Chapter 65
Suddenly, I am scattered. I am so in shock that I don’t know what to do, say, or
think.
“Cass… Cass!” Kanda brings my attention back to her and
the fight that is about to start.
“What is wrong? Get your head in the game!” She
motions to three men and
two women who come out of
the opposite barracks.
Five?! We are fighting five
opponents?!
The announcer starts
presenting them as they walk
towards the middle. But
before the announcer can
present the second man, I hear Maribel whisper
“Human” with a bit of
desperation. Maribel
suddenly rushes by me and jumps on one of the girls. The girl falls backward with
Maribel on her, her mouth
latched onto the woman’s
n*ck.
She…is biting her?
Kanda and I are shocked and
so are the other contestants.
The crowd has gone just a bit quieter too excluding some
that cheer.
Maribel suddenly stands, leaving the girl dead on the floor. Maribel’s lips run red with blood, dripping down her chin and fangs exposed. She wipes her chin trying to get all the dripping blood back in her mouth, licking her fingers with desperation. When her eyes meet mine, they are glowing red.
Everyone is stunned.
“Eh…” The announcer
doesn’t know what to say.
“A…vampire…ladies and
gentlemen…our Maiden is…a vampire.” He suddenly cuts
off and whispers to someone.
“No one told me we had a
vampire.” We can still hear
him.
Vampire!?
I knew other supernatural creatures were real but I had
never seen a vampire. They
are rare creatures.
The other female opponent suddenly swings her sword at Maribel. Maribel dodges, picks up her own sword, and starts fighting. She swings
the massive sword
effortlessly as if it were a piece of plastic and did not weigh a single pound.
I take one last look at Ezra
hearing Kanda start fighting
too.
He stares down at us.
Does he know it’s me?
I can’t tell if he does or
doesn’t. My wolf is itching to get out. I do my best to hold it in. But I suddenly imagine myself somehow climbing up the wall of spikes and jamming my dagger into his
chest. That puts me in a good mood even though I
am not able to do that.
I turn to meet my opponent who rushes in my direction.
I do not want to kill this man
but I also don’t want to be
killed by him.
Immediately I can tell that
this is a rogue. He has a sword and quickly swings it. I dance around him, slashing at his back with my daggers. The man grunts but turns around and swings his
sword. I am not able to get
away fast enough. I get a
Victor has really helped. He
swings at me and I
immediately move.
He slashes his sword
sideways and I dodge again. Excitement rushes through me. I am able to keep up. It is like a dance at this point. He
continues his assault while I
move around him. Suddenly
he takes momentum and
crashes his sword down at
me. I block with one of my daggers and slash with the other at his stomach,
opening his abdomen. The
man lowers his sword as if he
is giving up but I can see that
he is just trying to trick me. When he is about to lift it up and swing it at me, I twirl around him and jam my dagger into his back.
The man takes a few steps and falls to the ground.
I was excited that I was able
to fight but now I don’t feel so good about it. I killed him…I killed a man
again…an unnecessary death.
“I…I’m sorry.” I whisper.
I don’t want to look at him. I
know that if I do, it will stay
with me forever. Instead, I
watch Kanda. She fights the other two men. She already
has one on his knees with her weapon impaled on him.
When she turns, the other
man is shifting. Like Kanda,
he does not have a collar.
Kanda also shifts. I am
unable to look away. She
turns into a big cat like a cheetah but just a bit bigger. Also, her fur is dark but
there are some sort of prints
on her that I can’t make out.
When they are both done shifting, they run at each
other and clash. Wolf growls and piercing large cat
screeches can be heard in an
echo.
The wolf is vicious and tries
to bite at her n*ck while she
also bites and claws.
Maribel is suddenly next to me also watching. I look back and see the girl she was fighting, impaled with Maribel’s big sword.
I come back to Kandas fight.
She is right, they have an agility that we werewolves don’t possess. She somehow jumps on his back, latches on
to his n*ck, and with her
back legs, she starts kicking down, clawing at him.
If this was a skilled werewolf,
he would probably be able to overpower her. But this guy is unable to fight back at this
point. She claws at his n*ck
as she holds him and that is
it. The fight is over and people cheer
The cheer reminds me how
messed up this all is. They
are cheering at us for killing. It’s disgusting.
“Ladies and gentlemen! We
have our winners!”
Kanda shifts back,
completely n*ked while people cheer even louder
now.
Giving one last look at Ezra,
the three of us head back to
the barracks. Kanda and I
tend to our wounds but my
attention now is on Maribel.
“You are a vampire?” I ask but
I am not sure this is true. She
has been in the sun with us
and has eaten normal food.
If I recall, stories are that she
wouldn’t be able to do any of
that.
“No.” She responds.
“Then what are you?” Kanda
asks.
“I am a hybrid. Half human,
half vampire.”
“Oh? What is the difference?”
Kanda asks.
Maribel sighs. “I don’t
require human blood for just
survival. Not having blood
weakens me but I do not die
because of it. I can eat
normal foods to help with
the weakness–as I have been
doing all this time— and the sun does not kill me but it
does bother me, burns my skin easily.”
“How does one come to be a
hybrid?” Kanda asks.
“What stupid question is
that? My human mother and my vampire father had s*x, then I arrived.”
“So you are immortal?”
“No. Hybrids have a longer lifespan than humans but we
age and die after a couple
hundred years.”
This is all new to me and
quite interesting.
We all rest until the game is finally over and we are taken
to the dining hall like last
time. Only this time, we are not displayed on the tables. They have put chairs for us on those middle tables along
with food but our ankles are
still shackled to the table.
“Wait here until the Alpha
enters with his guests.” The
guard says.
“You seem tense.” Kanda
whispers at me.
I am really scared that this close, Ezra will recognize me
if he doesn’t know that it is
me already. I am not so much worried about my
scent. I am sweaty and have
not showered for a few days,
plus, this whole place always
smells.
“I’m just tired.” I tell her.
The door opens with a loud
noise, startling us.
Zao walks in with Ezra and
the witch behind him.
“Come. Sit. Enjoy the feast.” He says to his gets and then
motions to us as he walks.
“Our winners up close.”
Ezra and the witch stare at
us. I do my best to not look
so suspicious or nervous.
They go past us and sit next
to Zao.
I am surprised. He didn’t recognize me. So Oliver really didn’t tell him? Of
course not. He sold me to
Zao instead of handing me
to Ezra which is what Ezra
would have wanted.
How delightful is this…
Zao motions for us to sit. We
take our seats and start
eating. A few of us are
civilized while the rest eat
like pigs.
I am glad to have better food
but my attention is all on the
conversation that starts
between Zao and Ezra.
“So do you actively go
looking for strong fighters?”
Ezra asks giving us another
look.
“Most of these men and
women have fallen to my lap
on their own at first. Now
that I am making money
from this kind of
entertainment I am actively
searching for strong men
and women.”
“I see. It was a great show today. That one in particular.
I have never seen one of her
kind.”
“Ah, a werecat.”
“Sounds almost ridiculous.‘
The witch laughs.
“Indeed my dear but they are very dangerous.” Zao
says.
”
“And that one is a vampire? To be honest, I didn’t think
that they were really real.”
Ezra says.
“Many don’t. They are so rare after all.”
He looks at Maribel but I can
see that he didn’t even know
what she was until the fight.
“Is her mask bolted?” Ezra
asks.
I know he speaks about me so I keep my attention on my food.
“Yes. A beautiful maiden
whose looks can kill.”
Oh, goddess! He’s going to
give me away.
“Part of the gimmick I
assume?” Ezra asks.
My mouth becomes so dry
that it is hard to chew.
“Yes. It’s the allure of it all.”
I calm down so much when
he says this that I almost pee on myself.
“So it is my understanding that you wish to do
some…business with us.” Zao
changes the conversation.
Ezra nods. “Yes.”
“What kind of business?
Before anything, you must
understand that I do not do
alliances. We are a
free–for–all pack. Neutral.”
“Mh, I understand that. Our
enemy has an endless supply
of men. With their latest
win, they almost seem unstoppable.”
“Yes, I heard. Two packs taken in one night.” Zao says.
Ezra nods looking upset. “The river packs were easy targets but nonetheless, it gives them more numbers.”
River pack! Did they attack the river pack? Who is in
control? Is it Victor? Is
father…dead?
So many questions rush through my head.
“What is this war about?” Zao
asks.
“It is a war that has gone on
for years. But recently, it is
about a woman.” Ezra
explains.
“History repeats. All great wars have been fought over women. It wouldn’t be a war
worth fighting for if not. So
what exactly is it that you
want?”
“Men. Give me a steady
supply of men to fight for
me. Slaves or whatever you
wish to call them.”
“Hmh…that’s difficult. These
men and women don’t fight
for me. They fight for
survival. Given a chance,
they will bite the hand that
feeds them. They will turn
on you.”
“The dark fang pack has
system to break their captured prisoners, I have
my own way to gain loyalty.” Ezra smiles and looks at the
witch next to him.
Magic.
“And what will you offer us
in return?”
“That is something that can
be negotiated.”
“Well said.” Zao says with
approval.
Zao looks at the witch next
to Ezra.
“I do not believe I have ever had a witch in my fighting pit.”
“Well, you’d be
disappointed.” She says. “We are not very good when it comes to combat. My kind
tends to work more behind
the scenes.”
“I see. So witches would not
make for a good show.”
The diner continues without
us. We are brought back to our cells after changing. I am able to find sleep but I do
spend most of the night thinking about Ezra and that witch. How I wish I could get
out of here and take them
out in the middle of the
night.
The next morning, I wake up to run to the latrine. I feel
like my entrails come out through my mouth as I
empty the contents of my
stomach.
When I am done, I walk back
to my corner only to see
Kanda staring at me with a
smile.
“What?”
“Congrats, but please make sure that Zao does not notice
your condition.”
“Condition?”
“Pregnant women here are
taken away and are never
seen again.”
“Pregnant? What are
you…me? No, no that’s not it.
I’m just…sick…”
She smiles. “Okay…whatever
you say…”
…No way…Shit…
