Chapter 254: Bloodied Stranger
A beautiful woman sat on one of the counters, casually biting into another apple that she had nicked from the crates when no one was looking. She bit into it slowly, maintaining eye contact with me as she slowly chewed.
The juice of the fruit dribbled a little past the corner of her lip and she used her thumb to wipe it clean, licking her finger right after. That was when my eyes trailed after her movements, noting the streaks of red that were splashed across her clothes.
Was that... blood?
"Who are you?" I brandished the weapon in front of me, moving back so that I stood in between this stranger and Kyle.
Behind me, he let out a strangled wheeze as though short of breath. I felt his hand grab onto my shoulder, but his grip was oddly weak― his fingers didn’t stay on my body, and instead, they slid down my shirt before he collapsed onto the floor.
"Shit," I cursed, turning back just for a brief second. My worst fears were confirmed― Kyle was on the floor, motionless. "Nicole! Anyone! Help!"
"Aren’t you sweet?" the woman cooed. "Didn’t he try to have you exiled from the pack your mates rule? And yet you’re still trying to protect him. How cute, Harper. You almost look like you can pass for a fitting luna!"
"How do you know my name?" I asked, turning my attention back onto her.
I wanted to check on Kyle’s condition, but with this woman standing right where the new food stock was, I didn’t dare take my eyes off her. She had somehow managed to enter the kitchen and stayed hidden. Somehow, even Kyle’s werewolf nose wasn’t able to sniff her out.
Just who was she?
"Oh, I know many things about you," she said flippantly. "But I don’t have all the time in the world to list them. Come with me and I won’t touch your other..." she gazed disdainfully at the crates of food, "groceries."
"I am not going anywhere with you," I said with a snarl.
In the background, I could faintly make out the sound of footsteps. Someone was coming, and I prayed that it was Nicole or other warriors of Fangborne who might’ve heard my call. It didn’t sound like just one person.
"Harper?" Nicole’s voice came, and immediately, I brightened.
On the contrary, the woman sneered and clicked her tongue.
"Killjoy," she muttered under her breath. "I guess I will have to bring you back by force then!"
She swerved forward, her claws suddenly extending, changing from normal manicured nails to talons that resembled birds of prey. I gasped, dodging at the very last minute. Her speed was unrivaled, and her reflexes even swifter than I could comprehend. I could only evade her strikes at the very last minute, and if I relaxed for even a quarter of a second, I might be sliced into ribbons.
Yet, despite the fact that I was quickly running out of breath, she didn’t seem at all tired. A bright smile hung on her lips as she continued her attacks relentlessly, grasping at thin air, and occasionally narrowly missing my skin.
"If you’re not coming with me―" She sneered, turning her attention to Kyle on the floor. "Perhaps he could persuade you."
Without hesitation, she reached forward, her fingers roughly grabbing Kyle’s head and yanking him up by the hair of his scalp. A breathless moan of pain escaped his lips, a sign that he was alive. But by the looks of things, it didn’t seem like it would be for long.
"Let him go!"
Making use of the time she was preoccupied with Kyle, I struck forward. After taking over Ironclaw’s silver reserves, Damon took it upon himself to forge a stronger weapon with a higher amount of silver in it. This woman was not human, that’s for sure, and Damon did mention that silver was effective against other supernatural beings.
I wasn’t sure what sort of creature she was, but while my guess leaned towards vampire, I just hoped this was enough.
Thankfully, all of the hellish training I had been put through had not gone to waste. I managed to land a blow on the woman’s arm — she had raised it to block the hit at the last second — and another on her back when she hissed out in pain from the first strike.
She clutched her hand, stumbling to one side. A red patch appeared on her pale skin, blistering slightly. However, in the few seconds she had to recover, it returned to her original skin color.
"You fucking bitch!" she yelled, baring her fangs with a hiss. I was right, then― she really was a vampire. That would explain how she snuck into the kitchen so easily without me noticing.
How she had gotten injured from the silver when I had witnessed vampires dwelling in caves filled with the ore, I did not know. However, I also didn’t have the time to ponder. I quickly placed myself in between her and Kyle again, but this time, I didn’t stay on the defensive.
Without waiting, I raised the weapon, swinging it down hard. She dodged, moving out of the way as the rod connected with the floor, leaving an indent on the panels.
Adrenaline pumped through my veins with every hit, and just like magic, it seemed as though she was getting tired for her movements were starting to slow. Every three to four swings I landed a hit, and soon enough, it became one out of two.
Whenever the silver rod connected with her skin, a sizzling sound would fill the air, followed by the smell of burnt flesh. The woman cried out in pain, her actions turning sloppy as she staggered forward.
"I’ll kill you!" she screamed, her eyes turning redder than before. "I’ll fucking rip you to shreds!"
Determined to fulfill her promise, she lunged forward. I jabbed in her direction, but as though fueled by hatred, she managed to evade every single last one of them. It was then I realized― it had been so much easier to hit her previously because she wasn’t aiming to kill.
Now she was.
