CHAPTER 173: NO ONE TOUCHES MY BETA

Karmen walked into an underground gambling club.

’I hope I find this person today,’ he thought, looking at the picture on his phone.

He had made sure no one would recognize him there, so he put on a fake facial mask to cover his features. Such places were full of whispers, and he didn’t want anyone to find out that he was investigating on Gabriel’s behalf.

The place was covered in the stench of alcohol, cigar, and cigarette smoke. In the background, a piece of jazz music could be heard.

He scanned his eyes around only to find that the tables were packed with gamblers, laughing and betting.

He stopped by a table, where most of the crowd was present. Looking at their faces, Karmen realized none among them matched with the picture.

He moved to the other tables, doing the same. While heading to the leftmost table, he accidentally bumped against a muscular guy, who got annoyed and picked up a fight with him.

"I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to hurt you," Karmen said, his tone calm but sincere.

"You think an apology is enough?" the muscular man snarled, jabbing his finger into the center of Karmen’s forehead, once, twice, thrice, each poke sharper than the last, accompanied by a string of curses.

The line crossed when the man struck Karmen across the face.

Karmen had been holding back, not wanting to cause a scene inside the gambling house. As the man raised his hand again, Karmen caught it mid-air in a firm grip. His eyes narrowed before he delivered a swift, powerful kick to the man’s abdomen.

The impact sent the man flying backward, crashing into a nearby table. The few gamblers seated there quickly scattered, chairs scraping as they backed away from the brewing fight.

The muscular guy couldn’t stand up as Karmen used a brutal force on him. Whimpering in pain, he asked for help when a few rushed to his side to help him.

Karmen turned around to walk away but saw a few men had already left their seats with sharp weapons in their hands.

"Are you a beta?" One of them asked. He has a big moustache and a scar on his forehead.

"Are you?" Karmen asked, clenching his fists hard.

"We are beta hunters," the same man said.

Karmen hadn’t expected hunters to be there.

Another man stepped beside the first, brandishing a curved blade. "Surrender now, before we carve you up piece by piece," he threatened.

Karmen chuckled when he finally noticed someone for whom he was here.

"You won’t dare to do that," Karmen said. "Let’s not make it a ground of blood shed," he added.

"I think you do have a hearing problem, beta!" The man with long moustache said again. "You’re going to die tonight," he muttered with a wide, evil grin.

Before Karmen could fully assess the situation, a silver bullet whizzed past him. His reflexes kicked in just in time, he dove to the side, and the bullet shattered an alcohol bottle behind him, sending shards flying.

Most of the gamblers had already abandoned their seats, scrambling toward the exit seeing the brawl that would start anytime. No one wanted to be caught in the middle of a deadly brawl.

Karmen steadied himself, eyes narrowing as he faced the armed men.

"But you’re all wolves," he said, trying to appeal to reason. "Why become hunters?"

But no response came, and the men charged.

Karmen braced himself. The first attacker lunged with a sharp knife, but Karmen ducked low, driving his fist into the man’s gut. The attacker wheezed and stumbled back. Spinning on his heel, Karmen landed a solid blow to another man’s jaw, causing his weapon to clatter to the ground.

Without hesitation, Karmen seized the disarmed attacker by the arm, twisted it behind his back, and shoved him forward into the others, knocking two off balance.

He knew this wasn’t over. And if they had silver bullets, things were only going to get worse.

The bullet shot again and he nearly escaped it but it brushed past his left arm. A sharp wince escaped his lips and he staggered for a moment.

That was the moment a man charged with knife at him. But Karmen stopped him by holding his wrist. The man with moustache held the gun this time, aiming right for Karmen’s forehead to blow it with the silver bullet.

’This beta is faster and stronger than we have encountered so far. I’ve to take him down,’ he thought.

Karmen caught up in the fist and knife fight, not realizing what would be coming next.

And then, another shot occured. Before Karmen could react, an alcohol bottle was smashed right on the back of his head. For a nanosecond, his vision blurred, making him realize it was too late to dodge it.

However, just as the bullet was about to find its mark, Gabriel suddenly appeared, grabbing Karmen and yanking him out of the line of fire. The silver bullet tore through the air where Karmen had just stood and hit the wall behind them.

"Fuck!" the man with the moustache cursed loudly, his anger flashing in his eyes. Though the dim lighting obscured Gabriel’s features, the sheer presence and raw alpha aura radiating from him made the other beta hunters hesitate to attack.

"Gabriel," Karmen murmured, still catching his breath.

Gabriel slowly turned to face the hunters, his gaze locking onto the man with the moustache. The man, gritting his teeth, raised the gun again, ready to fire.

But before he could pull the trigger, Gabriel was suddenly in front of his eyes. The gun slipped from the man’s trembling hand and clattered to the floor.

Gabriel’s claws slashed through the air, sinking deep into the man’s neck. The man’s eyes widened in shock and pain.

"No one touches my beta," Gabriel growled, his eyes flashing a fierce violet.

At that moment, the man recognized him. "Y-your Highness! Please... Spare me," he begged.

"Sure," Gabriel pulled his hand back, letting the man breath. Picking up the gun, Gabriel emptied all the bullets through his skull.