The Stray Alpha

After the wolf attack, Rad accompanied Chayil back home. 

Esmar was waiting for them. And as she saw his son covered in blood, she was visibly shaken, and trembled with concern.

"Don't worry, honey. The bites are not that deep," Rad reassured her. "Chayil's body has become strong from his training, and it came in handy today." 

Esmar drew a deep breath and tried to calm herself. As Chayil was seated in the chair, she carefully tended to his wounds, her hands trembling with worry.

Feeling her unease, Chayil gently took hold of her hands, offering reassurance. "Mom, relax," he said softly. "Like Dad said, I'm fine."

His mother's response was a mixture of agitation and scolding. 

"Idiot," she chided affectionately. "Every mother would be shaken seeing their son covered in blood." 

Then, turning her attention to Rad, she asked, "And you, why did you come back so late? You were supposed to be back before lunch."

Rad's answer left the family startled. 

"Actually, on our way home, an Alpha Wolf suddenly appeared with six Beta wolves and attacked us," he began.

Rad tried to protect his companion knowing the Alpha and Beta wolves' tactics. He knew he can't just leave them to fight these wolves alone. If he strays too far, his companion could be killed, so he's forced to adopt a defensive strategy.

Rad managed to defeat one of them when one of the wolves charged. Then, the wolves change their tactics to pressure them. After almost fifteen minutes, Rad felt that something was off with the wolves' movements and realized that they were just buying time and that their real target was the village. 

"So, we tried to move slowly, step by step until we head back home," Rad explained. "When we finally saw the village, the wolves which were still after us at that time, left. That's the reason why it took us a while to get home."

"I thought Alpha wolves don't appear in our area," Chayil commented.

"Yes, you're right," Rad agreed, "Alphas are even rare in the Deep Forest. They are mostly on the Border and it's too far from here. I don't know why there's one in our area either. I think there's something going on."

Esmar butted in, "Isn't it dangerous now to venture far from the village? Can't we seek help from the Guild in Lasik town?"

Lasik town is the nearest town to Bana village, and each town has an Adventurer Guild organization where you can submit requests to them when the villagers need help.

"Yes. But the problem is, it's dangerous to go out now since the wolves are intelligent," Rad answered. "I also can't leave the village now since there's an Alpha wolf roaming our area." Rad paused before he added, "The Elders and I will discuss what to do later."

As they conversed, Esmar diligently tended to Chayil's wounds. She applied medicinal plant extracts. Then she covered them with leaves to reduce the pain and heal the wound quickly and secured them with bandages.

While bandaging Chayil's body, the villagers whom Chayil helped arrived. Das was the one who led them.

"How's Chayil?" a villager asked.

\"I'm fine, thank you," Chayil replied.

The villagers expressed their gratitude to Chayil for saving them. One of them said, "I was planning to go to the nearby village to ask if they have a Healer."

"Don't go out for now; it's dangerous," Rad interrupted. "We'll first discuss what to do. That will include asking for a Healer."

"Alright, but if there's anything we can help with, we will do that."

Soon after, the villagers left and Chayil rested for the entire day.

......…

Upon opening his eyes, Chayil heard loud cheers, and when he looked to his left, he saw his real Dad in the crowd, his voices blending with the others.

"Go, go, go!" they yelled.

"Knock 'em out!" another voice called out, ending in claps and whistles.

"This place feels familiar," Chayil thought.

Suddenly, a boxing glove swung toward him. "Whoa! What's going on?" he blurted. Then he swiftly raised his arms to block the incoming punches. "Wait a sec, why am I in a boxing ring?" His eyes widened as he dodged to the side, narrowly avoiding another punch.

With lightning reflexes, he planted his feet. As his opponent lunged forward, Chayil pivoted, unleashing a powerful right hook. "Take this!" he shouted.

He launched into a flurry of punches using his left and right fists. And Chayil felt the rhythm of the fight coursing through him. 

But, the referee's voice boomed across the ring. And it broke through the intensity of the fight. "Hold it right there!" he declared. "That's a violation for punching below the belt."

"I aimed for his body and face, ref!" Chayil protested. He gestured towards his opponent.

To his dismay, he saw his opponent smirk at him with a devilish smile.

Chayil muttered through gritted teeth, "Let's see if you can still keep that smile!"

He charged forward, but his opponent countered by charging straight at him. His opponent aimed a headbutt directly at Chayil's eyes.

"I-I can't see," Chayil muttered. His head spun from the impact of the headbutt.

As he tried to step back, he realized his foot was trapped under the opponent's foot. "I'm stuck!" he grunted. He the opponent tried to blow his body

As he prepared to block the incoming right short uppercut to his abdomen, he instinctively guarded his body. However, it was a feint, and his opponent surged forward again until he could headbutt Chayil once more, followed by a flurry of punches unleashed on his body.

Helpless, Chayil couldn't see and braced himself as a torrent of punches rained down on his body and head. Each blow drove him closer to the ground until he was knocked down.

'This ugly idiot is a cheater!' Chayil mumbled, his head throbbing as he slowly lost consciousness.

He glanced around the ring, confused until his gaze settled on the referee and his opponent. Both were wearing sinister smiles.

'Huh? Life is not really unfair!'

.........…

Chayil suddenly woke from his slumber and sat up, startled by his dream. He looked around him and saw that he was in his room. "Was that... just a dream?"

A sense of relief washed over him as he realized the truth.

"What a relief!" he chuckled softly to himself, shaking his head in disbelief, before he went out of his room.