dose of mercury."
"Mercury?" Nadine echoed.
"Why, yes. It's not called quicksilver for nothing." Madam Yvonne replied. "You can also kill a lycanthrope by decapitation or removing its heart."
"Gross."
Madam Yvonne ignored her, "Or you could turn two lycanthropes on each other and watch them destroy themselves although that takes a lot of work." Madam Yvonne said.
Nadine nodded.
"Lycanthropes are really strong, so you'll have to be careful. If you can, kill them before they change into wolf form." Madam Yvonne advised.
"I thought they only changed during the full moon." Nadine said.
"Another lie pop culture feeds the populace. Lycanthropes can turn at anytime, but for some reason, they're stronger during the full moon." Madam Yvonne said.
"But, those books you lent me didn't give specific ways to spot a lycanthrope." Complained Nadine.
"I could be able to help you with that. When you spot your first lycanthrope, I need you to get some drops of blood from it. I'll use that to prepare a charm that will warn you when lycanthropes are nearby. But to get your first lycanthrope, you have to trust your instincts." Madam Yvonne said.
"Most hunters die from fights with lycanthropes. We have to counter that. You'll need a gun with silver bullets, a silver sword, a huge vial of mercury and silver armor." Madam Yvonne checked the items off on her fingers.
"Ok. What for?" Nadine asked, bewildered.
"The weapons are to make your job easier. The silver armor will be to protect you from the slash of a lycanthrope's claw." Madam Yvonne explained with great patience. "I'll need your statistics. All these will cost some money. Money I can't afford to lend you."
"Don't worry. I'll see what I can do." Nadine waved that aside.
"Good. I also recommend you sign up for shooting classes, fighting classes, sword classes. Also work out and stay fit. It's essential for your survival." Madam Yvonne said.
Nadine gulped. Her schedule would definitely be packed. Well, she shrugged, it wasn't as if she had a job.
"And one last thing Nadine. These creatures are so much stronger than the average human, if you're going to engage with them, you'll need to take enhancers." Madam Yvonne said.
"You mean drugs?" Nadine asked with righteous indignation. As a high school teacher, she'd been quite vocal in her campaign against drugs. It wouldn't be right if she started using them now.
"More like boosters. Don't worry. I'll specially brew them for you. That'll be all for now. It was nice talking to you." Madam Yvonne smiled at Nadine. She felt great knowing that everything was going according to her plan.
* * *
Nadine smiled as she listened to what her parents were saying. She was actually tired from a full day of learning how to shoot a firearm, fight with swords and fight unarmed. She was sore from getting floored many times, and wished she was st home soaking in a hot tub of water. But here she was, pretending to enjoy dinner with her parents. At least, her mother hadn't invited a prospective suitor.
"So, Nadine. Why the change of mind?" Her father asked all of a sudden.
"What do you mean?" Nadine feigned ignorance.
"Oh! Come on! You never accept our invitations to dinner. At least, not since Dave disappeared." Her mother replied.
"Well, mother, I've finally seen the light. You and Dad were right all along. Dave's gone. I shouldn't throw my life away because of that." Nadine lied through her teeth.
"So you'll get a job then?" Her father asked. He was ashamed of telling his golf buddies that his only child was unemployed.
"I guess, eventually. But first, I want to go on a vacation. You know, rediscover myself before I go back into teaching." Nadine said.
"Take your time, there's no rush." Her mother said.
"Well, I can't afford to pay for my vacation, so I was hoping you two could lend me a spot of cash." Nadine smiled sweetly.
"Anything you want, my dear." Her father said, relieved that his only child had come around.
* * *
Two weeks later,
Nadine felt that she was ready to start hunting. She hadn't completed her classes, but she was confident she could hold her own against a lycanthrope or two. The more time she wasted, the more difficult it would be to find Dave.
She walked into Madam Yvonne's office to let her know of her decision.
"Nadine, I was expecting you." Madam Yvonne smiled. "Do you want some tea?"
"No, I'm fine." Nadine replied.
"So why have you come here today?" Madam Yvonne asked bluntly.
"I've come to tell you that I want to start hunting." Nadine answered with equal bluntness. "That is if my weapons and armor are ready."
Nadine had given the money she'd gotten from her parents to Madam Yvonne to procure the weapons and armor.
"Is that all?" Madam Yvonne asked breezily, "You sure you don't want some tea?"
Nadine decided to oblige her and took the cup that was placed in front of her. She took a few sips and instantly felt dizzy. Her eyes closed of their own accord.
When she was able to reopen them, she saw a wolf-like creature where Madam Yvonne had been standing moments ago.
"If you think you're ready to hunt, fight me!" It said in Madam Yvonne's voice before attacking her.
Nadine dodged the lycanthrope as it landed on the other side of the room. She rubbed her eyes with her hands, not understanding what was happening, "You lied to me all along. You were a lycanthrope!" She accused Madam Yvonne.The lycanthrope laughed, "Don't kid yourself. I put a hallucinogen in your tea. I'm still the same old me, although your brain is telling you different." She said, lounging for Nadine again.Nadine ducked. "You won't evade me forever. At sometime, you'll have to fight back." Madam Yvonne taunted.Nadine shook her head, "I don't want to hurt you.""But you must, if you want to prove yourself." Madam Yvonne said, as she pounced on Nadine. This time, she hit her target and knocked Nadine over.Nadine used her hands to stop the lycanthrope from sinking its teeth into her. Nadine noticed that the lycanthrope was like a human sized wolf. She felt the strength that lay in its muscles and marveled. Nadine heaved and threw the lycanthrope o
Nadine swiped at her phone and groaned. Who knew finding a lycanthrope could be so hard? At first, she had lurked the streets and alleys looking for any human that acted suspiciously like a lycanthrope and had found nothing.Then she had resorted to the searching the internet. All she had found were lycanthrope cosplayers, role players and enthusiasts. Yuck!Even the dark Web had yielded no such luck. An ad popped up on her phone and she was about to remove it when she saw that it was for a dating app. Immediately, an idea hit her.Nadine downloaded a popular dating app and created a profile. Uploading a very sexy picture of herself, she updated her bio saying that she loved lycanthropes. Then, she waited for someone to text her.Nadine figured that lycanthropes also used dating apps. One would hit her up, then she'd bring him back and force him to talk.Two hours later, her phone dinged. Nadine checked it and saw that she had received a text. She clicked on the man's profile.The pic
Nadine let herself into Madam Yvonne's shop, “You called me.” She said as she sat down on one of the wicker chairs.“Yes.” Madam Yvonne said pouring some tea into two cups. She brought them over to where Nadine was, and offered a cup to her.“No, thanks.” Said Nadine, as she remembered what happened the last time she drank Madam Yvonne's tea.“You sure? It's really good.” Madam Yvonne asked as she sipped hers and let out a moan of relish.Nadine shook her head. She twiddled her thumbs and looked at Madam Yvonne, “You called me.” She reiterated.“I need a situation report. Have you started hunting? Where's the lycanthrope blood that I asked you to get?” Madam Yvonne asked.“Umm, I haven't found any lycanthrope.” Nadine said uneasily. She wasn't about to tell Madam Yvonne about the idiot Lycan Throb.“Oh well! Let's not rush you. I'm pretty sure you'll get one.” Madam Yvonne consoled.“Another reason I called you here is to give you your enhancers.” Madam Yvonne stood up and went to a sh
Dustin awoke to someone shaking him. He wondered what the woman wanted. He hoped it wasn't another round. She had been more energetic than all his other bed mates; both human and lycanthrope.“What do you want?” Dustin asked drowsily.All vestiges of sleep deserted him when he saw the pistol she pointed at him.Nadine pulled out her phone and showed him a picture of Dave, “Have you seen this man around?”Dustin looked at the picture, then at Nadine. Before she could blink, Dustin had flung her off him.Nadine groaned as she hit the wall with a thud and fell to the ground, losing her gun and her phone in the process.Nadine got up and discovered that she was not aching anywhere. That was the enhancer at work although she could feel the effects wearing off.“What the fuck do you think you're doing? Pointing a gun at me?” Dustin growled.“Questioning you.” Nadine said as she attacked him head on, only to have him duck fastly. Nadine could
Madam Yvonne hummed happily as she put some spices into the concoction she was brewing. Truly, she had underestimated that Nadine. She had been shocked when Nadine had come in a few hours ago and dropped off the vial containing some lycanthrope's blood. Madam Yvonne had tasted it and found out that Nadine wasn't shitting her.For the first time in a long time, she had hope that she would get revenge on the lycanthrope who had scarred her face.Madam Yvonne stirred her brew which contained the lycanthrope's blood and waited for it to boil.A visitor entered and immediately, Madam Yvonne positioned herself in front of the brew, effectively hiding it from the person's view.The visitor turned out to be Nick.“Ah, Nick. To what do I owe the pleasure? Are you here in your capacity as a detective or an Alpha?” Madam Yvonne said jovially.Ignoring her, Nick sniffed deeply, “I smell blood.” He said suspiciously.Blasted lycanthrope, thought Madam Yvonne. Their sense of smell was so strong that
Nadine stared at the medal around her neck as Madam Yvonne locked it from behind.“How exactly does it work?” Nadine asked, fingering the pendant.“Once a lycanthrope is near, the medal will feel hot. It's that simple.” Madam Yvonne said, pleased with herself.“How did you do it?” Nadine asked. She was sounding like one of her eager students.“There are some inscriptions made on it. The ink I used for the inscriptions have lycanthrope blood in it. Lycanthropes can tell each other in human form. This will give you the power to do so.” Madam Yvonne explained patiently.“Wow! That makes my job easier.” Nadine said happily.* * *Two days later, Nadine sighed in frustration. The medal didn't make her work any easier. It wasn't like a tracker or anything, so after walking around the streets, the medal had not alerted her to the presence of a lycanthrope.Nadine was also frustrated by her naivete. She hadn't asked Dustin to show her a picture of Marlowe or to tell her his address before sh
Nadine got to the bar and even from the parking lot, she could hear the music. 'The Devil's den' was proclaimed in front of the building with neon lights.Nadine went in and the first sight that hit her was the women dancing provocatively on the tables, wearing only bikinis.Nadine ordered a coke and the barman gave it to her. She sat at the counter and sipped her lukewarm coke as she surveyed for anyone who exuded lycanthrope vibes.“Yo. Is Marlowe around here somewhere?” Nadine asked the barman casually.The barman shook his head and went back to mixing drinks.* * *Nick stepped into the bar and flexed his muscles in readiness. He was going to get this huntress and have a word with her. He pictured her as being big-boned. Obviously, only a large woman would be able to defeat a lycanthrope.At one table, Nick saw a huge woman sitting alone and texting on her phone.He sat down next to her, “Hey. Are you the huntress?” Nick asked with the tone he used when interrogating criminals.
For some reason, the next day after her confrontation with Nick, Nadine did not feel so gung-ho about hunting. In fact, Nadine didn't feel so gung-ho about anything. She looked at her apartment and cringed. Clothes and books were strewn about, take-out boxes littered everywhere and the place was so dusty.Nadine steeled herself and began to clean her apartment. While doing that, she was free to remember what had happened with Nick in that bar. Hell, her hand spotted a bruise which still hurt.Nadine couldn't believe that Nick had accused her of killing the three other lycanthropes. How could he?Nadine noticed with surprise the tears that rolled down her cheeks and she angrily dashed them away.Why did she even let Nick affect her that way? Why did she care what he thought of her? Why did she feel hurt after discovering his deceit and lies?Nadine took a deep breath and steeled her shoulders. She wouldn't take him up on his stupid offer. She