With the new placement of the army camp, the cage holding the alpha was moved several more meters away from its original position.
It now stands at the outskirts of the camp, with three guards constantly watching over her.
One of these guards hums in thought as he leans closer to the cage, his calculating eyes fixed on the awakened and furious-looking girl.
She growls menacingly, the restraints around her hands clattering loudly under her struggles.
"I don't know, man." The guard said.
"Come on." The second guard said as he stepped up to the first. "You're telling me you wouldn't mind hitting that?" He added with a wink at the alpha who barks at him.
"She's been living with animals for years, man. I don't know where that ass has been." Guard 1 said, his face twisted with disgust.
Stoking the fireplace some feet away, Guard 3 looks at his colleagues with a judging stare. "Aren't both of you married?" He asked.
The two men ignore his comment as they debate more on the subject. With a headshake, he walks away and finds a quiet place to relieve himself.
He had just zipped his pants when two arms suddenly trapped him in a headlock. He struggles briefly under the tight grip, just as the arms release a surge of electricity that instantly incapacitates him.
He drops with a heavy thud... the sound barely audible to the two other guards.
"Hey. You alright?" Guard 1 asked, his eyes fixed on the guard tent where the sound came from, but he was answered with silence.
Sharing a glance, the two guards reach for their weapons as they cautiously make their way to the tent.
The alpha stares at the now tensed men in confusion until her sensitive nose catches a familiar scent in the air.
While one guard examines the tent, the other searches around it... quickly stopping short once he finds the third guard lying flat on the floor, his body slightly twitching.
And just when he turns to alert the other guard, he stops in his tracks once a hand grabs his face, which promptly releases another electrical surge that causes his vision to go blank...
Already aware of his presence, the alpha growls as Dom emerges from the tent while dragging the final and similarly unconscious guard.
Seeing him face-to-face triggers her. She starts barking wildly, the restless rattling of her shackles along with her voice creates a noise completely unmissable to anyone close enough.
"Chill. Chill." Dom said as he dropped the guard and held up his hands, revealing the set of keys now hanging from his fingers. "I'm here to help."
She stops to give Dom a hard stare, her eyes clearly assessing his intentions. Once Dom senses that she has become less hostile, he approaches the gate.
A sudden static spark, along with a gust of wind, then draws her attention to Dae, who appears behind Dom.
"Where did you go?" Dom asked as he grabbed the cage's padlock and instantly crushed it in his grasp.
Dae raises his hand, drawing Dom's attention to the swords now in his grasp. "We are going against the Council's wishes. Better to be prepared for the worst." Dae said as he strapped the weapons to his back.
Dom opens the cage door, his expression conflicted by the sight of her still fresh injuries.
"I also got this," Dae said as he tossed some bandages and disinfectant to Dom, who nodded appreciatively.
As Dae moves to stand watch, Dom enters the cage, once again triggering her aggression.
She barks, her teeth clashing loudly as she tries to bite Dom, who stops just out of her reach.
His eyes soften at the sight of her sorry state. "I know. I'm your least favorite person right now... But I'm trying to help. I messed up big time." He pulls his shirt up, revealing his own bandaged injuries. "They didn't treat yours. Let me help. Please."
The alpha's aggressive actions slowly come to a halt again. She still glares at him, some growls still audible under her breath. Her now dim silver eyes search his for some kind of hostility or deceit, any reason to distrust him... but she could only see and sense his genuine sincerity.
With that, she finally settles down and stays completely silent.
Dom smiles. "Okay." He said as he moved to kneel in front of her.
She quietly watches as Dom pushes aside some of her clothes to get a better look at her wounds. He frowns at the sight of the cuts and bruises, knowing full well that he's responsible for them.
He then rips out part of his shirt and soaks it in the disinfectant. He holds the damp fabric up to the alpha, who sniffs it and wretches at the offensive scent.
"I'm going to clean it. It's going to sting like hell." Dom said, but she just stares blankly at him. "Do you even understand me?"
She remains silent, her eyes still searching for any indication of betrayal. She replies with a simple nod.
Getting her approval, Dom carefully applies the cloth to the wound on her torso.
Instantly sensing the sharp pain, she squirms against her restraints and bites into his right shoulder in retaliation.
Dae's hand instinctively moves to his sword, but he stops once Dom gives him a smirk.
"It's okay." He said as he continued to clean her wound, causing her to groan and bite deeper into his skin. "It's fine. It doesn't hurt."
Dae's eyes narrow at Dom's lip, which trembles slightly. A sign he's come to notice over the years whenever Dom lies. He could tell Dom is in pain, especially with the blood seeping into the bandages the alpha bites through.
But before Dae could interject, he turned back to the camp once he sensed an approaching mana signature. "Hurry up," Dae said as he took a stance with a hand on a sword.
"Already done," Dom said with a smirk as he secured the bandages around her torso, arm, and legs.
The alpha moves away, her eyes looking down at her bandages. The sharp, lingering pain is still there, but it's so much better now.
Dom then reaches for her chains, ripping them apart like threads, but stops once he touches her handcuffs.
Within the brief skin contact, he could sense the dark material drain part of his mana. Like a sponge getting a lick of water.
He frowns as he picks up the keys he swiped from a guard and begins trying them one by one.
At that moment, a soldier finally shows up, his eyes quickly assessing the breakout. "Hey! What are you-"
Dom suddenly dashes forward, evading the guard's quick gundraw and smashes the handle's end into the guard's temple, knocking him out.
But the damage is already done. With his brief shout and the gunshot, the camp becomes aware that something is up.
Within seconds, the sound of heavy footsteps fills the air.
Dae clicks his tongue and turns to the cage where Dom finally unlocks her cuffs.
Instantly sensing her freedom, she breaks a break for the exit only to stumble after a couple of steps outside the cage.
"You can't run yet. It'll take about 15 minutes until you get back to normal. I'll carry you." Dom said as he reached out to her.
She growls as she tries to get up on her own, only to stumble again, her body unable to muster enough strength.
"Hey," Dom said as he reached closer, his open palm patiently awaiting her response. "Trust me."
She flinches under Dom's intense gaze. It's not a look that spoke of harm or danger... but an expression that shows determination to save her. Even someone as primitive as her could tell.
The longer she stares, the softer her hostile eyes become... just stares, her hostile eyes slowly softening the longer she stares.
"Dom?" Dae said as he took out another guard while more visibly approaching.
But Dom's entire attention is fixed on the helpless damsel in front of him... who finally reaches out and takes his hand.
A brief moment later, 5 soldiers arrive only to find a dozen unconscious soldiers in front of the empty cage.
One of the soldiers grits his teeth and turns to the others. "Call HQ and the extermination team, now!"
The soldiers salute and quickly move into action while he glares at the cage. "What the hell happened here?" He grumbled before noticing the discarded handcuffs and keys on the cage floor.
Meanwhile, Dom, now holding the alpha in his arms, and Dae are already running towards the forest, their legs a blur as they move at superhuman speed.
Dom suddenly winces from the sharp pain in his bleeding shoulder. He notices Dae's stare and smirks. "I'm fine."
Dae narrows his eyes, noticing his tell again, but says nothing.
An explosion goes off, drawing their attention to the forest in front of them with thick black smoke rising into the dark sky while the forest below burns.
Dom grits his teeth. "They've already started."
"Or they've already wiped out the pack," Dae said.
Hearing him, the alpha squeezes Dom's shirt, drawing his attention to her worried expression.
Dom immediately glares at Dae. "You need to stop being so negative, dude."
Dae rolls his eyes while Dom looks down at the girl in his arms with a clearly forced smile.
"Anyways, I know we got off on the wrong foot..." He said, and the alpha turned to him with a now hateful look in her eyes again. "My name's Dominic. You can call me, Dom. And this is Dae." The alpha still glares at him.
Dae shakes his head at Dom's attempt to lighten her mood.
"So what's your name? You... have a name, right?"
She remains completely silent, her eyes speaking volumes of the different ways she'd like to rip Dom apart.
After a while, Dom's smile finally falls.
"Sometimes I wonder if you can actually understand me." He sighed.
"Considering that she's encountered different people in her hunts, it's possible that she only understands the basics of human speech but doesn't know how to reply properly," Dae commented.
Dom frowns at her. "I wonder why she's even living with the wolves in the first place."
Dae shrugs. "Maybe she was abandoned there as a baby and was raised by them."
Dom smirks. "That sounds so cool."
The air around them changes as they leave the open road and dive right into the thick forest.
As they brush through dark woods, using their mana-infused eyes to see through the dark...
"Why..." The alpha finally said, drawing their attention. "Pack... Human... Why..."
Her question didn't make linguistic sense, but they quickly understood its meaning.
She stares at Dom, her eyes now full of both hatred and confusion.
Dom grins as he answers, "Because we're heroes."
Dae scoffs. "I don't remember agreeing to that title."
Dom raises a brow. "What's wrong with being a hero?"
As the two begin to bicker again, she stares at them silently.
Over the years, she's encountered dozens of humans... but none of them were like these two in front of her.
"Hero..." She whispered... just as a loud wolf howl cuts through the air.
Instantly, her eyes dilate with a now bright silver glow. With a quick twist, she suddenly leaves Dom's arms and dashes into the woods on all fours.
They both stop and watch her immediately vanish into the trees.
"Guess she's fine now," Dom said with a smirk, just as a few more distant explosions occurred around them, with more flames going up in the distance.
Dom turns to Dae, his mouth opened to give a command, but once he sees Dae's blades already drawn, he knows no words are needed.
With a shared nod, they split apart with Dae going for the explosions while Dom chases after her.
2 minutes later, Dom traces the alpha's tracks through the thick forest until he hears the sound of gunshots and growls some distance away.
With a sudden leap, he scales over the trees and quickly spots the source.
A forest clearly a couple of feet ahead, where dozens of soldiers are wielding muskets and swords against a group of vicious-looking wolves, all the while, a familiar figure rapidly moves through the field, slashing through the soldiers like paper.
Dom clicks his tongue at the sight before finally descending back down to the trees and dashing at full speed for the heart of the battle.
Meanwhile...
One of those dozens of soldiers grits his teeth in frustration as he opens fire, taking out a wolf, only to fall as two wolves suddenly attack him, ripping him apart within seconds.
"Damn it." Another soldier grumbled as he aimed his gun at the wolf's jaw, deep into his fallen comrade, just something slashes through his wrists.
He immediately screams in agony as blood spews out of his severed hands just as a bloodied claw hand grabs him by the face, the long, sharp nails digging through his skull and left eye.
With a grunt, the alpha pulls the soldier by his face and swings him into another soldier.
This throws the soldier's aim off, causing her bullet to hit another soldier in the chest, instantly killing him.
The alpha drops to a knee, her breath heavy as she looks at the other soldiers now aiming at her.
With the still lingering effect of the mana-suppressing cuffs as well as her reckless movements, which had reopened her bandaged wounds, her body felt heavier than usual.
A soldier sees his chance and fires, which only grazes the alpha's arm as she launches at him and bites into his neck.
With a grunt, she pulls out his flesh with a vicious spray of blood. His eyes roll back into his head as he falls, while she spits out the clump of bloody flesh.
She suddenly jumps aside, avoiding several more gunshots. She takes out two more soldiers but stumbles on her way to the third.
This gives us a chance for a soldier to cut her thigh.
She grunts through the pain and swings her arm, but the soldier smirks as he easily evades her now sluggish attack.
Unable to react, a soldier gets in close and up to her back and shoves a palm into the alpha's chest.
"Repel." The soldier said, releasing a sudden burst of mana that sends the alpha rolling across the floor.
As the alpha curls up in pain, the soldier grins as she raises her glowing hand. "You're not so tough."
"That's a Captain for you." One of the other soldiers said.
"Yeah. Kill her, Cap." Another soldier said.
"You heard them, missy." The Captain chuckled as she drew her sword, pointing it at the alpha who tried to sit up... just as some wolf cubs arrived to shield their leader.
They all growl, their voices even less intimidating than their tiny bodies, making the Captain and her men laugh.
"Sorry, puppies... I'm a cat person. Shoot'em, boys."
On cue, the other soldiers all aim their guns at the wolves.
The alpha desperately tries to get up while barking at the pups, who refuse to back down as the men open fire.
But at the last second, a figure slides in front of the wolves and gets instantly bombarded with musket bullets.
The soldiers stop, their expression both concerned and confused, while the Captain narrows her eyes once she realizes something.
The alpha simply stares in shock once she sees Dom's signature grin. "You okay?" He asked.
Meanwhile, the soldiers behind him stare in shock once they realize something too.
"Are you kidding me?" A soldier mumbled once he saw that, despite the numerous holes in Dom's shirt, his skin remained completely intact with the crushed bullets now standing harmlessly at his feet.
"I've been fighting seriously stronger guys that I almost forgot..." Dom said as he turned around and plucked out a dented bullet still stuck to his unscathed neck. "... Bullets don't work on me." He flicks the bullet aside.
Another soldier steps back, a nervous sweat running down his face. "That's impossible."
"No, it isn't." The Captain said as she stepped forward, a stern gaze fixed on Dom. "As long as you enhance your body with enough mana, you can withstand different physical attacks, including bullets."
She stops some distance in front of Dom, her eyes quickly skirting over his body.
"You're wearing our uniform, but I've never seen you before. Who are you?"
Dom folds his arms, his grin speaking volumes about his confidence. "Dominic the Hero. Nice to meet you."
The Captain scoffs. "You're just some brat. Get out of my way or I'll have you arrested." She said with an intimidating glow in her blue eyes.
Dom's grin widens. "Make me."
Her gaze quickly shifts into that of a dangerous predator. "The hard way, then."
With a sudden burst, she dashes at him, her sharp blade drawn, while Dom quickly takes a defensive stance.
Dom's eyes widen as he draws his right fist back.
With a grunt, she swings her mana-infused blade, which quickly reaches his neck. Her eyes narrow at the sight of her impending victory, but they quickly widen once the blade easily shatters against Dom's impossibly hard skin.
That's when she feels a gust of wind and turns to find Dom's fist already inches from her face. She raises her glowing palm, her intention to repel him like she did to the alpha, but Dom's fist collides with her face first.
The impact resonates through her skull, causing her vision to go white as her body gets swept off its feet and rockets straight into a tree several meters away in the blink of an eye.
The soldiers, completely dumbfounded by the swift conflict they just witnessed, all turned to look at their Captain, whose mouth hangs wide open while her body remains lodged in the hard tree's bark.
"Shit," Dom said as he stared at his fists. "I thought I held back."
The soldiers turn back to him, their expressions now filled with terror.
"He... took down the Captain..." A soldier mumbled.
"... with one punch." Another added.
Dom turns to the sound of the wolf cubs barking at him while they stand defensively around their leader. Even though they intend to intimidate him, all they do is look like adorable pets.
A sight that makes the alpha laugh.
Dom's eyes widen at the sight of her. An expression he'd not seen since the moment he first saw her.
Seeing her smile again brings a grin to his face.
"Hey! Kid!"
Dom turns to find a soldier glaring at him.
"You're one of the knights the Capital sent to capture the alpha, right? What the hell are you doing?"
Dom gives them a cold stare. "Correcting my fuck-up."
The soldier reloads his gun and points it at Dom. "Stand down or we will kill you."
Dom cracks his knuckles, his expression still confident despite the numerous gun barrels facing him....