Chapter 108

108 Chapter One Hundred Eight

The Royals got out of the room only to find the man that was responsible for saving their daughter’s life standing at the entrance. The entire corridor had been cleared out and there was no one who could be seen except for a few nurses that were still bustling around and helping the doctors tend to the last remaining patients. It had been a busy night and everyone was only thinking of sleep at the moment.

“Sir Jim Gordon, it’s been a long time. I’d like to extend my gratitude for rescuing my daughter,” the King began, giving the man a slight bow of the head. The rest of the family followed in an equally respectable gesture, Drake with a bow and the females with brief curtsies. It wasn’t proper for Royals to go all out with the greetings, but necessary in the event that they were addressing someone who’d rescued one of their own.

“I was only doing my duty to this world. Besides, without that girl there would be no hope for the rest of us,” he said. His voice carried volumes of wisdom and unspoken messages.

“So you know the tales,” the phrase came out sounding more like a question.

“No, but as I carried her here, I could tell she was something special. I wouldn’t be surprised if she makes it to the rank of Mighty Hunter herself regardless of her werewolf hindrances,” he said.

“What do you mean by hindrances?” the King asked, feeling slightly offended by the remark.

“I’m merely stating the facts, King Davin. No need to get bent out of shape over it. the werewolves possess a strong sense and need to protect their own, to groom them and make sure that the whole pack functions as a whole. No one gets left behind,” the man started, “As a result, werewolves are the one type of creatures that can bear overwhelming emotions without being consumed by them...

However, that is not the same for a hunter. Hunters do not have that luxury and it is through this that I call being a werewolf a hindrance. Perhaps she might surprise all of us and turn this around to draw power from her werewolf side, but that would be me being highly optimistic,” he summarised.

Davin Sirius was intrigued by the detail with which the man had thought through his argument and couldn’t quite counter him. Nevertheless, the spirit of the girl he’d just seen in that room was not one to be taken lightly, “Well, this is my daughter you are talking about. It wouldn’t hurt to be a little optimistic,” he said.

.....

They bid the man farewell and began the walk away from there only to hear him call back, “Your majesty...”

Davin froze and turned back to see the man, noticing the fast-paced thoughts that ran behind his eyes, “Is there something else you wanted to share?” he asked.

“I would like to request the princess to come with me to the forest. I want to see the place Katie was brought down,” the man said, keeping his head down while he made the request. It was a peculiar one and Davin was reluctant after having seen his daughter moving about with the man’s coat hiding her nakedness.

“Only if Drake escorts you...” he said.

“That would be fantastic,” the man said.

If it wasn’t for the reputation of the Four Mighty hunters, Davin would have ordered a battalion of hunters to escort them into the woods and keep them miles apart with only cellphones to communicate and yet still feel like it wasn’t enough protection. Lina was remarkably beautiful and a bit too much of a free spirit for his liking... and it made him anxious every time he watched her unknowingly cross a line. ‘Hunters aren’t that kind of people... they aren’t like the unmated males from the Capital,’ he tried to convince himself.

‘Oh, honey, enough worrying. There is nothing that’s going to happen,’ Martha’s voice came into the man’s head.

‘That’s what I hope. I’ll have his head if something happens to my daughter. We don’t even know if the rogues are still out there or not,’ he replied, watching the trio leave.

“You worry too much, dear husband. I have a mind to flip the back of your head, but what good will that do?” the woman sighed.

“Well, there is you taking care of me when we get back to the suite,” Davin said thoughtfully while they turned to proceed with their preconceived journey.

“Dear Moon Goddess, I’m going to end up doing that whether you’re injured or not,” Martha giggled. It had been long since the two of them weren’t in the company of their children since they left the capital. The suite was starting to feel small and cramped with all of them having to live on the same floor and with nothing much separating the rooms.

..................

Jim Gordon, the Thunderclap, one of the Four Mighty Warriors. He’d risen to the rank in his late forties and on that path, he’d had the pleasure of working alongside multitudes of hunters. He’d seen his share of violence and it wasn’t a pretty battle that was being fought. He could tell how relentless the young hunter that he’d carried to the hospital was.

She was so determined to accomplish her mission that she’d not realised when she’d fainted and her mind had remained in the state of alertness during battle. Unfortunately, that had impeded her healing. If it hadn’t been for the doctors who helped to clean her fast-moving blood that could have spread wolfsbane to all parts of her body... or the numerous drips that were used to rejuvenate her constantly waning strength, she would not have made it.

He was partly proud and frightened by the girl. She was much stronger than any hunter her age but much weaker than the Rogue King. Up until this point, there was little information on the man and those who had been graced with the opportunity to fight him had only recounted insane power unlike that of a regular wolf.

Accompanied by Lina and Drake Sirius, the three made it through the forest in search of the clearing that Katie had been when she was downed by four arrows, “What are we looking for when we get there?” Lina asked him while they ran. Royals were impressive for the power they possessed to talk to humans even when in their wolf forms.

“We are looking for the arrows that were used against Katie,” the man replied.

“What do you mean? What about those arrows? They should be the last thing she sees at the moment,” Lina said.

“In my years, I’ve learnt a few tricks from the Chase hunters. It’s that my gut instinct is never wrong. When Katie asked for the arrows, she wanted them desperately, but she didn’t show how much she did,” he said.

“What’s that supposed to do with anything? They are laced with wolfsbane and she can’t use them like that,” she said.

“She can if she wears a gas mask. Besides, I have the feeling she didn’t simply want them to add more to her quiver. I think she knows something that could be uncovered once she sees the arrows up close,” he said to her.

“And you got all that from a gut instinct,” this time it was the Prince to his left who spoke. Unlike his sister, he was taking the information in a calmer way. There wasn’t much to go on except for the hunch he had... but that was enough for him. After all, saving Katie in the first place in the exact position he found her... had also been a hunch.

They found the clearing after running for what felt like an hour... which was actually thirty minutes. The three were remarkable in speed and were only wondering why it took so long to get to the desired location. Lina shifted back and wrapped herself up with the jacket that reappeared upon her shoulders, “It was in that tree that the arrows pinned her,” the girl said, pointing at a tree with four holes that leaked blood, stained with purple in the four different spots.

“I saw it before I could get here and there was a female hunter who made it before me. She was fast and she shot arrows at a speed I’ve only seen coming close to Cupid Shooter,” she said.

“That’s impossible. Where could you have even seen Cupid Shooter in the first place?” the man snapped at her. Four Mighty warriors... Seeing one was a blessing to the few who got the chance and yet here was a girl claiming to have seen another beside the Thunderclap that stood before her.

“I’ve seen three of the Mighty Warriors now. You are the third that I’ve seen. I know what I’m saying... Look there,” she said, pointing to an assortment of arrows that lined the ground in a formation that made a defensive wall from the tree, “She shot them while in the air. The scene brought me a sense of nostalgia, but that’s not the point.

I got to Katie when the hunter had taken her down. We took out the arrows there and threw them in random directions... so if we look around...”

“You mean like this one...” Drake interrupted her, holding up a steel arrow that still dripped with a purple liquid.

“Yes, exactly,” Lina said, looking away from the grotesque-looking item. After a few minutes of looking around, the other three arrows were found and wrapped in a cloth that was then stored by Jim.

“Was that all we came for?” Lina asked.

“Yes, that was all. Hopefully, this will get us some more information. Centuries and we’ve never come close to finding the Rogue King,” the man sighed. The trio then chose to depart without another word. The werewolves wanted to leave the place anyway... It deeply stunk of rogues that had been killed that very night and the forest was still littered with their bodies.