Chapter 4

The final fall of the alpha's wolf created an extremely loud thump that shook the forest. The fanged birds that lounged lazily atop one of the trees fluttered and flew away while cursing all the way.

Crystal stood tall in her wolf form in the shadow of a haunted tree in the Heidi forest, her silhouette contrasting sharply with the darkness of the shadow. 

"Urghhh! I am all dirty." Muna moaned.

"But you knew you would be when you came out all excited." Crystal replied.

Her wolf's fur, once pristine white, now bore stains of crimson red, evidence of the battle she just victoriously finished.

She didn't utter any sound for a while until she finally saw the dead alpha magically transform into a crystal white wolf and then disappear slowly into thin air, depicting that he had finally joined the immortal werewolves.

A blood badge appeared from the immortalized wolf's fully dissipated body, and Crystal, who had shifted from her wolf form, picked it up for her client.

As she watched the now empty spot where the immortalized wolf once lay beside the other dead wolves, she reminisced on the battle that had taken place with the alpha. It was a very tough fight. 

She needed to rest, but she had to leave soon to pass the badge on to her client. But before she could move, she heard the loud cracking sounds of the ancient sentinels. 

They were the guardian trees of the Heidi forest, and they had awakened. A tree groaned. Crystal, is that you again? In the name of Eirene, what are you doing here this time?"

"Eirene, the goddess of the forest, can punish and curse us if we keep allowing you to do this here." A tall tree guardian who knew what just happened said.

"This time, we will let it go because of your family lineage, but it will be your last, so take that wolf's badge from our sacred land. Or we will entrap you here and offer you to our goddess!" Another tree boomed authoritatively.

 Crystal's wolf grimaced in anger. Her claws had sunk beneath the tips of her fingers. But in an instant, they slid back out, muscles tense and eyes sharp, ready to spring into action at the slightest unusual movement.

"Easy now, girl, easssyy now!" Crystal spoke softly to Muna.

 "Why are you still standing there?" Another guardian tree grumbled. 

"Apologies, I am on my way out now." Crystal appealed to the ancient sentinels.

They were humongous trees that possessed a majestic presence with gnarled barks that looked like human facial features at the upper part close to their leaves and branches stretched like outstretched arms. 

They possess timeless wisdom but they can be extremely dangerous if they perceive a threat to the forest.

 Hurry up, and take your conquests with you!" The first tree screeched.

 With her humongous and extremely sharp fangs, Crystal dragged the corpses of the other wolves out of the haunted forest.

She dumped the wolves' bodies in an open field and set them on fire.

She watched as the increasing flame licked the dead bodies, and the smell of burnt hair from their fur filled the air. Soon followed by the sound of bones breaking.

"Pathetic creatures," Crystal whispered sadly as guilt filled her. She wanted a release from her own demons from the nightmare and all she experienced.

One way she got temporary release was through her assassination missions but then the influx of guilt after the conquest was always unbearable.

After finishing her business, she shifted to her wolf and headed to the meeting destination with her client, past meadows silvered by the moonlight.

 She couldn't wait to deliver the badge to her client, get her pay, and move on. 

She couldn't place her finger on it but there was something off about this particular client.

**** 

She arrived at a luxurious mansion, which had a large yard and a dividing wall of thorns. Five gold lanterns crafted with delicate filigree adorned the gates, casting a soft glow that danced with the night breeze. 

Each flickering flame seemed to illuminate the path to a world of luxury and impending danger.

The place was flanked by werewolves. Crystal took to a dark corner, turned into a human again and put on her usual thick, dark hooded cloak with a mask on her face. 

When they saw her, they growled as if they wanted to tear her apart and eat her at once, but a signal from inside the house halted their attack and they stepped back. 

 "He is my guest! Don't touch him!" said a man in a black robe who appeared from the direction the signal came from. He moved with deliberate, and purposeful steps, exuding control and authority. 

He revealed his face in the form of a wolf, which was the style with clients who preferred to stay anonymous. He was covering up his identity with that disguise: "Come in before you become their meal!" He said mischieviously. 

Her sturdy, shod feet were now past the ferocious werewolves. She could still hear growls coming from them. 

"I made a bet with my friend about you," said the robed werewolf, who had turned his face back to a human form, as soon as they passed through a tall wooden door into darker corridors. 

"I told him that you would succeed in this mission. But he bet otherwise. I don't think he trusts your skills, even though your name is already famous throughout the land."

Crystal didn't budge. She remained focused behind her face mask in the darkness of the alley they passed. A sense of foreboding had washed over her, warning her of the unknown. 

Lanterns hung along the damp alleys; there were mossy black bricks on the wall and a view that was inversely proportional when viewed from the outside.

"But even so, you are impressive," said the cloaked werewolf again, who had now led her down a long and winding staircase leading to a cellar. "You managed to kill him. Even though he was an Alpha who had survived the cruelty of the sovereign Lycan, that means his strength is outstanding. But you did it and brought his badge!"

 The sound of the grating door was heard. The smell of silver sulphide wafted in and Crystal's claws unintentionally slid out. Her instincts screamed at her to turn back and run.

 Immediately, her pupils dilated, emitting a bright white glow. The white exploded like a silent, powerless boom, enough to be noticed, and the robed werewolf in front of her turned around in an instant. 

Crystal was sure that she had seen the robed werewolf's shocked expression, but then he smirked as if he had been waiting for this for a long time.

"As expected," said the robed werewolf. "The famous assassin is no ordinary werewolf! I knew the silver sulphide would reveal that" He raised his hand and there was a dense yellow glow in the air, like strange, exploding fireworks.

The floor suddenly shook; a prison appeared from above and trapped Crystal. A silver sulphide chain wrapped around her tightly, hurting her horribly.

"Aaargh!" She let out a scream as her face mask was pulled off with great force. She was sure some of her hair was pulled out because of it. "What are you doing?" She roared, fangs sticking out of the corners of her teeth and her pupils still glowing white. "Who are you? What do you want from me?"

The cloaked werewolf grinned again. He didn't change his position, even though white smoke billowed around him, followed by the appearance of several other werewolves standing around him in front of Crystal.

The sound of snapping fingers made the prison bars collapse inside the ground, amidst a blast of dust. Three werewolves approached Crystal and pulled off her black cowl.

Beautiful, long white hair tumbled down from the pulled-back hood with a glow that shone even in the dimness of the dungeon. A gorgeous face dominated the room, followed by loud, surprised gasps. 

Crystal's disguise was blown, as they now knew that the famous assassin who mercilessly smashed targets was a girl!

"Don't you know me? Have you forgotten who I am?" asked the cloaked werewolf, who seemed to be the only one not surprised. The hood of his robe was blown back from his face by the gusts of wind that came out of his body while he talked.

Crystal's white pupils widened even more because she knew who he was. "Alpha Kol!" She growled with pumped vein lines on her forehead as she recognized the alpha, whom she had worked for a couple of times. Her face had almost turned into that of a wolf's, like a broken hologram. "What do you want from me? Let me go!"

"How can I spare Chris, the heinous and most powerful hitman or woman in this case, on the plains?" asked Alpha Kol, a devilish grin playing on his lips. "I will not pass up this opportunity."

"What do you want?" Crystal barked, her wolf almost taking over completely. "What do you want from me?"

 "Surely not your body, even though I can't deny that you are very gorgeous and luscious." He joked, which was followed by disdainful laughter from the werewolves behind him. Claws emerged from his fingers as he tugged at the chain around her neck. 

He snorted as he said, "I'll tell you what we want from you. We want you to kill the Lycan Crown Prince, Alaric. If you refuse, then you will die here, right now." He jerked her until she felt pain all over her body. It must be due to the power of the silver sulphide chain wrapped around her.

"How could I possibly kill the Lycan Crown Prince, the son of the most powerful Lycan in this world? If you tell me to do it, then that means you want me to die anyway!"

"Of course, we won't let you die if you're willing to execute him. We will protect you as best we can." He sounded vicious amidst the disappointed tone. "We will always stand behind you. Don't worry about anything! With the payment you will receive from this, you will live in wealth until you die. We will restore your family's good name."

Crystal looked up with a scrunched face, like she was punched in the stomach.

"I know who you are," said Alpha Kol. "You are the long lost surviving daughter of the Mortimer family, a family from the Mortimer pack that was highly respected in the past. You all even served Sovereign Lycan with loyalty, but why was your family slaughtered and accused of being traitors by him? Wasn't that very unfair?"

A solitary tear clung to the edge of Crystal's lower eyelids, its shimmer catching the dim light as it threatened to spill over but she refused to let it glide down her face. She was no crybaby.

Her chest tightened when she remembered how happy she was with her family and how all that was taken away from her because of slander. "How do you know that?" Her voice trembled but she quickly controlled it; she would never let them see her weakness.

"I know everything, Crystal. We want to restore our world's position to how it was before the Sovereign Lycan came to power and became more power hungry. Therefore, you need to kill the Lycan Crown Prince so that this power does not continue. We must live in peace, honey, don't you want that?" He recounted, then asked with so much passion. 

"And yeahhh," he continued like he just remembered something. "haven't you wanted a wedding for a long time? But since your family's good name was ruined, you can't do that, right?"

Unknowingly, Crystal's hands tightened into firm fists at the mention of a wedding, her knuckles whitening with the force of her grip. She had long wanted to live happily ever after with someone she loved. She wanted to get married and have a small, happy, and loving family. However, due to accusations from the sovereign Lycan, her life was shattered.

The tear she kept in check for so long finally slid down her cheek, but then she realized that this was a great opportunity for her so she nodded. "I will do it. I will kill the Lycan Crown Prince but under one condition."