The Lone Alpha - Rebirth

Chapter 5: Encounter with the Rat II

The beaten body of the were-rat lay unmoving on the cracked floor, its eyes -hazy from the blow - slowly cleared to reveal anger. Letting out a piercing shriek, shrill enough to nearly burst Daniel’s eardrums, it lashed out with its claws catching Daniel across the chest.

Daniel reeled back from the scratch, his ears still ringing from the sonic attack. His skin was too tough for the rat to truly damage, but his shirt did not share his durability as its tattered remnant barely clung to his body.

Daniel slowly glanced at his tattered shirt, his expression livid. He said nothing but his rage swirled around him, almost palpable to touch and already building in presence.

Cracks and pops echoed from the rat as it struggled to stand, its beady black eyes beginning to show hints of apprehension. It only saw the glowing yellow eyes before it blur before Daniel appeared before it with a speed much too fast for it to react.

All that happened next was a flurry of attacks. Claws streaked through the air, tearing air and fur apart. Daniel’s arms blurred, clawing in a furry at the rat’s chest, taking more fur and flesh with each swipe.

The rat shrieked in pain, its arms shot out to swat, s***h and m**m but every one of its attack was swatted aside and a fresh wound appeared on its heavily bleeding chest.

Daniel evaded a crazed swipe by shifting to the side, his fist shooting out in retaliation. The rat stumbled to the side from the blow to the head, and Daniel in a flash was in the other side waiting for it with another fist. It stumbled again from another blow to the head, Daniel once again waiting.

Its head whipped left to right so fast it seemed the rat was merely colliding with a wall of air. Its knees collapsed to the floor, its arms barely managing to halt its descent. Blood trailed down its chest, nose and mouth to the ground below, seeping slowly into the cracks.

Its sight turned blurry and it only saw a vague object flying toward its head when Daniel’s foot barreled into its face, smashing it into the very much damaged wall. Its body collapsed to a heap, sliding down the wall now slick with its blood. There it lay, unmoving, and with only a faint whine any evidence of it being conscious.

Daniel huffed, letting his rage dissipate with the night chill. Frowning at his hands dripping with blood, he shook them in exasperation. The rat stirred for a moment, drawing his attention.

"Tell your alpha to leave this city before nightfall tomorrow or I'm coming for him." Daniel said, inching closer. His eyes gleamed with a threatening light and the full brunt of his aura crashed into the beaten rat.

Its eyes narrowed in fear at the terrifying aura. Whining in defeat, it scurried aside to crouch on all fours. Beating a retreat, it vaulted against the walls and out of sight.

Daniel followed his retreat and after making sure it was gone turned his glance around, wincing slightly at the damage left behind. His eyes shifted to his tattered shirt and he pondered briefly if he made the wrong choice simply letting it go.

He let out a disgruntled huff, his eyes settling on the remains of the rat’s victim. "The world is a cruel place, especially for humans." He said letting out a short sigh. It was a pity indeed but he was no saint either. He was a monster, one the humans wouldn’t hesitate to hunt if he got discovered, nor would he hesitate to kill them either if his peace was threatened.

Wiping what little blood he could off his hands with his tattered cloth, he ripped it entirely and tossed it into a nearby dumpster. He dug his hands into his pockets and slowly walked away from the gruesome scene, his ears already picking up footsteps of inquisitive humans.

The encounter to battle with the rat merely took a couple minutes but it would still be a folly to linger long, and it was with that thought he leisurely made his way back home. His half-naked figure blended easily into the darkness of the woods, opting to return as quickly as possible.

His eyes regained their brown luster, but his senses still remained sharp thus he didn’t miss the distinct sound of silent footsteps or the whistling sound of air being torn aside. His eyes narrowed in recognition and his nails, now claws, struck out without reservation.

Blood splattered as his hand pierced through a furry chest just as a set of claws grazed his neck. His eyes glowed yellow, the figure of the attacker as clear as day in the darkness.

"I gave you a chance to live but you chose to die." He said, his tone terribly cold. Staring at the rat impaled on his arm as if it was no more than a pest, his hand -impaled deep in its chest - grasped onto a warm beating heart.

The rat squeaked, squirmed and made to thrash but Daniel gave it no such chance, his clawed hand withdrew, pulling its heart out with it. Blood spurted from the large hole, blood streaming out the rat’s orifices.

"You...you'll pay...Alpha...won't...let you...go." It croaked, futilely grasping for breath as the life slowly faded from its eyes. Its body slumped, dead, the earth greedily sucking up the growing pool of blood.

"Your Alpha will meet the same fate." Daniel said. His cold expression collapsed after a moment, morphing into a grimace. ‘ s**t! This i***t was supposed to lead me to its Alpha now I gonna have to start scouring the dirty sewers for its horde."

Daniel shook his head in frustration. He disdainfully tossed aside the weakening heart in his hand, the diminishing warmth unwelcome.

"This one was slightly strong for a rat, far from being Alpha strong but still slightly stronger than a normal one,” said Daniel, with a slight raise of his eyebrow. “It was probably on the verge of evolving. Pity."

His ears prickled and his glowing yellow eyes raised to glare straight ahead. "Tell your Alpha I'll be paying a visit." He said. Without sparing the dead rat another look, he continued on his way toward the Mansion.

Mere moments after he left, two large furry shadows emerged from behind the trees. Their black beady eyes peeked in the direction Daniel took before taking a moment to inspect their dead comrade. Letting out low squeaks, they grabbed onto the dead rat and swiftly headed back to their lair.

Dozens of meters away, their retreating forms reflected in Daniel’s glowing yellow eyes. He had half a mind to tail them, he was fairly confident they’ll be none the wiser, but after a moment he shook the thought out of his head. It would be more interesting to hunt them on his own.