After coming up again, Gary was ready to leave the pool club, but what he didn't expect to see was that White had changed into a work uniform and was already busy serving customers. For one, Gary didn't even know the place had a work uniform, but it was a clear dress shirt that was black in colour while an apron at the bottom was made of gold.
‘That Kai really likes those two colours, but how long was I down there for? They already have her working?’
“I can see the look on your face.” Miss Degrace said across the room.
“She said she needed a job, and we are going to need some night staff soon, so I intend to hire her.” Miss Degrace explained.
“Night staff?” Gary replied.
“Didn’t he inform you that this place would soon be open as a bar at night as well?”
Thinking about this, Gary remembered that was part of the initial plan, and judging by the uniform, it looked like Kai was going to make it clear that this place was owned by the Howlers. Still, Gary was worried that perhaps stating that they were from the Howlers would cause trouble down the line.
‘Would it though? Kai said that the Pincers were one of the five small-time gangs in the area. At the moment, they don't really know our strength, which has come out of nowhere. For them, it would be a risky move.’
While thinking about this, Gary looked over at White, who looked to be happy doing her job. He also thought now was his chance to break out of the palace, before anyone else wanted to talk to him. With nobody else stopping him, he successfully left the place.
After checking his phone, skimming over his sister’s prior messages, he was happy to read that Amy had gotten home safely. As such, he was checking for another text, since he had another destination in mind before returning home.
The night sky was starting to come out, which was perfect, and the high schooler was heading to the nearby wooded area that wasn't too far from his school. It was the place where he and Innu used to train in the past. Eventually he could see someone in the distance despite it being dark, and she could see him clearly as well.
“Well, as you can see, I came here as I asked, oh great leader!” Olivia curtsied, clearly upset about having been called to a forest of all places in the middle of the night.
“You should have an idea of why we are here. Have you had time to get familiar with the differences in your body yet? Tell me, did you already try telling someone about those changes?” When asking this, Gary wasn't sure, but Olivia freezing up made it obvious that she had tried.
The rules seemed to be working, which was good news for the Alpha Werewolf.
“Now that it’s just us, can you explain what you did to me? When my men were clearing up my office. I… I was unable to stay in the room. When I saw those dead bodies… the smell that would enter my nose…”
Gary understood what she was trying to say, since the two were the same now. Such bloody scenes that should have made anyone want to throw up, for Werewolves it was as appetising as seeing an all-you-can-eat buffet.
As long as the teenager had ample Energy, it was easy to resist the urge, but it was something he had to remind himself was actually ‘abnormal’ behaviour.
“Oh, ‘your’ men? Funny, here I thought that changed. Anyway, I’ve called you today to help both of us.” Gary explained.
“Argh, fine… in that case, you should be aware that a good portion of ‘your’ men have left. Not all of them, but we’re down to less than half of what we had after I spread the that the Howlers have taken over.
“People don't just follow a new gang that came out of nowhere. We had to get rid of all those that were no longer needed that had specific jobs that are no longer there and even those who have stayed out of loyalty are now afraid of another attack. Since everyone will know that we have just lost a fight, it’s just a question of when the other will try to claim a piece of us.” Olivia complained.
Of course, Gary had thought about this as well. Now that the place belonged to him, he needed to look after it.
“Well then, we just need to protect the place, don’t we? Lots of genuine workers in that area as well, so if anything was to happen there, it would just make their lives more complicated. Just another good reason for you to take what I have planned seriously.
“I'm going to teach you a few new things. What I am… well what WE are. At first, I thought that it might have been a curse of some kind, but the more I'm thinking about it, the more I’m grateful to have that power.
“Technically, me and you are Werewolves, but I think it will make things easier if you just consider us ‘special Altered’. I’m not sure who would be more powerful, between us or actual Altered, but I can at least promise you that we’re far more powerful than a normal human.”
Gary had thought a lot before he had made the decision to train Olivia. After all, helping the woman control her powers meant that there was a good chance that she might grow powerful enough to take him on.
However, based on the rules and everything so far, the teenager felt like the way the system was currently set up, it would be impossible for her to grow stronger than him unless he started to laze around. Fortunately, he planned to train against her, so he should always be aware roughly how strong she would be.
“Okay.” Olivia said, still sulking. “I'm in this situation and I don’t seem to be able to get out of it, anyway. If you can help me, then I might as well do that.”
Seeing what type of person Olivia seemed to be, if anyone tried to attack the Kraken or the street again, Gary doubted she would just sit there and let it go. He expected her to put up a fight. In a way, for Olivia based on how Gary was running things, not much had changed, except that she had gained a boss who she had to answer to.
Apart from the fact that they were taking all her money and assets gained over the years, she was still able to live a lavish life. If Burnham food street was attacked, Gary also hoped that the Pack’s rule to not betray the Howlers would kick in.
“As we get closer to the full moon. Your bloodlust will grow. Although the rules state you can't hunt humans, you can hunt animals and such to try to get rid of it. Usually raw meat and such is able to satisfy your hunger, but as it gets closer it feels like our body has to kill instead.
“If you can't control it, or something feels seriously wrong, call me.”
Gary, then, pulled something from behind his trousers and threw it towards her. It was Olivia's special whip. He had inspected it for a while, trying to use all his strength to break it and more. It was definitely not a normal whip.
“You’re… just giving this back to me?” Olivia sounded surprised.
“I can’t afford to have you die on me anytime soon. That would just complicate everything. You seemed proficient with the whip, so it’s better to return it than just to sell it off. As long as you continue being useful to me, you get to live.
“You should keep that in mind. Since I created you, I can easily replace you. If you start becoming a pain in my backside…” Gary left the threat unspoken, his eyes glowing red, and he still had lingering thoughts of what had happened to Stacy.
“Now tell me, what sort of whip is that? It was even able to hurt me.”
Olivia was stretching out the whip a few times, checking that it was still in good condition and working. She then flung it out once and a smile appeared on her face.
“This was from the auction house, the special auction house run by the Dark Guild. Although even with my funds I was only able to get this, they sell all sorts of things there. Altered DNA is rare.
“Even if you are rich, sometimes that isn't enough to get your hands on Altered DNA. Imagine a stronger gang bidding on the DNA. No smaller gang will even try to make a higher bid. Anyway, they needed to create something to deal with the Altered and this is one of them. “
“Auction house… sounds interesting.” Gary thought, but there was one thing that was putting him off more than anything. It was the fact that she said it was extremely expensive. If that was the case Gary didn't want to go there any time soon. Still…
‘Maybe if I went there… I could find out something to do with that suitcase.’ Gary thought as he got into a fighting stance.
“Come on, attack me at full strength with everything you've got, don't hold back!” Gary shouted.
With her new body, and the whip in her hand, Olivia should be even more dangerous than she was before, but that was exactly what Gary wanted. If he wanted to beat people like Jayden Tiger, then he needed to push himself further.