FIRST BLOOD DRAWN

  Liam stood before the two men, observing their claws. A smile crossed his face as he said,

  “Not here”

  Liam started running toward the building, and the two men chased him. He landed at the backside of the building and moved toward the boundary wall. The two men soon reached the back of the main building as well. They saw Liam jumping through the wall. He leaped through the wall and began running into the jungle behind the college. The academy was surrounded by a forest of tall trees. Liam was leading them into the forest so he could fight freely and avoid drawing attention. After running half a mile through the forest, Liam finally stopped and slipped a little in front. He turned to gauge how far behind the men were. The men also paused upon seeing Liam, their hands returning to normal. As soon as they halted and locked eyes with Liam, they grew their claws again. Their gazes remained fixed on Liam as they got into position to attack.

  “Wait wait”

  Liam stopped both of them while taking off his jacket. The two guys looked at each other while looking clueless.

  “If I fight like this my jacket will be ruined. I have got one of these only”

  The two men grew angrier upon seeing that Liam wasn’t taking them seriously. Liam casually threw his jacket onto the ground and then removed his T-shirt, tossing it aside as well.

  “I’ve got only one of these too,”

  Liam mocked them, smiling. The two men, enraged, had their eyes turn red, preparing to attack again. Just as they were about to strike, Liam, only a few steps away, shouted while flaunting his abs,

  “Wait! Before we start, there are a few things I’d like to know. It would be hard for me to get info from your breathless bodies.”

  Finally losing their cool, the two men launched their attack on Liam. He stood firm as their claws came dangerously close. Just as their claws were about to rip into him, Liam lowered his head with quick reflexes. They were faster, but he was the fastest. He dodged and caught one man’s claw with his bare hand. Simultaneously, as the other man struck, Liam gripped the first man's wrist tightly to stop it from moving while delivering a powerful kick to the second man’s shoulder, just before his claw made contact with Liam’s skin. The intensity of the kick sent the man flying a few meters away, crashing to the ground.

  Liam wasted no time, he snapped the wrist of the first man and kicked him in the belly, sending him sprawling a few meters away.

  “Man, you guys don’t even let me stretch before the fight!”

  Liam mocked, casually stretching his arms as if nothing had happened.

  The two men, now on the ground, struggled to catch their breath while watching Liam. They stood up and charged at him again. One of them grew fur on both hands, which swelled in size, resembling werewolf hands, making them look formidable. They charged at Liam from different directions, exchanging glances. Liam laughed and took a defensive stance.

  “This is gonna be fun after a long time!”

  In an instant, he darted towards the man with werewolf-like hands. The man couldn’t believe he hadn’t reached Liam first, caught off guard by Liam’s sudden speed. Wasting no time, Liam landed a powerful kick on his rib, producing a crack as the man flew a few meters away. The other man, thinking he could get to Liam, found only air, as Liam had already moved at lightning speed and knocked down his partner.

  As he raced towards Liam, Liam anticipated his move, kicking him in the chin before he reached. One of the man’s teeth flew out, and he stumbled backward. Both men tried to catch their breath as they locked eyes, realizing that Liam was no ordinary kid; he had the strength to overwhelm both of them. They exchanged glances. Assessing their predicament, Liam said,

  “You know my grandpa will be angry when he finds out I’m out here fighting. Because of you guys, my studies will be ruined!”

  Liam’s eyes fixed on both of them as they stood up, ready to launch a third assault. The man’s hand returned to normal, but their claws remained unchanged.

  “You guys will never beat me, even if there were more of you,”

  Liam taunted again. Finally, one of them responded,

  This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.

  “We get it, kid. You’re tougher than the rest, but this time we’ll go all out, and that’ll be the end of you.”

  Liam scrutinized them and asked,

  “Is that so? Since I’m going to die anyway, answer this dying man’s last question: Who sent you to kill me?”

  “We don’t have any obligation to answer your questions, kid. You’ll be dead in a few minutes anyway,” the other man replied, starting to shake. Liam stood firm, keeping a watchful eye. The man began to make noise as his body started transforming. First, his hands tripled in size, then his spine ripped through his back, taking shape as his legs and body morphed as well. He transformed into a werewolf, covered in fur with dripping teeth. He looked like a creature from a movie, his tail wagging on its own. He gripped his claws and howled,

  “Guwahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!”

  Liam grimaced, disgusted by the spectacle of the werewolf's transformation. Turning to the other man, he saw him transform as well

  . “Great! Now you guys must have forgotten I have claws too, but they’re just disgusting. I won’t use them,” he said.

  The two creatures charged at Liam. He blinked for a moment to concentrate, relying on his enhanced senses. In a flash, he reached the wolf just as it leaped at him. He landed a kick to its stomach without holding back, sending it flying with the sound of broken bones echoing in the air. The werewolf attempted a sneak attack from behind, but while Liam was occupied with the wolf, he spotted a tattoo on Liam’s neck. This distraction gave Liam the opportunity to counterattack. Liam spun around, channeling all his strength into a punch. The werewolf attempted to slash first, but Liam was faster, hitting him hard in the gut. The werewolf cried out in pain and fell to his knees.

  “I’ve heard rumors. You can’t be the son of the late King Jacerys,”

  The werewolf stammered, pressing his chest with both hands from the immense pain.

  “Good! That means you didn’t come for me. I’ll ask again: who are you after, and who sent you?”

  The werewolf didn’t answer, his gaze fixated on his fallen partner. The wolf lay on the ground, moaning in pain.

  “He’s done for. Next is you,”

  Liam said calmly. The werewolf glared at Liam with a mix of fury and rage, saying,

  “Even if you kill us, our employer will come find you and finish you off.”

  “Thanks for letting me know your employer is in town. I’ll go and get the answers directly from them,”

  Liam replied with a smirk. The werewolf realized he had revealed his employer’s location and grew angry, shouting,

  “We will never accept you as our king, son of Jacerys…”

  Liam swiftly kicked him in the neck, sending him crashing to the ground.

  “He’s not my real father, dumbass,”

  Liam muttered to himself as he approached the wolf. The wolf was still groaning in pain.

  “Let me put you out of your misery. Your killing spree ends here,”

  Liam said, standing on the wolf’s neck and applying pressure. The wolf moaned in pain, and after a few minutes, finally fell silent. Liam jumped off and walked towards his jacket and T-shirt, putting on the shirt while holding the jacket on his back with his right hand.

  “Soon this place will be swarming with wolves. I better decide whether to stay or go home,”

  he pondered as he started walking away, checking something on his cell phone.

  “Grandpa will be mad if he hears about this. I should inform him right now to avoid any trouble in the future.”

  Liam called his grandpa but received no response.

  “Now, where did Grandpa go? Is he out of the city or something?” he asked himself while continuing to walk.

  Bial and Loren stood at the scene of the fight between Liam and the two wolves. They had come to investigate where both had disappeared. They tracked their scent from school, leading them here.

  “What do you think? Who could kill these two assassins with such ease?”

  They examined the werewolf with scrutiny. Bial wore jeans and a fur jacket, while Loren donned a jacket that was unbuttoned, revealing a T-shirt that flashed her cleavage and navel.

  “No traces of wolf claws. Did that thing awaken already to eliminate these two seasoned assassins so easily?”

  Bial pointed his eyes at the fallen wolf. Loren scanned the area, adjusting her sunglasses that sat between her cleavages.

  “I don’t think that thing could kill them so effortlessly. There were three wolves here. The scent is faint, but I’m sure there was another one.”

  Loren used her senses and reached a conclusion.

  “That thing has allies now, or it was just some random wolf that was more powerful than these two,” she speculated.

  “The question is: which wolf family kills their enemies so elegantly without shedding a drop of blood?” Loren replied, searching the ground and trees for clues.

  “This one seems tricky, but we will find and kill that rebel wolf eventually.”