Chapter 1254: Behind Enemy Lines
Miles away from Dargena City, in the Scarlet Banes Kingdom.
A slender figure cloaking in shadow moved cautiously through a small village alley lined with traditional houses of brick, stone, and wood. Judging from her slender figure—much smaller than the average Werewolf, this figure is certainly a female Werewolf.
Roar!
Upon hearing a distant powerful roar, the figure yelped and looked over her shoulder.
Her hooded head tilted to reveal her identity, it was Vivian.
Rex had given her a mission in exchange for being a part of the pack, and here she was.
"Phew... thank the Origin that it was nothing," Vivian muttered in relief, realizing that the roar from earlier was not a trouble for her. She continued to navigate the alley with purpose—but there was obvious concern on her face.
Despite being a Werewolf herself, her current status was extremely gullible.
Moreover, there were several people that she must avoid such as the Alphas and the Exiles.
Fortunately, Vivian was able to step into the city without drawing much attention.
All with the help of the cloak she was wearing right now.
From her brief overview of the village, the Werewolves were adapting to the new world.
Currently, Vivian is in the Overclaw Village.
It was located in the southeast corner of the Scarlet Banes Kingdom and was governed by a powerful Alpha Prime under King Baralt. An Alpha Prime in a Werewolf society was the Alpha who was substantially stronger than other Alphas—and usually was able to take down ten or more Alphas of the same realm.
Because of their inherent strength, they were given a land to rule, like a knight.
However, with the Second Breath, the Alpha Prime governing the village would've changed.
Vivian doesn't know who ruled this village anymore as a lot has changed.
Additionally, the Overclaw Village seemed to once be a Human settlement, which would have explained the houses these Werewolves are using and from the looks of the village's state of structures—it should also be one of the least damaged villages from the changes brought by the Second Breath.
Only a small hill destroyed and shattered the town square at the center.
"It's active here, there are a lot of people on the street," Vivian muttered as she continued to reach the other side, she was lucky to have gone this far without any mishaps. "I hope there would be no encounter with any Alphas or even Alpha Primes..."
Just as she said that and neared the other side, her heart almost jumped from her chest.
Crash!
Vivian halted in her tracks when a Werewolf crashed against a wall in front of her.
He seemed to be thrown violently by someone.
Following that—another more dominant Werewolf tackled it from the side—and the ensuing brawl was ferocious, blood spraying to the walls with each swipe. Considering the ability to regenerate belonging to the Werewolves, Vivian knew this fight would be brutal and long.
Roar!!
Crash!
She watched for a moment before she noticed the bluish energy both were emanating.
Seeing this, she gulped, 'Great, both of them are Alphas...'
Vivian jinxed herself and stumbled across two Alphas fighting, and as she turned her head to look behind—she saw three Werewolves in armor could be seen on the other side, guards of the village to maintain order, and they were approaching.
Her senses heightened and before long, she decided to cautiously go around the Alphas.
It would be bad if she went back and risked being questioned by the guards.
'Female Werewolves are way lesser than male Werewolves—I can't risk it," Vivian thought, as she carefully went past the two Alphas, and thankfully, she managed to maneuver over them and reached the street.
"Stop it! Go to the Combat Arenas if you want to settle your dispute!"
"Cease the fight or we'll have to use force!"
Vivian breathed in relief as she was able to escape the guards' attention.
Silently walking on the street that was filled with other Werewolves—blending in with the other, she kept a low-profile, and searched for something, "I need to find the Hunt Clubs, where is it?"
Not accustomed to Werewolves living in a place like this instead of huts, she was troubled.
It was hard to find what she was looking for.
Vivian walked silently, avoiding bumping with other Werewolves around while her eyes were scanning the surroundings for any sign of a Hunt Club. It was a place where Betas, Omegas, and Exiles gathered to hunt and possibly bond with each other.
Usually, accompanying a Hunt Club was specialized liquor to make them drunk.
A drunken state would help them be loose and bond more.
Naturally—she knew that such a club would likely be in a tavern. She had spent quite a long time with Jarvald being near Humans so she knew Humans also had some sort of Hunt Club but only for drinking and bonding called tavern.
As she absorbed every detail, her sightseeing behavior was drawing attention.
Unbeknownst to her, she was on the village's main street.
It was not a good idea for her to be here if she wanted to keep a low profile.
Suddenly, three Werewolves, their bodies riddled with vicious scars and covered in chainmail and leather armor, intercepted her. All three of them, stood before her—blocking her path. At the sight of this, Vivian froze, her heart pounding inside her chest.
Not even needing to raise her gaze, she could feel the aura coming from all three of them.
'Alphas, all three of them are Alphas... Why are there many Alphas here?' She mused.
One of the Werewolves tilted his head when he saw Vivian freezing at the sight of them—he then reached out and pulled back her hood, revealing her face. Seeing this—his curious look changed drastically.
Realizing that it was a female Werewolf, a daunting smile played on his lips.
"Elegant and pretty..." He mused lightly.
Due to the three Alphas' movements, Vivian realized that somehow she was against the wall.
Knowing that this could end up badly, with her failing the mission, Vivian quickly said, "I am a Luna, and my Alpha is waiting. I'm in a hurry, he's a candidate for an Alpha Prime so don't get in my way if you know what's good for you"
Vivian was about to leave, but she was stopped.
The Alpha placed his hand on her belly, stopping her, and pushed her against the wall again.
Not even saying anything, the Alpha leaned closer.
Seeing this, Vivian knew her lie would be discovered as she turned her head to the side while the Alpha sniffed her neck. After doing that the smile on his face widened, "Seems like you're a Luna, but your Alpha's scent is faint, you must be alone here... that's good"
Upon hearing this, the other two Alphas also smiled, finding that this was an opportunity.
All three of them lost their Lunas, and a candidate emerged.
Naturally, they were not going to let Vivian go.
'Should I use it right now...?' Vivian pondered, deliberating to use something. She glanced to the side and gritted her teeth, 'No, I shouldn't use it here. I can only use it one time, and this place is crowded with eyewitnesses'
Vivian couldn't be rash here or she'll fail the mission.
If she did then she wouldn't know what Rex would do to Jarvald back there.
Desiring to check her further, the Alpha grabbed Vivian's hand firmly.
Albeit Vivian tried her best to struggle to pull her hand away, she couldn't free her hand, and she couldn't resist the stream of moonlight energy from the Alpha that seeped into her hand—sending a visible wave of white across her skin.
Following that, she gritted her teeth when an invisible mark glowed white on her neck.
Upon seeing this, the Alpha's eyes flashed, "I'm taking her with me"
"And who decided that?" Another Alpha on the right intervened, crossing his arms. "I will not let you take her—especially now that I know, stealing her would be easy, since her bite mark was that weak"
Vivian bit her lower lip in annoyance, 'Jarvald you idiot, you didn't renew my Luna mark?!'
Just as the situation became tense, with the three Alphas fighting over to take Vivian, turning her into the new Luna of their pack, a robust Werewolf clad in armor, approached them, "Hey, come to the gate, Riona has assembled all Alphas"
"Huh? I don't care about Riona, I don't even know who that is!" the Alpha barked angrily.
His eyes were still fixed on the other Alpha who was against him taking Vivian.
But then, the armored Werewolf stood right beside them imposingly.
"I am a Beta so I couldn't meddle in the affairs of Alphas," He said passively but his eyes then squinted. "But I could tell Riona, the Female Alpha of the Dancing Stripe Pack that all three of you refused her call. Maybe she'll throw you three to Princess Selene as punishment"
Upon hearing this, the Alphas' expressions tightened.
Obviously, they were pressured at the sheer mention of the Dancing Stripe Pack.
An Alpha Prime pack would already scare them, but this was a Royal Pack, much stronger.
Frustrated—the Alpha that was still holding Vivian's hand turned and bit her arm, sinking his teeth, embellished with moonlight energy, deep into her, "You are mine—don't go anywhere. You're wasted being with that weak Alpha of yours, you're better off with me"
Seeing this, the other Alphas clicked their tongue in displeasure.
Eventually, they turned to leave, heading to the gate to heed Riona's call for their presence.
As all three of them left, the armored Werewolf looked at Vivian.
"Don't wander around alone," He said. "What kind of pack even leaves their Luna alone?"
Leaving his last comment, the armored Werewolf also left, leaving Vivian alone.
Only when they were all gone did Vivian smack her lips in annoyance, "I don't know—maybe the kind of pack, that's already dead? At the very least, I wouldn't want my Alpha to be such an idiot like him" She muttered sarcastically. She then looked at her hand—eyeing the deep bite mark. "How do I explain this to Jarvald? He must've felt that I got bitten"
Vivian wanted to continue, but she stopped when she saw a group across the street.
Amongst them, one of them was an Alpha, and he was called by the armored Werewolf.
Squinting her eyes, she decided to head over to get close to the group.
"What was all that about? Riona should be the Female Alpha of the Dancing Stripe Pack"
"Must be something relating to the Honey Moon then"
"I saw Prince Alaric was outside with Riona and her pack earlier"
"Prince Alaric? What is he doing with them? It must be something big if he was involved"
"There was a rumor spreading around, I heard it from someone, and he said that Prince Alaric helped the Dancing Stripe Pack by doing the Great Luna ritual. Someone spotted him coming to the Bloodstone Crater"
"If he did that ritual then there should be a big battle ahead"
"I hope it's against that false Werewolf that I've been hearing about, about time we show him what a real Werewolf was capable of"
"Shut up, that's not someone you should mention lightly"
Now that their Alpha was brought to the gate, the pack continued to their destination alone.
On the other hand, Vivian tilted her head down and pulled her hood as the group walked past her. She heard everything that they were talking about. A smile crept to her lips upon hearing the group's banter.
"Seems like they were preparing for the duel," Vivian muttered silently.
However—the information that made her smile was not the mention of Prince Alaric and also the Dancing Stripe Pack, but the Bloodstone Crater instead, "I think that's a suitable place to report back to him. Now I only need to locate it..."
After arranging her moves, she walked away, heading to a more secluded area.
She was lucky that the armored Werewolf came to her rescue.
Had he not stepped in, she wouldn't be able to break free from the three Alphas.
Now is her opportunity to complete her mission.