CHAPTER ONE
Natasha stood over her mother's grave, the winds blowing her dark brown hair behind her like a flag.Twin streams of tears began to leak from Natasha's eyes, sliding slowly down her cheeks to her neck, she didn't wipe them away, they belonged there.
Visiting her mother's grave for Natasha was like reopening an old wound that was supposed to get better with time, but it did not. Like always when she came here, memories threatened to overwhelm her, memories of her mother's kind smile, even as she worked odd jobs just to provide for them, memories of her head on her mother's laps, listening to her mother spin tales like a master weaver at work. And then, she remembered, the coldness of the air as a man in a brown coat told her, her mother was no longer alive, the shock and sorrow so strong Natasha thought it might overwhelm her, the feeling as the sorrow slowly left, and rage took its place.
It has been five full years since her mother, Sammy Kyle, had died... They said it was a fire accident... She knew otherwise... The werewolves would pay.
Natasha walked away from her mother's grave with a new sense of purpose, visiting her mother had reminded her of why she did what she did, why she hunted the most dangerous of prey, the werewolves. They had taken to calling her Wolfsbane, a fitting name. She glanced skyward at the setting sun, it was almost time. She smiled, it wasn't a kind smile.
Tonight's mission would probably be the most dangerous mission Natasha had ever gone in her life. Tonight, she hunted the Beta werewolf of the Arnia pack. He would suffer for what the werewolves did to her mother. She would ensure it
Natasha glided through the streets, shedding her brown jacket, revealing the black and grey camouflage hugging tightly to her body, shielding her from searching eyes in the night in a way pure black never could.
The outfit was made from what the paranormal call 'liquid metal', a material that felt soft as silk but hard enough to stop an average werewolf's claws. This particular one was perfectly tailored for her, tight enough to cling to her body, yet loose enough to provide free movement. It was nice actually, maybe she shouldn't have killed the werewolf tailor that made it.
On most nights, she wore sunglasses to stop anyone from noticing her golden eyes, but now, she decided not to; she wanted the werewolves to see who was hunting them.
Natasha checked her sword, forged from silver and the forbidden metal, this sword was one of the easiest ways to kill a werewolf, as both of this materials, especially the second, was very poisonous to them.
Natasha sneaked through the city, her movements were a blur, so fast and hidden that most couldn't even notice her as she moved. As a human-werewolf hybrid, Natasha had all of a werewolf's abilities and none of their weaknesses. Her werewolf side did not need the full moon to fully activate, so she was always as fast and strong as any werewolf would be on a full moon even if there was no full moon. One problem though, she still couldn't transform into a full werewolf. Not that she needed it.
Within minutes Natasha arrived at the location, it was one of the billionaire hotels of the city. It was five stories high and guarded by many werewolves.
The werewolves also carried guns, which came as a surprise to Natasha, as usually, they preferred to fight with their claws. But it didn't matter, even if they fought with a gun, they would all still die.
She quietly jumped the fence, easily avoiding the notice of the many werewolf guards.
The Beta's room was on the fourth floor, so Natasha sneaked to the wall of the hotel, she had already made the decision to climb the outside, it was less troublesome than going in, so she began to climb
Natasha's muscles strained as she pulled herself up the balcony. She landed there soundlessly, and immediately crouched down to decrease the chances of her being seen by any guard.
Still crouching low, she pushed forward towards the balcony door. With one hand, she pushed it and the door swung open noiselessly, and she said a quiet prayer for whoever it was that oiled the doors.
Natasha sneaked into the room, her eyes easily adjusting to the darkness, so that even at night, Natasha's could see almost as clear as day. The bedroom she was in was very large, with a massive king-sized bed in it.
Natasha listened intently, her sensitive werewolf ear pricked to any sound, she heard one heartbeat apart from her own, and the sound of a person snoring softly, besides that, there was nothing else alive in the room, not even a single insect, though there were two guards at the door. Perhaps the Beta valued his privacy, a mistake that would be his last. Her body quivered, his death would do much to appease her rage and revenge.
Confident, Natasha strode forward, her hand already pulling out her sword, but then, her instincts told her something was wrong, at first, she was about to dismiss it, but thought better of it, one did not get far in her line of work by dismissing her instincts.
She stopped in the center of the room, wondering what could possibly be wrong. Then she realized it, as she bent to the right and narrowly dodged an arrow coming for her head.
"What gave me away?" a Chinese accented voice asked, and though Natasha could not tell where it originated from, she could recognize that voice anywhere.
"You mean aside from your complete and utter lack of talent, nothing much actually." Natasha teased, standing up from her crouch. She had guessed where the voice was coming from through the smell, the same thing that alerted her something was wrong in the first place. He had tried to mask it, so as to give the illusion that the Beta was in this room, but he made one mistake, he didn't make it come from the bed.
She flexed her sword, it will taste the blood of those who ruined her mother before this night was over. She turned left, where she assumed he was hiding, it was where both the arrow and smell came from. She taunted the man, "So Zhen Zi, do you want to be trashed like last time or would you like it differently this time?".
In response, the werewolf growled, a deep sound that captured his anger in a way that words never could, looks like he hadn't forgiven Natasha for killing his men while he barely escaped.
He stepped out of the shadows, moving almost as silently as Natasha, he looked like a short Asian man in his early thirties. He carried a curved bow in his hand, and wore a quiver of arrows on his back.
He smiled, revealing his wolf-like teeth, and touched his cheeks, where a scar was, and said with a Chinese accent, "A gift, like the one you gave me."
Involuntarily, Natasha's hand flew to her cheek, and it stung, she pulled her hand back, it looked as if dipped in red paint, she didn't know it, but the arrow had grazed her, this was bad, that means he had improved, but then again, so had she.
She stopped flexing her sword and put it in a sword form, holding it extended in front of her.
Zhen Zi smiled, as if finally pleased with the response he was getting, and then he let out a whistle.