Chapter 2

It was a fine-looking afternoon, slightly misty and cool. It was the perfect time of day and reminded Carter of his home as he walked down an old trail. But it ended as the smell of death stained the air and the sight of human corpses mangled beyond recognition, some having their limbs torn off.

"They died yesterday based on the smell...That didn't stop the buzzards from feeding on the remains."

Another scent permeated the air. Pungent.....werewolves, a few at least, led into a forest not too far off. The tall, thick trees had no leaves and were desaturated and void of life. Carter pulled his jacket tighter around himself constantly upon venturing into the forest.

It was eerily quiet, and no other animals were heard or seen, save for some toads and fish in a lake, but the scent was getting stronger and went into a ravine. Carter stuck to the cliff tops above and watched. Gusts of wind from below were enough to carry the voices beneath, as did a pungent stench of bloodied piles of corpses scattered about their camp.

The amount of blood he could smell was enough to make a man sick, but for Carter, it was like tempting a man chained to a boulder in the desert with water, quenched from thirst.

"Only in emergencies,"

Twenty of them sat around a bonfire, telling stories of the past or their accepted contracts as they ate and drank. Knowing this was more than enough to satisfy Carter's curiosity.

"They're just a band of mercenaries," Carter thought. "Then this is no longer my business."

"Cheers to the Blackfang!" one shouted, raising a small wooden mug.

"Hear, Hear!" The rest shouted along.

"Blackfang?"

That was a name he hadn't heard in decades. The sudden wave of bad memories and different times made him freeze briefly and cringe.

"Before you leave," one of them menacingly grinned.

"Why don't you come down and join us...Before there's trouble."

"Dammit, well, it was only a matter of time."

The bloodlust most likely gave him away. As he jumped into the ravine, he felt their eyes piercing him from below. It was the same feeling from when he was a child, the sense of displacement, unbelonging, an outcast.

Some wore the same complete uniform, a dark short-sleeved jacket, while others only wore an undershirt and the same dark-colored pants. All of them were barefooted. The mercenaries watched Carter's every movement as he was immediately surrounded upon landing. They could tell that Carter wasn't a werewolf entirely.

"I don't want any trouble," he said, "Just wanted some clarification, and now that I have it, I'll take my leave."

Some mercenaries went up to Carter, trying to figure out what that other scent drifting from him could be. It was like he was some kind of foreign object; to them, he was.

A woman's voice spoke from a distance.

"Then what do you want...Hybrid?"

The other mercenaries growled at Carter, baring their fangs and claws,

"Abomination. Half breed. Outcast," they shouted.

All insults Carter had grown used to hearing; they hated and despised him either way. Without warning, some of them ran forward to attack.

Defending himself seemed more straightforward than expected, but he knew some of these Blackfang mercs weren't pushovers. Some of them were somewhat newly recruited. They aimed for the throat, but their attacks were too telegraphed and easily dodged.

The ones that only aimed to brutally maim and not kill were the only ones that Carter traded harsh blows back and forth with. They had much more experience and attacked much more frequently. The ravine walls were engraved with claw marks, and the campsite was destroyed.

Most Blackfangs lay unconscious or refused to keep fighting until they healed fully. Only five left were still standing, and three of them at least were experienced, but none of them moved. They only stared at Carter, watching him.

The full moon complimented the frontman's glowing, mint green eyes. He let out a low and eerie howl that reverberated throughout the ravine, forcing his comrades to rise again. They were twitchy and wild, like a pack of rabid dogs, ready to kill.

All twenty mercenaries were halfway transformed and had Carter surrounded within seconds. There was no hesitation; all of them charged at Carter. Forcing him to use his vampiric abilities, shadow walking, and turning into a swarm of bats to evade.

"Damn it"

The bloodlust of his own was beginning to set in and was overall difficult; his heart beat faster than normal. Maybe it was due to the frontman's rally from earlier. Usually, he'd meditate for a while, but there was no time. It wasn't safe. Their minds were too animal to be reasoned with.

He gained a few meters between himself and the mercenaries and deeply inhaled.

"I hope this works."

A thunderous, overbearing bellow echoed throughout the ravine, making it shake and crumble slightly. The Blackfang could hardly stand as they were forced back to their senses and human states. Although the fight was finished, it had been a long time since Carter had fought that long.

A chill, refreshing wind swept throughout. Carter sighed relievingly, leaning against the cold stone wall of the ravine, and wiped the sweat from his brow for what felt like the hundredth time.

A woman approached, barefooted and with her arms folded.

"Well done, Hybrid," she said. It was the same woman's voice from earlier.

"My name's Raina. I lead this pack of mercenaries." She said proudly.

"That was some nice fighting you did. Why don't you join the Blackfang? With your skills, you'd make a fine addition." She smiled.

"You're seriously thinking about letting that.....Mongrel join us?" One of the mercs said, walking toward Raina with a slight limp before stopping short.

Carter responded with a low grunt before speaking, "I don't do merc work anymore. Besides, I think your members would object to me joining you."

"It seems so," Raina chuckled, walking back to the other Blackfang with the injured member next to her.

"Until next time.....Hybrid."

Carter stepped away from the ravine and looked at the top while the Blackfang tended to their own. Of course, the ravine walls weren't too high to climb, but Carter was too exhausted for that. A good jump would be more than enough to get back to the top.

He could feel the eyes of the others watching him, along with some whispers.

"He's insane. There's no way he could make that jump completely."

"I know he's a hybrid, but even I could only jump up halfway, and that's with a running start."

There was a smile on Carter's face as he began to stretch." They must be some of the new recruits."

He stepped back a few more paces, took a running start, jumped back to the ravine's edge, leaving a small crater, and headed back towards the old trail. His shirt was heavily bloodstained and nearly torn to shreds, as was the jacket tailor-made for him by Jasper.

"Jasper's going to let me have it once I get back."

Carter reached into his jacket, pulled out a small teleportation crystal, and spoke two words.

"The Emporium," he said.

A bright light began to shine, and the crystal shattered instantly as he was transported in front of Creed's Emporium, just as he envisioned. It had been a month since he'd been back. The door was locked, and a closed sign hung from the door inside.

However, judging the smell and the heavy rainfall only made things worse. This was Moonwell, which meant Jasper or Maria had moved to the shop.

"Damn it all. Of all the places to go, why here?" He thought, opening the door with his key.

"Carter," said a small voice as he walked in.

Small footsteps headed right for Carter as he closed the door. That brought him immediate joy.

"Hello, little one," he chuckled, giving the child a quick hug.

"Where are Mommy and Daddy?"

"Logan, who is it," a woman's voice said, one that he was happy to hear, coming from the back area.

"Oh, Carter. Welcome back," She said.

Maria immediately noticed the dried blood stains and tears on Carter's shirt and jacket.

"Logan, go upstairs and get your father?"

Carter headed back towards the lounging area with Maria as Logan fetched Jasper. Upon sitting, Carter was met by Maria's concerned look.

"What happened, Carter?" She asked.

"I just had a run-in with a pack of mercenaries."

"Well, are you alright?"

Carter sat back and nodded his head, not saying anything.

"Maria?" Jasper called out.

"We're in here," She responded.

Jasper quickly rushed towards them and began to burst with laughter at seeing his friend and embraced him with a tight hug.

"Carter, my friend. It's good to have you back."

"And by The Gods' graces, what happened to your clothes," he chuckled, then sat down. Maria went upstairs to put Logan to bed. However, Jasper could feel Carter's slight discomfort and knew that whatever they were speaking of beforehand was rather serious.

"Did something happen?"

Carter stood up, opened a large cabinet nearby, grabbed the strongest drink he could find, sighed, and began to pour it into a glass.

"I was just telling Maria how I had an encounter with some mercs, is all. It's nothing too serious. They won't come after me. And, before you ask, I didn't have to kill any of them. Luckily, I didn't let it get to that point."

"But what's really bothering you, my friend?"

Carter scoffed, poured his second glass, sat down, placed the bottle on the table between them, and crossed his legs.

"Do I really have to tell you?"

Jasper rolled his eyes and took a drink of his own.

"Look. The past four years have passed in a blink of an eye since we met. And I know how much you despise talking about politics and royalty, but please endure for a bit longer while I attend to the King's request.......But that's not all, is it."

Carter groaned. "I just don't like this place. I have some awful memories here. Do you really want to know?"

Jasper grabbed the bottle on the table, poured himself another glass, and sat back.

"Only if you want to, my friend."

Maria came back downstairs and joined them as Jasper poured her a drink.

"Are we celebrating something?"

"No, Carter was just about to tell me a story about his past. It's a rather serious one."

Carter uncrossed his legs, leaned forward, put his empty glass on the table, and shivered. His eyes were dead as he stared deep into theirs and cleared his throat.

"What I'm about to tell you is not a pleasant memory. So forgive me if I start to become.....emotional."

"A long time ago, before the two of you were born, a few years after I began traveling the world, I used to go by another name called Lucian. I made my way to this place, Moonwell. It was still the capital, but nowhere near as big as the city we're in now."

"At first, it looked like your run-of-the-mill town, but it was a nice enough place to stay, and I began to quickly call it home. In the early days of my residency, I met a woman named Elizabeth. She was the love of my life." The moonlight complimented his bright crimson-stained eyes as he leaned back into the sofa.

Jasper placed his half-empty glass onto the table and sighed

"Listen, my friend. If you don't wish to continue-"

"No, Jasper. It's fine. I want you both to know what I-"

"Anyway, as you'd expect. Elizabeth and I fell in love over time. She was everything you could hope for in a relationship. Elizabeth was strong, funny, beautiful, and compassionate. Occasionally, I would offer her the chance to become like me, but she refused every time, and I admired her for it. One night, while I was away from town, a group of.....scumbags, bandits, filth, whatever you want to call them, it's all the same. Apparently, they decided to raid our home. Unfortunately, Elizabeth had been home that day recovering from an illness."

He put his head down and let out a low growl as he shook his legs up and down.

"Then"

"Carter?" Maria asked concerningly.

He quickly pulled up his head, and his eyes changed. They were briefly overshadowed and dark as the night before, returning to the original crimson red, with tears rolling down his face.

"They tortured and defiled her. Obviously, I was too late. I returned to Moonwell in the morning. I saw that our home had been robbed. The first thing I did was look for Elizabeth, but she wasn't there. So I followed her scent, leading to the forest just outside of Moonwell.....I found her hanging there like some sort of....animal. Cut and bruised everywhere. So I cut her down and wailed as I held her one more time and buried her.

"That's not all, though....is it," Jasper asked with a slight hint of fear.

Carter's eyes darted toward Jasper, and he scoffed.

"Of course not...Back then, I didn't entirely know how to control my emotions, and I went back to Moonwell full of rage and pain and tracked down her killers, then transformed into a much more dangerous creature and slaughtered them along with many innocents...Once I awoke, I vowed never to return here...But, here we are."

Carter stood up and walked toward the stairs before stopping short.

"You may have heard songs about it, but I think the bards call it...The slaughter of Moonwell."

The next day had arrived; it was mid-morning. The Creeds left Carter to tend to the Emporium as they attended to the King's request. The sound of the front door's bell rang as Carter stocked the remaining glass vials from the storage room.

"Be right with you."

"Their footsteps indicate that there are two of them and one of them is wearing...Lavender? How nice." He thought with a slight smirk, then returned to the front.

"Forgive me for the wait."

"Now then. How may I help you two today?"

The two guests were a man and a woman, who seemed to be a couple. Both were fair-skinned and dressed in well-tailored clothes, some form of royalty, most likely, at least the woman. Who appeared to be no younger than twenty.

The woman's long and waved, raven hair complimented beautifully against her dark blue eyes and dress as her companion was ashen-haired and mint green-eyed and wore the same uniform as the Blackfangs, except he wasn't barefooted and wore black boots.

Aside from the uniform, that wasn't the only confirmation that the young woman's companion was a werewolf. His Ash Grey hair and mint green eyes were all trademarks of the Somber Oak Wolves from the Abyssal Forest in the Eastern Territory. And the unmistakable scent couldn't be masked. No matter how much Lavender was in the air, and not to their own kind.

"We'll be fine," The young woman approached with her silent companion following close behind her.

"Stay here, Remus. I'll return shortly."

Carter walked towards the front counter, as the Emporium was now stocked. She headed straight toward the jewelry and antiques as Carter adjusted the Emporium catalog.

The young woman's companion, Remus, glaring at Carter, was sharp enough to pierce into a dragon's hide. He knew what Carter was, and he was watching his every movement.

The tension broke as the young woman approached the counter with a silver amulet with a large sapphire gem in the middle.

"Excuse me, shopkeeper?"

The mere sight of that necklace was shocking, for it was no ordinary trinket.

"The Sages amulet, huh?... She or someone close to her must be a strong clairvoyant."

"I'll be taking this one. Remus, pay the man."

Her companion just stood there as Carter flipped to an empty page in the Emporium's catalog, waiting to make the exchange.

"Aren't you going to pay?" he asked.

Remus scoffed and reached into his jacket pocket, pulling out two platinum coins next to the register.

"It's a shame they let a mongrel like yourself work here."

Carter rolled his eyes and chuckled.

"I'm afraid there isn't any more room for another; otherwise, I'd hand you an application."

The young woman covered her mouth as she let out a little laugh. The look on Remus' face shocked his pride and embarrassment in the young woman's presence.

Tension rose quickly as he began baring his claws and growling lowly as Carter wrapped the young woman's purchase, placed it into a small bag, and handed it to her.

"Remus!" The young woman promptly intervened, easing her companion's state.

"Now is not the time."

Remus hurried to open the door with even more embarrassment on his face.

"I'm sorry, princess... I'll be waiting for you outside."

The young woman turned back to Carter as she opened the door and sighed.

"I hope you'll forgive him. Hopefully, your next encounter will be more....pleasant." She smiled reassuringly.

"Princess, huh? She wasn't so bad...At least not here; she wasn't."

That thought continued to repeat in his head throughout the day as more customers came in. It was the first time in a long time that Carter encountered royalty of any sort and had it end happily.

In his experience, most of the royals and nobles put themselves on pedestals, treating commoners like pests...or worse. During his early travels, he'd seen and heard many of the great and terrible things done by human nobles and royals, even being a part of some himself. It was a different time; he was another person back then, and things were much better now.

The Creeds had finally returned with the night sky behind them. Jasper scurried to the workshop upstairs, schematics under his arm; his expression was focused and lost in thought as he whispered under his breath.

"Welcome back," Carter said, locking the emporium door.

"I take it business went well with the king?"

"The King is hosting a party for his birthday in a few days, and Jasper was asked by the king to craft a weapon that could benefit him greatly," Maria said, following Jasper upstairs with Logan sleeping in her arms.

"Well, whatever that weapon is, I know it will be grand...Especially if it's made by you, my friend."