Marked By the Hunter's Daughter

Chapter 14: Savage

“Oh it’s you… again” Layla positioned herself and said with disappointment all over her face and Alex noticed that.

“Uh yes it’s me, why do you sound disappointed?”

“Em because I am, you see, you don’t hear well and see clearly either. Not that I care but to avoid bumping into me again don’t you think you need to get checked up?”

Lyla spat out rhetorically before bending to grab her bag but a faster hand reached out to it first.

“How did you expect me to see you that’s inside the class from outside”

Though Alex was at fault, he didn’t want to give in to her.

“Don’t ask me. In the first place, why were you running recklessly?”

Another question landed at him.

“I… I was…”

I give up, there was no point agreeing with a female. They had the God-given talent to whoop men and make them speechless when it comes to mouth battle.

Alex facepalmed himself and breathed in and out deeply till he was calm before he could finally speak.

“Okay am… fine, am at fault. I’m sorry”

Alex stammered and rushed the sentence but still it was clear.

“Huh?”

Shocked by the apology, she never expected the bad boy of the school would actually apologize. Either way, it felt good and she liked it. She smiled for a second and then it vanished.

“I didn’t get that, what did you say?”

Alex grinned and raised his eyebrow up.

“Nice try. Am not saying it again, it’s till next year before you’re getting another one.”

They both laughed.

“Well it was worth a trial.”

Alex handed her her bag and took his keys from the locker before bidding her farewell and riding home.

“By the way, thanks for the other time… but I had it under control.”

---

Night fell.

Alex sat on his bed with his laptop on his lap. After a while he grabbed his pen and book beside him and began writing till he finished his assignment.

He threw the last piece of chocolate bar into his mouth before packing and arranging his room. When he was done, he headed into the shower.

“Huu!, there is no feeling like night showering”

Alex murmured to himself, enjoying the cold water shooting at him while he cleaned his body.

Alex came out with a white towel around his neck and his underwear. After drying his body, he hung the towel back and moved toward the window to open the curtains.

Alex turned his eyes and caught the sight of two glowing dots in the dark forest. His heart skipped a beat, he blinked and looked again only to find nothing apart from the darkness.

“That looked like a red glowing eye”

Alex thought.

His mind once again connected to the incident of the previous night. He also saw a huge beast with the exact red glowing terrifying eyes.

Are they connected or are they the same?

He adjusted the curtains to a suitable position, putting the disturbing thought to the back of his head.

Alex yawned and dived on the bed.

And that was goodnight.

---

Coming from a distant location, a five block SUV entered the city and kept on moving on a tarred road.

Inside the vehicle, in the middle, a man in his late fifties sat behind, putting on a black round hat with a navy blue fitted shirt which hugged his built body perfectly.

He had a black trouser and a thick leather shoe covering his ankle. His beards were neatly cut and so was the hair on his head. It was just that the hair on his head was completely gone.

Hidden beneath his collar, five scars made from the scratch of a claw were on his neck.

His eyes were closed throughout the trip but he wasn’t asleep—rather he was alert, ready to take down his opposition any moment. He kept tapping the black pistol in his hand, eager to pull the trigger.

Beside him, a female with blonde straight hair packed to the back kept on making calls.

“We will be arriving at sector 85. Prepare to receive us.”

She disconnected it and switched connection.

“Status?” she asked.

After receiving an immediate reply, she gave her orders.

“Good. Make no mistake and stay at alert.”

She tapped her ear comms and sent out her order through the comm before putting it on hold.

“So, dad, which Alpha are we hunting down next?”

“The female Alpha. Ruth.”

His rusty, thick, scary voice silenced the entire sounds, leaving a feeling of fear in the atmosphere.

---

“Argumentative composition”

Ms. Janet spoke out as she wrote on the white board. She turned and started her explanation, giving examples till her time was almost up.

“Now listen up. Our next class would be a debate composition. You all would be grouped into three, to either oppose or support the topic: ‘The world of Art is much better than the world of Science’.”

“I will be calling your names out, pay attention.”

“Harrison, Peter and Mary—you are Group A.”

“Kenneth, Anderson, Faith…”

She continued and figured out something was wrong.

“Layla, Jessica and… Alexander? Where is Alexander?”

Ms. Janet finally figured out Alex was missing. She turned and frowned her face at Ray who was currently not listening—he was engrossed in the game he was playing.

“Ray!”

Bang!

She called out his name and Ray flew out of his chair and knocked his head on the table.

“Ma—yes… ma.”

He repositioned himself and stood up.

“Where is Alex?”

He told her he hasn’t seen him and she didn’t believe him. Not only her, no one believed him.

Even he didn’t believe himself. He had not seen him today at all and he had tried his number severally but to no avail.

Dong!

The bell rung and everyone stood up the next second.

Ms. Janet gave him a deep stare, turning around back to her table.

“Ah thank G—”

“And Ray, see you in detention. Also, when you do see your friend, tell him I want to see him in detention also.”

Ray’s face saddened upon hearing the sentence.

“God…”

He finished his sentence and a deep sigh followed after.

---

Layla and Jessica rushed forward to meet Ms. Janet by her table to clear out their doubt.

“Ms. Janet, our group isn’t complete. We are just two.”

Ms. Janet arranged her books neatly and packed them together.

“Actually, it is you, Jessica and Alex,”

Ms. Janet replied Layla, still not looking at them directly until she was done packing, and then she started moving out of the class.

Knowing what Ms. Janet would say, Jessica folded her arms and frowned hard.

“But he didn’t even attend today’s class. Am sure he would probably not care about the debate.”

Not bothered about the complaints, she kept on walking while they followed her behind.

“Well, it’s now you two’s problem to make sure he cares. You three must be present in my next class to participate well unless am failing your group. Remember, it’s a group work, Miss Courtney.”

And she was gone after that.

Layla and Jessica halted their steps, both disappointed because they knew the fact that Alex was something else—even though crazy and unpredictable fit his personality.

Jessica’s expression and tone changed as if a new wave of anger just bathed her over.

“Look here!”

She turned to Layla.

“It is your fault am stuck with you and that rascal.”

What?! Layla screamed in her head.

How is it my fault? Girl, you’re just stuck with bad luck—don’t blame me for your misfortune.

“I must not fail the debate so know how you will find Alex and make him participate. Not only that, but he must contribute… or else—”

Jessica stopped and slowly continued with her anger.

“I will make this school a living hell for you.”

After she finished speaking, Layla barked a laugh and spoke:

“You’re Jessica, right?”

“Hmm?” she answered curiously.

“Then shut the f**k up!”

Layla spat the sentence right at Jessica’s face and walked out.

---

“Damn!”

“f**k!”

“Savage!”

The other students eavesdropping in the hallway commented.

Jessica stood there shocked by what just happened. She felt pained and hurt, her wings were cut down—she no longer felt high and mighty.

Her anger skyrocketed. She could almost feel hot tears around her eyes but she sent it back inside.

“You pest!”

Jessica finally recovered from the shock and shouted at Layla, but it was meaningless since she was nowhere to be found.

---

“Machine Gun Queen and Sargent Bullet, are you ready?” Ray asked, sitting alone in an empty class and playing Call of Duty online. He had a headset connected to his phone which he placed on his ear for easy communication.

“Wait, someone wants to join, let me add her.” Sargent Bullet spoke out and added him into the team.

Upon seeing the player, Ray kicked him out. He went by the name “Warrior Princess” using a feminine name. That was not the issue. The main issue was that Ray had once teamed up with her to play a match, but he died so quickly because his teammate let him die instead of reviving him so he could continue playing or helping. Warrior Princess later went ahead and stole his weapons and equipment he dropped after he had died.

Ray explained it to his teammates through the speaker and they felt his pain.

“If it was me I would hunt him down instead, just kicking him out of the team isn’t enough. We feel your pain, brother!”

They decided to enter the game as a three-man team. After a few seconds the game loaded and war broke out. Ray took the lead and moved forward, pulling his trigger. He started firing at the enemy from behind, ambushing them and gaining advantage, but all of a sudden his character's head faced down and he no longer fired.

“What the… Daisy, please I’m in the middle of a game,” Ray spoke fast after Daisy walked into the class and snatched his phone.

“I know where Alex is, let’s go,” she hurriedly spoke and handed him his phone back.

Shocked and excitement filled his eyes before he heard another call from his teammates and it made him a bit sad. He thought about it for two seconds before ending the game.

“I’m sorry guys, I gotta go.”

Ray turned and looked at Daisy who was a bit worried.

“He better have a very good reason or I’m going to kill him.”

“That’s when I’m done with him first.”

---

Right on the field were scattered balls and some were rolling over. A male figure stood some meters away from the goal post with his foot on the ball. He raised with his left leg and passed it to the right leg before firing with full shot at the high edge of the post.

Pow! And he scored again.

“Damn! How I’ve missed scoring so much. I can’t wait to join the team.” Alex smiled, ready to fire another accurate shot into the post when he heard his name.

“Alex!” Daisy called out with relief, seeing that he was fine. But why was he on the field again?

“Ray, I thought he was past this?” Daisy became sad once more and so did Ray.

“Me too,” Ray replied.

They both remembered the last time something like this happened. That was when Alex had his knee and ankle injured. He was so broken, frustrated, and lost. Alex dragged himself with his injury to the field and kept shooting the ball into the net but they were all off-target. He couldn’t even walk and run well, not to talk of performing skills.

This was what changed Alex to what he is now. At least this year, he is much better. Last year, he was the true definition of a rascal. He displayed an “I don’t care” attitude and did what he wanted, when he wanted, and how he wanted.

They looked at Alex and figured out something was different. Alex was smiling excitedly, unlike other times when he looked lost and sad.

“Hey guys,” Alex waved at them. “Check this out. Ray, pass the ball.”

Daisy and Ray looked at each other again before Ray turned back to him.

“Okay?” he was confused, nevertheless he fired the ball at Alex.

The ball rose, ascending a bit high, and when it got close to Alex he chested the ball, gaining control over it. Still not done, he raised the ball with his knee, pushing it forward and then…

Pow! The sound echoed as Alex fired the ball with great force into the goal net and scored again.

“Oh my God.”

“Holy Shit.”

Daisy and Ray rushed at him, closing the distance. They jumped and hugged him.

“How… did you?” Daisy stuttered.

“I don’t know either, I just woke up and felt different—like a better version of the real me.”

Alex noticed their blank expressions. He folded his hands and smiled.

“C’mon, don’t give me that look. I know I sound crazy but believe me when I tell you—I’m healed up. I can finally play football again.”

Ray moved closer and asked, “Are you sure?”

Alex looked at him and stared at a nearby ball.

“Do you want another proof?”

Ray frowned and shook his head. “No thank you, I just asked a question so enough with the oppression.”

Daisy’s phone rang. She checked the caller and it was Layla.

“See you guys later, and you—be a good boy.”

“Yes mom!” they both replied and burst into laughter.

Their action made Daisy turn and give the “middle finger.” When she was out of sight, Alex looked around before rolling up his sleeve and removed the plaster and the bandage where he was bitten.

Shock filled his eyes as he saw fresh skin. There was no injury, no bite marks. It was completely gone—not even a trace or sign of previous injuries.

“It’s gone?”

“Yes, it’s healed.”

“How?” Ray questioned again.

Alex explained again.

It all started when he woke up this morning. He removed the bandage and plaster and found out that it was all healed up. He remembered vividly the injury was still there last night but this morning, it was gone.

Checking the time, he saw that he was late again, so he hurried to the bathroom but tripped and fell on his knee. Alex only felt pain for a few seconds before it vanished. His knee and ankle that hurt before and the bone-hitting feeling he felt was gone. He felt energetic—that he could do things he couldn’t think of doing before.

“I feel stronger. And is it weird that I can smell and differentiate each meal from the food being cooked in the cafeteria? Not only that—my ears hurt from hearing noise and voices from far away.”

Alex stopped talking and looked at Ray, who was lost in his thought.

“Raymond? Ray?” He snapped back, forming a smile on his face.

“My suspicions were right… you are a werewolf.”

Ray’s face became serious.

Alex choked and uttered,

“I’m a what?”