“Is it your hobby to take adult women to the woods in the middle of the night?” Olivia asked.
Right now, she had met Gary in the woods, just where he had told her about her now being a Werewolf. The night sky was out and part of the moon was shining brightly, allowing the two of them to see, not that they needed it anyway.
She was currently in a new set of clothes that sprouted in the Howlers’ colour scheme. Due to their position, she wasn't afraid to be recognised. Heck, if others would dare to attack her, she would look forward to showing off her strength.
Still, the teenager couldn’t help but notice that the clothing didn't exactly look the warmest, not that Olivia looked to be cold at all, yet the same could be said for Gary. One of the hidden benefits of becoming a Werewolf was that their bodies were able to adapt to the weather conditions.
“No, not really, but I somehow feel quite comfortable here.” The Alpha Werewolf shrugged. “Also, I’ve called you over to talk to you about some Werewolf stuff, and this seems to be the perfect place for that.”
Hearing Gary say this, after their little conversation she had heard earlier, she couldn't help but grin.
“Because it's your big secret?” Olivia asked in a mocking tone. “You should be aware that after what you did, all of them know, right? After all, they know who was hiding under that wolf mask. They all saw you fight that Cheetah Altered.
“The only reason your little buddies didn’t mention anything to you was because they’re waiting for you to be the one that brings it up to them first. Although, considering your fallout, earlier didn’t seem like the perfect time to ask you any questions anyway.”
Hearing this saddened Gary a little. Truth be told, he had avoided thinking about that matter, having been glad that nobody had recognised him at school. However, Olivia was completely right, of course the Howlers knew now.
Most of them had already put two and two together, but now that they had seen it live, there was no denying it. Ironically, Gary wasn't an Altered. No, he was something a lot more menacing and if the others found that they had almost died because he had been the one to create Billy, he wasn’t sure how they would feel.
Sure, Kai had seemingly forgiven him, but would Innu do the same?
Shaking this thought off, Gary decided to concentrate on the reason he had messaged Olivia after their small meeting.
“Tell me, have you felt an urge that has been growing? A craving for blood or killing in the last couple of days and I need you to be honest.” Gary asked.
For a second, Olivia didn't answer, she was thinking about whether to lie or not, but due to it being such a specific question she thought that the teenager already knew the answer.
“Yes, but I haven’t really acted on it, unless you count the fact that I’ve been eating my steaks a lot bloodier than usual. In fact, it's almost as if my mind is in two states. Every time I consider acting upon it, I start to get a headache, forcing me to stop. ”
Gary could only surmise that this should be Olivia’s natural instincts as a Werewolf colliding with the Pact Rules he had set up. It was good to know they were still in effect, but on the full moon he doubted that it would be strong enough.
There was a theory that Gary had, and he was sure it was right. When the system stated that his bloodlust was increasing, it wasn't his lust for blood itself. It wasn't as if, drinking blood, or eating a human would calm one down.
No, what it meant, was the act of killing itself. On the night of a full moon all a Werewolf wanted to do was hunt and kill anything it saw in its sight.
“Alright, another question yesterday, was there anything weird that happened to you? Anything strange during the day at all.” When asking this question, Gary was a little more quiet in his voice.
This had not gone unnoticed at all.
“You son of a b*tch! I should have known that it was YOU who did that shit to me!!! YOU’VE MADE ME COLLAPSE IN THE MIDDLE OF THE DEPARTMENT STORE!!! DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA HOW HUMILIATED I FELT FROM ALL THOSE EYES STARING AT ME AS IF I WAS A DAMSEL IN DISTRESS?!!!!”
She had shouted so loud, that Gary was sure even those on the street outside the woods should have heard her. Fortunately, he had brought her to this rather secluded place.
“Look, I'm sorry, I didn’t consider your circumstances, but I promise it was in your best interest!” Gary apologised, unable to look her in the eyes for a moment. Instead, he looked over the Lady Boss’ body. Not because he was interested in her or anything, but because he had expected some change in her appearance.
When the high schooler had selected the Warrior Class, his body had changed drastically. As such, he had expected something similar to happen to the Beta Werewolf, but at least outwards there was nothing different about her.
‘Could it be that she didn’t change because I went with the recommended Class? Did my body change, because I chose something that I wasn’t suited for before that?’ Gary theorised.
“Tell me, have you noticed anything peculiar about yourself afterwards? Any messages in your eyes, perhaps?” He asked her, to stop ogling the middle-aged woman, who looked in top shape.
“Now that you mention it, I did encounter some strange red smoke that day. It was very faint, though, and it smelt like raw food. I can still see it now, and it hasn’t disappeared since that day. Not sure if anything else is new.” Olivia replied, before giving the teenager another angry stare. “I didn’t exactly have the mind to find out after collapsing out of nowhere, you know?!”
‘So she still doesn’t seem to have a system but can see them? Did she somehow set targets without realising it or…’ Then a thought came into Gary’s head.
“Can you still see it? If so, can you point me in the direction of where it’s coming from?”
Olivia was still unsure what was up with it, but she humoured the Alpha Werewolf, and showed in a certain direction.
‘It must be because she is a Beta Werewolf in the same pact. Now that she is a Hunter Class she can see my markings as well. However, it seems to be only my Forced Bonds and not the Bond Marks I have made. Not sure if I should be happy about it or not.’
“Okay, let's see how much stronger you’ve gotten then.” Gary suggested with a smile on his face.
There were two reasons he wanted to do this, to test out his own capabilities, as well Olivia’s. It was important to know the gap in strength between the two, that way he could continue being the Alpha Werewolf.
Olivia wasn't shy, getting into a fighting stance and holding her whip in her hand. She, too, wanted to know what these changes were that Gary seems to have noticed and done for some reason. It was at that moment, her eyes lit up blue.
[Beta Werewolf (Hunter class) is within range of the pact leader and has entered into battle.]
[0/15 Marks available]
[The Alpha is able to designate Hunting Marks for the Hunter Class]
[Those with marks the Hunter will prioritise first]
[Extra Exp will be gained for marked targets hunted by the hunter]
[The Hunter class’s strength will increase when fighting against those that are marked]
It was unexpected for Gary to get multiple notifications suddenly like this, but it looked like he had gotten some of his answers about what a Hunter Class could do exactly. It was just a shame that he couldn't see Olivia's stats, or if she benefited from hunting these targets.
Either way, he could find that out through a fight.
While a little distracted, the whip was thrown out towards Gary, and he had grabbed it catching it with his arm transformed.
“You're faster than before.” Gary noted.
“And it looks like you’ve gotten faster as well!” Olivia shouted, as she charged forward.
——
The two of them were huffing and panting as their training session had come to an end. Gary had learned a lot through their small spars. For one, although his speed had increased greatly, with more speed it also meant that he used more stamina during a fight.
Which meant that if he wanted to be a Werewolf that focused on speed, it wasn’t wise to just increase his Dexterity. Because without increasing his Stamina, he could only last a few seconds at full capacity.
However, there was one thing that was clear during the fight, although Olivia had improved after gaining her Class, Gary was leaps and bounds stronger than her compared to before. He was growing at a much faster rate.
Nevertheless, the Lady Boss had improved in more ways than one as well. Gary had pushed her significantly in the fight, and in the end, a rage had overcome her, causing her arm to transform slightly. Her nails grew and fur appeared on the top of her forearm. It looked similar to his Controlled Transformation, yet the Beta Werewolf seemed unable to control it, at least for now.
Without a doubt, though, these two were a force to be reckoned with, which strengthened Gary’s resolve about his next course of action.
“I’ve decided, Olivia, tomorrow me and you will pay the Underdogs a visit and wipe them out.”
*****
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