MARKED BY THE HUNTER

04: A WEREWOLF FOUND ME

And then he said the one thing that made my blood run cold.. is when he finally says it again..

“You’ve marked now.”

My breath caught. “What… does that mean? I don't even know you!"

His gaze didn’t leave mine. “It means,” he said slowly, “you’re no longer just yours.”

The room fell silent. But my heart didn’t. It pounded harder. Faster. Like it was trying to escape my chest.

“Whoa! a stranger marked me… by what?” I asked.

“By me.” he answered.

The words almost cracked my bones like a stone, and to the deepest inside of me. That my pulse reacted to it, not in fear, not in resistance. But in recognition.

"Call me Bryle Fox " he quietly said. He smiles slightly and give me a wink.

Suddenly, someone interrupted the moment. Where I was supposed to be the only one with him.

The front door burst open with a violent crash. Splinters of wood flew everywhere as wind and rain rushed into the room. And there, in the doorway, stood a figure that was neither fully human nor entirely beast.

He was drenched in blood, his eyes blazing with an intense, uncontrollable rage.

A werewolf?

Not just any werewolf, or a rogue. His gaze locked onto Bryle, not to me. Then a low deadly growl rumbled from his chest.

“You…” the werewolf snarled.

My breath caught.

The man next to me was completely still. Not a single flinch or blink. But when he finally spoke, his voice cut through the air, colder than the raging storm outside.

“You picked the wrong night,” he said.

The werewolf lunged. And everything.. broke into chaos.

The werewolf charged forward with a speed that was almost hard to believe. One moment, it was lurking in the shattered doorway, and the next, it lunged inside, its claws slicing through the air, aiming directly for him.

Toward Bryle Fox.

I didn’t even see him move. I only felt it. A shift in the air. A sudden drop in pressure, and then I hear steel met flesh.

A sharp, violent sound split the room as Bryle twisted sideways, his blade flashing silver in the stormlight. The wolf’s claws missed his throat by inches, slamming into the wall behind him instead.

The entire cabin shook, and that's including me!

I couldn’t breathe. I couldn’t move. All I could do, is watching them.

“Stay down,” Bryle said, not even looking at me.

Like he already knew I couldn’t do anything. Like I was nothing in this fight. Something inside me twisted at that.

The werewolf let out a low snarl as it turned slowly, rainwater and blood dripping from its massive frame. Its chest rose and fell with labored, uneven breaths. Though badly injured, it was far from weak. Its glowing eyes flickered with a brightness that reminded one of lightning flashing across the sky.

The werewolf growled again, "You… Hunter!” his voice distorted but clear enough.

Bryle Fox stood straight now, too calm for someone facing death.

“You’re far from your territory,” he said evenly.

“I go where I want,” the werewolf snapped.

But in a short moment, the werewolf gaze shifted and turned to me.

And in that instant, everything inside me went still. Because the way he looked at me wasn’t hungry. It was something else. Something deeper and instinctive.

“What is she?” the werewolf murmured.

My heart skipped.

Bryle Fox stepped slightly in front of me, just enough to block his view. "That doesn’t concern you,” he said coldly.

The werewolf lips curled back, exposing his sharp and bloodstained teeth.

“It does now.”

The werewolf standing tall in his monstrous aura said, then he lunged again.

This time, I sensed it before it even happened. Not through my eyes or ears, but from something deep within me. It felt like a second heartbeat.

The werewolf blood, I could feel it... rushing, burning and wild. My breath caught. What… is this?

The werewolf moved close to me in fast, too fast. But before it could reach me, Bryle Fox caught him. He almost got his neck, and was about to s***h his neck.

“STOP!" I yelled.

The word tore out of my throat before I even realized I was finally speaking. And the moment it left my lips

Everything froze.

Then suddenly, my body jerked violently, like I am in a mid-lunge.

My nails in my hands started to grow.. I saw it, and I was so shocked. Because of confusion, I manage to control myself. My growing nails stopped and it went back to the normal size.

"Nice. You manage to control it" Bryle said.

But my entire body is still trembling. Like something invisible had wrapped around me and tightened.

The room went silent.

Even the storm seemed to pause.

“What..." the werewolf choked.

He is one of the witnesses now.

I could feel my eyes go wide, not out of anger, but out of sheer fear. It hit me then, as clear as the rhythm of my own heartbeat, my blood. Every single drop of it was all I had. I could physically sense that what had happened earlier was truly terrible, but now I see it differently. It’s made me stronger, alive, and ready to fight back

My hands began to shake.

"I didn’t…” I whispered.

Bryle turned slowly. His eyes locked onto mine. There was no calculation in them, no control but I can see that he was also in shock to see me now.

“Alexa…” he said quietly. While his blade was still leaning on the werewolf's neck.

Seeing me earlier, the werewolf let out a strain, and broken growl. “You… you’re...”