Bitten by My Enemy Alpha

Chapter 6: Across the Border

Henrietta ran through the narrow catacombs that was residing underneath the Argenthal fortress. Her breath ragged and uneven. Her palms were throbbing, covered with the bandages Hezekiah had wrapped for her, and every movement burned like acid.

Yet she didn't stop.

The distant toll of the bell echoed above her. It was already midnight. Her time of execution.

She bit her lower lip as she stumbled forward. 'I have to keep going.' She rattled when the consecutive bells rang after the midnight bell.

With her sharp sense of hearing, she could be able to hear the yells and shouts.

"The beast has escaped!"

"Capture her!"

Her hand held tightly to her rapier's scabbard. She knew that there was no turning back now. She must not let her brother's effort go to waste if she had been captured by her own kin.

When she finally reached the narrow stone archway, she was greeted by a soft gust of air on her face. She pushed the heavy door open and stepped out. The scent of freedom and fear was wafting at her that she almost shed a tear.

Even though it didn't feel right that she was escaping from the home she once grew up in, the mere fact that her own kin were prepared to end her life, she felt unfairness.

Being bitten by a wolf and having the DNA altered to transform into a different creature was a rare occurrence. It had never happened before in the bloodline of the Argenthal.

Henrietta knew she was the first case. She wanted to investigate, and what sorcery could be behind this. If only Vladimir and the elders would listen to her, she wanted to be the one to begin the investigation.

But that would be considered impossible, as she was branded a former Argenthal hunter with tainted blood and labeled a fugitive.

As she began running through the pathway that the moonlight had bestowed upon her, every sound, such as the rustle of leaves, the hoot of an owl, her footsteps, and even the beat of her own heart, felt magnified. Her vision was more sharpened in the dark, and her body moved with an unfamiliar lightness.

One thing that Henrietta could say was that she was far different than her human version. She felt like she could do anything.

'Is this what being a werewolf feels?' she thought.

The residue of her transformation still clung to her veins. Her claws had retracted, but her instincts were sharper, her muscles twitching at the faintest noise.

She tightened her grip on her rapier and glanced down at the silver ring on her fingers. Hezekiah's voice echoed again.

"It will change your appearance for a while. Enough to hide the red hair and the purple eyes."

Henrietta swallowed hard and pressed on. Her feet were bare and cold, her breath forming little clouds in the winter cold night air.

When she reached the Argenthal borders, she halted for a moment, hesitating at the magical barrier that engulfed the Argenthal territory, which was created by a well-known sorcerer that was allied with the founder, Vladimir.

She was hesitant to cross it.

She knew that only those with Argenthal blood could cross, as that was how the magical barrier worked. Anyone or anything not of their bloodline would be stunned, paralyzed, or, worse, killed.

And her blood was tainted. She didn't know if the magical barrier would allow it to make her pass.

Henrietta stared at the faint shimmer of light in front of her. The magical barrier looked like a thin curtain of silver mist, flowing softly in the moonlight. It was beautiful , almost peaceful, but deadly to anyone not of Argenthal blood.

Her heartbeat rummed loudly in her ears as she took a step closer. Her mind screamed to stop. If her blood had truly been corrupted, the barrier would reject her. It would burn her from the inside out.

But she had no choice.

'Either they would get me alive or my dead body...' She took a deep breath and stepped forward.

The moment she crossed it, the barrier was glowing faintly as if sensing her presence. Henrietta clenched her jaw, waiting for the pain... waiting for the death of rejection.

But it never came.

Her breath hitched as she stumbled to the other side... unharmed.

"It... let me pass." She blinked, her fingers trembling as she looked back at the glowing wall of magic. "Why?" she whispered. "It shouldn't have..."

The only possible answer had sent chills down her spine. The barrier still recognized her as one of the Argenthal blood.

Even after everything... after she had turned into the very creature they hunted... it still claimed her as its own.

For a moment, she stood there frozen, her jaw dropping in disbelief and sorrow. She only snapped back when the distant horns echoed in the forest.

Henrietta turned and ran. She ran using her powerful legs. She moved swiftly and evaded the trees. She didn't know how fast she could go using her newly found body enhancement, but whatever it took, she must do what Hezekiah had entrusted her to do.

To escape. To live. To hide.

She didn't know how far she had gone or how long she had been running. Hours or days, she didn't know. Every muscle in her body screamed for rest. But her mind was telling her not to stop running or her brother's sacrifice would be in vain.

By the time she reached a river under the breaking dawn, her legs finally gave out. She dropped to her knees, gasping. The ring on her finger was glimmering until she saw her reflection having a different appearance than her usual look as part of the Argenthal bloodline.

Her eyes grew heavy. The last thing she heard was the sound of the river and the faint rustle of movement nearby before everything went black.

When she awoke, the world was blurry until she heard heavy footsteps moved around her. It was only then she realized they were elephantine creatures with glowing eyes.

'Wolves...!' she thought, her eyes widened.

Their growls were low and dangerous, their scent foreign. Panic rushed through her veins.

She struggled to draw her rapier, but her body wouldn't obey. Before she could fight back, one of the wolves stepped forward and shifted into a man.

Tall, broad-shouldered, with familiar cold ocean-blue eyes.

She almost gasped at the man who was in front of her.

'Gideon Marco Lacetti?!'

Henrietta didn't know what to expect or do.

Gideon Marco Lacetti.

The wolf who had bitten her. The reason her blood had changed. The reason her entire life had been destroyed.

Her mind screamed, but her lips would not part. Her tongue felt heavy, trapped in a body that refused to respond. Her body refused to obey, pinned down by exhaustion and the remnants of her half-shifted state. All she could do was stare at him.

Gideon's cold ocean-blue eyes narrowed, scanning her face, the river mud on her skin, the ring flickering weakly on her finger. He stepped closer, his expression unreadable.

"Who are you?" he asked, voice low and hinted with command. "And why do you smell like..." He paused, frown deepening. "Like something I should know."

One of the wolves growled. "Alpha, she crossed into Red Obsidian territory before dawn. She fought the patrol."

Gideon's gaze flicked to her trembling hand still clutching her rapier. "She's half-dead. That's not a fight... that's desperation."

He stepped closer. She tried to crawl back, muscles trembling violently, but her limbs gave out. Her breath hitched when he crouched down just an arm's length away.

She wanted to say it.

'You... you're the one who bit me. You're the reason my life fell apart.'

But no sound came out. Her throat tightened as if invisible chains held it still. Her vision blurred.

Gideon's eyes sharpened as he crouched slightly to her level. "Look at me."

She did. Her eyes were burning with hatred and rage as she met his. Something in his expression faltered, barely noticeable upon seeing that expression.

"This scent..." he murmured. "It's... familiar." His brows knitted. "Why does it feel like I've met you before?"

Her vision blurred. Her limbs went numb. And her eyelids were too heavy for her own good.

Gideon straightened, voice snapping back to cold authority. "Chain her. Bring her to the pack. She'll answer my questions when she wakes up."

"Alpha, should we restrain her further?" one pack warrior asked.

"Yes," Gideon said without hesitation. "Whatever she is... she's not ordinary."

As they lifted her, the ring's illusion flickered once more. A single strand of red hair slipped free.

Gideon froze. His eyes darkened.

"...Red," he muttered under his breath. "That's impossible."

But Henrietta had already slipped back into unconsciousness.