9 Boom!

Cough, cough, cough!

 

I clutched my chest, gasping for breath. I lay on the ground, gazing at the moon above. It seemed that this time, the moon goddess had finally favored me.

 

"Caw—caw—"

 

The harsh, piercing cry of a crow rang out. Hearing the call of this creature in the silent night always sent shivers down my spine. I frowned and looked back, but the tall, dark forest revealed no trace of a crow.

 

"Could it be my imagination?" I wondered silently.

 

The joy of escaping gradually faded. I rubbed my trembling legs and dragged my exhausted body toward the edge of the cliff.

 

Looking down, the waves surged below the cliff, eroding the cliff face to form holes of various sizes. The fierce gusts below the cliff almost forced my eyes shut. My robe fluttered, and I raised my hand to shield my face, almost unable to stand.

 

I accidentally kicked a few rocks at my feet, and they tumbled down, colliding with the cliff wall a few times before turning into white powder before hitting the sea. It was so frightening.

 

I looked at the foaming sea below and couldn't help but think, if it had been me who stood unsteadily just now, perhaps that piece of rock that turned into powder would have been me.

 

The more I thought about it, the paler my face became. I closed my eyes and crouched down cautiously, feeling a sense of security when my hands touched the ground. However, my plan was not yet complete. I forced back my fear and removed my black cloak, took off my shoes, and then...

 

"Emilia Borin."

 

The stern voice pierced through the howling wind like an arrow. My body trembled, and instinctively turned to look. Several meters away from me, a pair of golden eyes glowed in the darkness.

 

It was... Alpha Klaus.

 

How could this be? I couldn't believe my eyes as I watched the man step out of the dark forest step by step. This was the most remote and uninhabited part of the entire hunting ground. No werewolves or animals could survive here once they fell off. Correspondingly, no werewolves should have paid attention to this place.

 

I stood there dumbfounded, a chill creeping over my body.

 

I've been caught, I thought. Even though I got rid of that strange firefly powder, I was still caught by Alpha Klaus.

 

"You really didn't heed my warning, Emilia Borin," he said, a faint smirk playing at the corner of his mouth, devoid of any warmth, more like ruthless mockery.

 

The man slowly emerged from the dense forest, the dark shadows gradually fading from him, as if a gem was wiping away dirt bit by bit.

 

His silver hair shimmered with a gentle light under the moonlight. Clad in black hunting attire, it outlined his tall figure. On his handsome face, his golden eyes seemed like molten lava, exuding a scorching and terrifying pressure.

 

"You thought that by getting rid of the firefly powder, I wouldn't find you?" Alpha Klaus stepped forward in his black boots, the sound of his shoes creaking on the ground. His pace was unhurried, like a confident hunter seeing his prey already ensnared, and I was that prey in his eyes, unable to escape.

 

"I..." I stuttered, my gaze falling on the white bag in his hand, still stained with brownish soil.

 

The evidence was undeniable. How could I conceal the fact that I had discarded the firefly powder?

 

"Is there anything else you want to say?" Klaus asked, his voice deep and heavy.

 

He walked up to me and used two fingers to lift my chin, forcing me to look at him. His handsome yet sharp face loomed large in my vision, and the dangerous aura made me want to run away immediately. But I knew that besides angering him, there was no use in doing so.

 

"I didn't mean to lose it, Klaus, please, please believe me." I clenched my hands, using the pain to calm myself down. I couldn't afford to expose my intention to defy our agreement.

 

I blinked, meeting his scrutinizing gaze, almost seeing my own panicked face reflected in his golden eyes.

 

"You saw that place, right? There were many burning ashes, weren't there? That was all Alpha Duke's people. They seemed to have found me, mistook me for prey, and chased after me. I... I wanted to wait for you to arrive, but I was too scared, so I kept running, even dropping the bag you gave me."

 

I explained, trembling as if I was about to burst into tears the next second. But my lowered eyes were clear, and my mind was racing. I had to weave a plausible excuse that wouldn't be immediately debunked.

 

In Klaus's golden pupils, I appeared so pale, fragile, with eyes reddened, almost on the verge of tears. If my parents were still alive, just seeing me like this, they would be heartbroken.

 

Unfortunately, Klaus had no intention of showing any mercy.

 

He tilted his head, scrutinizing and evaluating me with a critical gaze. I didn't know what he was looking at or whether he believed my explanation. The sword hanging from the gray belt around his waist gleamed brightly, exhibiting a distinct bloodthirstiness just like its owner.

 

"Women of the Borin family," Alpha Klaus said, running his thumb slowly over my lips, "are you all so good at lying?"

 

I widened my eyes, watching as he spoke with a lowered gaze, his fingers pressing forcefully on my lips. I dared not resist, allowing his fingers to brush against the tender skin of my lips, turning them bright red.

 

"Why? Do you prefer to stay with Ron? Stay with the werewolf who killed your parents and then took over your entire family?"

 

Klaus's lips curved into a strange arc, a smirk that seemed neither genuine nor fake. Thick lashes hid his eyes, making it impossible for me to read his expression.

 

He seemed to be speaking to himself, but his fingers on my lips exerted even more force. My chin was pressed so hard, but I couldn't move or speak.

 

At that moment, behind Alpha Klaus, I saw a winding, yellow-and-white-striped shadow.

 

More precisely, it was a long snake, its tail almost invisible from my perspective.

 

I didn't know when it had set its sights on us, but it was evident that it didn't belong in this land. This was a creature intentionally placed in this hunting ground by Ron.

 

I know the fact that birds and beasts like tigers and leopards would perceive these cliffs as unsuitable territory. After all, it was small and dangerous here, with scarce prey to satisfy them. But snakes didn't belong to this category.

 

It slowly crawled out of the shadow of the bushes, its body drawing a winding wave on the ground almost as thick as a werewolf's thigh. On its white scales, evenly spaced golden ring patterns gleamed. The patterns resembled the color of gold, dazzling, but when combined with the triangular snakehead, the pitch-black eyes, and the occasionally protruding forked tongue, it was clear at a glance that this was not a pet but a real, fierce beast.

 

The python approached Klaus from behind silently, almost within arm's reach of him.

 

Ignoring the fingers constantly molesting my lips, I grabbed Klaus's wrist tightly with both hands, opening my mouth to let out a trembling, almost scream-like shout: "Snake! There's, there's a huge snake behind you!"

 

At the same moment I screamed, the python with yellow ring patterns suddenly opened its mouth, its sharp fangs gleaming with a chilling light in the darkness of the night. I closed my eyes in fear, almost despairing at the thought of being entwined and devoured by the python.

 

"Swish!"

 

A sharp sword sound, followed by the heavy sound of something falling to the ground.

 

"Do you dare to lie to me with such little courage?" Klaus's mocking voice sounded in my ears after a while. My face lifted again. Opening my eyes once more, I saw Klaus holding a sword in one hand, coldly wiping off the bloodstains on his face with the other hand. The silver-white blade still bore a few glaring crimson marks.

 

At his feet, lay the snake carcass, cut into two halves. The tail lying on the ground was still twitching slightly, as if unaware that the head had already been chopped off.

 

"Ah—!"

 

After the danger had passed, I finally couldn't help but scream. From childhood to adulthood, I had never seen such a terrifying creature.

 

"Shut up." Klaus covered my mouth, his tone finally a bit urgent. "There are still many beasts and werewolves here. Whom do you want to summon?"

 

The screams were suddenly muffled, but tears continued to slide down my face, pattering onto Alpha Klaus's hand. I grabbed his wrist as if holding onto the last piece of driftwood.

 

As if in response to his words, suddenly, a deafening roar resounded through the mountains, startling countless birds in the forest into flight.

 

In the black shadows, something resembling a small mountain ran towards us near the cliff. The ground trembled incessantly, accompanied by the sound of breaking trees.

 

"Boom! Boom!"

 

The air seemed to boil, and I stared fixedly at the approaching, gigantic black shadow. The moonlight illuminated its mottled patterns, revealing a blood-red pair of eyes, a hungry giant tiger.