C3 Chapter 3

"You are too stagnant! Because you are a mortal and haven't unearthed your ability, doesn't mean you should be sluggish." Joy could hear Dan's voice in her head.

She could remember that day very well. Dan had just returned from his duty, and he was not going to work at night. He was a teacher, hired by one of the D'arcy commanders to teach their recruits different techniques.

Even though Dan wanted to reject their offer, he didn't want to end up like his father.

So, he had no choice but to accept the proposal. Not only that, he was using the opportunity to examine all of D'arcy's weaknesses. Perhaps he might get a chance to kill all of them one day. None of the armies was a match for Dan, and that made them fear him.

Instead of going straight to his room, Dan sneaked into her room and snatched her away as usual.

As soon as his feet touched the ground, he transformed into his hybrid form. A vampire who is also a lycan. However, he was stronger and bigger than both.

With one hand, he yanked Joy up, and she went flying in the air like a baby toy. Joy could remember how she nearly hit her head against a sharp branch that protruded out of an oak tree like a spike.

She could remember closing her eyes and anticipating her death when Dan appeared in front of her and saved her.

She could remember Dan telling her that day. "I will give you twenty minutes to run as far as you can go. After twenty minutes, I will come after you, and I must not reach you." He warned her.

Joy nodded her head to indicate that she understood him very well. Besides, she knew how Dan always trashed her like a baby whenever she failed a test.

"Lastly, I will advise you not to walk on the ground. So, you'd better be on top of those trees." She remembers Dan's last warning before she went deep into the woods.

Even though it was over twenty minutes, she hadn't reached a hundred miles when she caught sight of Dan behind her. That is when Dan told her that she was too slow.

Now she was jumping too slowly. She could hear the rustling of leaves and the loud approaching footsteps of Delta Logan and his pack.

Dan's words made her increase her speed. It serves as a strength for her bones. The adrenaline in her body increased, and she found herself increasing her speed. Everything is now becoming a blur, and she hardly sees the next branch to grab. At least, she hasn't fallen yet.

"Dan, where are you?" She mumbled inwardly. Her breath is now coming hard, and her heart is aching badly due to the long sprint.

Even though it was still noon, the whole wood was dark. The trees' leaves are making it impossible for the bright light to shine underneath them. That's exactly what those night creatures want. They love darkness, as it makes them feel more powerful.

However, it is a disadvantage for her. She hardly sees what is ahead of her. The speed at which she is moving isn't helping matters.

She could feel her body covered with different scratches and the blood that was dripping from them.

Just when Joy thought she was going to give up, her eyes caught a bright light. It was shining brightly in front of her, not less than fifty yards away. That boosted her dexterity, and she increased her speed.

If she could make it out, perhaps Dan might appear out of nowhere to save her. Or, she would just stumble against one of Lord Darius' soldiers.

Even though they might not help her, it might still give her some time to escape, or shout for help.

Joy could see the light getting closer with every jump she made. She could see that the wood was now getting brighter, as they had now gotten away from the thickest part of the wood.

Joy could see the exit from the woods. It is now a few metres away.

She grabbed a branch and used it to spin her body, and a claw swiped past her face. She steps on the ground, then taps another trunk, and uses the force to impel her body on top of another tree.

Still, in midair, she grabbed a branch, and then performed bar-hopping skills. Her long black hair came down and then covered her face. Her leg is on top of a tree, and she quickly uses her hand to support her body.

Joy was closer to the exit, much closer than before. With one last effort, she climbed to the top of another tree, going as high as her legs and arms could carry her.

She was clutching onto the tree like a Spider-Man, and she was using them to perform a tree crawl.

As she reached the top of the tree, she walked closer to the last branch, which also served as the boundary between the woods and the exit.

Unfortunately for Joy, her leg accidentally slipped as she was about to perform the last jump. Acting on instinct, she grabbed another branch and used it to swing her body towards the other side. Joy let out a sly smile as she felt the fresh air blowing through her nostrils.

However, it was cut short when she felt her body being slammed against an invisible shield.

Her victory smile was quickly diminished into a sad one as her brain processed what had just happened in her mind. She had just slammed into an invisible fence, which she suspected was conjured by Rachel.

Joy's body came to deflect the law of gravity as she came tumbling down headfirst. Her body collided with a different tree, and they scratched her skin, drawing out blood in the process, from multiple places in her body.

After plummeting for what seems like forever, she finally feels her back crashing against a hard rock.

Joy could hear herself letting out a painful moan. She could feel her rib bone making creaking sounds, followed by her ankles, which let out funny sounds.

Without being told, Joy knew she had just lost another bone. Now, her mom will have to do the work of putting them together again. That's if she managed to escape from Delta Logan and his deadly squad's grip

Dan, where are you? Joy thought again. This is the best time she needed him most.

Joy felt the hard grasp of Delta Logan yanking her up on her feet, and she could feel the anger that was coursing through his veins.

She could feel the great aura that was radiating from the man's body and the strong power she was using in holding her arm as if she might run away again.

She sees the killer looking in the man's eyes and his urge to tear her apart, which he was trying to suppress. The same goes for the rest. She could feel the murderer's looks coming at her.

If eyes could kill, Joy was sure she would have been several feet underground now.

Stylishly, she uses her eyes to examine them one after the other.

Delta Logan is standing in front of her, and Rebecca is standing beside him. Rachel, and the other five that Joy didn't know their names were standing at the exit of the woods.

Even from where she was standing, Joy could see the death look on their faces.

Why would they be guiding the exit point when Delta Logan is already holding her tightly? Joy asked her subconscious.

Behind Delta Logan are three other males. From their standing, Joy was sure that there were Lycans.

Perhaps they are part of the pack. She thought.

"How can you run so fast like that? Are you a hare?" Delta Logan's cold voice brought her back to reality. "I have never seen any wolf, talkless of humans, who can outrun supernatural beings like us before." Delta Logan said it again, and Joy could hear the compliment in his voice.

How can she run so fast like that? She asked herself.

The only answer that comes to her brain is all the training she has been through in the woods with Dan. All the night runs, and everything altogether.

Hell No! She thought. She was sure that something was missing. She had never been so fast in her entire life. So quickly that all the leaves and trees looked blurry to her. Not only that, despite how fast she was running, she did not miss a step.

"Perhaps, your men aren't fast enough," Joy finally replied. Even though she was trying to sound brave, her heart was already doing a relay race inside her chest. "Maybe they need more training. If you don't mind, I can volunteer myself.” She suggested an offer at the same time.

Hell No! Joy screamed inwardly. Those words had left her mouth before she realised that she was talking to Delta Logan, third in rank of Alpha Malcolm.

Before she could blink, Delta Logan's hand collided with her mouth, and she felt the impact of the blow.

All her entire life, Joy had thought that giving birth to a baby and hitting a man in manhood were the worst pains ever.

However, this proved her wrong.

As the blow collided against her face, she could feel her teeth acting automatically and biting her tongue. A series of pains went down her entire system, and she could feel the blood increasing in her mouth.

She finally managed to say, "I will take that as dinner. At least don't let me break any bones in my body again. My mom will be damn exhausted while trying to fix them back." She begged.

"Exactly what I want," Rachel retorted, as she sauntered closer to her. Before Joy could blink, Rachel was already in front of her, and she felt another loud bang at her back. It took a few minutes to discover that Rachel had just hit her on the previous spot which she used to collide with a stone. That is when she fell earlier.

Seeing this, the rest of the team descended on her, and they started attacking her.

How long had they been beating her? She didn't know, nor could she see anything.

The last thing she remembers and saw before going unconscious is a strange figure who was walking into the woods and his voice, which carried authority.

“Stop it, or else I won't hesitate to kill you all.” She heard the weird voice cautioning them.

************

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"Mom, she is awake!" Joy heard a male voice shouting beside her, and she could hear the excitement in his tone.

There is only one person who always calls her mom by that name. She thought. It must be Dan.

"Are you okay?" She heard him ask again, and she could feel the concern in his voice.

"It seems like they hurt you badly. Don't worry, mom is on her way here," he said as he touched her forehead with a frigid towel.

As the cold towel touched her face, Joy let out a soft, painful moan. "Don't worry, mom says you will be fine." Joy heard Dan's voice again, and she nodded her head.

A few minutes later, the door made a creaking sound, followed by her mom's long white robe.

Slowly, Joy managed to raise her head, and it collided with her mom's weak face. Just like she had predicted earlier, her mom had exhausted her power while trying to heal her.

Even though her mom was old, she still possessed the face of a young woman. The only way one could know that she is weak is by how her power always drains whenever she uses it hastily.

"How did you find me?" Joy asked weakly, her voice barely more than a whisper.

"I was going to the training ground last night when I caught a glimpse of some people in the woods." Dan retorted. "At first, I thought it was the D'arcy's soldiers that were coercing one of the humans. However, I discovered that you were the one they were beating instead." He elaborated, and Joy opened her mouth in surprise.

If Dan found her last night, that means she had been asleep for a long period. Not only that, she had missed the concert with Joel.

Quickly, she directed her gaze towards her window, trying to confirm what Dan was telling her. True to his word, the sun is beginning to rise in the sky.

Hell no! She thought. She had just missed the only opportunity to go out with Joel, and the thought of him going alone pained her.

"What happened to you?" Her mother. asked. "How did you end up in the woods, fighting with Alpha Malcolm's Delta and Mrs. Sandra's daughter?"

"How long have I been unconscious?" Instead, Joy implored, her gaze resting on Dan. She knew better than to ask her mom. That would be worse than what Rebecca and her crew did to her.

"All night," Dan replied casually. "Thanks to your scent and the moon goddess, I found you on time. If not, you won't be breathing again by now." Dan said, and Joy hissed.

She had been through the worst, so that small beating couldn't kill her. However, there was something on her mind. How had she managed to run faster than those Lycans? She was sure that they wouldn't be able to catch her if it was not for Rachel's invisible shield.

"By the way, you had a visitor last night." Her mother's voice brought her back to reality. "He said you guys are going to see each other today."

"Tell me, who is he?" Dan asked with a puppy face.

Hell No! Joy thought. She couldn't tell them about Joel. At least not yet.

"He is just a friend," Joy said shyly. "By the way, what is the time?" She asked, her gaze now resting on her mom.

"Before I came up here to meet you, the time was 8:30." Her mom replied casually, and she could see the way Joy jerked on the bed.

"Don't tell me you are going to school today," Dan said. "You still need time to recover your vitality." Dan tried to stop her, but she had already jumped out of the bed.

She was putting off all her clothes and undies as she made her way toward the bathroom door. Thank goodness, there are no outsiders with them. Her mom has the right to see her nakedness, and this isn't the first time Dan has seen her like this. They have even had baths together at different times. So, that is not a new thing for him.

Letting out a small chuckle, Dan carried Joy's mom in a bridal style and sped out of Joy's room. They knew very well that stopping her was not the right thing to do again. She had told them a few days ago that the exam was fast approaching.

Besides, none of them could stop her, and there was nothing they could say that would make her change her mind.

Finally, the door banged closed, and Dan's footsteps could be heard as they echoed throughout the entire corridor.

T. b. c