Fated to the Enemy

5

[ GUARDS! HELP! ]

The smug woman did it according to the brief plan earlier; her screams echoed, so she managed to attract the guards' attention, who immediately left the room. Rena eavesdropped from the door and then rushed to open the bedroom door using the key in her hand.

[Unlock!]

"It worked!" Rena squealed, restrained.

Rena sneaks out, and the hallway of the Mansion is empty of occupants and guards. Instantly, Verena ran with all her might. Move nimbly but still act alert. She was hiding in the corridor's corner when the other guards suddenly passed. Peeking at the wide-open main door of the Mansion, it seemed that there was nothing more accessible than this situation.

Verena hurriedly stepped away, descending from the steps of the Mansion's porch, which looked majestic and luxurious. There are four towering granite pillars perched smugly. Walking along a lavish lawn where almost all the plants were frozen and ducked by snow, the fountain puddle froze, but with a towering black fence, she stopped her escape.

"Oh, no. The fence's locked tight! Come on!". Rena started to panic; the iron fence was sturdy and challenging to open. Just shaking it is not enough to tear it down. A black wall that limits the power of the Lakeview Mansion with the rest of the pack of Osiris residents; the top is spiky; if she forces herself to climb, slipping a little could kill her.

A line of luxury black sedans came from outside the fence, slowly approaching the Mansion grounds. Rena retreated — looking for a hiding place and waiting for the right time until the solid wall was wide open. Rena hid behind a shady oak tree; the branches were woody and frozen.

The fence opened wide as the line of cars entered the mansion grounds at low speed.

Rena sped, dashing, ducking between rows of oak trees. Before they knew it, she managed to get out despite Verena's limping steps.

"Finally, I — my goddess!"

Rena jolted up aghast, screeching, tiptoeing backward like the figure of the boy who caught her escape. Rena froze there. Suddenly, her throat felt parched. She raised her hand, motioning to the boy to be silent.

"Please, I beg you," Rena whispered barely audibly; her breath was hunting. She shook her head and smiled sweetly. "I'll go. I didn't mean to hurt anybody. Do not speak — keep your voice down, okay?"

The boy was intimidated as he sniffed the scent of werewolf lifeblood inside Rena's body.

"Grand Master! Grand Master!". The boy shrieked in terror and ran towards the Mansion, his screams echoing and instantly alerting everyone.

"In hell!" The situation worsened for Rena; she turned away, reluctant to look back, and ran to save herself, as far as she could remember. Her survival instinct increased as the scent of lycan blood strengthened and thickened under her nose.

Rena avoided the settlement and ran down a steep hill into a foggy pine forest. She began to run fast when she heard the army of lycan hunters chasing her behind.

"This is a nightmare! Moon Goddess! Help me!!!"

***

"Grand Master! Grand Master!". The boy's voice echoing in the Mansion's yard caught the attention of Beta Mael, Hunter Arlo, and Kaius, who had just come down from RR Phantom.

"Axel?!" Hunter Arlo hugged the boy. "What's wrong with you?!"

Kaius sniffed something, the scent of a werewolf's lifeblood fading away. His eyes had turned to look at the window of the Upper Room of the Mansion, which seemed empty.

Axel pointed towards the hill. "There is a drop-dead gorgeous golden-haired werewolf woman! She went there! Why is she here?! I'm afraid she'll kill me, Grand Master!"

Arlo and Mael examined Kaius' suddenly hardened face. Without saying anything, Kaius ran out of the Mansion, passed by, and left his elite Hunter team behind.

Beta Mael turned to Jeo and whispered, "Jeo, take Axel home now. Keep him from talking to the locals or anyone else. Just use it."

"Yeah, crystal clear." Jeo nodded, smiling at Axel. "I'll take you home, son."

"But wasn't that woman?"

"It's nothing, she's just an escaped prisoner." Jeo stated and smiled sweetly, rubbing the top of Axel's head gently. Bring him back home to his family, following Mael's order to use it to avoid panic in the settlement later.

"What's going on, huh?" Jeo muttered almost inaudibly.

Jeo watches Mael and Arlo's backs move away; they go down a misty sloping hill. Chase Kaius Morgenstern ran swiftly and left the Lakeview Mansion grounds without a second thought. The rumors circulating in the mansion kitchen are true if Kaius is acting strangely about the werewolf woman.

Among the thick, cold mist, the scent of werewolf blood wafted strongly and thickly; the eerie atmosphere aroused the anger of the other Lycan pack, Osiris Chaser's security forces. They were slayers who never missed their target. Chaser trained for it, and there were no survivors.

Kaius scolded in the thundering commander's voice within the mind-link of the elite chaser team, moving quickly from all directions to hunt down and finish off Verena. "I COMMAND YOU! DON'T YOU DARE TOUCH or HURT HER!"

Making Mael and Arlo look at each other in silence, confusion, and great aghast.

***

"River! Yes, I have to find the river downstream!"

Rena's breath was hunting, running away with staggered footsteps, splitting cold snowdrifts and rows of frozen pine trees. She hopes to find the river soon. If she manages to get through it, her life expectancy may be much more significant than being locked up in a mansion besieged by lycans, as if waiting for the melancholy of the end of life.

"Where the hell am I?" Rena hissed in the middle of a shortness of breath.

Unfortunately, at this crucial moment, Rena doesn't have the changed form ability. As a result of her being wolfless. The prominent point is she doesn't want to attract more lycan residents who want to finish her off right now. She turned her back, ensuring no ruthless 'Lycan Chaser' was pursuing her. Rena bit her lip, a flood of sweat that felt frozen due to mixing with cold air and thick fog, limiting visibility and stifling her chest. She could hear her heart racing chaotically. Her knees limped when she listened to the giant footfall haunting her escape.

"Ugh!"

Rena stumbled over a giant branch buried by snow, fell, and did not realize the deadly trap set under her feet. She fell, breaking the trigger chain and weight rope while trying to get up.

[Crack!]

Rena choked under her breath. "Holly—!"

The steel block trap fell over her head, aware of it. She was quickly moved, jumped, and rolled away to the front.

[Brag!]

Rena's shocked eyes watched the chunk of steel block trap that instantly crushed the pine tree's roots and stuck on the snow mound. She imagined how terrible it would be if it were too late to dodge; Rena would have died crushed by the deadly trap. She sighed in relief, white steam blowing quietly from her sharp nose. Rena bowed deeply, feeling a headache and shaken. In this forest, any danger is sure to arise.

For the sake of anything, Verena is used to surviving alone in an unfamiliar place; encountering such a situation is not the first time for her, but wandering around and being far behind enemy lines — makes her exhausted.

"Barely! I could die. Stay alert!" She mumbled, talking to herself. Exhale powerfully and try to clear her mind.

Rena got up and continued her run while remaining vigilant, watching her every step. The more she walked straight, the thicker the fog became. Rena just realized that she was actually lost and instead entered an unusual place. "My goddess, what is this place? A dead end? Oh, no!"

A snowy dead end, a steep surrounded by high rocky cliffs. The place is very well maintained. There was only one giant tree towering along before Rena. A shady tree and the frost are frozen entire leaves — a large granite monument bearing a series of tribute sentences buried by snow.

Rena whispered, [Nolan & Shaera Morgenstern. Vivamus moriendum est.]

The cold wind blew softly; there was something strange about the tree. Rena was stuck there looking up and didn't hear it wrong. The tree with leaves that resembled a maple seemed to whisper her name.

"I've never seen a maple tree so massive—?" Rena muttered in surprise.

[Roar!]

Not having time to dodge the fast attack, the giant Lycan suddenly appeared, jumped high from behind the thick fog, swooped down sharply, barked violently, and pounced on Rena ferociously.

"Ugh!!"

[Crack!]

[NO!!]

Hysterical screams of terror accompanied by the sound of broken bones echoed in the icy, misty forest. Verena bounced in the air, her body collapsing after hitting the trunk of a maple tree. Falling on a mound of snow, the smell of blood as sharp as iron wafted. Torn to pieces by the lycan's razor-sharp, jagged jaws forced Rena to moan in pain, the smoldering pressure on her left arm now flooded with hot blood and nearly severed bones.

[Roar!]

Two other Giant Lycans came in from all directions, joining in, eager to get involved in the bloodshed. They growled furiously, hissing viciously, besieging Verena and showing a row of Jaws preparing to finish her.

"Bloody hell, my arms! Bastards!" Rena burst into tears; her survival instinct was arduous to break down. Although drenched in blood and seriously injured, Rena remained motionless, crawling backwards as the Lycan's third insulted step cornered her.

Rena's breath hunted, closed her eyes momentarily, and leaned under the maple tree. She was stunned, cornered, and had no other choice. Rena only kept her last nerve, then stared at the hatred of the three Lycans approaching her.

"Yeah, do it, coward!" hissed Verena in a challenging tone, giggling mockingly.

[Bark!]

[Crack!]

***