1. Hunter's Rifle

"...If you want to be the leader to follow, learn from the wolves!" Rune said while explaining in a loud voice in front of the remaining werewolves. His duty as the leader of the wolf nation is to provide training so that his future successors will have powerful instincts like himself.

After the training ended, Rune approached Fremont with a worried face. "Last night, did you kill the other hunters?" he asked doubtfully.

"Of course! There are five hunters in total. Unfortunately, we only managed to catch three of them," replied Fremont holding his chin. "But, it's not bad. We were satisfied eating human flesh last night."

"Thank you, Fremont. Make sure to put the hearts of the three people in their usual places."

Rune immediately left the training ground and dashed towards the palace. The servants and guards saluted. When entering the castle, one place he always visited was a large dark room with only a chest.

Rune lit a torch and then brought it closer to the chest. Slowly, he opened the trunk to see the figure of a grown man lying there. The adult man's body was surrounded by spirit power. His father had been lying there for ten years, Adlar.

Rune knelt with his head lowered. "Father, wait a little longer. I can make you wake up again," he said softly.

After greeting his father, Rune closed the chest as before. Then, a voice pierced his ears. He turned to the corner of the room with a crooked smile.

"Mmmm!" The woman tried to scream with a cloth gagging her mouth. Her breath began to pant as she tried desperately to untie the ropes that tied her hands behind her back. Rune crouched in front of her and roughly pulled her chin to meet hers.

"Velisa… that's a nice name," said Rune looking intensely into the woman's eyes. Meanwhile, the woman was staring straight at him. Rune only smiled faintly as he glanced at the woman's hands and feet. "I can treat the wounds on your hands and feet as a result of your attempts to untie them. But that's unnecessary since you don't have time to live."

Rune removed her hand from Velisa's chin. Then, he re-tightened the ropes on the woman's hands and feet that had previously loosened. He did it so harshly that Velisa grimaced in pain.

***

A few hours ago....

AWOOOOOO!

A pack of werewolves howled under the full moon. A human being surrounded by them and ready to become a victim, a young woman was carrying a hunting rifle. Their eyes lit up as they slowly approached the victim.

"Stop." A werewolf at the back spoke telepathically. His firm voice made the other werewolves stop. The man was the leader of the only werewolf pack in this world.

"Are you going to save this woman, Rune?" asked the old man beside him in a low voice.

"Fremont, I'll eat it alone," the man answered telepathically as he walked to the front row. After looking at the rifle in the woman's hand, he said, "This woman couldn't possibly have entered the forest alone. They are a group of amateur hunters. You better find those humans. They must not be far from here."

The werewolves nodded, then darted away from there. Rune smirked as she smelled the human scent which made her appetite increase. He looked at the woman, who didn't seem daunted at all.

"You must be the leader of that werewolf, Rune," the woman said as she cocked the weapon. Then, he aimed confidently at Rune's head. Before he could pull the trigger, Rune shot out in front of him and was now clutching his rifle.

"I'm very famous, huh?" asked Rune with burning eyes. A moment later, he turned into a white wolf with sharp teeth. The woman was wide-eyed while holding the rifle with trembling hands.

USE!

The runes lunged at the woman's body and fell to the ground. Just as he was about to claw at the woman's face, his body suddenly turned back into a human. The woman covering her face with her arms was silent as she lowered her arms slowly. Rune froze when he realized that their faces were only inches apart. The man was confused by what had just happened. "Why-"

SPLASH!

Rune held her cheek, which felt hot from the woman's hard slap. "You've been rude to me," he hissed.

"You are the one who is impudent!" snapped the woman while pushing the Rune off her body. She hugged herself and looked into Rune's eyes intently. Meanwhile, Rune fell backwards with an annoyed expression on her face. The man stood with wolf eyes blazing in the darkness.

The woman immediately crawled while picking up her fallen weapon. She stood up and pointed the gun at the head of a man she didn't recognize. Her hands trembled when she was about to pull the trigger. The man in front of her instead put his head to the end of the gun.

"Are you going to shoot?" asked Rune with a sly smile.

"Y-Yeah!" replied the woman in a trembling voice. Rune looked at him, then raised both hands in resignation. She swallowed hard with a doubtful expression.

"Why? Do you doubt it? You've never killed before?" asked Rune as he gripped the arm of the woman in front of him. He could also feel the tip of the gun vibrating. He stared into her eyes with the magical power of the full moon. Instantly, the woman fainted and fell into his arms. The weapon that almost killed him fell just like that.

Rune walked through the palace halls while carrying the woman he found in the forest. The palace guards and servants greeted each other with respect. He took a deep breath when he saw the face of the woman he was carrying. "This sucks! I could have killed her in the forest, but why did I bring her here instead?" he thought.

***

Runes stood watching several human hearts frozen in a glass case. Fremont, who had gathered the human hearts there, looked at him sadly.

"How many more human hearts do you need?" asked Fremont.

TO BE CONTINUED....