The rogue assassin

Let's fight

s***h was the first one to attack. He jumped right at me which was stupid because I only had to take one step to the side to dodge him. I turned a quarter and bit him in his right hindleg. I turned further around to face him with full confidence, which seemed to piss s***h off. He tried the same action again before diving to grab my paw. I tried to jump over him but he caught it anyway. I pulled my paw loose as soon as the other paws hit the ground. My blood dripped over my fur onto the ground, coloring it a pretty shade of red. Okay, maybe I needed more focus. I growled as I ran at him. He stood there, waiting for me, ready to take a bite before I ran past him. His confusion was exactly what I needed. I jumped onto his back while clamping my paws around his torso. I leaned my body to the other side of him to bring him out of balance. He fell onto his side, which was exactly where I wanted him to be. I put my paws on every paw of his to make sure all were unusable before grabbing his neck with my teeth. His eyes became as big as saucers when he realized what I was about to do. I bit his trachea without mercy, feeling his blood flowing into my mouth. The glimmer of life slowly disappeared out of his eyes as his body returned to his human form again. I quickly removed myself from his now naked body. Realization and shame took a hold of my mind but I made sure no one saw what was really going on in my head. My eyes roamed over the wolves standing there. All of them were now under my supervision as I just killed their leader. I let out a howl of power and my wolves soon followed my lead. The intruders showed their necks in submission and all of them followed me back to the shed. I stopped at the edge of the forest when the familiar smell of blood waved at me. No more than 100 meters away was a human body, covered in blood. I understood soon enough that this person was Casey. One of my rogues. I shook my head when there was no heartbeat to be heard. I kneeled next to Casey to close her eyes. Her wounds showed me that she was the killed wolf. Cause of death? Killed by distractions. I could only hope that the other wolves learned this lesson so that her death was not in vain. I rose and continued my way to the shed. There, I opened the chest in search of some more blankets. Eventually, I found 4 extra blankets which were obviously not enough. Therefore, I decided that the newcomers were to have our blankets as a punishment for losing this exercise. I never had to kill the other leader if they were more focused. I felt a slight headache coming up which mostly meant that one of the elders was trying to connect a mind link. Great, just what I needed. I forged an impenetrable blockage in my mind. I was not in the mood for some 'feedback from the elders'. I turned around to see 24 rogues standing behind me in the shed. Some of them were injured which meant another training would not be the best idea right now. I selected 4 uninjured rogues to go hunting for food while the others rested. One of my rogues tried to apologize for his failure but I kept on walking back to the field. The kid raised his tempo to walk beside me. Sadness was showing on his face but I decided to ignore him. Emotions were weaknesses. That was something I learned a long time ago. It did not only cost me my only friend but also my little sister. I sighed when we came to stop at Casey’s body. I heard footsteps getting closer causing me to sniff the air. It was James. He gave me a shovel while holding another in his hand. This was the signal for the other kid to leave. James lifted the body as we searched for a good place to bury her. He laid the body down on the grass before pushing his shovel into the ground. “It’s a shame. She was one of the better fighters.” I nodded while placing my shovel into the ground as well. James and I continued our work in silence until the grave was deep enough. We threw the body in the grave and started filling it up immediately. There was nothing we could do about it anyway. James ran back to the shed to collect some old ropes and I thought back at what happened that day. I made a mental note of all the bad decisions and performances I saw back in the forest. I needed to talk to the group after dinner. James came back with the ropes as I searched for two sticks. I transformed the sticks into a cross which was then placed onto the grace. We stood in front of the grave for two minutes in silence to pay our respects. Afterward, it was s***h’s turn to end up in a grave.The sun made its way down the horizon as time passed. Almost all of the injured wolves were healed with the help of their wolf genes. This was one of the bigger advantages of being a werewolf. Our healing ability is a lot faster than that of humans. For example, a broken bone heals within 5 hours while humans need to wait for months to even get the pieces connected again! James and I walked back to the shed where a campfire was lit next to it. A dead deer, big enough to feed all of us, was laying close to it. We were used to eating very little so even a small piece of meat would be sufficient for our bodies. I counted heads to make sure everybody had food while mentally preparing a speech. I started by claiming their attention. Everyone became silent in an instant so I began my speech. “As all of you know, this was only a part of the training I had in mind for you. I hoped that you would be strong enough to overpower your enemy. This seemed not to be the case. Therefore I want to remind you all why we are here in the first place. The elders took us from our homes while they burned everything down, they killed everybody you loved only to recruit you as their assassins. This training cost 2 lives and a lot of injuries. Next time it could be you, or maybe you, or you” I said as I pointed to different people. “This is not a game people, this is about your own survival. So act like it. Collect all fear, anger, and hatred you possess and aim it at your enemy, and maybe you will make it out alive. If you don’t… there is still some room left next to Casey and s***h. Understood”?  Some people nodded while others kept staring at the fire. They had to understand, otherwise, it would be my life at stake. I closed my eyes for a second before responding to a sound. It sounded like a twig breaking in the woods. I used my hearing and sense of smell to locate at least 4 persons right at the edge of the forest. “formation! aim to kill this time” I yelled as the smell became stronger. The rogues reacted without any doubt. They ran into their positions and took their fighting stances. The new rogues stood right after the first group but one glance at them showed their will to fight. I only had to give the final command and that’s what I did. “Surround and conquer rogues”.