Chapter 221

221 Chapter Two Hundred Twenty One

She took her time carefully planning until she was sure about who she was going to capture. Capturing one from here would have been stupid, however, she had a plan. Skillfully leaping through the trees to put some distance between her and the rogues, she fired an arrow straight at one of them, missing her target’s ear by an inch.

There was barely a stir amongst the rogues as the arrow that had been shot went almost unnoticed. Her target, getting very scared by what he heard searched for the arrow and retrieved it. Fearstriken, he rushed to another wolf that was patrolling, “Hey man, there is a hunter hiding out in the trees,” he tried raising his case.

“Ugh, not this again... Every time something spooks you, you start to blab on about hunters lurking up and about,” his comrade responded, smacking the scrawny-looking wolf on the back. “Man up and stand at your post.”

“I don’t know, Clyde. Maybe he’s onto something. Send him out and see how he does look for imaginary hunters,” a feminine voice interrupted them, rousing laughter amongst them. The wolf they spoke of seemed to get angered by how lightly they took his claims and stomped away from them.

“Don’t trip on imaginary stairs on your way there,” another yelled after him, laughing in response.

“You take it too far sometimes, Clyde. Cool off the boy,” the feminine voice came again, this time more serious.

“Yes, ma’am, but if I may ask, do you think he will be able to make it to our objective in one piece. He seems to be far too timid,” Clyde asked.

“Well, there is strength in numbers, don’t forget that. If you send one of his kind at an enemy, they can just as well be paperweights to a hunter, however, keep adding more of them and the hunter will surely fall. That’s only if they are enough and if they keep on coming,” the female voice spoke. It was the last that Jackeline paid attention to before turning her attention back to the wolf she’d targeted. The man was storming off in the direction she’d hoped for...

Everything was going according to plan... even more reason for the girl to worry. She looked back at the collection of rogues she was about to leave behind her. They were truly many in number, however, if she stayed quiet, she was sure she would put some distance between her and them. She left to follow the wolf she’d captured after saying a mental prayer to Prometheus that she would never have to go back there... Her hopes were that this scrawny wolf had the information she needed to bring the suicide mission to a halt. What she didn’t take note of was the fact that a single pair of red eyes was watching her vividly, taking note of her every movement.

.....

The wolf, oblivious to the hunter that followed him through the trees continued to walk in one direction. With time, Jackeline was sure the man was going to get lost, for he began to divert from the straight path an arrow would have taken, “Ah, dang it, perhaps they were right. I really am just delusional and get spooked easily,” he spoke to himself. He stopped moving and started turning about, searching the trees.

The stalking hunter chose this moment to slide down to some lower branches. Just as she was about to leap out of her hiding spot, a voice rang out through the darkness, “There you are. I thought you were going to get lost again.”

“Alpha Amanda, what are you doing out here?” the man responded, fear and... was it, ‘respect’ in his voice. Jackeline couldn’t believe anything like that was possible amongst these savages.

“I came looking for you of course. You dropped this, so I figured there must have been a reason you were so sure about a hunter being here. Unfortunately, hunters don’t have bows that shoot arrows strong enough to go come from this far... unless you’re dealing with Cupid Shooter. That bow is special,” the woman responded.

“Oh, well then, is there something else I can be of assistance with?” the man asked her.

“Well, I would like it very much if you hurried back to your post and made sure to believe in the number of rogues that surround you. Do you really think there is a sane hunter alive that would choose to attack this massive group of rogues? They would have one hell of a death wish,” Amanda chuckled, “Now, scram.”

Silence filled the air as Jackeline watched her target rush back to the safety of the group of rogues. This time there was no hope of her getting another since the alpha beneath her had carefully worded her message to keep him from falling for her tricks again. ‘What’s this feeling in the pit of my stomach?’ Jackeline’s thoughts echoed in her mind as she stared at the back of this female alpha. This was the first time she was seeing a female alpha amongst the rogues. Perhaps females could never be allowed to...

“I know you’re up there... I thought we’d chat for a bit. Now come down,” the woman spoke up. Jackeline remained quiet for a bit, hoping the woman before her was only bluffing. The woman sighed heavily and turned around so that Jackeline was no longer staring at her back, but instead, she watched her chest. The hunter swallowed hard, keeping as silent as she could until it happened. The woman’s searing red eyes were staring right into her hazel brown. ‘Why do they have to be so damn scary when they do something like that? And when did a woman become an alpha?’

“Now that we’ve established the fact that I know you’re there, would you come down now so we can talk?” the woman responded.

“What makes you think I would do such a thing?” she asked her.

“Well, I do not intend to capture you, but I guess you already know that. So I’ll make you a deal. I have information that I want to know and you have something that you want to know. I honestly couldn’t care less about whatever wicked scheme the hunters are cooking up. The point is that right now, we both need each other and as a symbol of my good faith, I will allow you to put as much distance from the rogues as you feel comfortable and you can flee as soon as you see necessary,” she said to her.

Jackeline took her time to think it through, “What if I just shoot you right here and now?”

“Well, I am one of the most highly trained generals of his majesty, I think it will be hard to dispose of me with a mere bow and arrow. Are you in or not... It’s not every day that I get the opportunity to meet an overly ambitious hunter. Just the thing I need,” the woman replied.

The two of them were soon dashing away from the rogues. Once they were a comfortable distance away from them, Jackeline signalled that they could stop. She was panting with exhaustion and made sure to stay high up in the tree to rest while keeping an eye on the wolf, “You don’t let your guard down. I guess that’s to be expected from someone like you.”

“I’ve never heard of a female rogue alpha. How is it even possible?” Jackeline said, in between breaths.

“Well, let’s make one point clear before you go on to ask me questions that will, in the end, be entirely useless to you,” the woman said, finally getting serious. She looked up into the tree, making eye contact with the hunter. Jackeline’s hand gripped the bow, tension filling the air... With her bow at the ready, she watched the woman’s eyes shift to a bright blue before going back to a crimson red.

“How did you do that?” Jackeline asked.

“My name is Amanda. The rest is unimportant since rogues do not give last names. Anyway, I’m not who you think I am and far from your enemy...” Jackeline stared at the wolf, trying to wrap her head around everything that had happened... ‘This was definitely not part of the plan...’ she internally groaned.

“Well, my my... You’re just full of surprises...” Jackeline replied, lowering her bow and placing her arrow back into her quiver.

“What can I say? Nothing has been the same since I chose to run away from the rogues and met the person that got me in this situation that I’m in at the moment,” Amanda replied, taking a seat, and leaning against a tree.

“What situation?” Jackeline asked.

“Females are never allowed to get as powerful as I did and I would never have made it this far up the ranks if it hadn’t been for the power I got during my escape. I was asked to go undercover and it was through that I was able to work my way up. When the Rogue King recognized my abilities, I was exempted from the same treatment that all the other females get amongst the rogues.

“You’re not letting me know much, are you?” Jackeline sighed and watched a smirk grow on the woman’s face, “Very well. I will ask you my questions then. What is the Rogue King planning? Why is he gathering this many rogues in Lycaon?”

“Well, I figured that is the question you’d be asking, however, I am surprised you weren’t able to figure that out by now. It’s quite simple actually. The king is sick... He’s currently lying on his death bed. On the other hand, the prince has not yet marked his mate. If the Rogue King can kill the king before the prince marks his mate, he will gain the power of the Lycaon family.”

“What’s that got to do with anything? Doesn’t he have the power of a royal already? Not to mention the fact that he’s got to be connected to the royal families somehow. Is he a lost relative or something of the sort?” the woman asked.

“Oh, no, that’s a long story. I don’t know it fully myself, but it’s one long and sad. He isn’t connected to the royal families in any way and does not bear what he seems to call the obedience towards the brainwashed goddess that controls the royals,” Amanda responded.

“What does he want with the power of the Lycaon family then?” Jackeline asked.

“Well, if he had that power... Well, that pretty much changes everything. He would then be able to control every last one of the wolves that bears the power of the Lycaon family running through them,” Amanda replied. Jackeline’s eyes went wide with terror... With the force that the rogue king had gathered, he was pretty much guaranteed to break through to the king with these numbers.