Cursed

Chapter Two-Freya

The forest is dark, cold and wet. It had just rained and the forest ground was slippery. I walk as quietly as I can, my leather boots stepping on broken twigs and stepping over fallen trunks.

A small bag with provisions and small weapons hangs on my shoulders. I hold a c****d gun, aiming it at any direction I hear sounds.

" Scan the forests, they must have left clues" I say loudly to my companions.

It's not dawn yet and there are 3 of us searching the forests. We had been roused out of our sleep in the early hours of the morning.

"An ambush! My sister and friends were taken" we were told by a young boy who tried to catch his breath as he had run for miles before reaching the inn where we stayed.

"Get prepared" I said to my companions and they rushed back into the inn.

"You, come in," I said to the boy.

"How did it happen? And where?" I asked the young lad as I went back into the inn and dressed up quickly.

"At the forest, near the river. My three friends had gone fishing. We had just thrown in our hook when they came out, Four of them. 4 men. They were large like werewolves.

They came out of the bushes and jumped on us. They took my friends away." He explained, his voice low and scared. He squeezed his fingers nervously

"How did you escape?" I spared him a suspicious glance as I moved swiftly, picking up my weapons.

" I had not been on the water. I was slow in preparing my bait." He explained.

"Which way did they go?" I was at the door already.

"South, into the forest." He said and I was already out with my companions.

My companions and I were wolf hunters. Trained for years to defend humans and hunt down our greatest enemies, the werewolves.

Recently, there have been reports of missing people, attacks and abduction. We had reasons to believe that the werewolves were responsible for it though there has been no concrete proof. Their creatures were sneaky and knew how to cover their tracks.

I hate the werewolves with everything in me and I don't hesitate to kill as soon as I see them. The wolves were stronger than humans, they could change forms, and had very good eyesight, especially at night.

Searching for them at night is a fool's mission but my hate controlled every fiber of my intellect. Besides, I had to try and save the humans that were abducted.

The wolves saw humans as food and playthings. Humans were mostly scared of them. The few who weren't scared or who had had enough took up weapons and hunted them.

I can't count the number of werewolves I'd killed. My motivations to hunt them down stemmed deep from a place of hurt and revenge.

The human villages who were mostly preys helped in getting top notch gears, weapons and kept us focused on the tasks.

We got to the spot and noticed the evidence of struggle as well as fishing gears scattered about. We followed the trails, my senses on high alert, as I scanned the darkness.

My companions, Lucas and Lola, flanked me, their eyes fixed on the surrounding trees.

We were deep into the forest when I sniffed the air. My nostrils flaring as I catch the unmistakable scent of a werewolf. Funny, I had thought they were long gone.

I signaled to Lucas and Lola, my hand slicing through the air, pointing to a cluster of bushes. They nodded, their faces set in determined lines.

I creep forward, my footsteps silent on the forest floor. But the werewolf is faster. It lunges at me, its jaws wide open, and I barely dodged its attack.

I step aside quickly but a broken trunks obstructs my movement. I regained my stance almost immediately. My heart racing, I regained my stance and aimed my gun at the wolf. It growled in pain, its eyes blazing with fury.

There's a small shot sound from behind him and he growls loudly. Its growl is loud and would be frightening for a fellow human but I was a wolf hunter and had an immunity against fear.

The werewolf falls to the ground, the tranquilizer from Lucas' gun taking effect. I give Lucas, the only guy in the company a thumbs up and walk closer to the fallen wolf.

The effect of the tranquilizer was going to wear off in thirty minutes but it was all the time I needed to get answers.

"Where are the others?" I ask coldly, pointing the gun at his forehead. One aim and he's gone.

I see fear and defiance in his eyes and I chuckle. One thing I like about my job is the denial I see in the eyes of these werewolves when they are close to death.

They think so highly of themselves that it's hard for them to think they can not be killed by humans.

I place the gun on his head roughly and speak between my teeths.

"Where. Are. The. Others?" He still doesn't speak.

His defiant look is making me furious now. I c**k the gun and his defiant look turns into a scared one. I nudge at his head roughly with the gun.

He tries to speak but has trouble moving his lips because of the tranquilizer. I usually enjoy the struggle, the desperation to save their miserable lives.

Some are defiant to the end which isn't always surprising as I already know werewolves were senselessly proud creatures. Those ones, I enjoy killing.

"Why do you think I'll answer your questions ?" He asks insolently

"mmmh* I make a show of thinking before saying.

"Maybe because I'm with a gun with silver bullets and you are lying on the forest floor incapacitated." I smile, a cold but sweet mile.

"They're gone… back to the cities. You can't catch them" The wolf's voice is strained. I laugh sadistically and pull out a small knife from the belt around my waist. I flash it in front of him menacingly.

"Do you know what I do to stubborn wolves?" I don't let him reply. Of course he doesn't know.

" I make them die slowly. I'll first pull out your beloved claws" as I say this, I pick up his large furry arms. I place the all sharp knife in-between the claw and skin and put pressure on it.

I had studied the wolves enough to know they took pride in their claws. A werewolf was nothing without them so they grew it out. The claws were the only weapons they carried.

" I'll pull them out one after the other" I say, I'm not smiling now and I can see the wolf's eyes widen as much as it can.

" They… planned on visiting the next village and abducting more people…before going back home. I was only left here to find the other young boy who escaped…. Spare me…" He begged.

I know the strain in his voice wasn't a result of the drugs in his system. It was a shame.

"What do you do with them?" I ask and he hesitates. I put pressure on his claws again but he keeps his mouth shut.

"Speak!" I bark

"I don't know. I swear I don't" He says, eyes begging. I stare hard at him.

"Where are you from?" I ask but he doesn't speak.

I put pressure on the knife, peeling out his claw slowly. He groans in pain and barks out the name.

Wulfgar, the village he mentions, is one of the biggest, richest and strongest werewolf territories in the entire vicinity.

"You mean, the Wulfgar?" Lolz questions him. She's surprised and doesn't know how to hide it.

"You are getting scared aren't you?" The werewolves' voice is strained but he still manages to get me angry.

"Tell me more about this Wulfgar land. It's my first time hearing of it." I lied and I saw the mocked shock in the wolf's eyes.

"You call yourself a wolf hunter but you don't know about the one greatest werewolf territory in the whole world.

Wulfgar is a name that invokes fear In the minds of everyone who hears it and when others find out what you have done to me, they will find you and kill you" he bragged.

I smile as I take in his words.

"Now, what do you do with the humans you abduct?" I say, placing the knife on the second claw. His eyes show extreme fear and pain but there's also a small plea.

"I don't know. We are not told. Wolves in the lower echelon are not told." He begged and I sigh in frustration. He is useless.

"I guess I'll have to reward you for the half information you provided. Just like I promised," I say and step away from him. I see the momentary relief in his dark eyes before I turn to one of my companions.

"Lola, do me the honors of ending his life. Swiftly please" I smile coldly as I say this.

Lola steps forward with her gun, decisive as ever, aims it at his head and shoots. A loud bang and a bone chilling roar filled the night air and then, there was calm.