MWS Chapter
Innu stood there in disbelief. He genuinely thought he had done a good job, especially considering the opponent he had just faced. In many ways, he had accomplished exactly what he was supposed to do. He had taken down a dangerous enemy on his own, sothing that wasn’t easy by any asure. And yet, there was still that small, irritating feeling sitting in his chest.
The others had finished first.
“Well, I guess there were two of you and only one of ,” Innu mumbled under his breath as he walked over toward Marie and Slit. He tried to brush it off, but it was hard not to feel a little annoyed about it.
“It’s strange,” Marie said, crouching slightly as she looked over the fallen body. “It definitely slls like a Werewolf, but I don’t get the feeling it’s from another pack. Instead, I get this instinct of disgust, almost the sa as when we co across a vampire.”
“Right,” Slit replied. “And not just that. When I first heard the word Werewolves, I assud it would be soone we knew. An Oga, maybe soone from the Lupus pack, or even the Howlers. But this doesn’t feel like that at all.”
He paused, his eyes narrowing.
“What I’m looking at… it almost feels like a new race. And not just that, but these Werewolves feel newly made. Like they’re at the very bottom of the chain.”
Innu tilted his head slightly, listening carefully. He wasn’t as deeply tied into Werewolf instincts as the others, but he understood enough to follow what they were saying.
“So our guess is right then?” Innu asked. “Unzoku must be the one creating these, right? And instead of creating an Alpha and making us fight another pack, he’s throwing these zombie-type Werewolves at us instead.”
Slit let out a short laugh and shook his head.
“You always fail to see the bigger picture,” Slit said with a smirk. “Honestly, it’s impressive.”
Innu stopped walking.
“Look, I’m not like you guys,” Innu snapped back. “And despite that, I can keep up with all of you. I was never turned into an Altered, and I’m not a Werewolf.”
He stepped closer, his eyes sharp.
“Yet I’ve survived this long, and I can kick your damn arse. So I’m going to need so respect before I punch it out of you.”
“He’s right,” Marie said calmly, cutting in before things escalated further. “Innu is a core mber of the Howlers. And Slit, you went up against us and we allowed you to live. So stop trying to provoke him.”
Innu felt so of the tension leave his shoulders. Hearing Marie back him up reminded him why he considered the Howlers his family in the first place.
“But about what you said earlier,” Marie continued, turning back to Slit. “Are you saying there could be more of these zombie Werewolves that are even stronger? That what we just fought might be the bottom of the food chain?”
Slit nodded slowly.
Werewolves had ranks. They had natural stages of growth, almost like minor breakthroughs that anyone familiar with them could sense. On top of that, there was another system unique to Werewolves. Each of those breakthroughs was categorized into Grades. To help explain it, people had borrowed the chess system, ranking Werewolves in a similar way.
Just because one Grade was higher than another didn’t guarantee victory in every fight, but instinctively, the Werewolf at the higher Grade usually had a stronger beast within them. Their presence, their size, and their pressure were simply different.
Then there were class evolutions.
That part was more clearly defined through Gary’s system, but Werewolves themselves could feel when those changes were coming. They felt it deep in their bones, long before anything actually happened.
That was why Slit was uneasy.
Maybe these zombie Werewolves didn’t have proper evolutions. Maybe they didn’t follow the sa rules. But Slit was confident about one thing.
They were weak.
“At least compared to what might co next,” Slit said.
“That’s worrying,” Marie admitted. “Because even these weren’t easy to deal with.”
All of them agreed with that, even Austin. The enemy’s flexibility and unnatural movents had forced him to use his superior form, sothing he would have preferred to avoid. It took more power than he was comfortable using, especially this early on.
They moved over to the last Werewolf, the one Austin had pinned down. It struggled beneath his foot, muscles twitching and tearing, but it couldn’t do anything under the sheer weight and strength pressing it into the ground.
“I tried speaking to it,” Austin said. “But I don’t think it’s sound of mind. It’s like a wild beast. I doubt we’ll get much information from it.”
“What if you made it part of your pack?” Marie suggested. “Like Xin did with Ozarcus. Or the masked Werewolf, whatever you want to call him.”
“He was out of his mind too,” Slit added. “But once he was brought to their side, he listened. Maybe this one would do the sa.”
They all looked at the struggling creature, uncertain.
“You already said this isn’t a typical Werewolf,” Innu said. “If there’s no pack, we can’t assu normal rules apply. And besides, it’s too dangerous for Marie to try. We should just end it here.”
The others hesitated, but they had to admit he was right. Until they had a reliable way to control or communicate with sothing like this, keeping it alive was a risk they couldn’t afford.
Austin ended it swiftly.
The rooftop fell silent.
“So what should we do now?” Innu asked. “Should we go around and see if there are any more of these things? Clear out the other cities? You said it would be a problem if there were a lot of them.”
Marie opened her mouth to answer.
Then her phone vibrated.
At the sa ti, the others’ devices lit up as well.
Marie’s eyes widened as she read the ssage.
“We have to go back to Slough,” she said urgently. “As soon as possible.”
She looked up at the others.
“They’re back.”
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