Chapter 9

As the assassin lunged forward, his dagger poised to strike, Loye's eyes snapped open. He saw the glint of the blade in the moonlight, and in that split second, his instincts took over. He rolled to one side, narrowly avoiding the assassin's strike, and sprang to his feet, his fists clenched and ready to fight.

The assassin, surprised by Loye's sudden movement, stumbled forward, but quickly regained his balance. He turned to face Loye, his eyes burning with fury, and charged forward once again. But just as he was about to strike, a sudden growl filled the air.

The assassin froze, his eyes darting around the clearing, searching for the source of the noise. And then, he saw it - a massive grey wolf, standing at the edge of the clearing, its teeth bared and its eyes fixed on the assassin.

The assassin hesitated for a moment, unsure of what to do. He had faced many foes in his life, but he had never encountered a wolf like this before. The animal was massive, and it moved with an almost supernatural grace.

And then, without warning, the wolf charged forward. Its jaws snapped shut around the assassin's wrist, and Loye could hear the bones in the man's arm crunching under the pressure. The assassin screamed in agony, his dagger falling from his grasp.

Loye, still stunned by the sudden turn of events, watched as the wolf continued its attack. It seemed to be almost toying with the assassin, darting in and out of range, snapping at him with lightning-fast strikes.

But the assassin was no ordinary man. Despite his injuries, he fought back with a ferocity that Loye had never seen before. He kicked and punched at the wolf, trying to drive it away, but the animal seemed impervious to his blows.

As the battle raged on, Loye realized that he needed to act quickly. He scrambled to his feet, his mind racing as he tried to think of a way to end the fight.

Finally, he saw his opportunity. The assassin had managed to grab a rock from the ground, and he was poised to strike the wolf with it. Loye charged forward, his fists clenched, and tackled the assassin from behind.

The two men crashed to the ground, and Loye felt the wind knocked out of his lungs. But he managed to hold on, wrestling the rock from the assassin's grasp and hurling it away into the darkness. At this point, the wolf sinking its teeth into the assassin's flesh. The assassin screamed in pain and tried to kick the wolf away, but it held on tightly, its powerful jaws clamped down on his leg. No done, the wolf releases the assassin's leg and goes for his neck. At this point, Loye rolls away from the assassin and lunges to grab his dagger a few meter away. The assassin after being bitten multiple times had lost a lot of blood and was lying limping having lost both his weapon and his rock. He groans in pain as he looks at Loye who had stood up poised in attack stance with his dagger held in a backward grip.

With the threat of the rock gone, the wolf seemed to lose interest in the fight. It released the assassin, and then turned and disappeared into the night, leaving Loye and the assassin alone in the clearing.

Loye panted for breath, his heart racing with adrenaline. He looked over at the assassin, who was writhing in pain on the ground. Despite his injuries, the man managed to glare up at Loye, his eyes burning with a cold hatred.

Loye stood over the assassin, dagger at the ready, unsure of what to do. He knew that the assassin was there to kill him, but he couldn't bring himself to deliver the final blow.

Instead, he decided to try and get some answers. "Why are you trying to kill me?" Loye demanded, keeping his distance. The assassin's face twisted into a snarl of pain and anger. "It doesn't matter," he spat. "My employer will find someone else to finish the job."

Loye suddenly came to a realization of what he must do, he needed to dispatch the assassin as quickly as possible and continue on his journey. By doing this, he would buy himself sometime before another assassin or attack would be sent his way. Thinking up to this point, Loye stabs the assassin in the heart and watched his eyes go blank as he dies by the light of the glowing embers of what was left of the fire.