Chapter 5

After I entered the forest without any gear, instinct was all I had to rely on.

Two hours later, deep in the woods, I ran straight into Emma’s group. They froze when they saw me. Clearly, they were tracking something, and I had caught them off guard.

“Well, well, if it isn’t Blackstone’s little bitch,” sneered Emma. “You don't have any gear, and all your equipment is trashed. Yet, you still dare to step foot in the forest?”

She came over and started walking circles around me. “You really don’t know when to give up."

“Boys!” Emma called over her shoulder. “No cameras out here. We can have some fun.”

“Great idea!” Seven or eight leering werewolves began closing in. Their grins twisted with malice.

Emma instructed, “Shift. I want to see her on her knees, begging for her life.”

One after another, they transformed into gray, brown, and black wolves. They formed a ring that closed in on me step by step.

I stood still, not moving an inch.

“What’s wrong? Too scared to move?” mocked Emma.

The first gray wolf lunged. I tilted my body ever so slightly, and it crashed headlong into a tree. The second, a brown wolf, came from behind. It was as though I had eyes in the back of my head as I crouched at just the right moment. It soared right over me.

“She’s toying with us!” snarled one of them.

Three wolves pounced at once. I leaped backward, and they slammed into each other in a heap.

“Useless idiots!” Emma, seething with frustration, snapped. “All at once—now!”

Every wolf came at me at once.

I stayed in human form and slipped between their strikes like I was dancing, each movement perfectly timed to avoid the blows.

“She’s too fast!”

“We can’t catch her!”

Emma finally lost her patience. She shifted into a White Wolf. “Out of my way. I’ll handle this myself!”

She was just about to lunge when one of the wolves suddenly pointed past us. “What the hell is that?”

A massive stag stood in the distance, antlers spreading like tree branches. It was the prize catch, the crown jewel of the hunt.

“The giant stag!” Emma’s eyes lit up, and she instantly forgot about me. “Quick! Surround it!”

Her group raced toward it, forming a circle around their target.

“This year’s Hunt Festival trophy is mine!” declared Emma. Her voice trembled with excitement.

As I watched from the side, something felt wrong. The stag’s eyes were not normal.

“Wait…” Just as I was about to speak, the stag threw its head back. Its eyes burned blood-red, veins swelling and standing out all over its body. A mutated beast!

The roar that tore from its throat was anything but a deer’s. Its razor-sharp antlers slashed through the air, hurling two werewolves aside in a heartbeat, blood splattering everywhere.

Screams followed.

“Run! It’s a mutant!”

Wolves scattered in terror.

Emma, still in her white wolf form, froze where she stood. The beast’s crimson eyes locked onto her. Her white fur made her the easiest target.

It lowered its head, antlers locking onto her. Its hooves tore at the earth, nostrils flaring as it readied to charge.

“No… No… Don’t…” Emma tried to run, but fear rooted her to the ground.

At the last second, I unleashed a flicker of my Silvermoon Wolf aura, just enough to strike fear into the mutant beast.

It shrieked in terror, tore itself free, and fled into the dark forest without looking back.

“You…” Emma shifted back into human form and collapsed onto the ground, trembling all over. “T-This is impossible…”

Her wide, bewildered eyes fixed on me, searching for answers.

Then, the low thrum of helicopter blades rumbled overhead.

Two choppers descended almost at once. One bore the insignia of Blackstone Consortium. The other carried the crest of the Silvermoon Pack.

Margaret stepped out with her security detail, while the Silvermoon Pack’s leader and his wife got out from the other.

The moment Emma saw our parents, she staggered up and threw herself into their arms, sobbing hysterically. “Mom, Dad! She tried to kill me! She lured the mutant beast on purpose to kill me!”

Only then did our mother finally turn to look at me. The moment her eyes fell on my face, she froze.

“You…” She stumbled forward, staring hard at me.

Her breathing quickened, ragged. “No… This can’t be… You look so much like her…”

Our father came up behind her. His face drained of all color when his gaze landed on me.

“W-Who… are you?” His voice was shaking. “Why do you look so much like… like the one from ten years ago…”