Ruby's protector

Chapter 8

“A new breed, you say?” Lucian drawled.

“Exactly. It was like they were mutated. They had patches of red on their fur. All of them. They were also emaciated. But that didn’t make them weak. In fact, they were strong and fast. Their speed…” Beck trailed off.

Lucian clicked his tongue. “How many were you able to kill?”

“Two out of five. The remaining got away. Like I said, their speed… it’s incredible.” Beck said.

Wait a second. They were talking about a new breed of rogues. I had heard something like this a few months ago but I hadn’t minded it since it wasn’t affecting me directly.

Were the mutated rogues spreading? Regular rogues were werewolves who were banished from their packs or werewolves who experienced something known as a Moon Deviation.

It was a random, rare phenomenon that occurred when a werewolf who transformed under a full moon and was not strong enough to draw power from the moon, went insane from power overflow.

The amount of Moon Deviation victims were less than 10 in a year, since weak werewolves were banned from transforming under a full moon. And the amount of werewolves who got banished from their packs per year were even lesser than that of those who suffered from Moon Deviation.

This could only mean that there was a new method for werewolves to turn into rogues now.

And this new method was one that greatly enhanced rogues. Regular rogues weren’t very strong. Their human sides died after going through a rogue transformation, and they became mindless animals who only aim for eating flesh.

They were easy to kill. Sometimes only a punch from a strong werewolf was needed to take them out.

The fact that Beck, who was a strong Beta, could only kill two out of five rogues… It meant this new breed was not one to be taken lightly.

“They were that strong?” Lucian questioned Beck.

Beck’s facial features tightened. “I just didn’t know how to deal with them. Silver doesn’t work on them.”

Chills ran down my spine. Silver didn’t work on them?! A single silver bullet could end my life! Yet, silver didn’t work on this new breed of rogues?!

“They only died after ripping their head off from their bodies. Thankfully, they don’t have the power to regenerate. If they did, then I probably wouldn’t be standing in front of you today.” Beck admitted, looking at the ground.

Come to think of it, I just noticed that he wasn’t standing upright. He was leaning towards his right side. I squinted my eyes to see that he was tightly holding onto his right arm. He was injured!

I wouldn’t even have noticed if he hadn’t said that last sentence. Woah.

“Don’t say things like that. I doubt a couple of rabid rogues could ever kill you.” Lucian tried to lighten the mood with that comment.

Beck forced a smile on his face. “Yeah.”

Damn, what did he really go up against to make him look so down? The two of them exchanged a few unimportant lines after that before Lucian ordered Beck to go get his injury checked.

After Beck left, I decided to do the same as there was nothing to eavesdrop on anymore. I had already gotten more information than I thought I would. As I took a step to leave, I heard:

“You can come out now.”

I froze up.

Wrong action because Lucian swiftly closed the distance between us in a second and locked me between himself and the tree I was hiding behind all this while.

“How did you know I was here?” I asked, pretending to be unafraid of my current situation.

Lucian smiled as he said, “How wouldn’t I know? Don’t think me to be too oblivious not to know when a little mouse is creeping around to eavesdrop on important things.”

I glared hard at him after the words ‘little mouse’.

“What? You’re not satisfied with your nickname? It suits you perfectly, don’t you think?”

“You bastard—”

“Don’t you have words in your vocabulary other than bastard?”

I humphed, turning my head away from him. Why couldn’t I control my temper whenever I was with this man? His entire existence triggered me in an indescribable way. But still, I needed his existence.

I had to remind myself of that every now and then, or else, I would be facing a big problem the day it would slip past my mind.

“So, what do you think of the conversation you eavesdropped on?” Lucian asked, backing away from me and giving me space to breathe properly.

I hardened my features as I lied through my teeth. “I wasn’t eavesdropping. I just left my room right now for a stroll and saw you standing alone in the middle of the garden. I was about to leave when you stopped me.”

Lucian chuckled a bit before speaking. “You’re a very good liar. Has anyone ever told you this?”

Yes. Countless people.

But how did he know I was lying?

“I’m not lying. I just happened to be here at the wrong time. Perfect enough for you to think I was eavesdropping.” I said, keeping up my lie because I wasn’t going to admit I was lying easily.

“Okay, then. I believe you.”

He didn’t sound like he believed me but I wasn’t going to push any further.

“Since you weren’t listening to the conversation, let me personally fill you in,” Lucian began saying.

“There is a new vicious breed of rogues. I doubt they are regular rogues which have been mutated by something. I want to believe that there is now a new method for the creation of rogues. What do you think?” Lucian said.

The tone he used was neither playful nor demanding. I narrowed my eyes on him. I knew what this was.

This was how most people spoke to me whenever they wanted me to impart my wisdom about something on them. And for most people, I would do so without a thought for a simple exchange.

But this man in front of me was not ‘most people’. And it made my heart flutter with craftiness.

“Well, since I’m not directly affected by the issue and stand to gain nothing from it, I have no thoughts about it.” I said nonchalantly.

Lucian’s expression didn’t break after hearing my words.

“I see…”

“But if someone decided to shield me from any harm that would come my way in the future, maybe I would have some thoughts about this new breed of rogues.” I spoke with a silvery tone.

Now, this made Lucian smile. A smile that was coated with so much evil intent that it made chills run down my spine.

“You’re still on that?” Lucian inquired.

“I never moved past it.” Truly.

I feared for my well-being more than anything else with Jonathan still on the loose. Some people would think me crazy for worrying over a small fry like Jonathan, but they didn’t live with him for fifteen years.

During those fifteen years, Jonathan had never shown a hint that he appreciated or accepted my existence. He was always the hidden culprit when it came to ‘accidents’ that have almost ended my life.

He never directly came for me because of his parents, but now that they are gone, there was nothing to stop him from wringing the life out of me, which has been his longtime dream.

The day Lucian and his pack descended on the Blue Sky pack with their vicious wrath, I had had my last conversation with Jonathan.

While convincing him to let go of Timothy and beg the Blood Moon pack for forgiveness, the conversation had escalated. Jonathan had attempted to strangle me to death, on the account of being sick of me and my endless nagging.

I had turned the tables around, stabbing him with a pair of scissors nearby, hoping that he would be the one to die instead. Immediately afterwards, it was announced that the Blood Moon pack had arrived at our pack.

I had no time to apologise or think as I ran to hide, leaving Jonathan to bleed out. To my surprise, he had been the only person who managed to escape that day.

And seeing as I had tried to kill him, his hatred for me would’ve intensified tenfold. The next time we would meet, I was sure that he would kill me first before asking questions.

This was why I needed a protector. Someone strong enough to get rid of Jonathan for me. Jonathan had Alpha blood in him and with the help of his occasional madness, he would be unstoppable against even the strongest werewolves.

But I believed that Lucian would be able to take him down. Which was why I desperately needed him on my side.

“Well, I don’t have the time to play bodyguard with you. And as for your thoughts on this matter, I was only being courteous.”

The sides of my lips fell down after hearing those words.

“Remember what I told you before. I am in no need of an advisor,” Lucian continued.

Fuck!

I couldn’t say anything to that.

“Good night, now. I hope you dream of me while you sleep.” Lucian said with a sickly sweet smile on his lips before turning his back to me and leaving the garden.

That f*****g asshole! It was one step forward, ten steps backwards with him! I needed a way to catch up with him and remain side-to-side with him. I needed a way fast.