"I was able to track them last time to nine hundred kilometers west of Virginia. It seems that they've located themselves near what appears to be a small cave, probably where they've taken shelter," Hugh said through the earpiece as I continued on my way, jumping from one tree branch to the other, careful not to be heard or seen by anyone.
I'd already left the pack borders about twenty minutes ago.
"All three?" I asked.
"Yes," Hugh confirmed.
A couple of minutes passed in complete silence before Hugh spoke again into my ear.
"April, stop!"
The urgency in his voice made me quickly stop dead in my tracks.
I was on top of a large oak tree in a crouched position.
"The heat sensor I installed into your phone is detecting something," Hugh said before I got the chance to talk.
"It appears three bodies are present near the lake three kilometers to your right," he continued.
"Do you think it's them? Maybe they changed their place or something," I said as I started analyzing everything in my head. I started moving towards the lake.
"Are you going to investigate?" Hugh asked when he heard me moving.
"Yes, there's a big chance it's them, and even if I were wrong, there's no harm in knowing," I replied.
It didn't take me long before I was standing on yet another oak tree, but this time, I had the lake beneath me.
I gasped softly when my eyes caught the scene by the lake. There were two men in shaggy, torn clothes advancing on what appeared to be a teenage girl.
Unlike the other two men, this girl had expensive-looking clothes on. She was wearing a sleeveless white dress that stopped inches above her knee. The dress had pearl embroidery around her waist and collar areas.
Her blonde hair was curled at the ends and cascaded down her back beautifully.
I could feel her fear radiating from every pore in her body, but she strongly refused to show it.
"Don't you know who I am? How dare you try to attack me?" she yelled at the two rogue men only smirked at her as they slowly and tauntingly closed the distance between them.
"Do any of them look like the rogues that killed your parents?" I heard Hugh ask.
"No, but they sure don't come off as better," I gritted under my teeth.
"Don't get involved, April, and just leave. We wanted a clean and fast kill, and that's it. End of story," Hugh warned, making me growl.
"I can't just leave the girl like that with those bastards. Who knows what they'd do to her," I whisper-yelled.
"But this might cause you trouble!" Hugh snapped, making Rose and I growl loudly this time. Half because of Hugh and half because of the two rogues that now were holding the girl. Her scream alone made me angrier. No woman deserved this.
The rogues and the girl heard my growl as they all snapped their heads towards me.
I didn't waste any more time and swiftly jumped to the ground.
I was shaking with anger and was glaring daggers at the two men.
They seemed to have noticed my alpha strength radiating off of me as their skin paled and all color drained from their faces. My form and clothes made me look intimidating.
"Let the girl go," I growled at them dangerously.
One of the rogues held the girl in front of him and brought a knife to her throat.
The girl whimpered, making my heart reach out to her. She reminded me of myself. This situation reminded me of that dreaded night, of how I was too weak and vulnerable in the hands of that rogue.
I growled even more angrily at them.
"Who the hell are you?" the one holding the girl asked, his nervousness seeping through his words.
I smirked at them. Even though they couldn't see my lips, they saw my eyes.
"Your worst nightmare," I replied and drew out my swords just as the other rogue shifted into a dirty grey wolf mid-air.
He lunged at me, but I was too fast for him to catch. I twirled to the side, and in one swift movement with my sword, I cut right through his stomach.
His body fell limp on the ground beside me as blood pooled around him. His breathing slowed down, and his heartbeat stopped. In a matter of seconds, he was dead.
I rose from my crouched position on the ground and lifted my head to look straight into the other rogue's eyes.
I saw him shift his gaze from his dead friend to me then back to his dead friend.
"Wh-who the h-hell are y-you?" he stuttered as he took a step back, pulling the girl with him.
"Haven't I already answered that?" I asked as I slowly started approaching them.
The look of fear in his eyes gave me confidence and made me feel strong and invincible.
I started twirling the swords in my hands and playing with them like a child's toy, just to scare him more.
I was having way more fun than I expected.
The rogue kept on stepping back as I continued to approach.
"Don't come any closer," he said and brought the knife towards me, then back to the girl. He didn't know what the hell he was doing.
I raised my eyebrow at him in amusement.
"Or else?" I taunted, still walking.
"Er....or else I'll kill the girl," he all but yelled nervously as he brought the knife closer to her throat.
I chuckled loudly at that.
"Kill her," I told him with a shrug of my shoulders.
Both he and the girl looked at me like I'd grown two heads, and from the shock, the rogue halted in his steps temporarily, making me stop as well.
"I don't know her, and I couldn't really care less about what happens to her," I continued as I twirled the swords once again.
"T-then what made y-you stop us in t-the first place?" he asked.
"Hmm...an easy kill to start the night perhaps," I replied almost nonchalantly.
His eyes widened as I started approaching once again.
He seemed to have weighed his options, and without a second thought, he pushed the girl harshly and started running for the hills.
I heard Hugh laugh through the earpiece. "You're nothing but trouble, April," he said between laughs.
"I try," I replied as I placed my swords back in their places.
I went towards the girl who was now on the ground from when the rogue pushed her.
I offered her my hand, and she didn't waste time grabbing it. I helped her get up and noticed how she winced when she stepped on her right foot.
"You hurt your foot," I stated. "Go back to your house to treat it, and don't go wandering in the woods alone at night again," I ordered as I turned around and started to walk away.
"Wait!" the girl called from behind me, but I didn't stop. I didn't have time to chit-chat. I had some other rogues to kill.
"I just want to know your name," she called back again.
"You have no use for it," I replied as I continued walking until I reached the perfect tree branch to jump to.
"Are you just going to leave me here? I'm injured!" I rolled my eyes at her.
"At least tell me if you're a boy or a girl!" the girl yelled once again, but this time, however, her last words made me stop from jumping to another branch.
A girl or a boy? Wasn't it obvious from my voice or my body?
I descended from the tree and looked at her in confusion.
"Excuse me?" I asked as I gaped at her.
She sighed. "Okay, I'm sorry. I know that you're a girl, but I just wanted to get your attention," she confessed.
"What's your name, kid?" I asked as I started walking towards her.
"April, come on. Just leave," Hugh said through the earpiece, but I ignored him.
"I'm not a kid!" the girl said in an angry tone.
I raised my eyebrow at her in amusement.
"I'm 18," she stated matter-of-factly.
"And?" I asked in amusement as I shortened the distance between us.
It must've come out as very intimidating to her because she stuttered.
"A-and...er....so I'm not a kid."
"Then what are you?" I asked as I stood in front of her, my five-foot-six form towering over her tiny five-foot frame.
"I...uh...I'm Freya," she stated before taking a step back, straightening her posture, and giving me a boastful look.
"I'm Freya," she repeated. "The King's daughter."
I raised both eyebrows at her. "And what is Freya, the King's daughter, doing in the woods in the middle of the night wearing...?" I trailed off as I looked at her attire from the bottom up. "That," I finished.
"Th-that's none of your business," she scoffed and folded her arms across her shoulders as she turned her head to the side.
"Does your father know that you're out right now?" I asked, even though I knew the answer very well.
Her head snapped to me, and the look on her face told me the answer I already knew.
I sighed deeply before grabbing her by the waist and throwing her on my shoulder.
She squealed loudly at my sudden movement.
"What are you doing? Put me down this instant," she all but yelled. I, however, couldn't care less what she wanted or said.
She squealed even louder when I jumped up to a tree branch and started heading towards the castle.
"April," Hugh sighed.
"It'll only take a minute," I told him with a sigh of my own.
"You've deviated from your original mission long enough already," he said, and I could feel his irritation seeping into my ear.
"I know, but I have to do this," I replied.
"Who are you talking to?" I was snapped out of my conversation with Hugh by Freya's question.
"You talk too much," was my only answer to her, to which she scoffed.
"At least I'm not the crazy one talking to ghosts," she mumbled under her breath.
"You're a very ungrateful brat, you know that."
Freya scoffed once again but kept silent.
We soon reached the castle, where no lights shone, and no sounds were heard except for the King's snoring.
Privileges of being the King of Werewolves, I guess.
"Which window leads to your room?" I asked as I turned us around, so Freya faced the castle.
"Third to the right," she grumbled.
She yelped as I fixed her position on my shoulder.
"Can't you be more gentle?" she asked in frustration. "Plus, you won't be able to easily sneak us into my room. The guards will know."
"I assure you we'll be just fine if you kept your mouth shut," I replied with the same frustrated tone.
She growled lowly, making Rose take over and growl loudly, only enough for Freya to hear.
"Y-you're an alpha," she stated in surprise.
Crap. I didn't reply as I gently jumped from a nearby branch to her window.
I heard Freya whimper and as she held onto my shirt tightly.
I quickly opened the window with one hand and slid inside.
My eyes widened at the sight of her room. It was bigger than any room I'd ever seen.
My room looks like a drawer next to hers.
I shook the thoughts out of my head and gently placed Freya on her bed, careful not to hurt her ankle more.
"Get some ice for your ankle or go see a doctor," I ordered as I stood up from my crouched position.
"And don't go wandering around at night," I said as I turned around and started heading to her window to leave. However, I was caught dead in my tracks when I felt someone hold my hand.
I turned around to find Freya looking up at me, her grey eyes glazing over.
"I'm sorry. I was supposed to listen to my father and not leave," she whispered, making me sigh.
I heard Hugh groan loudly. His nagging got on my nerves, so I pressed the off button of the earpiece so I didn't hear him anymore, nor would he hear us.
I lowered myself to my knees so that we were face to face.
"Thank you. If you weren't there, I don't know what—"
"Hey, hey," I stopped her mid-sentence.
"Nothing happened, and you're okay now. Just forget this night ever happened," I said in a soft tone.
I needed a shoulder to cry on once, and so does she. But unlike her, I found none, not until a couple of weeks later.
Freya nodded and wiped the stray tears that were running down her face.
I stood up and started heading once again to the window to leave.
"Does that mean to also forget ever meeting you?" Freya asked as I placed one leg on her window frame.
"Yes, I was just a nightmare," I replied before jumping out the window, not wanting to be stopped by her again.
However, as I landed on the nearest tree branch, I heard her whisper:
"A beautiful nightmare."
And boy, was she wrong.