Chapter 56: Chapter Fifty Six

When he confirmed she had indeed figured him out through the security cameras that he had hacked in the school, it was clear to him that for as long as he was close to Brigadia, he was a dead man and this urged him to run without stopping regardless of his terrible athletic abilities. He’d stumbled and fallen a number of times and the sweating had drained his body of the drug that suppressed his wolf. This was causing his eyes to flicker between yellow and brown. However, this also gave him a bit of werewolf strength to finish his run. After collapsing at the camp, his wolf had also gotten exhausted and stopped bothering him on trying to come out.

They watched their comrade leave the camp and stayed quiet for a while so that he would put some distance between them, “When are we leaving? If it’s even tonight, I have no objections.” Kyle stunned the rest with his words.

“Were you planning to drive him to his death this whole time? Demitri is really skilled, you know. He was transferred into this unit for that very purpose,” Chad spoke. Kyle stared at the alpha with an astounding look written all over his face. If it wasn’t for the bright red eyes that stared back at him, he probably would have overstepped and acted like the boss.

“I have a bad feeling about waiting for him. Katie Chase is not someone I want to mess with. I was only under her radar because I managed to become her friend before she had a chance to suspect me. That’s why I’ve survived this long, but if she gets wind that I am still less than ten miles from her, nothing will stop her from finding me,” Kyle tried.

“You sound delusional, boy wonder. There is no way that’s going to happen. But why didn’t you mention earlier that the Rogue Killer belonged to the Chase family... and that name?” Chad asked.

“I don’t know if she belongs to the Chase family because she refers to them as her guardians, but she also doesn’t know why that’s the way it should be,” Kyle replied.

Chad and the others shifted uncomfortably, thoughtful expressions on their faces, “It can’t be... Is it too much of a coincidence? Does she possess a Prometheus gift?” he asked.

.....

“Yes, she does,” Kyle replied.

“Why is the Rogue King interested in a hunter that young from the Chase family?” Chad was not happy with this turn of events. The fact that Kyle had left out these points was only because he was testing how hard-headed Demitri was and now he’d sent himself to his death with no knowledge of how dangerous the enemy was. Although, it was hard to think that a hunter could be as dangerous as Kyle proclaimed her to be. Chad himself was having trouble believing the child’s tales.

Memories of the times that he’d spent with Katie ran through his mind confusing his priorities. Kyle was never able to see Katie fighting because she always made sure he was safe and away from the fighting. Her senses were too sharp for him to risk a stealth mission either. He wasn’t very talented in anything other than his art of deceit. Killing Ash was the only dirty work that he’d ever been forced to go through, but that was just about it. His ideals as a rogue remained unchanged, however. And just as every rogue shared in the desire to end the human race, so did he. His cunning ways had kept him alive since he’d been dispatched as a spy in this region.

“There are some things that are reserved for the Rogue king himself. Making a decision based on his knowledge when it has leaked into his ranks could prove dangerous. Alphas have the desire to make such decisions and it makes it difficult if he has to deal with something like that,” Kyle explained his reasons for keeping silent when he was asked to relay more information on the Rogue killer and his findings while he was in Brigadia.

“Well then, that settles that. You seem confident in the abilities of the Rogue killer. Nonetheless, the least we can do is trust a dead man’s last wish and wait for him till the time we spoke of before leaving,” Chad spoke up.

“Such noble ways for a rogue... Did the ruffian ways of the rogues dull while I was on my mission?” he asked.

“No, they did not. Everyone’s still as boisterous as ever. You might want to work on those muscles if you are to survive in there. If it wasn’t for your special standing with the Rogue King, you’d be scraping the barrels at the end of meals just to get something to eat,” Chad chuckled.

“May I have your name at least?” Kyle asked.

“Chad... and that’s all you need to know. As for the name, Kyle Dwyer, there is not a soul among the rogues that doesn’t know it. Your tales of the Rogue killer have made you quite famous,” he said.

“I’m pleased to hear that. Although it doesn’t feel that way when it’s possible for me to find a dimwit like the one who just ran towards his death,” Kyle rubbed his temples. He’d done his best to make the stories believable and yet still keep the full extent of the Rogue killers ferocity, “I guess information loses integrity when it’s passed through many channels. Seeing as he was from a unit that’s not too familiar with this place, he must have heard stories that sounded far-fetched and even joked about it with his friends over a beer.”

After a moment of silence, the kettle began to his and the rogue that had set it up got to serving the tea. He added herbs and different ingredients to it that he’d found in the cabin. A closer look at the man’s face told Kyle everything that he needed to know about his behaviour. His cheeks were full and his body was more of fat than it was muscled. His arms were built with the muscle showing through undoubtedly, but his stomach stuck out loosely. This was usually how one could tell that the rogue was a chef. Even with their talents in the kitchen, they were still required to be strong such that they weren’t a liability during missions such as this one.

Kyle received the warm cup from the man and marvelled at how nice the tea smelt. He wasn’t good in the kitchen and so took the time to appreciate the explosive sweetness that erupted in his mouth when he sipped the cup. “Mario there is one of the best of them chefs... The Rogue king had him come with us so that he could give you five-star meals on your way to the hideout. Honestly, the man treats the spies like nobility,” Chad huffed.

“I’ll enjoy these privileges while they last...” Kyle said.

“What makes you think they’ll go away?” Chad asked him bewildered by the boy’s sudden choice of words. He spoke as though he was going to die.

“I don’t know why I thought of that. Living the life of a spy pretending to be the best friend of that... monster wasn’t as easy as it sounds. I thought I’d die the moment I was discovered,” Kyle did not want to say it at the moment, but as he told the others this half-baked excuse, his mind continued to warn him of danger that was to lie ahead, was the Rogue killer to find out where they were.

..........

Demitri ran through the forest at his top speed, keeping his feet skilfully trekking the quietest spots on the ground. Training in the art of stealth allowed one to run at their fastest and still allow them to produce barely a whisper of sound. Thoughts of the way the boy would speak did not leave his mind. He’d been directed to a house near the outskirts of the town that was apparently the only one without the anti-werewolf mechanisms turned on. That way, he would be able to get in without a problem. ‘Those guys better just wait and see. They’ll soon realise just how weak they’ve allowed their stealth teams on this side of the world to get.

Even for pro hunters, that many stealth teams would be impossible to defeat without having a problem, ‘The nerve on that boy... Making up such stories as though he thinks the rest of us will follow blindly. What is he trying to hide? Could it merely be that he failed at his task and wants a way to keep more of the rogues from investigating this place? What if he’s getting closer to cracking the...’ something hit his nostrils as he ran through the night bringing his thoughts to a stop.

‘Royals, many of them... what are Royals doing here? And why the hell so many?’ he brought his run to a halt and sniffed the air some more. This was so that he could try and figure out how many he was talking about, but the scents were too mixed up for him to distinguish between all of them. ‘All the more reason to stay in my human form... shifting would cause so much trouble for me,’ he thought as he continued on his way as predicted by his instructions.

‘One mile to the town... This is when the so-called Rogue killer was supposed to show up and...’

“Would you happen to know Kyle?” a feminine voice interrupted his thoughts driving his heart into overdrive. For a moment, all Demitri could hear was the sound of his own heartbeat. He hadn’t been able to pick up on the scent of the person that had found him. He could tell that the voice was directed to him despite how dark it was. There was no doubt that this person was talking to him. The voice was filled with so much malice that it shook him to his core. His resolve was starting to crumble as he realised that there was no reason for a civilian to be wandering out in the woods at night. He had not yet even reached the routes that he expected the hunters on patrol to be using. This person was too far from the city and had found him as though they had even planned to meet in this very place. ‘How long was she watching me?’ was all he could ask himself as he finally met the murderous eyes of the fabled Rogue killer.