"Oh, this," Alpha said, his eyes returning to his work. "It's not a tattoo."
"That looks like a tattoo to me," Chanel added, her eyes fixed on it. "And why is it written 'Hunter'?"
Alpha dropped the knife on the plate, turning on the tap as he washed his hands. "Hunter has one too, with my name on it; it's a way for us to switch powers."
Chanel looked at it more closely, realising it resembled threads more than ink.
"Was it sewn into you?" she asked.
"Somehow, yes," Alpha replied, turning off the tap.
"Who sewed it into you?"
"The Thread of Ridge itself."
-----------------
Chad watched her as she crawled towards the knife, blood dripping from her body.
He kicked the knife to the side as she fell on the floor, her breathing heavy now.
"You wanted a fight to the death, didn't you?" he asked, grabbing the knife. "Are you still ready?"
Rhiida grabbed his leg, her face still on the floor, as she scratched him with her nails, blood now dripping down.
"Pathetic," he said.
A cry came from her voice: "He killed her."
Chad put the knife to the side. "So you're ready to talk?"
Her cries came more often: "That man killed my daughter."
"When?" Chad asked. "You probably have the wrong man."
Ł"I do not!" she screamed, looking up, her bloody face a horror in the dark room. "I know Carolus Pierr more than anyone; he killed her!"
Chad crouched next to her. "How?"
Her body shook as she cried more. "I loved him so much I gave him everything, the world; I could have given him the literal world!"
She bent her face down. "But he killed her; he killed our daughter. He didn't love our child, nor me."
"He killed your daughter?" Chad asked.
"He said he had a wife and didn't want the child. I refused to abort her, so..." Rhiida stopped midway.
Chad looked at her hand, the poison she had accumulated while talking to him, probably to eliminate him and finish off Liam.
Rhiida was the best of her kind; she was one of the few witches who could turn anything into poison.
He knew for sure that her entire story was to distract him, but the story wasn't made up either; witches died if they ever dared to lie.
Chad got up. "If you don't want me to cut off your hands, then stop that useless plan in your mind."
Rhiida chuckled, raising her head as she sat up. "Did you like the story?" she said, throwing her head back. "It featured my one true love."
Chad raised Liam's body, keeping him on his shoulders. "Why didn't you kill him?" Chad asked; she had only infused Liam with poison.
She laughed, "The same reason I won't try to kill you: respect."
"What do you mean by 'respect?'" Chad asked.
She was chuckling, wiping off a bit of the blood with her hands. "I admire your strength and character; people like you are still needed in this world. And for Carolus, I've never met someone that brave."
Chad extended his hand to her. "Can you walk?"
She looked at him, amused. "Helping your enemy?"
"I don't keep enemies."
She rose on her own, heading towards her sink as she washed some of the blood off. "If you do take Carolus away, then I'll lose my respect and hunt you down till your death."
"I know who killed your daughter," Chad said. "But it is not him; this man here is Liam Pierr, his son."
Rhiida turned to him, her body reacting as fast as lightning. "You're a liar."
"I'm not."
Witches believed in various things, including the act of revenge, but it was forbidden to do so on a person's ancestor or descendant.
"If this is his son, then where is his father?!"
"He died," Chad answered. "His wife killed him."
Rhiida smiled. "And how do I know you're telling the truth?"
"I can take you to his grave."
Chad walked closer to her until he was right in front of her, his hand on her head. "Don't waste your time looking for revenge all your life; it never amounts to anything."
She pushed his hand away, slamming her hand on the counter as blood dripped out.
"Now you're bleeding again," he sighed, tired of her. He wanted to apologize for the wounds he had given her earlier when they fought.
"I love you," she suddenly said, as Chad shifted in confusion.
"Someone else has avenged you; Mommy's sorry," she cried, her tears falling on the counter.
He smiled, realizing, "I'm sure your daughter's happy; she's avenged, and there's no blood on her Mummy's hands."
She cleaned her tears a bit, smiling. "Please don't refer to me as Mummy again."
He groaned, looking to the other side; there was no way to deal with this lady.
Then he heard a laugh.
He turned to her, watching a genuine laugh come out, not one of evil or a giggle that suggested malice.
She was actually laughing.
"Put him down," she said.
"Why?" Chad asked. "Do you want to hurt him?"
"No, he's in my way."
Chad stepped back a lot. "Of doing what?"
She walked closer. "I wanted to be a bit violent, but I'll just take this."
And she hugged him.
"Thanks for coming to this house, random stranger."
"My name's Chad."
"Shhh."
He let her hug him, though he couldn't do the same; he had to hold the body.
He still didn't trust her, so he slowly assessed her, ensuring there was no poison around whatsoever.
She finally let go of him, smiling. "Now leave and never come back."
"So you're just going to stay here with no purpose?"
Rhiida looked up, her eyes wandering. He was right; she had basically achieved her only purpose in life. What was possibly next?
"How is that your business?" she asked.
He smirked. "Nothing, I just thought this area isn't really safe for a girl".
Rhiida folded her arms, "Do I look like a girl to you?"
"Sorry, Sir, I didn't know you were one of us".
She rolled her eyes and sighed, "Please leave here and never come back. I'm grateful for what you've done; let me find a purpose."
"In this lonely building?"
She turned sharply, ready to say something, but she controlled herself, holding her tongue.
Chad groaned, throwing his head back. "I have this bad habit," he said, crouching down right next to her.
She looked down. "What's your prob—"
Then he lifted her.
"Let me go if you want to live long enough to see sunlight!" she screamed, already gathering poison.
"If I take you somewhere you don't like," he started, "you can come back here; you know you're strong enough."
She kept accumulating the poison, swallowing it all as she thought of it for a minute.
A new life.
"I know you witches just love adventures," he chuckled. "Don't refuse a good offer."
"I give you a day," she said.
He grinned, adjusting the two bodies on each of his shoulders.
"That's my bad habit," he said. "I can't let go of things."
"Did you just call me a thing?"
Chad chuckled, "Nah, you just heard me wrong".
"What if someone sees us?", Rhiida asked, as he opened the door. "What will you say?"
He smirked, so much she basically heard it, "You'll see".