As someone who was a normal teenager up until last week, becoming a werewolf and acting like that didn’t come naturally to Gary. Unfortunately, his system didn’t help him in any meaningful way to find the culprits.

While it was easy enough to follow the mist of those he had Marked, it was a different story when he had to try and pick up a scent from the bloody mess that was Tom’s shirt. He would take a few steps and every so often he would take another sniff of the shirt. Being in a school that had a few hundred students didn’t make his task any easier either.

‘It’s somehow easier to focus, when I close my eyes… there, I think it should be in that direction!’ Gary opened his eyes and soon found himself outside on the field. It hadn’t been too long since Rugby practice had finished, so the scents of his teammates were still fresh. Surprisingly, he noticed that the scent that he had picked up had split in different directions.

‘I’m sure of it, there really was more than one person behind it. So much for giving them the benefit of the doubt. Here I even had some sympathy for that stupid bastard!’

Two members had arrived late for Rugby practice. Everything was starting to fall into place. Gary took a big sniff and now he was sure of it. One of the scents was in the same direction as the strange red mist he could see that led him to Barry.

‘Why the hell did they attack Tom?!’ Gary tensed his fist so hard that it felt like his veins were going to pop from his hands. ‘Is it really just because they don’t want me to be on the team? They couldn’t go for me, so they went for Tom? What bullcrap is that?!’ Gary swung out his hand hitting the school wall.

Usually, a swing so fast and so hard would have shattered someone’s wrist but not Gary. At the moment he didn’t feel any pain. Fortunately, the high schooler hadn’t directly aimed for the wall, otherwise he might have left his fist print.

Looking at the mist, it told him that Barry was still in school for whatever reason. Since he had been Marked, Gary didn’t worry about losing him. No, he was far more interested in Gil. His scent had left the school grounds.

The words of Tom still rang through his head, that if he was to do anything, then he would be expelled especially after the incident today.

‘Whatever I do outside of school shouldn’t be a problem as long as nobody recognises me!’

Lifting up his hood Gary started to walk out of school. He always walked around in a hoodie, so he could cover up his hair and face. He used to do that as a transporter, but now it proved useful to avoid members of the Underdogs, though today it would have a different use.

Tom’s shirt had been placed in his bag, and whenever he lost Gil’s scent among the myriad of others, he would take another sniff to catch it. Once he entered more problematic areas, the number of scents decreased sharply.

On his way, he also did his routine stop at the convenience store eating some meat, restoring his energy from his rugby match just in case he needed it.

[230/460 experince]

[Skill activated Charging Heart]

[All stats have temporarily been doubled]

[-10 Energy points]

Running through the streets, Gary had started to hurry tracking down the scent, afraid that perhaps Gil might reach home soon.

Eventually, he noticed that he had entered a certain area in Slough.

‘Doesn’t this area belong to the Grey Elephant gang? They are the second biggest gang after the Underdogs and also the ones controlling the grey colour gang.’ Gary thought to himself, but it still wasn’t completely dark out. The sun was just starting to set so the gangs usually wouldn’t bother others anyway, not that Gary was particularly worried if they chose to attack him.

Following Gil’s scent Gary moved away from the residential area and followed him to the industrial one, arriving in front of abandoned warehouses. He had never been here, but he recognised that such a location practically screamed ‘gang hang out’.

The high schooler had to be extra cautious, fighting off a group and an entire gang were two completely different things. Having tracked the scent to one warehouse in particular he could now see that there were members wearing pieces of grey clothing on the outside. He could hear some cheering all the way from his location.

He sneaked around the outside until found a pipe that led to the roof. Gary wasn’t the best climber, but he had been practicing and with Charging Heart still active, jumping up and grabbing onto the pipe proved to be easy. Using his hands and legs he soon found himself on the metallic roof.

The high schooler was careful with his footsteps since it would make quite a bit of noise, but luckily there were also plenty of seagulls on the roof. Whenever they would move, they would make the roof clang regardless of how quiet he was, and it seemed like whatever was happening inside they were far too preoccupied with what was happening.

Finding a hole in the roof Gary was happy to see that it allowed him to watch what was happening underneath. His enhanced hearing also allowed him to hear what they were saying.

“Not bad, kid.” A male voice praised someone. “Your skill, your strength, and most of all your ruthlessness are the real deal. You’re perfect. There’s just one last thing for you to do before we let you in our gang.”

One person stood there, bloody and battered, yet he was in a far better condition than the other guy around his feet. Gary had only heard about it, but he assumed that he had just walked in on the grey colour gang having held something akin to an ‘audition’.

There were a couple of ways to join a colour gang, but the most direct one was the scene Gary had just stumbled upon. Those willing to join could challenge already active members and if they proved themselves, the colour gang would usually offer to recruit them.

’That’s him…he was the one that hurt TOM!’ Gary could still smell Tom’s blood on his clothes, even though it was now mixed in with the other person’s on the ground.

“You will join us on our rounds today. After that we’ll discuss your payment and more. I have hope for you. If you do well and rise up, then you might even be accepted into the Grey Elephants.”

Gary would love nothing more than to jump down and pay back Gil, but his rational side was still present. His first instinct was nothing but suicidal. There were around thirty members inside, and the person that Gil was speaking to seemed to be their leader.

No leader of any gang would be an easy person to deal with, especially belonging to the colour gang underneath the Grey Elephants. He could continue to follow Gil and his scent but from the sounds of it, the leader himself might be the one to show Gil the ropes.

There was no guarantee that Gary would get a chance to get his revenge today and there was also another problem. He still needed to hurry home to intercept the letter about his exclusion from school. His mother should be working late tonight, so he should still have some time

It was then that the system answered his prayers, solving his issue once again.

[You have successfully tracked down a target using your keen nose!]

[You are acting more like a werewolf and less than a human by the day!]

[Bloodlust has been detected]

[Would you like to activate a Forced Bond?]

Last time he had Marked Barry by accident, though he had been holding him by the wrist. Now it appeared as if physical touch wasn’t a necessary requirement. Now that he thought about it, Gary realised that back when he had defeated the colour gang members, the system had also offered him to activate a Forced Bond, even though he hadn’t touched them.

At the time, he had declined, but now that Gary saw the message with his emotions running high, he didn’t hesitate.

[Yes!]

[Forced Bond has been activated] 𝐛𝗲𝐝𝗻𝗼𝘃𝐞𝗹．𝗻𝐞𝘁

[3/5 Marks have been assigned]