Chapter 224

224 Chapter Two Hundred Twenty Four

The air seemed to come to a stop when the man voiced his presence. It wasn’t normal to see a rogue in their human forms. This was one of those times when they felt they were in very big trouble. Sandra looked around her and found that the man was alone against her, Cole, Jason and Alice... Yet she still felt like the odds were barely in their favour. ‘I’m probably just in a hurry to see this man put down,’ she tried to convince herself.

‘You’re not the only one that feels uneasy around him. The only other rogues that confidently flaunt their human forms are the Rogue King’s beta alphas and those have not been seen in quite some time. Well, in their human forms that is,’ Jason explained to her through the odd mind link that the two of them shared.

“It’s nice to know there is one of you that still has the spirit to reveal their human forms,” Cole spoke out loud.

The man narrowed his eyes at the royal, “There is more than a few of us that can do that... Well, I speak of the Rogue King’s generals... I am one of them. You may call me Balar and it is I that shall see to your end, heir to the Lycaon throne,” the man said with a slight bow.

'

“Confident for a man that’s outnumbered four to one,” Cole replied, clenching his fist in anger at the man’s claim.

“The fact that you value numbers over the skill of a fighter is all the more proof that this will be your last hour alive,” the man sighed, “Let’s skip the chitchat... I don’t have all day. After all, we didn’t come here to kill just one of the moon goddess’ chosen. Both of them are meant to leave the land of the living tonight as ordered by our king himself,” the man replied, training his eyes on the prince.

An arrow whizzed past Cole and to the man only to be snapped in half effortlessly once again. Before Cole could react, four arrows whizzed past almost at the same time as though they had been fired by four different people. The man’s hand zipped through the air, grabbing each arrow as though they’d been frozen in air for him to pluck. “The archer might as well give up... I’ve been trained to catch six arrows fired simultaneously.”

Cole barely wasted a second, ‘Jason...’ the beta alpha reacted at his alpha’s beckoning and went on the offensive. Cole was the first to reach the man, taking the initiative to throw the first attack, his fist aimed at the man’s face. The rogue deflected the blow effortlessly... a move the alpha had anticipated. ‘This might be more of a challenge than I thought...’ he thought to himself as the years he’d spent training suddenly kicked in allowing him to fluidly move on from the missed opportunity.

He blocked the man’s counterattack and stepped back as his beta alpha stepped into the fight, not giving the rogue startling the rogue with the odd switch between the two. The two of them worked together like a well-oiled machine, attacking in turns that never once collided as though they knew what the other was thinking. Together, the two of them seemed to have the rogue on his toes...

.....

Sandra took the time to recognize the skill with which Jason used while he was fighting. It was like nothing she had been able to witness during the time they’d been training together. It was enough to tell her that she was not yet a threat to him. Either that or the power of a beta alpha was making him a better fighter. The fight between the three wolves raged on, getting faster and faster until Sandra could only barely follow their movements... “Amazing...” she exclaimed, entranced by the choreography before her.

Averting her focus on the wolves, Alice held out something to the girl, “Sandra, I was asked to hand this to you. I don’t know what the girl was thinking, but apparently, she thinks you are worthy of this... I personally...”

“Is that Katie’s hunter jacket?” she asked the woman, cutting her off without noticing... something else bothered her... She couldn’t tell what it was... but she knew she was supposed to be somewhere else... The jacket proved it all... ‘What could you have in mind, Katie?’

Sandra got the jacket from the woman and slipped it on, turning her eyes back to the fighting wolves. Cole and Jason managed to push the man back until he stood in the water... The fight was not looking up for them, but not for the rogue either. He seemed to be holding his ground even against two of the most powerful werewolves in the world. It didn’t make sense to Sandra. “Yes, it is...”

Sandra looked back at Alice and remembered her question... It had been rhetorical... Having worn the jacket before, she knew what it was before she’d even asked the question. She knew where each weapon was and knew how to draw them out at the time when she needed them. It wasn’t something she was in need of training... With the jacket, she felt safer as it would be easier to dispose of rogues with the weapons at her disposal...

“Is she coming?” Sandra asked, her heart going into overdrive the moment she asked.

“No, she’s not...” Alice replied. This was all she needed to know that they were not out of the woods yet. There was no way she could communicate with Katie and Katie wasn’t one to communicate everything she was thinking. Most of the time, she had to figure out what it was that her mentor was planning. However, it was clear there was trouble back at the hotel that the girl had stayed behind to take care of. What they were taking care of here was nothing in comparison.

“Is there any other hunter left at the hotel?” she asked Alice.

“Yes, I left Morgan there along with the others although they are asleep. Why would you ask?” Alice asked before recognition snapped in her eyes, “I knew there was a reason she stayed behind and asked me to come here... However, I’m not that much help here. What could be worse than this?”

“This man we are struggling to defeat. He’s not a beta alpha... If I’m guessing right, the foe Katie is going to face is much tougher than him,” Sandra replied right before she watched what she thought was impossible. The rogue got the upper hand and delivered powerful punches that pushed both Cole and Jason a good distance away from him.

“The two of you, given the right guidance would have made fine warriors... But alas, you’re nothing compared to me and your training is far too simple... Gaining the amount of skill that...” he stopped talking as a loud whistling sound pierced through the air as though shutting him up. Two more similar sounds were heard before everyone caught up with what was happening... Blood trickled down the side of Balar’s mouth as he looked up beyond the forest... “So that’s where you decided to watch over the fight from...” with that, he coughed and slowly fell into the shallow water he stood in.

Sticking out of his chest were three black and red arrows. No one had noticed them until the man had bled... “An arrow from Cupid Shooter’s bow... that’s what he asked for... I guess that’s what he got.” Alice mentioned.

Sandra snapped out of her daze and rushed to Jason, “Jason, are you alright?”

“Yeah... besides the fact that I just got beaten by a normal alpha... I never thought I’d see the day...”

“You’re a beta alpha. You can’t imagine what it means to push back not just a royal alpha, but Cole Lycaon. Are they all as monstrous as him...? The generals... and if so... what are the beta alphas like? Or the Rogue king for that matter?” Cole barely noticed he was yelling while he complained. His mind rushed with the different possibilities of trouble they were in. He’d never felt an average alpha close the power gap this much. Considering his added abilities, he was more than shaken by the man’s capabilities.

“That’s just it, Jason... Cole. Katie stayed behind. She’s not coming. I know her... she wouldn’t stay behind unless there was a reason she was doing so... I know the humans could have been protected by the hunters, but she took it upon herself. I’m suspecting...”

“A beta alpha...” Cole had shifted before Sandra could finish her statement. Jason reacted a second later and followed his alpha’s example, shifting into his brown wolf. The girl reluctantly took a seat on the brown wolf... ‘It’s times like this that I wish I had an agility Prometheus gift,’ the girl thought to herself.

‘Well, you will have one in no time if you keep up your training,’ Jason replied to her thoughts.

‘I sure hope so...’ Alice was beside them as they rushed back to the hotel as fast as the wolves could zip through the forest. The blue-eyed black wolf beside was the cause for the most worry...

“I warned her to keep out of danger unless we’ve discussed it,” he voiced his thoughts to Jason.

“Then trust that it’s what she planned,” Jason replied, “We cannot start jumping to conclusions.” At the mention of Katie getting into trouble, Cole had lost all thought of the rogue they’d been fighting and set a new goal. Jason shifted his attention to his fellow beta alpha, “Caden, let’s hear some good news...”

The mind link was quiet for a bit before the reply came, “Ummm... I’m sorry to disappoint you on that... I have bad news instead...”