OATH-BOUND
“UWAAAAAAAAH!” cried out a fanged little girl sitting down, holding onto her parent’s leg. With the sting of childish pain on her blonde head, she groveled for petty vengeance, “UWAAAAAAH!!!!!! Cynthia gave me a booboo, Papa!”
The father, a middle-aged wavy-haired man, scratched his neck upon the cries of the toddler. Cries that he had heard plenty of times already. With a sad sigh, he told off his own daughter, “That’s because you never listen.”
“I do listen! Uwaaaaah! I just… don’t follow.”
“My flippant daughter, whom did you take that trait from?” He picked up the toddler by her armpits, giving her a look that reduced her loud cries into snivels. The same look that made the kid, in her mind, go, ‘Uh-oh, here we go again.’
She wanted to face away but her mortal-looking emerald pupils couldn’t escape the piercing stare of her father’s monstrous, slit red eyes. Silently commanded to pay him heed, she hung her head low in deference. Her snivels stopped.
Though his eyes were commanding, his voice was gentle, “Why can’t you just stay put? Why not practice morphing with your cousin?”
“Oh, Papa…” The little girl, who bore the same pointy ears as her father, widely smiled despite the slight pain on her head, “It’s more interesting to watch humans~! They’re funny. You and Cynthia are missing out.”
“Ha.” He nestled his daughter close to him and lightly massaged the small lump on her head. She jolted in pain at the first touch but the pain went away soon after. His voice then started to turn huskier with a growl, “Interesting, you say? How many times do I have to tell you, my child? Humans are very dangerous.”
Up close to him, she picked up the scent of righteous anger. Her facial expression showed instant regret for giving mortals a positive remark. Fangs out, he held her up to lock gazes with her again with a serious look that any child would not forget, “They are creatures of greed and corruption. They are the reason why our race is in the brink of extinction!”
She fell silent and saddened by the harsh reminder on her kind’s status. She didn’t want to believe it. With her carefree mind and optimistic heart, the kid couldn’t bring herself to.
He sighed, giving up on the tension. He brought her close, back to his torso, hugging her. He feared he took it too far with the reprimands so he reverted to his gentle tone, “I worry for you, my dear. You can’t morph at will. You can’t hunt animal prey. You literally can’t harm a fly too.” He began rubbing her back with his clawed hand, drawing his face close to give her cheek a quick kiss. “Give up this habit of watching enemies. Learn to invoke your beasts.”
The kid didn’t nod nor say anything but he knew he had her undivided attention as he continued with his advice, “You will need this skill to protect yourself and our pack.”
“Papa…” Her mind was young yet she was aware that the very thought of protecting anyone meant fighting in the process. She didn’t want it, and if she were to be in one, she’d abandon the fight without a second thought. She had brief childish fights with her cousin and therian playmates and even those, she either left or lost on purpose.
“You’re my successor. My one and only child.”
She snuggled to her father, clutching at his clothes, looking down on the meadows that, upon giving it focus, had the smell of blood. They were in a battleground and she didn’t realize it until then. Her heart sank at the thought that she’d be part of actual fights in future.
“You are the next alpha.”
…
‘I’m oath-bound.’
‘I can’t do this.’
‘Somebody… anybody…’
‘Don’t make me kill a human.’
Miss Wolf’s thigh had only half-recovered. Her cells and tissues were still busy repairing themselves that the pain was eating her up from the inside out. The wound given to her by the silver stake sent her shivers…
…and paired with her impending assault, it drowned her like a quicksand of hopelessness.
The scruffy hunter’s noxious beard upon her neck, she used what strength she could earn on her uninjured limb. She launched a kick, yet she missed his stomach. As a consequence, he used his knee to press down on her thigh, knowing that she couldn’t do anything with the other.
He snickered. “Nice try, bitch.” With one hand, he muffled her screams. With the other, he unbuckled his belt and unzipped his pants.
She clasped at his wrist but because of his sturdy gloves, she couldn’t bury her claws into his skin. She wanted to bite down on his hand but he force-closed her jaw. ‘Mea Dea Luna, non iterum!’ She pleaded in her thoughts. She pleaded for a way out. Pleas that went unanswered.
Clack!
With a push on the crystal that fixed her cloak on her collarbone, he stripped her of the only cloth that covered her. Her altogether exposed to him, she trembled at the sheer terror of her assailant’s grinning face inches away from her. He licked his lips, looking “down there” then back up to her teary eyes. “I hope you enjoyed walking and running. Because after this,” his dark mortal pupils balefully glinted, “you won’t even be able to stand.” He laughed so maniacally that it horrified her to the core.
Then a voice whispered within her. Cold-sounding, beastly, yet feminine, ‘You want a way out?’
She tried to scream but his hold over her mouth tightened and grew heavier. Her heart raced, her breaths short and shaky, she willed herself to close her eyes at the sound of his underpants coming down.
‘Allow me,’ the voice offered.
Miss Wolf countered, ‘No! Not you!’
His face drew a sadistic smile. A smile that was abruptly erased when she clawed on his cheek.
“GYAAARGH!” He fell to his side as he recoiled at the sharp sting of four bleeding swipes on his face. She quickly took this opportunity to muster some strength to move away from him while putting her cloak back on.
As he touched his wounds and looked at the blood on his fingertips, she apologized in between her trembling gasps, “I—I’m s.. sorry!”
“Ohoho, you’ve done it now, bitch!” He picked up his black Ruger from the ground. Furiously, he stood. “I will fuck you so hard, you won’t even–”
As if to intensify the pain and bleeding, a solid punch landed on his cheek.
“RYUUJI, YOU DIRTY OLD BASTARD!”
I notice you like the idea of a hidden second personality. You did that doy too. Even a double one there if i remember right. Mom and nyx...
I am sure Ren-sensei will save you at the last moment. Hang on girl!
Plot prediction... The girl that hires the hunters was Cynthia... Wanting the alpha spot...
Eheehee~ It does sound like it, doesn't it? But actually, this LN (and the oneshot Birth in Moonlight manga) was meant to be... well, a oneshot. Never to be continued. So at first, I thought I'd use it for the minor purpose of promoting my main manga project which was HellRaiser (Days of Yore remake). So that's how this LN / BiM Manga got similar characters. Heck, it's got the character's physical designs right down to detail too.
But as this series won't stay a oneshot anymore, you'll notice more about the similarity and key differences of the characters between Renatus / BiM and characters from HellRaiser. And how exactly this story is tied up to the other.
Oh, Cynthia huh? What a guess, I must say!
@ReGaSLZR I look forward to read what you make from it.
Oh, Cynthia huh? What a guess, I must say!
Well, a story must come full circle. so the one that starts the hunt, will have something more to do with it everything that is happening....
Might be something else entirely too of course...