Alice and The Rogue Wolf

Chapter 31

Jonathan saw how helpless I was being surrounded just behind his house. He quickly scampered over and when he saw me, he let out a hysterical laugh.

"Did you seriously think you could run away from my pack?" He asked, walking in a circle around the spot I stood. "Look around you and let your eyes marvel at the goodness of having power. With one single order, I have you surrounded by men on the ground, in the air, everywhere. If you ask me, I'll say power is a really good thing."

"I can see you're nothing short of a power-drunk coward who takes unprecedented joy in seeing others sweat blood doing your dirty work for you. Well, if you ask me, Jonathan, I think you're not powerful enough if your subordinates choose to rebel against you."

"That's the point. I am so powerful I command fear and respect from them. All I wanted was for you to keep to the end of your promise to do anything in return for her life, remember?" He screamed, pointing in my mother's direction.

I looked at my mother confused and sought an answer, but her head was bowed. As usual, those questions began pecking my mind; When had I promised servitude in return for her life? What was he talking about?

"But it seems you have no more use for me anymore. Perhaps you have forgotten so let me remind you how I treat those who don't fit in my plan or cause me trouble." He turned to the guards and charged; "Cease her!"

Alk the guards came rushing at me, each wanting to be the first to grab a hold of me. But luckily I was witty and after looking up to take a quick scan of my options, I leaped off the ground just as they had caught up with me.

I landed on the window frame of one of the main house's top floor rooms and scurried my way up the roof, stopping for a second to take a scornful look at the wolves who were snarling at me. The rain had subsided by now leaving behind little puddles of water on the roof which somehow proved to be a difficulty as they made the roof slippery.

"Don't just stand there and let her get away!" Jonathan screamed at the guards. "Get in there and get her. Don't kill her, just capture her. I want to do the killing myself."

I had thought that by standing a long way off that I had escaped and had outsmarted the guards, but when they began tearing into the house at all entrances, I knew I had to move quickly before I was caught.

I left the edge of the roof to begin another phase of escaping when a dart of tranquilizer pierced through the roof beside me, its needle almost pricking my paw.

Impulsively, I moved away and looked up to see where the source of the missile was, and only then did I see the flashing lights from the drones as they flooded the sky once more and engaged me in a hot chase, shooting tranquilizers unceasingly. I had to slip into one of the open windows of the house to take cover and avoid being shot.

I landed with a thud in one of the bedrooms upstairs, one that hadn't had any occupants for a while. It was dusty so I crept out the door to take a look but I ended up being caught and they began to chase after me once they had set eyes on me. In a few minutes, things were just as boiled inside as they were above on the roof.

With the guards on my heels, I ran blindly and as fast as my legs could carry through the house knocking off furniture and barging through doors. They were stronger than I was and were closing in on me, but since I was lighter and hence quicker, I decided to use the numerous turns in the house to shake them off my tail.

Another advantage I had was that the ground floor was a bit more compacted, and this I tried to utilize.

I headed straight for a wall making sure they were following closely behind. When I was barely an inch away from colliding with the sordid surface, I made a sharp round turn and hopped on them, using their backs to quickly get downstairs to shut the door to prevent any more guards from trooping in while those who had been caught unawares by my feint went crashing with great speed into this wooden wall causing the portraits which were hung to be knocked off their hooks and come falling to their shatter.

Some quickly recovered from the collision, but others, mostly those who had led the pursuit, lay in the rubble of the accident, wincing in pain. The ones who had successfully braced the impact assembled at the top of the stairs grumbling surly while baring their pernicious teeth at me. They were originally fifteen guards in the room but my sly move had decreased my attackers by two.

"You want me?" I taunted, growling. "Then you better come get me!"

Hardly had the words escaped my lips, had the wolves hurtled down the stairs and charged towards me. I anticipated the move so I quickly raced to round the room, pushing down the cushions and furniture and using them to trip the guards. When I saw that they had lost most of their strength from running in circles, I headed into the kitchen, luring five of them in with me while the rest waited outside so they could pounce at me.

It seemed the five of them who followed me in were too anxious to get to me that they didn't recognize that they rather were running straight into another clever trap of mine. I flung everything I could lay my hands on, from utensils, sharp cutleries, and plates, at their faces, running about randomly. With my missiles, I had most of them wounded, so I made my way up the counter and locked the door on my way out, slamming it on the one guard that was still trying to catch up with me. He even tried to break through the door but it was too strong.

The remaining eight stood there staring at the closed door. Seeing their fellow guards so helplessly maltreated by me must have inflicted some sort of fear and I knew better than refraining from making them dread me even more.

"Must be hard being behind that door, don't you think?" I asked, taunting. "Do you want to be like them or wouldn't you rather just prowl out of here in one piece?"

The largest among them, their leader, was quick to sense that I was toying with their minds and warned the rest of the wolves that I was just a young werewolf that could be beaten.

The team stood strong ready to fight but seconds after, three feared to be humiliated and scampered out the front door. I couldn't help but giggle at how much pull I could have when I was far more combat inexperienced than any of them, both young and old.

"See? Anyone else who would like to join them? This is me giving you a chance to survive due to my mercy!" I boasted.

I waited for a change of mind from anyone else but I didn't get any luck. Instead, another bulk guard, who had remained silent since, growled loudly and walked to the front. He flashed me a snare before drawing out a strong net that had been strapped to his harness and stood on his hind ready to fling it over me.

Scared, I quickly ran around the room until I had gotten past them and sauntered up the stairs quickly, with the guards close on my tail and trying to cage me while I ran zigzaggedly. While I ran blindly, I was lucky that the top floor was a bit more spacious, giving me a less dangerous path to run through with a few quick turns in the hallway.

I was beginning to get weary from all the runs and tricks and my speed was beginning to decrease greatly. I knew if I didn't want to get trapped by the guards I needed to get myself an exit soon.

I scanned for all options but none came except one. The height was scary and the jump could prove fatal but I had no choice. I spun around and headed for the master bedroom which opened to the balcony hoping to barge into the room with force.

I was still a few seconds away from my path wounding to a stop at the balcony and I was still indecisive. Stopping now would prove worse for me so I sped on bracing myself for a jump. The wolves weary of jumping off halted their run but I ran with all my might before launching myself into the thick breeze.