‘Did I worry myself for no reason? Where the heck are the guards?’ Ashton thought to himself while he slowly made his way out of the mansion.

The mansion was ominously silent. For the days he had spent there, this wasn’t anything like he had imagined. Even though it had been a couple of minutes since he stepped out of his room, there was no sign of anyone. No guards, no maids, nothing.

Ashton prowled the silent, dark halls like a true werewolf. His enhanced sight helped him look clearly even in the dark. He had seen the moon shining brightly from his room, but all of the drapes had been drawn in the halls so there was no light.

‘It isn’t full moon today… there shouldn’t be a reason for them to be hiding away like this. Or is it something that I am not aware of?’

Ashton didn’t know much about the werewolves. He thought full moon was their only natural weakness, but it didn’t seem to be the case. If it was then there definitely would have been at least a few of them prowling about the mansion.

‘Hm… it’s fine for me either way. If they are staying hidden then it would be much easier for me to go out and hunt.’

Ashton slowly managed to make his way out of the mansion with ease. Although he could not turn into a full-fledged werewolf just yet, he had learnt to convert his fingers into sharp claws and started climbing onto the wall that separated the rest of the city from the mansion.

All of it seemed too easy, which even made Ashton think twice about his plan. But he still needed to level up his other genes and this was the perfect opportunity to do so. He kept going on. He finally got his first glimpse of the city from the top of the walls.

He did not want to admit it, but the place indeed looked beautiful. The city of Maddencreek was built in the centre of a luscious, yet deadly forest. Mistress had already told him not to ever venture into the forest without proper security and equipment as the forest was the home to numerous mutated beasts.

The city itself was surrounded by high walls that Ashton could see just as easily as the rest of the city. In some distance, there was a mountain that was once a volcano but now lay dormant. However, the city was still reaping the rewards of the volcano’s last explosion.

The trade resources the volcano brought were of great importance to them and were used for a variety of purposes. But they were also influential when it came to architectural designs as the vast majority of buildings have been built not just to withstand a volcano, but with elements and shapes of a volcano.

The skyline was littered with unique skyscrapers and they seem to be continuously evolving as new additions are added even then. Thanks to the Mistress’s leadership, the city was still evolving into a city of the future.

‘Enough gazing, let’s get going before someone gets suspicious.’

***

The entire point of Ashton escaping the mansion was for him to hunt something down. Instead, he felt as if he was being played. Just like the mansion, not a single soul could be seen anywhere. It was as if he was walking through a ghost town.

“Where is everyone?”

Ashton mumbled to himself, and as he did, he heard something behind him. The next moment a weird smell filled his nostril and he instinctively jumped sideways. The following moment, an arrow was buried where he was standing. He turned around and saw a couple of people standing behind him… just with a look, Ashton realised they were werewolves… but Vampires.

There was no mistaking it as their dead skin glowed in the moonlit sky. Both of them were wearing black clothing which completely covered their torso and legs. Ashton was able to guess they were vampires because of their sleeveless hoodies.

In their hands, they each had a crossbow, while a sword was strapped across their back. All in all, it looked like they were out for a hunt… and Ashton was their prey.

“Oh, looks like these mutts left someone behind for us to hunt after all.” A feminine voice echoed in Ashton’s ears as one of them removed her hoodie, “And here I thought Natalia wasn’t going to let us kill any of her precious citizens.”

“Hm… looks like she is not as stubborn as we thought,” The vampire next to the woman lifted his hoodie up as well, “And here I was thinking we would have to complain to the King about his daughter’s… unwelcoming behaviour.”

“Why are you standing there like a fool?” The raven-haired female vampire barked at Ashton, “Start running. Hunting is no fun if the prey gives up so easily….”