ALPHA'S PREY

CHAPTER TWO: SIX YEARSAGO

SIX YEARS AGO.

Elizabeth glanced at her colleagues, then down at the man bleeding out on the sandy floor. Her heart squeezed with uncertainty. Something about him didn't sit right, but not in the way the others thought. Even though he was filthy and half dead, he was still striking. And he looked too human to match the grotesque image of werewolves that the media painted.

But how could she convince her colleagues that this man was human? Since they already suspected that he wasn't human, it was only a matter of time before they sold him off to the research lab to be experimented on like a lab rat just to prove their point. She couldn't let that happen.

Yes, it was true that she needed a cure for her mother's failing heart, but not at the cost of someone else's life.

" Can't we at least treat him first before doing anything rash? " Elizabeth asked with pleading eyes, hoping for her colleagues to understand, but seeing the greedy look on their faces, she felt hopeless.

" He's losing too much blood "she added, looking at their faces for help, but none made a move to help. " He might not make it. ”

Seeing her sounding desperate, Smith only shook his head. " Sorry, Liz, but we're not risking this. Werewolves are dangerous. If we treat him now, he will turn into a beast and kill us all. It's better we kill it now while he's weak. "

Elizabeth's shoulder slumped. She turned to the second male officer, silently begging for support. But he avoided her eyes, clearly stating he wasn't on her side.

What else could she expect from men who had countlessly tried to encourage her into accepting bribes from citizens who suffer daily to pay their tax, just like her mother back home?

Alone in her stance, she straightened her spine. " In that case, I say we hand him over to the authorities, let them decide what happens to him. "

Smith frowned and took a step closer to her. Lowering his voice like a serpent, he scolded. " Don't be stupid, Liz. You've got a sick mother and a sister who needs you. This could be your final shot to finally provide for them. Imagine the money you will make by selling werewolf flesh? You won't have to work as a police officer ever again. But you want to throw that away to play what? A hero? " He scoffed. “ Oh please, you are better than this. ”

Elizabeth stared at him with disgust. She knew that this man was heartless...but this? No, her mother raised her better.

" So you expect me to butcher a man to prove your point. What are you? A cannibal? Werewolves are not real. It's only a myth. This man deserves better. ”

Smith chuckled at her naivety and crouched beside her. “ I didn't say we were going to eat his flesh. You see, werewolves are deceitful. They only appear like humans to hide their true form, but deep within lies a dangerous monster. There's a clinic that forces out the inner beast in them. It's the one we need. But if we continue to delay, the government might swoop in and take him, and we will lose this chance forever. And trust me, I won't forgive if that happens. "

Elizabeth paused to think. As much as she hated it, he was right about one thing. Once they hand this man over to the authorities, and he turns out to be a werewolf, the government will make him disappear into the thin air, never to be seen again. She needed time to figure this out.

She forced a nod. " Fine. Put him in my car. I will transport him myself. ”

Her colleagues exchanged satisfied glances before giving a curt nod. “ Alright. ”

However, none was able to spot the calculating look in Elizabeth's eye. She knew her colleagues better than anyone and knew what they were capable of doing in this situation, but she played along anyway.

She could only hope that this man would be worth all the trouble.

Now in agreement, they lifted the man and shoved him into her car. He groaned semi-consciously as his head slumped against the front seat. Elizabeth walked around the car and got behind the wheel before shutting the door with a thud.

" So,"she asked coolly, fastening her seat belt. " Where's this secret clinic? "

Smith came to stand in front of her car window and replied," In Ashville. It's a private clinic. They keep off the reader. Hunters got tired of the government taking all the profits and paying for scrapes. So they built their own system. "

Elizabeth raised a brow, pretending to be surprised. " So they are that valuable, huh? "

Smith grinned and stepped away from her window, heading to his own car. " Let's move before someone sees us. "

She forced a smile. " Right. "

Soon, she hit the gas and accelerated out of the place. As they drove, Elizabeth's eyes kept drifting at the unconscious man's shoulder with a frown on her face. The wound on his shoulder shimmered oddly. Silver liquid mixed with blood oozed from it like a leaking pipe.

Pulling over to a corner of the road, she turned on her phone torch to take a closer look at it.

" What the hell happened to you? " She whispered, examining the wound. Putting her hand in her trouser pocket, she dug out a handkerchief and began dabbing the wound, but the silver liquid continued pouring out without stopping.

This got her confused.

Desperate to understand the situation, she began browsing for it. And just then, she found the answer to her question.

FROM ANONYMOUS RESEARCH CLINIC:

SILVER ACTS AS A POISON IN THE WEREWOLVES SYSTEM. IT WEAKENS ANY WEREWOLF IT MADE CONTACT WITH, LEAVING THEM WEAK UNTIL THEY BLEED TO DEATH. THE ONLY CURE? OFFER THEM FRESH MEAT WITH BLOOD AND THEY WILL BE GOOD AS NEW.

“ Fresh meat with blood? This is ridiculous. " Elizabeth grimaced. There was no way this made sense. Still, she couldn't ignore it. She couldn't do this on her own. She needed his cooperation in finding his family. Maybe they would help to bring him out of this situation.

By this time, her colleagues noticed that she had stopped and quickly reversed their car to catch up with her.

A knock on her window made her jump and when she looked up from her phone, she saw Smith poking his head out of his car window and quickly rolled down her window glass .

" Is there any problem? " Smith asked, his eyes darting toward the man in her front seat to make sure he hadn't escaped.

Elizabeth quickly hid her phone behind her back after getting the information she needed and smiled innocently at him. " No, just… I thought he moved. Might've imagined it."

Smith chuckled at her frightened face. " It's alright. If you're scared, you can put him in my car. "

Elizabeth quickly shook her head. " No need. I think I can manage. "

Without waiting for a response, she rolled up her window and quickly left the place.

As they passed by a local market in a remote town where the clinic was located, she halted the car again close to the butcher's shop.

Seeing a man with a s***h scar across his face, passing by with a large rat in a cage, she quickly rolled down the window.

" How much for it? " She asked the stranger who stared at her with a scared and confused expression.

" I mean the rat? " She pointed at the rat running around in the cage and the man gave a sigh of relief. He thought he was being arrested.

The man smiled after noticing he wasn't in danger. " Four dollars, ma'am"

Elizabeth took out money from the bag beside her and handed it to the man. " Can you kill it for me? I don't want it running around my car. "

The man quickly nodded with a smile on his face. " Of course," he muttered and brought out a sharp knife from his pocket and slit the rat's throat.

A horn sounded at the front and when Elizabeth looked, she noticed her colleagues impatiently waiting for her like a hawk. It was as if they didn't even want to let her out of their sight for a second.

She sighed heavily. ' Greedy bastard. ' She muttered under her breath.

" Here's your rat ma'am. " The tobacco smell coming from the seller's mouth brought her back from her trance. She turned, only to see the man handing her the cage with the dead rat in it.

" You can take the cage with you. I need only the rat,"she said to the man, who nodded and brought out the rat from the cage.

" Here you go," he gave her the limp rat.

Elizabeth collected the dead rat and flashed a bright smile. " Thank you"

As soon as she took it, the man's eyes slowly fluttered open as he perceived the smell of blood. In a flash, he lunged forward and tore the rat from her hands, devouring it in savage bites. His fangs ripped the flesh, blood smearing his mouth and chin.

Elizabeth saw the seller's eyes widen at seeing the savage behavior of the man. Noticing his reaction, she forced a laugh and tried to roll up the window, but the seller grabbed her wrist, stopping her from doing anything.

" How much do you want for the werewolf? " The seller asked, gripping her wrist tightly from the window while she struggled to break free.