[Title: Alpha Werewolf of the Howlers Pack]
[Howling Force (Alpha skill - Level 1)]
[When activated, the Alpha lets out a howl to energise nearby members of his Pack
Level 1: 10% overall stat boost)
The skill will take 0 points of Energy to use.
[Skill duration: 15 minutes]
[Skill reset time: 1 hour]
[Alpha Bite (Alpha skill)]
[When activated, the Alpha uses a special bite to attempt to turn a target.
An Alpha’s bite has a higher chance of successfully turning a person into a Werewolf]
The higher the Alpha’s Grade, the higher the chance of creating a higher Grade Werewolf.
The skill will take 0 points of Energy to use.
[Skill reset time: 1 week]
‘Wait, ‘attempt’? HIGHER ‘chance’? Do you want to tell me that just biting them isn’t guaranteed to successfully turn someone? So what happens if a bite doesn’t turn them into a Werewolf?’
Although the system didn’t answer, based on what he had seen Olivia go through, the teenager could predict the answer.
[Pack ruler (Alpha passive skill)]
[The Alpha will gain 10% of the experience his Beta Werewolves earn during their hunts and kills]
[Should a Beta Werewolf kill a hunting target Marked by the Alpha, both Werewolves will enjoy the benefits]
The skills and effects earned from becoming an Alpha seemed promising, but it only seemed useful if Gary was to create more Beta Werewolves. In a way, the more Betas he gained, the quicker for him to get stronger. It seemed similar to a pyramid scheme, with Gary at the top leaching off all the others below him.
Once again, it looked like the system was incentivising him to turn as many people as possible into Werewolves. However, after finding out that there was no actual guarantee that it would work, Gary was a lot more hesitant to do that.
‘Given Pack Rule #4, I don’t have to worry about Olivia trying to turn anyone, and maybe now that it's an actual skill I can use my teeth in combat without having to worry too much about the potential consequences.’
There were times when the Werewolf had wished to use his large mouth. After all, it was yet another natural weapon of his, yet he had suppressed that desire for fear of creating more Billys.
“Hey, Gary.” Innu addressed his friend, as they all observed the scene below. “What shall we do about your girlfriend over there?”
“Girlfriend?” Gary turned around in confusion, wondering how and when Xin had appeared. Although they weren't officially a couple yet, since he had yet to set up a date or anything, he didn't know who else Innu could be referring to…
However, when he turned around, the only one there apart from the Howlers was the woman with the snow-white skin. She had changed clothes after Olivia had given her something, and Gary had gotten back his blazer.
“Hey, what are you still doing here? You can go home now, there's no need for you to stay in the streets.” The teenager spoke to her in a gentle voice. The young woman looked fragile and pale, even though he suspected that she must be older than him. Still, after seeing what she had endured, he didn’t want to be harsh to the frightened woman.
“I don’t have anywhere to go.” She revealed. “My parents are dead… they killed themselves, because they were unable to pay off a large debt they had accrued. One of those guys came to collect, but since there was nothing of value, they took me here… I have nowhere else to go.”
The others looked at each other awkwardly, and at the same time, Gary didn’t really know what to do. Was she expecting him to help her out? Wasn’t this a situation that the police would usually deal with?
Just then, though, Marie had received a text on her phone.
“Erghh, Gary, I think we might have a small issue on our hands. My Mum just informed me that your bald headed friend and your sister are at the pool club.”
——
The bus driver had hesitated a bit before he allowed the Howlers to hop in, since their clothes were stained with blood. Only after Kai explained that they had been filming a film project, did the adult man allow them on. However, Gary suspected that the extra 20 Kai had ‘tipped’ the man, might have played a major part in convincing him.
Unlike before, this time there were six of them on the bus. A small, frail woman was currently sitting next to Gary. She had refused to sit next to anybody else, and Marie felt a little annoyed at her behaviour, though ultimately she had given up her seat as she looked into the other’s pleading eyes.
Since the two were sitting next to each other, and the ride from Burnham back to the Wolf’s Pool Club wasn’t a short ride by any means, Gary had asked her a few questions. The rescued woman introduced herself simply as White, which might just have been her nickname, but it was quite fitting.
The teenager also found out that White had only turned twenty a few months ago. She had only recently started to attend university to become a teacher, which coincidentally seemed to have been the reason her parents had loaned money from the Pincer’s gang.
“I have answered all your questions. So I think it's fair to answer one of mine.” White replied after a while, as she stared directly into Gary’s eyes. “Why didn’t you kill her?”
Luckily, the group were at the back of the bus, and it was relatively empty apart from a granny who had entered the bus at some point and was staying at the front. However, the rest of the Howlers certainly heard the question, and were just as interested to know what had happened.
‘Wait a minute? Did White see me bite her? She should have been too scared to look and turned around, right?’ Gary tried to recall the events. ‘Yeah, that has to be the case, otherwise she wouldn’t have asked why I didn’t kill her.’
“I heard you say you were going to experiment on her.” White continued.
Innu immediately started coughing as soon as he heard these words. He remembered seeing the leader's proactive dress, and someone saying they would experiment on her, his mind was going to dirty places.
“White… it seems that you have heard a lot, but let me explain. We’re just a small-time gang. In fact, everyone you see here is the entire gang. We might have taken out the ones inside the Kraken, but you’ve seen how many guards there were just outside the other restaurants.
“Without her telling them off, those other members of the Pincers gang would have surely come after our lives. I needed to… get her on our side.” Gary explained and thought that would be the end of it.
The look on White's face showed that she wasn’t pleased with the answer that had been given.
“If it was me… I would have killed her in a second.” White mumbled looking out the window, but honestly, Gary couldn’t blame her for having chosen that course of action… especially since part of him still wanted Olivia dead. Alas, right now, it was more beneficial to keep her alive.
‘Why are there so many troublesome girls…and now I have to deal with my sister as well.’