The Predator's Loop

Chapter 3: "What type of curse?"

Nyx Alarie Tempest:

The wind ruffled my fur as I sprinted across the grass. Even the gratifying sunny weather failed to calm the irritation flaring in the pit of my stomach.

Catching sight of the house at a distance, I command my beast to hand over the control to me. I felt my fur turn to skin and my bones fracture and reassemble back in a different sequence. Feeling my paws change into fingers, I strode my way into the house.

I grabbed the clothing set out for us by the door and pulled some pants on as I made my way inside. I made my way into the study that's only ever used by Carlos Alverez.

I found the man working around with a huge dump of books, a sense of worry etched on his face.

"What the fuck in the world is happening?!" I growled in frustration.

"Oh, hey Temp! You might want to throw on a shirt to cover those nips," he sassed and then smiled sheepishly at his sorry excuse of a joke.

I growled caught him by his collar, "I don't have the patience for this. They were all dead. How did this happen? What the fuck is going on?"

"I have some bad news," He told me.

"Yeah, no shit!" I mocked.

"We're may or may not have been cursed," He told me gravely as he unfurled my fingers from the fabric of his shirt.

My claws accidentally grew as a result of my unrest tearing the fabric of the shirt that I picked.

"What type of curse?" my eyebrows creased.

"I'm still trying to figure that out," He said with a finality in his voice. "But, have you noticed something?"

"What?"

He cleared his throat uncomfortably, "Each of us was only drawn to one prey. Like, I didn't kill more than one and neither did you. You were drawn to just one human just as I was. The kill was quick."

He then reached out to fish inside a basket of clothing placed in the corner of the room and brought out a hoodie. He tossed it to me, "Nyx, I think this is a lot more complex than it seems."

"Figure it out! You're the genius here," I jutted my chin towards him. I proceeded to pull on the hoodie over my bare chest.

He nodded and grabbed a scroll. "But, on the contrary, the girl was so pretty that I couldn't bring myself to hurt her in any way..."

I growled, "Carlos, they're human! They aren't innocent. I understand that you are the most soft-hearted beast among us but you can't let your emotions prevail in this matter."

He grinned, "So, did you look at your prey? What did she look like?"

I scoffed, "How do you know it was a she?"

He shrugged, "A guess?"

"I didn't look at its appearance. I wouldn't consider it more appealing than a rat. And, neither should you."

He looked hurt at my response but the truth is always bitter isn't it?

"It? That's a person that you're referring to," He said.

As much as I wanted to whack his skull to work some sense into it, I just decided to walk out. Sometimes, I wonder how he was born a Shifter. He's too soft for his own good. I cannot say that he is weak. He's a ferocious shifter in a war and a relentless protector. But, he's too soft in the heart, an empathetic soul.

"Hey, where do you think you're going?" he demanded.

"Away from your disgustingly mushy ass," I answered in a low voice.

He scoffed, "I speak the tru-"

I was out in the hallways before he could finish the word. He always seemed to be in a pretty bubble while the world was nothing but ugly.

"Invicta Nyx, any information on this mishap?" few other shifters enquired me.

"Probably a curse. Carlos needs more time to unearth information on the possible situation we may be in. Do not disturb him," I told them firmly.

They just nodded in agreement and dispersed from my sight. It could be the permanent scowl on my face but they don't prefer to mess around with me. Always been a loner but being a loner is good.

Except, Carlos always sticks around me like a strong glue. With a personality that completely contradicts mine, he has a way of infuriating me. But, I would never admit to him that sometimes, I feel glad to have him watch my back.

I made my way outside and took off in a sprint. I settled on a familiar cliff and watched the chaos from above. Humans running and the bloodshed. Shifters playing with their prey as if playing with their food during a hunt.

Quite soon, it was all silent. The predators returning to rest for the day. But I knew that it wasn't the time to rest. It was time to fathom what situation we were stuck in.

If this repeats the next day, we'd know that we're in so much trouble.

Because then, we'd not only be hunting again but also be repeating the day.

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