518 Barely anyone left...
Brunhilde twisted the steering wheel of the powerful armoured vehicle as she floored the brakes, forcing the vehicle into a vicious drift before switching gears and flooring the accelerator.
The engine roared loudly and the tires screeched over the asphalt, groaning under the stress they were being put through.
The hunters were issued very sturdy vehicles. So much so that Brunhilde was more than happy to receive one in Brigadia to aid her in this mission. Unfortunately, she’d not foreseen this situation at all.
The car she was in was fast and durable, capable of taking care of any needs a hunter would ever require… but it had never been designed to keep up with the freaking Luna of Lycaon.
‘Damn that princess… just what does she think she is… a goddess!!!’ the hunter cursed, pushing the vehicle even harder, straining her eyes and ears to keep up with the lightning-fast wolf she was following.
Even with the help of a car as strong and fast as this one, Brunhilde felt like she was back in the fight with the princess, doing everything in her power to keep her sight of her.
It took all her driving experience, concentration and a tonne of reflexes to keep up with the darting princess… and even then, she felt like she would lose her anytime soon.
On the bright side, the two of them were streaking across the land at blinding speed and covering great distances in a short amount of time. A great eagle soared high in the sky, screeching every now and then, allowing the princess to alter the path she was following.
Katie kept close to the road so that her guardian could keep up with her but that was just about the only luxury she gave her. The closest pack to Brigadia was still a few miles away and Katie wanted to get there as soon as possible.
.....
Brunhilde was more than strong enough of surviving alone in the woods… but the civilians in that pack she was rushing toward were not as powerful as she was.
So when it came down to it, she really cared more about the people she was trying to save than her ‘slow’ bodyguard. It went without saying, however, that having Brunhilde by her side was bound to increase her chances of saving more people than she could on her own.
She still needed Brunhilde... So, the middle-ground of all this indecision was to have the Bane hunter drive like a crazy lunatic toward their next destination.
In a few more minutes, the road led out of the woods and ahead of them, a town a little more developed than Brigadia expanded to both sides, inviting them inside with an ominous silence that was interrupted by the sound of Brunhilde’s roaring engine.
The first scent to hit the royal’s nostrils was that of blood, sending several warning signals of danger through her system.
This was the last Brunhilde saw of the lightning-fast wolf.
The warrior gave up trying to keep up and drove the car through the open gates of the town at her own more humane pace.
She’d only been driving. There shouldn’t really have been much to it. All she had to do was twist this round wheel and step on a couple of levers that would get her where she wanted to go…
But she was panting heavily in her seat.
The hunter drove through the town, taking in the sights.
Just like Brigadia had been after the attack, blood covered several places, showing signs of a chaotic massacre. Werewolf claw marks against the wood of buildings… mangled bodies of those that weren’t able to get away one at a time.
The hunter could spend forever taking in the carnage that was left behind by the wolves but time was not on her side. ‘Just how many will die in all this?’ she gripped the steering wheel before changing gears and driving through the quiet town, stopping outside an abandoned store.
Brunhilde parked the car and entered the store, picking a large assortment of food and drinks from the shelves and piling them into a shopping cart. The large warrior wasn’t one to go around shopping.
Her physical build and intimidating aura were always bound to draw too much attention to herself, so she kept to herself a lot. This time, however, she could shop for whatever she wanted… well, she could take whatever she wanted.
She picked a bag of chips from one of the shelves and looked around before wearing her best official face, “I, hereby, take this bag of chips in the name of the Queen. For the Empire!!!”
After striking a ridiculous pause she chuckled silently to herself before proceeding to fill the cart with various other snacks. When she was done, she looked at her watch and widened her eyes in shock.
She hadn’t noticed the time go by.
The warrior rushed out of the supermarket in a hurry, freezing at the exit of the supermarket. Seated in the passenger seat was a white-haired princess, her pristine features marred with sadness.
Silently, the hunter rolled the cart to the back door and emptied its contents into the back seats before tossing the cart away and getting into the car as well.
The silence inside the car was tense. Too tense, even for Katie. Brunhilde stole a glance at the princess and noticed she hadn’t taken her eyes off the same spot on the gravel outside her window.
“Done already?” she tried. Katie had clearly seen something out there. So far, Brunhilde hadn’t seen a sign of life… but then again, there were packs that were equipped with Bunkers to protect everyone in times of crisis. Perhaps that was where everyone left alive in this pack had escaped.
Katie sighed and pulled her knees up closer to her body. It was now that Brunhilde noticed something odd. Katie was barefoot… Her velvet attire wrapped tightly around her ankles.
From her back, a fluffy white tail appeared and wrapped around her as she transitioned into a half-shift.
‘Tail!!! That’s new,’ the hunter thought to herself but decided against asking.
“There was barely anyone left to save!” she replied.
Brunhilde froze at the Luna’s words. The hunter turned on the engine and got the car back on the road. Something was still bothering her, however.
“Hunters?”
“Dead.”
“What about the Bane hunter?”
“Died saving a little girl. I was just barely in time to save the last of them. The wolves held out better. No surprise there,” Katie turned her head to look out the window.
“What will happen to them now?” Brunhilde asked.
After a short silence, “I don’t know.”
............…..
Lina Sirius dropped to her knees, exhaustion racking her body. Her muscles screamed in relief like never before. ‘Who knew a short game could be so exhausting?’ she thought to herself, trying to discern when it was she’d gotten this exhausted.
They’d won 11-10.
The game was, in no way easy. After Kyle got in, everything turned from hard to impossible. The beta alpha’s large size made him the perfect person to defend against anyone making baskets past him.
Cole could more than handle himself against Lina, proving that her speed was an advantage he could easily work around. The alpha didn’t focus too much on stopping her rather than picking the ball from her hands on pure instinct.
His timing was frighteningly accurate and he didn’t even need to look at the ball to predict Lina’s dribbling habits and make use of them.
Jason wasn’t a simple opponent either. It was clear that the beta alpha was holding himself back after his recurring experiences with Bree but that did not make him helpless. Keeping him in the game provided a sliver of an opening that Kyle and Cole seemed to close up very well.
In the end, Jason’s weaknesses were used as a trap and trying to ignore them only made the beta alpha tough when he applied his strengths.
What were Jason’s strengths, you might ask? Shooting…
And Lina had discovered this the hard way when the beta alpha’s formless shot brought the game to a frightening 10-9 with Lycaon in the lead.
A soft fluffy piece of fabric fell on the princess’s face. Lina looked up to notice Cole holding out a bottle of water for her to take.
Taking the bottle from him, she sat up and wiped her face, “You’re good. Did you ever play against Katie or Sandra?”
“You were with her more than I was. Never got the chance,” the girl said, taking a long sip of the water.
“Well then, it would be nice for us to play a game or two… or however many, when she returns,” the prince replied.
“How does it feel to be beaten by a wolf, delta and only one royal, Cole?” Crysta interrupted.
“Oh, I went easy on you. Two losses in a row would not be good for your morale,” Cole returned.
“Well, you can mark this as your first in a long line of losses for your team,” Crysta countered.
Kyle was soon with them as well, his eyes darting about the place as though in search of something. “Are you even tired, Kyle?” Jason came up to the man, panting heavily while he did.
The blonde looked to be in terrible shape, his face making the worst contortions in expressions of pain and misery.
“Yeah, I’m fine. You just need to work on your endurance a bit more, Jace,” Kyle replied, now scanning through the bleachers.
A dainty hand tapped the large man’s hand, catching his attention. To his right, Honour stood locking eyes with him like he was an old friend.
“She’s gone to the hospital floor. I’m sure you’ll find her somewhere near Room 19 in the East Ward,” the goddess told him.
Without questioning how she knew this, Kyle thanked her and took off.
“Where is he going off to?” Cole wondered.
“To find Mady.”
“Honour, how could you? I thought we said…”
“I know what we said, Crysta and I didn’t like it,” Honour cut the girl off.
Crysta’s face turned red, her mouth closing and opening. A myriad of words stuck at the tip of her tongue, arrested by that one look of determination in Honour’s amber orbs. ‘How could one goddess be so insufferable!’ she mentally screamed, turning away from Honour to cool off.
Just then, the lights in the sports centre went off, plunging them into a veil of darkness.