"Huh, and here I thought killing my kind wouldn't be a waste of time. Turns out I was wrong..." proclaimed a nonchalant voice.

The young werewolf ripped out her claws from another werewolf's chest, taking his heart out with them. Severa Hatari, a lone werewolf who serves no alpha except God, working as a mercenary to make a living for herself. The large wolf growled his final breath before his eyes went pale. Severa sighed and looked down at her blood-stained hand, the large organ in her clutches. The blood that dripped from it turned the dark green grass below a crimson red. Severa's ears twitched when she heard an unfamiliar sound coming towards her.

"Must be your buddies," Severa said, looking down at the lifeless beast before her, "Don't want them coming to avenge you."

Severa placed the heart in her mouth and got on all fours, her true form taking hold. The silver wolf sprinted across the forest until she was far away from the body. She grinned as she listened to the faint howls behind her. The mercenary soon stopped and stood on her hind legs, taming the beast within, and allowing her hybrid form to be visible. She removed the heart from her mouth, swallowing the blood that slithered down her throat and licking the red that stained her lips.

Severa looked up at the large, dark cave before her and sighed silently, her ears and tail twitching to the summer breeze. Without hesitation, the mercenary walked into the large cave, disappearing into the darkness. Thanks to her night-vision, Severa was able to see several wolves eyeing her. In front of her were two large, black wolves; both resting on stone pedestals. Their heads shot up to the sound of footprints and smiled at who it was.

"Ah, Huntress! So glad to see you in one piece." said one of the wolves.

The wolf jumped down from the pedestal, only to transform into a young man with fair brown skin and amber eyes, dressed in the finest leather suit.

"Alpha Claude of the Silentbite Nightwalkers, I bring you the heart of Ichabod, Alpha of the Evermane Shadows." Severa proclaimed, presenting the heart to the tall man.

Claude walked up to the young mercenary and took the heart from her claws, only to admire the heart with glee-filled eyes.

"With Ichabod out of the picture, that brings the Silentbite Nightwalkers closer to our goal of becoming the ruling pack of Caldore Forest!" Claude proclaimed.

The other wolves began to howl, their chorus ringing throughout the cave. Claude then reached into his pocket and tossed Severa over a bag of gold coins.

"Just as we agreed?" Severa asked, glaring at the alpha.

"And more." the alpha grinned.

Severa nodded and bowed her head, thanking the generous alpha. Severa turned on her heel and started making her way to the cave's opening.

"Severa!" Claude called out.

The mercenary turned around and her ice-blue eyes met his amber eyes.

"You'll always have a place here in the Silentbite Nightwalkers." Claude grinned.

"I know..." Severa said, turning back around and exiting the cave.

Severa was grateful to the packs that she killed for, but if they only knew that she killed for every single one, each of them sending her to kill a member of another pack, and that pack doing the same to another. She might as well be the cause of the civil war that is yet to ascend. Being a loner, she has the right to fight for any pack, but she chooses not to involve herself in something so petty.

Severa walked to the nearby stream to wash her mouth clean of the Evermane Shadows' alpha blood. The young mercenary came upon the steam and stared down at her distorted reflection. Her silver hair danced in the wind that blew past, masking her features. Severa sighed, bent down, and cupped the clear water in her dark brown hands.

"I must say, Ichabod put up quite the fight," Severa said, splashing her face with the chilly water, "I expected more, honestly."

The mercenary breathed out, stood up, and stretched out her limbs. She wiped away the water that dripped from her lips with the back of her hand. Severa's ears twitched to a piercing cry. She grinned and held out her arm, only to feel a weight being added to her arm. Severa brought her arm to her chest and stroked the soft, small head.

"Good to see you again, Valorant," Severa said to her falcon, "Who's head is rolling next?"

Severa removed the message from the bird's leg and unraveled it, reading the note inside,

"There's a wolf in the Shadowclaw Hounds who has been causing trouble for us for the past few weeks. His name is Axel, Alpha Lucian's second-in-command. You will know him when you see him. A handsome reward awaits you if you bring me his heart. If you leave now, you will catch him doing his patrols in the Southeast.
~Viggo, Alpha of the Feralmoon Howlers"

Severa grinned and breathed out a heavy sigh. The mercenary wrote a quick reply to the alpha and sent her feathered partner on his way.

"Southeast, huh?" Severa wondered aloud, "Better be worth it..."

The young wolf turned into her beast-form and followed the stream. Before the stream ended, Severa changed directions and started heading Southeast. Upon her arrival, Severa recognized a familiar scent.

"I'm in Shadowclaw territory now," she said, "Good. I'm bound to find Lucian's right-hand somewhere..."

While stalking the area, she heard rustling nearby. Quickly hiding behind a tree, she watched as a dark brown wolf emerged from the bushes. His eyes were a dark gray, almost black. The beast stood on its hind legs, transforming into its hybrid form. The werewolf before Severa was tan skinned with the same hair and eye color. Severa then noticed he had the brand of the Shadowclaw Hounds on his hand.

"Must be Axel," Severa mumbled, "Let's make this quick."

The mercenary came from her hiding place and crept up behind the wolf. Axel must've heard her, otherwise, he wouldn't have transformed again.

"Show yourself!" he growled.

"With pleasure..." Severa muttered.

The mercenary growled and pounced on the brown wolf. Axel growled and tried to shake his attacker off. The two rolled around the ground, biting, and scratching one another. When they broke apart, both wolves bared their fangs at one another.

"Who are you?" Axel asked.

"Just a simple passerby." Severa answered.

Axel growled, his tail swishing back and forth with anticipation. The two wolves circled one another as if they were circling a defenseless deer.

"Who's your alpha?" Axel asked.

"No one but God." Severa replied.

Axel straightened his posture and glared at the mercenary.

"A loner, huh? Did you lose your way?" he asked.

"Nope. I'm exactly where I need to be..." Severa growled.

The young wolf didn't hesitate to pounce on the brown wolf again. Like before, both wolves started rolling around on the ground. Severa suddenly bit down on Axel's hind leg, causing him to stagger backward. Axel growled and glared at the young mercenary. Severa grinned before raising her paw and bringing it down on Axel's face. Large claw marks could be seen over his right eye, blood spilling from the gash. Not missing a beat, Severa pinned down her opponent who barely had the strength to throw her off.

"Who... Who are you...?" Axel panted.

"Call me Huntress." Severa said.

That's when Severa bit down on Axel's neck, feeling his pulse through her fangs and his blood on her tongue. Axel's breathing slowed down before it came to a complete stop; his pulse was no longer recognizable. Severa backed away from the corpse and panted. Looking down at her paw, she licked the wound clean of its blood. Changing back into her hybrid form, she rammed her fist through Axel's chest and ripped out his heart. Breathing out a heavy sigh, Severa looked down at the lifeless wolf and chuckled.

"I'm impressed. He actually managed to get a few licks in," Severa said, "Making his death more enjoyable for me."

Putting the heart in her mouth, Severa changed back into her true form and sprinted away from the body with a grin on her face. The young mercenary sighed when she arrived at the Feralmoon Howlers' den. Not wanting to change into her hybrid form, she walked into the dark den. Severa could feel the glares and hear the growls as she walked deeper into the den. Severa eventually saw a large dark gray resting on a pedestal. Severa grumbled to get the alpha's attention. The alpha looked over and smiled, only to walk up to the mercenary.

"Welcome, Huntress." Viggo said.

At the same time, both wolves turned into their hybrid forms. Viggo had light skin with dark gray hair and amber eyes. Severa took the heart from her mouth and presented it to the alpha.

"Apologies. I would've taken it out sooner, but I am still trying to regain my strength back from my fight with Axel." Severa said earnestly.

"No need to apologize. What matters is that you got the job done." Viggo said.

Severa bowed before the alpha with a blank expression on her face. Viggo then proceeded to hand the mercenary a small sack of gold coins.

"Your reward. As promised." he said.

"Thank you, Alpha Viggo." Severa said.

Bowing once more, the mercenary left with her payment. The young wolf soon made her way back to her small den, deep within Caldore Forest. The mercenary tossed the bag of gold in a corner, along with other small bags of coins. She changed into her beast form and laid down on the hard ground. The young wolf looked up and saw the sun setting, making the sky a deep amber.

"Snagged two kills today. Way to take charge, Vera..." Severa said to herself, "Still... If a war between the packs starts, I'm not getting involved. That's the God-honest truth."

The mercenary yawned when the moon began to rise. Letting out a howl, she drifted to sleep as she heard the choir of howls in the distance. Morning arrived, and Severa was on her way to exchange her gold coins for food. A shrill cry suddenly caught her attention. Grinning, the mercenary held out her arm and waited. That's when Valorant perched himself on his master's arm.

"Now, who's bidding am I doing this time?" Severa asked.

She removed the letter from the falcon's leg and read it.

"Bring me the heart of the Prince of Caldore. With someone of your expertise, this will be no challenge for you, Huntress. Do that and you will be rewarded handsomely.
~Zett, Alpha of the Lycan Banes"

Severa clicked her tongue and chuckled.

"My first vampire assassination is the blood-sucking, Prince of Caldore, huh?" Severa mumbled to herself, "This is gonna be fun..."