Chapter 1: Beginning

I was 12 years old, and I was... a thief.

"How did it go?" Lucas asked eagerly as I approached them.

Upon hearing his question, I raised the corners of my mouth and proudly showed them the bag I was carrying.

"I knew that if it was you, it was definitely possible! Well done!" exclaimed Lucas excitedly.

Even James, our friend, joined in the celebration, giving me a pat on the back.

"You're back."

On the other hand, my annoying and expressionless 'brother' remained as impassive as ever, which irritated me.

Pushing that thought aside, I shifted the bag in my hand slightly.

It was heavy.

With this, it seemed like we wouldn't have to fear starving, at least for the next few days.

As we looked inside the bag, our faces filled with big smiles.

This was how we survived. As residents of the outskirts and orphans, this was the only option that allowed us to keep going.

We had heard about an orphanage in the central part of the city, but we were already used to this life, and it was not something that concerned us.

"Cian, look over there," Lucas pointed while we laughed and enjoyed our achievement.

Suddenly, Lucas's smile disappeared from his face as he saw some people approaching.

In the direction he was pointing, three figures could be seen.

Just like us, they lived in the outskirts.

However, they were our rivals and belonged to the race of werewolves.

Those guys laughed as they looked at the bag we had.

"Let's go, nothing good will come from staying here," said Evan, my 'brother' who always acted as our leader, as he looked suspiciously at the rival group.

Though I didn't like his natural tendency to take on the leadership role, I agreed with him.

With a furrowed brow, I hid the bag of coins. We had to protect what was ours.

No one would help us if they decided to beat us up and steal from us.

Just as we didn't abide by the law, the law didn't offer us any protection either.

The outskirts were a lawless place where strength determined everything: food, a roof to sleep under, clothes, and even your life.

Remembering this fact, we quickly followed Evan, who had already started walking.

* * *

That day we hid the bag, and we did the same in the following days.

We wouldn't know when they would make their move, but we were certain they would.

Even adults could be enticed if they noticed it.

We could have used all the money to buy food in advance, but it would have been a futile approach.

We had no way to preserve the food, and a large amount of it could attract undesirable people.

Having lived in the outskirts, we were used to fights.

Of course, fighting without reason would only harm us, so we avoided it as much as possible.

Especially because of their agility and sharp claws.

As humans, we were the weakest race, so it was particularly challenging.

That's why we took turns to secretly watch the rival group.

In my opinion, this would be our daily routine from now on.

As long as we had the bag with us, we had to be ever vigilant.

I was sure they were planning to steal the bag from us soon.

Thinking about all this, time passed, and night fell slowly.

"I'm back."

Seeing my brother return, I asked as I stood up.

"Did something happen?"

Without even looking at me, he replied as he passed by me.

"Nothing new."

A hint of annoyance crept into his voice, as always when he spoke to me. Ignoring this fact, I walked in the opposite direction.

Now it was my turn to keep watch.

I concealed my body and looked towards the entrance of the alley where the rival gang lived.

As I kept an eye on the entrance, a person emerged from the darkness.

A girl who seemed to be one or two years younger than me walked hesitantly towards the alley.

Her fearful expression was slightly visible due to the darkness.

Despite this, her neat clothes and clean, well-cared-for face were clearly visible.

Her long black hair was wavy at the tips.

Anyone could tell she was... beautiful.

It was immediately clear that she didn't belong to the always gloomy environment of the outskirts.

She looked like a girl from an affluent family in the central part of the city.

"M... Mom?"

She was a human girl who contrasted sharply with me and the surroundings.

Looking around, she looked around with confusion and fear in her eyes.

On the other hand, I watched her from a distance with mixed feelings.

"M-Mom? I'm scared... Come quickly."

After wandering aimlessly, she stopped in front of the dark alley of the rival gang.

Looking fearfully at the alley, she slowly started to enter, perhaps hoping one of the voices inside belonged to her mother.

How could she be so naive?

"Hey, little girl."

Annoyed by her innocence, I spoke brusquely.

"Hiik!"

Startled by the sudden voice, the girl turned around with noticeable stiffness.

Looking at her, I couldn't hold back any longer and spoke.

"That place is clearly dangerous, don't you realize?"

What would happen if a girl like her entered that alley would be obvious to anyone. There was no one to protect her; on the contrary, many might want to harm her.

In a place like this, where people died every day, a grim fate seemed inevitable for a fragile girl.

"Are you lost?"

I asked.

I knew that getting involved with her wouldn't bring me any benefit, but there was something that wouldn't let me stand still.

Was it because of her pretty appearance that made me want to protect her? Or was it because we were both human?

I didn't know, but I was sure of one thing: I was willing to help her.

However, as expected, she looked at me with fear and stepped back.

Feeling annoyed by her rejection, I was about to speak again when—

"Oh, who's this beauty?"

—A voice came from inside the alley.

Soon, the sound of three steps approaching could be clearly heard.

"What's a girl like you doing here?"

The werewolves from the rival gang looked at the girl with their bright yellow eyes.

With a strong, unmistakable interest in them.

"... Ehhh."

Examining the girl from head to toe with a leering look, one of the werewolves exclaimed.

"H-Hiik."

Feeling that things were going wrong, the girl moved a little back, though I didn't have the courage to run away from the place.

"She's cute, and her clothes look fancy; we can definitely get something out of her."

Knowing that this had turned into an uncomfortable situation, I sighed dramatically.

"Jahh."

The werewolves, who noticed my presence a little late, looked at me with their now sharp yellow eyes.

"Isn't that annoying brat?"

"Were you spying on us?"

The werewolf acting as their leader laughed and looked in my direction with a contemptuous smile.

The strong pride typical of their race was clearly visible.

"Do you know this girl, brat?"

"Yes."

"Mmm... interesting."

The girl, who was still paralyzed with fear, looked at me for help.

She instinctively realized that werewolves were dangerous.

"Hey, what if we make a deal?"

Feeling curious about his sudden proposal, I asked.

"What deal?"

"We'll overlook the fact that you were spying on us, and we won't take anything."

"What do you mean?"

"About the bag you're desperately hiding, in exchange, give us this girl."

Narrowing my eyes slightly and trying to feign indifference, I said.

"I don't know what you're talking about."

Laughing at my response, the leader spoke again.

"Anyway, we'll keep the girl. We have someone who would be very interested in buying her."

"Do you mean the owner of that brothel?"

"Hahaha, yes, he'll pay us quite well."

The girl, who listened to our conversation, began to tremble as tears formed at the corners of her eyes.

She seemed to have imagined the grim future that awaited her.

Seeing her like this, the feeling of wanting to protect her only grew stronger, and from this moment, my course of action was decided.

I wasn't particularly a good person, just someone reckless who followed their feelings and instincts.

Also, just because I lived among garbage didn't mean I was garbage too.

"So, brat, go back—"

- Bang!

I quickly punched the unsuspecting leader's face, sending him to the ground as a result.

'I hope I survive this.'

I didn't know what the outcome of this fight would be if I couldn't gain an advantage or get help.

The leader got up, holding his nose, his face distorted.

"You bastard! I even made you a proposition!"

"Ha, it doesn't benefit me at all."

"What?"

Laughing blatantly, I said disdainfully.

"You could have never taken the bag anyway."

After that, I quickly grabbed a wooden plank and lunged at them.

* * *

"Ugh."

My outburst had only lasted a moment. I was easily overwhelmed when they all came at me at once.

Despite that, I managed to incapacitate one of them.

Spitting out a mix of saliva and blood, I tried to get up.

I had bruises, a swollen eye, and multiple claw marks on my body.

However, the leader quickly kicked me and positioned himself on top of my chest, with his knees pressing down on my arms.

"Say goodbye to your sight, you bastard."

I instantly realized what he intended to do. Fear spread across my face.

"Let me go!"

The werewolf, amused, prepared his nails to tear out my eyes as he firmly held my head with his other hand.

I could only watch in horror as his claws approached my eyes.

At that moment—

- Thud!

—A loud sound resonated, and my body felt light again.

Evan had entered with a punch to the rival leader's chin, sending him flying as a result.

Looking at me with his usual disdainful expression, he said.

"As useless as ever."