Living to fight another day. That's what her life boiled down to most days. Reyna quickly pushed those thoughts out of her mind and threw the brick as hard as she could at the window above the trash bin. She ran towards it and jumped on top of the can in one swift movement. Her right hand grabbed onto the broken glass, and she winced as it cut into her skin. Reyna pulled herself up and slipped through the window.
Reyna landed on her feet and took in the room in front of her. It seemed to be a one room building, and the door was straight ahead of her. She ran towards it and slammed her shoulder into it. Reyna stumbled out of the building and took off down the street. One of Lycaon's goons appeared from behind a corner, and she wasted no time in launching herself into him.
Before she could fully make it to her feet, someone slammed into her from the side. Reyna cursed and threw an elbow backward. It slammed into the other lackey's nose. She rolled to her feet and dodged another tackle.
The last thing she wanted to do was fight three werewolves, but they were really leaving her with no choice. Reyna turned towards the first crook and punched him in the stomach. He collapsed and gasped for breath. Reyna stomped down on his throat.
Reyna turned towards the second goon and tried to kick him. He caught her attack and shoved her back. As Reyna caught her footing, someone wrapped their arms around her. Reyna tried to fight out of the grasp, and it wasn't strong. She pulled away and turned, punching Nico right in the nose.
"They're going to get you killed," Reyna spat down at him. She turned and slammed her head directly into the other henchman. Reyna felt anger filling her veins, and as the goon started to bleed, a smirk came to her face. Seeing this blood, it woke something deep inside her. Something she liked to keep hidden.
"Lycaon! Come fight me!" Reyna yelled as she turned. Her challenge was for two reasons. The first was to hopefully attract attention that would cause Lycaon to leave. The second was because she did want to fight Lycaon. She really wanted to tear him apart and make him scream.
Reyna let out a deep breath and tried to keep herself in control. It would not be a good idea to let bloodlust take over, and it was her fault for not transforming and finding a few small animals to kill. This could work, though.
Reyna stomped down on the first croney's crotch, as payback for what happened to Jason. She didn't see Lycaon, so she turned and grabbed Nico by his jacket. Reyna spoke, "You set me up, and I should rip your throat out for that."
"I'm sorry," Nico begged. Reyna felt her ear twitch and turned her head as Lycaon turned the corner.
"Leave our little slut alone," Lycaon hissed with a sneer. Reyna returned a glare to him. She could feel Nico shaking beneath her hands. Reyna looked back at him.
"You called the cops to stop Lycaon's assault on Jason?" Reyna asked quietly. Nico nodded. "And you only tricked me to keep Lycaon from hurting you more?"
"I'm sorry," Nico whispered. Reyna let go of him.
"Lycaon is going to want your help now, so you have two choices. Continue to be his bitch and help him, or you can run. Go to the bar and tell Chiron what you did. I am going to handle Lycaon," Reyna said. Without waiting for an answer, she turned towards the werewolf. She had been ready to lunge, but she froze as she saw that Lycaon had transformed.
Lycaon slammed into her a moment later. Reyna cried out as three hundred pounds slammed into her chest and drove her into the hard ground. A rib or two cracked under the pressure, and she gasped. Her gaze focused on Lycaon as she was pinned down by him.
Lycaon was twelve feet tall, and his fur was the color of ash. There were plenty of scars that covered his body, showing off how many fights he had gotten into. His claws were the size of her fingers, and they looked to be extremely sharp.
Reyna felt her muscles tense and contract as she began to think about transforming. Those thoughts were dashed as a knife passed by her face and slammed into Lycaon's side. The werewolf howled in pain. Nico tried to pull the knife out, but it seemed to be stuck.
"Go!" Reyna yelled. She pulled her knees back and then slammed her feet into Lycaon's chest with all of her strength. The werewolf stumbled back, and Reyna rolled backward and onto her feet. She placed one hand to her side and studied the knife. It didn't look to be silver, but if she could get her hands around the hilt, it would cause him pain all the same.
Transformed, Lycaon looked like a stretched out human with a ton of fur. When werewolves transformed, they didn't turn into large dogs. Instead, they grew to twice their size and also kept their opposable thumbs. Their teeth became stronger and longer, as did their nails.
Most werewolves did not look as scrawny as Lycaon did, but Reyna had already felt some of his strength. She wasn't looking forward to feeling more. Reyna tried to take a deep breath and focus her thoughts. Pain in her side stopped her from completing the action, along with Lycaon launching himself at her again.
Reyna dove past the attack but reached out to grab the knife. She tore it from his side and turned towards Lycaon. He was already pouncing again. Reyna threw herself to the ground and cursed as she scrambled back to her feet. She turned and saw a shadow pass over her.
Reyna knew she shouldn't have dodged the same way twice beacause she thought Lycaon would be too dumb to change up his strategy of attack. Pain tore through her face a moment later, and blood filled her vision. Two claws had torn right above her eye. She swung wildly and hit nothing but the air. Lycaon grabbed her face and tore the claw on his thumb into Reyna's mouth.
"You stupid bitch," Lycaon sneered. He slowly dragged his nail down the scar on Reyna's lip. Reyna gripped the knife tightly and felt agonizing pain in her face as her scar was reopened. Lycaon laughed and continued to drag his nail down. "Who marked you like this, huh? I might have to give you a matching one."
Reyna stabbed forward, and Lycaon howled as the knife was sheathed into his eye. Reyna twisted the blade and tried to push it in further, hopefully sliding into Lycaon's brain. The bastard tore his thumb down completely, and Reyna lost her grip for a moment.
A crossbow bolt hit the wall next to Reyna's head, and she tensed. Lycaon instantly backed away and turned his head. He howled as another crossbow bolt slammed into his arm. Lycaon turned and ran out of the alley on his four limbs.
"Fuck!" Reyna hissed. She shot both hands to her mouth and felt that Lycaon's claw had been broken off in her reopened wound. She removed it and slowly pocketed it, not quite sure what she was going to do with it. Her gaze moved to the side to focus on the crossbow bolt. The silver crossbow bolt.
"Try to relax," Zoë began as she knelt by Reyna. Her eyes studied the damage on Reyna's face. "Lycaon will be dealt with. I promise. Let me help you."
"I got it," Reyna growled. She slowly stood on her own. Blood smeared her hand, and she felt anger brewing inside. Her vision started glazing over. Reyna growled and walked down the street. Zoë followed right behind her.
"You need a doctor," Zoë stated. Reyna didn't respond. She stopped at the corner and took deep breaths. Blood was swarming the right side of her vision, and she wanted to repay Lycaon with a river of his own blood. "Hey, I can help you to the bar."
Reyna shook her head again, and through the blood, she saw a cop turn the corner. He took in the scene and stepped towards her, but Zoë waved him off. The officer spoke, "Lycaon's boys?"
"They are," Zoë confirmed. "I managed to wound Lycaon, but he ran off."
"We'll pick him up," the officer promised. Reyna slipped away from the two and kept a hand to her jaw. The blood was still freely trickling into her eye, obscuring her vision. As the bar came into sight, she saw Clarisse step outside. Clarisse's eyes widened as she saw her.
Reyna looked down and felt a little lightheaded. She wasn't sure how much blood she had lost, but her entire body was aching. A hand grabbed her shoulder to steady her. Clarisse spoke, "What the fuck happened? Nico said something about Lycaon, and Zoë was out of there before I realized something was happening."
"Lycaon used Nico to draw me out," Reyna said. Her knees went weak, and Clarisse caught her. "Wanted to deliver a warning to me. I think he wanted revenge for being embarrassed."
"You look like shit. Come on," Clarisse said. She led Reyna into the bar, but Reyna felt her world slowing down. She was going to pass out from blood loss. It took her a moment to feel a wetness in her side. Had Lycaon hit her there as well?
A bitter smirk touched Reyna's face. She kept saying that she wasn't going to get involved in these issues at the bar, but that was the only thing she seemed to do. Reyna had decided that she wanted to stay here. With the money and job, she could get a place and save up some money. If Lycaon was going to threaten that, she would just have to handle him.
"I have a lead on a mutt," Hylla began as she looked at the woman in front of her. The woman, Otrera, studied her in silence. "It will be a solo job. I can't draw too much attention."
"After your work at Fairmount Valley, who am I to decline?" Otrera asked. Hylla nodded and turned away. "Wait."
"Yes ma'am?" Hylla asked as she turned around and studied the woman that was not only her boss but her mentor. Otrera had never met Hylla's father, but she had great respect for him. Hylla's family name had been enough to get her a job with this group, but she proved her worth tenfold.
"What makes this job so special that you can't bring your partner?" Otrera questioned. Hylla remained silent, wondering how much to tell her boss. The last thing she needed was to bring her group, Exterminata, to this town. This was personal.
"Kinzie deserves some time off," Hylla finally answered. Otrera looked unconvinced. "I don't need help with this mutt."
"Does this mutt have something to do with the death of your father?" Otrera asked. Hylla didn't answer, but she felt her lip twitch. Otrera smiled coldly. "I understand. You found the blight, didn't you? The disgrace of your family. No wonder you want to go so badly."
"You still have my permission, but I don't want you to kill this one. No, I want you to bring the disgrace here," Otrera relayed. "Your father was a valuable asset to us, and it is only fair that we deliver his murderer justice. It has also been a long time since I dissected a werewolf."
"As long as I deliver the killing blow," Hylla said.
"Deal," Otrera agreed. Hylla bowed her head. "Dismissed."
Hylla turned and left the office. Her things were already packed with plenty of items needed to subdue and kill a werewolf. Hylla hadn't planned on bringing her sister back to the Exterminata base. This was personal, too personal for Otrera to understand. Hylla watched her younger sister kill their father. How she lured their father in and then tore his fucking throat out.
Maybe, it would be best to hand her over to Otrera. The Exterminata group was one of the oldest hunting clans around. They specialized in werewolves, but there wasn't one beast they had killed and dissected. They weren't an official hunting clan, as it would just be stupid to be weighed down by rules and regulations. Governments knew better to mess with them and had even called them in a few times for under the table deals.
In the end, it didn't matter to Hylla. As long as she avenged their father. As long as she drove a knife through Reyna's traitorous heart. Then, the blight on her family's name would be erased.