ASHER
Once Kane left the room, | changed into a pair of nightclothes and then went to bed. | dozed off quickly, but my sleep was quite
light.
So much so, that when a noise rang out from the corridor, | woke up immediately and began to look around in surprise. For a
moment, | wondered if the sound was just my mind ying tricks on me, but something in my gut told me that wasn’t the truth.
Something was amiss, something | couldn’t dismiss straight away without investigation.
| rubbed my eyes and immediately rushed outside of the room and into the courtyard just down the hall. As | walked, the metallic
scent of blood reached my nose at once, and | hastened my pace.
| was the first to arrive, followed by Kane, Alpha Arthur, Kiara, Darwin, and a few soldiers. Everyone was outfitted in their
nightclothes, and one by one, we each fell stunned at the sight before us when it was illuminated by the torches of the soldiers.
My. stomach twisted into painful knots and for a moment, | thought | was about to retch in disgust.
Bodiesy on the ground, covered with rich, viscous dark blood. Two of them were Myriad soldiers, outfitted in their uniforms.
One of them was a strange masked man that | didn’t recognize. As | slowly approached, it was clear that they were all dead.
All except Ss, whoy beside the masked stranger. He was severely injured, and my lips parted in horror when | saw the blood
gushing from his lean chest. Though he was breathing faintly, it was clear that he was fading quickly. We needed to intervene at
once.
Everyone was disoriented by the insane sight.
Kane frowned deeply. His skin had turned quite pale at the sight of Ss, but he forced himself to go to Kiara, who was weeping
out of horror. He held her tightly as she dissolved into s obs.
Arthur was angry at the sight of it all. He cursed aloud andmanded one of his soldiers to call the healers. He ordered them
to care for Ss at once andunch an investigation into what hadmenced in the courtyard.
“We need to determine what has happened here!” he growled at Darwin, who shrank into himself after the harshness of the
Alpha’s tone reached his ears. He nodded obediently and then rushed out of the courtyard.
Meanwhile, | tried to make sense of what had happened..
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Everything must havemenced in a short amount of time, otherwise, the night watch soldiers would havee and joined
the fight. The two Myriad soldiers, | recognized, were the ones who were tasked with watching over Roxy in turns. | didn’t know
their names, but they were respectable men.
So,
PHC
what had urred here?
Had the sorceress hurt them in an attempt to escape?
HIGH
The sound of sputtering interrupted my thoughts, and I quickly snapped out of my haze and turned to see Ss. A thick, wet
cough escaped him, and | crouched down beside him and held his hand.
TU
The Beta’s chest had almost been ripped apart. It was a gruesome sight, one | knew would haunt me for quite some time. There
was so much blood everywhere it was a miracle he was still breathing.
The attacker must have been someone with great strength and fighting techniques. They’d managed to kill two elite soldiers and
severely injure Ss Moses. Whoever they were, they were strong and ruthless.
Ss coughed again, and | wiped his dark hair away from his sweat-drenched forehead. His golden eyes were distant, and his
breaths became fainter and fainter. When | gently squeezed his hand, he locked eyes with me and managed to speak.
“It was the same man I''d fought with the other day,” he exined, his voice strained from the pain of his injuries. “The one sent
by Kaleb who wanted to save the sorceress? I’m sorry | didn’t catch him alive, Asher. And I’m sorry | might not be able to help
you anymore-”
“Don''t say that,” | interrupted him, and | squeezed his hand. “You''re going to be alright, Ss. We''re going to get you some
medical attention. You''re going to be just fine.”
Agroup of healers arrived just momentster, and they carefully took Ss away on a stretcher. Once he was gone, Alpha Arthur
let out a small growl.
“This is not going to be tolerated,” he said quietly and he shook his head slowly. “I’m going to contact Yurene and demand an
exnation. How dare they send an assassin to
land. To my
my
home?”
“It''s no use,” Kane replied shortly as he continued to hold Kiara close. “The man wasn’t an assassin. We need to block any
messages and pretend the man never snuck in. The sooner Kaleb learns about the deaths that happened here, the sooner he''ll
send more to finish the job. Besides, what would happen if the sorceress were to find out Kaleb hadn’t given her up after all?”
| nodded as | processed this information. Roxy’s cooperation was more than important.
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She was the only person who was familiar with Viokwell. We needed her on our side as much as possible if we were going to
pull off this mission.
Darwin didn’t seem to agree with this idea.Upstodatee from Novel(D)ra/m/a.O(r)g
“Your people have caused too many problems for Sky Pride,” he hissed at us. “Besides, Ss cannot remain here. If the son of
Oliver Moses dies here, what would that crazy Beta do-”
“Ss is still the Lord Beta of Wega,” | reminded him somewhat harshly with a raised eyebrow. “You are obliged to serve him
by thew.”
“Who cares about aw at a time such as this?” Darwin fired back. “We have an entire Pack to consider, Your Majesty. We
cannot risk the safety of our Pack members for one
man-
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“Enough!” Alpha Arthur demanded, and his nostrils red as his dark eyes darted around the courtyard. “I can lock down the
information, but Darwin is correct. We are unable to cure Ss Moses. He cannot remain here in Sky Pride. He shall need to be
transferred out of here at once.”
Kane opened his mouth to speak, but before he could, Arthur raised a hand in warning.
“Consider the benefit of Sky Pride,” he reminded him firmly. “This is to be your Pack, Kane. You must act on its behalf.”
My stepbrother’s violet eyes darted over to me. | felt the pain in his expression. | didn’t like that they were shoving Ss aside,
but what choice did we have? We had to cooperate or this would all fall apart.
“Fine,” | spoke up. “Kane, get in touch with the royal healers immediately and make arrangements to send Ss back to
Anemond.”
“| don’t know if that’s a good idea, Asher,” he replied as his eyebrows creased together. “What about Oliver Moses?”
“| don’t see another choice,” | said. “After all, Oliver wouldn’t kill his son. He’s a conniving maniptor, but he’s no murderer. We
need to get Ss to safety, no matter what it takes.”
Kane hesitated for a moment and then nodded. He pulled himself away from Kiara and then walked over to where | stood.
“Asher, | don’t think you should go to the North,” he advised quietly. “Look at this attacker. Kaleb’s soldiers are ruthless. You
could get yourself killed.”
Though | knew he was right, | saw no other option.
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“| won''t change my mind,” | said. “I’m going to Yurene.”